English In the Middle School

Alyson Wade Doty

Alyson Doty — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:37:45 +0000

From what I can remember I didn’t always like my name. However, I think it was more my middle name than anything else. I used to get so mad at my mom for putting my full name on forms in Elementary and probably Middle School. Thinking back, I think that’s pretty funny. Now, I really like my name; I think it’s pretty unique. My parents tell my that my dad picked the spelling of my name. I like the way the y’s match up in my first and last name.

At some point in HS people starting calling me by my last name, Doty, instead of Alyson. I’ve always thought Doty sounded like a first name anyway, so I never cared. I even though it kinda fit. It’s funny because even when moved on to Uni, it didn’t take long for people to start calling me Doty again

Here’s more information about my name:

Meaning of “Alyson”
Irish name

In Irish, the name Alyson means- Honest.. Other origins for the name Alyson include – Irish, German, French, English

The boy’s name Alison \a-li-son\, also used as girl’s name Alison, is of Old English origin, and its meaning is “son of the noble“. More common as a girl’s name, in spite of the -son ending.

Alison has 6 variant forms: Alisson, Allcen, Allison, Allisoun, Allson and Allyson. What about ALYSON??

Baby names that sound like Alison are Elison, Ellison, Elson, Ellson and Elisson.

Alison is a very rare male first name and a popular surname (source: 1990 U.S. Census).

Taken from: meaning-of-names.com and thinkbabynames.com

Everybody Do the Post

Alyson Doty — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:39:13 +0000

Let’s try to get some other people to visit your blog…
1. Think of a statement, quote, or question you think would be interesting for someone else to respond to. Make it up or search on the internet.
2. Create a new post with this one to two line/sentence in it.
3. Check back for people’s comments!

Help your classmates out by checking out their blogs and responding to the statements they’ve posted. See how many you can get to-everyone’s???

Upcoming Reading Strategies Test

Alyson Doty — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:49:32 +0000

Hi Grade 8s,
Geez, it has been a crrrazzzzy week! WWW presentations, keeping up with classes, end of quarter approaching, etc.
For your test next week remember to look over your notes and check in the Reader’s Handbook for the following, in no particular order: context clues, main idea, inference, connections, and ways to actively read.
Just in case someone is reading this, impress them with your knowledge. Please post a comment here that includes something you learrned from this unit. Then check back to see what your classmates posted-maybe that will even help you study!

Good luck!

Are we talking to a brickwall here?

Alyson Doty — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:20:47 +0000

I really enjoyed the comment Oliver made when he said, “I think writing a blog is like talking to a brick wall blindfolded. You think you’re talking to everyone, but you’re just talking to yourself”. On some levels it’s hard to disagree with him. Is anyone really reading what we post besides us? If not, what’s the point then? And, why would it matter if someone else did read it, we’re just being made to do this for English class anyway, right?

Maybe we need to give it some time. Being new to something, like we are to this, makes it easy to be skeptical about it’s purpose or worth.

I am hopeful that this ends up being a little more meaningful for us. Any ideas on how to make that happen?

A New Kind of Freedom

Alyson Doty — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:08:17 +0000

To me blogging is a new kind of freedom that allows a person to write what they think and then put it out there instantly for all to read.

Comments?

A Quick Review

Alyson Doty — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:41:15 +0000

Last class you created your blog and were introduced to a few of a blog’s capabilities. For homework you were to do the following:

Play with the “Design” tab and change your theme.
Go into the “Manage” tab and
- delete the “About” page
- delete the first blog post that is there by default
Search with a blog search tool such as Google Blogsearch and find a blog that interested you and then you were to go to the “Write” tab and write a quick little ditty about the blog while also providing a link to it.

Today you will be experimenting a bit more with the dashboard and doing the following:

You will create a blog roll that will include my blog and the blogs of five of your classmates.
You will go to this page and read about how to ensure you have written a good comment on someone’s blog.
You will then read my most recent post, and comment on it. Please remember what you have read from the Good Comment page!

Now Entering the Blogosphere

Alyson Doty — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:17:57 +0000

Welcome to the “blogosphere”!
Together we are entering into one of the latest and greatest forums for thoughts and ideas online. Not only will you be writing as often as possible, but what you write will be posted on your blog, ready and waiting for someone else out there to read and respond to it. At times I will ask you to choose your own subjects for your posts; you will be free to tell the world how you feel. At other times you may be responding to a story, discussion, or idea that came up in class. Whatever you decide to write down, remember, it is there for all to read. Make sure your writing reads well and your blog looks good! Lastly, this new tech adventure is new to both you AND me, therefore we will be perfecting our blogging skills together and I too, will need to post some random thoughts for all to read just like you. I’m very interested in seeing where this takes us! Happy blogging!

–Ms. D