LASTTTT BLOGGG =]

For my last blog I will be saying what I will be doing for my final presentation, which is tomorrow. Megan is presenting before me, and then it is my turn. I will be informing the class what I have been working on this marking period, starting with the threee novels I read to what I wrote my research paper on. All students will be looking at my blog and evaluating it. Then, I will have them participate in a mini lesson on memoirs. They will click on the links I have provided that describe how to write one. Students will be required to pretend they had to write a memoir and will be writing a paragraph out of their "book." When everyone is finished, I will be collecting them and reading them over to choose to best ones. The few that are selected will be shown on my blog, as if they were from the students that I created the blog for.

FINAL PROJECT!

Last week, we finished our research papers, so I have been concentrating on my final project. I have changed my idea; instead of writing an actual love story, I am creating a blog that has a unit plan in it. This unit plan will span over a month and is about Nicholas Sparks. All "students" will be required to read 2 out of 3 of the books that I am reading for my final project and follow the unit plan that I am creating. Unlike most unit plans, this one will be created on blogger.com , so no paper is wasted and it can be easily accessed.

In my blog, I will be including pictures, RSS Feeds, links, polls, etc. I just started working on it, and the link to the website is right here . Each post will be a new lesson, but each lesson can span multiple days. I will be presenting my final project on the first day, Thursday, May 29th. Although I may not be finished, I will still have material to present and acitivities to engage the class with. I look forward to finishing my final project and getting the presentation out of the way.

THE LAST WEEK!

Last week, I worked very hard on my paper so I could finish a rought draft and have a somewhat finished project to edit this week. Although it was difficult at times to portray my ideas in writing, I managed to express my points in a way that I feel is sufficient. I made sure to use my published sources to back up my personal opinions, just to ensure that the research paper is strong and all my ideas are supported.

This week, since the paper is due on Friday, I am obviously going to finish editing it and putting on the final touches. I am currently working on my sources cited page, and I am constantly reading over my paper to ensure that it is the best of my ability and it reads the way I want it to. While doing this, I am also reading The Choice, which is my third Nicholas Sparks novel.

Seven Weeks To Go

With seven weeks left of our senior year, we really are almost done. At this point, I have been working on my research paper and will have the introduction and the first two body paragraphs done for Wednesday. Since Wesnesday is our "peer editing" day, I want to have at least those three paragraphs done, since I feel as if that is a signficant amount of the paper to start to get my point through. I always like to have another pair of eyes look at my paper, especially before I have written the rest.

Last week I was having trouble choosing a topic to write my research paper on. I could not find enough published sources to back up my thesis, so I had to completely change my subject. I decided to write my paper on how Nicholas Spark's life experiences affected his writing, whether in the plot of his stories, or even his writing style. I feel as if I can have a strong thesis with this topic and still find published research to back up my ideas.

A blog on the book I'm currently reading (The Choice)

FAQ

Back on Track...?

So, this past week has been our spring break, but I am happy to say that I finished two out of my three novels by Nicholas Sparks. I finished the second one, Nights in Rodanthe, in basically one plane ride. Although I enjoyed Message in a Bottle more than the other novel, I can safely say that both were really great. They were what I expected, and more.

As I read through my novels, I began to wonder what aspects I am going to focus on in my research paper, as well as in my final project. Reading them is certainly helping me understand what makes a true love story. Sparks is a phenominal author who in my opinion, writes the best love novels I have ever read. They never lack any details and always surprise me with their twists.

This week, since I have been concentrating on actually reading the novels, I am going to start writing my research paper. Like Mr. Saxon said, I would love to get it out of the way and be one less thing to worry about. I will be brainstorming what I want to focus on in my research paper. I'm thinking I might want to write it on what makes a love story a quality story, or maybe some aspect about Spark's life that influenced him, particularly his writing style.

Here are some valuable websites that I consider using in my research paper:
this one includes actual interviews with Sparks throughout his writing career
the latest about his novels
information on Spark's life

4th Marking Period - We're Almost There...

So, we have finally made it to fourth marking period, and this time things are going to be a little different. As we are allowed to choose a topic of interest to research and create a final project on, I have decided that I want to do something with Nicholas Sparks's novels. Sparks has always been one of my favorite authors because his books have always seemed to surprise and intrigue me. My favorite novel, A Bend in the Road, was the best mystery/love story I have ever had my hands on. I cannot describe how amazing this novel was, but I finished it in a day, which is definitely saying something. Here is a link that details the plot of A Bend in the Road.

Over the previous week, I have been searching for classics that Nicholas Sparks has written and seeing how people liked them. I have decided upon reading three novels, including A Message in a Bottle (one of his earliest and definitely a classic), Nights in Rodanthe (my mom said it was to die for), and one of the newer books, The Choice. These three novels seemed to have interesting plots that I hope, yet know that I will enjoy.

At first I was wondering what I could actually do with these novels. What can I create after reading them? But I have finally decided upon writing my own short love story/novel. In my opinion, Sparks is the ultimate romantic, and from reading some of his works, I hope to gain some insight into writing my own. I know I will have to do more than just read the books; in order to create my final project, I will have to research how to write short stories, as well as love stories.

My plan for the week is to continue reading A Message in the Bottle and to research and learn more about Sparks's style and way of writing. I will also be working on my PIP, which stands for personal improvement plan, since it is the basic guideline of our project. I believe I have good plan or at least a basis of how to start and carry over my ideas for the fourth marking period.

Here are some valuable websites that I believe will help me in the future:
novels written by Nicholas Sparks
how to write a short story

A Moment to Remember

It feels absolutely AMAZING to have finished all three of my novels, as well as three projects. You know what this means? Only one more project to go! And only one blog post, too! It really is exciting news that this marking period is coming to a close and we can happily enjoy our senioritis of the fourth marking period...hopefully.

Anyway, I decided to write my last post about the symbolism of sunflowers in the novel. Yes, the book is called The Sunflower, but there is more meaning behind the title than one can simply hear. Sunflowers represent a rememberance for all the dead Germans. These flowers act as markers on the graves and display to the world the massive amounts of deaths that occured from the Holocaust.

Simon Wiesenthal seems to be intrigued by the idea of marking their graves with sunflowers. He himself envies the dead soldiers who have the ability to be remembered, even after their death. The only reason he is jealous of the Germans is because he fears that his grave will go unnoticed and bare. It is his worst fear, besides of course living in the Nazi concentration camps, that he will be forgotten. He does not want his grave to bare no flower. I find this idea to be rather interesting. I get that Wiesenthal longs to be remembered, even long after his death, but if he has a flower on his grave, will that make him any more of a memorable person? I understand it is more the idea than the actual flower, yet Simon should think logically. The sunflowers will not cause people to remember the soldiers any more than their grave will.


This idea of sunflowers got me thinking, so I looked up the actual meaning behind a sunflower. This website says that, "No flower can lift spirits like sunflowers can." Another wesbite states, "The sunflower flower promises power, warmth, nourishment..." Was this the reasoning behind marking the graves with sunflowers? Were the flowers supposed to lift anyones feelings or contribute power to anyone? Honestly, I think their appearance had more to do with it. But, yes, the idea that each dead soldier gets a sunflower upon his or her grave is a nice thought. But will it change anything in the long run? I highly doubt it.