Monday, September 23, 2013

Blog #3: Meaning

So, today's essential question is a tiny one.
What is the meaning of life?
That's it. You have 40 minutes to blog. Go.

Just kidding. Sort of. Here's a couple of different ways to look at this question that makes it easier to write about:
  • Does life have meaning? If so, what gives life meaning?
  • Everyone finds some things to be meaningful to them.  Where does meaning come from?
  • Where does true happiness come from?
  • Why do people seek adventure? Why would a person risk his or her life for adventure?
  • How does one find freedom in a world that seem to value conformity?
  • How does a person's reactions toward life define who that person is?
Pick any of those questions and come up with something meaningful to write about on your blog. 

This blog entry will be different from your first entry, because it is based on your initial conception of meaning and happiness, not any summary or extensive research. 

You can certainly bring yourself and your experiences into this blog and write more personally if you need to. I know these are big questions and you have a time constraint, so do the best you can. This will come in handy later.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Blog #2: Autobiography of Self as Reader

Due: Monday, September 24 before school
Word Count: 300
Required: Include a link to your autobiography or, if you are able, embed it in your post using HTML.

Introduction


Over the past two weeks, you've thought a lot about your development as a reader, not just as a young adult, but also as a small child. You've considered your parents' involvement in your reading life as well as some of the most positive and negative experiences you've had with literature. Just as importantly, you've come to see something about the reading lives of the people around you - your teachers, your parents, and your peers.

Questions to Consider


You may answer any, all, or none of the following questions and prompts. Do not treat these questions as a quiz. If you're answering more than one question, focus on blending multiple prompts into a seamless response.

The best responses will bring in links to outside sources, including videos, cartoons, photographs, and articles.

  • What conclusions can you come to about yourself as a reader?

  • What role did reading or story play in your life as a young child and what affect (if any) do you think it had on your development as a reader?

  • What do your positive and negative experiences with reading have in common?

  • If you were to create a program that would encourage people to read for enjoyment and personal growth for their entire lives, what would you do?

  • Why do you think people stop reading or fall "out of love" with reading as they get older?

  • What did you learn about your classmates' reading journeys? Can you come to any tentative conclusions based on your observations?

  • What do you think you'll discover in your research on reading?

  • How can reading be social?

  • What have you noticed about books you dislike? What have you noticed about books you really like?

  • What single book or story can you attribute with the key moment in your development as a reader?
Samples of Student Work:
Remember, these examples are of work done last year and represent only one possible way of completing the assignment. This is not the only way to do it. In fact, these are products of the first time this assignment was done and your project can be different and better than these models.