20112012prompts

Eighth grade Example

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." -Leo Buscaglia, author (1924-1998) = = Friday, May 11, 2012: Free Write __Thursday, May 10, 2012:__Describe what makes a good teacher and give examples of teachers who have had an impact on you or changed the way you saw yourself and what you can do. Use a list of characteristics and support them with examples from teachers you have had. Then connect this quotation to your thoughts:"There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book we read becomes luminous with manifold allusion." -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) __Wednesday, May 9, 2012:__ Paraphrase this quotation and then respond to it. "Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold." -Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (1828-1910) Tuesday, May 8, 2012: NO PROMPT __Monday, May 7, 2012:__ Respond to this prompt: "Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher." -Japanese proverb

Friday, May 4, 2012: Free Write using this article __Wednesday, May 2, 2012__ __and Thursday, May3:__ Define paradox; Discuss on paper, these three famous paradoxes:
 * 1) This sentence is false.
 * 2) In a town, there is one male barber. Every male in town keeps himself clean-shaven. Some men shave themselves. The rest go to the barber. The barber shaves only those men in town who do not shave themselves. Does the barber shave himself?
 * 3) There are two sign-makers, Cellini and Bellini. Cellini always writes false signs, and Bellini always writes the truth. A sign says “Cellini wrote this.” Is this possible?

__Tuesday, May 1, 2012__: What does this poem make you think about and why?
Revision by Kimberly Marcus

Life is full of twists and turns and, with each bend, a person learns that fire warms and fire burns - a matter of degree.

Life is good and life’s not fair and in this whole wide world out there some will love and some won’t care - a harsh reality.

But in this life you get to choose how you cope with things you lose, a mortal wound or healing bruise - it’s all in how you see. © Kimberly Marcus. All rights reserved.

__Monday, April 30, 2012__: Respond the the following quote by Franz Kafka: “a book must be the ax for the frozen sea inside us.”
Friday, April 27, 2012: Free Write from this video __Thursday, April 26, 2012:__ View this video and respond to it with ideas about where you see storytelling going. __Wednesday, April 25, 2012:__ View this video and define Zeitgeist. Then write about what you can say about the Zeitgeist of your year in school and in Humanities. Check out these graduate student projects. __Tuesday,__ April 24, 2012: paraphrase this quote and then use our readings from this year to illustrate your thoughts about this quotation.**//“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind”//** Elly Roselle __Monday,__ April 23, 2012: This is William Shakespeare's birth and death day. To honor the bard, try to sort out this quote from one of his plays and explain it.

** "An overflow of good converts to bad." ** -William Shakespeare
Friday, April 20, 2012: Free Write Thursday, April 19, 2012: Paraphrase this quotation, explain it, and take a position about it:**//“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.”//** Wayne Dyer Wednesday, April 18, 2012: Paraphrase this quotation and explain why it might be true.**//“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls”//** Joseph Campbell ====Tuesday, April 17, 2012: Paraphrase this quotation and connect to what you know.**//“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.”//** Lao Tzu==== =Start of Quarter 4 #1=
 * Monday, April 16, 2012:** Explain this quotation and then use examples from your readings or projects this year to illustrate your ideas about whether this quotation seems true to you. **"The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best -- and therefore never scrutinize or question."-**Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist, biologist, author (1941-2002)

"Every burned book or house enlightens the world; every suppressed or expunged word reverberates through the earth from side to side." -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) Monday, February 20, 2012: no prompt for President's Day but you may write about your favorite president for extra credit
 * Tuesday, February 28, 2012:** View this video and then respond to it both literally and figuratively.
 * Friday, February 24, 2012:** Free write
 * Thursday, February 23, 2012:** Two Daily Edits (Abraham Lincoln and Arizona)
 * Wednesday, February 22, 2012:** Read the Eagles' "Hotel California"[[file:HotelCaliforniabyEagles.doc]]lyrics and listen to them on yo[|utube]singing the song. Respond by explaining what you think is both the literal and figurative meanings of the song.
 * Tuesday, February 21, 2012:** Paraphrase and explain the following quotation. How might Emerson's ideas connect to what you know about freedom:

Tuesday, February 14, 2012: share valentines to books =Start of Quarter 3 #2 Check=
 * Friday, February 17, 2012:** Freewrite
 * Thursday, February 16, 2012:** Write a story, poem, or essay as a response to these[| pictures].
 * Wednesday, February 15, 2012**: What might you learn from this quotation? Consider the literal and figurative meanings."I shall live badly if I do not write, and I shall write badly if I do not live." -Francoise Sagan, playwright and novelist (1935-2004)
 * Monday, February 13, 2012:** Watch the valentine to books [|video]. What ten or twelve books would you like to pick as your best reads. Then, take a picture of you and your favorite books or just a pile of your favs to share with the class tomorrow.

write about what you did on this issue, what you think of what happened that day and about this issue.
 * Monday, January 23, 2012:** What can you learn from this [|video]?
 * Friday, January 20, 2012:** Watch this [|video]and write a poem inspired by the video.
 * Wednesday, January 18, 2012:[| Updates] on SOPA and PIPA and watch this video on [|TED]**
 * Tuesday, January 17, 2012: Paraphrase the following quotation, explain what you think the author means and why you think that way. Give examples that illustrate your understanding.** "Most people think that shadows follow, precede, or surround beings or objects. The truth is that they also surround words, ideas, desires, deeds, impulses and memories." -Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1928)
 * Monday, January 16, 2012: No School/Day of Service/describe what you did for others today. (extra credit)**

"There is something beautiful about all scars of whatever nature. A scar means the hurt is over, the wound is closed and healed, done with." -Harry Crews, novelist and playwright (b. 1935)
 * Friday, January 13, 2012:** free write
 * Thursday, January 12, 2012:** view this[| video] and then connect what you see to the following quote:
 * Tuesday, January 10 and Wednesday, January 11, 2012:** NO PROMPTS
 * Monday, January 9, 2012:** "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." -Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel laureate (b. 1918) What does Mandela mean? How might you apply this to your own communication with others?


 * Friday, January 6, 2012:** NO PROMPT

=

 * Wednesday, January 4, 2012 and Thursday, January 5, 2012:** Paraphrase the following quotation, explain the meaning and why you think that, connect your understanding to an analogy and explain why that works. **"**To be capable of embarrassment is the beginning of moral consciousness. Honor grows from qualms." -John Leonard, critic (1939-2008)======

=
=Start of Quarter 3 #1 check=
 * Tuesday, January 3, 2012:** After reading Martin Luther King's speech [|"I Have A Dream,"] make a brainstorm list of dreams you have for your community. Pick your most detailed vision and write it on one of the cards I gave you in class.=====

No Prompts (December 9th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, or 16th) Complete all daily prompts Quarter 2 prompt check 2 will be on December 9, 2011 (Nov.10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 28, 29, 30, Dec. 1, 2, 5, 6, 8) __Wednesday, December 7, 2011: NO PROMPT__ "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." -Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) __"All great truths begin as blasphemies."__ -George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950) __"__ //__'Never use a long word where a short one will do.__"-// //George Orwell// __" '//If//__ //__it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out.__"-George Orwell//
 * Thursday, December 8, 2011:** Paraphrase the quotation from Hamlet, explain it, and connect it to a literary or historical reference.“. . . for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” –William Shakespeare
 * Tuesday, December 6, 2011:** Go on the Big Think website and either read the article found on this [|link]or find another article that interests you more. Read the article, summarize its main points, and explain how you feel about that information and why.
 * Monday, December 5, 2011:** Paraphrase Churchill's words, explain why you think the way you do, decide whether you agree or disagree and explain why. Connect your thinking to a literary or historical example as well.
 * Friday, December 2, 2011: Freewrite**
 * Thursday, December 1, 2011:** Watch this[| video]about "earthscrapers" and decide whether you would live in one. What would be the disadvantages and what would be the advantages? Support your opinions with examples, connections, and anecdotes.
 * Wednesday, November 30, 2011:** Paraphrase this quotation, decide whether you agree or disagree with Shaw. Elaborate on your idea using at least two arguments and at least three examples, literary connections, historical connections and anecdotes for each of your two arguments (1 argument + 3 supports)
 * Tuesday, November 29, 2011:** Read both quotes from George Orwell. What do you think of Orwell's advice to writers? Why do you think that? Use examples, connections to literature, and your experiences writing to illustrate your ideas.
 * Monday, November 28, 2011:** View [|papervision] and write a story. The prompt response should be a half of a page of ideas for your story. Type up the narrative based on the prompt ideas and turn in your story on Friday, December 2, 2011.

"The path of least resistance makes all rivers, and some men, crooked." -Napoleon Hill, author (1883-1970) Friday 11/ 11/ 11: (extra credit opportunity) respond to what this day means to you. ====**Monday, November 14, 2011:** Respond to the poem by Ed Roberson. What do you notice about this poem? What literary techniques are used? Who is the audience and how do you know? What do you think the poet is trying to say to that audience? How do you know? ====
 * Friday, November 18, 2011:** Free write
 * Thursday, November 17, 2011:** go to the [|magnetic poetry site] and create a poem about charity. Write it in your prompt book
 * Wednesday, November 16, 2011:** Paraphrase the following quotation, explain what you think it means, connect that meaning to another literary example that could further illustrate the example, and then decide whether you agree or disagree with Napoleon Hill.
 * Tuesday, November 15, 2011:**view this [|video] and respond to it. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a day of glass?


 * Thursday, November 10, 2011**: In honor of Veteran's Day tomorrow, read the Andy Rooney excerpt and respond to it. How does it make you feel? What is important about what he wrote? [[file:AndyRooneypreface.doc]]

First Prompt Check for Quarter Two will be on Thursday, November 10, 2011(October 7,11/12,13,14,17,18,20,21 and November 1,2,3,4,7,8,9)

 * Wednesday, November 9, 2011:** If you could send a picture back in time (about 100 years,) what image would you send and to whom would you send it? Why?

Monday, November 7, 2011:
Paraphrase this quote, decide whether you agree or disagree with Rowlings and explain why you feel that way. Connect your ideas to other literary quotes and explain your connection: "The Potter books in general are a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry, and I think it's one of the reasons that some people don't like the books, but I think that it's a very healthy message to pass on to younger people that you should question authority and you should not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth." -J.K. Rowling, novelist (b. 1965)

Thursday, November 3, 2011: view the[| Grandfather Paradox]video. How does it affect what you know about philosophy and time?

 * Wednesday, November 2, 2011:** Read the [[file:2.doc]]and respond with thoughts you have about it.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011:
Paraphrase the prompt, explain how you feel about it, connect to any literary works or experiences. "There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up a pen to write." -William Makepeace Thackeray, novelist (1811-1863)

Monday October 31, 2011: no prompt


 * NO PROMPTS THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 24TH or on October 31st.**

Friday, October 21, 2011: free write


 * Seventh Grade Prompt for Thursday, October 20, 2011**: Think about what you can do to help others in need.
 * Eighth Grade Prompt for Thursday, October 20, 2011:** Visit the[| project site]for the people at GoYoung and remind yourself of what they are doing. Then write about your reactions to that as well as ideas you have for making a difference as a social entrepreneur.

Prompt for Wednesday, October 19, 2011: NO PROMPT

“As the least drop of wine colors the whole goblet, so the least particle of truth colors our whole life. it is never isolated, or simply added as dollars to our stock. When any real progress is made, we unlearn and learn anew, what we thought we knew before.” Henry David Thoreau
 * Prompt for Tuesday, October 18, 2011:**

View the information on the CBS [|website] and respond to what you learn about Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, and your choice of others mentioned. How might their stories help you find a "cause" in your life?
 * Prompt for Monday, October 17, 2011:**

Prompt for Friday, October 14, 2011: free write

Paraphrase the following quote and explain why or why not you agree with it. Also, connect it to a literary example or an historical example. Explain your connection to the original quote. //"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." -////**Lou Holtz**//
 * Prompt for Thursday, October 13, 2011:**

Compare the following views on courage. Paraphrase what each person means. Decide with whom you most agree and why you do so. If you do not agree with any of the authors, create your own statement about courage. “It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.” -Mark Twain, //Mark Twain In Eruptions// “Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” -Winston Churchill “Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once.” -William Shakespeare, -//Julius Caesar// Act II, Scene ii
 * Prompt for Tuesday and Wednesday, October 11 and 12, 2011:**

Start of third prompt check
 * Friday, October 7, 2011:** free write

Prompt Check 2 for the following dates: **9/16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 30 and 10/3, 4, 5, 6.**


 * Thursday, October 6, 2011:** Describe the methods or skills you use to be successful as a learner, as a friend, and as a community citizen but first watch this[| video.] and connect your answer to this quotation: "We're here to put a dent in the universe." -Steve Jobs, entrepreneur and inventor (1955-2011) Check out this tribute too. [|article]


 * Wednesday, October 5, 2011:** Paraphrase the following quotation. Then explain what you think it means and why. Be sure to use connections to illustrate your understanding of the quote. "Be the master of your will and the slave of your conscience." -Hasidic saying


 * Tuesday, October 4, 2011:** Watch the [|video] and describe what you see. If you wish, start a story using the conflict and characters in the video for your story.


 * Monday, October 3, 2011:** What do you wish your teachers could know about you? Read the[| New York Times article] and respond to the questions for students.


 * Friday, September 30, 2011**: free write

Thursday, September 29, 2011: no prompt


 * Wednesday, September 28, 2011:** Watch this [|video]. What does it make you think about both literally and figuratively. Write about what this video prompts you to think.


 * Tuesday, September 27, 2011:** Paraphrase the following quote, explain why you think the author says it, connect it to other ideas and quotes, and explain your connections. "We are usually convinced more easily by reasons we have found ourselves than by those which have occurred to others." -Blaise Pascal, philosopher and mathematician (1623-1662)


 * Monday, September 26, 2011**: Please read this[| NY Times article] and answer the questions posed about your own self- control. Here is a video of the experiment: [|Marshmallow]


 * Friday, September 23, 2011**: Free Write


 * Thursday, September 22, 2011:** view this [|painting] and write whatever comes to mind. Try not to lift up your pencil or pen while you write for five minutes.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011: EXTRA CREDIT opportunity. Watch this [|TED video] and respond to it.


 * Tuesday, September 20, 2011:** Paraphrase this quote, explain what you think it means, and connect it to a previous quote and explain why you used that connection. Then, connect to your self."If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" -Alexander Solzhenitsyn, novelist, Nobel laureate (1918-2008)

"A writer -- and, I believe, generally all persons -- must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art." -Jorge Luis Borges, writer (1899-1986)
 * Monday, September 19, 2011:** Paraphrase this quote and then decide whether or how this idea applies to you.
 * Check out the seventh grade response [[file:MondayPromptExample.doc]]to this prompt.**

Friday, September 16, 2011: Free Write and prompt check

=**End of Prompt Check 1 during Quarter 1**=
 * Thursday, September 15, 2011:** Paraphrase the quote, explain what da Vinci means, and connect that wisdom with something you have noticed about the way you do your work or approach an unfamiliar situation. Also, how does this quote connect to any of the quotes this or last week? __"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."__ -Leonardo da Vinci, painter, engineer, musician, and scientist (1452-1519)


 * Wednesday, September 14, 2011:** translate the sentences passed out in class.

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life thinking that it is stupid." -Albert Einstein
 * Tuesday, September 13, 2011:** Paraphrase the following quote and then explain it. Finally, agree or disagree and explain why you think the way you do. Include connections you make in order to illustrate your thinking.


 * Monday, September 12, 2011:** "I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart." -Anne Frank, Holocaust diarist (1929-1945) Compare what Anne Frank wrote to what we can learn today.


 * Friday, September 9, 2011**: Free Write (I will check your prompt responses next Friday)


 * Thursday, September 8, 2011:Respond to the following prompt by paraphrasing it, explaining what Jefferson means, and describing your connections to it. **// "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." -Thomas Jefferson //


 * Wednesday, September 7, 2011: View the [|video] and respond by paraphrasing what you think the artist and film maker wanted you to understand. For more information about the artist's project, watch his [|TED talk]. **


 * Tuesday, September 6, 2011: ** //"Failure is the opportunity to begin more intelligently." -Henry Ford//

Extra credit prompt: describe why Americans celebrate Labor Day.
 * Monday, September 5, 2011: **

Write a half page at least about any topic you wish.
 * Friday, September 2, 2011: **

Van Gogh’s [|//Portrait of Dr. Gachet//]. and on one side of the prompt page list the __explicit details__ while on the other side, list the __implicit details__.
 * Thursday, September 1, 2011: View the painting by Vincent Van Gogh **

"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." ** - Jim Rohn **
 * Wednesday, August 31, 2011: **

“The willow which bends to the tempest, often escapes better than the oak which resists it; and so in great calamities, it sometimes happens that light and frivolous spirits recover their elasticity and presence of mind sooner than those of a loftier character.” - Walter Scott, novelist and poet
 * Tuesday, August 30, 2011:**

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. - Helen Keller
 * Monday, August 29, 2011:**

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) 8th grade only
 * Friday, August 26, 2011:** "Cut these words and they would bleed; they are vascular and alive; they walk and run."


 * Thursday, August 25, 2011**: "Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation, must begin by subduing the freeness of speech." -Benjamin Franklin 8th grade only

Seventh grade Example