All-star Argument Essays!

Check these out and use them as mentors the next time you're assigned an Argument Essay!

Iris's essay!
http://irisela.blogspot.com/2014/11/ya-fiction-argument-essay.html

Zoe's essay!
http://inkheart12.blogspot.com/2014/11/argument-essay-should-ya-fiction-be.html

Tess's essay!
http://tessellenbookblog.blogspot.com/2014/11/should-access-to-ya-books-be-limted.html

Rafaella's essay!
http://rafaellasblog22.blogspot.com/2014/11/banning-ya-books-argument-essay.html

Lucas's essay!
http://booknasticsinc.blogspot.com/2014/11/should-access-to-ya-books-be-limited.html

Rose's essay!
http://aroseanothername.blogspot.com/2014/11/argument-essay-should-ya-books-be.html

Henry's essay!
http://groovyela.blogspot.com/2014/11/reading-miracle-life-of-edgar-mint.html


MORE TO COME AS I KEEP READING!!!

Due Dates for the Year

Stellar Synthesis Pages to Inspire Your Work!

Here are some of the stellar synthesis pages students have created in the past!

 

Interactive Banned Bookshelf from the ACLU

This is interesting!  If you hover over or click on a book, an explanation of where and why the book was challenged comes up!

https://www.aclu.org/free-speech/infographic-banned-books-week

It's Banned Books Week!

The ALA celebrates literacy every year during Banned Books Week.  We can read some of the articles associated with this week to refine our personal opinions on banning/challenging/limiting access to texts.  Here's an article from today's Time Magazine to get you started!

http://time.com/3418361/banned-books-week/

ELA Blog Directions, Guidelines, & Set Up

We will be creating an online community of readers, writers, and thinkers using blogs this year.  It is an incredible opportunity to share your work with a REAL audience, rather than have your thoughts live just in your notebook.  We will be doing plenty of work together on how to make this way of reading response work for you.  For now, I want you to follow the directions below to set up your blog and then try out writing a reading response. Google requires that you are 13 years old or have your parent/guardian's permission to have an account, so please talk to your family about it when you give them the permission slip.

By Thursday, September 11th: Create your blog, turn in the permission slip and URL form

By Monday, September 15th:  Your first post is due, which will be a reading response based on a summer reading book.  Please write your response based on what you know about reading response from last year. Use this as an opportunity to show me what you now about how to write a response to a book. 

I am available during zero period Wednesday, Thursday, and Monday and am more than happy to set up a time to help you if you are having trouble.  Please try not to wait until the last minute to set this up!

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, using some combination of your first and last name if possible.    Don’t forget your password! Write your address and password in a safe place.  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/.)
4. Follow the directions to pick a template, and your blog is ready to go!  Feel free to adjust the design if you want.

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 “settings” 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. On the left, under “settings”, now 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 (REQUIRED):  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

Getting Philosophical. . .

For your last real blog post (except for a final reflection in June) during our philosophy unit, it would be great if you could really start trying to make your reading matter to your thinking.  Create a synthesis page and write a blog post about your book club book - this will give your philoso-phamily much more to talk about when you meet about your book!

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; try to answer your own questions!!

Here's a great post where Daniel starts to think about choices in the context of war: http://arcofthenoid.blogspot.com/2012/05/philosophy-and-war.html

Life, love, and happiness according to Francesca: http://rottinghyacinths.blogspot.com/2012/05/value-of-life-in-if-i-stay.html

Elsa starts to get into some really interesting ideas about the right way to parent and the nature of knowledge/ignorance.  To make this more philosophical, she could add some of her *own* thinking on these really important issues!
http://elsa5.blogspot.com/2012/05/room-reoccurring-things-in-room.html

New York Times New York City Haiku Contest!

Check it out!  Deadline is April 5!

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/a-call-for-haiku-about-new-york-city/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

All-Star Non-Fiction Critical Analyses

Jose is inspired by Malala: http://josebooksforschool.blogspot.com/2013/12/non-fiction.html

Su writes with finesse about an article about Islamophobia: http://booklandexpress.blogspot.com/2013/12/since-911-us-policy-enforces.html

Lillian dissects a writer's effectiveness on an issue she feels strongly about: http://eternitylilli.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-article-ban-on-gay-marriage-denies.html

Tomas goes above and beyond in this post, building and elaborating upon the critical analysis structure to create a lengthier and more detailed analysis of an Upfront article about e-cigarettes: http://stairwaytoheaven9999.blogspot.com/2013/12/critical-analysis-on-smoke-signals.html

Sophie learns about a different side of living in New York City from a popular NYT article about a homeless girl: http://sophieandhercats.blogspot.com/2013/12/invisible-child-non-fiction-critical.html

PICTURE BOOK DUE DATE POSTPONED

Because of my absence and the snow day, I am pushing back the due date of the picture book to THURSDAY, January 9.  Please spread the word if you see this post!