Thursday - January 20, 2011

1st - Creative writing:
There are good metaphors, bad metaphors, and just plain awful ones.  There are some rules to observe.
1. Mixed Metaphor. This is a metaphor that contains completely unrelated comparisons.

-Suddenly, she was pinned by the spotlight, a struggling fish caught in a spider's web.
-All at once he was alone in this noisy hive with no place to roost.

1B.  Some metaphors compare things are are too similar to each other and therefore miss the point.
-He was as tall as a 6'3" tree.
-The miles on the highway rolled on and on and on just like the freeway across the valley.

2. Inappropriate Analogies. If you're writing about a European woman in the 1700s, don't say, Her eyes held the glow of a late-night laptop.

2b. And watch out for comparisons that give the wrong mental image:
-The beautiful child was the center of attention, with his golden curls and tuna fish complexion.

3. Clichés. Certain metaphors have simply been done to death and, as a result, have lost their power completely. The trouble is that they’re so much a part of our everyday conversation, they tend to slip through the cracks.
-Even though the job paid peanuts, Joe was pleased as punch because he had gone through hell and back, keeping a firm grip on reality the whole time, and was finally seeing his dream come to life.

Assignment:  Write 20 metaphors or similies to share with the class.  Include 5 from each of the three rules, and 5 of your own choice.  We will discuss these on Monday.


2nd - Honors: 
Read pages 308 - 310 about Ben Johnson in the Literacy book today.  Complete the Writing focus assignment on page 309.  Due Monday

3rd - 8th grade:
We continued our research on the computers. 

4th - 7th Grade:
Mrs. Henley went through an example of a current event summary that she put together.  We discussed what she kept, why, and how it could all be tied together into a coherent summary with a solid conclusion.  The first current event for this class will be due next Friday, the 29th.

5th - 12th grade:
We are reading from page 287 in the literacy textbook.  The idea of Carpe Diem, or taking advantage of the time you have available is a common one throughout history.  Many poets and authors have looked back on their youth with "if only" sighs.  The Carpe Diem poem is due on Tuesday of Next Week.

6th - 10th grade:
We discussed some questions about page 969 in the Literacy text.  1/2 of the period was given to work on the 7 stages of man papers that are due on Monday.  30 pts.