In case you like English

and you are wondering what is going on in English land of Jared Goldsmith's class, I will tell you. Especially cuz there is nothing else going on lately. We havent taken any real pictures of late. And the weather sucks--extremely cold and dry with no new snow...and the snow that is there is disgusting. Crust. Black crust. And tomorrow is Daylight Savings Time, which depresses me immensely. It will stay light out and people will automatically think that it is summer and, even though it is still 17 outside, will "barbeque." But, alas, since they use lazy American gas grills, they will merely 'heat up' their food and, judging by the smells that permeate my street,, most likely burn their meat. They are in too much of a rush. You can tell by the smell when the sugar of the Kraft BBQ sauce they use has burned, rendering crusty carbon. Take your time. BBQ must be done low and slow.

This is a rough time of year for teachers and students alike. So I try to stray away from longer, more intense units like The COunt of Monte Cristo and Hamlet. And, rather, I do some shorter units. For example, I am doing.....

Sentence variety and sentence enrichment: We practice varying our sentence structure and length using semicolons, colons, dashes, and appositives. If you have a section like They ate rolls. They drank coffee. Ann was suddenly hungry. She wanted to order a burger then you have sentences that are too short and not 'smart' enough. What about doing this: Ann was suddenly hungry as they ate rolls and drank coffee; she wanted to order a burger--one with plenty of mushroom and bacon--and some french fries.

Introductory paragraphs and thesis statements: We try utilizing the 'reverse pyramid' technique in writing, starting very broad in order to catch your reader's attention....and then honing in on a BAMMM thesis statement. For example, it is very easy to say "Chinese food is a cuisine that appeals to most Americans." But that is silly. What if we worked some BACKSTORY into the mix, in order to engage the reader, in much the same way a telemarketer engages (or tries to) his caller without GIVING AWAY the reason he is calling....and then, 3 minutes later, you find out he is selling Phen Phen. For example: Americans are a finicky bunch; one minute they are obsessed with a television show on AMC, and the next they are drinking the Kool Aid for whatever new reality show is on MTV. Try to capture the culinary tastes and features and desires of Americans is certainly no small task. Chinese food restaurant cooks, for years, have tried to capitalize on the 'ADHD taste buds" of Amerikans, mostly by trying to incorporate a myriad of flavors into their dishes. American Chinese food is definitely the perfect food for Americans, since it combines tastes, textures, and appearances that appeal to the masses." 

We are also doing argumentative writing. Claim, Data, Warrant. I would explain more, but at this point, the only person still reading is Lin, and I can just explain it to her when I see her......

#.....
#crickets
#nopicsofkidsequalsnoonecares
#gonnagowatchTV
#tired
#funwithhashtags
#hi