Extra Credit Option 1

This is bedell03a's post that I moved over from the Writing Blog. I will count thoughtful comments for up to 4 points towards reading log grades.

Hey guys! Its bedell03a, I was surfing the net for history when i found this poem about the Pledge of Allegiance. My question to you is: What is your view/thoughts as you read this poem ?

War Poem
Pledge of Allegiance©
By Meghan L. Thomas

I pledge allegiance to this land
Where heroes protect every woman and man
The flag that represents freedom and choice
The flag that gives us all a free voice
And on September 11th, when our nation was attacked
We all came together and we fought back
In the midst of terror, many heroes died
They fought to save others and in the end sacrificed their lives
They didn't think twice as they ran toward the fallen cries
All they could think about was to save those victims' lives
Though they have fallen we can still hear freedom ringing in their voice
From the battlefields to the white house we all had to learn to survive
The tragedies on September 11th left a whole nation to mourn and cry
Now we live on to protect our flag's integrity
From the people who just don't seem to see what our nation sees
Though they attack us, never will we fall
I give a salute to the firefighters and soldiers lost on that day
Together we mourn for the victims who had to lose their lives that way
But in their deaths, our nation finally saw
That no matter how much they try, together we cannot fall
So, I pledge allegiance to this land
Where heroes protect every woman and man

http://www.poetryamerica.com/read_poems.asp?id=333424

December 2007: Post your comments here!

Hello, all!
I know we are a little ways into December already; I wanted to be sure everyone had a chance at the open-ended introductory blog before I closed it off. Speaking of the introductory blog, I loved reading your comments, and I noticed how many of you responded to each other. The best part of blogging is the conversation.

For this post, I would like you to consider the context of the piece you are reading. In your response, address the following questions:

1. What is the subject matter?
2. Who is the intended reader?
3. What does the writer assume the reader knows about the subject matter?
4. What type of research was the writer likely to have done in order to write this piece?
5. What type of research would assist the reader in comprehending the piece?
6. (address any other points related to context that you feel are relevant).

Happy posting!

Your teacher,
Ms. Bedell