More of the Fireside Poets

Good morning,
   We don't have all day here. I have a cool video about Manhattan I want to show you after we get this done.

1. Read 1-2 of these poems. (See links below) 
2. Paste the URL into Awesome Hightlighter.
3. Highlight some of the lines about NATURE in the poem you chose.
4. Paste the URL in your EJ. (English Journal)
5. WRITE what you think the poet thought about nature.

"Voices of the Night"

"Thanatopsis"

“The Bridge”

“A Gleam of Sunshine”

“To a Cloud”

“Snowbound”

Do Schools Kill Creativity

Catching up and Moving On- The Fireside Poets

Good morning,

Ok quick quiz: Answer these questions in your English Journal.
What did William Bradford think about the landscape of New England when the Puritans arrived?
How did William Byrd describe the landscape of Virgina?
How are their positions similar to or different from a Native American perspective?

Fun with poetry:
The Fireside Poets, a little power point Mrs. R found on the internet created by The Danna Huff.


A Gleam of Sunshine

Colonial Views of Nature

Good morning,

Part I.

1. Open your English Journal and click on the link you created yesterday with Awesome Highlighter.
2. Compare what you highlighted about NATURE to what a partner highlighted.
3. Write an entry in your EJ about the comparison. What did your partner highlight that you did not and vice versa? 
4. Make sure you know what the Puritans thought about the natural world.

Part II
We are going to look at what another early colonial person thought about nature in Virgina.  William Byrd wrote about Virgina in 1728.  We are going to look at this text together. Click HereTo Get The Text.

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If you are a student WITHOUT a computer at home, you are eligible to get a free computer and free Internet. You need to show that you are computer literate or participate in a three day computer training course. Please contact:

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Puritan Views of Nature and Awesome Highlighter

Good morning,
   I hope you all had a lovely four day weekend.  You may remember that last week were looking at the Native American view of nature. This week we are going to take a look at the Puritan view of nature.
   You remember the Puritans. They were some of the first Europeans to settle in New England. We read about them in The Crucible.
   The Puritans first arrived in Plymouth in 1620. Their leader, William Bradford, wrote a book about their experiences. He called it "Of Plymouth Plantation".  We are going to look at a very short excerpt from that book. (Also in your textbook if you need it.)
   There are a lot of steps here. Follow them carefully and ask for help if you get stuck.


1. Click on this link for the Excerpt of "Of Plymouth Plantation"
2. Copy the URL for that page. (Highlight and Ctrl+C)
3. Go to The Awesome Highlighter.
4. Delete the http:// that is already there and then paste in (Ctrl+V) the URL for the excerpt.
5. Use Awesome Highlighter to highlight all the sentences or phrases you find in the text that show what the Puritans thought about NATURE in "the new world".
6. Click DONE when you are finished.
7. Awesome Highlighter will give you a custom URL just for your highlighted page.
8. Copy and Paste that URL into your English Journal under today's date.
9. In your English Journal UNDER your link WRITE what you think the Puritans thought of nature.

Evaluating Nature Statements

Good morning
   Let's see how much you've absorbed about Native American viewpoints about nature.  (Keeping in mind that the term Native American includes thousands of diverse tribes from all over the continent and there is some variation in their view points.)

   You are going to look at four statements that relate to nature. You have to decide if the statement is true or false from a Native American viewpoint. Use what you have read this week to help you defend your answers.


Statements About Nature Assessment

Note:  If you have not completed your work from Tuesday and Wednesday you still need to. Read a story from The Native Lore Index Page  Respond to the story here> Quotes from Native American Stories

Views of Nature

Good morning,
   We are going to look at the ways people in America have viewed nature over the past 400 years. To start we will review some Native American stories to see how Native Americans viewed nature. We will read one together and then you will get to read more on your own.

Please click HERE to get to the story we will start with. "How the Fly Saved the River"

Remember when I asked you to figure out what a the story says about life? Today's variation is "What does the story say about nature?" Use the link to the form below to add your answer to our spread sheet.


Quotes from Native American Stories

There are many more Native American stories. The Native Lore Index Page has a list of 150 stories. Over the next few days your challenge is to read as many of those stories as you can, figure out what each one is saying about nature and add more quotes to the form above.

What do you think?

English Journal Entry:
What does this picture show? What do you think about what you see?  What does this picture say about the interaction between humans and nature?

Shhh! Leaked test question from the final...

This leaked question is only for the students I like the most, like you. I like you because you checked the blog for leaked questions. Good job!

Sorry I ran out of time to leak a question on Wednesday. Here's two for Thursday.  See you in the morning.

Which of the following best describes the Puritan view of heaven and hell:
a. It would be fine to go to either
b. They were real places and God had already decided who would go where.
c. They were imaginary places described in the Bible to encourage goodness.
d. Heaven was boring and hell would be a lot more fun.

 What is the tone of Chief Red Jacket's "Lecture to a Missionary"?
a. respectful
b. angry
c. sarcastic
d. aloof