Write the diary entry that Hana might have written the day she found out that Mary left home.

Why is Hana sorry she spoke first? Do you agree with her? Why or why not? How is this one incident typical or not of Hana?  How does it help us understand her character?  Use details from the novel to support your answer. Make sure you comment on at least one other response in this thread.

Why do you think Hana wants to help Kenji Nishima? How does helping Kenji help both Hana and Taro? Use details from the novel to support your answer. Make sure you comment on at least one other response in this thread.

What did you learn from memorizing and then reciting “The Road Not Taken,” in class?  Why do you think I assigned this to you?  How might this experience help you in life?  Be sure that you respond to at least one other comment in this thread. 

myday1.mp3

“Mommmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeee….”
I ignore it
And
Open the shower door.
“Mommy!”
I hesitate.
“Mommy, I made a accident.”
I concede my shower time,
The morning begins….

“Mrs. Quinson, I couldn’t-”
“Sit down. We’ll start class.”
“Can I get a drink?”
“Can I go to the bathroom?”
“I’ve got a question- “
“Sit down!”
The day begins….

“Mommy! Mommy!”
Even before
I open the door
My knees are surrounded.
I stumble in
And reach for Katie.
Mustn’t let her think
I favor the other.
“Gimme juicie-”
“I got a note-”
What kind of a note?”
The evening begins….

The day ends just as it began.

Tomorrow we will begin writing poety in class. You will be asked to write a minimum of five to ten poems. What would you like to write about? What topics or forms interest you? Please write a paragraph of approximately 150 words describing your ideas. You may make a long list instead of a paragraph if you prefer. Remember that writers often take good ideas from each other. That is not stealing; it is called being influenced by another artist. So! Feel free to get some ideas by reviewing the poems here on our blog, those we read in class, as well as those you have been reviewing in search of the poem you will bring to class on Friday.

The days are short
   The sun a spark
Hung thin between
   The dark and dark.

Fat snowy footsteps
   Track the floor
And parkas pile up
   Near the door.

The river is
   A frozen place
Held still beneath
   The trees’ black lace

The sky is low.
   The wind is gray.
The radiator
   Purrs all day.

–John Updike

By Morning

Some for everyone
  plenty

  and more coming

Fresh      dainty      airily      arriving
  everywhere at once

Transparent at first
  each faint slice
  slow       soundlessly tumbling

  then quickly thickly a gracious fleece
  will spread like youth      like wheat
  over the city

Each building will be         a hill
  all sharps made round

  dark worn noisy narrows made still
  wide       flat      clean      spaces

Streets will be      fields
  cars be      fumbling sheep

A deep bright harvest will be seeded
  in a night

By morning we’ll be      children
  feeding on manna

 a new loaf on every doorsill

–May Swenson

(In the Bible, manna was food that was miraculously provided for the Israelites in the wilderness.)

Read all three poems several times, and then write a response to them.  Be sure also to comment on at least one of your classmates comments in this thread.  Your response should be a paragraph of at least 150 words, should include many specific details from te poems and answer all or some of the following questions:

Fog

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

–Carl Sandburg

Fog

FOG COMES ON HUGE ELEPHANT FEET RISING UP FROM THE RIVER SWING- ING DOWN EACH BLACK ABANDONED STREET CRASHING THROUGH TREES CRUMPLING STEEL GATES AND TELE-PHONE POLES UPROOTING RAILROAD TIES AND BILLBOARDS WRAPPING ITS TRUNK AROUND THE DOOMED CITY

–William Jay Smith

The dark gray clouds,
the great gray clouds
the black rolling clouds are elephants
going down to the sea for water.
They draw up the water in their trunks.
They march back again across the sky.
They spray the earth again with water,
and men say it is raining.

–Natalia M. Belting

Choose one poem , read it several times, and then write a response to it.  Be sure also to comment on at least one of your classmates comments in this thread.  Your response should be a paragraph of at least 150 words, should include many specific details from te poem and answer all or some of the following questions:

• What happens in the poem?
• What literary devices do I see?
• What are the literary devices suppose to show or teach the reader? Why might the poet have included them?
• What is the purpose of the poem?
• What is the underlying meaning of the poem?  

Surprise

The biggest
Surprise
On the library shelf
Is when you suddenly
Find yourself

Inside a book-
(The hidden you)
You wonder how
The author knew.

–Beverly McLoughland

Choose one poem , read it several times, and then write a response to it.  Be sure also to comment on at least one of your classmates comments in this thread.  Your response should be a paragraph of at least 150 words, should include many specific details from te poem and answer all or some of the following questions:

• What happens in the poem?
• What literary devices do I see?
• What are the literary devices suppose to show or teach the reader? Why might the poet have included them?
• What is the purpose of the poem?
• What is the underlying meaning of the poem?  

I AND ME

I is a part of me
Likewise me is a part of I.
I love me very much
Likewise me love I very much.
But sometimes I hate me
Because me fail to see
That I is a part of me.
Likewise me hate I
Because me can’t tell why
When me is me and I is I.
And sometimes I is jealous of me
Likewise me is jealous of I.
Because I can’t be me and me can’t be I.

                Carlo Williams, Grade 9