Metaphors

Hello Bloggers!

It's been a while since I/we blogged last, so I figured it was about time to dust off the cobwebs.

Grade 8's - you've been spending the last couple weeks learning about poetry and the use of figurative language. As you know, figurative language can be pretty cool and can definitely make things interesting. So, why not try your hand at interpreting some metaphors?

As you know (I hope!) a metaphor is similar to a simile, but doesn't use the words 'like' or 'as' to make a comparison. Below, I've listed a variety of metaphors for the concept of life. Your job is to select the one that you like/agree with/connect with the most, and explain what it means to you. Simple enough? Let's give it a try!

Metaphors for Life

Life is...

...a game

...a dream

... a movie

... a song

... a battle

... a dance

... a journey

... a party

... an opportunity

... a mystery

Digital Lit Circle Summary Posts

Hello Grade 8 Lit Circlers,

Recently, some of us have been a little forgetful, and our Lit Circle discussion hosts have been neglecting the post discussion summaries.

In order to help you with this, Miss Pollock has posted some very useful guidelines. Please head over to her blog before completing and posting your summaries to make sure that you've fulfilled ALL of the expectations.

Lit Circle Discussion #5 Questions

Hello my wonderful blogging buddies,

Lit Circle Questions are once again posted! Most of them are being hosted by Hillsdale students. They are linked below! Remember to get involved early.

Arianna is hosting the Sketches discussion.

Jess is hosting the Wave discussion.

Tanisha is hosting the Shaken discussion.

Kyle is hosting the Wounded discussion.

Aaron is hosting the We All Fall Down discussion.

Branded will be hosted by one of Miss Pollock's students. That link will be posted as soon as possible.

Also, just a quick reminder to discussion hosts--you also need to respond to the question you've posted. A few of us have forgotten about this in the past, so let's try to make sure that gets done quickly.

Persuasive Blogging

Hello Bloggers,

I hope you are all having a wonderful week. Only one day left until the weekend, and only one week until March Break. I don't know about you, but I'm definitely ready for a week off! Fun in the sun, here I come!

However, we do still have lots of school time left before the break. As many of you know, Ms. Pollock and I had the opportunity to attend the IDEAS conference in Kingston last week, and to present a workshop all about blogging and ways it can be used in the classroom. Many teachers left with our blog URLs in hand, so I suspect that our blogs may be playing hosts to some new guests! Now, blogging can definitely be an intimidating thing, as you know. Remember some of the challenges we had when we got started? Well, we definitely don't want to let things like that scare anyone away from blogging, which brings me to your new assignment.

Since we are studying persuasive writing in class, I've decided to also do a little persuasive writing on our blogs. Your assignment is to write an open letter to any teacher who might happen across your blog, and to explain to them why they should use blogging with their classes. In your open letter, you should have:

-A salutation (be creative with your salutation)

-An introduction paragraph that introduces who you are, tells a little bit about yourself (no personal details, please), and presents your thesis.

-A body paragraph that presents your three arguments, as well as the details and evidence that supports your arguments

-A concluding paragraph that restates your thesis and thanks your reader for viewing your blog

-A closing and signature

As with any writing assignment, you will be expected to use the writing process. Good writing always goes through many steps before it is published, so think about your blog post as it's very own publication!

Digital Lit Circles Discussion #4

Hello again, Bloggers!

Lit Circles Discussion #4 posts are up and ready for you. To access these wonderful discussions (which are already well underway), please head on over to Miss Pollock's Blog.

Note to the Sketches group: There are TWO dicussions for you to participate in this week. Please remember to visit both blogs to comment.

Oscar Challenge 2011

Hello Bloggers,

It's that time again! The Academy Awards (also known as The Oscars) are on Sunday, which means it's time for us to make our Oscar predictions. To add a little healthy competition to the mix, I've decided to make this a little contest. Below, I've listed the major categories for this year's awards. Your mission: predict as many winners as possible! I've assigned each award category a points value, and it's up to you to collect as many points as possible. The more, the better. Next week, after the awards ceremony has taken place, we will calculate the points collected by each and every participant. The participant with the most points will be the winner of a fantastic super-awesome surprise prize! All you have to do is post your predictions on your blog, and then come back here and comment to let me know you've decided to participate. Happy voting!

5 POINT CATEGORIES

Best Picture: Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter's Bone

Best Actor: Javier Bardem (in Bieutiful), Jeff Bridges (in True Grit), Jesse Eisenberg (in The Social Network),  Colin Firth (in The King's Speech), and James Franco (in 127 Hours)

Best Actress: Annette Benning (in The Kids Are All Right), Jennifer Lawrence (in Winter's Bone), Natalie Portman (in Black Swan), and Michelle Williams (in Blue Valentine)

3 POINT CATEGORIES

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale (in The Fighter), John Hawkes (in Winter's Bone), Jeremy Renner (in The Town), Mark Ruffalo (in The Kids Are All Right), and Geoffrey Rush (in The King's Speech)

Best Supporting Actress:  Amy Adams (in The Fighter), Helena Bonham Carter (in The King's Speech), Melissa Leo (in The Fighter), Hailee Steinfeld (in True Grit), and Jacki Weaver (in Animal Kingdom)

Best Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3, The Illusionist, How To Train Your Dragon

Best Directing: Black Swan, The Fighter, The King's Speech, The Social Network, True Grit

2 POINT CATEGORIES

Best Original Screenplay: Another Year, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech

Visual Effects: Alice In Wonderland, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1, Hereafter, Inception, Iron Man 2

Music (Original Song): Country Strong, Tangled, 127 Hours, Toy Story 3

Music (Original Score): How To Train Your Dragon, The Social Network, Inception, The King's Speech, 127 Hours

Best Makeup: Barney`s Vision, The Way Back, The Wolfman

1 POINT CATEGORIES

Best Foreign Language Film: Biutiful (Mexico), Dogtooth (Greece), In A Better World (Denmark), Incendies (Canada), Outside The Law (Algeria)

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network, 127 Hours, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter`s Bone

Digital Lit Circle Discussion # 3

Attention Digital Literature Circlers: The third set of discussion posts are now available on the following blogs...

Sketches discussion is available on Karran's Blog.
Wave discussion is available on Kaitlin's Blog.
Wounded discussion is available on Skylar's Blog.
Shaken discussion is available on Max's Blog.
We All Fall Down discussion is available on Brandon's Blog.
Black and White discussion is available on Jenna's Blog.
Branded discussion is available on Matt's Blog.

Looking forward to seeing how these discussions progress. Don't forget: Get involved early!