Favorite Poem?

Copy and paste it in here for us all to enjoy :-).

Vocabulary

Any suggestions on how GPS can better incorporate vocabulary into our curriculum, keeping in mind that we don't want to give you all TONS more extra work? And eliminating vocabulary study all together is not an option...

Blog Description

I have the option to include a "description of the blog" underneath the heading. If you had to describe both this course and the potential use of this blog for the course in just a few sentences, what would they be? Write the description of the blog for me!

What should I name Baby Gahan?

This one is just for fun :-). I would love your suggestions, though...

Course Feedback

Respond to the following questions:

1. What did you like best about this course?
2. What did you like the least? Be specific.
3. What concept(s) do you feel like we should have spent more time on? Less time on?
4. What class activities did you enjoy the most? least?
5. If I could change one thing about this course, what should it be?
6. What else would have helped you become a stronger, more confident writer this year?
7. What is the greatest lesson about writing you are going to remember in the future?

Anything else?

Exam Corrections

Everyone needs to do this one...

1. Write out all of the grammatical mistakes you made on your papers and then write out the corrections.

2. State your thesis. If it wasn't analytical to begin with, revise it and then type it. Make sure your thesis is one that teaches us something about the text--and hopefully is original and thought-provoking.

3. Write out the topic sentence to each of your body paragraphs. Make sure that the topic sentence is arguable and supports your thesis.

Grammar/Mechanics Tips

We have worked A LOT on polishing your papers so that you do not include grammatical or mechanical errors in your writing. Simply put, they compromise your message. In order to help next year's students get a head start, respond with examples of mistakes you often unconsciously make and then include the rule/correction that illustrates the correct form...

Literary Analyses

Based on what you know now, especially considering the comments on your final exam papers, post your top five tips for writing an effective, analytical literary essay. Make sure you read previous posts, though--you can't repeat a tip/rule that someone else has already posted.

Respond to an article on NYTimes.com

Response should be at least 6 sentences in length...feel free to go longer!

Write a poem

This challenge involves two steps: 1.) Post a list of five of your favorite words (stay G-rated here, people). 2.) Write a poem that incorporates the previous poster's five favorite words. I'll start the comments with five of my favorite words and then someone awesome can incorporate them into a poem and keep the cycle going...

Global Issue Sonnet!

Reply back with the sonnet you submitted to the March River Review contest.

Peer Editing Suggestions?

Had any moments of inspiration this year along the lines of, "Aha! THIS is how we should peer edit this paper! I am brilliant!"? Considering this course is in many ways a writing workshop, peer editing and revision are key elements of your success in this course. Comment with what you specifically either really liked about certain ways we peer edited in this course--or even better, suggest new ways students can go about getting constructive feedback on their papers before their writing is graded. Be specific. Be thoughtful. Really think about what would have helped you improve your writing as you were going through the writing process...

We need IMAGES!

This blog would be boring without helpful, interesting, dynamic images to complement the written content. Comment on this post with links to images you think would be perfect for this writing blog!

Best Papers

You rockstars are discussing your research papers in groups right now (Remember that? Back in March?), so I am continuing to work on your final :-). My next request is for you to send me via email your strongest papers that you would be willing for me to post and share with future students. I will do it anonymously, of course, and know that we would be looking at your papers as examples of what TO do, not what not to do. I would really appreciate building my database of past student exemplary papers. Thanks so much for considering this.

Six Word Memoir

I LOVE this creative writing idea. Check out this awesome slideshow of six-word stories. And then write your own. Describe your life in 6 words.

Write your own assignment!

I am always looking for creative, new writing assignments that will both appeal to my students and help them grow as writers. SO...imagine you are me and have the ability to craft a brand new writing challenge for a bunch of incredibly talented and inquisitive--but busy--students. In your response comment, write the assignment as if you were going to distribute to the students.

Biggest piece of advice to next year's writing students

Be thoughtful about this one! And you can't say "run screaming in the other direction--save yourself!" Not fair! :-). What did you realize at some point in this year that sincerely helped you thrive with this curriculum?

Ok...favorite book in class this year

Now I want to know which book you most enjoyed reading in this course's curriculum and why. Try to go more into depth with this response...say something that someone else might be able to respond to or build off on in her response. Try to contribute a thought that may have never made it into a discussion in class. I am interested in your thoughts.

Favorite Books

What books would you recommend for your peers to read? For next year's sophomores? Which books really impacted you? Which books helped you think about composition or character or theme in a new way? Write back with your recommendations--and be sure to state in 2-3 sentences what the book is about and why you liked it so.

Suggestions on FEATURES

Ok, so another thought I had was that I would post, probably in a side column, some helpful and/or interesting notes or pieces of writing. What would make you most excited to visit the blog? Links to cool poems? Links to interesting articles, especially ones that relate to what you are writing in class? Links to other online writing sites? Important class documents? Quotes of the day? Use your imagination and be specific in your suggestions!

New Title

So the first thing this blog needs is a new title. You all are creative, thoughtful, fun people--help me come up with a title for this online discussion journal. My only requirement? It's gotta be clever :-).