Day 16

Today we began reading Into the Wild. Can you imagine running off from your parents and having no contact with them? I talk with my parents all the time so I cannot imagine it myself. I wonder how lonely he was at times even if he thought he was doing the right thing for himself.

For this evening, ponder this quote and tell me how it may relate to you and to Chris McClandless:

"Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for."
Dag Hammarskjold (1905 - 1961)

Day 15

Thanks for your attention today with vocab and grammar. Make sure you complete the worksheets so you can get an idea of what could be on the grammar section of the quiz.

For this evening, we will look at current events. Again, make sure you pick an event that is not entertainment or sports based unless you can some how attach them to something relevant going on in our world. Give a brief explanation of the event and how it directly effect you, your community and your world.

You must Cite your source. NO CITE, NO POINTS and try and remember to do it in your original blog.

Day 14

Hope your writing went well. Again, this exercise was more about seeing what types of writers are in the room so I know which skills I need to teach.

For this evening, please respond to the following quote on character and integrity:

"Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught."
J.C. Watts

Day 13

Please respond to the following quote by President Bill Clinton in regards to the American Dream:

“We need a new spirit of community, a sense that we are all in this together, or the American Dream will continue to wither. Our destiny is bound up with the destiny of every other American.”

Day 12

Today we looked at articles about the American Dream and gave you that short piece to read. What I find interesting is this idea of what types of life our ancestors led to get the country to the place it is today. Yet, it makes me think about what we have to dream about as Americans. Therefore, my question to you is what do you think the American Dream of your generation is going to be? How will your generation move our country forward like the generations before you? Do not just re-tell yesterdays dream because we have the cars, the homes, the technological advances that our grandparents worked to give us. Think long and hard about your response.

Day 11

Today we discussed the concept of the American Dream. Discuss, again, what this concept means and how you think it may have impacted your family and your life even if you did not know you were living the American Dream. Also, tell me how you think you can support this idea as you get older. Talk with your parents or grandparents and explain how their vision of this concept is similar or different from yours.

Day 10

Good job with vocab and grammar today. Please, please study for both quizzes this week. As I explained, there are many points assigned to these quizzes and you should not allow them to bring your grade down.

For this evening, we will look at current events. Again, make sure you pick an event that is not entertainment or sports based unless you can some how attach them to something relevant going on in our world. Give a brief explanation of the event and how it directly effect you, your community and your world.

You must Cite your source. NO CITE, NO POINTS

Day 9

Today we discussed the idea of individual values and defined as something important to one person. We created a list of these values:

family, sports, friends, health, respect, freedom, independence, honesty, life, happiness, music, school and being successful.

For this evenings blog, please pick any 3 of the above or add some of your own and explain how these values make you an individual. Also comment on how this level of individuality sets you apart from family or peers or if it makes you just like them. If it makes you like them, then how are you an individual?

Day 8

Good week. We discussed freedom within the confines of the Declaration of Independence. Watched the John Adam's video and saw what it takes to put aside personal needs for the better of society. Lastly, you began working on your own Declaration of Independence from something.

For this evening, define freedom in your own words. Then tell how freedom can be both a positive and a negative. Give an example of how you express your freedoms and how your freedoms are sometimes held back. Do you think freedom will be different in one year, two years, after graduation?

This may take more than 7 sentences!

Day 7

Today will be the first of an occasional free blog. This is an opportunity to talk about anything that you want to talk about. Make sure that even though it is open ended, you must have a topic sentence and conclusion sentence.

Day 6

Today we continued talking about the value of independence. How would you define independence in your life? Do you have any independence or are you completely dependent on people and things? Look at the following quote and tell how it relates to your value of independence:

"Maybe the greatest challenge now is to find a way to keep independence while also committing ourselves to the ties that bind people, families, and ultimately societies together."
Jane O'Reilly

Day 5

Nice morning even if it was about grammar and vocabulary. Do not wait until the last minute to study for these quizzes as they are worth 25 points every week.

Since we really had not discussion today, we are going to begin do our weekly current event. The way this works is that you find a topic that is current based on a newspaper, magazine or online news source. You need to explain your current event and then discuss how this event connects to you and your community. Last, you must cite your source from the current event. Events cannot be entertainment or sports related unless you can show how they have a true connection to the greater community.

Day 4

Sorry this is up later than usual. We will be doing vocab and grammar tomorrow and finish the John Adams video.

As for what I want you to write about: What do you think are your greatest strengths and weakness as a person? How can you take a weakness and make it into a strength?

Day 3

Great discussion today. I hope that over time you guys will open up more and be more free with answering questions.

For today's response, talk to me about how you value the relationships in your life. You can talk about friends, family or other relationships you may have. Think before typing and by the end see if you can touch on why these relationships have value.

Day 2

Today, I want you to think about the values your parent(s) have tried to instill in you. Then, comment on the value of being a parent. Why do people become parents and why do they value you as their child? As discussed last year in To Kill A Mockingbird, put yourself in their shoes for a moment and think of the triumphs and the frustrations of parenting and yet why becoming a parent is such a key value in our society.

Semester 1 Cardmarking 1 Day 1

Today we listened to a cheesy song entitled "Holy Ground." As I stated in class, I do not look at the word holy as a religious term here but more as sacred. I am hoping that my classroom will be sacred to each of you; a place where you can feel comfortable in learning about English and about life. A place you can come to in good times and if you need help.

Today, I would like you to respond to the lyrics of the song. What was the author trying to say or how did you interpret this idea of of holy or sacred? Do you have places in your life that are holy and sacred? Where are they and why do they make you feel this way?

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XltwsKCAq-M