If YOU Were A Bird . . .

As we begin Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, many of you have been asking why she gave the book this particular title. That's a topic we'll be discussing a bit throughout the story, and we've already spent some time in class discussing the attributes of a mockingbird.

Right now, however, to get a better feel for the use of such symbolism in the book, I'd like you to visit the Bird Guide link at the bottom of this post, spend awhile looking through the many birds and bird types listed (look at their names, shapes, sizes, behaviors, eating habits, songs, everything), and decide which bird best symbolizes you and your personality. Consider which type of bird you would be if you were to be turned into a bird; avoid picking a bird just because you think it is the coolest one. Then, in a COMMENT TO THIS POST, write a short response (1) naming the bird you picked, (2) describing what it is like, and (3) explaining in what ways it symbolizes you (what connections can you make between yourself and the bird, considering its look, behavior, location, personality, eating habits, etc.). YOU HAVE UNTIL THE START OF CLASS ON MONDAY, NOV. 23, TO COMPLETE THIS ASSIGNMENT! (Click HERE to check your grades in SchoolMax.)

NOTE: A short response means 3-4 SENTENCES, NOT 3-4 WORDS. Responses that are not at least 3 sentences or do not address all three bits of information I requested will not receive credit. Be creative!


The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Bird Guide

Or, if you want to search by typing in a bird name and to see some of the more popular birds, then CLICK HERE or on the "Bird Guide" tab on the top, left side of the page.

Or, if you want a suggestion, try visiting THIS LINK to a "Which Bird Are You?" Quiz. You'll need some scrap paper to score a few True/False questions and count up your score. It can give you a broad bird type based on your personality; you'll then need to visit the "Cornell Lab of Ornithology Bird Guide" tab above to find a more specific version of the bird and more information on them.

FINAL DRAFT DUE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10

Now that I SHOULD have everyone's Inquiry Paper rough draft, we will spend the next few days helping each other revise and proofread through writing groups and conferences. Remember, the FINAL DRAFT is DUE on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10!

See you in class,
Mr. Smith

Source Sheet and Interview Notes DUE next MONDAY, OCT. 19

Be sure to record AT LEAST 7 sources on your source sheet to turn in by the end of the day Monday and AT LEAST 1 interview with someone NOT in your class. These will be homework grades along with going toward your grade for the Inquiry Project.

By the way, here are a handful of links to sources being used by students (or thrown out there by me) for each of the topics. Feel free to comment to let us know what you think or to mention other source material you've found that may be useful. For REVENGE: Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado; Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" (yeah, it's a country song, but if you've never heard it before, give it a listen). LOVE: Alicia Keys with "Fallen;" a dance number from So You Think You Can Dance featuring Twitch and Kherington (dance choreography and music, together). ART: Paramore with "Misery Business;" the Pixar movie Ratatouille; Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451.

See you in class!
Mr. Smith

Bring in AT LEAST ONE SOURCE on MONDAY, Oct. 12

Thanks for your comments on the post last week. Don't forget that your homework this weekend is to bring in at least one source for your Inquiry Paper on Monday. You may bring the source into class or E-mail me the source (or a link or description of the source) before the start of class for credit.

Once again, examples of the types of sources you might bring in are song lyrics, a copy of a song on your iPod, a print-out of a movie or television script, a clip from a movie or television show, a magazine or magazine article, a book, pictures, interview notes, an internet link, etc. I'd like many of you to share your source for the class, so be sure it is something you think has something meaningful to add to our conversation about the class topics.

See you on Monday!
Mr. Smith

Back Again! (And Viewing Grades)

It felt very odd to have to be away for a family emergency for so long at the very beginning of the school year, but I'm back, now, and I expect to be able to pick up right where we left off. I expect big things from my students this year, and the two weeks I had to miss should have no effect on that whatsoever.

Also, I finally managed to find the time (and a computer) to input grades for the first couple weeks. If you already know your username and password, then you may click on the following link for the SchoolMax Family Portal (CLICK HERE), which should give you access to the grades from all of your classes. If you do not yet know your username or password, then I would give the Laurel High School office a call and/or visit the following link for more information (CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION).

Finally, I've asked all of my students to respond to this post with a quick comment (just your name would suffice) by the start of class on FRIDAY (OCT. 9) so that I know that they all know how to find the website and post a comment. PLEASE DO NOT FORGET! Just click on the word "Comment" below, type your name into the text box, and submit (be sure to also click on the "Name/URL" selection and type your name so that I know who submitted each comment).


See you in Class!
Mr. Smith

Welcome!

Welcome to Mr. Smith's English 9 class! We will use this blog all year long to discuss issues that come up in class, complete homework, look up your grades, print out assignments, and to do many other things that we haven't even thought of yet. Make sure you check back to the site often so that you can stay on top of your work in this class. We'll spend most of the year working on writing pieces in various genres (memoir, short fiction, poetry, nonfiction, etc.) that we will publish in a class magazine and/or put online as digital stories. We'll also read many texts (some that I assign, and some that you pick, yourself), that will help you figure out how to improve your writing. Ultimately, however, you don't get better at writing (or anything, for that matter) by just talking about it. You get better at writing by WRITING, and we'll be doing a lot of that over the course of the year. If you already have any comments or questions, you may click on the "Comments" link below; just be sure to write your name as part of your response. Any comments made to posts on this blog are E-mailed to me and must be approved before actually coming up for all to read.

I'm looking forward to working with all of you this year!