Beowulf: on kennings

Choose 5 kennings that you come across in lines 1-300 of Beowulf. Tell me what the kenning is, what line it's found in, what it stands for (what's it a metaphor for?), and what effect this wording has.

Example:
1. Boy-child (12) means "son." This is used to show that not only did Shield just have a "son" or a "child," but it reveals his gender AND age in one word.

This blog is due by 8am on Monday.
Don't forget your Zinch.com blog due Monday also!

Beowulf: on names

In the preface to Beowulf (between the introduction and the beginning of the poem), there is a page entitled A Note on Names. Read this page carefully. Then, loosely using the rules of Anglo-Saxon compound names, create your own compound name that accurately describes you. For example, I could be Knowledge-bestower, Grade-inflicter, or Language-informer. Or, if I really wanted to get creative, I could make my name even sound Old English. 

The student with the most authentic and creative Anglo-Saxon name gets a blog pass! 
Post your name on this blog with a brief (1-3 sentence) explanation of why this name describes you.

YOU MAY NOT USE A BLOG PASS ON THIS BLOG.
This blog is due ABSOLUTELY NO LATER THAN 8am Friday, September 28.

on scholarships

Zinch.com posts a weekly $1000 scholarship for a 2-3 sentence essay responding to a given topic (a different topic each week). I'd like for you guys to try this scholarship every week! The deadlines are on Mondays. 

Go to the website: http://www.zinch.com/scholarships/weekly
You can look at the past winners there to get an idea of what they like.
Write your 2-3 sentence essay.
Post it on here by 8am, Friday.
Submit your "essay" on the website by September 24 to see if you can win a thousand bucks!

on writing

It's no secret that I like to do a rather significant amount of writing practice in English class. This is not to inflict torture in writing form upon you; rather, I'm training each of you to become better writers. This is a good thing, believe it or not. You cannot become a better writer if you don't write. So we write.

Reflect on your own writing--your attitudes toward it, your style, your positive and negative experiences with writing. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? After considering this, I just want you to write reflectively about how you would like to grow as a writer this year. Yes, this is technically an assignment, but I really want you to  consider this. This goes beyond me merely assigning things for grades. Set goals for yourself now so that, come May, you can look back on this year as more than a year you survived, but as a year that you took advantage of having the opportunity to get a good education. 

There is no word limit for this blog--you will be graded according to the thoughtfulness of your response.

Due tomorrow, Wednesday, by 8am!

College Applications: on essays

Register for the school website of one of the colleges you are applying to. After beginning the application process, look for the essay prompt required for your school. Post that prompt on here. This will be the essay you are writing for my class! So pick a good one.

If you do not post a prompt by Thursday, you will be assigned a generic college essay prompt that may not actually be useful for you as you apply to your school of choice.

DUE THURSDAY 9/6