Today we talked about the first 10 words from our vocabulary list for this week (check the vocabulary section for an electronic copy if you have lost yours). As a reminder, we will have a quiz over these words on Monday. Your homework over the weekend is to write one sentence for each word demonstrating that you understand its meaning.

We also finished the reading guide for “Lamb to the Slaughter” with partners, and in some classes, we got the chance to talk about this cool article from 1955:

Lamb to the Slaughter – Good Housewife’s Guide

If you were absent, here is the reading guide that you need to make up (your grade will be a zero until you turn this in):

Lamb to the Slaughter – Reading Guide

Your homework assignment for tonight is to choose one the top two-sentence scary stories and breathe life into it by expanding it to between 200 and 300 words. Craft your story by using beautiful, literary language – devices such as similes and metaphors, alliteration, hyperbole, foreshadowing, imagery, symbolism, etc.

Put your word count at the very bottom of your story.

*This assignment will count as a daily grade, not a homework assignment.

**You must turn your assignment in by going to the class website and following the directions to set up a turnitin.com account. I will not accept paper or emailed submissions. Your story is due by 7:30 AM on Friday morning.

Here are the award-winning stories:

By Popular Demand (Highest-Rated by Students)…

• My younger sister woke me up by whispering, “I’m going to kill you,” in my ear. My sister is mute.
• The little girl squeezed her doll tightly. The doll told her to stop because it couldn’t breathe.
• She takes a stroll in the park enjoying the sound of her feet crunching on leaves. She stops and the crunching continues.
• The man walked in his room and closed his door. He looked in his mirror and saw himself writing help.
• They’ll never find the bodies. And I definitely won’t be hungry.
• While reading his newspaper, he noticed something. His name, in the obituaries.
• When I finally save her from drowning, I swim back to the surface. It never occurred to me how fast the ice could freeze over.
• Girlfriend sleeping next to me. Got a phone call and she tells me that she’s coming home.
• My brother says daddy killed him. Daddy says I don’t have a brother.
• The excruciating footsteps grew increasingly louder, my sight allowing me to see the shadows cast under the door. I was born deaf.
• “You’re still having nightmares, sweetie?” my mother shook me from my sleep and smiled at me sweetly. She was murdered 6 months ago.

The Ms. Chapman Awards (Stories that I Picked Out)…

• The general said they were just robots. I shot one and it cried for its wife and children while bleeding to death.
• I heard a noise from my chimney on Christmas. It wasn’t Santa.
• I finally caught up with my one true love and held her in my arms. She sure can run fast.
• She calls out for her husband. He answers 25 years later.
• I love talking to my dad before I slumber each night. I ache to hug him, but my arms always go right through.
• Two girls. Three shadows.
• When I asked my mom what was for dinner she said biscuits. My dog is named Biscuits.
• My mother, calm as usual, innocently sliced vegetables in our kitchen. However, upon closer inspection, I swear, the tomato beat like a crimson heart.

Here is how you submit your story:

Go to www.turnitin.com, and click “create account.” Select the “student” option. Enter the class ID for the period that I have you:

Period 1 Class ID: 7465014

Period 3 Class ID: 7465042

Period 4 Class ID: 7465065

Period 6 Class ID: 7465080

Period 7 Class ID: 7465090

The password for all classes is “bellaire” – no capitalization.

Enter the rest of your information and follow the prompts. When you enroll, you should see an assignment called “Scary Story – It’s Allive!” Enter your text or attach the file and submit it by 7:30 AM on Friday morning.

ALSO – YOUR STORY MUST HAVE A CREATIVE TITLE!!!

Have fun! 🙂