Responding to "Poison Apples"

Write about something that surprised you, angered you, delighted you, or evoked any strong reaction when reading the editorial, “Poison Apples.” Answer in a paragraph of between 150 and 200 words. Bring a copy, word processed and double spaced, to class on Wednesday, March 25.

Personal Reaction to Class Activity and William Zinsser's "Writing Good English"

What is your personal reaction to what you learned about writing from your peers and from William Zinsser? Did anything surprise or puzzle you? Do you strongly agree or disagree with any suggestion? Explain why. Answer in a paragraph. Write no fewer than 150 words and no more than 200. You may also mention any differences or similarities to you or your group's opinions on Friday.

Due in time for Wednesday's class. Bring a copy, word processed and double spaced, please.

Here I Am

Write your version of "Here I Am" here as a comment to this post. Remember to follow the format of my examples exactly (use the same punctuation and word forms etc.).

I will post my original, written in September of 2009. It was written for a class introduction exercise on this blog for English 12 students.

NOTE: Be sure to post your "Here I Am" here as a comment and not to "post" to the blog.

Remember to bring a copy on paper to class for your performance. Good luck!

Welcome Everyone! A Word About Names

Nice to see many of you have joined the blog successfully! Would you please go in to your blogger home page (the one you see when you log in) and add your real name (if your name in class is different) and/or add a name for those who appear as "unknown" at the moment. Ask Renuka in class this week if you aren't sure how to proceed.

Thanks and see you on the 25th of February. I will put up a "Here I Am" post here on Friday evening next week.

Something New; Something Memorable

Write two paragraphs, one for each topic, one for "something new" and one for "something memorable." You may mention multiple examples or expand on one example. Your paragraphs should be a minimum of 150 words and maximum of 200 words for each topic.

Be specific and detailed in your writing. Use your best sentences and proofread carefully. Work is due before class time on Wednesday, January 21. Post here and bring a copy, properly formatted, to class to hand in that day. Thank you everyone.

My comments will follow yours and will be posted before the end of next week.

Writing a List Poem Based on "A Note"

Beginning with "Life is the only way," write your own list poem using "A Note" as a model. Your poem must use the same (with minor variations) number of words and structure as Szymborska's. Use what you learned this week to compose a stronger poem.

Try to find a rhythm to the words you choose (note the number of syllables as well as the number of words). Be careful to punctuate exactly the same way and be aware of how the poet has used punctuation to divide and compare ideas. Post a copy of your poem to the blog before coming to Wednesday's class.

Be prepared to do a recital of your poem (please practice ahead of time!) and speak for one to two minutes on the process you followed and any difficulties you experienced.  Marks will be assigned as follows: quality of poem—50%; recital—25%; remarks on process—25%.

NOTE: Check your formatting carefully after copy and pasting poem. You'll need to add spacing. Try to have your poem look exactly the same as the original handout if you can!

My Experience with Poetry

Write a 50-word paragraph that refers to your personal experiences with poetry. The experiences do not have to be at school, although they may be if you wish. Be specific please. Post your work and remember to bring your printed work to class along with a printed copy of your chosen poem.

To help you find a poem, here are three online sources of quality poetry. You must find a poem from one of these three sources. Remember that you will need to defend the poem's quality in group work that day, so be sure to choose well.

Poems at Slate.com (each poem is read by the poet; a good way to decide if you like the way it sounds)

Canadian Poetry Online (from the University of Toronto library; a list of poets that links to poems from each one)

Poetry Daily Archive (alphabetical archive of poems by title; here you can look for an interesting title and see if you can find a poem you like)

Homework for the story, "The Woman of the House"

Using the questions found on the reverse of today's worksheet or the “Guide to Literary Terms,” (click for more complete information, including theme and point of view; Word document) write a paragraph answer based on the page number given to you at class on Friday.

You may comment on more than one example (e.g. for setting you could refer to both the physical setting and the social environment) that occurs on those pages.

Remember to have one overall topic that is more general than your content so we know how you plan to answer. Write about 200 words in a single paragraph. Quote at least twice and work to integrate your quotations into your own sentences. Try to show how your page relates to something that happens either before or after it in the story.

I will post a sample answer here this weekend.