Week 08 - Journals and Homework

We will be focusing on how to interact effectively with our texts this week. Plan to spend your time in class reading and thinking about responses; each night you will be writing out your responses, and each day you will have to choose a couple responses to expand upon in your journal. With a little effort, we should be able to make this a nearly automatic process that takes almost no effort on your part, but that helps to vastly improve your understanding of anything that you read.

10/13 - Free Write

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp. 224-230

10/14 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp. 230-233

List as many ways as you can think of on "How to Improve the Classroom Learning Environment"

10/15 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp.

10/16 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp.

10/17 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 extended responses on pp.

Week 07 - Journals and Homework

9/29 - Quote (choose one) "More often than not, a hero's most epic battle is the one you never see; it's the battle that goes on within him or herself." - Kevin Smith

OR

"The cruelest lies are often told in silence." - Robert Louis Stevenson

Homework: Tang. pp. 197-200

3 Reading Responses

9/30 - Erik is clearly dangerous, especially when he's with his friends. Why does Tino press the issue with him? What does he gain by doing so? What does Erik lose? What does Paul accomplish in his role as a witness and what does he learn?

Homework: Tang. pp. 201-206

3 Reading Responses

10/1 - Free Write

Homework: Tang. pp. 206-223 by Friday

3 Reading Responses

10/2 - Detail how citrus growers in Florida protect their trees from frost. Why does Paul go out to Tomas Cruz Groves to help battle the cold in this section of the book? What motives other than saving the trees does he have?

Homework: 3 Reading responses for journal

10/3 - Reading Response. Pick two of your responses to last night's reading and expand upon them.

Week 06 - Journals and Homework

9/22 - Free Write

Homework: Tang. pp. 165-171

9/23 - Reading Response: After a brief class discussion, write out three separate responses (different kinds and different events) to things that you read in pp. 165-171.

9/24 - Continue journal entry from 9/23 with three more entries. You may use events from 165 all the way through 177.

Homework: Tang. pp. 171-177

9/25 - What "bad" things might Paul have said to his grandparents? Why would his mother caution him against saying these things? Do you think she was right to insist on this or not?

Homework: Tang. pp. 177-181

9/26 - Quote: "You're alive. Do something. The directive in life, the moral imperative was so uncomplicated. It could be expressed in single words, not complete sentences. It sounded like this: Look. Listen. Choose. Act." -Barbara Hall, A Summons to New Orleans, 2000

Homework: Tang. pp. 181-194

9/15 - Describe a project you would like to design and present based on what you have read thus far in Tangerine. If your project would require more than one participant, be certain to include numbers and (if possible) preferred actors.

Homework: Tang. pp 151-155

9/16 - Quote: "A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists." -L. Ron Hubbard

Homework: Tang. pp 156-163

9/17 - Write a poem and draw a picture illustrating how vengeance can be toxic.

No Homework! Yay!

9/18 - Write a character profile for your favorite character from the class text. Be certain to include Name, Gender, Appearance, History and Personality. You may include a small (2 square inches) portrait if you are do inclined.

Homework: No new homework

9/19 - Free Write

Week 04 - Journals and Homework

We are beginning work on narrative essays this week. As part of that goal, each journal this week should be presented in the form of a short (1-2 pages maximum) story.

9 / 8 - Have you ever had a pet? If so, tell me a story about it- first trip to the vet, a game that it likes to play, or a time you were exceptionally worried about it. If not, what kind of pet would you like to have? Tell a story about something you would do with that animal. Finally, if you have no interest in pets, explain why you feel that way.

Tang pp 113-121

9 / 9 - Tell me a science fiction or fantasy story with yourself as the protagonist. This should be a short story, so you need to pay attention to what details the reader absolutely needs written out and what can be implied- too much detail will get in the way of getting the plot written, while too little will make the setting too amorphous and confusing.

Tang pp 121-129

9 / 10 - Free Write

Tang pp 129-137

9 / 11 - Tell me an embarrassing story (must be school-appropriate). When did this happen? How has it affected you? What would you say is the moral behind your story?

Tang pp 137-144

9 / 12 - Quote: "I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see, and what it means. What I want and what I fear." --John Didion (1934- )

Tang pp 144-151

Week 03 - Journals and Homework

Monday (Labor Day): No school = no (new) work!

Tuesday: Why is it important for Lake Windsor Middle School and the LW School District to assure people that Old Charley Burns is gone? Do you believe that the installation of Mr. Fisher as the new Director of Civil Engineering will produce any real differences in the way things are done? Why or why not?

Tang pp 88-92

Write a descriptive paper about a "strange" thing in your house.

Wednesday: Write a poem about getting second chances.

Tang pp 95-103

Thursday: Quote: "He that lives upon hope will die fasting." -Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Tang pp 103-113

Journals and Homework, Week 2

8/25 - Identify a thing that you fear. What has created this fear in you and how has it shaped you? Do you have to confront your fear on a regular basis or only occasionally? What do you do?

HW: Tang. pp 49-54

8/26 - Relate yourself to a character in Tangerine. What specifically about you is similar to the character you've chosen. What, in terms of your specific history and personality, is different?

HW: Tang. pp 54-64

8/27 - Quote: "There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity." - General Douglas MacArthur. What securities would you give up in order to succeed? What security do you need? Is success ever possible without some degree of safety? Explain.

HW: Tang. 64-75

8/28 - Descriptive Sentences. Write ten descriptive sentences. Describe your favorite toy from when you were younger. Be sure to engage all five of the natural senses.

HW: Tang. 75-84

8/29 - Free Write.

Week 01 - Journals and Homework

Monday: Rules, Procedures, and Grading Policies

HW: Tang pages 1-4

Tuesday: Class Expectations: Write down your expectations for this class. Be specific. Talk about what activities you would like to do and how they would help to further your understanding of class themes and information. Discuss what you believe your role should be as an active participant in your own education. Describe your responsibilities to yourself, your class, and your teacher. Express what you believe your teacher's duties are to you and your class, and how you see them being best met and fulfilled.

HW: Tang pages 7-21

Wednesday: Novel Reading: At this point, you should begin to have an understanding of what the central theme of this novel is. Briefly describe the setting of the novel and the characters you've met so far. Identify a central theme and talk about how the Paul's experiences are related to it.

HW: Tang pages 22-32

Thursday: Quote: "Our doubts are traitors, / And make us lose the good we oft might win / By fearing to attempt." --William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Measure For Measure, Act I, Scene IV. How have Paul's experiences led him to doubt himself; how does his self-doubt shape his personality and behavior?

HW: Tang pages 32-48

Friday: Free Write