Reading: "The Orchestra" by Daniel Barenboim

22 Fevereiro 2016, 12:00 • Paula Alexandra Carvalho Alves Rodrigues Horta

“West-Eastern Divan Orchestra"

22 Fevereiro 2016, 10:00 • Lili Cavalheiro

Introduction to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - video.

Video: “West-Eastern Divan Orchestra”.

“West-Eastern Divan Orchestra"

22 Fevereiro 2016, 08:00 • Lili Cavalheiro

Introduction to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - video.

Video: “West-Eastern Divan Orchestra”.

Descriptive Writing - Part 1

18 Fevereiro 2016, 12:00 • Hilda Alexandra Prazeres Eusebio

Students were tought the basics about descriptive writing:

• descriptive writing is meant to evoque senses: sight, sound, taste, feel, smell.  The more someone dominates the vocabulary of his/her language, the more descriptive their writing can be which, in turn, can result in writing that makes a strong impact on the reader;
• students should develop their vocabulary in order to focus on a dominant impression within the text, i.e.to create a mood or atmosphere within the piece.

Students analyzed the following text:

My family ate dinner at Merrymead Diner every Friday night while I was a child. We huddled close in a large, red booth as we scanned the familiar menu. The aroma of gravy over creamy mashed potatoes lingered in the air. I snuggled close to my mom’s arm as she ordered our drinks. The waitress brought our thick milkshakes out on a tray and placed them in front of us on a paper doily. The jukebox in the back played songs that we all knew the words to, and we sang along until our food arrived, hot and enticing on the table. Outside I shivered in the cold air, but in the diner I was cozy, munching on crispy French fries and enjoying a hot, juicy cheeseburger. 

• Clearly the mood of the piece is one of safety, comfort and happiness but never does the narrator explicitly say that she feels these things - it is implicit through the choice of words and the way in which they are organized, in the choice of sentence length, in the varied use of punctuation, etc.

Sensory Details

• Sensory description uses sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste to sketch an impression in writing. Consider a paragraph without sensory description:

My sister and I walked along the boardwalk each afternoon of our vacation. We watched the ocean and listened to the waves. Usually we stopped for a snack at one of the many stores that line the boardwalk. Afterwards, we walked along the beach and let our feet get wet.

• Now, consider this paragraph with all five sensory descriptors: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch:

My sister and I walked along the boardwalk one afternoon on our vacation. The hot boards warmed our bare feet. We watched the foam-covered waves topple over each other and then slide back into the sea. The crashing water competed with the exuberant yells from the seagulls. We bought a perfectly oval fluff of pink cotton candy that dissolved sweetly in our mouths. Afterwards, we walked along the edge of the water, letting the warm salty air blow our hair away from our necks as the cool water lapped over our toes.

•  It may not be worthy of a literary prize, but it's much better than the first version, isn't it?

Students were then taken outsider behind the PN to do a descriptive writing exercise: describing the natural/urban landscape.

Once back inside, students then went on to read aloud and analyze Maxine Hong Kingston's The Magic Metal Tube (< a fabulous little piece) and Inside District School #7, Niagara County, New York by the amazing Joyce Carol Oates.

Homework: Descriptive Writing Piece due on 1^st March no later than 23:59.  All pieces must be EMAILED.

The piece must be written in the descriptive style.  You can:

• Finish the piece you started during our outdoor assignment;

• Write a journal entry;

• Write a descriptive piece of fiction.

Pieces must be no shorter than 1 page long and no longer than 1.5 pages long. 

All pieces must be double-spaced, Arial, font 12.

Descriptive Writing - Part 1

18 Fevereiro 2016, 10:00 • Hilda Alexandra Prazeres Eusebio

Students were tought the basics about descriptive writing:

• descriptive writing is meant to evoque senses: sight, sound, taste, feel, smell.  The more someone dominates the vocabulary of his/her language, the more descriptive their writing can be which, in turn, can result in writing that makes a strong impact on the reader;
• students should develop their vocabulary in order to focus on a dominant impression within the text, i.e.to create a mood or atmosphere within the piece.

Students analyzed the following text:

My family ate dinner at Merrymead Diner every Friday night while I was a child. We huddled close in a large, red booth as we scanned the familiar menu. The aroma of gravy over creamy mashed potatoes lingered in the air. I snuggled close to my mom’s arm as she ordered our drinks. The waitress brought our thick milkshakes out on a tray and placed them in front of us on a paper doily. The jukebox in the back played songs that we all knew the words to, and we sang along until our food arrived, hot and enticing on the table. Outside I shivered in the cold air, but in the diner I was cozy, munching on crispy French fries and enjoying a hot, juicy cheeseburger. 

• Clearly the mood of the piece is one of safety, comfort and happiness but never does the narrator explicitly say that she feels these things - it is implicit through the choice of words and the way in which they are organized, in the choice of sentence length, in the varied use of punctuation, etc.

Sensory Details

• Sensory description uses sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste to sketch an impression in writing. Consider a paragraph without sensory description:

My sister and I walked along the boardwalk each afternoon of our vacation. We watched the ocean and listened to the waves. Usually we stopped for a snack at one of the many stores that line the boardwalk. Afterwards, we walked along the beach and let our feet get wet.

• Now, consider this paragraph with all five sensory descriptors: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch:

My sister and I walked along the boardwalk one afternoon on our vacation. The hot boards warmed our bare feet. We watched the foam-covered waves topple over each other and then slide back into the sea. The crashing water competed with the exuberant yells from the seagulls. We bought a perfectly oval fluff of pink cotton candy that dissolved sweetly in our mouths. Afterwards, we walked along the edge of the water, letting the warm salty air blow our hair away from our necks as the cool water lapped over our toes.

•  It may not be worthy of a literary prize, but it's much better than the first version, isn't it?

Students were then taken outsider behind the PN to do a descriptive writing exercise: describing the natural/urban landscape.

Once back inside, students then went on to read aloud and analyze Maxine Hong Kingston's The Magic Metal Tube (< a fabulous little piece) and Inside District School #7, Niagara County, New York by the amazing Joyce Carol Oates.

Homework: Descriptive Writing Piece due on 1^st March no later than 23:59.  All pieces must be EMAILED.

The piece must be written in the descriptive style.  You can:

• Finish the piece you started during our outdoor assignment;

• Write a journal entry;

• Write a descriptive piece of fiction.

Pieces must be no shorter than 1 page long and no longer than 1.5 pages long. 

All pieces must be double-spaced, Arial, font 12.