Freshman English Second Semester Prayer and Great Thoughts Assignment

Freshman English Second Semester Prayer and Great Thoughts Assignment
For the third quarter, the assignment will change just a little. These are the changes:
1. You will come up with your own aphorism, maxim, or proverb (look these terms up if you don’t know them) instead of taking one from someone else. This must be your own original creation, not a variation of something someone else has said.
2. Think of things that are true, profound, and insightful – but also short and sweet and easy to remember. Coach Chiesa’s “Your attitude determines your altitude”, Max Lamb’s “Don’t ‘Should’ on yourself”, and Morrie Swartz’s “When you’re in bed, you’re dead” are good not only because they are true and profound, but because they employ alliteration, a play on words, and rhyme as well.
3. Then craft a 1-2 minute talk on the concept that your own great thought speaks to or exemplifies. For example, Coach Chiesa shared his great thought with our team once and then went on to tell stories about people – including himself – whose attitude determined their success. In Tuesdays With Morrie, Morrie talks about how much he hates being confined to his bed and how much we ought to appreciate our bodies. When Max was in 8th grade, he spoke about focusing on what you know you can do, not on what others feel you should do. Again, focus on the topic your great thought speaks to, not the great thought itself.
4. The great thought should be the first sentence(s) of your talk. Start with it and then move on to your topic.
5. You may not have any outlines or notes aside from your great thought, but you should practice ahead of time. Much of your grade is devoted to how smoothly you move from point to point, so don’t try to do this “cold” – I would suggest actually writing up what you want to say and then practicing it. But in front of your audience, you will have no notes. Good luck and have fun. I look forward to having you share your wisdom with us.