"The writer who possesses the creative gift owns something of which he is not always master- something that at times strangely wills and works for itself."
Charlotte Bronte

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Mystery/Crime Scene Dioramas

Watch four of the mystery/crime scene dioramas.  Which one did you think was the most well done and why?  Which one piqued your interest and made you want to read the book?  Use clear examples based on what you observed and heard. (Post your answer).  Make sure you include the title of the diorama in your response.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

First Nations - Legend

Read the following legend The Granddaughter who was Eaten by a Big Fish.
After you have finished reading the legend, respond to the following question and post it as a comment:
What is the big idea in this legend?  What lesson were First Nations people trying to teach by telling this story?

 The Granddaughter who was Eaten by a Big Fish
  This is a story about Gookum (Cree word for “grandmother”) and her mischievous granddaughter, Beulah. Beulah was a very curious little girl. She was always wandering off from the camp, looking for adventures. Gookum was always telling her to listen. One day, Gookum asked Beulah to get some water from the lake so she could make soup.
 “Whatever you do, don’t go swimming in the lake alone,” said Gookum.
 “Why not?” asked Beulah.
 “Because there is a giant fish in that lake, and he will catch you and swallow you up if you swim too far.”
 “Eeeeeya, Gookum. I’m not afraid of a big fish.”
 So, Beulah went off to collect the water. Oh, it was a nice warm day. The sun shone brightly.  A squirrel chattered as she walked along the path.
 “Go away, silly squirrel. I am busy.”
 A butterfly flew around the girl. She ran around in circles trying to catch the butterfly until it flew away. “I am really hot now,” Beulah said to herself.  Finally, Beulah came to the lake. She went to the big rock where Gookum had showed her to stand to get water. She dipped her buckets in the lake. They filled up quickly. Those buckets were heavy now. She had to be very careful when she carried them to the shore, they were so heavy. With a cup, she scooped out the little sticks and leaves that floated on the top. She was ready to carry them back now.
 Carrying the buckets made Beulah tired. She lay down next to the water, in a nice spot on a large flat rock. The sun shone on her. She was very hot, so she took off her shirt.  A blue jay landed in a tree next to the path.  The blue jay squawked at her.
 “You noisy old bird. Stop disturbing me.” The blue jay flew away.
 Beulah decided to have a quick swim, just to cool off before she took the water back for Gookum. She removed all of her clothes and dived in.
The water was nice and cool. Beulah was a good swimmer. She decided she would swim out as far as she could. As she swam out, Beulah saw a huge silver flash in the water. It was a great big fish, and with one gulp, it swallowed her whole! Beulah found she was trapped in the stomach of the huge fish Gookum had warned her about.
 “Oh no,” she cried. “I should have listened to Gookum!”
Beulah had been gone a long time. Gookum thought that she had found an adventure and forgotten to get water. There was no point in worrying about her — there were chores to be done around camp. She cut wood and made dinner. When Beulah wasn’t home by night, Gookum was worried, but she knew the little girl was able to take care of herself in the woods.
The next day, Beulah still was not back. Gookum needed food, so she gathered the fishing net and went down to the lake. She caught six fish. One was a huge creature that stretched as long as her arms and more. That big fish would feed a whole family for a week.  She started cutting up all the fish. When she finally got to the big fish, she slid the knife into the belly. Beulah jumped out, very much alive.
At first, Gookum was startled, but she quickly realized it was Beulah, who was covered head to toe in slimy, sticky fish innards.  She shook her head at Beulah, and began to laugh at her. “I told you, I told you not to swim in the lake.” Beulah bowed her head and said nothing. She just went to the lake to clean off all the smelly fish slime.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

St. Patrick

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89
Open the above link and read this short biography about St. Patrick.  Watch the two short video clips below.  Although some of the facts may be different what are the important messages about St. Patrick in all three sites?
http://youtu.be/22gm08S7NNw
http://youtu.be/k0q-_gWOYjY