Post 6: Sonnet Parody

Recalling the notes from our introduction to Comedy, a parody is a style of comedy that mocks a subject through imitation. A good example would be Weird Al Yankovic's song 'Smells Like Nirvana,' which is a parody of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit.' In this case, the song by Weird Al imitates the instruments and lyrics of Nirvana's original to a comedic effect.

For this week's blog, you will be posting a parody of Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 18'

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate;

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date;

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Your sonnet must be in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line) and 14 lines long (3 quatrains and a couplet) with the following rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. 

Here is an example:

A Sonnet for Sherbert

Shall I compare thee to a chocolate cake?
Thou art more fruity and more exotic.
Good cake is often difficult to make
Especially for me, I'm moronic...
Sometime I will find a good recipe
And make the best cake in the whole wide world,
But until then we'll have to wait and see
And to sherbert land I will be hurled.
But my dreams of chocolate will never fade
With sherbert ready in my freezer,
It is easier to get delayed
If only making cake were easier!
So long as I continue on the path
I'll eat sherbert, and await chocolate's wrath.


Sonnets are due by 3pm, Friday 12/14.

Post 5: Fun with the News

Journalism is a style of writing used to report news and current events.  The basics of good journalism come down to grabbing the readers’ attention,  being descriptive, and answering the “big” questions that everyone wants to know, the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, AND HOW of an event. 

For this week’s blog you are going to write a news story parody by describing a comedic event you witnessed or heard about over Thanksgiving break. Using a journalistic style, report the story as if it is a news item (i.e. The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, etc.). That means, you must answer the big questions above to tell your readers what happened.  You also have to write it in a way that will capture our attention; perhaps using a big headline or an interesting first line/lead.

Posts are to be 250-400 words and are due Friday, 11/30 by 3pm. 

Post 4: Food!

For our fourth blog post, we will be discussing one of my favorite subjects of all time: FOOD! With Thanksgiving approaching, now is a good time to reflect on the food that makes us feel good. What type of food do you like the most and why? Do you like homemade food, food from a certain restaurant, or fast food? How do you make your favorite dish? Share a recipe if you can.

Blog Posts are to be 200-300 words. Due Friday, 11/16 by 3pm.

Post 3: Critical Lens on Hate

"We hate some persons because we do not know them; and will not know them because we hate them."  ~Charles Caleb Colton

1. In your own words, explain what the quote means.

2. Explain whether or not you agree or disagree with the quote.

3. Support your opinion by describing certain characters, conflicts, themes, or other elements from  William Golding's Lord of the Flies and Arthur C. Clarke's 'Hate'.

4. Include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Your responses should be three-to-five paragraphs, at least 300 words, and are due at 3pm, Friday, 10/26/12.

Blog 2: Boys vs. Girls

 Hey Gang!

For your blog this week, I'd like you to consider how life on the island would have been different if the children who were refugees there had been girls rather than boys.  Please think about their personal interactions, their systems of leadership, food gathering, obtaining shelter, etc. Be appropriate!

Please write at least 200-300 words.  Remember that MS Word has a word count feature as well as spell check and grammar check.  Please skip a line between each paragraph and be sure to sign each post.

Posts are due by 3pm Friday, 10/5/12. Good Luck!

Mr. T

Well, I must say, if I were to be stranded on an island it'd be hard to chose what I could bring with me and what I would need to survive this possibly eternal adventure. Three things I would want to have, though, would be my cousin and best friend Alexis, a sword, and a few different outfits.

Being stranded on an island without food that is already prepared and on the table, like at home, would obviously be stressful. So in order to survive this adventure I would need to bring my best friend, Alexis. She would help to keep me sane, and we'd have a great time on the island besides the fact that we'd be stranded until possibly our death.

Another thing I would want to bring would be a sword. I would use the sword to hunt animals, and kill them. I could also use it to cut things like branches and such. This would obviously have to be a very sharp sword in order to cut thick branches, though.

The last thing that I would like to bring would be a few pairs of clothes. I know it sounds unnecessary considering the fact that no one else would be on the island to see me, and I could choose to bring other more important things, but I hate feeling dirty. So in order to also keep me sane, I'd need a few change of clothes. This is so I could wear different clothes every day until I'm down to my last outfit, then on that day I could wash all my clothes that were dirty and have time for them to dry before the next day.

I'm sure that I'd need a lot more things to survive on an island for more than a week, but just for the point of it, these three things are some of my top priorities to survive.

If I was stuck on an island and only had three items I would want to have a large knife, loads of duck tape, and a magnifying glass. I would want the knife to make spears and traps to catch my food. I could kill people if they attack me or a wild animal does. I would use it to help build my shelter as well. I would use the magnifying glass to make a fire to keep me warm and cook my food on. I would need it to make a signal fire as well. I would use the duck tape to put my traps together, help build a shelter, make a hammock, and use it for a help sign so that people sailing or flying by will see it and rescue me. I would also use it to make a water pouch to keep fresh water in. I would also need it to taping animals or people up so they can't get me. I would use the ducktape and knife to make a boat and sail somewhere else. I'd use the knife and some ducktape to make a fishing pole for when I'm in the boat. I would also use my materials to make a top over the boat invade it rains.

Blog 1: Deserted Island

Imagine that you are stuck on a deserted island, much like the characters in William Golding's Lord of the Flies. What three things do you wish you would have with you in this situation? Explain what three things would be most important to you and why they are important. For example, is there a certain item that you would want that would help ensure survival, or is there anything else you can think of that would help make life on a deserted island a little more comfortable/enjoyable?

Be creative in your responses, and of course, be sure to follow the rules of standard written English. Your responses must be at least 200 words. This post will be due Friday, 9/21, by 3PM.

Welcome Sophomores!

 

Welcome to English 10 Blogging Project

Mr. Tombasco and I will continue using blogger.com for our classroom blogs; this is the same site you will use next year in English 11.  As this is the third year of our blogging project, many of you should have gmail accounts already established.  If not, please follow the instructions below on how to create one. 

Writing for our blog requires you to follow the same guidelines used in any other formal classroom writing.  You will be graded on the content, form, spelling, and mechanics of your writing; please be aware of the following guidelines and refer to your “Taboo List” if you have questions. The easiest way to obtain a good grade is to write your blog response in MS Word, use the spell check and word count functions and then copy and paste your response in the comment section of the blog.  We will help you get started.

1. Only post things that you would want everyone (in school, at home, etc.) to see.
2. Do not share personal information that would let someone outside of school find you. While this is a moderated and restricted blog, we want to ensure that you remain safe.
3. Think before you post; what could be the consequences of your post?
4. Know who you're communicating with; who will be reading this and how will they interpret what you've written?
5. Anytime you use information, media, photos, etc. from another site, be sure to properly cite the creator of the original work.
6. Use appropriate language and spelling. YOU GUYS ALL KNOW IT MAKES ME CRAZY TO SEE THINGS LIKE "HOW R U?" Treat every posting as if it will be graded for spelling and grammar.
7. Only post information you know is true; NO GOSSIP!


Responding to others' blogs:
1. Be constructive not destructive. WE'RE BIG ON RESPECT IN HERE!
2. Make sure your response is always related to the blog you're commenting on.
3. Include, when you can, a personal comment or suggestion that will allow others to join a “conversation”.  It’s great when many members of the class begin to write to each other in the blog.

4. A simple, “Good job!” is not enough to receive a grade for your peer response.  Generally we will post suggestions for response in the posting of the topic; please be aware of these to receive the maximum grade.

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A GOOGLE (GMAIL) ACCOUNT:
1. Go to google.com
2. Click on the gmail link.
3. Click on Create an Account
4. Go through the steps to create an account. You will need to come up with a user name and password and provide them with an alternate email address too. We will not have access to your passwords or your gmail accounts; only to the content you post on the blog.

WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR GMAIL ACCOUNT:

 1.Please send me an email (4162.anita@gmail.com) and I will invite you to join the blog.
 2. Respond to the first assignment posted on the blog.  You respond to the blog by hitting the “comment” button at the end of the assignment.  Please do not create a new comment; that messes things up for everyone and will delay your grade.  Please come talk with either Mr. T. or me if you have any questions.
We look forward to reading you online!
Ms. Mott and Mr. Tombasco