Showing posts with label directions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label directions. Show all posts

Friday, August 7, 2020

Creative Piece

 Using a keyword as the prompt, write creatively for twelve to fifteen minutes in any genre. [Write at the top of your "Blog Reflective Username" GDoc; copy and paste into your blog post.] Your entry may, for example, take the form of a short story, fable, poem, song, chapter, journal/diary, newspaper article, commercial, monologue, dialogue, speech,  or a hybrid genre (mix of two or more different genres). Proofread for typographical errors, but don’t do any major editing. 

In the “title” box of the Post form, type CP #__; create a two-part title but post it as the first line in the body window. Include the keyword and bold it in the title and in the content. In vocabulary CPs, use as many vocabulary words as you can and bold each one – make sure they flow naturally into the text, though.


Sample Creative Piece 1

 To Ease the Pain: Painting the Way to Contentment

She fell on the floor in tears, crying over all the years she would never be able to get back. She was just Susie Stoffle now, she thought, the maid for one of the richest families in the entire county, possibly in the entire state. She was alone forever. Another tear slowly traced the outline of her distressed face. But self-pity was not her forte. Knowing she should be grateful to the benefactors who gave her a job when nobody in their community would, she wiped her tear-stained face on her clean apron and slowly picked herself up off the floor and began cleaning up the great mess that testified to the party that had precipitated the fight.

Susie lived in the maid’s quarters behind the house she cleaned in a small two-room cabin with her husband, now ex-husband. After the fight they had, she knew he would never return, not even for his favorite collared dress shirt. All alone in her household, she began slowly munching on the dinner she had so carefully prepared for both of them. It was his favorite, spaghetti and meatballs, an entrée she hardly ever cooked since the meat was far too expensive for her meager income.

 Once she ate all that would fit in her anxious stomach, Susie decided to ease her nerves by doing what she loved most, painting. She began painting the scenery behind her humble abode, the leaves gently coated with the light from the setting sun, the deep blues and purples matching her still down-trodden heart, all the while humming a little tune as she began to feel more light-hearted as evening came on. The night was calm and cool with a hint of a breeze floating through the air.

 

 Sample Creative Piece 2

 Nothing in Everything: The Temptation of Exhilaration 

What does it take to make a woman happy?
You have given me everything I could ever imagine,
And yet a part of me begs for something more.
You granted me this palace of luxury in which we stand this evening.
It shouts of riches, of majesty and grandeur,
And inside this exotic fantasy
I am free to indulge in every possible desire.
With all of this, you think you can breech
The ever-present barrier that stands between us,
That forbids us to love and enjoy each other as husband and wife.
Love will forever be lacking in our relationship,
And without passion and affection, our bond will always be severed.
I was afraid our love would suffer after my escapade with Paris.
However, I feel no remorse, no regret for my actions.
Being with Paris was thrilling, sensational!
I could feel my pulse accelerate,
The breath escaping from my lungs whenever he came near!
I miss that excitement that Paris revealed to me,
And now that my eyes have been opened,
I cannot force them shut.
My life is empty without such exhilaration.
So, we can either maintain this façade of happiness,
Or surrender to our failures;
But without romance, our marriage will never survive.

Peer Comment

 

After reading a few entries in a classmate’s IRJ, you will select one QR or OP (not a creative piece) and write a 150-250 word response posted as a comment on his/her blog.  [Compose the comment in the top of your "Blog Reflection Username" GDoc; copy and paste it as a reply.] 

Focus on the proposition and your stance on the issue. If you agree, suggest additional evidence for consideration or analysis; if you disagree, present alternative interpretations of the evidence or examples given. If your own stance is somewhere in between, do both. In all cases, conclude the comment with two or three questions designed to further reflection and further clarification.

 Sample Peer Comment

Curiosity does play an important role in the advancement of the human race, but I question whether it is necessary for survival. People often undertake research simply because they want to learn more, and along the way, a benefit to what they discover arises. These “accidents” are the positive result of curiosity. The space program, for instance, is a constant source of innovations that improve daily life through byproducts of research. Keep in mind, though, that when scientists or inventors set out to solve a specific problem – find a cure or make a machine to complete a task, it is need, not curiosity at work.

Humans need food and shelter for basic survival. Science has produced marvelous medicines that have extended life expectancy, it is true. However, survival is far different from advancement. Native tribes survive in hostile climates, have flourishing cultures, and lead fulfilling lives. Their survival does not depend on curiosity or the “progress” it may intentionally or unintentionally bring.

How can we decide how much or what kind of suffering is acceptable as the price for some advancement?

How do you define “advancement”? Is it always a good thing? 

Sample Open Response

 Unlike a Quick Response with its assigned prompt, here you choose the experience from your personal life, your other studies, or your engagement with mass media or pop culture. Once you determine the topic, find one to three Internet sources that provide pertinent and engaging background information for your readers. (You may NOT use Wikipedia.) Using the following format, write for twelve to fifteen minutes [Write at the top of your "Blog Reflective Username" GDoc; copy and paste the response to a blog post.] Your response should be 200-300 words. Proofread for typographical errors, but don’t do any major editing.

 Journal Entry Title:  In the “title” box of the Post form, type OP #__; create a two-part title but post it as the first line in the body window.

Prompt Context:  Incorporate the quotation as the first paragraph with context – two or three sentences only. Use MLA citation format if your prompt comes from a text or film. Use (Class Discussion) when appropriate. If you don’t have a direct quotation because you have selected a personal event, briefly recount the experience. Refer to peers, if applicable, by username:  first name last initial.

Background: Provide a hyperlink to each of your background resources: type a short descriptive phrase, set a link on that text, and then include a short annotation so your readers know what they will find before they follow your link.

Response:  Free-write your reaction to the prompt; capture your thoughts as they occur. Start a new paragraph whenever your ideas take a decided turn, but don’t focus on structure or coherence. Time yourself – write for at least twelve minutes and no more than fifteen.

Proposition:  Based on the progression of thought in the reflection, write a concluding sentence that synthesizes a specific insight into the human condition or human nature.

 

Sample Entry

 [Title] The Power of Blankness: Self-confidence Brings Success

 [Prompt Context] As the inhabitants of the valley evacuate to avoid the wrath of the escaped Tai Lung, Po’s father tells him, “Son, there’s something I should have told you long ago. There is no secret ingredient” (Kung Fu Panda). This comment sparks Po’s epiphany: the dragon scroll is blank because it is a warrior’s belief in himself that provides the ultimate power. With this realization comes the confidence to battle and, ultimately, to defeat the evil leopard.

[Background]  Plot Summary: overview of Kung Fu Panda

Video Clip: introduction to the power of the dragon scroll and Po’s “unworthiness”

 [Response] Inner strength – that is fortitude, perseverance, and self-confidence – can triumph over physical strength. From “The Tortoise and the Hare” to just about every underdog movie to real-life tales of amazing accomplishments, this is a central theme.  Po may be fat and unskilled at first, but he learns the art because he refuses to give up. He is not naturally courageous; he does not really believe he can do it. Yet because he keeps moving forward, as the Robinsons do, he succeeds. It would seem that perseverance is more central to success than courage or confidence.

 But Tai Lung does not fail because he lacks any of the inner-strength qualities. In fact, he has all three in excess, particularly self-confidence which in his case becomes pride. Pride relates more to self-worth whereas confidence is about belief/trust in oneself. How does positive self-confidence turn into negative pride? When achievement or great desire is on the line? His greed for power costs him the dragon scroll, ironically what he wants most.

 [Proposition] Proposition: People can be blinded by the pursuit of their goals so that they are unable to recognize how their own behavior prevents the success they desire.

 

Quick Responses

 As you read, watch multimedia presentations, and participate in class discussion, make note of intriguing quotations and ideas. Select one to which you want to respond; using the following format, write for twelve to fifteen minutes. Your response should be 200-300 words. Proofread for typographical errors, but don’t do any major editing.  [Write the entry at the top of your "Blog Reflection Username" GDoc; copy and paste the text to your blog.]

 Journal Entry Title:  In the “title” box of the Post form, type QR # __; create a two-part title but post it as the first line in the body window.

 Prompt Context:  Incorporate the quotation as the first paragraph with context – two or three sentences only. Use MLA citation format if your prompt comes from a text or film. Use (Class Discussion) when appropriate. Refer to peers by username:  first name last initial.

 Response:  Free-write your reaction to the prompt; capture your thoughts as they occur. Start a new paragraph whenever your ideas take a decided turn, but don’t focus on structure or coherence. Time yourself – write for at least twelve minutes and no more than fifteen.

 Proposition:  Based on the progression of thought in the reflection, write a concluding sentence that synthesizes a specific insight into the human condition or human nature.

 

Sample Quick Response

 [Title] Felines’  Tragic Flaw: When Curiosity Turns Dangerous (QR#1)

 [Prompt Context] Melba, a young black girl in Little Rock, Arkansas, expresses a desire to see what is inside the white’s-only Central High School. Her grandmother India, worried about the racial tension at the time, replies, “‘Don’t you dare say that, girl; curiosity gets a body in a whole lot of trouble. Be patient’” (Beals 21).

[Response] When Melba’s curiosity leads her to sign up to be among the first to attend the newly integrated school system, she suffers physical pain, indignity, and fear because many of the whites in Arkansas do not want the social order to change. Similarly, the early seventeenth century Church in Italy did not tolerate Galileo’s curiosity and put him under house arrest until his death.  Galileo’s curiosity threatened only ideas. The curiosity of other scientists has threatened life such as the creation of nuclear weapons.

 When people say “Curiosity killed the cat,” they are attempting to prevent others from challenging their authority or upsetting the status quo. People fear change and would rather endure the known that take physical, emotional, or intellectual risks. Sometimes the outcomes are horrendous, intentionally or unintentionally, it is true. However, without curiosity, the human race would still be hoarding fire from lightning strikes, and most of our important discoveries in science, medicine, and technology would never have existed. While I have always valued curiosity, I had not thought about the negative impact it can have, so I have modified my perspective a bit.

[Proposition] Proposition:  Although it may lead to trouble and suffering initially, curiosity is necessary for the survival and advancement of the human race.

Reflective Journal Entries

Socrates Looking in Mirror

 All reflection begins with an experience that stimulates thoughtful exploration of an assumption, attitude, idea, belief, value, philosophical stance, or aspect of human nature. The experience may consist of a personal incident such as an observation, conversation, or event. It may consist of exposure to ideas in your academic readings or from mass communications such as film, the Internet, magazines, newspapers, radio, and television.  Or, it may consist of exposure to ideas from popular culture such as entertainment, fashion, music, sports, etc.  Something about the experience sparks an interest in thinking more deeply about it from a personal, cultural, or societal perspective. In general, reflective writing uses vivid sensory images to recreate the original experience to the greatest extent possible within the constraints of the overall length of the piece and to convey the philosophical journey from the experience to a new understanding, a modification, or a clarification of a previously-held stance.

In English I, your primary sources of reflection prompts are your personal learning experiences in the class and the texts and multimedia we study, though you will have many opportunities to draw on your outside personal experiences, previous study, and mass media/pop culture. Some times, you will address specific reflection questions as part of an assignment. For instance, you might be asked to reflect on your writing process for a major composition or on what you discovered about your learning style during a group project.  The bulk of the reflective writing for the course, though, is more open-ended: you select the ideas you want to pursue from the texts, the films, and the discussions or you select a prompt from your other studies or an outside source.

Most of your short pieces for the class will be featured on your Reflective Journal, an online blog with a portfolio component.  Much shorter #PolyWITT (Poly What I Think Today) will be posted on your ThoughtWave. You will write a number of different types of assignments, most of them reflective in nature, from short, free-writing responses to formal essays:

  • Quick Response (QR): a short, informal reaction to a passage from assigned reading or to a class experience
  • Open Prompt (OP): a short, informal reaction to any appropriate, outside experience
  • Peer Comment (PC): short responses to the ideas, examples, and arguments of your peers’ work
  • Portfolio Process Reflection: a medium-length reflection on learning with accompanying artifacts
  • Reflective Essay: a longer, formal, multi-draft reflection based on a previous QR or OP
  • Creative Piece: a short creative writing in any genre stemming from your associations with a vocabulary word or from another type of prompt