Creative Writing and Creative Writing Workshop 2011-2012 - Periods 1, 2, and 7

Post-Midterm Post (Heh, heh...)

2012-02-01T14:11:00.003-05:00

Dear Periods 1, 2, and 7,

(Why the grapefruit, you ask?) ... ... (Well, I can't just TELL you. That would ruin all the fun!)

Congratulations! We are officially in the second half of our year together. Thank you for all the sincere efforts you made to fulfill your midterm responsibilities.

*****************

Period 1, we are beginning our unit on ~LOVE.~ Have no fear: it will not involve pink bunnies or awful love poetry. It will, however, involve SECRET CUPID! That's right! Why should Secret SANTA get all the attention? Please be thoughtful of your partners and take this opportunity to connect with a classmate.

Here are some due dates and reminders: Pen pal letters - due on Wednesday, February 8; final drafts for family/generations unit - due on Friday, February 10; reading day - Friday, February 10; WN entries - next installment (12 entries) due on March 1.

******************

Okay, Periods 2 and 7, it's your turn now!

Nice work with renga, everyone's favorite poetry party game! (And the crowd from medieval Japan goes wild! :)

Here are some of my favorite lines (written by YOU) from some of the class poems:

The thoughts of a writer
the pen working its way on paper:
open-minded, filled with speech.

**

Love is like a beautiful day -
but some people don't go outside.

**

Quiet tree stands alone.
It is aware that no one would miss it
if it were to fall.

**

Pictures were scattered
all over the bedroom floor.
No one dared to sleep there anymore.

**

And what better place to hide
than this room of kindness?

**

A welcoming kiss from the air,
clean and alive...

******************************

On Thursday, we will focus on HAIKU. Friday will be our Winter Haiku Challenge! Bring your completed haiku, bring your best reading presence, and get ready to win some (fabulous) prizes!

Here are some due dates and reminders: Final drafts of personification -OR- perspective poems - due on Monday, February 6; example of a favorite prose piece (with some textual highlights) also due on Monday, February 6; WN entries (6) due on Tuesday, February 7.

That's all for now, everyone.

Thanks for being great students.

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

Midterm Madness!

2012-01-03T08:42:00.002-05:00

Dear Periods 1, 2, and 7,

As of today, you have all been briefed on your midterm exam responsibilities.

CWW, your exam will take place on Friday, January 20.

CW Period 2, your exam will take place on Tuesday, January 24.

CW Period 7, your exam will take place on Thursday, January 26.

Please use your handouts, ask questions, budget your time, and do an awesome job on this assignment.

I can't wait to see your work!

See you in 215 (or the lab, as the case may be),
Ms. Strout

PS - Calliope is EVERY Tuesday now! Hopefully, we will see you soon at a meeting!

Art, Music, Calliope!

2011-12-20T08:53:00.002-05:00

Dear Periods 2 and 7,

Today and tomorrow (T/W), we will be in Room 316 for the following purposes:
1. Work on final drafts of art and music poems. You will be handing in ONE final draft related to music and ONE final draft related to art (2 final drafts in all).
2. Finalize and print clean copies of work for Calliope. Hand your submissions to me and I will see to it that they arrive safely to our meeting today.
3. Update your blog pages and post comments to your peers' pages (in Periods 2, 7, and 1).
4. Go to www.magneticpoetry.com for a sneak preview of our upcoming magnetic poetry unit! (Be careful: it's addictive. :)

Remember:

Period 2, our reading day is Thursday; our Taboo!/Secret Santa day is Friday!
Period 7, our Taboo!/Secret Santa day is Thursday!

And now, for Period 1 updates: Your Taboo!/Secret Santa day is Friday!

Keep working on those mix CDs - and be sure to check out all the awesome poems in the hallway (thank you, Period 1!).

Yours truly,
Ms. Strout

OPEN MIC!

2011-11-18T08:55:00.001-05:00

Save the date:

Friday, December 2

7-10pm

Wantage Library

FREE Open Mic Night!

Bring yourself and your poetry and your original music!

Bring your friends!

Get ready for a great night of music and writing!

For Period ONE

2011-11-03T10:40:00.002-04:00

Dear Period One,

Below, please find the nature-related prompts that I mentioned to you in class. You can use them to fuel some fantastic new rough drafts and/or some Writer's Notebook entries. Happy writing; I hope you get a lot out of them!

*Five Details from the Dirt
*Seven Lessons from the Soil
*Natural Disaster
*Thoreau Wept
*Thoreau Rejoiced
*Title = significant natural location (Camp Site #17, Sunrise Mountain, etc.) - then, bring it to life!
*We Are All Suncatchers
*Water: Moving and Still
*Write a piece modeled after Mark Doty's crab shell (see the packet of poems I gave you earlier in the unit); the title should be the object and each stanza should be a snapshot of a different element of the object. End the poem in a more universal fashion, though, that goes beyond the mere physicality of the object.
*Choose a natural location. Study it during the morning, afternoon, and evening. Record some observations and build a piece of writing from the language you gather.
*If you visit my backyard, you will notice...
*Woman (or Man) Addresses Snake
*Man (or Woman) Addresses Mountain
*Man (or Woman) Addresses Pavement
*The History of Stars
*Is that Your Natural Color?
*A Human Constellation

Updates and Reminders

2011-11-01T19:40:00.003-04:00

(Image Credit: www.beyondhollywood.com)

Hello there, Periods, 1, 2, and 7,

First of all, there are reading days scheduled for all classes on Friday, November 4!Period 1, we will be focusing on final drafts of nature-related pieces. Periods 2 and 7, please have final drafts of your violence awareness poems ready to go. (Be sure to revise and edit throughout the week - focusing on structure, punctuation, detail, imagery, etc.).

Second on the list:

Period 1 - Writer's Notebook entries - due on Monday, 11/7 (8-12 entries); Periods 2 and 7 - Writer's Notebook entries due on Tuesday, 11/8 (6 entries).

Finally...

Reptar and the Wantage Library and I (What a crew! Better, I think, than VOLTRON! If you don't know Voltron, please brush up on your 80s cartoons...) are planning an open mic for a date in December. Stay tuned for details about this (supremely fantastic) future event!

That's all for now. Thanks for being such great classes.

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

"Want to be a writer? Don't know how or when? Find a quiet place - and use a humble pen..." ~from "Hurricane Eye" by Paul Simon

Assignment for Periods 2 and 7!

2011-10-05T08:13:00.003-04:00

Dear Periods 2 and 7,

Good morning (or, good afternoon, as the case may be...)! You have several tasks to complete on this lovely Wednesday (our last lab day). Here they are, in the order in which they should be completed:

1. Make sure your link works from our home page. If it does not, please let me know so we can correct the problem. (If you already did this step, please move on to Number 2.)

2. Using the "New Post" feature on your "Dashboard," please create at least one new post (a rough draft, a WN entry, your "I am From/For" poem, etc.).

3. Take some time to explore your friends' and neighbors' blog pages. Poke around in the work of Periods 1, 2, and 7. Leave some meaningful feedback to your peers on their work! (Comment on the work of at least 5-8 individuals.)

4. Access your HP e-mail account and send me a message (hstrout@hpregional.org). Tell me something you liked about your classmates' posts. Also, e-mail me an original metaphor (in preparation for our next unit of study). From there, please tell me something about your day, a favorite (appropriate!) joke, the kind of music you are listening to right now, something neat you can do, etc. Remember: You are e-mailing an English teacher. Please use proper capitalization and punctuation in your note!

First Final Drafts of the Year!

2011-09-29T07:50:00.004-04:00

Dear CWW and CW,

Your first final drafts of the year ("Word Meditation" pieces and "I am From/For" pieces) are due on Friday, September 30.

Friday is going to be a great day: we have "first reading days" happening in all sections of CWW and CW! I can't wait to hear your work and have some great conversation about it.

I am one lucky duck that I get to have such great students. Thanks for all your efforts that help to make our classes great!

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

Word Meditation Pieces

2011-09-22T18:00:00.002-04:00

Dear Period One,

At this point, you should be narrowing down your ideas for two rough drafts of "word meditation" pieces. Keep in mind, at the Workshop level, your writing may take whichever form you wish: poetry or prose.

Great job today on the large group critique session; I was very proud of your efforts (as I typically am... :).

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

Updates and reminders

2011-09-22T14:26:00.002-04:00

Helllllllllloooooooooooooooo, Periods 2 and 7,

I just wanted to give you some reminders about upcoming due dates. Here they are:

1. Monday, September 26 - Poetry Survey

2. Tuesday, September 27 - Writer's Notebook (six entries)

3. Tuesday, September 27 - Rough draft of "I am From"/"I am For" poem

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

Welcome, Students!

2011-09-06T16:35:00.002-04:00

Dear CWW, CW 2, and CW 7,

Hello there! Welcome to the school year! Welcome to Room 215! We are going to have a fantastic year together; I really can't wait to get to know each and every one of you who will help to form our writing community. This blog will be our online space to continue the essential work of writing. More details will follow in class, so please stay tuned.

Looking forward to you, I am,
Ms. Strout

It's the Last Day of School!

2011-06-20T15:39:00.003-04:00

Dear Periods One and Nine,

It has been a pleasure being your teacher this year. Thank you for all the fantastic memories. You will always have a home in Room 215. Best wishes for a safe and memorable summer! Please remember to write it all down. :)

With love and thanks,
Ms. Strout

Final Projects and Such

2011-05-16T14:16:00.002-04:00

Dear Periods One and Nine,

I hope you are all working hard on your final creative projects. I will start collecting them on Friday, May 20 (for those of you who are ready), and will continue to collect them throughout next week (5/23-5/27). Be sure you are staying on task in class so you may utilize this extra time if you need it.

Next Wednesday (or so - it may be Tuesday or Thursday, depending on how things go...), I will be introducing your final exam project. We will spend a period discussing the finer points of your exam task. From that point forward, our class time will be spent making this (really neat) project into a reality. In order to prepare, start thinking about your BEST work from the year. (Eventually, you will have to compile some of it onto two pages and print it out. Stay tuned for more details... :)

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

PS - I am enjoying your humor pieces and your pre-spring break pieces. I will get those back to you ASAP!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

2011-05-03T09:01:00.002-04:00

That's right: we're in the middle of our humor writing unit. :) We'll have some time in the lab this week to finalize drafts of humor pieces and pre-spring-break "Poetential Energy" pieces (one-syllable prose, "__________ Sunday," "Things to Do Around _____________," etc.).

Writer's Notebook entries are due and will be checked on Tuesday, May 10!

Thanks to those of you who supported Alec's open mic on Friday night (April 29)! Not a bad way to spend an evening...

Remember: Calliope Coffeehouse - SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2011 - It's going to be AWESOME! BE THERE!

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

Due dates and reminders: OH MY

2011-04-06T08:11:00.002-04:00

Dear Periods One and Nine,

Greetings, 215ers,

1. On Friday, it's officially time for our Spring Haiku-Palooza! Have your spruced and polished poems with you for some exciting competition. May the best seventeen syllable poem win! (Yes, there will be prizes. :)

2. On Monday, April 11, I will be collecting finalized drafts of your memoir pieces.

3. IMPORTANT UPDATE! In light of your memoir work, I am moving your next installment of WN entries to AFTER spring break: Tuesday, April 26th.

4. For details on a variety of AWESOME National Poetry Month events, please see the poster on the board in Room 215.

5. Whew. I am all out of reminders. Ooo, wait - one more: MARK YOUR CALENDARS - CALLIOPE COFFEEHOUSE! FRIDAY, JUNE 3RD! BE THERE OR BE SOMEWHERE ELSE NOT NEARLY AS FANTASTIC! (In other words, definitely BE THERE! ;)

Hope Wednesday is treating you well,
Ms. Strout

Long-awaited update!

2011-03-17T07:51:00.002-04:00

Hello there, valiant wordsmiths,

It has been awhile since I have updated our blog. Sorry about that. I have been knee-deep in Descriptive Observations and other papers that have been begging for my attention. :)

On Friday, March 18, you will be handing in FOUR FINAL DRAFTS: THREE drafts of Character Olympics work, ONE draft of a setting sketch.

Next installment of Writer's Notebook entries will be due on Tuesday, March 29.

Our March/April Madness Poetry Competition is in full swing! Thank you to our intrepid participants. Our next competition in Period One will involve Alexa and Delany. One of these brave ladies will be facing off against Amy (who apparently does not have a fear of heights... :). In Period Nine, we are a little behind in the bracket, but will be catching up ASAP!

Upcoming unit of study: Memoir: The Report from a Land Only You Know

Have a fantastic weekend! Enjoy the warm weather!

Love,
Ms. Strout

Updates and Reminders

2011-02-17T07:41:00.002-05:00

Dear Periods One and Nine,

1. Our "Prose Pros" assignment came out quite well! If you want to check it out, be sure to stop by the bulletin board by the English offices.

2. We have a reading day tomorrow! I am so excited. It has been too long. :)

3. Don't forget: your Writer's Notebook entries are due on Tuesday, February 22. We don't have school on Monday, so make yourself a note, tie a string to your finger, write it on your hand, send yourself a text message, get a friend to poke you until you remember, etc.

Next week: All about character!

(FYI: My seventh grade teacher used to always say, "Character is what you are when no one is looking." Character is ALSO what you create to make your stories awesome. :)

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

Prose Pros

2011-02-07T12:30:00.002-05:00

Dear Periods 1 and 9,

That is what you will become over the next few months: an expert at the genre of prose! (Get it? Prose PROS? Eh? Eh? :)

As of today, Monday, February 7, we are officially kicking off our semester of prose, where we will be exploring and creating short stories, personal narratives, fifty-five fiction pieces, humor writings, and so much more.

We will take time this week to free-write our way into this new semester, do some explorations in the class library, and begin thinking about the stories that have been the most signficant in our own lives.

Our first "official" prose unit will be Fifty-Five fiction! Can YOU write an entire story - complete with characters, setting, conflict, and resolution - in just fifty-five words or fewer? Stay tuned to Room 215 for more information regarding this type of prose writing!

Thankful that midterms are finally finished and looking forward to getting into some great writing assignments with you,
Ms. Strout

Dear Periods One and Nine,

2011-01-20T14:18:00.001-05:00

Thanks for using your time well and doing such a good job on midterm exam preparations.

That is all for now.

Over and out,
Ms. Strout

Midterm Madness

2011-01-06T07:49:00.002-05:00

Okay, let's try this again.

(Grrr... curse you, cyber oblivion... I wonder if lost blog posts and lost socks in the dryer all wind up in the same mysterious location?)

ANYway...

Period One, your midterm exam portfolio project is due on Wednesday, January 19.

Period Nine, YOUR midterm exam portfolio project is due on Friday, January 21.

While you will be given some class time to work, consider this project to be your homework. Procrastination is NOT a good idea here, ladies and gents.

Speaking of homework, I will collect EITHER a music-related poem OR an art-related poem on Friday (tomorrow), January 7.

Also, the next installment of your WN entries is due on Tuesday, January 11.

Okay, I'm going to try to post this again. Wish me luck!

Keeping my fingers crossed,
Ms. Strout

This week - 12/20-12/23

2010-12-20T08:10:00.003-05:00

Periods One and Nine,

Here is your task list for our two days in the lab:

1. Create/publish at least three new blog posts.
2. Read work by other students via their blog pages.
3. Offer feedback to those students in both class periods (as many as you can)
via the comment feature.
4. Finalize/print personification/perspective pieces (will be handed in on Thursday).
5. Type rough drafts of art-music pieces; final drafts will be due after break.
6. Obtain feedback from your peers on art-music pieces.
7. Utilize links on CW blog page (magneticpoetry.com, etc., etc.).
8. Consider works for Calliope; type, finalize, print, submit!

***************

Wednesday and Thursday will be our two Reading Days! I'm really looking forward to hearing all your work!

See you in the lab and in 215,
Ms. Strout

Updates and Such - 11/29-12/3

2010-12-01T10:44:00.003-05:00

1. Congratulations to Miranda and Stef, our two grand prize winners in the Magnetic Poetry Tournament of Champions! Congratulations, also, to our runners up, Conor and Paul! Big thank-yous to our judges, scorekeepers, announcers, and audience members. I think it is safe to say that a good time was had by all (in spite of the lockdown drill during first period)!

2. Good job so far on your perspective and personification poetry. I have seen evidence of some solid, thoughtful rough drafts. We'll start to finalize these pieces at the end of this week when we are in the computer lab.

3. Please remember to report to Room 438(A) on Thursday and Friday. In the lab, you will be setting up your blog pages, checking out our class blog page (this very item that you are perusing as we speak!), clicking on various awesome links (like www.magneticpoetry.com - SO MUCH FUN!), and finalizing a draft of EITHER a perspective OR a personification poem.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? You know where to find me!

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

Due Dates

2010-11-09T17:07:00.002-05:00

Finalized draft of EITHER a) random word poem OR b) cliche wars poem
AND
Finalized draft of EITHER a) black-out poem OR b) found poem
DUE
on
Friday, November 12, 2010.

Reading day on Friday!

:)

PS - Please submit your (awesome) work to Calliope.

CLICHE WARS!

2010-10-25T15:20:00.002-04:00

Periods One and Nine,

The battle has begun:

Our next unit of study will force us to do battle with the evil Empire of cliched language! (Don't be scared; we can do this. :)

All of our activities over the next couple weeks will serve to take our writing in new directions, spark new language choices, and make us more aware of the words we are placing on the page.

It's going to be awesome.

(And I'm not just saying that because I'm the teacher. :)

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

Violence Awareness

2010-10-18T17:39:00.001-04:00

Dear Periods One and Nine,

Great job so far with our unit on violence awareness. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and maturity.

Please remember that you need a working rough draft of your violence-related poem by Tuesday, October 19th. Your writer's notebook entries will also be checked on this day.

Get ready for two days of reading this week (Thursday and Friday)! I can't wait!

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

Updates

2010-09-30T11:00:00.002-04:00

Dear Periods One and Nine,

*I am enjoying reading your "I am From"/"I am For" pieces; thank you for your positive efforts! Also, GREAT JOB with our first reading day last Friday! Wow!

*This week, we have begun our initial work with diction, detail, imagery, and figurative language. These are tools we will continue to work on and develop throughout the year. Stay tuned!

See you in 215,
Ms. Strout

Rough draft due

2010-09-16T15:59:00.001-04:00

Dear Students,

Please be advised that the rough draft of your "I am From" / "I am For" poem is due on Monday, September 20. We will have our first peer critique session at that time, so please be prepared.

I am very proud of the job you are doing so far as students in this class. Please keep up the excellent work!

Thank you,
Ms. Strout

Due dates, you say?

2010-09-06T09:40:00.002-04:00

Hello, Periods One and Nine!

Below, please find some beginning-of-the-year due dates to keep you on track and organized:

1. Literary Dictionary - Friday, September 17
2. Writer's Notebook entries - Tuesday, September 21
3. Poetry Survey - Monday, September 27

Please place these dates firmly in your handy-dandy planners so that you don't forget them.

Stay tuned to Room 215 for information regarding these and other assignments!

Over and out,
Ms. Strout*

(*unintentional rhyming :)

Greetings from your Fearless Leader!

2010-09-02T16:24:00.003-04:00

Dear Periods One and Nine,

Welcome to Creative Writing! First of all, I want to thank you for electing to take this class. There are so many fantastic classes here at High Point to build into your schedule; I am honored that you chose this one.

This blog will serve as an online "home base" for all the goings-on in Room 215. Please check back frequently for updates, reminders, due dates, and affectionate shout-outs from your teacher. Comments and questions are welcome; don't be shy!

I will see you soon in Room 215!

Looking forward to learning about you,
Ms. Strout

Celebrate with me!

2009-09-21T16:45:00.003-04:00

Guess what? Thursday is National Punctuation Day! Isn't that exciting? What is your favorite punctuation mark? (Leave me a comment telling me which one and why!) What should we do in class to mark (ha - no pun intended...) this historic occasion? Any ideas? (Again, use that comment feature and let me in on your ideas!) For more information, go to www.nationalpunctuationday.com.

Other neat happenings that you might enjoy:

Saturday, September 26: Warren County Poetry Festival at Blair Academy (Blairstown, NJ)
Saturday, September 26: Grand Opening of Poets House (Battery Park City, NY)
Saturday-Sunday, September 26-27: Peter's Valley Art Festival (Sussex County Fairgrounds)

For more information, please see the chalkboard in Room 215.

Period Five - Class Favorites Project

2009-06-16T14:19:00.005-04:00

As a class, we selected works from each student that we felt to be of the highest quality, works that were representative of each person's style, voice, and overall ability as a writer. Period Five, thank you for taking part in this meaningful assignment. I treasure the idea that I will be able to carry each of your voices with me, well beyond the school calendar. Thank you for being patient with microphones that decided to stop working, files that were saved to the wrong location, words stumbled over, and background noises tripped upon. (Zeus, you deserve special kudos for all the patient work you did to finalize this project. Merci beaucoup, mademoiselle.) Don't ever forget how important, how unique each of your voices is. I am proud of who you are and who you will become in years to come. Teaching you has been an honor and a privilege. Don't forget about Room 215, okay? You each hold a special place in its history - and in mine. I mean it, Ms. Strout