EXTRA CREDIT Students are strongly encouraged--at any time during the school year--to design (with the help of a parent and/or Mr. Koondel) an independent study, extra-credit project (or projects). Project suggestions include, but are not limited to, outside readings, writing portfolios, essays, short stories, poems, narratives, and journals. Students are limited to 10 independent study points per academic quarter. "Imagine a group of students who discovered that their teachers respected them, had a sense of humor and fair play, cared about their lives outside the classroom, and sought their active involvement in such a variety of projects that no one had to feel left out, alienated, or 'different.' Imagine, too, that these teachers and students were encouraged to work cooperatively together on interdisciplinary, even multi-age, teams; that teachers and students, regardless of age and background, found that they enjoyed being together and creating experiences inside and out of the school building that were meaningful to the students and made them feel secure, confident, and committed to their own education." Excerpt taken from The Middle School--And Beyond, by Paul S. George, Chris Stevenson, Julia Thomason, and James Beane. INKWELL WRITING COMPETITION: TBA
NY State English Language Arts Essay Writing Practice Add your lyrics to a song written by Mr. Koondel!
	Subject of Independent Study: Poetry/Multimedia Tired of writing expository essays and personal narratives? Here is an extra credit opportunity, designed to provide an alternative and challenging genre for creative and motivated English students: co-author a song with Mr. Koondel! I have been having a lot of fun writing, arranging, and performing music on my home computer. If you're up for the challenge, download my songs and write original lyrics to fit the compositions. You may use the titles to suggest lyrics based on their themes, or you are welcome to make up your own titles and themes. Submit your lyrics (with a title and a complete heading) for extra credit! Advanced Users: Download N-Track Studio multi-tracking software, and add your voice to Mr. Koondel's songs!
Mr. Koondel performing with the Middle School student and teacher band, Lightstream, at the Great Beings “Ceremony of Light” Humanities Research Project Culminating Assembly, Manhasset Middle School, June, 2004.	Deadline: None CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SONGS IN MP3 FORMAT (MP3 files can be played by using the free Winamp player. Click here to download Winamp.)

"We must demand more not from each other, but more from ourselves," Jewel, Deep Water.

Extra Credit Assignment!

Subject of Independent Study: Narrative Writing/Figurative Language

"Open Mic" at Marlboro College, Vermont, 1986.

Spaulding Gray (playwright/actor/monologist) explains that life is made up of a series of "perfect moments." The only thing better than having a perfect moment, he admits, is being able to tell someone about it afterwards.

The attached photograph was taken during a perfect moment in my life:

It was back in 1986, and I was a sophomore attending Marlboro College, in southern Vermont. The college was very small--less than 200 students in total--and was basically just a cluster of converted farmhouses and cabins located right in the heart of the Hogback Mountains. For the students attending Marlboro, life might very well have been rather boring had it not been for creative, extra-curricular activities such as "Open Mic."

Open Mic (short for microphone) was a particularly special activity: a group of microphones, amplifiers, and assorted instruments would be set up in the campus coffee shop, along with folding chairs for the audience. The entire activity would only last for about two hours; and, during that time, anybody who wanted to could go up to the stage and perform...well, just about anything they chose to, really--music, poetry, drama, whatever. You would think that there would be a lot of "amateur" performances taking place, but it was always quite the opposite; students really practiced for the event. There was a wealth of talent in our humble populace, and it was always so inspiring for me to be a part of this happening.

In the photograph, I am in the middle of a performance of Harry Chapin's "Cats in the Cradle." I am performing with a friend and fellow music student, Kristen. Of course, she was the real talent of the duet; after all, she was a classically trained violinist and had a remarkably beautiful and accurate voice. I played the music (and let's not forget the occasional discordant backup singing: "Oohh, Oohh, Aahh," and "We'll get together then, dad/We'll get together then!"). After the Chapin song, we broke into an ambitious acoustic version of Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage/Eclipse."

Even though we had practiced for weeks and had sought the advice of even our most superficial acquaintances, as soon as we walked up to the stage, we were overtaken by a formidable and unpredicted wave of stage-fright. In fact, Kristen was so frightened at first that she wouldn't even sing--as you can see in the photograph, she suddenly became stunned and disoriented. Suddenly, I was alone, onstage, with my guitar, my microphone, and a belly full of butterflies. At that moment I knew that, even though I was scared (honestly, petrified), I had to continue on my own. It was either that, or face a kind of failure that I knew would be very hard for me to live with: the failure of not having tried my hardest or given my best; the failure of quitting without ever trying.

I began to sing, and soon all the attention in the room turned from Kristen to me. I was on my own, and I was making it happen. Everything seemed to be working perfectly. There was no turning back, now; it was going to be all or nothing.

On the second verse, my voice began to crack, inopportunely. Before I could even begin to clear my throat, I heard Kristen's voice taking over. She was suddenly fine now. Perhaps it was just the initial panic that caused her hesitation, because she began to sing like a canary. I was playing the music again, and she was the voice: we complemented each other's performances perfectly.

We received a huge ovation after our first song, and a standing ovation after the Pink Floyd song. About a week later, a person that I had never met before approached me with a copy of this photograph. She told me how moved she was by our performance, and that, for some reason, she recognized that it would be a key moment in my life. "This is why I took the picture," she explained.

She was right. Though it was only one, small event in my ever-growing lifeline, it has proved to be a monumental lesson in my life.

Do you have any "perfect moment" stories that you wish to share? Extra-credit to all who participate. The only deadline is the end of the year. Include a picture too, if you have one. Give it a try, I really had fun writing mine!

Not interested in writing? Find as many examples of figurative language as you can in my narrative. Use quotation marks (") to quote the passages that demonstrate metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or personification. Label each passage and I will give you extra-credit!

Descriptive Writing Exercise!

Subject of Independent Study: Science Fiction

Pretend that you are an alien from another planet (teenagers, this should not be very difficult). Your alien leader (I guess that would be me) has given you a very important mission: you must observe--in detail--the planet earth. Take a walk outside with your journal and a pen. Find and describe people, objects, events, etc. that you think would be of interest to your alien leader. Try to include at least five descriptions of each of your selections. Remember: you come from an alien planet, so EVERYTHING around you should be new to you. Focus on aspects such as shapes, colors, textures, sizes, sounds and movements.

After you have finished your walk, bring your journal back to your writer's desk, and organize your notes into a science fiction short story! (The great thing about this writing assignment is that you can do it anywhere!)

Creative Writing with ClipArt!

Subject of Independent Study: Narrative Writing

Choose a photograph from clipart in MSWord. The photograph doesn't need to be of anything or anyone in particular, but it should contain either people, or animals, engaged in some kind of action (and it should be interesting to you). Let the people/animals in the picture suggest a story to you. Try to imagine what happened to your characters just before and just after the photograph was taken. Who are the people in the picture? Invent your characters. Where was the picture taken? Create your setting.

Advanced: Use more than one picture to create your short story. Then, organize a portfolio of your clipart stories.

Grandparent Interviews!

Towards the end of February 2001, my grandmother, Lillian Klein, began sending me her memoirs--two or three handwritten pages at a time. I have published this work on my Web page with the hope that it will inspire my students to interview their grandparents (either in person, by phone, or through the mail) and write about the results for extra credit in English. The interviews can be about any number of topics; but, mostly, they are a good excuse for grandparents and grandchildren to learn more about each other, as people. Click HERE to read My Memoirs, by Lillian Klein.

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