Sunday, October 20

Today is Sunday of Week 9. I hope you are enjoying the weekend! You can find the Week 9 assignments here, and future weeks at the Class Calendar. If you are doing Project comments today, you'll see there's something new: if you want to take a look at a project from the other class (Myth-Folklore or Indian Epics), you are welcome to do that!

Class Procedures and Reminders

Plan ahead. As we get into the final stretch of the semester, it's a perfect time to plan how you want to finish up, especially if your goal is to finish early. After Week 9, there are five more weeks of class, plus Dead Week. You can get more help here: Progress Chart.

Project Stack. I'll be updating the stack today, and I'll start reading and replying to the assignments in order on Monday. While you are waiting on comments back from me, you can check the stack to make sure I received your assignment.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. It's always fun to see what Wikipedia Trails people are doing, and here's one by Jessica in Indian Epics, from Uttar Pradesh to the Magh Mela Festival.

I did a Wikipedia Trail this week too, and I ended up learning about a historical legend I had never heard of before: From Golden Arm to Bras-Coupé.

Twitter Stream. There's lots going on at the #WhyIWrite event at Twitter, which is how I found this important statement on writing from the NCTE:

Story of the Day. Today's "why" story is about the elephant and his ears: Why the Elephant Has Floppy Ears. This is another Gullah story and, yes, it's Buh Rabbit's fault. Again.

Indian Epics Today. And the epic character for today is Draupadi, heroine of the Mahabharata. More about Draupadi, and here is a Draupadi cult statue:

Storybooks. Some of you will be reading about Krishna in Indian Epics next week, so I wanted to share this Krishna Storybook: Krishna: Lord of Infinity.

Myth-Folklore Video. For a video today, here's Crash Course: Herakles. Or Hercules. A Problematic Hero.

Proverbs. I like this proverb from Kenya: People scratch where they can reach.

H.E.A.R.T.. Some thoughts for the end of the semester: Focus!

Mindset Cats. The mindset cat knows that focus can also become a trap! If you only focus on the problem, you might miss the easy solution.

Writing Video. And if you're wrestling with apostrophes, this video might help: When to use apostrophes.

Event on Campus. As part of the Friends to International Students program, there will be a Fall Pumpkin Carving (with snacks!) at 3PM in the Farzaneh Hall Patio (details).

October 20: National Day on Writing. Join in the #WhyIWrite social media stream today; you can make your own Why I Write badge at the National Council of Teachers of English website, and learn more about the National Day on Writing. Here's the badge I made:

Check out the Twitter stream for information and fun stuff during the day, or click here for past announcements.