Pearls and Onions

Say No to Plastic: Reach for the Tap

justread — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:06:56 +0000

Bottled Water has been in vogue for some time. Teenagers and young adults alike sport trendy plastic bottles: Evian,Dasani, Ethos. It’s hard to say whether people choose bottled over tap to make a style statement, because they prefer the taste, or because they think it healthier. Regardless, with the recent green craze, I’m hoping bottled water will become taboo, that people will reach for the tap rather than a plastic bottle. The harm bottled water inflicts on the environment outweighs the perceived benefits.

It’s hard to deny the harm plastic bottles wreak on the environment. Making the plastic for the bottles burns oil—lots of it. The Earth Policy Institute estimates America uses “more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel more than 1 million U.S. cars for a year” (Earth Policy Institute). Most of us agree we need to be more conscientious in conserving energy. Americans are carpooling, trimming superfluous travel, and trading gas-guzzling SUV’s for more efficient rides. Squelching our infatuation with bottled water seems a natural next step. Not only does bottled water suck up millions of barrels of oil, it also piles up mountains of waste. In fact, the U.S. sends two million tons of bottled water packaging to landfill each year (Reynolds). These mountains of non-biodegradable plastic make it hard to justify drinking bottled water—no matter how trendy the bottle. For those of us concerned about the well-being of our planet, shouldn’t we be willing to drink from the tap?

Sadly, America’s love affair with bottled water continues to deepen. If we can park our SUV’s, switch to cloth shopping bags, and ditch harmful non-natural household cleaners, surely we can don a reusable drinking container and fill it with tap water—a choice to preserve our fragile environment. Target even sells hip reusable water bottles for those troubled by nixing the plastic bottle.

12 Sentence Story Assignment

justread — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:23:19 +0000

Though I am not with you today, you are in my thoughts (okay–who are we kidding? I’m actually living it up on my day away from school!). I leave you, knowing that you value your education and accept the challenge to work on a Friday afternoon–even when you’d rather romp through the still green grass, enjoying the crisp cool air of Fall, journeying miles away from school and books and sentence structure.

I decided to wait until I return to tackle the mega-brainpower assignment. Instead, I’m giving you an assignment that is a bit more creative (Pink would be proud!).

If you throw yourself whole-heartedly into this assignment, you should come away with a greater understanding in these concepts:

The terminology of particular syntactical devices.
The ability to craft–artfully, using a myriad of devices–your own mature sentences.

So, tackle this:

Write a 12-sentence story. The instructions are on the hand-out.
Post the story to your blog and then comment to this post leaving a link to your blog post (saves me time grading them!).

Enjoy. Let your creative juices flow. See you next week.

9-12-08 Assignment

justread — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:48:36 +0000

You have two tasks:

Mail your final draft of the synthesis analysis of The Gettysburg Address to me (pearlsandonions@gmail.com). It should have an introduction plus syntax analysis paragraph.
Write and post a response to your Lit Circle book on goodreads.

How To Respond to Lit Circle Book

Your response can take any form you desire–other than a summary. The idea is for you to respond to the book. You might write a critique, write a response agreeing or disagreeing with a point made by the author, explain a theme (relating book to a current issue/problem in our society), share a personal connection, relate a connection to another text, comment on the author’s style. Whatever route you decide to take, keep these principles in mind:

Narrow your focus. Pinpoint a specific purpose. What’s your So What–your main point you’re trying to convey?
Use specific details from the book (no spoilers though) to illustrate your ideas. Including a few quotes is always a good idea.
Include plenty of commentary to thoroughly explain your ideas.
Write with stylistic maturity: strong and careful word choice, varied and mature syntax, clear organizational strategy that makes sense, and attention to editing.

Your response should be at least 200 words long. Dazzle me!

Check out these goodreads tutorials. If you slide your mouse across the photos, a screentip pops up telling you what you’ll learn. Click on a photo and read directions in the photo description.