Print this out for TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17

Print out the story "The Falls" by George Saunders for next Tuesday's class (September 17). The story can be found here.

Homework for Next Monday

Read the short story, "To Build a Fire" by Jack London, here. Then write a response in which you identify three descriptive elements the author employs in the story and explain the role they play in developing the story's themes and achieving its emotional power. Make sure to quote each reference to a descriptive element and explain where it occurs in the story.

Welcome to Creative Writing

Class introduction:

 We will be focusing in this class on becoming skilled writers in a variety of genres, but our special emphasis will be on writing fiction. This is because fiction demands that we exercise our imagination and consider the meaning of people's actions, our own and others—mental powers that will serve you well in whatever endeavor you choose in life.

You'll be asked to write your own short stories and poems, and to respond to fictional works of literature in a way that demonstrates your increasing understanding of how fiction works. At the same time you will be honing your writing skills in a variety of areas, including the argumentative and literary essay. In this class you’ll be asked to become a self-aware writer and creator.

Because good writers are also good readers, we’ll read a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction of high literary polish. I’ll ask you to begin reading as a writer—that is, you will read with the goal of understanding the techniques and methods that permit writers to create their own unique vision and style, while just incidentally writing prose that dazzles and demands attention.

How we'll work:

For creative writing, we will use a workshop approach, in which you'll share your work with other writers in the class and get their feedback. (More on this later.)

 For each book or literary work we read, you’ll be expected to read about 15 to 25 pages a night. In addition you will sometimes have homework in which you'll be asked to write brief responses or answer questions about your reading or topics for class discussion. You can expect that for each book or literary work, you'll write one at-home essay and have one to two tests. Pop quizzes occur whenever the teacher (me) gets the sense that students are not reading the material!

Grades will be based on the following:

Tests, essays, writing projects :  70 percent

Classwork, quizzes, homework, participation:  30 percent

Total: 100 percent

IMPORTANT: Grades are cumulative. That means the grades you make now count as much as the grades later in the semester. So it's important to work hard from the very beginning and not dig yourself into a hole in the first weeks of our class. We will use Engrade, an online grading system in this class. I’ll give you information shortly about how to register. You’ll have your own account, where I’ll post grades. Your parents or guardians should be given access to your account.

Responsibility: It is the student’s responsibility to make up work. If you’re absent, you must find out from a fellow student what work was done in class or for homework and get the work to me the following day. No late homework or classwork will be accepted! If you miss a test, it is your responsibility to let me know and arrange for a make-up.

Attendance: You’re expected to be in class every day. Absent notes are required if you are absent due to illness or family necessity. 

Electronic devices: 

Keep them in your pockets or bags. No use of electronic devices.

Honor Policy—Cheating and Plagiarism:  

If you do the work of this class on your own, you’ll develop skills that will serve you well for the rest of your life. If you cheat, you’ll get no such benefits, and you’ll receive a 0 on the work in question. Your parents/guardian will be informed of your actions. THIS IS MY CHEATING POLICY AND HOLDS FOR A FIRST TIME VIOLATION. In addition, Midwood has a series of consequences for cheating that you should be aware of, which will occur in addition to my own response noted above. Cheating will expose you to the Midwood consequences too. By cheating you'll also violate my trust in you, and you’ll lose my respect.

Plagiarism: This is a particular form of cheating that requires a special note due to its ubiquity. When you take other people’s work and hold it out to be your own (whether another student’s work or something taken from the Internet), you are engaging in theft. Plagiarism won’t be tolerated. Plagiarism will result in a 0 on the work in question. The consequences enumerated in the Midwood plagiarism code will also be enforced.

IMPORTANT: If you place work on blogs/fan sites, etc., you must not submit that work for class assignments, prior to turning it in for class credit.

Class Communications and Contacting Mr. Vilbig:

Class blog: The class will use a blog to communicate assignments and other important matters. It can be accessed at www.vilbigwriting.blogspot.com. I highly suggest that you register for the blog and ‘follow’ it, since this will result in your receiving an email notification when new posts are made.

Contact information: The best way to contact me is through Skedula, the online grading system we'll be using this semester. (You'll receive more information on this shortly.) I can also be reached at pvilbig@schools.nyc.gov. Or by phone: 718 724-8560.

Regents Practice: Critical Lens

Read the following quote and write a complete critical lens response for Monday, using the approach we've discussed and practiced in class.

“No two persons regard the world in exactly the same way…”
— J. W. von Goethe

Regents Review for Wednesday

Print out the Regents text here and bring it to class Wednesday.

Regents Review: The Beginning

Assignment for Wednesday: Read the test from beginning to end. You'll find it here. Now write a response in which you identify the sections of the tests, and then for each section state what skills the section will require you to possess and what preparations you will need to undertake to be successful.

Fixing errors on non-fiction essay

Homework for Monday: Print out your non-fiction essay (persuassive/argumentative). On a separate sheet of paper, rewrite based on comments. Fix all grammar/spelling issues. Fix writing issues (for example, if your topic sentence was off base, rewrite it). For fixes you're not certain of, ask other students in the class to give you feedback.You MUST go the blog to place sentences you're unsure of, and even if you don't place a sentence on the blog, you must go to the blog by Sunday night, and offer at least two suggestions for fixing problems students place on the blog.

Use of blog for feedback:

1) Go to blog posting (www.vilbigwriting.blogspot.com)
2) Under the comments section (you might need to register), write the entire sentence in which the correction was suggested.
3) Capitalize the word or words over which the blue bubble was located.
4) In parenthesis at the end of the sentence write the heading of the blue bubble.

Example: The officials defended THERE decision. (there/their/they're)

Poetry Portfolio

Due Wednesday, May 15

Three love poems (at least one using a fixed meter -- iambic pentameter, or other meters, 8 syllable lines, six syllable lines, etc.)

Three poems of social commentary or protest

Two narrative poems These can include the poems we worked on in class or not as you choose.

They must be typed.

Rubric:

* Is there evidence of engagement and energy on the part of the writer?

* Do the poems use language in surprising ways (literary devices, juxtaposition, etc)

* Do the poems as a whole catch fire, breathe life into life, dance, roar, shout out with joy, or conversely, go quietly, almost at a whisper, yet incisively turning the heart over with their truths?

P.J. Harvey #2

P.J. Harvey #1

Bob Dylan 1

Homework for Thursday

Please read the following article and write a response in which you identify the main ideas and evidence that supports those ideas. The article is here.

Personal Essay Assignment

This essay of six-typed pages will examine some aspect of your experience and reflect upon its meaning. This is an open-ended assignment, meaning that, if you so choose, you may pursue the direction your heart and intellect propose -- though I would like you to consult with me about your choices before you are well launched.

Or, if you work better with structure, use this as a starting point: Your essay will include the following:

* a recollection or memory recounted in detail;

* a profile/description of some person important to you (or you could write about a category of people you regularly see -- shopkeepers in your neighborhood, members of a group you're part of, shoppers at the mall);

* an image that has stuck with you over the years; some moment that has a strange or mysterious power.

Naturally, you are not limited to these three topics. You may recount more than one memory, or image. Or you may recount other aspects of your life that don't fit under these categories.

Your essay must then reflect on what these observations reveal about your life, its themes and meanings. What do you learn about yourself and your world through your observations. But this is only to go part of the way: what do you know about life itself, not only your own but the life that we all lead, as a result of your investigations?  To pretend that you learn nothing, to refuse the challenge, that is, is not an option.


Technical Details:
Due date: Monday, March 18
Specifications: the usual (12 point type, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins)

Welcome to Creative Writing

We will be focusing in this class on becoming skilled writers in a variety of genres: non-fiction memoir or narrative; non-fiction persuasive writing; the literary response essay; short fiction; and poetry. All of this work will demand we exercise our imagination, but in particular our work in narrative and poetry will require us to consider the meaning of how people respond to the world around them, which will enhance mental powers that will serve you well in whatever endeavor you choose in life.

You'll be asked to write stories that demonstrate your increasing understanding of how fiction works. At the same time you will be honing your writing skills in a variety of areas, including the argumentative and literary essay. In this class you’ll be asked to become a self-aware writer and creator. Because good writers are also good readers, we’ll read a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction of high literary polish. I’ll ask you to begin reading as a writer—that is, you will read with the goal of understanding the techniques and methods that permit writers to create their own unique vision and style, while just incidentally writing prose that dazzles and demands attention.

How we'll work:

For creative writing, we will use a workshop approach, in which you'll share your work with other writers in the class and get their feedback. (More on this later.)

 For each book or literary work we read, you’ll be expected to read about 15 to 25 pages a night. In addition you will sometimes have homework in which you'll be asked to write brief responses or answer questions about your reading or topics for class discussion. You can expect that for each book or literary work, you'll write one at-home essay and have one to two tests. Pop quizzes occur whenever the teacher (me) gets the sense that students are not reading the material!

Grading Policy

Grades and Attendance:

Grades will be based on the following:

Tests/ at home writing and projects:     70 percent

Classwork, quizzes, and homework:    30 percent

                                                
   Total: 100 percent

IMPORTANT: Grades are cumulative. That means the grades you make now count as much as the grades later in the semester. So it's important to work hard from the very beginning and not dig yourself into a hole in the first weeks of our class. We will use Engrade, an online grading system in this class. I’ll give you information shortly about how to register. You’ll have your own account, where I’ll post grades. Your parents or guardians should be given access to your account.

Responsibility: It is the student’s responsibility to make up work. If you’re absent, you must find out from a fellow student what work was done in class or for homework and get the work to me the following day. No late homework or classwork will be accepted! If you miss a test, it is your responsibility to let me know and arrange for a make-up.

Attendance: You’re expected to be in class every day. Absent notes are required if you are absent due to illness or family necessity. 

Treasure Island Comments

Post comments here. Read other comments. Communicate.

Moby Dick Comments

Post your comments here. Read the other comments. Respond.

Treasure Island Crew: Additional Reading

Click here for an essay on the economics of piratical practice. Read pages 1049 to 1058 for Monday.

Homework for Thursday!

Read Chapter 1 of the new book. Write a response in which you examine the symbolism of water and land, particularly focusing on how the two symbolically contrast.

Scarlet Letter Essay

Find here an essay on The Scarlet Letter that addresses many of the issues the novel raises. Please read this tonight and come to class prepared to discuss it.