Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Creative Writing Club

Hola mis amigos,

Make Creative Writing Club part of your New Year's Resolution! I know you've got poems and stories in your heads and in your journals. It is time to pull them out. Invite yourself to honor your creative spirit and join us every Thursday in 2014 for Creative Writing Club, after school, room #201.

WRITE ON!






Monday, December 16, 2013

Aphorisms from Poor Richard's Almanack



Friends of Honors English 10, we've been studying Benjamin Franklin and the Age of Reason as catalysts of the American Revolution. Franklin's aphorisms published in Poor Richard's Almanack voiced some of these stirrings. Enjoy!

    There are no gains without pains.

     Speak little, do much.

     If you would be loved, love and be loveable.


    Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. 
    Who is powerful? He that governs his passions. 
    Who is rich? He that is content. 
    Who is that? Nobody.

    At the working man’s house hunger looks in but dares not enter.

    Industry pays debts while despair increases them.

    Diligence is the mother of good luck.

    God gives all things to industry.

    Plough deep while sluggards sleep and you shall have corn to sell and to keep.

    Work while it is called today for you know not how much you may be hindered tomorrow.


    One today is worth two tomorrows.

    What maintains one vice would bring up two children.

    Fools make feasts and wise men eat them.

    He that lives upon hope will die fasting.

    He that has a trade has an estate.

    The noblest question in the world is What good may I do in it?

    Sell not virtue to purchase wealth nor liberty to purchase power.

    Nothing brings more pain than too much pleasure; nothing more bondage than too much liberty.

    Wink at small faults; remember thou hast great ones.

    Each year one vicious habit rooted out, In time might make the worst man good throughout.

    Hear no ill of a friend, nor speak any of an enemy.

    Many a man thinks he is buying pleasure when he is really selling himself a slave to it.

    Having been poor is no shame; but being ashamed of it is.



Thursday, December 12, 2013

Nelson Mandela's Favorite Poem



Hey All,

One of my new favorite web sites, Zen Pencils, recently honored Nelson Mandela's legacy with a cartoon depiction of Mandela's favorite poem, "Invictus," by William Ernest Henley. First published in 1875, the poem motivated Mandela and kept his spirits up during his 27 years in prison, and he would often recite it to his fellow inmates. Check it out using the links. 



Monday, December 2, 2013

English 12 - Class Reconvenes on Friday

This is a photo of the Boston Public Library, placed here to get your attention. Enjoy. Be in class on Friday! Check the schedule! Tell your friends!




Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Conferences Reminder

Hey, seniors in English 12 - when you come to your writing conference, bring the book you are reading for your Independent Reading Project.


Friday, November 15, 2013

YA Literature w/Tanvi

Tanvi Rastogi from Ames Public Library visited our sophomore classes today, offering book talks on some hot contemporary Young Adult fiction such as Butter by Erin Lange, Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga.

Thanks, Tanvi!



Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Did Proctor Do the Right Thing?

Heated debates today in Honors English 10! Some say Proctor is justified and becomes a martyr by mounting the gibbet, others argue he abandons his family and dismisses "God's most precious gift."Some of us continue to wrestle with the evidence and revise our analysis. Nicely done, sophomores!





English 12 - Narrative Essays - Chunk it Out

Today and tomorrow, revise and organize the body of your essay. Think in chunks. What are the key moments, the snapshot moments readers need to understand your story, your place, your experience? Alternate between scenes and summary. As you read the autobiography, biography or memoir you selected, notice how the writer moves back and forth between scenes and summary, scenes and analysis. You should too.

Some reminders from class today:




The Shell Game!!





Independent Reading - Every Day

English 12 Students - Remember to log at least 20-minutes each night with your Independent Reading selections. Glancing around the room yesterday, it didn't look like most of us were 1/4 of the way through our books. Take some time today and Thursday to make some progress, get into your story. Remember to flag:

  • moments of struggle
  • models of beautiful writing
  • passages you connect with 



Thursday, November 7, 2013

College Application Essay Bonanza!

Seniors are writing personal narratives this week, responding to prompts from the Common Application or college and scholarship applications of their choice. We are taking inspiration and stealing techniques from the writers we admire.




Book Talk with Tanvi from Ames Public Library

Tanvi Rastogi from the Ames Public Library visited our room last week for a few book talks about memoirs for our Independent Reading / Life Studies Unit. 



Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The Crucible! Live in Room #201

Scenes from Arthur Miller's The Crucible, performed in Room #201:











Scenes from The Crucible

English 10 Honors students have been preparing to perform scenes from The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Here are a few action shots of their read-throughs and rehearsals:








Tuesday, November 5, 2013

English 12 Siddhartha - Illumination of a Theme

Students in English 12 and Advanced English 12 recently completed their Creative Illumination of a Theme from Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. Here are a few highlights!















Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Defintion 1

The driptorch is a tool used to intentionally light fires, a canister filled with gas and diesel fuel. An ignition specialist lights a wick on the end of the spout and drops liquid fire where he wants to see it spread. In prairie restoration, a driptorch is often employed to ignite a prescribed burn and re-create the natural cycles of fire in an ecosystem.  



Definition 2

The Drip Torch is me, I hope. As an English teacher at Ames High School, I aspire to re-ignite the smoldering sense of wonder in my students, to cultivate their inherent desire to learn, to create, to communicate with style and panache. I hope my work offers a light line, destroys dead wood, and primes the prairie for new growth.