Wednesday, December 17 -My Final Blog Post

After our final presentations today, I would like for you to take a few minutes to reflect on this semester in Creative Writing.  In a personal letter to me, I would like for you to respond to the following questions.  I will use this information to adjust, modify, and repeat my teaching strategies.   Your letter should begin with Dear Mrs. Pace. Please type this letter in a Word document and print it when you are done.  You do not have to sign your name if you would like to remain anonymous.

I have enjoyed having you this semester.  This was the first time I have taught this class in a computer lab, so I would like your feedback on some technology things as well.  I hope you all have a wonderful, safe, LOVE-filled Holiday Break.  

Thank you for taking Creative Writing,

Mrs. Pace

1.  What was your favorite unit?  Why?

2.  What was your favorite Creative Burst assignment?  

3.  Were the film studies beneficial to you in preparing your mind for writing in a specific genre?  If yes, explain how so.  If no, explain why not.

4.  Which was your favorite film (from what genre)?

5.  What was your least favorite unit and/or assignment?

6.  What could I have done as a teacher to make your Creative Writing experience better?

7.  Did you like working on the computers?  What were the positives and negatives of having immediate access to a computer for this class?

8.  Do you feel like your grade reflects the effort you put into this class?  Do you feel like your grade reflects your writing ability?  

9.  What suggestions do you have for me for future Creative Writing classes?  What units would you like to see in the curriculum that we either did not get to or are not listed on the syllabus?

EOC Presentation Dates

Presenters MUST present on their designated day.  If a presenter does not or cannot present on his or her assigned day, the EOC score will be a zero.  There are no extra days for me to allow for make-up. Presentations MUST be done in front of the class, as part of the presenters overall score comes from classmates' score sheets.  It's worth 25% of your entire grade in this class.  It should be an impressive, cumulative piece, worthy of a 25% grade.  Please, please, please, keep in mind this is an assignment that you have had ALL semester long and have had 89 week days to work on it.  Your work should reflect the amount of time and energy you devoted to the assignment.

Friday, December 12
1.  John Williams
2.  Jeremy Turner
3.  Adam Whited

Monday, December 15
1.  Isabella Burlingame
2.  Chloe Clark
3.  Gabriel Copeland
4.  Elijah Jones

Tuesday, December 16
1.  Brody Cantrill
2.  Stephanie Manson-Potts
3.  Joel Wests
4.  Guiseppi DeLalla
5.  Hannah Hudson
6.  Kaitlyn Marlowe

Wednesday, December 17
1.  Asher Clark
2.  Jonathon Simpson
3.  Clifford Amann
4.  Serena Dolak
5.  Josie Easterday
6.  Taylor Henry

Tuesday, December 9 - Persona Poetry

TASK:  For practice, create a persona poem based on the name you draw from the cup.  You might need to do some research on the person in order to be able to write a historically accurate persona poem.  You should always tie in fictional elements, but keep historical accuracy in mind.  Your poem should be 30 lines, all lines from the perspective of your historical figure.  You should include in your blog post pictures and images associated with your person from history.  

Thursday, December 4 - Unrequited Love

Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such.  The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep and strong romantic affections.  

Read the New York Times article "Pain of Unrequited Love Afflicts the Rejector, Too"

One of the most torturous forms of unrequited love is that which occurs between friends.  As stated by Daniel Goleman, author of the above mentioned New York Times article, "One frequent path to unrequited love is through what starts as a platonic relationship.  'One of the most common stories told by people in our study was of being in a friendship with an undercurrent of attraction on one side,' said Dr. Baumeister.  'Over and over people said, We were good friends, but I secretly was in love.'"

After reading the article, think about unrequited love.  Does it also affect the rejector?  If it does, how so?  Write a story in which you (or your main character) is in love with someone that either doesn't know your feelings (usually because they are unavailable -- married, in a relationship, can't date, etc.) or doesn't return them.  In other words, the theme of your story should be unrequited love.  

Tuesday, December 2 - Top Secret

The snow is coming down and school has been cancelled. Your spouse, who works at CTU (the Counter Terrorism Unit), absolutely must go into work.  Your spouse decides to quickly jump in the shower.  

Snow days are the best; you decide it's perfectly okay to wrap the warm blankets around you and go back to bed. 

PROBLEM:  You can't fall back to sleep as you had hoped. While trying to force your eyes closed, you hear talking. The water in the shower is running, but you can definitely hear a one-sided conversation. What was that?  Who is your spouse talking to? Thinking your're asleep he (she) unknowingly reveals top secret information about the state of the country.  You can tell immediately that this is information that is not meant to be overheard.  It's shocking....

What does he unwittingly divulge?  What is his conversation about?  What are the results of what you overhear?