Describe a topic(better schooling for children) you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Constructed response paragraph: after reading “the case for short words,” do you think the author makes a convincing case that short words are effective? explain your answer and support it with evidence from the selection.

Follow the directions (and example) given to create your own sonnet. william shakespeare's sonnet 130 my mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun, coral is far more red, than her lips red, if snow be white, why then her breasts are dun: if hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head: i have seen roses damasked, red and white, but no such roses see i in her cheeks, and in some perfumes is there more delight, than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. i love to hear her speak, yet well i know, that music hath a far more pleasing sound: i grant i never saw a goddess go, my mistress when she walks treads on the ground. and yet by heaven i think my love as rare, as any she belied with false compare. instructions: write fourteen lines of iambic pentameter. use a sonnet rhyme scheme. use the first eight lines to set up your idea (the octave). use the last six lines to conclude your idea (sestet). (variety may be added by including a substitute foot from time to time such as the two anapests in line 3 above.) work in small groups giving each other feedback. reading the sonnet aloud allows you to hear the words and rhythms of the lines. generate questions that will clarify the use of words and forms. for example: was the idea of the sonnet presented in the first eight lines? how was sound used to enhance the meaning of the sonnet?

What causes mrs. x to become vulnerable as she speaks to miss y? a. miss y’s responses make mrs. x self-conscious about her abilities as an actress. b. miss y’s nonverbal cues make mrs. x realize that miss y has a relationship with her husband. c. miss y’s lack of eye contact makes miss c feel that she isn’t a good friend. d. miss y’s disinterest in mrs. ax’s christmas gift causes her to feel weak.