End of Book Celebrations

To celebrate your reading of The Writing on the Wall and Williwaw!, we will party... if you plan!

The party will include ALL students with whom I've worked this year (from all three homerooms) and will last from 11:25-12:15 on Tuesday, June 5th.
Post below what you will bring.  Remember that foods must be from the books.  If you need to borrow a book to check food details, that's fine... come see me.

For students interested in submitting to the Harvard Educational Review:

Our entry will describe, very specifically, our spray painting experience at ASU.  We will discuss our interaction with the sculpture, AMUK, as well as with the free-expression tunnels.  "Winning entries" will give lots of detail, and our submission should answer some of the following questions: 

How have the arts (and, in particular, the spray painting experience) inspired you to think in ways you never had before?

How have the arts (and, in particular, the spray painting experience) taught you more about yourself or others?

How have you ever been surprised by an experience with the arts (and, in particular, the spray painting experience) ?

How do the arts (and, in particular, the spray painting experience) help you to express what matters to you?

How do the arts (and, in particular, the spray painting experience) connect you to other people and events in the world around you?  

How did the spray painting experience make The Writing on the Wall BIGGER than a book and MORE than a story---EXPANDING a novel study outside of our little renovated kitchen classroom?

Please begin collaborating and "talking" about these ideas by posting your comments below:

Prove that the Lines are Coincidental

"The two equations y=3x+5 and 2y=6x+10 would be an example of (coincidental lines), because if you choose the same "x" in both equations, you'll always get "y" that's the same for both equations, too."  (pages 138-9)


Prove this.

I admire...

Tess is as upset about disappointing the three women whom she most admires (her mom, Ms. Saltzman, and Ms. Balford) as she is about not being able to participate in the math competition.


Whom do you admire, and why?
Or, whom would you be devastated to disappoint, and why?

Change Over Time

Name three things in life that change over time.
Go above and beyond by identifying the slope for each change you list as positive or negative, and steep or gradual.


Special note: As soon as an idea is added in a comment, it cannot be copied.  Therefore, the quicker you respond, the easier this post will be for you.  Also, you will have to read what your classmates write so you know that you aren't repeating "changes" listed by another person.

Thwarted Plans

Tess thwarts Richard's plans for a fight by apologizing to Brenda (even though she's not said or done anything for which to apologize).  
Critique Tess's handling of the volatile situation:  

• What was positive about Tess's reaction to the rumored fight?  What was negative?  
• If you were Tess, how would you have handled the situation with Brenda? 
• Do you think the author intends to teach 'tweens and young teenagers a lesson through Tess's decision and behavior?  If so, what is that lesson?

Field Trip Plans 2/18/12

Learn about AMUK

Symbolic View of Life

In Chapter 6, Tess explains the infinity symbol she continually redraws on the inside of her left ankle.  The "tattoo" is a representation of her view of life--that "everything is always changing."  
What symbol--mathematical or otherwise--would you choose to represent yourself or your view of life?  
Please elaborate on why the symbol is an accurate representation of you or what you believe.  Also, out of curiosity, would you tattoo this symbol on your body?


What follows is the response from puppylover28:  
               If I got to choose a symbol, I would choose the Christian fish symbol to show my deep trust and faith in Jesus Christ. In Bible times, Christianity was illegal. If a follower spoke to someone they would draw the fish in the sand with a staff. If the other person drew another fish in the sand they were safe to talk to. This secret sign kept Christians safe.

Graphing Yourself

Suppose you were to graph yourself on the coordinate plane, just like Tess graphs Lucia.  
As we discussed in class, none of us would have all positive points.  
What is one characteristic you would identify within your "Quadrant I" (positive x, positive y), and what is one characteristic you would identify within your "Quadrant III" (negative x, negative y)?
Expressed differently: what is one of your strengths, and what is one of your weaknesses?

A Bully?

Do you consider Richard's actions toward Tess to be bullying?  Defend your response, and include within your reaction an explanation of what "bullying" means to you.
If you were Tess, how would you respond to Richard?

The Writing on the Wall: Graffiti

Is graffiti art, or is graffiti vandalism?
Express your position.


Create your own graffiti wall at http://www.123peppy.com/graffiti

The Writing on the Wall: Patterns

Why does Tess say that people have patterns? 

Are there patterns at Davenport A+?  What are they?

Are there patterns in other aspects of your life?  What are they?

Why do you think some parts of your life are predictable and follow patterns, while some parts are harder to predict and order?

Negative Numbers

What do you know about negative numbers?

Literature Circle Roles

Do you like discussing books using literature circle roles?  Why or why not?

Review of The Wright 3

Would you recommend this book to others?  If so, to whom (what age person, with what interests and preferences)?  How would you "sell" him/her on reading this book?  What convincing arguments would you use?

Figurative Language in The Wright 3

Identify one example of figurative language in The Wright 3.  Copy this example into a comment and then classify the figurative language you've found as a simile, a metaphor, personification, alliteration, hyperbole, an idiom, onomatopoeia, etc.


"A symphony, that's what the place is like--a complex Bach symphony that sharpens your mind even if you can't comprehend every stand of harmony." (page 149)

Using a simile, Blue Balliett compares the Robie House (which is "the place") to a symphony composed by Johann Bach. 

She is describing how the rooms, as separate pieces, flow together into a "greater" whole—a home that changes the way people think about homes, and a home that feels amazing (even to someone who is not an architect)----just as many instruments flow together to create a symphony—which sounds beautiful even to someone who is not a musician.

Operation Celebration: Book Over Party

Rule One: If you plan your celebration, you may nibble and munch on Friday, 11/18, while we discuss the final pages of the book (277-314).

Rule Two: All party foods and drinks must come from the book.  Use comment posts on the blog to tell what will you bring and why.  Give page numbers please.  

**Keep all foods peanut-free and let me know if there are other food allergies to consider.

Rule Three: To enter the "party zone," you must bring your AR report on The Wright 3 and your copy of the novel, which you will return to me.  

Codes

1.  How does the Wright Sandwich Code "save the day" and protect our protagonists*?
(Super Challenge for Super Smart Students: Answer this question using the Wright Sandwich Code!)

2. Do you know the connection between codes and  Braille?  Interested in knowing?
Go to http://www.afb.org/braillebug/Braille.asp
and post something that you learn from exploring that website.

 3. Want to learn more about other famous codes or write a note to your BFF that only the two of you can read?  Check out this website, where there are 12 codes to explore: http://www.youthonline.ca/spykids/

(*a protagonist is a main character)

Questions to Answer

(Please respond to three in a comment by 11/1/11.)

5. Interpret the underlying meaning of the Chinese legend of the "carp that swims upriver and leaps over waterfalls and becomes a dragon... (which) symbolize(s) wisdom and the power to rule... the highest authority in any society" (pages 210, 225).  Is there a moral, or lesson about life, in this legend?

7. What evidence might be used from the assigned chapters to support the principle that one lie leads to another lie, as expressed in the following stanza from a poem by Francis Duggan:

One lie leads to another lie that always is the case
Your first lie for deception and your second to save face
And when you are faced with the truth the truth you will deny
And to lie to you comes easy so you tell another lie.

9. Investigate Froebel blocks.  What do you know about them from information on page 220, as well as from other research that you undertake?

Collaborative Red Herring Puzzles

A "red herring" is an idiom (or a figurative expression) for a piece of information that is introduced to draw attention away from the real facts of a situation. All of your red herring puzzles contain details that are meant to distract you from figuring them out.
What are your thoughts about the distracting suggestions in this puzzle:
While relaxing on the deck outside her cabin one summer evening, Vivian fell into a deep trance-like sleep. When she awoke, she felt as if she had slept for only an hour or two, but it was now the middle of winter. How could this be?
What do you think the clue(s) to solving the puzzle might be?

Design Your Own House

http://www.architectstudio3d.org/AS3d/home.html

"The great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed hundreds of houses throughout his long and distinguished career. Each home was uniquely fashioned to meet the needs of its owners and the particular qualities of its location. Wright inspired a generation of architects. Are you one of them? On this Web site, you can design a house, walk through it in 3D, and then share it with the world. You can also learn more about architecture, past and present, and explore Frank Lloyd Wright's life and work."

image from: http://andrewraimist.com/2009/04/frank-lloyd-wright-lecture-fri-3-apr-09.html

“Do I have two pieces of art, or one crime?”

In Chapter 18, Ms. Hussey’s class attracts attention to the Robie House by demonstrating in front of it.  During their demonstration, the students chop up prints of famous paintings.  Their intention is to show how a work of art cut into pieces cannot possibly be the same as it was when whole.   

Below are images of some of the famous paintings mentioned in The Wright 3.  Look at each one.  Then, post a comment explaining which painting you like best and why it's your favorite.  Think about the subject of the painting, the colors of the painting, the mood or the feeling of the painting, and the style of the artist.  Include these in your explanation.  Write in complete sentences, please.

van Gogh’s painting: The Bedroom (Tommy's favorite)

Matisse’s painting: Woman Before an Aquarium

Degas’s painting: The Millinery Shop

Seurat’s painting: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

Gauguin’s painting: Polynesian Woman with Children

Innovative and Outside the Box

Using information you learned from Mrs. Goudas's presentation, explain how Frank Lloyd Wright was innovative and thought "outside the box"--literally.  Remember that an innovator is someone who comes up with new ideas that change the way people see and do things.  

Visuals Accompanying Mrs. Goudas's Lecture

Informational Video on the Robie House
Design Video of the Robie House (remember the link between Wright and Mondrian)

Living, Breathing House?

I am so impressed by your conversation today about Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House.  Here are some thoughts to which you might want to react: 

• The house has a spirit.
• The house is trying to sweep away (remove) the tragedies that have occurred in the lives of its residents.
• The house is an "unfortunate" house.
• The fish was buried when the house was built and, in digging it up, Tommy's upset the house.  (Also, there may be other treasures buried on the grounds.)
• The house is guarding itself against something.
• Frank Lloyd Wright's ghost is protecting the house.

What does the quote in Ms. Hussey's classroom mean?

Tommy notices quotes decorating the walls in Ms. Hussey's classroom.  One of the quotes, from John Dewey, says: "Art is the most effective mode of communication that exists."  Do you agree with Mr. Dewey? Please explain why or why not.