Sometimes I just get so frustrated that I just want to pull out all of my hair and scream, but then I realize that I don't have any hair, and I think about all the money I save on shampoo and all the time I save getting ready in the morning, so I just smile to myself, shrug off whatever was frustrating me and go about my day a richer and happier man.
That kind of happened to me today. As you know we had already postponed the timed writing for one day because we hadn't covered all of the necessary material. No problem. I would rather take an extra day to make sure you are all properly prepared. With that in mind, we moved the timed writing to Thursday. Then after period two today, a clever student reminded me of the assembly we are having tomorrow. Not only does it eat into period one, but it also swallows most of period two as well. UGH! We can't have a timed writing if we don't have time to write. Soooooooo we are moving the timed writing again. It will now take place on Friday. Definitely! I guarantee it! Don't doubt me! I'm not joking! It's written in rock! In blood! In Etch-a-Sketch! Wait. Scratch that last one. But you get the idea.
I hinted at the topic for the writing in periods one and two. Sorry, period six, I'm writing this before your class. I guess I better state it more clearly here, now. We've read Animal Farm by George Orwell and "The Stalin Epigram" by Osip Mandelstam. We also discussed the authors' lives. We discovered some good info about Orwell in the preface. We learned about Mandelstam from what I shared and the solid information your peers researched and shared. We know these two never met since Mandelstam lived in Russia, was in and out of prison in the 1930s, and died in 1938 while Orwell resided in England and didn't really come into his own as an author until the 1940s. That got me wondering what conversation these two would have if they had a chance to meet over lunch, a coffee, or at a party etc. Thus, your topic will be to write the conversation Osip and George (Mr. Mandelstam and Mr. Orwell?) would be engaged in if they happened to meet.
You'll need to identify a logical meeting place (I highly doubt they would run into each other while pumping iron at Gold's Gym) and create an insightful flowing conversation between the two men that reveals their stances on Stalin, the Russian Revolution, and writing in general. You'll need to be creative, but you'll also need to be sure you have a good understanding of the men based on their writings and our class discussions. You have some freedom here; however, you must be able to defend the words you put into their mouths. (Don't have Mandelstam weigh in on the Yankees chances in the World Series--neither man is American and they wouldn't understand or care about baseball). While quoted material might be difficult to insert, specific textual references are a must.
You will have Friday's class to complete this assignment. Here are a few timed writing tips that you should always fall back on regardless of the topic.
-offer an introduction
-be sure titles and authors are included in the work
-clearly develop and support your ideas in paragraphs
-offer an effective conclusion
-clean up the conventions
-write neatly/boldly
I'm out of the classroom tomorrow, but I'll see you Friday. Prepare well!
See you soon.
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