Writing Goals

To help you decide what you want to set as a personal writing goal for the next two months I am compiling a list below. Feel free to add to that list if you see that I missed something. Remember, YOU are responsible for working on your writing goal independently. You will be graded based on a piece of writing from before you began working on your goal and your most current piece of writing at the end of the two month goal time. You will be asked to provide strategies that you worked with, reflections on your progress etc in order to justify your independent work towards achieving success.

Possible Writing Goals:
Writing Stronger Leads
Using figurative language to add style to writing
Replacing telling with elaborate dialogue
Developing dialogue by using dialect
Showing events unfold instead of telling the reader that they occurred
Elaborating on main ideas
Including sensory details to make writing more visual
Focusing on specific detail and evidence instead of general support
Organizing paragraphs
Utilizing transitions or transitional language
Writing strong clinchers that drive home a point or finish with style
Generating Ideas
Generating supporting detail
Using strong active verbs
Incorporating adages into writing
Using adjectives/adverbs to expand writing and not to weigh it down
Utilizing allusion to build context into writing
Creating analogies
Anecdotes
Writing in different tones
Characterization
Avoiding cliches
Varying Sentence Structure
Varying sentence length
Using connotation to develop tone/mood etc
Elaboration in general
Using concrete examples to elaborate
Using clear explanation that is not boring
Using researchable facts to add authority to writing
Wordplay such as euphemisms
Expanding moments to slow pace and build suspense etc
Extending metaphors
Using quotations effectively
Adding flashback for style and interest
Foreshadowing in all forms of writing
Using fragments correctly (for effect)
Hooking the reader
Playing with humor in all writing
Including idioms
Writing using implication
Irony
Creating strong Magic 3's to help elaborate and add style
Building motif
Working with paradox
Using setting to builid mood etc
Working towards poignancy
Avoiding redundancies
Using repetition to emphasize emotion or strengthen points
Using clauses to add refinement to writing
Building writing vocabulary

October Books of the Month

Remember: Reading a "Book of the Month" selection will get you some extra credit. Write a short response to the novel under this post and then see me the next day to get your "thumbs up" and some extra credit.

Books of the Month:
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey

Lever's Picks:
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Fallen by Lauren Kate

Partner Pick:
On the Devil's Court by Carl Deuker

Classic Pick:
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Dracula by Bram Stoker

Celebrity Pick: (by Miss Healy)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Values in Literature

Something that we don't usually talk about when we discuss the books we read is how the literature reflects the values of the author and the values of the society we live in. Do we accept the premises and plots of the novels because they match our own? Does the author want us to examine those things that we value in our world. After re-reading the Dune series, which is based around the importance of a special "spice" that lengthens life and gives deep insight, I got to thinking, is there anything so vital and sought after in our world that we would fight wars etc over it? If so, is there a message about these sought after materials in the novel? Think back to a book you have read or are reading...does the author force you to question your values? How? Does the author demonstrate his own values to you? Be specific in your response.

Quizlet

All vocabulary can be found on Quizlet. Don't forget to create an account to track your practice/progress with the weekly vocabulary. The flashcards can be found under the user "shorvath".

Twitter

Don't forget to set up a twitter account when you get the chance. Parents and students are welcome to join and follow me. You are looking for horvathLAclass. Remember that you will need to set your account to send tweets to your cell phone if you want to get updates sent through text. Standard text messaging rates apply so make sure you know whether or not you have unlimited texts before you sign up.

Socratic Circles

Socratic Circles are something we will be doing every Thursday for the rest of the year. This is your chance to really take control of your own learning. I will be providing you with texts to discuss and frameworks for analyzing the text, but the discussion will be totally up to you. This site is very helpful in explaining the background of Socratic Dialog as well as some of the common questions you should ask yourself as you prepare and participate.

When Do You Put it Down

Here is a situation I know everyone has encountered...I picked up a book the other day because it was strongly recommended by a friend of mine. After reading about 40 pages I thought, "This is amusing but not really outstanding." The book is really long and I usually trust my friend's judgment on literature so I am continuing to read it. It is not that the book is bad, it is just that I know it is going to take me a while to get through and I don't know if it's worth it...my question is, "When do you decide enough is enough and just put the book down and find something else to read?"

Generating a Lead

In class today we discussed how to generate a lead. Remember, our goal for leads is to get the reader interested...this means we have to trick the reader into continuing regardless of whether or not they enjoy our topic.
For example. I don't like vegetables. Am I going to read an essay that starts with "I am going to tell you some interesting things about vegetables."? Of course not. You need to think and give me some information that will force me (the reader) to ask a question about the topic...hopefully something you will address later on.
How about..."Before kids were spitting them into napkins to make them 'disappear', vegetables were being used to conquer the cuisine and culture of continents."
Now, regardless of my attitude towards veggies, I have something that I can relate to and a question that draws me in...how does a veggie take on a continent?
As a writer our goal is to identify the topic and then ask some questions about the topic
Example:
Topic - My dog
Questions - Does he do anything funny? What kind of dog is he? Is he friendly?
Then you take one of those questions and develop it into a lead.
Another option for generating the lead is to give a small amount of info that will force the reader to ask themselves a question...
"Though I never want to talk about them, the events of last week are certainly noteworthy." what happened last week?
"Dinosaurs don't know how to stand on one leg." how can you know this about dinosaurs?
When a reader asks a question in their mind they are engaging with the text, something that we as writers must have!!!

Unforgivable

So I am sure many people have noticed the back board in LA labeled "Unforgivables"...Lidia guessed that this is where I plan on hanging the student work that is so atrocious that the creation of it is an unforgivable act, one that must be made public so all can see the horror of it. She wasn't far from the truth. I will certainly not use the board to single out "unforgivable" work, but it will be a place where I can post those things that are unforgivable in our LA class. First on the agenda...Countable versus Mass Nouns
Knowing the difference between a countable and a mass noun helps the writer determine what "number" adjective to use in front of it. This is important for these cases...much, many, less, fewer.
You would never say "How much pens do you have in your bag?" This is because pens are a COUNTABLE noun. Countable nouns use the adjectives many and fewer.
For example:

How many pens do you have?
I have four pens. (pens are countable, see?)
Oh, you have fewer pens than I do. (again, pens can be counted)

Some nouns you can only determine MASS for. You would not tell me how MANY water is in the lake, you would tell me how much water there is....you can determine mass, not number.
Example:
How much money do you have? (money is mass not countable)
I have a lot.
Oh, I have less money than you then.

What gets confusing is that some things are mass nouns that can be made up of countable nouns...try this one:
How much money do you have? (mass)
I have five dollars. (countable)
I have fewer dollars than you (countable)
Then you also have less money than me. (mass)

Therefore our first unforgivable error as writers is the confusion of countable and mass nouns when it comes to counting...no finished piece will be accepted if it contains such an error.

September Books of the Month

This month's Book of the Month: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain, The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti.
Classic of the Month: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Mrs. Lever's Picks: No and Me by Delphine de Vigan, The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Partner Pick (one we both love): Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Remember, reading these books during the month of September will get you some extra credit points. Don't forget to do a short write up of the book on the blog. Once you do this, get your "thumbs up" for extra credit and staple it to the reading board. Any questions, comments, responses regarding the books can be commented under this blog post.

HAPPY READING!!!
H

Discuss vs. Debate

In order to put students in charge of their own learning, we will be having weekly discussions based around the Socratic method. Quickly put, a Socratic dialog is one where participants hope to gain new understandings by incorporating the ideas of others into their own thinking. Before we can have one of these dialogs, we need to recognize the difference between a discussion and a debate. What is your definition of discussion? Debate? What are some things that make for a successful discussion? Debate?

Same Old...Or is it?

So the school year is officially underway and I would have to say, from a teacher's perspective, this year looks promising. I am hoping that as the processes and procedures of the class become more familiar there will be a great independent learning spirit in the English classroom. Take a moment and reflect on this first week. What were your expectations? Are you surprised by anything? Is it the same old song or is this year going to be different for you?

Welcome to the Blog

To anyone coming here for the first time, this blog is something that will be very important to our discussion of literature and our work as authors this year. There are some rules to the blog that must be followed so that everyone can have a safe and enjoyable experience here. In a few days the class website will be up and running and I will give you directions on how to get there and some things you should look for. Until then, if you decide to comment on the blog just be sure you know it is a public forum (anyone can see it).
Therefore:
No obscene language
DO NOT use full first AND last name (ie. JeffSmith etc)
Also, do not refer directly to our middle school.
This will keep the blog anonymous enough to avoid any internet related problems.

Thanks and enjoy!

Treasure Island

Students who are reading or have read Treasure Island should use this post as a place to ask and answer questions about the book.

Zen and the Art

Any students who are reading or have read Zen and the Art of Faking It can use this post to ask questions and make comments about the book.