Juice

Mr. Poggendorf had me try a juice concoction this morning.  I'm not sure what all was in it, but I saw apples, celery, and carrots in his room.  While this drink is supposed to be very healthy and high in anti-oxidants, I didn't think it tasted very good, and it looked even worse!  I know that I need to be healthier and make smarter decisions regarding food and drink, but I must say that my "power breakfast" of Dr. Pepper and a Crunch bar was much tastier!

We have a WINNER! (Two actually)

I finally got the opportunity to look at the entries in the BooBoo drawing contest that I held for the freshmen last week as a reward for their good behavior during my many absences this fall.  I spread out the entries all over the room, looked them over, and selected ten favorites.  I then put all the others away for a bit and put the top ten out again.  I looked them over and decided on my winners.  I say winners, plural, because I couldn't decided between first and second place; therefore, we have two winners.  I'll post photos of the winning entries in a later post.  All entries will be displayed around the room.

Is the suspense killing you?  The co-winners are Ethan W. and Zoey E. !!!!!!    Yay!!!!!

Classic Country Friday?

You betcha!  How about some Johnny Cash?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ynSm1Ngfn8

Just a reminder, I'm not responsible for any inappropriate comments or ads that might appear on Youtube.  In class, I use SafeShare TV which eliminates everything but the video, and if there's an ad at the beginning, I skip it.

Is there such a thing as a modern country classic?  Of course, there is.  Zac Brown Band is excellent!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oouFE51HcqM

Tom Robinson's Trial

Students in English II just finished reading the trial chapters in To Kill a Mockingbird, so today, we are taking a look at the cinematic portrayal of those chapters in the Academy Award winning film.  Gregory Peck does an excellent job portraying Atticus Finch and handling the unruly Ewells on the stand.  The absurdity of Mayella's testimony really comes to life on the screen as well.

Drawing Contest

As co-sponsor of the Art/Poetry Club, and as a reward for the good behavior of the students in English IA, I'm having a drawing contest in class tomorrow.  I need some good art work to dress up my room a bit!  I'm not going to reveal the subject of the contest, but I will give you a hint.  There's a picture in a recent blog post on here that you might want to check out.

Guilty

How could the jury find Tom Robinson guilty?  Atticus clearly showed that the Ewell's were lying on the stand and that Mayella was almost certainly beaten by her father.  There was no physical evidence that the crime Tom was accused of committing ever happened.  The prosecution's case was based solely on the testimony of Bob and Mayella Ewell, and neither one of them was convincing during Atticus's cross examination.  How could the jury find him guilty????

On Thursday, English II students will watch the courtroom scene from the classic To Kill A Mockingbird movie . . . a true classic.

Resignation Letter

No, I'm not resigning!  The freshmen are doing a writing exercise which requires them to correct a resignation letter.  In the exercise, a young man has suffered through a nightmare babysitting experience, and he has written a resignation letter to the parents of the nightmarish child.  The young man is apparently trying to use his vocabulary as a weapon, and as a result, his letter is very wordy.  The students are to re-write the letter, eliminating much of the wordiness.  I challenged them to make the corrected version entertaining yet classroom appropriate.  Tomorrow, we'll see what they created.