Making Judgments

Here is another look at today's video on making judgments. How will you learn from the innocent mistakes of these children?  How will you judge in the future?

 Comments welcome on any aspect of today's session.

Week 6 H/W

Click on the link above to get your H/W sheet for next week

From Mrs. Ayeola
Use this video to help with your Spanish test

Copy/Paste your poetry for comment

I just wanted to share with you Austin F's. brilliant way of integrating poetry into her narrative writing. She also ended her piece with the line.

Falling for the Nutcracker
As I collapse, my face hits the hard wooden floor in the dark, silent backstage hallway and my tutu is crushed. A river of pain leaps into my ankle, and the pride in my heart becomes a sense of clumsiness. The fall makes the black walls spin like an optical illusion. I can't even move my foot to get up, or a sting shoots through my leg like a bullet grazing through a deer's heart. It feels like my leg was just smashed by a boulder.


"Remember," I thought about Maya Angelou's poem, "Shadows on the wall, noises down the hall, life doesn't frighten me at all." Lying there, I am as helpless as a newborn baby even though I am eight years old. "How have I even ended up in this mess?" I ask myself.

Anne Frank + Southeast Region Narrative

Check out the link below to recap the video from today's session on Anne Frank

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um3umnwgK3k
Will your narrative poem capture the emotion of  your event?


Enjoy Nick's Southeast region narrative below

From the marble-cutting mill, to the canal-navigation plane, and my most prized accomplishment, the “Clermont,” I have certainly come a far way in life. At the age of thirty-five in 1800, I thought that accomplishing everything in life was already complete. That was true until “Clermont,” my first successful steamboat, was created. By the way, my name is my name is Robert Fulton, the inventor. In 1793, I concentrated on steam navigation. Writing books on canal navigation was my occupation in 1796. Seven years later, the idea of inventing what eventually became the steamboat came into my mind. My first attempt at launching a steamboat with the support of Chancellor Livingston was on the Seine, a very large river between two parts of France, was not entirely successful. The boat immediately collapsed and plummeted to the bottom of the river like sand through an hourglass. Red in the face, I watched the horror of the boat tumble to the floor of the river. The odor of the oil burning in the air with the rest of the ship was a sure indication of the devastating moment, and from Livingston’s panicky expression, it was obvious he felt like me at the time. Despite this horrible failure, I had to persevere.



In 1807, I decided it would be the right choice to design a new steamboat. Newer wooden planks, a better engine, and a new supply of oil were essential to the ship’s success. My speedy hands began to assemble the components of the unfinished steamboat. After a while, my hands were still, the steamboat was unfinished, and my mind was nothing but a swirl of uncomfortable confusion. There was no Chancellor Livingston to assist me this time. Ten months later, my masterpiece was finished. Looking back at the steamboat reminded me of the sweat trickling down my back as I diligently finished the ship. I thought to myself, what name would suit my steamboat the best? My sister’s name is Clara, and my dog’s name is Monty, so what if those names blended together? That was it. The name would be “Clermont.”


Two tan transferors on a barge, Jim and Charles, transferred “Clermont” all the way from Pennsylvania to the Hudson elegantly like a feather scraping the top of the water. My goal was to chug “Clermont” all the way from the Hudson to Albany, New York. It was going to take approximately thirty hours. By the time I reached the Hudson, my feet climbed onto the wooden boards of the “Clermont.” Nervously, my sweaty hands grabbed the wheel of the boat.


The “Clermont” pushed off of the dock. The paddle of the bolt jolted forward as the “Clermont” came to life in only a quick moment of time. The engine roared as the steam whistled. Proud as a peacock, my head stuck out of the window to take in the crisp, New York air and the smell of steam and oil from the “Clermont.” The crowd was encouraging me to go on right before the steamboat left the colossal river of New York.


No longer in the Hudson, “Clermont” chugged its way towards Albany. The steamboat finally reached its destination. The crowd roared with excitement, and history knew that every bit of this moment would be savored into educational textbooks for the rest of time.

Visiting Author: Day 1

Link to our visiting author's website.
http://www.ediehemingway.com/

Feel free to copy paste your drafts for comment.

Remember: You must bring BOTH a hard copy and a digital copy (on USB key or google docs) to work on tomorrow.