Head-on: Apply directly to your web-blog

Students that have completed all other online assignments and have commented on your
classmates blogs, please watch the following clip and write a post discussing its qualites (both positive and negative). So that others can view the clip, please paste the following link into your post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOvFIxUz2XY

Points of discussion:
What is the product?
Does the commercial work?
Why does it work or not work?
What devices (literary) are used and why?

Poem, Poem, Poem...Response...Comment!

For today's project you are to go to the poets.org website
and find a poem that you would like to comment on and discuss.
Once you have found a poem, cut and paste the poem,
or a section of it, into your blog (remember to credit both the author and source). Then, write a response.

Follow these procedures:
1.)Go to the following link: http://poets.org/page.php/prmID/86
2.)Read through the poems listed in the middle section of the page, under the heading "Poems on Poets.org".
3.)Pick a poem that you connect to, and find particularly interesting and/or thought provoking.
4.)Cut and paste a section of the poem (or better yet, create a link to the poem) into a new post on your personal blog.
5.) Write an in-depth and illuminating response to the poem that you picked.
6.) Next week you will be responding to your classmate's posts.

Remember, this is your blog and others will be reading it. Please do your best work. Take pride in what you are publishing for the world to see. Your opinions and ideas matter!

Mr. Goss's Mega-Tips for Reading and Understanding Poems
-Read the poem through two or three times.
-Think about your background knowledge that will help you connect to the people, animals, and/or objects in the poem.
-Try to make a metal picture of what takes place in the poem.
-Create a personal theory regarding the poems meaning and message.
-Know that there are billions of poems, and that it is mathematical fact that you will love at least one if not two.

Check List

Before starting Friday's project you should have:
1.) Created a blog through Blogger.com
2.) Accepted the e-mail invitation from our master blog, english12withmrg
3.) Responded to the poem, Shooting Rats at the Bibb County Dump
4.) Visited two or three of your fellow student's sites, and commented on their responses. All comments should be well thought out and meaningful.

Student Blogs

Just a quick note: all students must become a member of the English 12 blog for their
pages to link to it. An invitation was sent to your e-mail address.

Shooting Rats and Writing Posts

Please go to the following link.
Shooting Rats at the Bibb County Dump

In your own blog, I would like you to respond to the poem
Shooting Rats at the Bibb County Dump, by David Bottoms.

Please title your blog and include a quotation from the poem (be sure to credit Mr. Bottoms).

Be sure to:
-Read through the poem two times or more.

-Think about any background knowledge that you have that will help you connect to the people, animals, and/or objects in the poem.

-Make a picture in your head of what is happening in the poem.

-Write down in your blog what you think the poem is discussing.

-Discuss theme, plot, and irony (and again, be sure to include textual evidence and any background information you might have.

Remember, this is your blog and many other will be reading it. Write something that makes you proud.

Lastly, read and respond to at least two posts your classmates wrote.

Introduction to Blogging

In the upcoming days, weeks and months, our English 12 class is going to use this blog as a means of communication. We will read, discuss, explore, interprete and critique literature. We will create posts and respond to the post of other students. To richen our learning, we will take relevant information from a wide range of sources. Many future assignments will be completed through this online community of learners that we are creating.

Before the end of class, be sure to give me your e-mail address so you can be added as a member of this blog.