Book of the Week

The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard is a spare, straightforward, intriguing read. From the first line, "Julia was killed on Labor Day on her way home from a party," the intensity of this book does not let up. But, its intensity is not drawn from a ton of unnecessary drama. In fact, the main character, Colt, is about as laid back and realistic teen-boy as I've ever read. His voice and persona make him feel and sound like a real person.

This book reminded me of Romeo and Juliet, even though Colt tells us that his story is not a Romeo and Juliet story in the very first chapter. Even though I heard what he was saying, I still could not help but draw connections between the two stories. For one, Colt and Julia (Juliet?) had a secret relationship. Unlike Romeo and Juliet who are kept apart because of their parent's feud, Colt and Julia needed to keep their relationship a secret because of a mountain. In their town, Black Mountain separates the rich from the poor. Colt is poor and Julia is rich. Social class in their town means everything, and Colt and Julia are not willing to challenge the norm by going public with their relationship.

And, Julia already has a boyfriend. It's not clear to Colt (or me) if Julia ever really intended to break up with her boyfriend before she died in a horrible drunken-driving car crash. All we know is that she maintained a relationship in public with one boy and in private with another. For a year. That's a long time.

Julia's untimely death leaves Colt in an awkward position. He wants to mourn Julia's death, but cannot publicly, because he never told anyone about his relationship, not even his best friends. So, he questions the value and the meaning of their connection through out the entire book. That is until Julia's brother hands off a secret diary of Julia's that he found hidden after she died. In this diary, Colt unlocks the true feelings and struggles Julia encountered during her "secret" year with him. But, how can Colt move on now that he knows that his relationship with Julia was more than a fling to her?

I truly recommend this read. I think that it'll appeal to guys and gals because of the style of the narrative. The writing is fluid and clear and the story will grab your attention. I literally picked it up and read it in one sitting. Two hours, tops. If you are loving Romeo and Juliet, then this might be a great modern adaptation to read. You can find it on the free reading shelf at the back of the room.

Poetry Friday: Love/ Hate Songs, Reconstructed

This week, you all worked to choose songs that would represent your predictions for Romeo and Juliet if they had stayed alive. Where would their relationship have been if they had lived into their twenties? Would they still be madly in love, would they resent each other, or would they have completely forgotten about each other and moved on to someone else?

Today, you all worked with the lyrics from your poems. I split you all up into groups of three and you worked to take the words and phrases of your songs and thread together to create a found poem. You were grouped based on your predictions and your opinions of which songs would work best together. The results were outstanding!

Here is one student sample (re-created by three talented 9th grade ladies) that I thought embodied the true essence of this lesson:


This song was created using "found" lines and words from the following songs: "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, "Check Yes Juliet" by We Three Kings, and "Today Was a Fairy Tale" by Taylor Swift. Good work!

Poetry Friday: Your "Society"

In honor of Poetry Friday, we're going to take a song from the Into the Wild movie soundtrack are rewrite it. Not that Eddie Vedder made any mistakes in the songs he wrote. They're perfect. But, they are written about Christopher McCandless's experiences. I want your new song/ poem to reflect your life experience.

First, we're going to listen to Vedder's song "Society". Next you'll take the original lyrics to this song and rewrite them with details about your life, and how you feel about leaving. What are you leaving? School, friends, teachers, basically most of what you've known for the past thirteen years. Some of you are even planning to leave home. I want your new song to reflect the feelings and emotions you have about this new adventure that you're all about to embark upon. Just as Vedder pours out his soul in this song, so should you in yours.

Here is a student sample blog post for this Poetry Friday activity.

Goodbye, Ms. Audy!

Today we said a heartfelt goodbye to Ms. Audy, who has been our student teacher for the past eight weeks. It is going to be so hard to lose her positive, creative presence. I have a hunch that she'll keep in touch with us, though, because I think that you all have made as much of an impact on her as she has on you. Simply put, the feeling is mutual. Here is our own Ms. Audy with her parting gift: A Wonder Woman lunchbox and lots of synonyms for "wonder" in the sentence "You are a (blank) woman". You all filled in these blanks with words to describe how unique and interesting and awesome Ms. Audy is.


Thanks, Ms. Audy. We will not forget all that you have given us!

A Wreath for Rue and Glogs, Continued

As much as I love the Hunger Games, reading about Rue's death just kills me. I really feel for Katniss when she must come to terms with the fact that Rue is dead and that she is now alone in the Games. Actually, Katniss comes to some even larger realizations. She sees that the Capital will not stop, that there is no such thing as "winning" because the Capital is controlling everything and everyone, even Katniss. Out of this realization comes a small rebellion. It seems small, but Katniss's choice to construct a wreath for Rue shows that she will mourn the passing of her friend. Not with continued bloodshed, but with flowers. Not what the Capital wants to show the home audience.

At the very end of the chapter, there is a special announcement: Two tributes from the same district can win the Games together if they survive. Katniss immediately shouts out Peeta's name. I love this part!

After reading, you all had about forty minutes to work on your glogs. I am super impressed with the appearance of your pages and the information that you've provided on them. We'll work to finish the glogs next week (or the week after because of that pesky SAT comp day). Good work today!

Choosing the Perfect Title

One of the hardest, yet most important part of writing an effective piece is choosing a title that will lead into your writing. One writer who is especially skilled in developing interesting, creative titles for her writing is Sandra Cisneros. In The House on Mango Street, Cisneros has a variety of vignettes with a whole plethora of titles. Today's mini lesson focused on looking at the types of titles Cisneros uses and thinking about how we can apply her ideas when we create our own original titles. Here is a visual of some of the vignettes we've read thus far:As you think about writing your vignettes and pulling your parts together to make a cohesive whole, keep in mind that your titles should reflect the creativity and variety of your experiences.

After this mini lesson, you all had some time to write, edit, and get some feedback on your "Name" and "Street" vignettes. Some of you have finished pieces after today's lesson and have passed them in. Please try and get your work turned in soon so that we can put your vignette projects together. Good work today. I read all sorts of great creative writing.

An Impressive Twist: A Sixth Grader Sings Gaga

I could not believe my ears while watching tonight's news. A sixth grader singing Lady Gaga in a more passionate, emotionally-charged way than Ms. Gaga herself? Watch this video and let your jaw drop!

Senior Year Survey and End-of-Year Plans

To end our year and send you off to the next stage of your life (eek!), I'd like you all to complete a little survey so that I know what you feel has worked and what areas need improvement so that I can change/ adapt/ keep aspects of my planning and teaching for next year's seniors.

I will miss you all terribly and am still coming to terms with the fact that I am no longer going to be your teacher. My hope is that we are moving in the next phase of our relationship, so that this is not an ending, but a beginning of sorts. Sounds cheesy, but it'll get me through the day without crying!

I'm also collecting your artwork for your Sounds of Senior Year Soundtrack. We'll vote on the cover next class. Next week, you're going to start your Commencement Speech drafts. I'm going to be out on Tuesday (for a literacy/ technology training), but our fearless student teacher, Ms. Audy, will return as a Super Sub (that should totally by a superhero comic strip!) and help you with your drafts. This is kinda cool for me, because I want to be surprised by the content of your your drafts. I'm excited. It'll be awesome.

We're winding down now and will enjoy the next few weeks of reading, talking, and spending our last few classes together. Okay. Time to sign off before the tears begin! Click here for your survey.

Romeo and Juliet: Playlist and Widget

After we read, read, read aloud and acted all period long, you all passed in your song titles and I went to work creating a widget that will play your prediction songs. You each chose a song that serves as your prediction for what would've happened to Romeo and Juliet's relationship had they not committed suicide. Would they still be in love ten years later? Judging from the songs you all selected, there are mixed opinions about whether or not these famous lovers were actually all that in love. Some of you think it's definitely a true love story, while others of your think it's a true lust story. We'll see how you rationalize your songs choices next class.

Here's our new soundtrack widget (also installed on the sidebar of this blog):

Ten Facts to Summarize the Life of a Rebel

Today we read through chapter 17 of The Hunger Games and followed Katniss as she had a close encounter with the careers, and struggled to get away in a weakened state. Not only was she made physically weak, but she also became deaf in one ear. We talked about the effect this would have upon her chance at victory in the games. We left off in a scene where Rue was entangled in a net and speared right before Katniss' eyes.

We spent the remainder of class researching and working on our glog projects. So far, everyone should have on their glogs:

• The name of the person being researched as a heading
• One picture of the person
• 10 - 15 significant facts about the person
• A timeline with 5 important dates in this person's life (we were working on this portion at the end of class)

We will continue to work on these glogs next class and add many more important artifacts and more information!

-Ms. Audy

Hi, my name is--WHAT? My name is--WHO?

Today, after we read, we will practice some more creative writing. You will each write a vignette about the meaning of your name. Refer back to the vignette that starts on page 10, titled "My Name." Pay close attention to the details Esperanza addressed about her name and model your vignette after this one. Some of the questions you could possibly address in your vignette are:

What does your name mean?

Are you named after someone? What was he/she like?

How do you feel about your name?

Is there something you would rather be named?

You can find the meaning of your name at any of the following websites:

http://www.meaning-of-names.com/
http://www.behindthename.com/

http://www.babycenter.com/baby-names

You can do this about your first or last name. If you really don't want to talk about how you got your name and what it means, feel free to do this with a nickname or a screen name you go by!

- Ms. Audy

Finished: Our 6 Word Memoirs

After today's reading of Into the Wild, we finished our Six Word Memoirs. Here are a couple of your final products. (I blacked out the name of one student. You can go public with your work after you graduate!)



**Please remember that your cover art for our Sounds of Senior Year CD is due next class. We'll choose a winning cover next week!

Romeo and Juliet: The Balcony Scene

Ah, the famous balcony scene. Romeo leaves Capulet's party but does not go home. Instead, he decides to hop over the wall into fair Juliet's courtyard. There, he spies her looking longing at the night sky, asking the heavens why Romeo has to be a Montague. Juliet's admission of love leads Romeo to show his face and the rest is, well, decided. Both will die in a few short days.

We've seen it played over and again. In fact, we have probably seen or heard many allusions to Shakespeare in commercials and in movies and in songs before we even know what they allude to. Here is a commercial take on the balcony scene you watched today:



Would a cell phone by any other name ring so true?

**Remember: Your song for our Romeo and Juliet playlist is due next class. Until then, adieu.

Quote of the Week

This week's quotation comes from May birthday boy, Frank L. Baum. I read The Wizard of Oz last year out of sheer curiosity and loved it. I was surprised by some of the changes, but it really told the story of Dorothy and the Tin Man and the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion as well as I'd remembered it from the movie version. This movie is a great story of an incredible journey and lesson about what it means to be home. I'm dedicating this quotation to our senior class, who have a whole ton of brains and heart. Remember seniors,

"No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home."

You will be missed and remembered and (hopefully) return every once in a while to let us know how fabulous and wonderful your lives have turned out. Good luck, Class of 2010!