Month: October 2015

Ballad

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from http://literarydevices.net/ballad/

Distinguishing Features of Ballads

Ballads, no matter which category they fall in, mostly rely on simple and easy-to-understand language or dialect from its origin. Stories about hardships, tragedies, love and romance are standard ingredients of ballads. This is irrespective of geographical origins.

Another conspicuous element of any ballad is the recurrence of certain lines at regular intervals. Ballads can also be in interrogative form with appropriate answers to every question they ask.

Ballads seldom offer a direct message about a certain event, character or situation. It is left to the audience to deduce the moral of the story from the whole narration.

Example #5

“The Ballad of Billy the Kid” is an example of a modern ballad.

‘From a town known Wheeling, West Virginia
Rode a boy with six gun in his hands
And his daring life crime
Made him a legend in his time
East and west of Rio Grande’


Functions of Ballad

Ballads, as stage performance, enjoyed the status of being one of the main sources of entertainment in ancient times. Legends and historical events were narrated in the form of a ballad which would comprise song and dance.

Ballad was a perfect substitute for our current day technology-based entertainment, albeit with more emotional appeal. In the 18th century, the ballad based stage entertainment came to be known as Ballad Opera. According to ballad aficionados, the first formal Ballad opera was staged in the first half of 18thcentury with the theme of “the Beggars Opera”.

‘via Blog this’

The First Week of High School

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Sharan Patnaik              
September 7th,2015
English
Mr.Koch
The First Week of High School
The night before school started I was tossing and turning in bed as thoughts and questions flooded my head. Are the teachers mean? How much homework will they give us? Is high school anything like the movies…High School Musical, Mean Girls, Disney Channel, Clueless, and Grease?
The next morning as I was getting ready I couldn’t help but think about how I’ve changed since the beginning of middle school. From my sense of style and always being studious and quiet, I’ve broken out of my shell. I think that starting my first day in high school is going to be a great chapter in my life and will help me figure out who I am. I’ve also realized that my first day is nothing like the movies at all. When a popular person walks in the school, nobody makes a path for them like they do in High School Musical and Clueless.  Walking through the halls I’ve also noticed that everybody has a friend, or people that are willing to be one. Jocks with varsity jackets don’t actually shove small geeky lowerclassmen into lockers.
The second day of school was a little easier to adjust to. During the day all the teachers would be doing some “get to know you” games and explaining the rules, informing us about supplies that we needed to get. Same old boring stuff, which we need to listen for seven hours straight, for two days. Talk about fun.
Lunch is really different because now you don’t have teachers walking around monitoring you like you’re two. You don’t have to raise your hand to get up and you can sit wherever you want. Once again lunch in realistic high school doesn’t consist of the populars bullying you if you sit at their table. There is no second story in the cafeteria where someone will be singing and a flash mob will start, then everyone stares at one person yelling “NO NO NOOO STICK TO THE STATUS QUO!” Everyone encourages each other to try new things.
Wednesday I realized that teachers expect you to do your homework neatly, assignments on time, straight A’s, check their website because everything is online now. And you have no excuse not to get it done.
That night lying in bed, I thought to myself, this is freshman year, your third day in high school. You will most likely not be able to spend time with Danny Zuko, the T Birds and Pink Ladies at the racetrack every day. You won’t be able to go shopping every weekend or not worry about homework or the test you have that day. Yes there will be time for fun as long as you aren’t sabotaging the mean girls. Nobody has two bright pink lockers with extra clothes hanging, shelves, and  a mirror etc. There is more to high school than jocks, cheerleaders and stereotypes.

Friday finally came along and everybody was exhausted. It seemed to be the longest first week of school ever. High school is fun and you have freedom, more choices to do things. People are there to help you if life ever gets tough, teachers you can trust, friends you can count on. High school isn’t like the movie at all. In the first week of high school I learned that it’s the place where we make mistakes, get our hearts broken, our brains stretched beyond capacity, but it’s also the time to be adventurous, daring, spirited. It’s where you find out who you are. This is the place where our lives change forever.

The First Week of High School

paul.kochLeave a comment
Sharan Patnaik              
September 7th,2015
English
Mr.Koch
The First Week of High School
The night before school started I was tossing and turning in bed as thoughts and questions flooded my head. Are the teachers mean? How much homework will they give us? Is high school anything like the movies…High School Musical, Mean Girls, Disney Channel, Clueless, and Grease?
The next morning as I was getting ready I couldn’t help but think about how I’ve changed since the beginning of middle school. From my sense of style and always being studious and quiet, I’ve broken out of my shell. I think that starting my first day in high school is going to be a great chapter in my life and will help me figure out who I am. I’ve also realized that my first day is nothing like the movies at all. When a popular person walks in the school, nobody makes a path for them like they do in High School Musical and Clueless.  Walking through the halls I’ve also noticed that everybody has a friend, or people that are willing to be one. Jocks with varsity jackets don’t actually shove small geeky lowerclassmen into lockers.
The second day of school was a little easier to adjust to. During the day all the teachers would be doing some “get to know you” games and explaining the rules, informing us about supplies that we needed to get. Same old boring stuff, which we need to listen for seven hours straight, for two days. Talk about fun.
Lunch is really different because now you don’t have teachers walking around monitoring you like you’re two. You don’t have to raise your hand to get up and you can sit wherever you want. Once again lunch in realistic high school doesn’t consist of the populars bullying you if you sit at their table. There is no second story in the cafeteria where someone will be singing and a flash mob will start, then everyone stares at one person yelling “NO NO NOOO STICK TO THE STATUS QUO!” Everyone encourages each other to try new things.
Wednesday I realized that teachers expect you to do your homework neatly, assignments on time, straight A’s, check their website because everything is online now. And you have no excuse not to get it done.
That night lying in bed, I thought to myself, this is freshman year, your third day in high school. You will most likely not be able to spend time with Danny Zuko, the T Birds and Pink Ladies at the racetrack every day. You won’t be able to go shopping every weekend or not worry about homework or the test you have that day. Yes there will be time for fun as long as you aren’t sabotaging the mean girls. Nobody has two bright pink lockers with extra clothes hanging, shelves, and  a mirror etc. There is more to high school than jocks, cheerleaders and stereotypes.

Friday finally came along and everybody was exhausted. It seemed to be the longest first week of school ever. High school is fun and you have freedom, more choices to do things. People are there to help you if life ever gets tough, teachers you can trust, friends you can count on. High school isn’t like the movie at all. In the first week of high school I learned that it’s the place where we make mistakes, get our hearts broken, our brains stretched beyond capacity, but it’s also the time to be adventurous, daring, spirited. It’s where you find out who you are. This is the place where our lives change forever.

VASOL Writing Prompt of the Day

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Imagine your school cafeteria plans to change to a new, healthier school lunch menu, which would eliminate some of the students’ favorite cafeteria foods. Take a position on this issue and write to convince your principal whether this change to the school menu is a good idea or a bad idea. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.

4 bases, 3 strikes, 2 teams, 1 winner

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            When I step on the freshly raked field, feeling the dirt under my cleats, I feel proud of the game that I play. I belong on the diamond. The smell of the newly cut grass, the sound of metal cleats on concrete, the feeling after you make a big play, and hearing everyone cheer for you is a special feeling.
            I started playing t-ball when I was five years old. It has always been a part of my life. I was so proud of myself when I was seven and made the boys baseball all-star team. I was the only girl in league history to play with the boys. One of my most memorable moments, however, is when I hit my first over-the-fence homerun. I’ll never forget, the feeling running around the bases and rounding third base, seeing all of my teammates crowding around home plate, waiting to celebrate with me. Or when I turned my first double play, flipping the ball from my glove to our second baseman as she tapped the bag with her foot and fired the ball over to first base. I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs in softball, but I hope to continue doing what makes me happiest for a long time to come.

            If you play softball you will share some smiles, but with that also comes times when you will shed some tears. There are great wins and tough losses. The game can change in just a minute. I will always remember when I was ten, playing in the USSSA World Series tournament, coming back from being down in the bottom of the last inning, going into ITB (international tie breaker), and then becoming the World Series champions. On the other hand, I’ll never forget winning the entire game in the PONY Nationals tournament and then falling behind in the last inning and giving them the game. Softball comes with mixed emotions, hard work, and a lot of dedication, but I am willing to take the risks. I hope softball will always be a part of my life because I don’t know what I would do without it.

By: Becca Ludowig