14. Make comments on a peer's blog

If your name is not listed under the CLASS BLOGS link list in the right sidebar - please see me with your blog's html address.

Each of you should have four blog posts complete as of today. If you do not have this done, it needs to become a priority over the weekend to get caught up!! ...... GET CAUGHT UP!!

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This week, instead of creating your own blog post, you will be writing comments on some of your peer's blogs.

Everyone will write three-four comments on THREE of their classmates' blogs this week.

(That is a total of 9-12 comments)

WHOSE BLOGS?: This time, select the blogs that belong to the three students whose names are listed ABOVE your name on the CLASS BLOGS list found in the sidebar to your right.

HOW DO I DO THIS?: You need to comment on what the person has said in the blog post you have selected. Read the rules below before proceeding......

Do not be rude.
Do not be sarcastic.
Do not just tell the blogger they are awesome or that it is the best blog post you have ever read. Do not make an inside joke.
Do not insult or otherwise demean the writer.

DO. . .
Genuinely look at what they have said about their books and respond accordingly.

Make an intelligent comment on the book, the topic or the ideas presented by the blogger.

Extend the blogger's thinking by linking their ideas to something else (another text, your personal experiences or the world).

Ask the blogger a question about what they have read or what they have said.

Offer a suggestion for another book they might like based on what they have read and the themes and ideas presented in the blog post.

Give the blogger tips for improvement (using quotations; checking for punctuation, spelling or sentence structure; adding length through further description or support; organization of elements on the blog).

You may also comment on the style or form of the blog itself (the design of it; the visual elements: colour, organization, font style and size; use of gadgets; readability; title and description etc.).

13. BP #8 - The Ordinary World

Using a book you are currently reading (or have just finished), describe the protagonist's ordinary world.

The ordinary world is the place where he or she feels the most comfortable and safe, so your task is to identify your protagonist and then describe the key elements in your protagonist's ordinary world, including people and objects.

Once you have described the protagonist's ordinary world, select an appropriate image to help explain the character's feelings for the people and objects in their ordinary world, and a direct quotation from the book to help your classmates see how the protagonist reacts to his or her ordinary world.

Consider how you might answer the following prompts before you select or provide an explanation for the image and quotation:

What pressures exist for the character in his/her ordinary world?
Who creates conflict or peace here?
Which elements create the most or least comfort?
Why might the character feel reluctant (or excited) to leave this world behind? etc.....

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Make sure you include the SOURCE information for the image (website) using the proper MLA style. Use the two websites in the "Land O' Links" list to help you format this correctly (MLA Guide and Easy Bib).

The proper MLA bibliographic format for citing websites is:

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number. Name of
institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource
creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.

The MLA style Bibliographic entry for the image I selected for this page is:
"Up! House Image" KSL Radio. KSL.com, 29 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

12. BP #7 - Free Choice

We are in between units right now, so this is a perfect opportunity
for you to venture out on your own.

Consider the book you are reading right now as your subject.

What big questions do you have about it? Start your blog post with that question or questions, then proceed to investigate the thinking around it. Try to come up with an integrate question (relies on the text for its answer, but is not a locate or cycle question - the answer is not right there in the text).

Then, when you are done, try to add some visual appeal (pictures, videos etc...) to your post - make sure you document where you have borrowed from (see last week's post for sample source citation).

Have fun!

11. BP #6 - Who is the 'hero' of your book?

A couple of notes on your current blog posts: I have been reading your blogs and have a few suggestions for you as a class:

1. Consider how you organize your blog posts. You can do this through the title you select. Consider numbering each blog post to help your reader better understand what assignment you are writing about. You should also be rephrasing part of the question or assignment as your opening sentence.

2. You must punctuate your book titles properly: ITALICIZE book titles.

3. Identify the novel you are addressing by Title and Author at the start of every blog post. For example: Gravity Journal by Gail Sobat.

4. You must include a citation for your direct quotations. (Author, Title page#).

5. Be sure that you SPELL CHECK before you post your response. (Use the icon in your blog post toolbar : ABC and check mark) Mking splling errers or leevin in typos macks it hrd to reed yer wrk. it also mks it seam asthought u dnt really care abut yer wrk.

6. Some of you are behind. Get caught up! This is your homework for the weekend.

Before you go on to this week's BLOG POST assignment - go back to the previous blog posts you have completed, check each carefully and correct any errors based on the suggestions above, and based upon the suggestions of your peers.

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Last week you looked at character archetypes: Did you discover characters in any of your readings that have presented themselves as one thing and then are revealed as someone else?

They may be a shapeshifter!

Can you spot if a person is not being genuine with you?

Take the SPOT THE FAKE quiz in our 'land of links' section found in the side bar to the right.

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This week on your blog I want you to talk about the hero - or the emerging hero of your book. Use the information given to you in class about the archetypal hero as well as the vocabulary work you have done to help you select other interesting character trait adjectives that you believe are indicators of heroism.

Answer the following question: What qualities do you see in your protagonist that you consider to be (or might become) heroic in nature?

Prove it. Include an excerpt (direct quotation) from the novel to help you support your claims. Be sure to also include a proper citation.

Add a Photo. Add an image from the internet that will help your audience to understand the heroic role this character plays in your novel. This image could be a collage, of a person or a symbol. Add a brief caption explaining why you have selected it. Make sure you include the SOURCE information for the image (website) using a proper MLA style. Use the two websites in the "Land O' Links" list to help you format this correctly (MLA Guide and Easy Bib).
The proper MLA bibliographic format for citing websites is:

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number. Name of
institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource
creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.


There are a couple of samples of images and bibliographic entries below:

"The Kindness of Strangers". The Age - Business, World & Breaking News. Fairfax Media, 19 Feb. 2007. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

This image is of a person feeding another who for whatever reason cannot help himself. I think a hero is someone who recognizes a person in need and extends their hand to help.

Pollack, Cat. "Luv Is A Verb." A Journey of Love. 6 Oct. 2008. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

I believe a hero is someone who is compassionate, and then acts on that compassion to help another in some way.

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10. BP #5 - Character Archetypes

We have just gone over character archetypes in class.

You have spent time highlighting the main ideas in the descriptions, and found examples of the character archetypes in classic and contemporary texts.

This week, I want you to examine the possible character archetypes you might have found in the novels you have been reading this year.

YOUR POST THIS WEEK: Select one of the characters you have met through your reading, and identify the archetype he or she is most like. Describe how he/she exemplifies the archetypal characteristics listed on your handout.

If you find that the character you select shares some qualities of an archetypal character, but generally is very different from the definition you have been given, you may also wish to discuss how the character is atypical of the archetypal characteristics.

PROVE IT: Incorporate at least one well chosen excerpt (direct quote) from the novel to help support the ideas in your comparison. Remember to begin your post by introducing the book source and the author by title and name and properly citing this source following your direct quotation (Author, Title page).

9. Comment on a Peer's blog

If your name is not listed under the CLASS BLOGS link list in the right sidebar - please see me with your blog's html address.

Each of you should have four blog posts complete as of today. If you do not have this done, it needs to become a priority over the weekend to get caught up!! ...... GET CAUGHT UP!!

________________________________________

This week, instead of creating your own blog post, you will be writing comments on some of your peer's blogs.

Everyone will write three-four comments on THREE of their classmates' blogs this week.

WHOSE BLOGS?: Select the blogs that belong to the three students whose names are listed BELOW your name on the CLASS BLOGS list found in the sidebar to your right.

For example, if you were Holly you would write your comments on Isaac, Jason and Jerica's blogs. If you were Isaac you would comment on Jason, Jerica, and Jordan's blogs.

HOW DO I DO THIS?: You need to comment on what the person has said in the blog post you have selected. Read the rules below before proceeding......

Do not be rude.
Do not be sarcastic.
Do not just tell the blogger they are awesome or that it is the best blog post you have ever read. Do not make an inside joke.
Do not insult or otherwise demean the writer.

DO. . .
Genuinely look at what they have said about their books and respond accordingly.

Make an intelligent comment on the book, the topic or the ideas presented by the blogger.

Extend the blogger's thinking by linking their ideas to something else (another text, your personal experiences or the world).

Ask the blogger a question about what they have read or what they have said.

Offer a suggestion for another book they might like based on what they have read and the themes and ideas presented in the blog post.

Give the blogger tips for improvement (using quotations; checking for punctuation, spelling or sentence structure; adding length through further description or support; organization of elements on the blog).

You may also comment on the style or form of the blog itself (the design of it; the visual elements: colour, organization, font style and size; use of gadgets; readability; title and description etc.).

8. BP#4 Main Character

In this week's blog post you will concentrate on the protagonist (main character) in the novel you are currently reading. You will also learn how to embed a video from youtube into your blog post.

Remember to ALWAYS begin your blog post by identifying the text source of your post. You can do this by adding a visual (the book cover: we learned how to do this in the last blog post) or simply writing the book title (in italics) and author's name.

Your assignment for this week:
Write a brief description of the protagonist in your novel. Follow these three steps to complete your description:

a. Start by finding a direct quotation from your novel that you believe helps to reveal a significant character trait present in your main character. Include a proper citation following this quotation (Author, Title page#).

b. In approximately 50-60 words explain specifically what you have learned about the protagonist from this section of the story (relate specifically to the events presented in the selected quotation).

c. Now, based on what you know about your main character, make a prediction about the outcome for this character. What do you think will happen as the plot progresses? Do this in one or two sentences.

NOW....... add the video element.

a. FIND a video on youtube that you feel expresses or extends what you already know about protagonist - the video could represent the character's personality, mood, actions or key characteristics. The video could be a music video, a compilation video set to music, a film excerpt, a poem set to music etc...

b. INTRODUCE why you selected it in one-two sentences (connect in some way to the main character you have just described), then embed the video using the instructions below.

To embed this video into your blog post:
1. Once you have found the video - COPY the EMBED code (found below the video - you will have to click on SHARE and then EMBED). it will be long and complicated (it will start like this: < width = "480" height = "385"> param )

2. Go to blog post #4 on YOUR BLOG , click EDIT POST.

3. Click on EDIT HTML found in the top right corner of the blog post toolbar.

4. Go to the bottom of your blog post and PASTE the embed code into your post. Make sure that you hit the ENTER button after you have pasted the embed code.

5. To check to see if the video has been embedded, click on COMPOSE and then PREVIEW to see it before posting.

Good luck.... help each other, then ask me for help.

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STUDENT EXAMPLES:

STUDENT A: Here is a video that I selected to represent the SADNESS felt by my protagonist, William Thornhill in The Secret River by Kate Grenville, when he and his family are forced out of London, England in 1806. They are sent to New South Wales, Australia because of a crime he commits. (He steals wood he is delivering to the mainland in his small boat to try and make enough money to feed his ever growing family.) He misses his friends and is separated from his wife and children while on the long, uncomfortable journey across the ocean.

STUDENT B: I am about 5 chapters into The Penelopaid by Maraget Atwood. "I was a kind girl- kinder than Helen, or so I thought. I knew I would have to have something to offer instead of beauty. I was clever, everyone said so- in fact they said it so much that I found it discouraging- but cleverness is a quality a man likes to have in his wife as long as she is some distance away from him. Up close, he'll take kindness any day of the week, if there's nothing more alluring to be had," (Atwood, M, The Penelopaid 29). I feel as though this describes Penelope very well. She is very aware that she isn't as beautiful and radiant as her cousin Helen, but she has much more inner beauty and she is aware of herself. She isn't self absorbed like her cousin.


This video is a poem about the connection found between Penelope and Odysseus when first they met.