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?