Thanksgiving

Next week we get three days off to celebrate Thanksgiving.  In this blog post you are going to write about what this holiday means to you.  Write about what you and your family do during the 5 days off from school.

Title the blog "Thanksgiving."

must be at least 150 words
must be at least 3 paragraphs
include at least 2 Thanksgiving related pictures

Important Information- Everyone must read

You will get 0 (zero) credits in this class if you do not have:

1.  All 8 Google assignments must be completed with a grade of 7 or higher.
2.  An overall percentage in the class of 70% or higher.

When this class ends you will earn five credits and a grade from a C- to an A if you have:

1.  All 8 Google assignments completed with a grade of 7 or higher.
2.  An overall percentage of 70% or higher.

Art

What is art to you?  Pick an artist or type of art that you enjoy and write a blog post about it.  Include at least 3 pictures and at least 1 link.  You only have to write at least 100 words in 2 paragraphs.

Title the assignment "Art."

Extra Credit

If you did not watch the special last night, then you can not do the extra credit.
If you are not doing the extra credit assignment, then you need to finish any other incomplete work.

You need to have a grade of seven (7) or higher on all eight Google assignments to get credit in this class. Log in to Schoolloop and make sure that you have all eight of those assignments completed with a grade of at least seven (7).

For the extra credit, you must address all of the following points.  Organize your responses into paragraphs.  Include at least 1 picture.

Have you seen any David Blaine specials before?
Do you like magic?  Why or why not?
Did you enjoy watching the special?  Why or why not?

What were your favorite illusions or stunts that he performed on the special?  Why?  Include the details of the illusion.

What was your least favorite illusion performed on the special? Why?

Make a list of all the celebrities that appeared on the special.

What celebrity (from the special) do you like the most?  Why?

Would you watch David Blaine's next television special?  Why or why not?

On a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being best) what would you rate this special?

Title the blog post "Extra Credit."

Perseverance

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.  Thomas A. Edison

Have you ever heard of the noun perseverance or the verb persevere (to persevere)?

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.
Marie Curie 

If you were offered $50 right now or $100 in one year, which would you choose?

Successful people persevere when attempting to accomplish something.  Graduating college, running a marathon, earning money to buy a car, losing weight, these are examples of accomplishments that require perseverance.  These things take work and dedication to accomplish.  Once you decide on a long term goal there are endless instant gratification activities that can derail your plans.  Should I study for the test or play Xbox?  Should I go to the gym and workout or lounge on the couch and watch television?  Should I save my money or spend it on random junk?

Most if not all significant accomplishments in life involve some form of delayed gratification.  Built in to the process of succeeding is hard work and failure.  As a sophomore in high school Michael Jordan was left off of the varsity basketball team (he played on the junior varsity team) before he became the greatest basketball player on the planet.  That let down fueled his drive and desire to succeed.

Winners never quit and quitters never win.

Vince Lombardi

Not everyone is going to be a professional athlete (actor, singer, model, etc.), but whatever your chosen goal you must persevere to accomplish it.  Once you realize that meaningful things often times require hard work and dedication, you will begin to prioritize your life around your goals.

"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail."  Benjamin Franklin

Some of you might already know what you want to do with your life.  Others of you might still be trying to figure it out.  The first steps to success are choosing a goal and creating a plan.  Do you have any long term goals for your life?  What are your goals and have you created plans to achieve these goals.

Whether you're shuffling a deck of cards or holding your breath, magic is pretty simple: It comes down to training, practice, and experimentation, followed up by ridiculous pursuit and relentless perseverance.
David Blaine 

This is a blog assignment.  Title it "Perseverance."

Extra Credit Opportunity- Tuesday Night at 9:30

This is an extra credit assignment.  It is worth 20 points (that means it will take the place of two 10-point assignments).  The extra credit does not count toward any of the 8 google assignments.  Each of those must be completed to get credit in this class.

At 9:30 pm on ABC (channel 7) there is a David Blaine Special called Real or  Magic.

For the extra credit you must watch the special and then write about it in a blog post titled "David Blaine extra credit."

In the blog post you will write your opinions about the special, including:

Did you enjoy watching the special?  Why or why not?
Have you seen any David Blaine specials before?
What were your favorite illusions that he performed on the special?  Include the details of the illusion.
What were your least favorite illusions performed on the special?
What celebrity (from the special) do you like the most?  Why?
Would you watch David Blaine's next television special?  Why or Why not?

You will need to write at least 150 words in at least 3 paragraphs including at least 1 picture to earn the extra credit.

My Top Five

This is a blog post.  Title it "My Top Five."

You get to choose the category (sports, video games, candy, soda, movies, television shows, foods, etc.)

List your choices from 5 to 1.  Write at least 3 sentences about why you made each choice.

Include at least 1 picture.

Who would you choose?

For today's blog post you are going to choose one living person that you would like to sit down and have a conversation with.  You can choose anyone (celebrity, singer, sports star, the president, etc.) provided that he/she is a real living person.

After you have chosen the person you will write
at least 2 paragraphs
at least 100 words
about why you chose that person
and what you would talk about.
include at least one picture of the person.

Title the blog post "My Conversation with thenameoftheperson."

What is your purpose?

Go here and read the article.  Read the article.  The writing part of this assignment is relatively short.  Spend the few minutes and actually read the entire article.  Read the article.

After reading the article do the exercise that he describes to find your purpose.

This is a blog assignment titled "My Purpose."

Here’s what to do:

1. Open up a new blog post.  Title it "My Purpose."
2. Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
4. Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that "makes you cry." This is your purpose.

You probably won't actually cry, but try to come up with a purpose that is important and meaningful to you.

Finish both Stranded assignments

Then when those are completed and published, go back and finish any other unfinished work.

Login to your fontstruct font and Finish both Stranded blog posts.

Today, I will be looking at the font you created, and I will be inputting your grade on schoolloop.

The fontstruct grade will be from 0 and 50.
If you have all 26 capital letters and all 26 lower case letters done you will get at least 25 points.
If you have  all 52 letters complete and designed well, then you will get between 35 and 50 points.

You will be using today's class time to complete Stranded and Stranded 2.  If you have both of those assignments finished, you can then go back and complete other unfinished work.

Stranded- part 2

Yesterday you were given the choice of 3 things to have with you on a deserted island.

In today's scenario, you are given $205 dollars to purchase whatever items you think you are going to need to survive at least 6 months on a deserted island.  There is no cell service, satellite reception, or radio reception.  Any money spent on trying to get off of the island will be wasted.

List the items that you will purchase, the prices and link the prices to the website you will purchase them from.  You do not have to factor in taxes or shipping.  The listed price is what you pay.  You can not spend more than $205.

After your list of items and prices with links, you are going to describe in a paragraph why you chose those items.

Example.

Strike Master K7 Magnesium/Flint Fire Starter (large)  $6.25
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups $29.90  
Tent  $141.92
Machete $26.65


Total spent $204.72

Stranded

In this hypothetical situation you are stranded on a deserted island.  What 3 (school appropriate) things would you want to have with you?  These things can not be people (pets are OK).

Include a paragraph description (at least 3 sentences) of each choice and why.  Include a picture with each paragraph.  Links are not required, but include them if they relate to your choice(s).

Minimum requirements:

This is a blog assignment.

3 different things (school appropriate).
1 paragraph (at least 3 complete sentences)
and 1 picture for each thing 
for a total of 3 paragraphs and 3 pictures

Last day for finishing font creation

You are working at fontstruct.com creating your font.

You must create a full set of letters (26 capital letters and 26 lower case letters) that all have the same style.  They must look like they are the same font.  Browse this gallery of fonts to get ideas and to see examples.  Notice how the style of each letter is similar.

After you create each letter click on the save button to save your work.  If you do not save regularly and the computer freezes then you will lose all the work you did since the last save.

You are to be working on this project the entire class period.  Do not work on other missing/incomplete assignments.  This class time is for working on this project.  No one should be finished at this point.  If you have done all 52 letters, then you need to spend time editing/improving your font.

Continue font creation

You are working at fontstruct.com creating your font.

You must create a full set of letters (26 capital letters and 26 lower case letters) that all have the same style.  They must look like they are the same font.  Browse this gallery of fonts to get ideas and to see examples.  Notice how the style of each letter is similar.

After you create each letter click on the save button to save your work.  If you do not save regularly and the computer freezes then you will lose all the work you did since the last save.

You are to be working on this project the entire class period.  Do not work on other missing/incomplete assignments.  This class time is for working on this project.  No one should be finished at this point.  If you have done all 52 letters, then you need to spend time editing/improving your font.