COLORful comments

By the end of class Monday, be sure all your COLOR Pieces are posted to your blog and each:

• has a creative title (something more than Object Piece...) and that you have 
• includes at least one image (ask me how to do this if you don't know)

THEN...

Find your name in the groups below.  

Read just the COLOR-Inspired Pieces of the classmates in your group and leave a comment with 1 brief but  specific, supportive and complimentary remark regarding each piece and how it was written.   Nothing critical or suggesting changes at this point...Include a greeting at the beginning of your comment (like "Hi, Taylor!) and a brief statement of encouragement at the end of your comment (like "Thanks for sharing this!" or "I look forward to seeing more of your work.")  Go beyond a short, generic comment and get specific.  Don't cop out and put a rushed, generic comment like, "It was good" or "Nice job."  

Then copy and paste the comments you made into a New Post on your own blog so I can quickly give you credit for offering feedback today.  If you run out of time during class to leave comments, please do so on your own by Tuesday.

We'll be moving on to a new theme after today (DREAMS!)...I'll be reading and commenting on all your stuff, too...it just takes a while for me to get through it all, so thanks for your patience.  I really love seeing what you all have to say and I do read ALL of it...

Side note:  Your journal with 20 full pages of writing will be due at the end of class this Friday, 16 September.

Groups:

Lily
Mallory
Cindy


Katheryn
Karlee
Haley


Taylor
Charli
Samantha


Matt
David
Hannah


J.L.
Rah Rah
Kelli


Charles
Ryan
Will


Merideth
Echo
Nichole


Anastasiya
Kat
Kam


Alec
Katelynn S.
Keaton

Just a little bonus to start your week that you are more than free to ignore:  An icon of my childhood performing a song I've loved since then (you may know her "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" or my favorite "Time After Time...")  Don't ask me to explain/interpret Cyndi Lauper's video for "True Colors"  but I love what she wore to perform on Letterman in 1986.  She wrote about how nervous she was that night in her memoir.  We wore some fun stuff back then but no one was a colorful as Cyndi...She was kind of a rebel figure I looked up to when I was young--can't wrap my mind around the fact she's 63 now (and still singing!)...I heart/miss the 80s so much...Okay, I'll stop now. :)

Optional Opportunity: Poetry Out Loud

A message from Ms. Romay, who sponsors the Poetry Out Loud recitation contest....Let me know if you're interested in participating!

Hello!

 

The annual Kickapoo Poetry Out Loud Competition is only 2 ½ months away! I will be putting an announcement in Chief Chatter, but I need your help. If you have the time, please spread the word to students you think would be interested in this awesome opportunity.

 

Students memorize three published poems and recite them to an audience. While, this does involve public speaking, it is not an acting event. So, if you have students who write their own poetry or have an immense love for literature this may be something they enjoy.  For more information about the competition visit the POL website - http://www.poetryoutloud.org/

 

I will be having an informational meeting next Wednesday, immediately after school. Send students to my room (141), Wednesday, September 14^th if they are interested in competing.

Color Walk Poem

My green paint chip called Bamboo Leaves reminded me of 70s appliances and kitchens from my (very early!) childhood...it's also the color of the cabinets in the back of my classroom, which used to be a science lab, probably installed in 1971 when Kickapoo was built.  

In a New Post on your own blog, please post a poem of 8 or more lines inspired by something you thought of when you sought out your chosen paint chip color in your life (home, work, nature, etc.) or at KHS during class on Thursday.  

The color may or may not make an appearance in your writing.  Your poem might describe a place, an event, a memory, a feeling, a person, or a combination of those.  It might take the form of a Narrative Poem, a Free Verse Poem, a Rhymed Poem, an Acrostic Poem, or a series of 3 or more Haiku Poems.  

Please include an image to go along with your writing and give your post a creative title.  If  you'd like to, you could include an Author's Note about the origin of your idea. Please post this poem by the end of class on Friday.

Color Collage Poem

In a New Post on your own blog, please post a poem of 8 or more lines inspired by some aspect of your magazine cut-out collage in your journal featuring the paint chip shade you selected.  

The color may or may not make an appearance in your writing.  Your poem might describe a place, an event, a memory, a feeling, a person, or a combination of those.  It might take the form of a Narrative Poem, a Free Verse Poem, a Rhymed Poem, an Acrostic Poem, or a series of 3 or more Haiku Poems.  

Please include an image to go along with your writing and give your post a creative title.  If  you'd like to, you could include an Author's Note about the origin of your idea. Please post this poem by the end of class on Friday.

Color Story (in 4 paragraphs)

In a New Post (of at least 300 words, with at least one image and a creative title) on your blog by the end of class on Friday, write a short story (fiction or non-fiction narrative) that begins with a sentence that includes the word BLUE.

Start each of the paragraphs (at least 4 total for your story) following with  a sentence using a different COLOR word.  Include at least one image.  If you need more than 4 paragraphs to tell your story, that's fine.  

Use the COLOR word only once in each paragraph, but suggest the color in as many ways as possible. Highlight the details you've used in the color they're suggesting.

For example:

The world had turned GREY. Nothing but mud and asphalt surrounded the unpainted house, little more than a box made of concrete blocks. Charlie, dressed in faded work pants, rubber boots, and a thick wool sweater, steadied himself with a hand on the top rail of a weathered cedar fence. Behind him, nothing but ash-coloured sky, bare trees, and plumes of smoke belching from the factory in the distance. A lone sparrow rested on a branch, one beady eye watching.

Once everyone has had a chance to post today, read as many of your classmates' pieces as you can and leave them a brief, positive comment naming one line or phrase you found especially descriptive or well-written.  

We are moving on to a new theme after today (DREAMS!) so be sure that you have posted all the color-related pieces and responded to as many as you can before you leave today.  

Here's a link to an example of a Color Story from one of my past students that might inspire you...

Paint Chip Poetry

Please polish and post the paint chip inspired pieces (alliteration!) you came up with in your journal during class on Tuesday.  You may group them all in one post or do a separate post for each one.  Include an image for each piece.  Let me show you how to do this if you don't know--it's easy and important to add visual interest to your work.

You should have (in any order you choose):

• 2 haikus 
• an acrostic using a paint color name
• an 8+ line free verse poem that uses the 4 paint color names
• an 8+ line narrative poem using the paint name as a title or in a line

If you finish with this assignment, click around on the info at HGTV about the Psychology of Color, how different colors affect our moods.   There are various color quizzes out there you could try, too.  Or you could continue to customize your blog with gadgets (quotes, images, tools) on your sidebar, or update your profile.  You could also check out what your classmates are posting today and leave them the kind of friendly, specific, supportive comments we are going for.  Thanks!

Thanks for sharing

Quickly, be sure your Object-Inspired Piece is posted to your blog and:

• has a creative title (something more than Object Piece...) and that you have 
• includes at least one image (ask me how to do this if you don't know)

While you're at it, it would also be nice if your "I am..." poem had a title (I am... is fine) and an image.

Please make these updates first thing.  If you'd like to, you could also include a brief Author's Note at the beginning or end of your post indicating where you got the idea for your story or which object inspired your piece.  That's optional.

Next...

You all worked so hard on your object pieces--I'd like for you to take some time today to see what your classmates have come up with.  

Find your name in the groups below.  

Read the Object-Inspired Pieces of the classmates in your group and leave a comment with 3 specific, supportive and complimentary remarks regarding the piece and how it was written.   Nothing critical or suggesting changes at this point...

Include a greeting at the beginning of your comment (like "Hi, Taylor!) and a brief statement of encouragement at the end of your comment (like "Thanks for sharing this!" or "I look forward to seeing more of your work.")

Go beyond a short, generic comment and get specific. As in:  "You really got me with that twist at the end--I would have never guessed it was her sister stalking her all along.  Creepy!"  Or:  "Your use of dialogue was effective and pulled me into the story.  I never thought a conversation between a little boy and his baseball could sound so natural."  Don't cop out and put a rushed, generic comment like, "It was good" or "Nice job."   

Leave a quick comment on their "I am..." pieces, too--maybe something you have in common or something you think is interesting or even a question.

Then copy and paste the comments you made into a New Post on your own blog so I can quickly give you credit for offering feedback today.

We'll be moving on to a new theme after today (COLOR!)...


Groups:

Katheryn
Karlee
Hannah
Taylor
Charli
Ryan


Matt
David
Lily
Mallory
Cindy


J.L.
Rah Rah
Haley
Charles
Will
Merideth


Echo
Nichole
Anastasiya
Kat
Kam


Alec
Katelynn S.
Keaton
Samantha
Kelli