1st Quarter Journal Warm-Ups

Journal 1- [Number each the top] Answer this prompt on a separate sheet of paper or in your spiral notebook. What are your goals and expectations for this semester (academic or extracurricular)? Be detailed in your response. ( You do NOT need to write the prompt. Journal Entries must be at LEAST a page long. Write neatly. You can write on the back of the page)

Journal 2 Most people have been profoundly changed by a book. If not a book, possibly a song or movie. Think about the book, song or movie that profoundly changed you. How did it change the way you think, or even the way you live? Place Student Surveys, Parent Contact Sheets, and Movie Permission Forms in the basket

Journal 3 Describe the time you felt most American. Explain your answer.

Journal 4 America is known as the “land of the free.” Do you agree or disagree? What does freedom mean to you? Do you think that freedom is available to every American citizen? Why or why not?

Journal 5 Does your family have any Thanksgiving traditions? Describe a typical Thanksgiving in your family. If your family does not have any special Thanksgiving celebrations, please describe another holiday that your family celebrates.

Journal 6 Why is it important to reflect on experiences of your past? How does this reflection effect choices you make in the present and future? Give at least one example of how reflecting on an event of your past effected a choice you made.

Journal 7 Name the most important invention in history. Explain your answer.

Journal 8 If you had to choose the prize for the best movie in history, what film would win? Why?

Journal 9 An excerpt from N. Scott Momaday’s “The Way to Rainy Mountain” begins, “Now that I can have her only in memory, I see my grandmother…” Think of three people you can only have in memory. These people can be living or dead, but they can only exist “in memory” for you. Write their names down and why they exist only in memory. TURN IN YOUR SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT. ATTACH YOUR RUBRIC- MAKE SURE YOUR NAME IS ON IT!

Journal 10 What object did you bring today? Describe its shape, color, size, etc. What memory does this object represent for you? Describe it in as much detail as possible. Try to write about the memory in a way that the reader can imagine he/she is there.

Journal 11 Draw (illustrate) your childhood neighborhood. “Walk” through the neighborhood, labeling who you meet and what happened at each spot. Finally, brainstorm a list of “stories” from your past, like “the time I …”

Journal 12 What was your experience with Huckleberry Finn? Did you enjoy the novel? What questions do you have about the book?

Journal 10 What do you remember about September 11 th ? Describe where you were and what you were doing when you heard about the terrorist attack. How did it make you feel?

Journal 13 “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” George Santayana How do you feel about this? What are some examples (historical/personal)?

Journal 14 What’s more valuable: the things you learn at school or the things you learn at home? Can you think of any examples to support your statement? Furthermore, can you be educated if you don’t go to school?

Journal 15 Write your response to Pap’s rant. Then explain why you think Twain included this scene and what he is criticizing.