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9th Grade JournalsNo RegretsThis year it really counts. What will you do this year, or do differently this year, so that you can look back on ninth grade with no regrets?Make a list of SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE goals that you have for this class and for this school year. How will you achieve these goals, and why are they important to you?A Sense of SportsPeople feel passionately about sports. Some play sports and detest it, because they’re not as good as they want to be; others play and love it, because they’re competitive and skilled. Some pay close attention to pro or local teams. Some attend games as serious fans; others attend because they like the social interaction in the stands. Some people loathe sports and think that the people who play them and watch them are brainless jocks. Which group do you fall into? Explain.About My SchoolYou have been chosen to describe Union in a brochure that will be given to students who live across the country. Assume that your readers know nothing about Sandy, Utah or Union. Address the following topics:Popular sayingsDressMannerismsCustomsCharacter typesGroups/cliques Best thingWorst thingThe one thing your readers should knowAlone at Last!Your parents just let on a weeklong vacation—leaving you all alone, in charge of the house. What do you do? Instantly call your friends and announce a party? Decide to have a party and then regret it when you’re cleaning for six hours the next day? Worry and don’t do anything?Beauty or Brains?“Beauty is only skin deep,” the cliché claims. If you had to choose between beauty and brains, which would you pick? Which do you think would get you further in life? Which do you think would make you happier?The Chicken or the Egg?Which came first, violence in the media or a violent society? Some people believe that the casual violence in movies and TV desensitizes people, making them more violent. Others believe the exact opposite—that movies and television are simply a reflection of our society, which is becoming ever more violent on its own. What do you think and why?DeliveryYou answer a knock at the door and find a delivery guy holding a package for you. You open it up and find…what? Describe the best package you can imagine receiving. If I Could Meet…If you could meet anyone, alive or dead, who would it be? Consider scientists, entertainers, world leaders, artists, writers, people in your family, and so on. Make a list of questions you’d like to ask this person. Best PlaceDescribe the best place in the world and explain why. If I Were in ChargeMost families set rules for their children, especially regarding behavior and responsibility. Which rules do you find particularly annoying? Do you long to stay out later, go out more, or dress any way you like? Write about the rules that you consider most unfair. Bird or FishWould you rather be a bird or a fish? Why?If I Were President…You have just been elected president of the U.S.A. You must address foreign policy, terrorism, healthcare, the military, the economy, education, the environment, and much more. What are the first three things you will do? Which issues are dearest to your heart? Do you think those issues overlap with the issues that are most important to the American public?My AnimalWhich animal do you think you resemble most closely? Consider quiet, retiring animals like mice; bold and fearless ones like lions; eager, friendly ones like dogs; and finicky, secretive ones like cats. Consider your appearance, your personality, and the way you move. Then, write about the animal with which you feel a kinship, explaining how you are similar in personality, characteristics, and/or physical features. Nature vs. NurtureThe “nature versus nurture” debate refers to the question of what influences us the most. Some scientists believe that nature (inherited genetic characteristics) shapes us as people. Others believe that nurture (our upbringing and other social influences) shapes us. What do you think? Do you think that genetics determine what we will become, or do the people and the things around us have a greater influence? Famous NeighborWhat famous person would you choose for a next door neighbor and why? No Women AllowedDespite huge advancements in recent years, women still struggle for respect in some fields. Many people still believe that women should not be allowed to pursue certain careers, especially those that are dangerous, require physical strength, or have traditionally been pursued by men. For example, many people are uncomfortable with the idea of a woman holding high political office or serving in combat positions in the armed forces. Do you think women should be able to hold any kind of job they want, regardless of danger and tradition? Or do you believe that some jobs are only appropriate for men?Other Life in the Universe\What is your opinion about the possibility of life on other planets? Do you need to see it to believe it, or do you believe that in a universe as vast as ours, alien life must exist? Write an introductory paragraph to an essay about this topic beginning with the thesis statement:I believe (don’t believe) there is life on other planets because…Provide examples, explanations, details, elaboration to support your thesis statement. Overcoming ObstaclesObstacles constantly present themselves. Some are fleeting, such as facing an important test in school. Some may take years to overcome, such as a major injury or the loss of a loved one. Write about an obstacle you’ve faced in your life. Did the experience change you for the better, or did it leave you bitter and cynical?Dr. Seuss’s PhilosophyIn Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who, Horton the elephant discovers a tiny planet of living beings on a speck of dust. Other animals urge Horton to throw away the dust speck, not believing that such a tiny world could exist, but Horton refuses. The book ends with this moral:“A person is a person, no matter how small.”Write about a current political situation, or story from the news, that you think illustrates the idea that even seemingly inconsequential people are important. Use Dr. Seuss’s moral as the last sentence of your paragraph. The Price of TechnologyTechnology has led to the discovery of vaccines and medical treatments. It has brought computers and televisions into people’s homes, and it has provided us with electricity, the internet, phones, cars, planes, and much more. But an argument can be made that technology has largely worsened the quality of our lives, polluting the air, making our lives needlessly stressful, and dampening our enthusiasm for books. If you had to give up one technological advantage that you use all the time, what would it be? Do you think you’d be better off without it? Pursuer or PursuedIs it more tense/exciting/fun to be the pursuer or the pursued? Apply this to multiple situations: playing tag-type games (like paintball), relationships, etc. Explain how and why?Remembering FirstsThere are many firsts in our lives that we don’t remember, such as our first tooth, first step, first word, or first birthday. Firsts from later in childhood come easily to mind: a first pet, a first award, the first day of middle school, a first boy/girlfriend, a first summer at camp, etc. Write about a special first that you remember clearly. ResolutionThe first step to accomplishing a goal is to write it down, so here’s your chance (if you haven’t already). What’s your New Year’s Resolution? If you don’t have one, think of something you’d like to accomplish or improve on this year. P.S. How’s it going with those goals you wrote in your journal at the beginning of the school year? (#1: No Regrets)Right to SearchDue to recent acts of violence, schools are considering enforcing a random locker and book bag search to ensure students are not bringing in any illegal drugs (or alcohol) or weapons.??These random searches are intended to make students feel safer, allowing students to focus more on their education than their own well-being.Write a letter to your principal convincing him or her to agree with your position on this issue.??Be sure to include specific details and examples to support your argument.Sibling RivalryGrowing up with brothers and sisters can be difficult. If you have siblings, discuss the benefits and problems of your situation. If you’re an only child, do the same. Would you rather have more siblings, or fewer? Do you think you’ll feel the same when you’re middle-aged? Will you want to have several children, so your children have several siblings, or will you want to have just one child (or no children)? Why?This I BelieveYou probably share a basic outlook on life with your friends. However, most people have a few beliefs that would shock their friends. Write about a belief of yours that annoys or surprises the people who are close to you. Foreign LanguageIn which foreign language would you most like to be fluent? Discuss the advantages of learning a foreign language.Wonderful WordsEnglish, perhaps more than any other language, is full of descriptive, evocative words. For example, we don’t just walk, we amble, sashay, skip, lumber, tip-toe, stride, saunter, move, step, ramble, or stroll. Some words (luscious, dillydallying) are fun to pronounce; others (plop, slither) sound like their meaning. What are some of your favorite words? What are some of your least-favorite words? Explain your choices. QUOTESTo Live Deliberately“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”--Henry David ThoreauWhat do you think Thoreau means by the phrase “to live deliberately”? Do you think you live deliberately?Cut Back“Cut back on your possessions. The more you own, the more time you waste taking care of things.” –The Delany SistersAs a brain-stretching exercise, it’s useful to defend a position you don’t actually agree with. Decide what you think about the recommendation above, and then argue the opposite position. Lighting a Fire“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” –W.B. YeatsFoolish or Wise"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise man grows it under his feet."Write about what this quote means, in your own words, and how applies to you personally. Imagination vs. Knowledge (Mar. 14)On this date in 1879, physicist Albert Einstein was born. Einstein is noted as one of the most brilliant minds ever born, yet he is quoted as saying, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”Do you agree with him? Why or why not? Why would a man as brilliant as Einstein feel this way?To Be GreatDr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame, but greatness, because greatness is determined by service.” Do you agree that everyone has the potential for greatness? Maybe you think serving others isn’t what makes someone great; if that’s the case, what do you think are the qualifying features of greatness?Opportunity“The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work."What does this mean? How can you apply it to your life (personal experiences or examples)?Planning to Succeed "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." What does this quote mean in your own words? Write about personal examples where you’ve seen the truth in this quote? What specifically can you do so that you don’t fail? The Tube“Television hangs on the questionable theory that whatever happens anywhere should be sensed everywhere. If everyone is going to be able to see everything, in the long run all sights may lose whatever rarity value they once possessed, and it may well turn out that people, being able to see and hear practically everything, will be specially interested in almost nothing.” –E.B. WhiteYou could argue that these days, everyone is able to see everything, particularly since Americans watch around four hours of TV per day. Do you think White’s forecast was correct? Have extraordinary sights been cheapened by TV? Are people more scattered in their interests because of TV?Why Read Books?One reads books in order to gain the privilege of living more than one life. People who don’t read are trapped in a mineshaft, even if they think the sun is shining. Most New Yorkers wouldn’t travel to Minnesota if a bright star shone in the West and hosts of angels were handing out plane tickets, but they might read a book about Minnesota and thereby form some interesting and useful impression of us. This is the benefit of literacy. Life is lonely; it is less so if one reads. --Garrison Keillor Respond to this quote: Does reading make life a little less lonely? What other reasons do people have for reading books?Different Drummer“Why should we be in such a desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music that he hears, however measured or far away.”--Henry David ThoreauThoreau urges us to follow our instincts rather than mindlessly rushing to compete with our peers. Do you know someone (possibly yourself) who marches to the beat of a different drummer? How does this person live differently from others? Do other people consider this person weird or misguided?POETRYDream Deferred A theme is a main idea or message of a piece of literature. It is what the author is saying about life or humanity. What is a common theme in both of these poems? What lines in either poem are particularly interesting to you and why? How can you apply this message to your own life?What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry upLike a raisin in the sun?Or fester like a sore--And then run?Does it stink like rotten meat?Or crust and sugar over--like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sagslike a heavy load.Or does it explode? DreamsHold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreams For when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow--Langston HughesPrimer LessonLook out how you use proud words. When you let proud words go, it is not easy to call them back. They wear long boots, hard boots; they walk off proud; they can't hear you calling-- Look out how you use proud words. --Carl SandburgWhat are “proud words?” What about proud words makes them hard to call back? What type of figurative language is being used when he says “they wear long boots”? What’s this poem’s message or theme?What is the answer to the riddle (what is being described here)? As you’re trying to think what the answer could be, brainstorm possible answers on your paper. What clues in the poem lead you to believe it is what you think it is?Rhyming RiddleI come more softly than a bird, And lovely as a flower;I sometimes last from year to yearAnd sometimes but an hour.I stop the swiftest railroad trainOr break the stoutest tree.And yet I am afraid of fireAnd children play with me.--Mary AustinThe Garden Year By Sarah ColeridgeJanuary brings the snow,Makes our feet and fingers glow. February brings the rain,Thaws the frozen lake again.March brings breezes, loud and shrill,What comes to your mind as you think of each month (what represents each month for you). Which is your favorite, and why?To stir the dancing daffodil.April brings the primrose sweet,Scatters daisies at our feet.May brings flocks of pretty lambsSkipping by their fleecy dams.June brings tulips, lilies, roses,Fills the children's hands with posies.Hot July brings cooling showers,Apricots, and gillyflowers.August brings the sheaves of corn,Then the harvest home is borne.Warm September brings the fruit;Sportsmen then begin to shoot.Fresh October brings the pheasant;Then to gather nuts is pleasant.Dull November brings the blast;Then the leaves are whirling fast.Chill December brings the sleet,Blazing fire, and Christmas treat.What is the theme of this poem—it’s underlying message? Apart from just being a poem about a moth, what is it really about? What do you think of the imagery here? Imagery means the picture a piece of text paints in your mind. Is it effective? Why or why not?The Moth and the LampThe moth, Enraged,Beats against the lamp,His wings formingCountless tiny fans, And falls at lastA fragile pinch of gray ashes.The lamp burns on, Tranquilly. --Paul EldridgeTRAVEL The railroad track is miles away,??And the day is loud with voices speaking,Yet there isn't a train goes by all day??But I hear its whistle shrieking. All night there isn't a train goes by,??Though the night is still for sleep and dreamingBut I see its cinders red on the sky,??And hear its engine steaming. My heart is warm with the friends I make,??And better friends I'll not be knowing,Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take,??No matter where it's going.--Edna St. Vincent MillayThe?HammersNoise of hammers once I heard,Many hammers, busy hammers,Beating, shaping, night and day,Shaping, beating dust and clayTo a palace; saw it reared;Saw the hammers laid away.And I listened, and I heardHammers beating, night and day,In the palace newly reared,Beating it to dust and clay:Other hammers, muffled hammers,Silent hammers of decay.--Ralph Hodgson SOME BROWN SPARROWSBruce FearingSome brown sparrows who livein the Bronx Zoo visit oftenthe captive Victoria CrestedPheasant, visit captive Peacocks,Cockatoos. They fly through barsto visit also monkeys, jackals,bears. They delouse themselves incage dust, shaking joyously;they hunt for bread crumbs, seedsor other tidbits. Briefly,they lead free sparrow livesand fly free.Journal: #51 Family TreeHave you ever traced your family history? Where are your ancestors from? Is it important to know your family “roots”? Why or why not?Journal: #52 Future PathIs our current society moving in the direction of the society in the book? Why or why not? Journal: #53 Future PathIs our current society moving in the direction of the society in the book? Why or why not? Journal #54 Growing UpA major theme of The Giver is growing up and assuming responsibility. Have you ever been given a large responsibility? If so, how did you handle it? Did you turn to anyone for help? Describe your situation. ................
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