Through the Eyes of a Dog

Dogs love unconditionally, but do they really have feelings? Some people consider dogs as important as people. Others view them as pests! How do you feel?

Today you are going to go to your blog and post a story "through the eyes of a dog." It can be any story about anything (a birthday party, a trip to the vet, a walk through the park, getting picked up by the dog catcher, etc.) as long as it is through the eyes of a dog. Since it is through their eyes, it needs to be in first person! If you have a dog, it can be through their eyes. If you don't, it can be through a dog you have known or just some stray on the street. I want lots of details and make sure you give the dog a personality that shows through your story. This needs to be a story--not just a couple of sentences!

Also make sure you include a picture (or pictures). Remember it does not have to be a dog you know, so pictures can just come from the internet!

Have fun!

Media

You're an 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded , and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8 - 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.

You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out , you know this is the day.

Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.

Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.

He's coming anyway.

And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 3 of you at a time on board.

Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses and safety.

And, he kept coming back!! 13 more times!! Until all the wounded were out.

No one knew until the mission was over that the Captain had been hit 4 times in the legs and left arm.

He took 29 of you and your buddies out that day. Some would not have made it without the Captain and his Huey.

Medal of Honor Recipient , Ed Freeman , died last Wednesday at the age of 80, in Boise , ID ......May God rest his soul.....

I bet you didn't hear about this hero's passing, but we sure were told a whole bunch about the death of Michael Jackson and all the "drama" with Tiger Woods!  How do you feel about this?  Does it bother you that our media focuses so much on the stars of Hollywood or the studs of the professional athletic world?  Is it fair that the people who risk their own lives and ask for NOTHING in return go unnoticed' while others require (and acquire) thousands or even millions of dollars to make guest appearances at high profile events?


Today you have two parts to your post.  First, you need to answer these questions I have presented to you and explain your responses.  Don't bash, but make sure you get your point across.  Then, I want you to search online and find a story that has been "buried" that you feel deserves some recognition.  It can be about anything that YOU feel should be pushed to the forefront of media coverage.  You can either copy and paste the article into your blog post or just summarize what you have found.  Either way, make sure you give credit to the website (and author, if possible) where you found the information.

For the record, the story above was sent to me via email.  I have since found numerous reliable sources with the same information.  If you would like to see actual results of my find, you can go here or here.  With that said, please make sure you find actual stories that come from reliable sources.  If you are not sure, look for multiple established sources with the same information...personal blogs or wikipedia might not be your best bet!


Ok...get busy and enjoy your time as an investigative reporter!! :)

It's A Contest!!

I know you all love a contest...

For this one you are going to write a poem about being a senior, your senior year, graduation, senioritis...you get the picture--something about this year! :) They should be a reflection of you and your personality...they do NOT have to rhyme.

There are, of course, some rules:
1. They must be school-appropriate (not even any innuendos)!!!
2. They must be AT LEAST 12 lines long.
3. They must be your original work--no copy and paste from other websites or using someone else to write them!!!
4. They cannot make fun of our school, faculty or anyone in our student body! 
5.  You must include a picture that will go along with your poem--it can be one of you or just something you find that reflects your thoughts in your poem.
6. They must be posted on your blog by the end of your class period on Monday (the 5th)--or they will not be eligible to win the contest.

For those of you who tend to "forget" to post your blogs, please note that this particular blog will count as a TEST grade!! Do it!! ;)

Now, get to your blogs...and HAVE FUN!!!

Shakespeare Internet Scavenger Hunt

Answer the following questions based on what you find on the corresponding websites. You may have to do a little searching once you find the page, but all answers are on the site attached to the blue links in each question.  Good Luck!

1. From when to when did Shakespeare live?

2. In what region is Stratford-on-Avon located?

3. What war occurred in Shakespeare's time and why was it fought?

4. Name one contemporary (someone who lived at the same time) of Shakespeare. When did he/she live? What did he/she do?

5. What was the name of the theater that Shakespeare worked in?

6. Name two plays that were performed in the rebuilt theater's opening season in 1997.

7. Describe what is painted on the "Heavens" above the stage proper.

8. Name two comedies and the name of one character in each. (Name of the character cannot be a name in the title of the play.)

9. Name two histories with the name of a character in each. (Name cannot be a name in the title of the play.)

10. Name two tragedies with the name of a character in each. (Name cannot be a name in the title of the play.)

Used with permission from this site.

Comic Strip

I thought it would be fun to do something the day before Spring Break that we haven't done to this point on our blogs!! I found this website where you can create your own comic strip--fun!!

You need to go here and follow directions to create it. The only way I have found to get it to your blog is to do an 'apple+shift+4' and highlight the comic strip itself (after you have finished it and chosen the 'print/email' icon). It will then be on your desktop and you can insert just like any picture we have put on our blogs in the past.

Of course, you must keep them school appropriate!! Have y'all heard that request at all from me this year??!!?? ;)

Have fun!!

Also, hope you have an AWESOME Spring Break!! Be safe--and SMART!!!

But I DID Pay My Bills!!

What would you do if you came home and your home was no longer yours?  Go here.  After you have read this article, go to your blog and tell me what you think about it!  Make sure you tell me how you would handle the situation and whether or not you think it could happen to you!

Road Trip 2010

It's almost Spring Break...and in a few months you will be out on your own. There is a good chance you will be taking some vacations in your near future.  How many places have you been outside Childress, Texas? Some of you have traveled a lot; others probably have not been more than 100 miles from Childress. Either way, I am sure there are places that you would like to visit.

For this post, you are going to put together a road trip. Money is NOT an issue. The only rule is that the places you go have to be accessible by car (no planes or ships). That doesn’t mean you cannot go outside the US, just that you are able to get there by driving (i.e., Mexico, Canada).

Find five cities, landmarks, amusement parks, ballparks, museums, colleges, etc. that you would like to visit. Take your time…surf the web and do some real searching—don’t just pick the first five places that pop into your head. Then use mapquest to help you plan your trip (you may use another website if you know of one that is better). If you use mapquest, use the "Directions" box on the main page of the site to find the distances between places and then use that info to find the total distance of your trip. If you use another website the information boxes may be different, but you still need to find distances between places and then a total distance from start to finish. NOTICE: your stop and start place will be Childress--but you do not come home between destinations...hence, ROAD TRIP!!
For each of your Road Trip destinations, you need to include pictures (limit 3 per destination) and some information on places of interest you would visit—don’t copy and paste an entire website of information. All information needs to include a link to the website on which you found it—ASK if you do not know how to do this!!!

You have two class periods to work on this, so don't just rush through it.  This is supposed to be fun! It is an opportunity to maybe plan a trip that you will someday actually take…so no griping!! ☺