January 18-22 2011

9th Grade Journal Prompt 1/18/2011

this morning by Lucille Cliffton

this morning
this morning
i met myself
coming in

a bright
jungle girl
shinning
quick as a snake
a tall
tree girl a
me girl
i met myself
this morning

coming in

and all day
i have been
a black bell
ringing

i survive
survive
survive

Questions to answer in your journal

1.Describe the speaker of the poem.
2.List one simile and one metaphor used.
3.What do you think the most important word in the poem is? Write it.
4.What do you think the poem is mainly about? (5 lines)

11th Grade Journal Prompt 1/18/2011
The Bean Eaters by Gwendolyn Brooks
They eat beans, mostly, this old yellow pair.
Dinner is a casual affair.
Plain chipware on a plain and creaking wood,
Tin flatware.

Two who are Mostly Good.
Two who have lived their day,
But keeping on putting on their clothes
and putting things away.

And remembering…
Remembering with twinklings and twinges,
As they lean over the beans in their rented back room that
Is full of beads and receipts and dolls and cloths,
tobacco crumbs, vases and fringes

Questions to Answer in your Journal

1.“Chipware” is an invented word. We usually say dinnerware or flatware. What image of the couples dishes does the word “chipware” bring to mind?
2.What do you think about the phrase “twinklings and twinges”
3.When you think about the “Bean Eater” couple, what do you picture? (5 lines)

7th Grade Journal Prompt 1/18/2011
I’m in a Rotten Mood! By Jack Prelutsky
I’m in a rotten mood today,
A really rotten mood today,
I’m feeling cross,
I’m feeling mean,
I’m jumpy as a jumping bean,
I have an awful attitude—
I’M IN A ROTTEN MOOD!

I’m in a rotten mood today,
A really rotten mood today,
I’m in a snit,
I’m in a stew,
There’s nothing that I care to do
But sit all by myself and brood—
I’M IN A ROTTEN MOOD!

I’m in a rotten mood today,
A really rotten mood today,
You’d better stay away from me,
I’m just a lump of misery,
I’m feeling absolutely rude—
I’M IN A ROTTEN MOOD!

Question to Answer in Your Journal

How do you usually act if you’re in a bad mood? Write about a time when you were in a horrible mood! (1/2 page)

Journal (ALL CLASSES) 1/19/2011
Write about someone who is always there for you, no matter what. When has he/she been a pillar of strength for you? (13 lines)

Journal (All Classes) 1/20/2011
What's something you no longer own that you wish you still owned? Write about what became of it. (1/2 page)

Journal 1/21/2011 (all classes)
“Self-inflicted or did you actually pay for it?”
Tell a story (fact or fiction) about a bad haircut. (13 lines)