Macbeth Thoughts

If you have ideas about the play Macbeth that you didn't get to share in class, please post them here. You may also post any random thoughts about how reading the play is going for you.

Pantoums

Our period 5 class recently experimented with writing pantoum poems. Everyone's best efforts are published here. After reading these examples, you should be able to derive the rules of writing a pantoum. We invite you to post your own composition here as a comment.

Reading Habits

Please add a comment in which you describe your reading habits. I am most interested in how you do your reading for school assignments, but it would also be interesting to compare how you read for school with how you read for pleasure. Your goal in this comment is to give a vivid picture of you reading. What would I see if I watched you read? What does it feel like to you when you read? Please write for about five minutes, and post your comment by midnight, Monday, February 12. Try to address all the following:

Where do you read? Don’t just tell where; describe the location, trying to make it vivid for your reader.
When do you read? Obviously, this will vary, but typically, what time of day do you settle down to read? Describe the feel of this time of day.
How do you read? Do you have to have complete silence? Do you do other things while you read (listen to music, chat online, text message, read out loud to yourself)? Do you lie down, sit up, get up frequently?

A Separate Peace -- Chapters 1-3

Add your comments about the first 3 chapters of A Separate Peace here. Remember that your comments should be original and insightful observations about the book's themes, characters, and symbols. You may avoid the risk of simply repeating ideas from class discussion by posting your comment before the discussion.

Original Arthurian Romance Group Progress

Please add a comment that describes the progress your group made on the Original Arthurian Romance Tale this week. You may either have one person report for the whole group, or have each person report his or her own contributions. Either way, every group member's name should appear (first name and last initial only, please) and you should describe what he/she did: wrire, research, create slides or pictures, help organize the group, etc. You might also explain the group's overall progress. Include in this comment work done for the week of January 29 through February 2. Please post your comments by midnight, Saturday, February 3.

Original King Arthur Tale Progress -- due January 27, 2007

By midnight, Saturday, January 27, 2007, please comment about your group's initial plans for the Original King Arthur Tale project. The comment(s) should:

• Include the name of your kingdom
• State what form you think your project will take
• Mention the planned contributions of each group member

For this first report, choose one group member to speak for the entire group. On future progress comments, you may rotate the responsibility for reporting, or have every group member state his/her own contributions.

"The Tale of Sir Gareth"

Now that you have finished reading "The Tale of Sir Gareth," please add a comment about the story. We have been discussing various ideas connected with the King Arthur tales in class. Please comment about one of the following:

• Give one example of chivalry that Sir Gareth (Beaumains) performs in the story. Explain why it the action was chivalric.


• Cite and explain one example of an element of the Arthurian romance that you see in the story.


• Identify and explain one intelligence that Sir Gareth displays (choose from among the multiple intelligences you have learned about).

Please try to make your comment original (that is, do not repeat a previous comment by one of your classmates). You only have to comment once, but feel free to resond to other classmates' comments. Please post you comment by midnight, Thursday, January 25, 2007.

Multiple Intelligences Study

Welcome to the new year! To begin our semester, we are going to learn a bit about the theory of multiple intelligences (MI), which may help you understand how you learn. I've provided links to some websites to help you get started. I'm asking you to do three simple assignments this week:

1) Go on line and take a MI (multiple intelligences) inventory to see which are your dominant intelligences. Then read about the attributes of your main intelligence. Print out a copy of the inventory you take and bring it to class on Wednesday, January 10.

2) Go back to the online sources and read about all 8 of the intelligences. By Friday, January 12, be ready for a quiz that will check your understanding of the basics.

3) By Friday, January 12, add a comment to this blog post. Do a two-minute reflection about what you have found interesting about studying MI. In addition, choose a well-known, contemporary person who you feel shares your dominant intelligence. Explai why you think this is so.

We will discuss more about multiple intelligences in class on Wednesday and Friday.