Well, well, well. We definitely did not get as far as I had hoped today (especially in periods 1 and 2). We need to nail the key questions to ask when reading any piece of nonfiction. We also were going to read an article about the Sea World/killer whale battle that is going on. (By the way, great documentary just released: Blackfish). We'll get to the article tomorrow, but for the sake of time, I'll share those nonfiction questions with you right here. Now these are not all-inclusive, but they are key questions I want you thinking about whenever we read nonfiction.
1) What is the purpose of the article? (What is the main idea the article is trying to get across?)
2) What evidence does the article offer for support? (What are the arguments? Are the arguments credible?)
3) What are the sources for that evidence/those arguments? (Are they credible sources?)
4) Are both sides equally represented? (Is there bias in the presentation?)
5) Who is the author? (What are his credentials? Is he credible? Is he biased?)
Okay that may appear to be many more than four questions, but the questions in parentheses are really just there to help you understand the original questions and allow you to probe deeper into the texts. I want you to know these. Memorize these. Have them readily available. If we read nonfiction, you need to bring these to the discussion.
Tomorrow's main focus will be on editing our Animal Farm papers. We have been given Lab D for tomorrow's editing. Help yourself out by having as polished and complete an effort as possible. The closer you are to finishing the piece, the more help tomorrow will be. If you come with a shoddy, incomplete effort, then you will not benefit as much from the peer edit.
Keep looking for those nonfiction books and documentary films. Several people have already given me their selections. That means they can start reading and viewing. The sooner you do the same the sooner you can start doing the same. Let's not wait until Monday. Let's make it a goal to have these selected by Friday. Remember, five points hang in the balance. But choose wisely. You'll be deducted a point for switching after the 18th.
Some super personal selections so far. I'll be typing up a list and posting it in the classroom so that you can see what your peers have selected.
See you soon.
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