Set blogging days. Make sure that you are starting these before the weekend. Also, read all of the directions and answer all of the questions.

This week, you have 3 posts and 2 comments.

• Unpack the slang use of the term “epic.” Talk about how it is used in contemporary society, including an example of something that you think is “epic.” Then, find the link between the contemporary use of the term with the original meaning of epic. How does Beowulf meet both definitions? How might Beowulf still be relevant?
• What is making us happy this week- I am a fan of the podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour.  In each regular episode, there is a segment titled “What’s Making Us Happy This Week,” in which the panelists go around and share something in movies, books, music, etc. that they’ve discovered or are really into that week. Write a post in which you choose 1-2 things making you happy this week and discuss them.
• Free post
• 2 comments- make one of them on the epic post

Updated 8/28- I’m grading last week’s blogs, and very few people have posted at this point. Do these throughout the week. If you wait until the weekend, you will begin to lose points.

We’re heading into a more typical work load with nightly readings and such, so plan out your week accordingly. Do these posts when you have time and when you’re in the best frame of mind for them. Don’t wait until the last minute. I have faith that you can handle all of this. Please ask for help or clarification when you need it.

This week’s assignment:

• Free Post
• Readings Connection- We are reading several non-fiction background pieces to begin our study of Beowulf. Make connections among all of them. This one will have to wait until later in the week.
• 2 comments- try to comment on one post of each type

Don’t forget to approve comments!

I enjoyed reading your first blog posts. They met the standard, and most of you went beyond the minimum in interesting and detailed ways. I was especially impressed by comments. Every comment I saw was thoughtful and responsive to the post, not vague or repetitive.

Some advice for this week:

1. Moderate your comments- Many students lost major points because you didn’t approve their comments. Go to your Dashboard and click on Comments. Approve them.  Then, fill out this form to tell me whose comments you approved so I can restore their points.
2. Write throughout the week. This work can get tiresome and the writing is worse when they are written all at once or at the last minute. If you have trouble with time management, assign yourself blogging days. Also, the sooner you write, the more comments you get, and the easier it is for others to comment.
3. Remember that this is a public, technological medium. Feel free to use links, photos, etc, and to really explore how this is an Internet-based medium. Follow fair use guidelines. One of your assignments this week is to add links. The more interactive you make your blog, the more enticing it is to followers.
4.  Clean up the components of your blog and theme that you aren’t using. Get rid of sample posts and comments, sample pages, and sidebars with no info in them. Personalize your blog with picture or a new theme.

Otherwise, keep up the good work!

Your blogging assignment for this week:

• Free post- these can be about anything you want, but keep it appropriate, and remember that you are still writing for an audience. Keep us interested. If you need ideas, check out the Blogging Instructions page.
• Project reflection- how’s your altered book coming? What are you learning about reading and interpretation from the last two weeks?
• Poetry- Tell me everything you know (or don’t) about poetry
• 2 comments
• Add my blog url to your links section and two other links of your own choice.

I’ve enjoyed meeting you. Lots of your work will be in class this week, but blogs and vocabulary will occur outside of class. So, get to work on them throughout the week.

If you haven’t already, read the post that I wrote last week. Also, check out the blogging instructions page. Then, it’s time to get started blogging. Standard blogs posts should be at least 2 paragraphs. Comments should be at least 2 sentences. Here are your tasks for this week:

• Create an About page.  Consider your online footprint. What do you want to share?  How do you want to represent yourself to the world? Do not include your last name in the title of your blog, the url, or in any of your posts. Also avoid revealing identifying or personal details that you don’t want on the Internet. This site offers some tips for About pages.
• Write an introductory post in which you introduce yourself and discuss your expectations, concerns, etc. for the course. Go beyond the obvious. Be specific.
• Review the student blogs from last year’s 10th graders and the 11th graders from two years ago. In particular, look at their last post (most recent), an advice post to new juniors.  Write a post in which you discus your perspective of blogging in light of what you’ve been noticed about previous student’s blogs. Include a plan for yourself that will help you get off on the right foot with blogging.
• Take this reading self assessment (it’s a pdf that I also emailed). You will not turn it in, but it will get you thinking about the concepts in this post; also it might provide ideas and vocabulary to discuss your reading. Then, write a post in which you provide your definition of academic success discuss your approach and struggles with reading, and determine your two reading goals for this first quarter.
• 2 comments

A key to successful blogging is completing them throughout the week. This way, you can choose the best times for you without putting it off until the last minute. Also, if students don’t post, you can’t comment. The assignment works better and fairer, if everyone takes their time and writes throughout the week. DO NOT DO EVERYTHING ON SUNDAY.

Hello, new Juniors! Are you quaking in your boots yet? You will find soon (I hope) that there’s really nothing to be scared about.  Junior year is certainly busy, with tougher course work, more responsibility in your extra-curriculars, and more pressure in general as you begin to contemplate leaving high school and heading toward college. The key is to know that things might be tough and to embrace it; make it work for you by knowing your strengths and weaknesses and finding ways to accommodate them. I encourage you to reserve judgement before you experience the class for yourself. Like most important things, this course will only be worth what you put into it.

You’ve probably heard of the notorious blogging in Mrs. Duke’s class, and yes, you too will get to experience this world-wide phenomenon. Blogging will become a crucial component of our class, allowing a low pressure form of communication and interaction with your classmates, as well as providing valuable  practice in writing without having to write zillions of formal essays. Plus, you’ll be published authors (surely a life-long dream for you all).

The very first thing you should do is establish your own blog; look here to review the blogging guidelines. You can also take a look at my “about” page. This short screencast will walk you through the process of setting up and posting. Send me your URL through the form I created and posted in the announcements, log on by visiting edublogs, and start playing around with the dashboard. You may have already established a blog for a previous class and you may have blogged this summer for summer reading, so feel free to continue with that blog. Just make sure you have checked out Blogging Instructions and that you submit to me the URL.

By Monday (August 10), you must set up your blog and send me the url. Continue by choosing your layout, and setting up your About page. Consider your online footprint. What do you want to share?  How do you want to represent yourself to the world? Do not include your last name in the title of your blog, the url, or in any of your posts. Also avoid revealing identifying or personal details that you don’t want on the Internet.

Your about page and first real posts will be due Monday the 17th. For now, get settled in.