A writer has no idea how much he has to say till . . . .

Having been raised on a dairy farm, I could appreciate this analogy!

"A cow does not know how much milk it has until the milkman starts working on it. Then it looks round in surprise and sees the pail full to the brim. In the same way a writer has no idea how much he has to say till his pen draws it out of him. Thoughts will then appear on the paper that he is amazed to find that he possessed. "How brilliant!" he says to himself. "I had no idea I was so intelligent." But the reader may not be so impressed."

-Gerald Branan

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

1. Prompt:  Write in response to any of these quotations about poetry:

A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.
Robert Frost

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.
Robert Frost

Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
Khalil Gibran

I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything.
Steven Wright

The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
Gilbert K. Chesterton 

 "Poetry is eternal graffiti written in the heart of everyone."-Lawrence Ferlinghetti

 "Poetry might be defined as the clear expression of mixed feelings."  -W.H. Auden

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_poetry.html#5HUxpZAab5IxcTeR.99

______________________________________________

2. Listening to Poems and the story from 

Hormone Jungle: Coming of Age in Middle School

______________________________________________________

3. Writing Poetry:  Tritinas

1. What is a tritina?  These are free verse poems, each with a particular format.
Tritina comes from the Latin word for three. The poet selects three words that can hold much meaning. Those most important words are placed at the ends of lines in a specified pattern.
There are three stanzas and an envoy.
Find instructions for writing a tritina athttp://www.baymoon.com/~ariadne/form/tritina.htm

Example:   from http://awrungsponge.blogspot.com/2007/06/beach-tritina.html      

2. Read examples of  tritinas? 
Beach Tritina

(Rain, Sea, Sand)

Mist rises up the beach at the edge of rain.
Surf fingers draw long scrolls of foam from the sea.
Three friends come from the city to walk across the sand.

It’s no mystery why they want to bury their toes in the sand,
Why they will drive for hours in the rain,
Why they are drawn to the sea.

Eyes fixed on the curling edge of a bottle green sea,
These three walk toward the surf over the shell-strewn sand,
Believing the sky will lighten, believing the end of rain.

They stand on the sand in the rain, staring longingly at the sea.

-Andromeda Jazmon
June 2007
_______________________________________________

A Tritina for Mom

(bedtime, worry, dinner)

You've always made time to check on me at bedtime
and to be there whenever I worry.
And I knew I could definitely count on a great dinner.

All right, so maybe I didn't always love the dinner.
And it's possible that you weren't there for every bedtime,
and there were plenty of times I made you worry.

But then, isn't it part of a mother's job to worry?
To always come through, breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
And then, at the end of a long day, to be rewarded with a hug at bedtime?

I'm sorry I made you worry and haunted your dreams at bedtime, but I love you (and dinner, too).

-- by Marica Conley Carter -- from Nancy Atwell -- Lessons That Change Writers

3. Collect Words for tritinas? 
Collect Words that have a lot of meaning 

or that may have more than one meaning.

Collecting Words to Use in Tritinas
circle down drop friend gate hate love pen puzzle	roll root run steal/steel voice wall wind/wind wound/wound	spring  light bug sky building walk dry stop	mean right left stone

4. Write your own tritina.

You will use this document to create your own tritina: My Tritina by.doc

Another site for tritinas. 

Another example:

Tritina

 Example

Early Evening Tritina

Stanza 1

The sun was low in the sky. We were going to watch for deer. (1)

It would be dark soon. (2)

We had only a little time, but I was with you. (3)

Stanza 2 

I climbed the ladder of your tree stand and glanced down at the pond. You (3)

followed and said, "We might not see a deer." (1)

I nodded.  "But if we're going to, it will be soon. (2)

Stanza 3

Your words were magic.  Soon  (2)

was an understatement.  I gazed down at the clover-covered field.  So did you. (3)

As if on cue, out of the woods stepped two majestic deer. (1)

Envoy

They ate and left, too soon. (2)  That evening, you (3) gave me a miracle in the shape of  the deer. (1)

                                                                             from Nancy Atwell -- Lessons That Change Writers

And one by Ms. Dorsey:

Tritina

At The Nerd

Last night in the play

those junior high students really knew how to act,

and my daughter and I were in the audience.

But there were those in the audience

at that entertaining play

who didn't know how to act.

Some were putting on their own act,

showing off and irritating the rest of the audience.

They made it less enjoyable to be at the play.

Audience members need to act well their part

while the actors in the play act theirs.

My Tritina  by _____________________________________________________

Title:

Stanza 1

Word to Repeat	Line
#1:
#2:
#3:

Stanza 1

Word to Repeat	Line
#3:
#1:
#2:

Stanza 1

Word to Repeat	Line
#2:
#3:
#1:

Envoy

Uses all three words in one line, any order:

April is Poetry Month

Friday, March 28, 2014

At the FCCLA State Conference:
Rylee Bateman, Shayla Hendricks, and Emily Farnsworth competed in Food Innovations, Junior Category and received a Gold Medal. They also ranked 2nd in their category and qualified for Nationals in San Antonio, TX. 

Congratulations, Shayla!

1. Heart's Desire  -- Finish writing this.
Challenge #3
Make a list of all the things you want. It can be anything from wanting a particular bully to leave you alone, to wanting riding lessons, to wanting your best friend to move back from Japan. Now pick from the list the thing you want the most, and think of all the ways you could attain that thing, from the realistic to the ridiculous. Write a short scene in which you try out one of those ideas, and see what happens.

2. Sharing a scene from a novel:  One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
Watch how the author develops the character of the store clerk.  Also see what you find out about the main character.


How do you get your ideas for stories? (Class members shared these ideas.)
just sitting there -- pops in your head
other stories that I read -- especially a story I like
ideas come up from looking at an object-- and sometimes I think,"That's a dumb idea."   sometimes,  "That's a good idea!"
little incidents that don't mean anything -- I exaggerate them to create a story.
stuff I think would be cool -- like if Bigfoot were real
What if. . . . .

3. Where to get story ideas from Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook. p. 33+

Life experience

Overheard conversations

The things you read

Idea Catching

Write it down!

Malls

Dreams 

Brainstorming

4. Write something: a first or second draft -- Pick one of the following and write as much of it as you can before the bell rings. Turn it in to the top basket.

• Your scene about a heart's desire (second draft)
• A scene featuring the character for whom you filled out the questionnaire
• A scene for one of the ideas you just came up with

Opposites

Antonyms:
baby- adult
boy - girl
man- woman
stupid - smart
hot-cold
fire- ice
dog - cat
war - peace
clean - dirty
dark - light
veggies - candy
land - sky
exciting - boring
home - school
sane - insane
up - down
black - white
short - tall
small - large
run - walk
dawn - dusk
push - pull

Synonyms:
woman - lady -
insanity - madness
kid - child
happiness - joy
clean - sanitary
man - gent -

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Announcements and Reminders:  Please finish your child's book, if you haven't.

Today’s Agenda: Pick a photo and describe that person or build a scene around him or her.  Guess Who! Characters More Great Character Descriptions We left off last time when filling out this questionnaire: Questions to Ask Your Character: (from Spilling Ink by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter) 1.  What is your happiest memory? 2.  What makes you laugh so hard soda shoots out of your nose? 3.  What don't you want anyone to find out about you? 4.  What is the best part of your personality? 5.  What shoes do you usually wear? 6.  Name some things that you are not very good at. 7.  How would your best friend describe how you look? 8.  What irritates you? (i.e. noises, bad habits, personality traits)? 9.  What are you afraid of? 10.  Tell me about your family. 11.  What does your bedroom look like? 12.  What do you think of yourself when you look in the mirror? 13.  What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you? 14.  Do you have a crush on anyone? 15.  What do you really, REALLY want more than anything else in the world? Students were working on these when the bell rang. More questions from Gail Carson Levine's Writing Magic: Name: Nickname: Kind of being (human, animal, extraterrestrial, fantasy or fairy-tale creature): Age: Gender: Pets: Best friend: Way of speaking: Physical characteristics (gestures, posture, attitude): Items in his or her pockets, backpack, or purse: Hobbies: Favorite sports: Talents, abilities, or powers: Relationships (how he or she is with other people): Other faults or good points not mentioned above: Challenge #3 Make a list of all the things you want.  It can be anything from wanting a particular bully to leave you alone, to wanting riding lessons, to wanting your best friend to move back from Japan.  Now pick from the list the thing you want the most, and think of all the ways you could attain that thing, from the realistic to the ridiculous. Write a short scene in which you try out one of those ideas, and see what happens.

If you were absent:  See above.  Ask Ms. Dorsey for a chance to read the chapter we used from Spilling Ink, and the passage from Writing Magic.

In Stephen King’s words, from ON WRITING:

“Thin description leaves the reader feeling bewildered and nearsighted. Over description buries him or her in details and images. The trick is to find a happy medium. It’s also important to know what to describe and what can be left alone while you get on with your main job, which is telling a story.

I’m not particularly keen on writing which exhaustively describes the physical characteristics of the people in the story and what they’re wearing (I find wardrobe inventory particularly irritating; if I want to read descriptions of clothes, I can always get a J. Crew catalogue). I can’t remember many cases where I felt I had to describe what the people in a story of mine looked like—I’d rather let the reader supply the faces, the builds, and the clothing as well. If I tell you that Carrie White is a high school outcast with a bad complexion and a fashion-victim wardrobe, I think you can do the rest, can’t you? I don’t need to give you a pimple-by-pimple, skirt-by-skirt rundown. We all remember one or more high school losers, after all; if I describe mine, it freezes out yours, and I lose a little of the bond of understanding I want to forge between us. Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.”

Do you recognize this description?

“Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, __________! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days and didn't thaw it one degree at  . . . . "

Some Sources: 

http://io9.com/5823291/great-character-descriptions-from-science-fiction-and-fantasy-books

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1125/sample.pdf

Monday, March 24, 2014

A Whole New Term!

Happy New Term!  

Announcements and Reminders:  Please finish your child's book, if you haven't.

Today’s Agenda: 1. List ten or more of your favorite characters from books and stories.  For each, explain why you picked him or her as a favorite.  Is he or she the type of person you'd like to hang out with?  Do you have things in common with the character?  Are there things about the character you admire? Why a favorite? Creating Characters Listen, then take on Challenge #1 (from Spilling Ink by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter)  Think of two people you admire. Now think of the thing you admire most about each of them.  Combine those two qualities into one person and write about that person in the following situation: She or he is walking down the street and a strange man hands your character a small sealed carton and says, "Don't let anything happen to this!"  Then the man sprints away.  What does your character do next?  Baking Characters from Scratch -- by Ellen Potter Ellen's Example: 5 cups of cocky attitude, sifted 2 cups of loyalty to friends 1 cup loathing of ketchup, wet socks, and a boy from summer camp named Richard 2 tablespoons of insecurity about big feet 1 teaspoon of a bad habit of biting nails until they bleed One pinch of a shoe-shopping fetish (but just a pinch and no more, due to the difficulty of finding shoes for big feet.) Combine and bake at 350 degrees or until character is done.  Challenge #2: Bake your own character from scratch.  Think of six qualities for a character and write a recipe for him or her.   Questions to Ask Your Character:  1.  What is your happiest memory? 2.  What makes you laugh so hard soda shoots out of your nose? 3.  What don't you want anyone to find out about you? 4.  What is the best part of your personality? 5.  What shoes do you usually wear? 6.  Name some things that you are not very good at. 7.  How would your best friend describe how you look? 8.  What irritates you? (i.e. noises, bad habits, personality traits)? 9.  What are you afraid of? 10.  Tell me about your family. 11.  What does your bedroom look like? 12.  What do you think of yourself when you look in the mirror? 13.  What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you? 14.  Do you have a crush on anyone? 15.  What do you really, REALLY want more than anything else in the world? Students were working on these when the bell rang. Challenge #3 Make a list of all the things you want.  It can be anything from wanting a particular bully to leave you alone, to wanting riding lessons, to wanting your best friend to move back from Japan.  now pick the thing the list you want the most and think of all the ways you could attain that thing, from the realistic to the ridiculous. Write a short scene in which you try out one of those ideas, and see what happens.

If you were absent:  See above.  Ask Ms. Dorsey for a chance to read the chapter we used from Spilling Ink, and the passage we read from Writing Magic.

Limericks 2014

I've found I don't have to look far
For  students who truly are stars --
At limericks excel,
And do oh so well --
Fine poets A1 students are!
                      -- Ms. Dorsey

These are just a few of the gems created on March 18 and 20 of 2014.

I asked,  "Mom do I have a practice?"
She said, "No today is March Madness!"
The Cougars might lose
and I'll be amused.
I think that it's going to be Kansas.
                         -- Chase K.

There once was a young boy named Jeff
Who was frightened of his year-end test.
He read and he read
Until his eyes were red,
But he still ended up with an F!
                          -- slightly adapted from Aline V.

There once was a young man named Bob
Who found a nice grandma to rob
But she had no money
So instead gave him honey
and he decided not to steal as his job.
                              -- Justin W.

There once was a young girl named Sue
Who liked to use the loo
She went in one night
To a terrible fright.
Now she no longer uses the loo.
                             -- Dazhay A.
         Here is some information about the origin of the word "loo" as it is used here.

There once was a puppy named Pat                
Who looked and smelled just like a rat.
But one day Pat ate
Her way through the gate
And now nobody knows where she's at.
                             -- Kaiya L.

Going into Another World

o The Divide

o Neverending Story

o The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

o Peter Pan

o The Phantom Tollbooth

o The Indian in the Cupboard Series

o The Castle in the Attic

o Beyonders by Brandon Mull

o Tunnels series by Roderick Gordon
Adventures of Dod
Chronicles of Narnia
Harry Potter 
Ice Age 3
Percy Jackson
Downsiders
Neverwhere
Coraline
Pendragon
Mirror, Mirror
The Matrix 
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Inception
My Neighbor Totoro
Spirited Away
The Land of Stories
 Zathura -- Jumanji
Five Kingdoms
Nightmare Before Christmas
Found
Gravediggers Mountain of Bones
Wrinkle in Time 
Gregor the Overlander
Fablehaven
The Graveyard Book
The Menagerie
The Bridge to Terebinthia
Labryrinth
Everlost
Passage to Zarahemla
Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites 
The Giver

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Happy Spring!

Announcements and Reminders:  This is the last day we meet for Term 3. Have you finished and submitted your child's book? Have you finished and posted your Me-Bag Story?  Make sure you've posted it on your Kidsblog.  For the original assignment link to: Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Today’s Agenda: Prompt:  Write a response based on this picture.  Write a poem, story, description, brief essay, reflection, or something else you think of.  Prompt:  Write a response based on this picture.  Write a poem, story, description, brief essay, reflection, or something else you think of.  2.  Finish and hand in limericks. Here is a reminder of how limericks work: http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/BoN/bon010.html      Work more on your "Underland" story.  Add it to your kidblog as a post.      (More Child's book checks) 3.  Fleshing out a character

If you were absent:  See above

For another time:
How old is your character?
What does your character look like?
What does your character like to do?
What does your character NOT like to do?
What makes your character happy?
sad?
angry?
How does/did your character do in school?
What sort of people does your character like the most?
. . . .

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Announcements and Reminders:  Next time is the last class of the term. Have you finished your children's book? Have you finished and posted your Me-Bag Story?  Make sure you've posted it on your Kidsblog.  For the original assignment link to: Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Today’s Agenda: 1. Work on your Underland story.  Did you complete the sketching assignment for that?   (Child book checks) 2.  Limerick Assignment   (Child book checks)

If you were absent:

Limericks

Limericks 2