Homework for Friday, 9/12 and Monday 9/15

7th Grade Writing - Worldy Wise lesson 1, exercises D-E in notebooks, DUE FRIDAY, 9/12

8th Grade Writing - Worldy Wise lesson 1, all exercises in notebooks, DUE FRIDAY, 9/12

"A Special Place" Essay - DUE MONDAY, 9/14
Looking at this excerpt from To Kill a Mockingbird:

“Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were soft like teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum powder.

“People moved slowly then. They ambled across the square, shuffled in and out of stores around it, took their time about everything. A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County. But it was a time of vague optimism for some of the people: Maycomb County had recently been told there was nothing to fear but fear itself.”


Think about the way Harper Lee was able to give the reader a sense of place. What details gave you a sense not only of what this place looked like, but also how it felt to be there? How does she create s distinct and vivid picture of Maycomb?

Next, think about a place in your own life that has special meaning. It could be a place you’ve spent a lot of time, or a place that holds significance for you. What details make this place come alive, not just in terms of what it looks like, but what it feels like to be there? Harper Lee described Maycomb as a place where “a day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer.” This detail gives you a real sense of what it felt like to be there. Think of details that make your own special place come to life.

Your assignment it this: Write an essay, about 2 pages in length, describing a place that is special and significant to you. Think about sensory details (what it looks, feels, smells and sounds like), but also about details that give a reader the feeling of this place. This is a chance for you to flex your descriptive muscle, so think carefully about any details that might add to your essay.

Please type the essay if possible (double-spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman).