Posting, Portfolio, Performances

Due to the invalidation of the previous test, this is now just a basic homework assignment. Please turn in your work by end of class today.

Today, please post to the question I posted on Cross-Talk Week 3.

If you have done this already, or have completed this post during class, please continue the following tasks:

1. Some of you have not posted your two posts to Cross-Talk, Week 2 or the three posts you needed to respond to in Cross-Talk, Week 1. Each post is worth points for this project. If you are missing posts, please complete those today. Last day to post on Weeks 1 or 2 is end of class Wednesday, Nov. 14. Get it done, folks!

2. If you have not yet posted to the evaluation question in Mr. Craddock's Class (there are 6 of you who haven't done this yet), you must complete this by tonight by 11:59 for credit.

3. Work on your portfolio. Some ideas (16 off the top of my head) may include:

a). a poem, play, scene, sketch, short story about your group's education topic.
b). your pop culture non-fiction project (paired with the non-fiction novel read in class). Continue to research and write a draft of this for your portfolio.
c). write a poem that is between 8-24 lines. Choose a theme: nature, life, love, death and consider what message you want to say to the world about the theme. Write the poem, remembering to use imagery, diction, tone, persona, and other effective literary devices.
d). pick a favorite quote, passage, line or picture. Use the item as an allusion or as the beginning seed from which to grow a short story, poem, or play. Loraine Hansberry's title A Raisin in the Sun, for example, came from the line of a poem by Langston Hughes.
e). revise a piece from your first marking period portfolio.
f). write a story in 500 words or less. Then complete a second draft of the same story but cut the story down to 100 words. What must you keep? What do you cut?
g). Two __________ walk into a ________________. Fill in the blanks and write the story or play scene.
h). Write about the worst day in the life of a character you create. Don't go beyond the time or setting of one day. Pack the day full with problems (some of which are not resolved).
j). Write the shocking ending to a story. Now flash back and write up to that first ending.
k). Write 3 haiku about the autumn.
l). Write a love poem and its reply: a hate letter.
m). Watch a television show of your choice (perhaps from youtube.com) and write a short television script inspired by the episode you saw.
n). Watch a video from youtube.com and either model your own video, documentary, or non-fiction article on its topic.
o). Find a favorite passage or poem from a book and rearrange the words or use the passage as a wordspill to create a new found poem.
p). Smash together two genres or styles of writing that don't seem to fit together. For example a western zombie mash-up, or a romance-travelogue (Eat, Love, Pray was one of these, btw).
q). Draw a picture of characters, scenes, or settings in your journal and then use them in a story. Rearrange the pictures in any way you want to make 2-3 different versions using the same pictures as inspiration.

The sky's the limit. You are only as strong as your creativity.

Use the lab time given to you in class today to get further on your project(s).

NOTE: If you are attending tomorrow's field trip, please make sure your medical forms and permission slips are completed and turned in by tomorrow morning (8:20) at the latest. If you do not have your medical form filled out, you cannot attend the field trip. Participation in the field trip is worth participation credit in this class for this marking period.

Also NOTE: Our department coffeehouse is being held tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 15) at 7:00 in the Ensemble theater. If you attend and read, you will get extra credit. Volunteers who would like to emcee, please see me today.

HOMEWORK: Read "V for Vendetta". You will be tested on the content and subject matter of this graphic novel next week. Please attempt to finish it by then.