Poetry Out Loud Comes to Senior English!

Hey Seniors, we will be holding classroom Poetry Out Loud Competitions in early January.  School-wide and then regional competitions will follow not too long afterward.  The time to start preparing is now.

1. Please find and begin memorizing a poem -- see the links below.

2. Be sure to choose a different poem than the one you chose last year.

3. Memorizing a poem is something you can all be successful at.  Just don't put yourself in the situation of trying to memorize it all at once.

4. Good luck!

Poetry Out Loud -- Poems of 25 Lines or less.

Poetry Out Loud -- Browse Poems

Hamlet Resources

 Resources:
Hamlet -- Full Text online

Enjoying "Hamlet" 
Shakespeare Resource Center
Hamlet: The Undiscovered Country

Into the Wild Resources

Resources for your Into the Wild research are at the following link:

http://delicious.com/wirth_ray/mccandless

The White Man's Burden: Rudyard Kipling's Poem and the Response

In 1899, Rudyard Kipling (of Jungle Book fame) wrote a little poem that generated more than a little controversy. Kipling's poem, "The White Man's Burden," was a plea for America to be more involved overseas and, in particular, in the Philippines. Many people not only disagreed with the worldview expressed in the poem but also found it to be racist.

Until 2007 or so, there was an excellent website that featured Kipling's poem and many of the responses, which came in the form of editorial cartoons, poems, essays, and letters to the editor. This website has unfortunately been taken down. However, some of the resources are still up on various places on the web.

As a believer in the learning opportunities available in looking at the original poem and the response, I have started to re-gather these resources and put them back in one place. White Mans Burden .Net (White-Mans-Burden.Net) is now onine in hopes that teachers and students around the U.S. might find it useful.

Beowulf Resources

Beowulf -- Translations.net

Beowulf -- Easy to read version

Beowulf -- Hypertext version

Evalating Online Sources

Evaluating Online sources: 5-Question quiz

1. Please read and discuss the "Evaluating Your Sources" handout together as a class.

2. Below are a few tips related to the handout:
---Authority (authorship) can often be determining by scanning the top of the web page, the bottom of the web page, and the "about us" page (if any). Keep in mind that unless the person is famous and/or known to you, a name only tells so much. Who is this person? What do they do for a living? What kind of education do they have?
---Objectivity: Is the site selling anything? Trying to persuade you of anything? Are there ads on the site?
---Authenticity / Reliability: Is there an organization, corporation, or educational institution associated with the site? What is it? As before, look at the top of the web page, the bottom of the web page, and the "about us" page (if any).
---Timeliness: Is there a date provided somewhere on the page or even in the copyright (if any) at the bottom of the page?

3. Visit each of the 3 diet sites below and complete the chart by making comments about these sites in each respective box in the chart:
Weight Loss Center (article)
Medicine.Net (article)
Diet Pills Hoopla & Hype (article)

Coming Soon:
You can travel into space for $200,000.00
Right now you can go to
The End of the Internet for free.
Check it out!

Time Management Quiz

Take the time management quiz at:
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_88.htm

Words, Words, Words -- An inventory of your college essay.

 Create a word cloud:
http://www.wordle.net/

Check out the Readability of your essay:
http://www.addedbytes.com/code/readability-score/

More Tips on the College Admissions Essay

A useful source which includes a list of 10 things to avoid in your college admissions essay is at:

www.college-admission-essay.com

Utilize Action Verbs in your resume!

Action verbs for your resume are listed here.

College Admissions Essay -- Resources

The College Board has useful section on Essay Skills for the college admissions essay. Included are a section on how to choose a topic and tips on writing the essay itself.

Samples of successful essays can be found at www.quintcareers.com/

The Common Application essay prompts are at https://app.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/CommonApp2008.pdf

True fact: You can pay as much as $1000.00 to have a professional essay editing service such as EssayEdge help you with your essay. (Or you can just ask Wirthy and get help for free).

The College Board suggests you compete the following as part of your brainstorming process:

• Discover Your Strengths: Do a little research about yourself: ask parents, friends, and teachers what your strengths are.
• Create a Self-Outline: Now, next to each trait, list five or six pieces of evidence from your life—things you've been or done—that prove your point.
• Find Patterns and Connections: Look for patterns in the material you've brainstormed. Group similar ideas and events together. For example, does your passion for numbers show up in your performance in the state math competition and your summer job at the computer store? Was basketball about sports or about friendships? When else have you stuck with the hard work to be with people who matter to you?

The Glue of a Good Essay - Transitions

A list of transitions and guide to their use is at:
www.rscc.cc.tn.us/owl&writingcenter/

Building Your Resume

A useful online Resume Builder is at
http://www.resumizer.com/


Another good option for resume templates is via Google Docs.
(If you don't have a Gmail account, see me for the login info for the class Gmail account.)

Resume Headings: Activities Activities & Interests Additional Experience Additional Skills Additional Training Affiliations Associations Awards/Recognitions Career Goal Career Objective Certifications Coaching Experience Achievements Community Involvement Community Service Computer Skills Conferences Attended Education Employment Employment History Employment Objective Experience Goals Highlights of Qualifications Hobbies & Interests Honours & Awards Language Skills

Memberships Extracurricular Activities Objective Personal Achievements Presentations Publications Qualifications Related Activities Related Experience Relevant Experience Relevant Skills Scholarships & Awards Skills Special Skills Summary of Qualifications Teaching Experience Technical Skills Training Volunteer Activities Volunteer Experience Volunteer Work Work Experience

Writing for Results -- How Can We Persuade?

Resources for Persuasive Writing:
Persuasive Essay (Essayinfo.com)
Guide to Writing a Basic Essay 
50 Topics for Argumentative Writing

Sample Essays:
Television Watching
Euthanasia 
Cats
Hand Dryers


Topics for Persusaive Writing
Persuasive Writing Prompts
Fun Persuasive Topics

What Discipline Do You Practice?

Discipline  (noun)
1. training to act in accordance with rules; drill: military discipline.

2. activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training: A daily stint at the typewriter is excellent discipline for a writer.

3. punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.

4. the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc.: the harsh discipline of poverty.
--Dictionary.com

Prompt:

What is one of the disciplines that you practice? Or that is practiced by a person you respect and admire? (Write 2/3 page or more in response).