Friday, August 29 - Two Moons

To get you thinking about our upcoming Sci-fi/fantasy unit....

Thursday, August 28 - Space, 2199

Here are some specific parameters for you to work with.  Be descriptive; be imaginative!

Wednesday, August 27 - Animal Invention

In this day and age, it pays to be innovative, to come up with the new "thing."  Apple is constantly trying to out do itself.  Reality shows continue to try to be more shocking.  Scientific advancements have allowed cloning, genetic testing, robotic prosthesis, etc.  Our world is continuously evolving.  Think about the need for constant advancements in all areas of life as you address today's Creative Burst.  

If you are stumped, take a look through some of these links to get you thinking in the right direction.


Cool inventions inspired by nature

Technologies stolen from the Animal Kingdom


When Animals Inspire Invention

Innovations Inspired by Animals

Tuesday, August 26 - Concert

One of my favorite things in the world is music.  I love a variety of genres; I'm not a fan of just one type. I like Kenny Chesney, Snoop Dogg, Linkin Park, Justin Timberlake, Drake, Florence and the Machine, and the list goes on.  Music relaxes me.  It brings me peace when my world seems topsy-turvy. Going to concerts has always been a truly pleasurable experience for me. Think about music, bands, singers, concerts, etc. Then write on the Creative Burst below.

Monday, August 25 - Literary Character

Most writers enjoy reading.  They enjoy the creativity of other writers and are often eager to absorb others' writing styles.  Many authors over the years have beautifully crafted some of the world's most memorable characters.  These include, but are in no way limited to:  Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird, Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Pip from Great Expectations, Scrooge from A Christmas Carol, Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice, Edward and Bella from the Twilight series, Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games series, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and on and on and on.  


Today, think about your favorite character from a book or comic book.  Bring them to the "real world." What would he or she be like in the 21st century?  In high school?  As a mother or father?  Be creative!


Great Characters from Fiction

Friday, August 22 - Wacky Words

Today's blog might be your most challenging and at the same time it might possibly be your favorite. Every year these end up being some of your most interesting pieces.  Be free....be creative....

(I will be around with the words momentarily.)

Thursday, August 21 - Mystery Lady

Today class meetings are being held in the auditorium for Juniors and Seniors during 2nd block.  This means several students will be missing at various points during class time.  We will therefore finish The Lorax during 2nd block extension.  All student meetings will be over before extension begins.  

In the meantime, closely study the image below. This image is part of your Creative Burst for the day.  I have some interesting information about it that I will share AFTER you have written your blog. 

Now, follow the directions below. BE VERY OBSERVANT!  THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!

Dora Maar au Chat, Picasso's girlfriend

Wednesday, August 20 - Alter Ego

Today you will begin developing and writing portions of your Dr. Seuss book.  Yesterday you vividly described a scary place.  Today, I want you to focus on strong word choice again, but instead of locale, focus on a childhood character. Re-create this legendary figure by adding (or deleting) something about them that's rather important.  See below for more details.

Tuesday, August 19 - Scariest Place

We are going to be focusing on our Dr. Seuss projects starting today.  However, each day you will continue to have a non-related blog entry to do. Here's one to get you thinking about creating clear and vivid descriptions, especially of a locale.  

Monday - to the library

No blog today; however, ALL students should have a book of choice (by favorite author) with them every day from this point forward.

Friday, August 15 - Kindergarten

Since this is the end of the first week of school, I thought I would ask you to think back....think way back! For you, coming to school is old hat, but for children who have never been before it can be extremely intimidating. Reflect back to the day you FIRST went to school.  If you want you can write the blog from the "I" perspective or you can make it all up, writing about a child that was not you.  

Happy First Friday!!

Here are some kindergarten images to help those creative juices, or memories, or what have you.

Thursday, August 14 - Gross

Today's Creative Burst is going to force you to be very descriptive, while carefully crafting your tone. Here's a link with some helpful tips when it comes to tone. 

What is tone? How do I create it?

Now that you have a better understanding of tone, attack today's Creative Burst.  You will have about 15 minutes with a one minute warning; this will indicate that time is almost up. Remember to continuously save, so that your work is not lost should something strange happen to your computer.  Have fun with it!

Wednesday, August 13 - Animal

Hopefully by now, you have sent me your blog address (URL).  I need this ASAP if you have not done so. Today we are going to hopefully be able to begin our "Creative Bursts."  You must have your own blog through Google+ and Blogger in order to do this.  

During "Creative Burst" time, you MUST write on your blog for the entire time.  This will always be between 10-20 minutes.  If you run out of things to say within your post, fluff it up by adding pictures, insert links to other pages online that relate to something within that day's post.  I will give you a "1 MINUTE" warning, so that you can wrap up whatever it is you are doing in the blog and PROOFREAD, before clicking publish.  Remember, once you click publish, your writing is out there for all of us, other teachers, administrators, and even that person in Tokyo.  Be sure to double check your writing before publishing. 

Step by step directions for Blog entry/post #1:
1.  Create a new post on your blog.  
2.  Title the post with today's date and a brief one word description of the prompt.  I'm going to roll with the topic I had planned for yesterday. Today for your post title you would write," Wednesday, August 13 - Animal."  
3.  Write a poem, song lyrics, a dramatic monologue, a conversation, a short short story, etc. about the topic below:

Wednesday, August 13
Describe a day in the life of an animal of your choosing.  What happens from its perspective?  Can it talk? Does it have friends?  Does it have a sense of humor?  Focus on details; paint a picture of your chosen animal using specific and purposeful word choice.  

Blogger Support

Use this link if you need to troubleshoot Blogger.

https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/1623800?hl=en

Rules and Regulations...Let's Blog

After we have discussed the guidelines for blogging, including the county's Acceptable Use Policy, create your blog.  It SHOULD NOT have your name (at least not your full name in the title).  You need to name your blog.  You can make it creative or you can simply call it Creative Writing I Blog or Creative Bursts.

Creative Bursts (blog entries) are assigned each day at the beginning of class.  The topics vary.  Every student is expected to do a blog on that day's topic.  If you are absent or tardy you are expected to make up the blogs missed.  Blogs can take many forms; you can choose to write a short story around the topic, you can write a poem on the topic, you could write a scene to a play, a song, etc.  The only rules to blogging are: all words, images, links, and inferences must be school appropriate and students must write for the full 10-15 minutes.  You may listen to music using headphones during Creative Bursts.  Volumes must be kept down or the class will lose the privilege.

After you have created and named your blog, you need to do today's Creative Burst. It should be titled by date, so for today's title, your page on your blog will be named "Tuesday, August 12."  Look below for today's topic.

Tuesday, August 12

Describe a day in the life of an animal of your choice from its perspective.  

Getting Started

 

WELCOME

 

Hi, my name is Mrs. Pace and I will be your Creative Writing teacher this semester.  I have taught English for 14 years; I usually teach English 9, English 12, Creative Writing, and Mythology.  This is my 6th year at Hardin Valley Academy.  I'm belong to the STEM Academy here at HVA. 

 

I am married to Joe Pace and we have two beautiful children named Bella and Charlie.  We have a boxer named Manning (yes, named after Peyton and Eli - Joe's a NY Giants fan).  We live in the Bearden school zone.  One of the great things about Knoxville, in my opinion, is all of the water, well, that and UT football.  We love being so close to the water and we love being so close to our VOLS..  We have a boat and we spend most weekends relaxing and swimming in the lake.

 



Blogger is the site we will use for our daily "Creative Bursts."  It is essential that you follow all of the rules of Knox County's Acceptable Use Policy.  Please also remember, that once you click the orange publish button, your work is out there.  That means your writing skills are on display.  Make sure you double check and triple check your writing before you hit publish.  Also, think before you publish; make sure what you put out there is something you wouldn't mind others reading. 

I'm excited to begin this adventure. We are all going to have to play around with this site.  I realize in the beginning, your posts will be simple; however, in a couple of weeks, I expect to see links, images, etc.  Let's get started. 

Below you can see Knox County's Acceptable Use Policy.
https://foed3010techspring2013p61.wikispaces.com/file/view/KnoxCountyAcceptable%20Use%20NEW.pdf/401982698/KnoxCountyAcceptable%20Use%20NEW.pdf