Project 4:

Constructing

Freewrite 4 (Used in Final Project)

For Freewrite 4 I decided to explore OBJECTS that I will need in order to create the SPACE that my plants will need to survive the winter months. I went to Lowes to pick up the materials that I needed to build my greenhouse. Just like when baking a cake, the ingredients that the recipe call for are not that great on their own, but once mixed together and baked, they are marvelous! Once I put these objects together they will be the perfect SPACE for my plants. I created a collage of the OBJECTS that are needed in order to build my greenhouse.

Inquiry 4

For Inquiry 4, I decided to collect 10 links to 10 SPACES that press my topic of plants further. I decided to focus on the best-suited indoor plants for certain spaces in our homes. When picking out plants for our indoor spaces it is important to choose plants based on what kind of sun exposure each room gets. For instance, the best house plants for your bedroom include the Peace Lilly, Fiddle Leaf Fig, and English Ivy, they filter toxins and create a peaceful atmosphere. Potted herbs are most obviously the greatest in the kitchen, they are both decorative and useful. Birds of Paradise are great plants for the living room, they are elegant and prefer bright light. Begonias are a great choice for the dining room, they prefer bright light and are eye-catching to impress your guests. Tropical plants are best suited for the bathroom since bathrooms have higher levels of humidity than any other rooms in the house. Ferns are a great choice for the bathroom since they require moderate to low light and prefer high humidity. Succulents are a perfect plant for a child's room. Having plants in a child's room sparks creativity and teaches responsibility. Since succulents are low maintenance they are more likely to survive under children's care. A Jade plant is thought to bring good luck, what better place to put your plant than in your office/study. They are also pretty low maintenance as they only require to be watered once they start to shrivel. Believe it or not, mint is the recommended plant for the front porch, since it has a distinctive smell you can make a good first impression when guests come to visit. Although they do require to be watered daily especially in the summer otherwise they will dry up. One of my favorite flowers is the Hibiscus flower, it is a great addition to any sunroom. They are vibrant and have a lovely smell to them. Another great plant for the sunroom is the Boston Fern, they are great to hang up on hooks to provide a pleasing atmosphere in the sunroom. Last but not least is the basement. Since basements are often cooler and darker than the rest of the house with little to no natural light, plants chosen should be able to tolerate low light conditions. The Spider plant loves low light and does not require much attention.

Bedroom

Kitchen

Living room

Dining room

Bathroom

Children's room

Office

Sunroom

Front porch

Basement

Experiment 4 (Used in Final Project)

I experimented with OBJECTS to build the SPACE for my plants. I have never worked with wood before so it was a challenge, although I did have a helping hand. The old saying measure twice cut once was proven to be true for this project. Along with working with wood for the first time, I also worked with power tools for the first time. The materials I used were 3 by 2 lumber which actual dimensions are 2 ½ inches by 1 ½ inches, clear polyethylene UV resistant greenhouse plastic film, power tools, and hardware to put it all together.

I started out by measuring and cutting the 3 by 2s to length per the blueprint that I made on sketchup for freewrite 3 to build the frame of my greenhouse. Once I had cut the wood to length, I assembled the pieces and stapled the plastic onto them. Finally, we put the sections together and assembled the hinges in order to open the roof flaps to access my plants.

My inquiry project has moved forward as I am now able to place my greenhouse in the backyard and start filling it with plants. I will now be able to study and examine the benefits of greenhouses for plant growth during the winter months.

I still need to do more research on which plants I am going to put in my greenhouse. I would like to plant vegetables and/or fruit that I eat regularly. If any of my classmates have suggestions I would love to hear them.

This has probably been the most challenging yet rewarding project so far. I hope I have inspired other students to experiment outside of their comfort zone.


Studio 4 (Used in Final Project)

The Forbidden Greenhouse

It is a beautiful bright day (L/W 1) at Springdale Gardens. The air is crisp with a slight chill (COLD 1) It is evident that fall is slowly approaching. Debbie Dots and Betty Bumblebee buzz (SOUND 1) around the gardens to enjoy the last bit of summer (L/W 2). Debbie stumbled upon Springdale Gardens back in Spring when the flowers were in full bloom (SMELL 1) she has called it home ever since. The two insects love to explore the large variety of plants that are offered at Springdale, however, there is one spot that they have been warned to stay far away from, Mrs. Dawn’s old greenhouse (SIG) (INQUIRY) that is tucked away behind the main store. Word has it, whatever goes into the greenhouse, never comes back (STORY).

“I’ll race you to the picnic area” Debbie shouts to Betty as she flies toward the area filled with families who are enjoying lunch (INTERFERENCE). The two love to buzz around the picnic tables to see what treats they may find. “Hmmm, pineapple is my favorite” (SMELL 2) Betty mumbles as she lands on a slice of the juicy fruit. “Now be careful there” Debbie warns Betty, “Remember we have to stay clear of the humans otherwise we may end up in a dark place.” Debbie ignores her friend and flies over to a little child with frizzy (TEXT 1) red hair and freckles. She is attracted to the child’s nails, they are painted just like her wings, red with black spots (HANDS). The child reaches out her hand for Debbie to land on. Something about this hand feels different Debbie thinks to herself as she examines the child’s sticky fingers (TEXT 2). “Hmmm, marshmallow bits; oh no I’m stuck” Debbie shouts out to Betty who is being swatted away by the child’s mother. Debbie still does not understand why people reach out their hands for her to land on, yet they always try to swat her bumblebee friend away. Betty shouts back to Debbie with fear in her voice “We need to get out of here, they have a fly swatter.”

All of a sudden, it is pitch dark (L/W 3) “I am caught!” Debbie whispers to herself in a panic as she tries to free herself from the child’s sticky fingers. The child starts giggling (CHILD) as Debbie struggles to get her last leg free. She finally manages to free herself and starts to fly away. The child screams and starts to chase her, “Come here ladybug”. Debbie flies toward the fertilizer (SMELL 3) pallet that is located near the forbidden greenhouse. Whenever she is being chased she knows that the fertilizer pallet is where children usually stop chasing. A while later Debbie finds herself wondering awfully close to Mrs. Dawn’s greenhouse. The fog inside of the greenhouse sparks her curiosity. She is not able to see through the thick hazy plastic (TEXT 3) walls that surround the rotting frame. It instantly feels like winter (COLD 2) (L/W 4). She starts to slowly make her way toward the entrance (THRESHOLD). She hovers just close enough to peek inside and see what all the fuss is about. A gust of wind, or at least what felt like the wind blows Debbie into the greenhouse, the door creaks (SOUND 2), and then slams shut (LOCK). It is dull (L/W 5) and moldy (SMELL 4) with no signs of life (VACANCY). The scene sends shivers down Debbie’s pronotum (COLD 3) She notices indents (TEXT 4) in the soil, they look like footprints of tiny insect feet that are walking about (FOOTPRINTS).

“Hello, is there anyone else in here?” Debbie shouts out, she senses movement but cannot see anything. Suddenly, she is caught off guard as she catches her reflection in the strangest wind chime (CHIMES) (SOUND 3) that she has ever seen. It is made of broken pieces of a mirror (MIRROR). Her reflection in the broken pieces makes it look like there are a hundred ladybugs with her. But she knows that is not the case. She is completely alone yet she still senses movement. “How are the pieces moving if there is no wind?” Debbie asks out loud. “I have to find a way out of here.” Debbie closes her eyes and starts to talk to her late mother (COMMUNE) Although her mother is no longer living, she talks to her when she needs advice, she finds that it helps her to come up with solutions a lot quicker.

As Debbie speaks to her mother, her eyes are fixated on a rusted watering can (RUINS) (OBJECT). She suddenly sees movement, the soil beneath her starts to rumble (STRANGE) (SOUND 4) as a Venus flytrap appears from the soil. It opens up, there is a foul smell (SMELL 5) almost like rotten eggs. A moth escapes from its trap. He flaps his dusty (TEXT 5) wings and repeatedly shouts “What time is it?” over and over. His voice is high pitched and sounds as though he has inhaled helium (ANIMAL) Debbie tries to calm the moth, “Are you okay sir? I can try to get us out of here.” He ignores Debbie and continues to fly in circles as he repeats (LITANY) questioning the time over and over.

“I am going to get eaten if I do not get out of here”. Debbie starts to panic. She notices a silhouette (BACKLIGHT) in the direction of the sun getting closer and closer to the greenhouse. She has a glimmer of hope that she will be saved. Mrs. Dawn appears, she opens the greenhouse door and throws a group of Venus Flytraps into the greenhouse, and then quickly slams the door shut. Debbie narrowly escapes the snap (SOUND 5) of the Venus flytrap, the question still remains, did she live to tell of her greenhouse experience or is she just a memory.


Formatting Specifications:

  1. Formatting Specifications:

    1. _X_ Copy and paste this rule sheet into the web page where you post Studio 1.

    2. _X_ You should use an X to tick off all the rules as you follow them, leaving blank any rules that you are unable to follow.

    3. _X_ Follow allof the rules outlined in this rule sheet in a way that makes them feel natural and necessary to the telling of the story

    4. _X_ Use the parenthetical notations (IN ALL CAPS) to note where in the narrative you are following each rule; this is probably best done as you go though some students approach this task differently.

    5. _X_ FOR PORTFOLIOS:Be sure to follow all rules noted in this rules sheet to avoid penalties.

Content Requirements to be Provided as Response to Your Genre Selection

  1. _X_ Do notuse the words or any derivative of the words below anywhere in your paper: ghost, apparition, spirit, poltergeist, phantom, specter

  2. _X_ Primarily presenttense narration

  3. _X_ An object takes on great significance (SIG)

  4. _X_ The question must be posed: “What time is it?”(Please put in bold)

  5. _X_ Backlighting must be used (BACKLIGHT)

  6. _X_ A reference to a story from long ago (STORY)

  7. _X_ three references to the sensation of cold (COLD 1-3)

  8. _X_ Fog, Mothand Marshmallow (Please put in bold)

  9. _X_ An animal must act strangely (ANIMAL)

  10. _X_ A mirror must be described (MIRROR)

  11. _X_ A litany (LITANY)

  12. _X_ Remnants/ruins (RUINS)

  13. _X_ Concept of vacancy must be evoked or referred to (VACANCY)

  14. _X_ A description of an object left behind(OBJECT)

  15. _X_ Something ordinary becomes strange (STRANGE)

  16. _X_ Someone tries to commune with the dead(COMMUNE)

  17. _X_ A child/children laugh or sing (CHILD)

  18. _X_ Interference (INTERFENCE)

  19. _X_ Wind chimes (CHIMES)

  20. _X_ A detailed description of a threshold (THRESHOLD)

  21. _X_ Something is locked (LOCK)

  22. _X_ Footprints (FOOTPRINTS)

  23. _X_ Connects to Inquiry project in some way (INQUIRY)

Details

  1. _X_ 5 references to lighting or weather (L/W 1-5)

  2. _X_ a detailed description of someone’s hands(HANDS)

  3. _X_ 5 references to smell (SMELL 1-5)

  4. _X_ 5 references to sound (SOUND 1-5)

  5. _X_ 5 references to a texture (TEXT 1-5)