M15-Indian Religious Practices (Due A-May 20, Due B-May 27)

This Week's Mission: 

When in India, you should participate in a Hindu or Buddhist ceremony, brilliant costumes and delicious foods abound!

We need you to travel to an important Hindu or Buddhist site in Ancient India. Write a post describing what you learn about either the Hindu or Buddhist faith. 

Your post might include:

• a meeting with Prince Siddhartha where you discuss his journey to becoming the "Awakened One"
• a visit to the Divali Festival where you describe the events and talk with people about the different Hindu deities
• join a group of Buddhist monks as they meditate on the importance of the Four Noble Truths
• participate in a Hindu pilgrimage to the Ganges and Sarasvati Rivers where you perform and act of purification 

Specific Post Requirements:

• Must contain two pieces of factual information about Hinduism or Buddhism.
• Use Writer's Secret 2-5 (The Sensory Closer). Be sure to highlight it when used.
• Must use and underline the delicious word: jaunty or ricochet.

General Post and Comment Requirements:

A reminder about the general requirements for each post can be found at the top left of this blog site.

Special Writer's Challenge:

This is a special challenge for those of you who would like a little extra practice in your writing craft. If you choose to do this challenge please add the letters "WC" to your post title. Students who successfully complete this challenge will receive 1 extra credit point.

The challenge: We've been studying figurative language. For this challenge you need to use 5 different figurative language devices (for example: simile, metaphor, hyperbole, connotation, and onomatopoeia). After you've published your post, you should comment on it. Your comment should identify the devices used and where you used them.

M14 - The Secrets of Mohenjodaro (Due A-May 6, B-May 20)

This Week's Mission: 

The disappearance of Mohenjodaro, the capital city of the Indus-Sarasvati civilization, is one of history's greatest mysteries.


We need you to visit the city of Mohenjodaro in the year 1900BCE. This is around the time when the civilization mysteriously disappeared.


Your mission is a two-part mission. First, you need to describe one of the characteristics of the civilization you see. Second, you must solve the mystery of how this civilization disappeared. 

Your post might include:

• visit a granary and describe the weights and scales they use; then discover that the grain was POISONED and killed everyone!
• take a swim in the Great Bath; then discover that nobody could swim and the whole civilization DROWNED!
• admire some of the beautiful statues; then discover the statues are actually people turned to stone by sinister MAGICIANS!
• buy some of the fancy beads; then discover that a major WAR over fashion caused people to flee for safer lands.

Specific Post Requirements:

• Must contain two pieces of factual information about daily life in Mohenjodaro.
• Must contain one (fact-based or totally made up) discovery about what happened to make this civilization mysteriously vanish.
• Use Writer's Secret 2-4 (DA INTERRUPTER). Be sure to highlight it when used.
• Must use and underline the delicious word: loll or Asiatic.

General Post and Comment Requirements:

A reminder about the general requirements for each post can be found at the top left of this blog site.

Special Writer's Challenge:

This is a special challenge for those of you who would like a little extra practice in your writing craft. If you choose to do this challenge please add the letters "WC" to your post title. Students who successfully complete this challenge will receive 1 extra credit point.

The challenge: The letter "v" is the sixth least commonly used letter in the English Language. Use 15 DIFFERENT words that contain the letter "v" in your blog post. Change the font color for the 15 "v" words when you use them.

M13 - Lost in the Subcontinent (Due A-April 22, B-April 29)

This Week's Mission: 

Traveling across India you can explore rivers, mountains, plateaus, and deserts.

The Indian Subcontinent is a land of many contrasts. Our original intent was to drop you on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. Unfortunately a mistake has been made, and you have been dropped into the middle of Hindu Kush; don't worry we've provided you with warm clothes for the snowy weather.

The good news is you get to travel across India and explore the beauty of this wonderful land! Your mission is to travel from Hindu Kush to the Bay of Bengal describing at least one part of the terrain you cross. The route you take is your own choice.

Your post might include:

• spend your nights crossing the Thar Desert, and your days in the shade watching the amazing desert animals
• take a ride down the Brahmaputra River during the monsoon season.
• hike across the Himalaya Mountains climbing glaciers and great peaks
• walk right across the middle and explore the wonders of the Deccan Plateau

Specific Post Requirements:

• Must contain two pieces of factual information about at least one physical feature of Indian Geography.
• Use Writer's Secret 2-6 (commas in a series). Be sure to highlight it when used.
• Must use and underline the delicious word: famished or instantaneous.

General Post and Comment Requirements:

A reminder about the general requirements for each post can be found at the top left of this blog site.

Special Writer's Challenge:

This is a special challenge for those of you who would like a little extra practice in your writing craft. If you choose to do this challenge please add the letters "WC" to your post title. Students who successfully complete this challenge will receive 1 extra credit point.

The challenge: For this challenge you must include at least one adjective for EVERY noun. However, you may not use an adjective more than once in the entire post. This includes variations of the same word, for example: ugly and ugliest. Don't forget that there is a difference between adjectives and adverbs. You do not need to underline or highlight the adjectives.

A Time Delay

Greetings Travelers!

It is with a sad heart that I inform you there will not be a new Time Travel Mission for 3 weeks.

We here at Time Travelers Incorporated are busy preparing to send many of our travelers on an amazing trip to the mountains of Western Oregon. In order to ensure we are properly prepared for this journey our attention will be focused there.

Fear not! Mission 13 will be posted the Week of April 17th, then you'll begin exploring the wonders of Ancient India! Until then, travel well.