WAVI: Peer Feedback for Critique #2 and Metacognitive Reflections

Within the comments to this post you will find some feedback for your critique draft. Read the feedback and correct any mistakes that may have been identified. For Tuesday, write a one paragraph reflection regarding your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. Offer some solutions to address your weaknesses. Look at the first critiques of your peers and identify some qualities that you admire and hope to emulate. 

1. You will receive an anonymous peer critique. Read it carefully. Read it again.
2. Begin a document and title its heading after the name of the image, so its owner may locate it over the weekend.
3. Offer at least 3 specific, carefully articulated suggestions. What does the critique lack? What changes need to be made? It is unlikely that the paper you receive is a "100". Give your peers some direction that will help them get the grade they want.
4. Offer at least 3 specific, carefully articulated commendations. What has the writer done well?
5. Post your comment.
6. Repeat the process for 2 other critiques.

WAVI: Leo Tolstoy's "What is Art?"

A formal response (3 paragraphs minimum) to the following prompt is due (via comment to this blog post) by 2:00 3-18-2011. Identify and evaluate Tolstoy's attitude toward the arts. Is his point of view valid? Reasonable? Flawed? Does he offer substantive support for his view? Don't forget to include your thesis as well as direct quotations from the excerpt.

English I A: Short Essays (Student Choice)

Choose either A. your Glass Castle graphic organizer/thesis or B. your thesis regarding the controversy over musicians performing for the Qaddafi clan. Use your thesis as a springboard for a short essay (3 paragraph minimum) to develop and complete. Please post them here.

WAVI: Self-Portraits

Search the internet for self-portraits by the following artists: Rembrandt van Rijn, Vincent Van Gogh, Susanna Coffey, Lucian Freud, Kathe Kollwitz, Paul Gauguin, Gregory Gillespie, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Susanna Coffey, Brett Gamache (a friend of mine).

Create a Word document.

1. For each artist, record the title, year of completion, and country of origin.

2. Identify three comparable (composition, color, mood, etc.) self-portraits from the list. Construct a paragraph which identifies the parallels between these 3 works.

3. Identify the strongest self-portrait. In a paragraph, explain the elements which make it stand out; use your vocabulary words.

4. Typically, self-portraits are not lucrative efforts for living artists. Why might an artist choose to focus on self-portraits? What may drive an artist, like Rembrandt, to devote so much time and effort towards depicting himself? Explain in paragraph form.

5. Proofread and post your document here.

POS: Legend and Myth in Music

Read all of my directions before asking for assistance. Submit your work (as a comment) here.


PART ONE: Below you will find a list of some of the more noteworthy legends and myths of modern music history. For Part One of this assignment, you should research and summarize each incident in a well-developed paragraph. (6 paragraphs total).


Myth/Legend #1: Robert Johnson sells his soul to the devil


Myth/Legend #2: Ozzy Osbourne's taste for doves and bats


Myth/Legend #3: The mythology surrounding the Abbey Road cover


Myth/Legend #4: Bob Dylan goes electric


Myth/Legend #5: Research on your own and choose your favorite


Myth/Legend #6: The mythology presented in the Sgt. Pepper cover (click here). Identify and summarize the notariety of 3 individuals whom you recognize and 3 individuals of whom you are ignorant.


Make sure that your sources are legitimate. Remember- any information that you gain from any source is not yours. You must cite your sources using MLA format. Use the links on this blog to assist in your citations. Keep in mind that the 30 other students in your class will uncover much of the same information, so in order to separate yourself from the pack you must focus on authoritative sources, excellent writing, detail, and proper citations.


For MLA documentation assistance, click here.


PART TWO: Use 3 different Website Evaluation Guides (linked below) to validate 3 of the web pages cited in your work above. Complete and print these guides and turn them in.


Schrock's Evaluation


University of Maryland Evaluation


University of California at Berkeley Evaluation

The Glass Castle: Thesis-Write

Construct a thesis that identifies the literary devices employed by Walls in the first 125 pages of The Glass Castle. Be sure to add adjectives to the devices you identify.

Model: In the first 125 pages of The Glass Castle, Walls (verb) (adjective + device) in order to (identify and articulate the deeper intent/meaning/impact/power of the effect of its inclusion).