Blog Post of the Week

 Congratulations to Ava T. of A Block on earning Blog Post of the Week. She chose three symbols that could possibly represent her and clearly explained why. Take a look below!

          
                                                             

"I chose a picture of a gymnast because gymnastics has become a really big part of my life. I don't compete, but a lot of my time is spent doing it! I love flipping around and when my friends or family see a picture or watch someone doing gymnastics they would definitely associate it with me and what I do.

I also put up a picture of a smiling/laughing face. I love to laugh and smile because it makes me happier and other people happier too! I am almost always laughing or smiling and I think that that makes up part of my personality and how I am today.

Lastly, I put a picture of someone surfing. In the summer I spend all of my time at the beach catching waves and riding them. And when winter comes I cant wait for it to end so I can go back out into the water. I asked my friend and she says that when she sees someone surfing she thinks of me! These are three pictures of things that I think represent who I am."

Symbolizing the Abstract

To further our understanding of symbolism, we began to discuss abstract nouns. Each student was assigned a "secret" abstract noun and needed to draw a symbol to represent it. 

 JUSTICE

 FRIENDSHIP

 TRUST

LOYALTY

Today in class the illustrations were spread out amongst the desks and students recorded what they believed each drawing was intended to represent. They began to understand connotative meaning. What one symbol means to one person may not necessarily mean the same to another. They began to learn about different perspectives. In addition, they had the opportunity to explain their symbols and how their illustration relates to or represents their abstract noun. Their comfort level with symbolism has definitely increased and they should feel more confident as we begin to examine symbolism found in literature.

 

Vocabulary Quiz Friday

Symbol- something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial;

Symbolism- The practice of representing things by means of symbols ---  attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships.

Abstract-- doesn't have a solid existence. You can't realize it using any of your senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell).
Example--> feelings, like happiness or sadness

Concrete-- Existing in a material or physical form; real or solid; not abstract.

Connotative-the subjective meaning that an individual brings to a word/symbol based as experiences, prejudices, and life's lessons.

Denotative- the meaning that nearly everyone agrees upon

Blog Post of the Week

Congratulations to Haylee A. of A Block! Her beautiful, descriptive post about her first memory was truly a joy to read! Take a look at her amazing use of sensory language and imagery, helping us readers to form a clear picture in our minds. Well done!
  

My first memory is from when I was still a tiny baby, before I could walk or even talk. It was night time, I was in the recliner with my dad and we were rocking a little and he was holding me. I was slowly falling asleep and he was singing to me. He was singing "Coming Round the Mountain" That was my dad and I's favorite song when I was little. Another favorite was this song about a baby in a cradle and the cradle broke and the baby fell out. But in this memory I couldn't see, my eyes must have been closed. Even without my sight then this is still my most vivid memory. I remember the song and the sound of my dads voice. I remember what I was thinking and the feel of his strong arms around me. I remember when it got to the part of the song when it says, "She'll be driving six white horses when she comes (Hee Haw)
She'll be driving six white horses when she comes (Hee Haw)
She'll be driving six white horses, she'll be driving six white horses,
She'll be driving six white horses when she comes (Hee Haw)" I would always picture 6 beautiful moon colored horses with gorgeous white manes that sparkled every color of the rainbow. I'd picture a beautiful woman with long brown hair wearing a flowing white dress. The dress was longer than she was tall. I pictured them racing around a corner on a mountain trail and the snow was stuck to the ground and the sun sparkling off of each individual flake. This is my first memory.

Boston Strong

Reflect on the events that occurred over April vacation concerning the Boston Marathon. What were you doing at the time? How did you hear about it? Do you understand what happened?  Despite the horrible incident, many are talking about how inspirational it was to see so many people come together and help one another, do you agree? Can you recall any heroic stories that you heard on the news?

Utilize Google or another search engine and find a heroic story and summarize it.

Here is an example of one: 

Be sure to copy and past the link in your post.

 Respond as a comment to this post.

Some more examples:

Father-Daughter Heroism
Boston Heroes

Student's Preparing for Their Raps!

 
Can't wait to hear them tomorrow!

Rap Vs Poetry

Today in class students started thinking about whether we should consider rap as poetry or not. After all, what makes something a "poem" anyways? Hm. 
Well, we received some insight from the well-known rapper, Jay-Z as he discussed his book "Decoding" (see clip). After brainstorming comparisons and listening to various rap songs, as well as examining the lyrics, students began to realize just how closely the two resemble one another. The rest of the week will be dedicated to group time as they work together to construct their own raps (or poems?)!

Blog Post of the Week

Congratulations to Matthew S of C Block! He earned blog post of the week! His response to Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" was insightful and well-written. Take a look at his writing below!

"In "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, Robert makes the courageous decision to take the road less taken instead of a safer road that has been used more. I believe "The Road Not Taken" is the unused one. Though you may always question the decision the road less traveled on is more adventurous with its "undergrowth" while the other was worn out and only grassy. If I was Robert I would have chosen the road less traveled on because it is more adventurous to take an unknown road than the constantly used road. Also, you may see much more beautiful nature while walking the mysterious less traveled on road. Furthermore, by saying "And that has made all the difference" shows a positive outcome from selecting the road he chose. Clearly, the road not taken was the less traveled on road."

Concrete Poem

Congratulations to Michaela J. of A Block. Her fellow classmates of Beauport voted her concrete poem as the best!

Judged on:

artistic appeal

creativity

word choice and rhythm

Poetry Performed

To inspire students as they work on writing and creating their poetry books, we dedicated a bit of class time yesterday to watching some talented young people perform their poetry. Check out two of the clips we viewed together below.