Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year

Hi and welcome to the new school year!

Home work and assignments for will be posted on this blog. We will also be using Edmodo where students can print off copies of handouts given to them in class as well. This way they can keep a copy at home or if they lose a copy they will always have access to what was given in class.( Most times- as long as it is something I have on my computer and am able to upload.)  Also this helps if they are away and they are able to see what they have missed.

I have created a confidential brief form to collect parent emails using Google docs. If you could please take Two minutes to fill it out, I would appreciate it.  Thank you in advance and I look forward to meeting you!
(If you click on form/email it should work).
Mrs. Caldwell
Form/email

My Glogster

My Glogster, it's late, I know.

http://kringaz.glogster.com/violence/

The Slayer background was there because the band's lyrics often deal with themes of violence and death.
"And so it goes" -- Kurt Vonnegut is there because in the novel where that phrase is said, Slaughterhouse-Five, the phrase is mentioned only at instances of death. The "cute" character that surrounds the words is there because of the irony and sarcasm of it.
The decoration with the words "Violence by Brendan Murray" is flowery is because of the irony and sarcasm of it.
The quote by Ernest Hemingway is there because my feelings about violence and war are the same. I hate it, and I feel like it's a waste of life and time, among other things.
The final quote by Kurt Vonnegut is there because of the sarcasm. Vonnegut was saying (sarcastically) that soldiers wouldn't have done anything with their lives anyways, so why not fight?
The song in the centre of the glog is "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden. The song is about the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. A soldier rides into battle, only to be shot and then die.

Indep novel update

You should be reading your novels(You should almost be finished your novel by now) and you should have developed your thesis for class on Tues.

my glogster

http://eng11mike.glogster.com/eng11-4276/

I gave my glog a red background to represent blood, this is because when you see blood it usually reminds people of pain and I really wanted to get the feeling across when you first look at my glog. I then made the main word look unpleasant because no one really likes pain that much. I did that by putting it on a brick wall because usually when you see a brick wall now days it is run down and falling apart, so when you see a sight like that it does not make things very pleasant. Also I put the word in a dingy orange color, which gives the impression that it is old and faded.

            Next for the denotation of the word I decided to put t in a speech bubble coming out from the word because it is the literal meaning so its like that it is being said.  The speech bubble also represents pain being there because it is actually physically there.  I also gave it a not so nice color because no one really likes the feel of pain so I decided that the color should match as well. I then put a picture of someone feeling physical pain. For the connotation I put some examples in a thought bubble because it’s more in your head then actually there. That is also why I kept the bubble white because it’s all in your head.  I then also put a picture of someone who is suffering from emotional pain.

I then added the video in the top right, which gives you a strong representation of what it was probably like for the shoulder in the trenches.  You can see both the mental and physical pain of what they had to go through every single day just to stay alive themselves.

Finally I added “Mad World” by Gary Jules because if you listen to the lyrics you can imagine just what kind of conditions they had to deal with. Also on lines 1-4 you can imagine that like every morning you wake up with the same people, in the same destructed environment, and you can never tell if you will be going to sleep with the same people at night.I gave my glog a red background to represent blood, this is because when you see blood it usually reminds people of pain and I really wanted to get the feeling across when you first look at my glog. I then made the main word look unpleasant because no one really likes pain that much. I did that by putting it on a brick wall because usually when you see a brick wall now days it is run down and falling apart, so when you see a sight like that it does not make things very pleasant. Also I put the word in a dingy orange color, which gives the impression that it is old and faded.

            Next for the denotation of the word I decided to put in a speech bubble coming out from the word because it is the literal meaning so its like that it is being said.  The speech bubble also represents pain being there because it is actually physically there.  I also gave it a not so nice color because no one really likes the feel of pain so I decided that the color should match as well. I then put a picture of someone feeling physical pain. For the connotation I put some examples in a thought bubble because it’s more in your head then actually there. That is also why I kept the bubble white because it’s all in your head.  I then also put a picture of someone who is suffering from emotional pain.

I then added the video in the top right, which gives you a strong representation of what it was probably like for the shoulder in the trenches.  You can see both the mental and physical pain of what they had to go through every single day just to stay alive themselves.

Finally I added “Mad World” by Gary Jules because if you listen to the lyrics you can imagine just what kind of conditions they had to deal with. Also on lines 1-4 you can imagine that like every morning you wake up with the same people, in the same destructed environment, and you can never tell if you will be going to sleep with the same people at night.

summative journal Lord of the Flies

During this lit circles, we had some discussions that went well, and some that weren't as good. Most of the time we were able to make good connections and find good quotes to represent darkness, illusion, etc. Our connections were probably the strongest part for our group, all of us were able to make precise and insightful connections. A couple days we went off task and didn't get a whole lot done, however most of the time we were focused. In the book we found that the darkness of the imaginary beast tore them apart, and led them to complete destruction. "Within the diamond haze of the beach something dark was fumbling along. Ralph saw it first, and watched until the intentness of his gaze drew all eyes that way. Then the creature stepped from mirage onto clear sand, and they saw that the darkness was not all shadow but mostly clothing. The creature was a party of boys". They turned into the thing they feared most and went from a civilized bunch of boys to savages. I connect this beast idea to the terrorists hiding, we don't have a clue where they are and they make us scared and make us fuss about it. The only difference between the two is that the terrorists are real and have attacked, no one on the island had ever experience the beast first hand(T-W). All in all I think our group was able to get through this lit. circles assignment and get something out of it.

New Essential Questions Decisions

Essential Questions

How do we analyze poems to understand the author's purpose?

How do one’s decisions affect them and those around them?

What is a decision?

Are all decisions the same?

How does the environment affect one’s decision?

How do one’s decisions impact others?

What factors determine one’s choices and decisions?

How does our context impact the choices we have or the choices we make?

Are decisions part of human nature?

How are decisions represented?

What are the consequences of decisions?

How does the context impact the choices we have on the choices we make?

2-2 what makes a good poem

Has a message
Has a structure
Open to interpretation
Has emotion
Has a focus
View of world
Layers
Theme
Connections
Rhymes sometimes
Flows together
Use of symbols
Imagery
It has a voice
It has a moral
It has a relatable message
Rhythm
Evokes an emotion in you
Use of poetic devices
Can have a conflict
Has a tone
Sets a mood