Tuesday:
Read the background on Medieval England and answer some questions that will be handed out. Some of them are already on the blog. Next, begin reading "Beowulf"--the first book, "Grendel." Answer some more questions. You should have finished "Grendel" by Friday. Expect a quiz then.
Thursday:
We will have the speech discussion. Then we will have a discussion and I will answer any questions I can regarding "Grendel."
Friday:
We will have a reading quiz and I will go over it in class.
I want to get started on the college essay. Start by keeping a daily journal. Journals can generally be about anything. This weekend, however, I want you to write about a significant experience. By telling a story, you show me things about who you are. You reveal things about your character, your sense of humor, your sensitivity to others, etc. Tell a story that does this. Here are some ideas for the kinds of stories that might work, along with some examples:
Tell a story where you failed to do what you wanted to do and how you learned from that.
Tell a story related to a sport or club in which you participate. One of the best college essays I ever read was about a girl who was on our then-losing field hockey team. That year, the team lost all games but one--and they tied that game. A pessimist might view the tie as not a real win. She, of course, did not, and wrote a wonderful essay about the event.
Community service is a great source for stories. One student (at another school) wrote a story about working with autistic children on a horse farm. She wrote about one particular child who responded to no one else but her.
If you have a job, you probably have some interesting stories.
If you are a part of a home community that treats bright teenagers as geeks or outsiders, as "uncool" or even worse, you might want to write about how you have dealt with that.
Tell a story about your heritage. Maybe English is your second language. Write about that struggle. Or tell a story about your parents' heritage. Maybe they came here only a few years ago. Maybe you have had to play the role of the interpreter in your family. What is it like living in two worlds?
One student (from another school) wrote about her Native-American heritage. She had recently learned that her Saponi grandmother had registered her children as white because she was told to do so at the hospital. Her grandmother never talked about her Native-American heritage, and seemed embarrassed by those relatives who still celebrated those rituals. This young woman was coming to terms with who she was and that heritage.
We all have special moments when we suddenly see something differently. That experience is called an epiphany. Know this word. Talk about an experience that changed the way you thought about the world in some way.
You can write a number of different things besides this. You might have a better idea of your own. But come to class on Tuesday with the first draft of a story. The story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. It should be interesting to read or to hear (if you choose to share it).
If you already have your college applications, select one of the questions and answer it.
Avoid listing your accomplishments. Tell a story instead. It is okay to be humorous, just make sure that the humor is appropriate.
Very important: I want a typed story. Make sure your name, date, and class-period are at the top of the page. Double-space, so that I can make comments.
On Tuesday, we will share some of the stories as they will inspire others. I will not make anyone share his/her story before the class if he/she does not want to do so. It will only be on a voluntary basis. You will turn it in, however.
Another thing I want you to do is to learn what kind of house you have. Is it a brick ranch or rancher house? Is it a colonial style or transitional? Do you live in a cape cod? If you are in an apartment, what kind of a building is it? Find the word that describes the outside of your home. One of the things I want to do this year is to build your vocabulary by teaching you to more precisely describe the world.
New Addition: Describe not only your house (type) but its specific architectural details. If you are in an apartment, do you have a patio or balcony? Do you have a picture window? Are there columns in front of your house? What kind of roof do you have?
What are the other houses in your neighborhood like? Describe them too--give me a feel for your community. Tell me when your house was built (or around when). Do you have a lot of trees or did they cut all the magnolias down and name your sub-division "Magnolia Park"? Was your neighborhood once an old farm? Do some research.
For example, I live just inside the Chesterfield County line, in a subdivision called "Surreywood"--a name that suggests horses and carriages and visits to neighbors with calling cards. There are 497 houses in my neighborhood (I counted). Most were built in the late sixties and early seventies. My husband and I have lived in Surreywood for three years now.
My house was finished in 1968. It is a Dutch colonial, which basically means that it looks like a barn. It's more roof than anything, and it's the roof that makes it a Dutch colonial as opposed to just a colonial. It has a finished basement and a driveway under the house. We have Masonite siding that needs to be replaced one of these days. No one makes Masonite siding any more, because it's like putting a paper-mache product on your house. It does not hold up.
Most of the house has hardwood floors. We recently remodeled (ourselves) our family room, which was covered with carpet which must have been around for at least 20 of the last 40 years. We were waiting for the three-legged cat to die. There was no sense in putting in hardwood floors if he was going to be ruining it.
The week before I had to go back to work, we put in the hardwood floor. We also took out that awful wood paneling that was so popular in the late sixties and early seventies and put up drywall and painted it light yellow.
The two houses on each side of us are ranchers with basements. Behind us is a tri-level, also popular in the early seventies. In the winter, when the trees lose their leaves I can see the neighborhood lake. I have to go into my bedroom and turn my head just so, however, in order to see it.
