08/30/2007

Today we learned a little bit about the Rarschach (raw shock) test, also known as the inkblot test. Everyone made their own inkblot using finger paints. Some of them turned out awesome. .. some of them not so awesome, but it was fun. We'll see Rorschach test in use in the book that we started reading today, Flowers for Algernon. We only got about 10 pages in, but already I'm loving this book.

We also completed the grammar section on "Common and Proper" nouns and turned in a worksheet.

Remember, your spiral notebook and syllabus are due tomorrow for full points.

08/29/2007

Isn't "Harrison Bergernon" a great story to start out with? Vonegut (the guy who wrote the story) is a master of political satire. I absolutely love his book Sirens of Titan, but Slaughterhouse Five is also good and is his best known work.

Today we talked about the future and what it might bring in the next ten years. We talked about awesome innovations and crazy laws that might come to pass. We talked a little bit about plot and then completed a plot worksheet for "Harrison Bergernon," on which we discussed exposition, rising action, climax, and falling action. This assignment should have been completed in class and turned in.

Tomorrow we are going to do some finger painting as an introduction to the novel Flowers for Algernon. I think it's going to be awesome!

08/28/2007

The second day of school and whew, I'm tired! I hope everyone's having as much fun as I am.

Here's the recap for the day:
We spent some more time covering rules and procedures to help the class move smoothly. If you have any questions about anything, please ask me. Remember, you will receive extra credit for any unused hall passes turned in at the end of the semester and/or if your parent/guardian joins you in class one day!
We learned about nouns and completed a grammar worksheet on nouns. If you didn't get this worksheet, you'll need to talk to me about it. I can't post worksheets online yet, but hopefully I will soon.
We also had a discussion about "plot," but there were no assignments.

08/27/2007

Howdy, howdy, howdy, and welcome to the blog! I hope you will take a minute to acquaint yourself with the blog and realize what a useful tool it will be this year.

The right column will contain daily (or nearly daily) updates of what is going on in our class. It will let you know what we have been talking about, what we have been reading, what we have been doing, and what assignments will be due. You are welcome and encouraged to make comments or ask questions on the daily posts simply by clicking on the word "comments" below the post.

The right hand column will contain a list of past posts, instructor bio (that's me!), and (most importantly) a list of assignments. By clicking on each individual assignment you can see a copy of the assignment, due date, and points possible. Students can use this feature to find any assignments they have missed while absent (or sleeping) and parents can see exactly what assignments their students should be working on.

Please email, call, or post on the blog any questions or suggestions that you might have. We will continue to adapt and improve the blog throughout the year to make in more useful to us.

Thanks for visiting, and here's to a great year!
Mr. S