Think about it!

"Attitude is a choice. We create our own world by the way we choose to see it. For the next five years your mind can focus on fear, worry, problems, negativity or despair. Or it can focus on confidence, opportunity, solutions, optimism and success. You decide."

J. D. Salinger Dies

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/books/29salinger.html

Recap 2009

The Diary of Anne Frank

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Edgar Allan Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven

Here's a sampling of what we accomplished last semester...

Honor Society Induction

Congratulations to the National Junior Honor Society for making this year's induction a success! Below are pictures of the 8th grade members (both serious and having fun).

Poetry Coffeehouse

POETRY BOOKS ARE DUE THIS FRIDAY JANUARY 29!

We will read poems aloud in class, February 9 in our poetry reading/coffeehouse.

Book Fair

A book fair will be held in the school's library/media center, next week, February 1-5.

Poet's Poster

This week classes will be creating a poet's poster. Each group will create a poster dedicated to a particular poet of their choosing and the teacher's approval. The poster will feature the following: a portrait of the poet, a biography, a poetic excerpt, and a personal response to the poem chosen. Each group should also add artistic drawing to the poster to add to the project's theme.

The Red Wheelbarrow
by William Carlos Williams
so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens.

Williams used precise imagery in this simple poem. Find the prepositional phrases.

Assignment: Write a one sentence poem using precise imagery. Be specific and thoughtful. Choose a specific picture.

Poems to Know

“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” William Wordsworth

“O Captain, My Captain,” Walt Whitman

“I Heard a Fly Buzz,” Emily Dickinson

“Ode on Solitude,” Alexander Pope

Sonnet 18, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day,” William Shakespeare

“Harlem,” Langston Hughes

Studying Similes

Find the similes in the following lyrics to Across the Universe by John Lennon.

They use "like" or "as."

1. Words are flying out like

endless rain into a paper cup

They slither while they pass

They slip away across the universe

2. Images of broken light which

dance before me like a million eyes

That call me on and on across the universe

3. Thoughts meander like a

restless wind inside a letter box

they tumble blindly as

they make their way across the universe

4. Limitless undying love which

shines around me like a million suns

It calls me on and on across the universe

Poetic Forms and Examples

Here is a helpful site giving poetic forms and examples. You may use this working on your project.

Poetry Booklet

Poetry Project: Due January 29

For your poetry project, you will assemble a booklet of poems. You will compose four poems from the following types: acrostic, haiku, rap, limerick, lyric, and ode.

Each poem must have characteristics of the type of poem you choose to write. For example, if you choose a haiku, it must be three lines with five, seven, and five syllables respectively. Each poem must have a title. Spelling must be correct.

You must have a creative cover sheet with a title for your booklet and a table of contents. You will have the opportunity to type your poems in Mrs. Lawson’s class or you can type them at home. Each poem must be in 12-point font and either Times New Roman or Arial. If you type your poems in computer class, you will fit two poems per sheet printed and use only black ink. If you want colored paper, you must bring your own.

You will have the opportunity to work on writing poems in class and at home. You may work on your cover sheet in my class using limited art supplies.

Grading rubric:

4 poems, 20 points each = 80 points

Cover page/Table of contents =10 points

Neatness/Presentation= 10 points

Total 100 points for a test grade

Are We Afraid of Poetry?

Is America a country afraid of poetry? There may be evidence Americans have metrophobia (the fear of poems,) but there are also signs poetry may be helpful to us as a nation. Read this blog from The Huffington Post.

Introduction to Poetry, Unit 6

There is a poet inside everyone. View YouTube clip

from the movie, Dead Poets Society.

Coming Events

Put the following dates on your calendar for happenings at WBMS!

January 13- Junior Honor Society meeting in Ms. Anderson's Room, 1 p.m.

January 14- Spelling Bee in Cafeteria; 1 p.m.

January 18-Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday; No School

January 22-Winter Dance Fundraiser in Gym

Accelerated Readers, Second Nine Weeks

Congratulations to the eighth grade! AR points were much higher for the second nine weeks. There were more students that met their goals and even exceeded their point goals. I want to applaud your efforts and independent reading! Awards and honor rolls will be forthcoming next week after the recognition assembly.

Let It Snow!

Today, school was dismissed at 11 a.m. Unit 5 test will be given for third-sixth periods when school is next in session. Report cards went home today.

To Read or Not to Read...

Visit the National Endowment for the Arts's website and read about the reasons all children and young adults should read every day.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the blog for Ms. Anderson's eighth grade English class! Be in touch to see what exciting learning activities there are in store for 2010. In January, we will begin a unit on poetry. Later this year, we will read To Kill a Mockingbird in a unit on civil rights literature and also The Outsiders in a unit on coming of age literature.