| Journal Entry |
Date Assigned |
| #1 What does it mean to be American (think globally and locally)? |
09/08/08 |
| #2 What makes us human and why is it important? |
09/10/08 |
| #3 Name a single event that has had a major impact on who you are. Explain how. |
09/12/08 |
| #4 What would you do if you had to give up everything and leave where you live? How would you feel? |
09/15/08 |
| #5 How does being male or female in society affect who you are as a person? How does it affect how people perceive you? |
09/17/08 |
| #6 What roles do we play in school, work, society, our families, our circle of friends, and in other areas? This generally and specifically. |
09/22/08 |
| #7 "I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am." - Joseph Baretti. Respond to the quote by Joseph Baretti. What does it say about mankind? How does it relate to you? |
09/24/08 |
| #8 "Standing Up" Choose a time when you did something that took a lot of nerve, a time when you didn't follow the crowd or a time when you stood up for your beliefs. Perhaps your friends were urging you to do something that you were uncomfortable with and you chose not to cave into peer pressure. Maybe you took a stance on a political issue that was important in your community, or you might have Whatever you choose, think about the details of the event and write a story that tells about what happened. Your narrative should show your readers why you decided to make a stand or try something that took nerve, give specifics on the events, and share how you felt after the event. (ONE FULL PAGE) |
9/29/08 |
| #9 "Setting Things Up" Write a half page about the setting you are in right now. Be detailed and use vivid description. Think about your 5 senses (what do you see, hear, smell, feel, and taste). |
10/1/08 |
| #10 "Lightbulb Moment" Think of an experience when you realized that you suddenly understood an idea, a skill, or a concept you had been struggling with--it might be something related to a class that you took or a specific athletic skill you were trying to perfect. Write a narrative that tells the story of your movement toward understanding. How did you finally come to understand? What changed your perceptions and gave you a new understanding? Your page should help readers understand how you felt to struggle with the idea or skill and then to understand. (ONE FULL PAGE) |
10/6/08 |
| #11 "How I Write" Are you the type of person who : thinks before you write, write before you think, or write while you are thinking? Explain. Do you also look and edit your writing before you move onto the next sentence, next paragraph, or I never edit! |
10/08/08 |
| #12 "Time Machine" If you could go back in time and change one event in history when and where would you go? What would you change? Describe how the change you made would affect the events that follow. |
10/13/08 |
| #13 "Same Story Different Tune" Why do stories change over time as they pass from one person to another. How do they change and what reasons do storytellers have for adding or leaving out details. Think of a time that you were told the "same" story by different people. How much did the story differ and why? |
10/15/08 |
| #14 " We Have An Issue Here" I want you to think about the issues that have come up in the Presidential Election (that we deal with all the time). What issues are important to you and why? |
10/20/08 |
| #15 "Two Sides to a Coin" Just like there are two sides of a coin there is two sides to any argument or story. After watching 2 videos about Proposition 8 respond and talk about what tactics were used to sway the viewer. Were they effective (did it work?) Yes on Prop 8 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zbpDe_QhS0 No on Prop 8 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tEKK6La6pk |
10/22/08 |
| #16 "Personal Rituals" Describe a personal ritual that you, your friends, or your family have. Think about the personal steps that you always go through when you prepare for an exam. Do you sit at a desk, spread books and notes across your bed, or use the kitchen table? There are numerous things that we do for which we create our own personal rituals. Choose one event--studying for a test, writing a paper, dressing and warming up before a game, or preparing and having a special family meal. Narrate the events that take place when you complete your ritual so that your readers understand the steps that the ritual includes and why you complete them. |
10/27/08 |
| #17 "Being Unprepared" Because you have been sick, out of town, busy at work, or working on other homework, you didn't have time to study. Think of a specific time where you felt unprepared and narrate the events (tell the story). Your story should be detailed enough to relate how you felt being unprepared |
10/29/08 |
| #18 "Childhood Event" Choose a vivid time from your childhood. Think of events that stand out. Narrate the events related to the childhood memory that you've chosen so readers can understand why it is memorable. |
11/03/08 |
| #19 "Being a Teacher" Teaching someone else how to do something can be rewarding. Think of a skill that you've taught someone else how to do. Perhaps you taught someone else how to swim, showed someone how to bake a soufflé, or helped someone learn how to study more effectively. Think about the events that made up the process of teaching the skill, and narrate the story for your readers. |
11/05/08 |
| #20 "The Writing Process" Where in the writing process are you? Are you in the Prewriting Process (generating ideas), the Writing Process (taking ideas and crafting them into a story), or the Editing Process (making changes, fixing spelling/grammar, making improvements)? Pick a point in the process and ask yourself: "Should I be further?" What is your plot, conflict, resolution, setting, characters, etc? Do your events (points in your story) connect? Use this journal to assess where you are in the writing process. |
11/12/08 |
| #21 "Judge for Yourself" How does it feel to be judged by peers, friends, family, teachers, etc? How does it feel when you have been wrongly judged? Describe a time in your life when you were judged and it affected you deeply. |
11/17/08 |
| #22 "Open Dialogue" Why do we engage in dialogue? What do you personally like about conversing with others? Remember a times when you had a conversation with someone and got a lot out of it. Describe it. |
11/19/08 |
| #23 "Story Starters" Pick one of the following story starters to start a story and use your journal time to develop a one page story with detail: 1. The airplane sputtered and sank low into the jungle. 2. The floor of the haunted house creaked after every step. 3. I heard a scary noise in the closet. 4. A piercing scream broke the silence. 5. I saw the strangest thing at the park last night. |
11/24/08 |
| #24 "Thanksgiving" What things are you thankful for? Explain why. What if all the things in your life that you were thankful for suddenly went away? Lastly, what does "Thanksgiving" mean to you and how do you celebrate the occasion? |
11/26/08 |
| #25 "Giving" Over the holiday season we have many reasons to be thankful. It is also a time where we are reminded to be giving and share generously with those that are in need. On this note, would you donate an organ if someone needed it? Which one? Under what conditions? What factors / reasoning led you to your answer? |
12/1/08 |
| #26 "Pure Evil?" Is there such a thing as pure evil? Where does it come from? Why do you think we, as humans, are capable of such evil deeds? Lastly, define evil. |
12/03/08 |
| #27 "Happiness" Is happiness contagious? Why or why not? How would you define happiness? What does it take for you to be happy? Lastly, us being happy important? Why? |
12/08/08 |
| #28 "America's Image" What images do you think capture the spirit and reality of America today? Why? Write what you think then sketch pictures of the images you mentioned. |
12/10/08 |
| #29 "Observing/Critiquing" "It's a particular Observation I have always made, That of all Mortals a Critick is the silliest; for by injuring himself to examine all Things, whether they are of Consequence or not, he never looks upon any Thing but with a design of passing Sentence upon it, by which Means, he is never a Companion, but always a Censor." - Richard Steele (1672-1729) Respond to this quote by Steele. What does he mean by this? What does he say about critics? Lastly, have you ever criticized someone? Explain. |
12/15/08 |
| #30 "What I Really Want for Christmas" If you had the choice whether to give a needy family the holiday of their dreams by taking them off the streets and welcoming them into your home or having a ridiculously extravagant holiday vacation with your family what would you choose? Why? |
12/17/08 |
| #31 "New Year's Resolution" What is a resolution? Webster defines it as: (n) firm determination. Knowing this, what are you determined to do this year? What can you improve upon from last year (2008)? Explain how you think you can work on improving on a daily basis. Lastly, why is it important that we focus our energies on getting better? |
1/5/09 |
| #32 "Holding a Grudge" What is a grudge? Define it in your own words. Have you ever held a grudge? Why are you (or did you) hold this grudge? What is the point of holding a grudge? Lastly, why do you think people hold grudges? |
1/7/09 |
| #33 "Self Evaluation" On a scale from 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest) gauge: Your effort, information learned, information retained, and academic improvement. What can be improved? How can you do this? |
1/16/09 |
| SECOND SEMESTER |
BEGINS JANUARY 20TH 2009 |
| #34 "Cause and Effect" Have you ever done something that yielded an unexpected result (whether good or bad)? What happened after? How did you feel about it? What did you do? |
1/21/09 |
| #35 "Fear" Ender's greatest fear is to become like Peter. What are you afraid of? Why? |
1/26/09 |
| #36 "Games" One of the major themes in Ender's Game is the idea that games are bit just friendly kid activities, but a form of "training" for the real world. Think of games you used to play as a kid and how the are preparation for the adult world. Be aware that the "training" might have been very subtle. Example: girls were supposed to play with Barbies and baby dolls (training for motherhood or how to act like a "girl"). What does that say about the way of the world? How do the younger generations inherit the ways of the old? How do you feel about being "trained" to fit a specific role? What if people do not learn the roles they are supposed to be training for? How do people react to them? |
1/28/09 |
| #37 "Imagery" Imagery is language that appeals to the senses. It produces a "mental image" to the reader by invoking the five senses (sight, hear, taste, smell & touch). The most memorable lines are usually those that use descriptive language (full of imagery). For example, which line is more memorable? 1) There are days when I am walking around sad. 2) There are days when it is as if I had dropped my heart on the floor and dragged it by its string, gathering much dirt. - After you select the most memorable line it is your turn. Using descriptive imagery (appeal to the 5 senses) complete the following story: I grabbed the scissors quickly and ran out of the kitchen door... |
2/2/09 |
| #38 "What's in a Name?" Oscar Scott Card named his characters with a purpose in mind. For example, the persona of Ender is summed up by the word "end" or "ender." If you could sum up your life or your personality or your character in one word, what would it be? (Would it be an object? a person? an event? or an idea?) Explain. (Be descriptive in your explanations.) |
2/4/09 |
| #39 "The Future YOU" If you could imagine yourself in 10 years, what would your life be like? What are you doing? Where are you? What have you done so far? What is left for you to do? What advice would you give your younger self in retrospect? |
2/9/09 |
#40 “Hook and Thesis” Come up with a hook AND a thesis statement for the following topics. These are topics for expository essays.
- Explain your opinion of first love - Explain your views concerning college - Explain the concept of backstabbing
- Explain the word “dope” - Describe the perfect man/woman and explain why |
2/11/09 |
| #41 "Brainstorm" Without lifting your pen, editing your grammar or making erasures, write down your thoughts and knowledge about one of the following topics in four minutes: -Happiness -Youtube -Success -Heartbreak -Music -Gym -Money -Forgiveness -Celebrities -Color Red -Race -Fun. Wait for the teacher to tell you when to stop. Highlight the points you have made that you think is appropriate to be included in an expository essay. Finally, summarize your thoughts into a thesis statement. |
2/18/09 |
| #42 "Stuck" Have you ever been stuck with a person or a group of people that didn’t like you or didn’t want you around but you had to stick together because you had to? How did it feel? How did you react? How did they treat you? What happened? How did it end? Would you do it again? What would you change if ever? Do you treat other people the same? |
2/23/09 |
| #43 “Deceit & Manipulation” Have you ever been lied to just so you’ll do something that a manipulator wanted you to do? Did you know that you were being lied to? If you didn’t, how did you find out? How did you feel about it? What did you do? Was there a confrontation? Do you regret anything from the experience? |
2/25/2009 |
| #44 “Step-Up” In EG, Dink Meeker, having the qualities of the perfect commander and was asked to step up but refused. Have you ever been asked to step up because you were the only person that was right for the job? What happened when you stepped up or what happened when you didn’t? How did you feel? Was it an obligation, a promise, or just because you were the only one who can do it? Why did you do it? Or why did you refuse to do it? What did you learn from the experience? Why were you the best man/woman for the job? |
3/2/2009 |
| #45 "Leadership" In Ender’s Game, we've seen the theme of leadership emerge. We’ve met bad leaders like Bonzo and Rose the Nose. Some are very good like Alai, Dink and Ender. What makes a person a leader? What is that X factor that leaders have that makes hoards of people follow them? Do you think you have it? What does it take to command a fleet? How do leaders lose their followers? When should a leader ever step down? Are you a leader or a follower? Or are you marching to the beat of a different drum? |
3/4/2009 |
| #46 "Teachers are the Enemies” In Ender’s Game, the teachers are not what they are. They are good and at the same time they are bad for their soldier students that they seem to be over exhausting and abusing. Have you ever had a person or a mentor that you really look up to who betrayed you? Disappointed you? Or let you down at the greatest time of need? What was it about this person that made you love, admire or idolize them? What did they do that they shouldn’t have? How did you view this person after he has let you down? What did you do? How is your relationship now? |
3/9/2009 |
| #47 "World Domination" In Ender's Game, Peter and Valentine planned to rule the world via the internet or "the net." Because they are only twelve, they needed to hide their identities. If you can conquer the world how would you do it? Why? What would you use - military power, the labor force, the schools, intelligence or brute force? How will you rise to the top this way? How long will it take? |
3/11/2009 |
| #48 "Funk" In Ender's Game, we've seen Ender in a funk. Funk: the state of falling and falling into sadness but never hitting rock bottom. It makes one feel alone and empty inside. It was Valentine who got Ender out of the funk. Have you ever been in a funk or seen someone you know go through a funk? How did you get out of it? How did you fall into it? How long did it last? Who helped you get out? When you were in a funk, what happened to the usual things that you usually enjoy? |
3/16/2009 |
| #49 "Teacher's Evaluation" List two things that Ms. Tojino had done right in terms of teaching. List two things that Ms. Tojino did wrong in terms of teaching. Provide survival tips for Ms. Tojino to help her survive her classes. How should she deal with misbehaving students? Students who are failing or refuse to do work? What about second chances or calling up parents? |
3/18/2009 |
| #50 "Transition" There is no death! What seems so is transition: / This life of mortal breath / Is but a suburb of the life elysian, / Whose portal we call Death. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 1) What is Longfellow saying about life, death, and transition? 2) What transitions have you made in your life? Explain. 3) What transitions has Ender made in the novel Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card? Write down these Keywords: Transition (n) - movement, passage, or change from one position, stage, state, concept, etc., to another. / Elysian (adj) - 1. of or relation to Elysium (Greek Mythology - where the virtuous and heroes go after death). 2. blissful, delightful. |
3/23/2009 |
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.