Extra Credit

 Extra Credit:

MAY DAY:

·         People have celebrated May Day on May 1^st since ancient times when this was considered the return of spring time.

·         On this day a pole may be dressed with ribbons and flowers, and danced around by people celebrating.

·         Many places around the world celebrate May Day, some of them being in the United States.

·         Many people go on strike during this time because it recognized the labor the people perform.

http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2012/05/01/what-is-may-day-anyway/

MID SUMMER EVE:

·         Midsummer Eve on June 23^rd is also a day this is celebrated.

·         This is considered to be the longest day of the year or the summer solstice.

·         This is recognized as an official holiday in places like Sweden and Finland.

·         The people will gather in rural parts of the country and sing and dance to music.

·         People of Denmark also celebrate by singing we love our land and making a bonfire only out of straw

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/381655/Midsummers-Eve

William Shakespeare's Life Web Quest

WebQuest on

William Shakespeare’s Life

Directions

Step 1:   Go on a “quest” to find a trusted website on William Shakespeare’s life and works.  Usually, you can trust a university site.  After you complete the webquest by filling in the blanks, list your sources at the bottom.

Step 2:  Add three images that demonstrate aspects of Shakespeare’s life and works.

Some suggested sites for you:

  http://www.folger.edu/Content/Discover-Shakespeare/Discover-Shakespeare.cfm

http://shakespeare.mit.edu/

William Shakespeare’s Life and Works

          William Shakespeare was born on __April 1564____ and died ___April 1616___.  During his lifetime and after his death, he was nicknamed the “___The Bard ___”  When Shakespeare was eighteen years old, he married ___Anne Hathaway_______ of the town London.  She was ___8__  years older than he was.  They had _3__ children and their son named ___Hamnet_________ later died in childhood.  Shakespeare’s father was quite a prosperous merchant as a glove maker, which allowed William to attend school as a boy and study grammar Latin classes.  In 1580, Shakespeare left Stratford and moved to _London________ to write and act in plays.

Throughout his writing career, William Shakespeare wrote __37_  plays and _154 __sonnets and poems. 

         

Shakespeare’s London

          William Shakespeare was living during an exciting time in the history of Great Britain.  _____Elizabeth 1______________________   was the ruler of Great Britain and she reigned for 60 years.  The time period (1500’s – 1600’s) was known in Great Britain as the ______Renaissance__________________________, which means “rebirth.”  Three areas in which Great Britain was thriving in during this period of its history were _____architecture_________________________, __________art____________________, and __________theatre ____________.  After the above monarch (ruler) dies, King ______James 1___________________ rose to the throne. 

One popular form of entertainment during Shakespeare’s life was the theatre.  William Shakespeare worked with a company of actors called _Lord Chamberlains men, also known as Kings men____ and they performed their plays at the famous _____The Theatre!____________ Theatre, located on the bank of the ____Thames________________ River.  For the first time in English history, people of all classes were allowed to attend play performances at the ____Virtual globe________ Theatre.  Three interesting facts about this theatre were _____________Associated with Shakespeare ________________________, ______built in 1917_________________________, ______got destroyed by a fire_________________________.  During Shakespeare’s drama writing career, he wrote four of the most accomplished tragedies in literary history.  These four tragedies that he wrote between of 1604-1607 were ________Hamlet___________, ______Macbeth________________, Othello, and King Lear.  Eventually, Shakespeare’s ___Red Lion theatre _________ and other theatres were shut down by the religious groups and ____Plague_______ (which wiped out the population of half of Europe).  In 1613, the _____Virtual globe____ Theatre was demolished by __fire____  due to malfunction of special effects. 

 After William Shakespeare’s death at the age of ___52____, his critic and friend Ben Johnson helped to gather all of Shakespeare’s works in order to get it published in one central bound book.   This collection was titled __Complete works of William Shakespeare _______________________________________. 

Today, audiences all over the world are still captivated by such plays as the one we are about to read entitled _________A mid-summer nights dream_____________________________________, one of William Shakespeare’s most popular love comedy.

 http://theglobetheaterfactsuey.wordpress.com/

http://www.folger.edu/Content/Discover-Shakespeare/Shakespeares-Life/Success-in-London.cfm

http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/life.htm#History

http://www.playshakespeare.com/study/elizabethan-theatres

 

http://www.ego4u.com/images/countries/uk/london/globe-theatre01.jpg

http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323

Close Reading

The book I read for outside reading was called Close To Famous by Joan Bauer. This book is a total of 250 pages, and it took me about 3 weeks to read. This book was ok, but most parts were a little predictable, so I would give it a rating of a 7. In the book, Foster McKee’s mother’s ex-boyfriend began abusing them, so they get in there car and get as far away as possible from the ex-boyfriend. They don’t bother to take most of their belongings just the few cupcakes that Foster had made a couple previous days.

Journal Post #1

Yesterday morning my mother told me that we were being forced out of our house due to her abusive boyfriend. I never really did like him, because he was always mean to me. I currently live in Memphis which is a town in Tennessee. Early this morning, we got up and jumped into our car. We did not pack most of our belongings because we didn’t want Huck (mother’s ex-boyfriend) to happen to see us that morning and follow us up the road. It breaks my heart to see my mother so upset about the whole situation.  Not only is she upset about the person Huck has turned into, but he also ruined her dreams. She really enjoys singing and she and Huck started their own band, where she learned she wanted to become something more than just a background singer in the band, but instead a headliner and be the star of the show! However, this is starting to make me think of my goal; to be a famous cooker. I want to have my own show. I really enjoy baking cupcakes which is preparing me for a career in the culinary field. On another note, we have been in this car for a very long amount of time in the middle of nowhere, but up ahead I see a town that looks somewhat promising. Mother tells me we are now entering the state of West Virginia, which makes sense due to all the mountains. I see a sign ahead that reads “Welcome to Culpepper.” This is it I say aloud to my mother. We end up in a hotel our final destination for a short amount of time. I take a look down the streets and get a lay out of the area, and then think to myself this is it, where I am going to start my new life and live all my dreams.

Julie Otsuka.

Julie Otsuka.

·         She was born and raised in California.

·         She studied at Yale University and studied painting, them came to realize she wanted to be a writer.

·         She won the Asian American writer award.

·         She was born on May 15, 1962.

·         She had not died yet, and is still living today.

·         Her very first novel was called When the Emperor Was Devine.

·         This story describes what was happening to Japanese- American families during the time of World War 2.

·         Buddha in the Attic was her second novel she ever wrote.

·         Her writings are so good they are New York Times notable books.

·         Today she lives in New York City, where she uses a coffee shop in her neighborhood to write her stories.

·         Most of her famous pieces are:

1.       Whites

2.       The Children

3.       In the Café.

4.       Come, Japanese!

·         Her father worked hard as an aerospace engineer.

·         She had 2 brothers as she was growing up. One of which goes to a school in London.

·         She is a very talented and somewhat new writer.

·         http://www.julieotsuka.com/about/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Otsuka

 

O'Henry

O’Henry:

·         His real name is William Sydney Porter.

·         He was born on September 11, 1862

·         He died on June 5, 1910.

·         Many of his stories had clever twisted endings.

·         Short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, and warm characterization.

·         Since he moved to Texas, some of his stories have events that happened that center around one that might really happen in Texas.

·         One of his better writings that a lot of people have never heard of is Cabbages and Kings.

·         Cabbages and Kings was his very first collection of stories and after those followed The Four Million.

·         Some of his famous stories are:

1.       The Gift of Magi.

2.        The Ransom of Red Chief.

3.       The Retrieved Reformations.

4.       The Duplicity of Hargraves.

·         O’Henry is considered to be his Pen Name.

·         A lot of stories that he wrote and centered around small towns or cities.

·         In my opinion, one of his better short stories is Ransom of Red Chief, because the story has many interesting details that are used to describe the events happening to each of the characters in the story.

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._Henry

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Allen Poe:

·         Born on January 19, 1809.

·         Died on October 14, 1849

·         Edgar was a poet, editor, and author.

·         He was a writer during the Romantic Movement.

·         He moved from city to city including Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia.

·         One of his most famous poems is called The Raven.

·         He was born in Massachusetts.

·         He served in the military before he became a writer and poet, because he was unable to support himself.

·         After the death of his brother, he was more influenced to start his writing career again and try to succeed.

·         “Poe’s best known fiction works are Gothic.

·         The fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, are other stories people have read by Edgar Allen Poe.

·         His stores go along the lines of being romantic, scary, revenge, torture, plague, insanity, and being buried alive.

·         He wrote about being on the high seas, buried pirate treasure, and famous balloon ride.

·         Edgar makes most of his stores scary, because he wants the reader to feel scared as they read.

·         Poe is a Baltimore icon for all the famous works of art he made.

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe

·         http://poestories.com/biography.php

Edgar Allen Poe:

·         Born on January 19, 1809.

·         Died on October 14, 1849

·         Edgar was a poet, editor, and author.

·         He was a writer during the Romantic Movement.

·         He moved from city to city including Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia.

·         One of his most famous poems is called The Raven.

·         He was born in Massachusetts.

·         He served in the military before he became a writer and poet, because he was unable to support himself.

·         After the death of his brother, he was more influenced to start his writing career again and try to succeed.

·         “Poe’s best known fiction works are Gothic.

·         The fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, are other stories people have read by Edgar Allen Poe.

·         His stores go along the lines of being romantic, scary, revenge, torture, plague, insanity, and being buried alive.

·         He wrote about being on the high seas, buried pirate treasure, and famous balloon ride.

·         Edgar makes most of his stores scary, because he wants the reader to feel scared as they read.

·         Poe is a Baltimore icon for all the famous works of art he made.

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe

·         http://poestories.com/biography.php

Edgar Allen Poe:

·         Born on January 19, 1809.

·         Died on October 14, 1849

·         Edgar was a poet, editor, and author.

·         He was a writer during the Romantic Movement.

·         He moved from city to city including Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia.

·         One of his most famous poems is called The Raven.

·         He was born in Massachusetts.

·         He served in the military before he became a writer and poet, because he was unable to support himself.

·         After the death of his brother, he was more influenced to start his writing career again and try to succeed.

·         “Poe’s best known fiction works are Gothic.

·         The fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, are other stories people have read by Edgar Allen Poe.

·         His stores go along the lines of being romantic, scary, revenge, torture, plague, insanity, and being buried alive.

·         He wrote about being on the high seas, buried pirate treasure, and famous balloon ride.

·         Edgar makes most of his stores scary, because he wants the reader to feel scared as they read.

·         Poe is a Baltimore icon for all the famous works of art he made.

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe

·         http://poestories.com/biography.php

Saki

Saki:

·         Saki was the son of Charles Augustus Munro and Mary Frances Mercer.

·         His real name is Hector Hugo Munro.

·         Born on December 18^th, 1870.

·         Died on November 14^th, 1916.

·         His works include the classic stories "Tobermory” and “The Open Window”

·         He is a British writer.

·         He worked with making full length plays.

·         One of his famous plays include: The Watched Pot.

·         He worked with another writer to produce a nook called The Rise of the Russian Empire.

·         Before he started writing short stories and plays he got a job as a journalist.

·         He traveled around to places like Russia and London because of his job as a foreign correspondent for a newspaper called the Washington Post.

·         The Toys of Peace, The Interlopers, Gabriel-Ernest, The storytellers, The open Window, The Unrest-Cure are all famous works of Saki.

·         He was admired for all his great works.

·         http://www.biography.com/people/hh-munro-9418240

·         http://www.scribd.com/doc/37478923/Saki-biography-his-famous-story

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saki

 

 

 

 

my own story

It was a couple years back, I was probably in third grade, when I got the news I was going to Jamaica for vacation. I was so excited I began telling all my friends and family members, as me and my family continued to share the excitement. When we got up at to head off to the airport, me and my sister were wide awake, and talking and carrying on loudly in the back seat. When we got to the terminal to get ready to board, thunder, lightning, and heavy rain almost hail begin to fall. The plane was delayed for over 3 hours! After hours and hours that quickly seemed to be years and years long, it was time to board for real before the next storm approached. 20 minutes we are on an Air Tran flight in transit to Jamaica. Flying over water was scary, as we were warned that our seats would be a floatation device in case of an emergency or crash. When we get there we head off to our hotel. We are greeted at the door, and given a quick tour of the hotel we would be staying at the next week. Each morning looking out the window you could see cruise ships, because the port was right in front of our sliding screen door. All week long we enjoyed baking in the sun, and doing the various activities the hotel had to offer to us. Also, we did excursions like climbing a big waterfall, taking a Catamaran ride, and snorkeling. The trip was the best trip I had ever been on, and one of the best memories I have even today. One day I look forward to going back. What seemed to be a might mare from the beginning turned out to be one of the nicest memories I had ever shared with my family.

           

https://mymotels.com/propertyimages/196300/sunset_jamaica_grande_all_inclusive_terrace_ocho_rios_jamaica.jpg

http://farm4.hv-static.flickr.com/3373/3311818658_34e023bb36_m.jpg

I believe this is a good story because it has details that can almost put an image in the reader’s head of what I was seeing and experiencing. This story contains suspense, personal experience, interesting plot, and some events the reader may not have seen coming. The story ends when I am on my way home from the trip and we land at BWI airport, indicating we are home from a great, great trip. I chose this story because it is one of the best things that have ever happened to me. This is one memory I will always be able to reflect back one and tell my family members about my experience and what I did. Lastly, what I believe makes for a good story is visual details because it will make me be more engaged in reading the story, and be suspenseful and make me want to read on further. 

Book for first quarter.

Close to Famous

By: Joan Bauer

1.       The book I chose, Close to famous is about a girl named Foster McFee. Her and her mother lived in Memphis Tennessee, but one day Fosters mothers ex –boyfriend broke into their house and Foster and her mother pack everything they can up and leave driving toward a new town. She had always dreamed of owning her own cooking show, so she begins to volunteer with a lady who makes muffins. Her mother also wanted to become a headliner instead of a back-up singer. She was a back-up in her ex-boyfriend, Hucks band. With big dreams and distractions, both hope and plan for a better life in the future. However, something happens in the future “shaking-up” her whole town, where everyone is forced to have a big heart to survive.

2.       I chose this book because the summary on the back of the book seemed interesting. It made me want to read the book to find out what happens in the new town Foster and her mother live in where having a big heart is the most important thing. Also, I wanted to read on to find out if Foster ever ends up getting her own cooking show.

3.        

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJTyL0cD4NsmjurIIXeOZExRQQ7YYrhv654HxpOu4xWnPDbfMn6PVfQomtJmm93oK_Jp45pHRZw9oMJ_gTPqd-JiaxhpxswMaulzUCKUEa8VMD_ETJY4HK24sQQmYSSFa9c9bhfdqBCo/s1600/close+to+famous.jpg

Maria

Mrs. Zurkowski

English 9 Greens

21 September 2012

 

Homework:

Family time being lost and ruined.

            Many students come home from either school or sports, knowing they still have another 2 ours at the minimum of homework. This affects all grade levels, not just high school students but also elementary and middle school students. Teachers and staff at schools are beginning to realize the problem of too much homework. Parents think they are receiving a lot, and it is starting to interrupt family time. Some schools around the country are starting to test experiments where students get less homework, and seeing what grades they will receive on test and quizzes. Teachers should lessen the workload, because students need less homework, and families need more time to spend together doing various activities they enjoy. In this competitive academic world, teachers are trying to make students smarter through homework not class work, and they do not realizing how much work they are really providing us. Students do need more time to see families and they are unable to, due the work they are provided with.

            The first reason this problem needs to be recognized is because many students are beginning to struggle with homework amounts. A lot of different reasons are causing a kid to become overwhelmed. According to Anne Michaud, “Cutting back on homework can make the difference in whether some students even attempt the assignment.” Teachers are encouraging parents to motivate their students to at least attempt their assignments whether it is right or wrong when they are finished.  A huge reason a child may fall behind is because they are absent from school a day or more. If a student is absent they should not be required to make up the work for homework that night, but instead during a free class or before or after school one day. Also, a source tells us that most students, doesn’t matter Elementary or high school give up on homework after an hour or just stop doing it (Skinner). Another author also noted that boring assignments make it harder for a student to concentrate one. “Like many things in life, homework may be a case where less really is more.” (Michaud). A student who plays sports for school ends up staying up late doing an assignment, because of the time they get home and finish doing other things first. Students who also have a part time job have trouble balancing school work with their hours of work, because most don’t get home until late at night, then stay up late doing homework, causing them to be tired the next day (Headholder). Teachers are now starting to realize the health effects and side effects of this (Anderson). Many students have stories that can relate to homework amounts, and have different views of homework.

            Many students and parents have stories of anxiety once homework is in gear. “As school doors swing open, it will be time once again to engage the homework battles” (Michaud).  Many students agree with this statement because once school starts, they feel as if homework is all they ever do. Susan Graham tells us that, no matter how good someone can do something in a certain subject in school; they can still use a little bit of practice outside of school, but with a little motivation from parents or even teachers. With all the homework and carrying it in book bags comes back, neck, and even shoulder pain that can lead to serious injuries (Skinner). The only age group that could potentially benefit from having homework is high school students, because they are preparing themselves for collage where they will receive homework. Elementary and middle school students would not be affected as much by cutting down amounts, or even giving them none at all. Anne Michaud tells us that, “Family rituals that generate enthusiasm and contentment are being lost”. The last concept that can be recognized is what can be done so students don’t leave school with hours of homework.

            Many people have looked into possible ways to limit homework for all students in every grade level. Jenny Anderson sates “Teachers, parents, and administrators are also starting to look beyond the academic questions, studying the research about the health effects of overscheduling and stress.”(Anderson).  One possible way to limit homework could be to doing the work during school where a teacher is there if a child has and trouble or questions about the lesson they are learning. Also, only some teachers give homework on certain nights. For example, a student’s math teacher can give homework one night, then the next night the English teacher can assign a light homework assignment. Some schools are starting to experiment with less homework to see if a positive or negative outcome comes out of it. As another author notes, “Reading a book is the best possible homework a teacher can assign to a student.” At some given point, a teacher needs to draw the line and realize too much work is too much.

            Some people may argue that students need the homework they receive to make them become more educated and knowledgeable. Susan Graham said “no matter how good you are at something, practice helps and that most of us could use some outside motivation to get that practice accomplished.” This is not correct for students because as Anne Michaud argues “Cutting back on homework can make the difference in whether some students even attempt the assignment” making students more willing to do work in school and more motivated as well. There are many possible solutions to this argument.

            A possible solution to the issue of homework is giving students homework on certain nights. Things like reading a book can be given to a student for homework. (Headholder). Also, “teachers should give out homework for things like projects, not extra enrichment”, because projects are things that we already receive to do outside of school. This would be a practical solution because then students will have more time to do family activities together.

            Too much homework for students is a huge problem that is now being investigated among some schools. People who object are incorrect because students are still going to gain knowledge by going to school. Just because we don’t end up coming home with a minimum of two hours of homework, does not mean we are going to not gain knowledge. In this world teachers attempt to make all of their students smarter but are doing this only through homework as appose to classwork during school hours. “Sure, a "no homework" policy makes life easier for everyone,” says Susan Graham. However the older a student gets, the more they get engage in after school activities and part time jobs leaving little time for at home academic work. Hopefully this will come to the end of students complaining about homework, if teachers come up with a solution.

 

 

 

Works Cited:

Anderson, Jenny. "At Elite Schools, Easing Up a Bit on Homework." New York Times. 24 Oct     2011: A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 12 Sep 2012.

Graham, Susan. "Student Performance Suffers When Homework Is Optional." Do Students Have Too      Much Homework? Ed. Judeen Bartos. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "The          100-Year Homework War." Education Week 3 Nov. 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context.     Web. 10 Sep. 2012

Holderhead, Sheradyn. "Time to Work on Kids' Homework." Advertiser (Adelaide). 05     Apr      2012: 19. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 12 Sep 2012.

Michaud, Anne. "Less Is More When It Comes to Homework." Newsday. 24 Aug 2012: n.p.        SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Sep 2012.

Skinner, David. "The Homework Wars." Public Interest No. 154. Winter 2004: 49-60. SIRS           Issues Researcher. Web. 13 Sep 2012.

Homework." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 2 Mar.             2001. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. <http://www.2facts.com/article/i0600340>. “

 

 

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-004-x/2008001/c-g/hwork.gif