week of 4/30/13

Thursday:

Goal: Get a hold on the portfolio assignment

HW: Begin Portfolios

First Step: 

Emotional Landscape Warm-up:

• Listen to "A Blessing" by James Wright
• Write down all the words you can remember from the poem.
• Listen to "A Blessing" again, writing down the words that jump out at you during the second reading.
• Now think of a familiar journey that you take (e.g. riding the bus to school). Write a poem about the journey, integrating the words you just wrote down.
• Share some writings.

Portfolios

Tuesday:

Goal: Begin to wrap up. Only six classes left.

HW: Five, six-word memoirs posted to your blog.

First Step: 6-word memoir 

Ernest Hemingway was once prodded to compose a complete story in six words. His answer has been said to be his best prose ever. Some people say he did it to settle a bar bet. Others say it was a personal challenge directed at other famous authors. The death of an infant in his family was thought to be the inspiration. The story? 

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Examples: 

• About Hilary Clinton: "From Ill., met Bill, iron will."

Some others:

• No wife. No kids. No problems
• After Harvard, had baby with crackhead
• Found true love, married someone else.
• He seemed so sweet. At first.
• Thought I'd be special by now.

The Challenge? Create a story about your character in just 6 words… Often, the inferences are much more powerful than what we beat readers over the head with. You might come up with more than one; try humor, seriousness, sarcasm, student-you, home-you, past-you, current-you…

Then: Online Portfolio Assignment