How I Will Assess Your Blogs

Your blog will be worth ten percent of your quarter grade.  The categories in which I will assess your blog are:

1) Completion of assignments - Both posts and comments are completed by each Friday on which we have school.
2) Effort - Writing and creative and thought-provoking; writer put a lot of effort into the assignments.
3) Organization - Writing is organized; ideas are fully developed with a variety of details
4) Mechanics - Correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation are used.  Vocabulary is sophisticated.

Email me with any questions!

What should I write about???

We've spent some time warming up our blogs by posting about our rereading books, and now it's time to take the next step and start writing about independent reading.

Always make sure your blog post has a clear focus as well as supporting ideas.  Try to include evidence and examples from the text itself, as well as your own ideas about the book.

We've already discussed a lot of things you could write about if you aren't sure.  Here are some ideas:


1.   In life, conflict (and how it is dealt with) causes change in a person (for better or worse). Reading and studying characters and their conflicts helps us understand humanity on the whole.  

2. Protagonist-the main character in a literary work (not necessarily good or bad, which means you have to be a careful reader!)

3. Antagonist-the person or forces who oppose or contend with the protagonist (sometimes the antagonist can be like an inner voice or an unseen force…be a careful reader!)

.     4. Unpacking a “loaded sentence” - such as an "author's intrusion".

5. Noticing your protagonist’s archetypal journey: (task, quest, loss of innocence) interpret your protagonist’s emotional journey: 

• what positive people/events impacted him/her most?

• what negative people/events impacted him/her most?

• how is your character different now? What did he/she learn? What did the journey accomplish?

• extend your ideas to LIFE and humanity: what does this journey teach you about living in the world?

6. Noticing character patterns-archetypes

• The hero-displays courage, self sacrifice and is not perfect
•  The mentor-assists/guides the protagonist, symbolizing wisdom, knowledge, experience  
• The shadow-creates tension in story , represents the darker side of human nature  
• The shapeshifter-a character who keeps changing sides; can’t make up mind; represents uncertainty.

7. Theme: the statement about life that an author wants to share with the reader.  What does the author want us to think, feel, or know?

8.  Cross-book inquiry: Make connections between your book and another you’ve read

      9. Setting-what aspects of the setting are significant and symbolic?

      10. At the end of a book, you could approach your blog post like an appreciation: what did you appreciate in your book? What ideas are rolling around your mind now that you have finished the book?

What makes a good, thoughtful blog comment?

So now that we've all started posting about our reading, it's time to begin interacting with each other by responding to each other's blog posts.

By going through The Starry Void, you can read your classmates' (as well as my other two classes') blogs listed in the blogrolls on the right.  Start perusing their blog posts, and find some that are interesting to you.  (You can even start 'following' your favorites on your own blog!)

You are required to comment on the blog posts of 803, 808, or 812.  I will be checking these responses.

A good, thoughtful blog comment might:
* praise interesting ideas in the original post
* ask for clarification of any unclear parts of the original post
* add the responder's own thoughts to original ideas to build strength
* contradict or challenge (respectfully!) by explaining another aspect or asking a question to further dialogue
* contain connections (to the self, the world, another text, or another part of the same text) to deepen thinking about the post

***  AND good, thoughtful blog responses always
* are respectful and coherent
* use standard vocab, spelling, and grammar (so that everyone can understand)
* show consideration of the original blogger's work and thought

When someone comments on your blog post, it's a great opportunity for a dialogue.  Answer their questions or respond to their ideas.  Turn it into a really deep "conversation"!  

Here are a few links to comments from last week that pushes the bloggers to think more deeply about their original posts:

Alex's response to Elsa's post  is thoughtful and elaborated.  Elsa should definitely write back!
I really like how Hou In responds to Jackie's post, too!  Jackie should also write back!

Blog Assignment #2 - due Friday, October 7

For your second blog post, you will look over the three notebook entries you wrote this week in response to your Rereading Guiding Questions (the questions written specifically for your book.)

Choose the entry that is the best (the most substantial ideas, the deepest thinking, the most elaborated) and revise it further to create a thoughtful and interesting blog post about your rereading book.

Also, check out these great posts from last week to get an idea of the length and thoughtfulness I'm looking for in your posts:

Rachel's post about The Phantom Tollbooth is so well-organized!  Look how well she uses paragraphs to separate her ideas clearly for her readers.

Jailyn finds some surprises in her book as she considers archetypes in Bridge to Terabithia.

How this thing will work. . . :)

Blog Expectations:
You will have one thoughtful response per week. 

This is also how I will hold you accountable for your reading life.  For instance, you may post about a book a few times if it takes you two weeks (or longer, if the book is especially challenging or long).  Your first blog post might be about a small idea or theory you are formulating about the book, or a line that caught your attention.  Then your second week post will be about a bigger idea that you noticed throughout the book. Or, any combination.

Blog posts should be thoughtful and based on your ideas.  They should not just be retellings of the book.  If you write a post that's a retelling, I will ask you to re-do the post.

Are there other requirements?

You will also be required to respond to at least one blog post a week.  Do not post anything that is inappropriate or mean in any way.

We will occasionally take a break from posting online to work on our writing craft by printing out and revising one of our favorite posts.

Other news...

Keep an eye out for "All-star Mentors" (posts that I thought were particularly well-written and thought-provoking)!

If you need time to work on a computer, come in at 8 a.m. to my room, the library, or the computer lab.

Other things to think about:

Grammar

One of the biggest differences between writing that stays in your notebook and writing that gets published online is that the writing you post on your blog should use correct conventions and mechanics all the time.  When you are emailing or texting your friends, that is a different kind of writing, and a lack of conventions (following grammar rules) may be appropriate.  Our blogs, though, are a way of practicing writing in an academic setting.  Please practice using academic writing on your blogs.   I'll be looking for the following conventions that you should already be familiar with on your blog:

• Underline (or italicize) and capitalize the title of your book
• Use purposeful paragraphs when you switch to a new topic or idea
• Capitalization in general: you know what gets capitalized! No need for writing in all caps - ever!
• Spell words correctly - no text-spelling allowed!!  (i.e.  it's not "u".  it's "you".)

Writing for an Audience

Your thoughts are no longer living in your notebook, and your peers will be reading your thoughts.  That means that you need to write with your audience in mind.  It is important to think about the following: 

• Give your reader a bit of context so that he or she can understand what you are writing about. Context can be attained in 1-2 sentences and includes the title of the book plus a brief introduction to the character, setting and conflict. For example, "I have been reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, set in a dystopian, futuristic society that forces 12 children to participate in an Olympic-style game, only it is to the death.  The reader is allowed inside the mind of Katniss, the main character, as she fights her way through the games."
• Try to "bookend" your post thoughtfully: use a lead to begin and try to leave your reader thinking at the end. 
• As a courtesy, if you are writing about the end of a book, put a "spoiler alert" in the post so that anyone who hasn't read the book doesn't see what happened in the end, just in case they want to read the book.  It is very possible to write a reading response thoughtfully without giving away the entire plot. 

Have fun!!!

All-Star Blog Posts from last year!

Check out a few of these blog posts about Charlotte's Web from last year to read some truly great writing!

http://thesugarrushblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/death-what-we-must-accept.html

http://einhornunicorn.blogspot.com/2010/09/connecting-annotations-response.html

http://zayrussell.blogspot.com/2010/09/archetypesroles-and-journeys.html

How to Get Started!

How To Set Up A Blog

URL/permission slip due on: Monday, September 10

You will be setting up your blog and submitting your URL.  Then you will write your first post, which will be a reading response based on a summer reading book that will be due on Friday, September 14.

How do I start a web log?
1. Go to www.blogger.com and click on the “Create a Blog” button.
2. Blogger is a part of Gmail and you will need a Gmail account if you don’t already have one. If you already have a Gmail email address, simply type it in. If you don’t, you can create one. Don’t forget your password! You can now also use this account for email, or use it just for your blogger account.
3. Follow the directions to name your blog and create its URL. The name and URL do not necessarily have to match. (For example, Ms. Robbins's blog is called “Books Upon Books,” but that URL was already taken, so her URL is http://www.room116ela.blogspot.com/.  Mine happens to match - my blog is The Starry Void, an allusion to one of my favorite Pablo Neruda poems, and my blog is http://www.thestarryvoid.blogspot.com/.) Don't choose a URL name that's too wacky to remember!
4. Follow the directions to pick a template, and your blog is ready to go!

Privacy Settings and Options

1. It is important to first adjust the privacy settings.  Click on the blogger icon and then your blog’s name or just go to the “Design” link at the top right hand corner of your blog’s page. You will see a list come up on the side.  Click on “basic” to get to the privacy settings and click on “edit.” Answer “no” to both questions so that it won’t come up in a search.  Click on the “save changes” button.

2. Go down to blog readers and click on “edit.” If you want to limit who is able to read your blog, add those email addresses here. If you are uncomfortable for any with having your blog open to everyone, you can choose who your readers will be and enter them in this section.  Those users will have to go to your blog, request permission to see it and then be verified by you.

3. Click on “posts and comments.” Change it to “user with google account.”

 

Adding Gadgets

Click on “design” at the top right hand corner again.  Click on “layout” on the left hand side.  Click on “add gadget”.  When you find one you want, click on the “+” sign.  Be sure to save changes! As you customize your blogs, feel free to utilize all the tools available to you on blogger. The following are required:  

1. Labels: Label each post according to your focus (for example, “character change” or “theme”).  You can also label posts according to topic (“friendship” or “sports”) or title (“Hunger Games”).  

2. Blogroll: you can create a list of blogs you are reading on the sidebar. Everyone will be responsible for commenting on a handful of other blogs, so this is a great place to put the blogs you plan on keeping up with.  Each time an author posts something new, it automatically moves that blog to the top of your list. You can add in the blogs once I add them to our home base blog, thestarryvoid.blogspot.com. 

3. List: Please make an online list and call it  “Finished Book List.” As you finish a book, add it here. 

Additional Guidelines
1. This blog is a part of a school project. Therefore, all content on your blog must be related to your reading and writing life in some way. Please do not use this blog as an online journal.
2. My expectation is that we are a community of readers and writers. I will be monitoring all blogs and trusting that your words that appear online will come from a place of respect for your fellow classmates as well with a tone that is appropriate for school.
3. For my own sanity, do not add any kind of sound gadgets to your blog.  Also, please type in readable colors (no pink or yellow) and fonts (avoid ones that are cursive or all caps, especially). 

Thanks!  Let's get this blogging started!
 
-Ms. Rear

LAST POST OF THE YEAR!!! (Due Friday, June 17!)

For your past post of the year, I want you to think and write about your experience blogging about reading this year and about what it means to have an 'online identity'.


Answer some or all of the following questions. . .


* What did you learn about yourself as a reader from creating and keeping up with your blog?
* In what ways did you benefit from the experience?
* Is writing online different than in a notebook?  In what ways?
* In what ways can writing online be liberating?  Limiting?
* Do you think that people are more real online or do we create online personalities that project the best of ourselves? Or something else?
* Do you think that teenagers abuse the freedom that being online gives you on sites like facebook? Do people type things they would never say to a person's face? Do you think this is a good or bad thing? Why?
* Can you imagine yourself keeping up this blog or creating another one?  What would it be about?  What's your opinion of blogs in general and why?  

Thanks for all your hard work this year, and thanks for helping me learn about the world of blogging with students, too!  (This was a first time for me, and I'm totally thrilled with how it turned out!)

No post due tomorrow!

In case you were wondering. . .

We'll spend some time wrapping up our blogs next week - but of course you can keep yours going after graduation!  :)

Getting Philosophical. . .

Over the last few weeks of school (middle school is almost over!) and during our philosophy unit, it would be great if you could really start trying to make your reading matter to your thinking.

I want to read blog posts that move from the book to larger philosophical questions (ones that would work for a Socrates Cafe, for example).  How can you connect what you're wondering about in your book to what you're wondering about in the world?

Read these - they're all pretty good places to start - although all of them could have delved deeper into the questions they're asking; the philoso-raptor wants to see you trying to answer your own questions!!


Ames considers the nature of war:
http://elwriter.blogspot.com/2011/05/finally-i-am-on-lastum-oh-book.html

Yacine questions the origins of evil:
http://theunicornshorn.blogspot.com/2011/05/sold.html

Greg thinks about the place of faith in philosophy, inspired by a single phrase in his reading:
http://gilldon.blogspot.com/2011/05/v-for-vendetta-la-voie-la-verite-et-la.html

Revising a past post: first post for fourth quarter!

Here's the deal:

You will choose a partner with whom to work.  Your partner will then be responsible for:
1) Choosing an old post of yours that s/he thinks could be revised into an "all-star" blog post!
2) Responding *on that old post* to give you five ideas about improving the post.  (Partners, look at old all-star mentors, blog posts others have complimented, or my guidelines to help you give suggestions.)
3) Reading your post again next Friday (after you publish your revised blog post) and commenting again on it to give feedback about whether your revisions were successful.

You will be responsible for:
1) Doing the same for your partner
2) Revising your blog post according to his/her suggestions and your own thoughts on it
3) Publishing a revised version of your post including a link to the original

Think about:
* Elaborating
* Organizing more effectively (think paragraphs, topic sentences, etc.)
* Providing more evidence from the text
* Going deeper and taking risks with ideas, and
* Inviting more response by posing questions to your readers

Do good work!!!

BLOG REVIEWS - due Friday, Feb 18. (AKA last post for February!!)

Spend the next week reading as many people's blog posts as you can.  You can also read independent reading posts from Ms. Robbins's or Ms. Galang's classes.  Find a blog post that you think is truly amazing, and write an elaborated response to it that explains to your readers why you think it's so great.

You should include a link to the post you're writing about - you can do this by copying the link and then clicking on the "Link" tab above the text box while you are writing your post and pasting it in to the "Edit Link" box that pops up.

Your post should be a few paragraphs long, highlighting aspects of the writer's post you found particularly interesting.  Here are some suggestions:

* Have you read the book, too?  Talk about what you thought and if you agree or disagree with the writer.

* Does the post make you want to read the book?  Why or why not?

* Did the post ask some philosophical questions about human nature or the world?  What are your thoughts on those issues?

* Did the post make you think about anything else?  Another book?  A movie?  The world?  Your own life?  Write about that!

* Have you read any other posts by this writer?  How does this one stand out?

* Do you like the way the post is written?  Is it engaging?  Why?  What craft moves could you emulate in your own blog posts?

February All-Star Blog Posts!

This month, I decided to zoom in on posts that zoom in.  The following posts take one small aspect of the book and elaborate on it - whether it's one character, one idea, one setting, one event, etc.

Here, Liza expands upon her opinion of one character in The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway:
http://lizaisawesome.blogspot.com/2011/02/does-sun-also-rise-i-think-so.html

Clara is asking some very interesting questions about the representations of women in literature (and in the world) sparked by her thinking about the female detective in her book:
http://claratheawesome.blogspot.com/2011/02/hardball-by-sara-paretsky-can-girl-be.html

Lila thinks about the nature of truth and lies - a post inspired by a book she claims 'has no plot' but made her think deeply nonetheless!
http://silverbonesandgoldenstars.blogspot.com/2011/01/we-are-broken-lies-lies-and-more-lies.html

One relationship in the book Graham is reading makes him think about human nature and the way our experiences shape us:
http://guttentagfurlein.blogspot.com/2011/02/hunted-past-reason.html

How I will be assessing your blogs

Your blog will be worth ten percent of your quarter grade.  The categories in which I will assess your blog are:

1) Completion of assignments - Both posts and comments are completed by each Friday on which we have school.
2) Effort - Writing and creative and thought-provoking; writer put a lot of effort into the assignments.
3) Organization - Writing is organized; ideas are fully developed with a variety of details
4) Mechanics - Correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation are used.  Vocabulary is sophisticated.

Email me with any questions! 

January All-Star Mentors: Insightful Posts about Independent Reading

Check out Louis's post about Ellen Hopkins's Identical.  What's great is how he analyzes the structure of the book as well as its themes.  Warning!!  SPOILER ALERT!!
http://louistolouis.blogspot.com/2010/12/reading-response-for-identical.html

Noemi has some very interesting revelations about justice in her post about the book 16 1/2 on the Block (who's the author, Noemi??):
http://cutienay714.blogspot.com/2011/01/16-12-on-block.html

In Miranda's all-star post about Because I am Furniture, by Thalia Chaltas, she asks some really thought-provoking philosophical questions, although here, too, are some SPOILERS!  This is a great example of a post that invites response:
http://cottoncandymush.blogspot.com/2011/01/because-i-am-furniture-victim-or.html