Abstract Nouns - April 11th

Abstract nouns are things that you cannot perceive with your five senses. I like to think of them as emotions, like happy, sad, angry, frustrated, but they aren’t all just emotions. Anything that you can perceive with your five senses is a concrete noun like puppy, cat, slide, hot, cold. For this assignment you will be creating a metaphorical definition for abstract nouns. For example, “Happiness is a warm puppy” Happiness is my abstract noun and puppy is my concrete noun. One I cannot perceive with the five senses explained by something I can perceive with the five senses.

Write your own definition of fifteen abstract nouns using a concrete example. Your concrete example must be something you can sense: taste, touch, smell, see, or hear. Your metaphorical definitions of your abstract nouns should be formatted like:

Metaphorical definition = abstract noun + is + concrete example

Sensory Experience - April 10

Hear, taste, smell, sight, and touch are your five senses, you have probably known about them since 1^st grade when you learned about them for the very first time. For this assignment you will be recalling a specific event in your life using only sensory details. Pick any event that you can recall that gives you very fond sensory experiences and give at least three VERY DESCRIPTIVE details that appeal to EACH of the five senses. Your details should allow the reader to recall and draw on the same senses to feel like they were in the moment with you. 

See my example of the 4^th of July on my blog for help it is also the correct way to format this blog. You cannot use the 4^th of July as your experience.

laneseslagle.blogspot.com

Extended Metaphors - April 9

Title: Extended Metaphors

Go back to your metaphors post from April 5^th choose 3 to explain in more detail. Write a paragraph (minimum of 5 sentences per paragraph) Give five to six specific points of comparison. For example, if you are like an alley cat, discuss five characteristics of an alley cat and explain the ways in which you have the same characteristics. Be very specific in your answers, tell me what the characteristic is and why it applies to you.

Symbolic Recipe - April 8

Title: Symbolic Recipe

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is You-er than You.” ~Dr. Seuss

The above quote sums up today’s writing assignment about your personality. Every single one of you is an individual, made up of your own mixture of all the different personality traits that there are in this world. Today, you will be making a symbolic recipe for yourself. This recipe does not include concrete ingredients such as blood and bones but the different qualities that you possess that make up your unique personality. Follow a standard recipe format. (A list of ingredients with exact measures.) Think about a chocolate chip cookie recipe as seen below. Use a list of ingredients with exact measurements followed by a paragraph of instructions that include steps, tips, warnings, and a proper order of the events.

Must have at least 10 items

*Sample Recipe:

NESTLE TOLL HOUSE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Printed from COOKS.COM

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1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 measuring tsp. salt
1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 measuring tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (12 oz.) pkg. Nestle Toll House semi sweet chocolate morsels
1 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract; beat until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate morsels and nuts. Drop by level measuring tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 to 11 minutes.

Makes: about 5 dozen, 2 1/4 inch cookies.

Personal Metaphors - April 5th

A metaphor is a comparison between two objects not using the words “like” or “as” to make that comparison. For this blog post you will be comparing yourself to different objects. You will be asking yourself, “If I were a/an __________________, what kind of __________________ would I be?” For each item listed below you must come up with your personal metaphor for the item. Your responses need to be realistic and honest. You must be able to explain your choices if asked about them. As an example, I wouldn’t say, “If I were a musical instrument I would be the drums.” I wouldn’t say this because I have no rhythm and drums are a rhythmic instrument.

Your statements should be formatted as follows:

If I were a __________________, I would be a _________________ because …… and finish the statement.

So, here is your list of items to make personal metaphors for:

1. Animal

2. Car

3. Article of Clothing

4. Day of the Week.

5. Food

6. Color

7. Movie

8. Fragrance

9. Type of Building

10. Plant

11. Musical Instrument

12. Geometric Shape

13. Piece of Furniture

14. Song

15. Appliance or Machinery

16. Television Character

17. Season of the Year

18. Natural Phenomenon

19. Cartoon or Comic Character

20. Word

The Ultimate All-Purpose Excuse - April 4

Title: The Ultimate All-Purpose Excuse

You have just gotten into BIG trouble. Come up with the best excuse you can think of in 400 words. This excuse needs to beat the "My dog ate my homework." excuse we always hear made fun of.

What's in a Name? - April 3

Title: What's in a Name?

What's in a Name? Or more specifically what is in your name? Your post today will have you focusing on your name, not just your first name but your full name: first, middle, last. Reflect on where your name comes from, was it handed down? Were you named after a family member? Does it have a symbolic meaning? Do you feel that your name suits you? Is this the name you would have chosen for yourself or is there something else you would like to go by that better suits you? Do you know if your parents considered other names for you? If so, what were they? Why did they choose your name? Also, think about how you live with your name? Does it bother you if people don't say it correctly or call you by a nickname? Finally, answer this: How do you live with your name?

400 words

Check out mine at laneseslagle.blogspot.com

Likes & Dislikes - April 2

Title: Likes & Dislikes

Make two different lists, one for all of your likes and another for all of your dislikes. List from fifteen to twenty very specific items in each column. Your columns need to be equal, if you have 16 likes you need 16 dislikes. However, do not call people by specific names, generalize instead, like: "that mean teacher who is making me do a Personal Writing Portfolio"

Check out my list at laneseslagle.blogspot.com

If you get stuck share some ideas with a classmate! You may find you have some stuff in common!

Creating a Personal Writing Portfolio - April 1

The month of April (and a few days in May) will be devoted to making your own personal writing portfolio using prompts each day that we have class. Yes, this will be a lot of typing but the length of assignments will vary day to day so you can always go back and complete posts later in the week. (Just don't forget to go back!) This assignment will be worth the majority of your 4th quarter grade (25 points per post), for many of you, your last quarter as a High School Student "tear". It is important that you keep up each week so please try focus on finishing the daily assignment and then check past posts to make sure they are completed as well.

The purpose of a Personal Writing Portfolio is to focus on yourself as you hone in on your creative thinking skills and abilities. Many of the activities you will be doing are free writes and brainstorming work that ask you to delve deeper into yourself, your goals, your dreams, your personality. So, as you begin this journey making a Personal Writing Portfolio on your blog be creative, have high expectations, and write freely.

Every assignment will have a required title (this will make it easier for me to recognize and grade). The required title will be the same title that I give the post of instructions (excluding this post) Please title your blog posts as instructed in each topic post. The following is your first assignment:

Title: Prologue
Introduce yourself creatively to the reader. Capture the readers attention by being vibrant and descriptive. Tell the reader about your life, your hopes and aspirations for the future. Tell the reader about this assignment in your own words, what is its purpose, what is your goal while doing this assignment. 
Word Requirement: 500 Words

For some daily inspiration visit my blog: laneseslagle.blogspot.com