Holiday Traditions (Due Friday, December 16th)

What are some of your family's holiday traditions?  OR What are you most looking forward to over Holiday Break?

For example, if you were Bob Cratchit from A Christmas Carol, you might write:

I look forward to going down the slide at Cornhill twenty times in honor of Christmas Eve and then playing blindman's buff again like a boy.  Taking Tiny Tim to church is always special because of his thoughtful observations.  My wife's cooking is always a treat, especially her scrumptious goose and Christmas pudding.  I look forward to sitting around the fire with my family and passing the custard-cup back and forth while we revel and play games.  Even though Mr. Scrooge doesn't understand it, Christmas Day is different from the rest of the days of the year, and I look forward to enjoying it with my family!

Ideal Interview: Due Friday, December 11th!

If you could interview anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?  What sorts of questions would you ask? Remember, you should include a strong topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.  Here's an example:

If I could interview anyone, I would interview J.D. Salinger, the author of Catcher in the Rye and several other short stories and novellas.  Salinger remained reclusive throughout his life and died recently, in January of 2010. I would like to ask him about his creative experience while writing Catcher in the Rye such as how he came up with Holden's character, how much his own beliefs were reflected in the character, and why he was so reluctant to answer questions after the book achieved so much success.  I would ask him why he never made the book into a movie and how he feels about the fact that Catcher is required reading for many students nowadays.  When he was alive, Salinger turned down many interviews and remained an incredibly private author, and for this reason, I would like to probe him with questions about his life and creative process.

my holiday weekend

 William here I did not do much on my break, it was more of a relaxing break. My mom always talks about traveling, but we never seem to do that. I usually want to stay home, I want to be at home on holidays. We did go to Richmond to the art museum and we saw the mummy exhibit and a giant rug made entirely out of cigarettes.
I has a lotof fun playing board games with my family. We had turkey on thanksgiving, and my favorite. stuffing.  This was an average but very relaxing thanksgivng

What did you do over Thanksgiving break? (Due Friday, December 2nd)

Your blogs will now be graded on content as well as how well your paragraph is organized!  Your response should be at least 5 sentences and should include a topic sentence, at least 3 supporting sentences, and a strong concluding sentence.  If you have 3 or more grammar or spelling mistakes, you will lose 10 points.  

Here's an example of a well-organized response:

          Over Thanksgiving break, I journeyed into the world of Harry Potter with my parents and sister. We woke up early in the morning and beat (almost) everyone to Diagon Alley, the Butter Beer, and Harry's Forbidden Journey ride.  The Butter Beer surpassed my expectations; it was sweet, creamy, and left a little white mustache on everyone's lip.  We deliberated for quite some time about which wands to buy, and I finally settled on Hermione's green-tinged, leaf-covered one.  After dueling in the alleyways, my sister and I went off to brave the other rides in the park.  On Thanksgiving day, we spent time in the hot tub before enjoying a traditional feast, ordered from the local grocery store of course!  It was an enchanting, memorable vacation, and I would recommend that any Harry Potter fan check out the park!

Thanksgiving Break Extra Credit! (Due Sunday, November 27th)

Write a summary of a book you read over the break!  Your summary should include a description of the setting, characters, and major conflict.  Below is a great example book summary from Airman:


Airman is set in the 1890's on the sovereign Saltee Islands, off the Irish coast. It is the story of Conor Broekhart, a young Saltee Islander whose father, Declan, is the King's bodyguard. When Conor discovers that the power hungry Marshall Hugo Bonvilain is organizing a military coup, the king is murdered and Conor is blamed for the crime and thrown into prison.

In prison, Conor passes the solitary months by scratching designs for flying machines into the walls. This has always been his dream, to win the race for flight. After two years, Conor now sixteen, plans and executes a daring escape to the mainland. Initially he plans to return home, but realizes that this would put his entire family in danger, so instead he builds a glider to fly to the prison island and reclaim the diamonds he buried there from the prison mine. Eight bags of diamonds, means eight trips.

What hero are you writing about? (Due Friday, November 11th)

In your Hero's Journey graphic story, who is your character?  What traumatic event leads to his or her quest? What is your hero's special weapon or power? Who or what is your hero's spiritual advisor?  How will your hero prove himself or herself on a quest?  What will your hero learn in the end?

Flight versus Invisibility? (Due Friday, November 4th)

Flight versus invisibility?  Whichever you pick, you'll be the only person in the world to have that particular superpower. You can't have both. Which do you choose? Why? How would you use the superpower? What would you do with it?

What Makes Someone a Hero? (Due Friday, October 28th)

Read the following statements.  In your comments, write whether you agree or disagree and WHY for each statement:

1. Courage always involves sacrifice or loss. (AGREE/ DISAGREE) 

Why or why not?

2. When a hero is born, he or she is already different from other people. (AGREE/ DISAGREE) 

Why or why not?

3. Someone can be considered a hero only if they win. (AGREE/ DISAGREE)

Why or why not?

4. If a person does something heroic but gets something out of doing it, like a reward, then she or he is not a hero. (AGREE/ DISAGREE)

Why or why not?

Check Out 6th Grade's 90 - Second Newbery Videos!

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Al Capone Does My Shirts

What's your favorite cartoon or comic? (Due Friday, October 21st)

Click on the "COMMENTS" link below, and write 5-7 sentences describing your favorite cartoon or comic.  It could be a movie, television show, or a comic strip.  

For example, my favorite cartoon would have to be Monsters, Inc.  I love the idea that Sulley is just "doing his job" when he scares kids and harvests their screams.  The way that Boo says the name "Mike Wazowski" never fails to crack me up, and I love the theme at the end, the idea that people and corporations can change for the better.  Pixar animation amazes me.  Boo is adorable, and the way that Sulley shifts from like-able guy to ferocious creature shows the richness of the animation.  Of course, having John Goodman and Billy Crystal as voices adds a layer of humor to the movie.  Overall, it's a triumph of storytelling and animation, and a heck of a good film!