Delay on the Paper

Honors: Well, I guess I shared some good news for many of you today.  Due to some citation errors I noticed in papers and miscommunications in class, I decided to extend the due date for the Defend Your Position paper to Thursday.  Hopefully, our discussion today clarified what is expected.

As a recap, you need to identify the sources you are using to establish their credibility and then cite the evidence that the sources shared.  Then you should offer a works cited at the end of the paper.

If you have questions, check out the OWL or ask me.

We started our nonfiction presentations today and while they have been pretty good, the biggest concern has been differentiating between the sources and the evidence.  The source is the person or the book or the journal.  The evidence is what is shared by the person, the book or the journal.

We'll continue with three or four more tomorrow.

Standard: We took a close look at a paper today to see what is working and what is not working so far.  You seem to be starting your paragraphs off with an argument, sharing evidence and unpacking the evidence well.  Don't forget to tie it back to the claim.

We also looked at identifying those sources and citing that evidence. We discussed the OWL and how to effectively and efficiently use it.

Tomorrow you should have a polished draft printed off and brought to class for peer sharing and editing.

Honors' Papers Due Tomorrow

Honors: Tomorrow you will be submitting your final drafts of the Defend your Position (Argument) papers.  Be sure they are polished, typed, double-spaced and a strong example of your best writing.

Be smart, and, prior to printing off the paper, look at the checklist/rubric I shared with you last week. To make it easier, here it is again.

You'll need a Works Cited page don't forget.  Yes, it should be on its own page.  Use the OWL if you have any formatting questions.  Follow the MLA format.

Our nonfiction presentations start tomorrow as well.  Bring your A game!  Reminder, if you are scheduled to present tomorrow, then your paper is due Wednesday.

Standard: You did some rough draft editing today in class.  Tonight work on improving what was edited for you today.  Can you honestly answer, "Yes" to every question from the checklist/rubric?  If not, go back and add that evidence, strengthen that intro, analyze more deeply.  Good writing takes hard work.   If you aren't working hard, you most likely aren't writing well.

I asked what you needed help on and it seems that constructing the Works Cited page and a little more editing time are needed. We'll look in to handling both of those along with another closer look at correctly identifying and citing your sources.

  

Defend Your Position Rubric and Conclusion Slides

Here is the link to the Defend Your Position Paper Rubric.

Here is the link for the conclusion slides.

Honors:  In addition to looking at those two links above, remember to have a complete polished draft in class on Monday.  We will edit it one last time and then turn it in on Tuesday.  work on that nonfiction presentation too. Those presentations start on Tuesday.

Standard: Check out the Defend Your Position link above and then have a complete draft in class on Monday.  You will need to have it printed so either do it at home, come in to my class before school or during lunch.  Desktop computers will be turned off at 12:00.

Enjoy the weekend.

Leads and Connotation

Honors and Standard: We read and discussed your leads today and a large majority of you felt that one of your new leads was better than your original one.  That's great!  Rewriting works again!  Keep at it.

We raced through a discussion on connotation today (here's the link to the slides) with the goal of demonstrating that the words you choose to explain your position go a long way towards convincing people of your position.  Look through your papers and see where you might add some connotated words to strengthen your paper.

So tonight you should be

• setting up your sources
• doing any additional necessary research
• unpacking your evidence
• selecting and rewriting your lead
• reconsidering your word choice
• keep reworking your paper

Honors also enjoyed 30 minutes of nonfiction presentation time.  I see some creativity floating around but remember, in the end, the big ideas come from the discussion of APES and bias.  Don't be so focused on the creativity of the presentation that the information suffers. 

Good luck!

Inserting Quotes and Writing Leads

Hey everyone, here is a link to the slides we looked at today.

Honors: Glad to see so many of you pleased with the rewrites you did last night.  I saw a lot of people unpack the evidence and explain it well.  More evidence was added.  Better arguments were made. Clarifying discussion were had.  Great work.

After looking at last night's work we focused on ways to insert quotes more effectively. We stressed the importance of identifying sources so that the reader grasps their credibility and the value of offering information to angle the evidence for the readers when using a quote.  We discussed the use of brackets and ellipses and pointed out strong verbs to use when sharing evidence because we know that not all evidence is created equally.  

Finally, five or six ways to start papers were discussed which then became the focus of the homework tonight. Even if you already have an intro written, I want you to use two of the approaches we discussed in class and come up with new introductions for your paper.  We will examine those tomorrow.

I also promised a solid 30 minutes to work on your nonfiction group presentations tomorrow as well.

Standard: We again duplicated much of the work going on in the honors class today.  I'd like to see you come into class with two new, unique introductions for sharing and discussing.  Can't wait to see the results.

Argument Checklists and Unpacking the Evidence

Here is a link to the 8th grade argument checklist we discussed in class.  

Here is a link to the 8th and 9th grade argument checklist I mentioned in class.  

Honors: Always check those sources!  I shared yet another article about a supposedly reliable source (this time a faculty member from the University of Delaware) whose research and conclusions were being funded by a group with a clear stake in his results.  On the surface the information appears to be credible, but a little digging revealed a clear conflict of interest.  Careful!

We took a quick look at your drafts and then looked into unpacking/explaining your analysis of your evidence.  Too often people confuse evidence with analysis leaving the readers to draw their own conclusions from the information.  Don't be that writer.

Make it a point to fully unpack and explain the evidence that you include in your arguments.  Make your points clearly.  Remember numbers and statistics can be twisted to support anything. Unexplained information can be misinterpreted as well.  That's what we demonstrated through our reading and writing of the "Shoot-out" excerpts today.

Tonight I want you to select two body paragraphs form your argument paper and rewrite them by adding evidence and more insightful and detailed analysis.  Set the original and the new and improved paragraphs up next to each other for easy comparison.

Tomorrow we will spend a bit of time on intros and quote insertion.  This paper will be turned in on Monday.  We'll work a bit with our nonfiction presentations tomorrow as well.

Standard: We duplicated much of what the honors classes did today as we worked on taking our dog drafts to the next level.  Several of us had paragraphs of evidence with no analysis or paragraphs of analysis with no evidence.  Be sure that you are unpacking the evidence fully to make your arguments as strong as possible.

Like the honors classes I want you to work on adding evidence and analysis to your original body paragraphs tonight.  Challenge yourself to unpack the evidence fully. We'll see how well we did tomorrow.

Acuity Day

Honors:  Acuity day today.  Enough said.

You should have a complete draft in class tomorrow.  We'll take a peek at it and do some rewriting all in an effort to strengthen the writing.

We will also discuss the plans for the nonfiction presentations.  More on those to come.

Standard: Acuity today as well.  Still enough said.

You too should have a draft (dog draft) in class tomorrow.  In an attempt to strengthen your writing, we will take a closer look at the papers themselves and also dabble with some rewriting techniques.

Have those outlines completed too.  I looked at several today but I will examine even more of them tomorrow. A good outline can easily lead to an effective paper.  Hope you outlined well.

Coca-Cola: A Healthy Snack?

All Classes: After reading how devious Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kelloggs, Nestle and other companies can be, and seeing how easily the opinions of "credible sources" can be bought, I hope you remember to vet your sources carefully.  Just because a doctor says something, you shouldn't take it as fact.  Is he/she credible?  He or she might be getting paid to frame his or her opinion in a certain way.  Sure an 8 ounce bottle of Coca-Cola is healthier than a 12 ounce can of Coca-Cola, but it still isn't a healthy snack regardless what registered dietitians paid by Coca-Cola say.    

Acuity Monday.

Honors: Good final meetings today. Remember that your final response is due Monday.  Use the checklist.  Make sure you don't throw away points on silly errors.  It will be the final assessment of the third quarter.

After your meetings, I quickly discussed the upcoming group presentation over the nonfiction book. Here is a link to the instructions.  You'll be focusing on A.P.E.S. and bias.  Be sure everyone participates.  Be sure everyone has a clear job.

As you know, I will not be in class tomorrow.  After our discussion, I have decided you will have divided work time. The first half will be spent with your nonfiction work groups working on your presentation.  The second half will be spent working on your position papers.  Use time wisely. Make progress.  We will be making those presentations next week.  You should have drafts of the paper in class on Tuesday.

Standard: Very impressed with the way period four worked today.  Great progress was made on the outlines.  Many students also made significant headway on their drafts.

You will need a Dog Draft in class on Tuesday.  Be sure you have a complete effort.

I will not be in class tomorrow, but you will be working with argument and defending your positions. More tomorrow.

Topics, Research and Outlines! Oh My!

Honors:  Make sure your claim is your own!  Yes, you are defending a position that is similar to your peers; however, your claims should be distinctly individual.  They should capture your thoughts, focus and ideas not your group's thoughts, focus and ideas.

Today we dived into our drafting.  Some started with hooks and intros; others jumped into writing body paragraphs, realizing they could come back to the intro once they have a better sense of what they will be writing about.  Either way is fine.  You need to do what is best for you.

Tonight we will take a break from defending a position and instead focus on the nonfiction meetings.  Finish the book for tomorrow and then be sure to complete your task well.  Be awesome and awesome conversation is sure to follow.

Standard: Topics have been selected and writing groups have been formed.  No, you are not writing with your group members; you are just sharing topics.  These groups give you someone to bounce ideas off of when you start to struggle or are temporarily confused or just looking for a second opinion or someone to share an amazing bit of research with.

We began our outlines today in class.  You don't need to finish them for tomorrow, but by the end of class tomorrow, we have hopefully moved on to writing initial drafts of the paper.  More on that tomorrow.  Here's another link to the outline plan.  

See you then.

Outline Format

Click here for the outline format.

Choosing Those Defend My Position Topics

Honors: Let me start by reminding you that we will not be holding our nonfiction book meetings tomorrow.  I am moving them to either Wednesday or Thursday.  I'll confirm the date with you tomorrow.

Overall, the responses for the nonfiction writing #2 were quite good. A significant number of you did research outside your text to help you write the response.  An impressive effort.  Yet I couldn't help being disappointed.  I passed back those responses today and even though around 95% of you said you looked at the checklist before printing off your final paper, an astounding 67% of you had errors that could have been fixed if you had just looked at the checklist.  Attention to detail, young padawans.

You selected the positions you are going to defend today.  Then you started working on your plan of attack.  As a reminder, here is what you will need to have thought through and written down:

PLAN OF ATTACK
1) Claim-opinionated and original
2) Arguments
3) Evidence-valid and relevant
4) Any notes you've taken and annotated
5) Sources-identified and vetted
6) Counterclaim ideas
7) Ideas to counter the counterclaim

Come to class tomorrow with this plan all in order.

Standard: We are also working on defending our positions but we are slightly behind the other group. After reviewing a couple sample argumentative papers that had varying degrees of success, you were sent off to explore possible topic ideas.  You need to identify three topics from the link below,

Click here for the topics.

and write them down in either your writer's notebook or on a Google Document.  After each topic you should write a potential claim you will use to clarify your position.  after that, you should write a paragraph explaining your interest in the topic, why you chose it, potential arguments you might use and potential roadblocks and counterclaims.  Come to class tomorrow with this completed.

See you then.

Shortened Day-Quick Classes

Honors: Not much time for anything aside from our nonfiction group meetings.  Much better preparation on the jobs and some good discussions.  Be sure you prepare enough to generate 30 full minutes of conversation.  Couple groups did fall short today.

Be sure to have Response #2 in class tomorrow.  Use the checklist to make sure all the basic expectations are met.

Standard: You did nice work today analyzing Olivia's letter to Mayor Bloomberg.  Nice job identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the letter.   Remember, taking a position on an issue and defending it in a letter are what you will be doing.  We'll get more specific on topics in the coming days, but for now just be thinking about the important elements needed to argue effectively.  We'll keep working on them.

The Link to Possible Position Topics

Honors: We finished up our discussion on the amnesty article and saw both its strengths (introductory paragraph, topic sentences, conviction) and its weaknesses (too many rhetorical questions, no transitions, tying arguments back to topic sentences and the claim).

Your next task will be to select five potential topics for a position letter/speech.  You started that work today in class and will spend some more time tomorrow, narrowing down possibilities.  You should be exploring and writing to help you in your decision process.  Here's a link to the page of topics we looked at in class.  

For tomorrow you should have read your nonfiction book up to the page the group decided on.  Come to class tomorrow with your book, your discussion preparation work and your voice for discussion.

Standard: Now that we are finished with Warriors Don't Cry, we are moving forward.  I'll have those presentations you shared over the book and the film assessed by the end of the week.  In the meantime we will be delving into argument writing and what makes a successful argument.

We started the process today by looking at the article "Shoot-out".  You took sides, listened for and located evidence from the text, defended positions and wrote about your side of the issue.  That was a lot for one day but both classes handled it well.  We will continue tomorrow to be sure we have a clear understanding of how to defend a position well.

Possible Positions To Defend

Click here for a list of possibilities and some source material.

Response Expectations

Honors: It was a bit of an eyeopener this last weekend as I assessed your responses.  While several stood out as exemplary, the vast majority seemed to stumble on basic expectations.  Please use the following as a basic checklist of minimum requirements prior to submitting your next response or any paper for that matter.

1) Proper heading: name, date, period, type of paper
2) Title: stop asking if one is needed and just assume it is
3) Lead: keep it simple, quick and effective; hook that reader
4) Title and author: if you are writing about a book it would help to know what it is and who wrote it; in addition, be sure to punctuate it correctly
5) Claim: you need a claim; what's the purpose of the paper? in one sentence clearly spell it out
6) S.P.A.T.: state your argument; provide relevant, credible evidence; analyze the evidence; tie it back to your point/claim
7) Properly cite the quotes: if you have forgotten how to do it look on the OWL, but you should have this down by now
8) Analyze: don't confuse quotes/evidence for analysis
9) Conclusion: make it worthwhile; end with a bang not a whimper
10) Paragraphs: you are in 8th grade...in honors...use paragraphs...ALWAYS
11) No writing on final copies: it turns it into a rough draft; would you write on your resume?
12) Offer insight: go deeper into the analysis; boldly discuss what no man has discussed before!

Like putting a period at the end of a sentence, these things should be second nature by now.  You shouldn't even have to think about them; you should just do them.  Before handing in your next response, check it against this list.

Defending your position: letters, speeches and papers, coming soon to a classroom near you.  What do you feel passionate enough about to defend to the death? or at least in a paper?

Standard: I was impressed how you worked with your partners today to assess your peers work.  There might have been some generous grading going on, but I will weight your assessments against mine for a final grade.  I'll try to have them completed by the end of the week.

What are your thoughts on water guns?

   

The Latest Warriors Don't Cry/The Ernest Green Story Compare-Contrast Rubric

Click here for the latest rubric.

Some Chocolate Milk Debate Sources

1) An article about the pros and cons of banning chocolate milk

2) NPR interview discusses both sides

3) Dr. Rippe sharing quick tidbits on why not to ban chocolate milk

4) ABC News reports on both sides

5) A discussion on chocolate milk

6) Clip from Australian news discussing how Jamie Oliver has convinced LA schools to ban chocolate milk. Citizens in Australia are interviewed about their feelings. 

7) Ad by the National Dairy Council showing benefits of chocolate milk
     Two different ads are on the front board.

The First Nonfiction Group Meetings

Honors: Impressive first day of meetings.  Almost every student came to class having completed their task in a well developed fashion.  Conversations were mostly fluid and engaging, with many groups having to be cut off before they finished their discussions. Great problem to have.

You need to have your first typed double spaced response in class tomorrow.  If you need any help, be sure to checkout the guidelines in the shared Google Doc.

An abbreviated, and thus unsatisfactory, discussion on bias today.  We'll have a second, more in-depth/effective look at it tomorrow.

Standard: We also talked about bias a bit today and connected it to APES: author, purpose, evidence, source.  It will remain an important concept (along with APES) to consider as we go deeper into our nonfiction reading over the remainder of the school year.

The compare contrast The Ernest Green Story and Warriors Don't Cry Google presentations are coming along.  We will have time tomorrow to complete the production and perhaps you will even get your first glance at the competition.

Good luck...or work hard and make your own luck.
   

No More ISTEP...until April

Whew!  You survived!  Now you don't have to worry about ISTEP until the computer based multiple choice tests next month.  there were positive feelings about today's test circulating through the air.  we'll try and duplicate that in April.

Honors: Tomorrow is the first meeting day for the nonfiction groups.  You'll need to be sure to have prepared for the meeting by completing the assigned role, be it discussion director, literary luminary, travel tracer, etc.  You'll be having 30 minute minimum discussions tomorrow that should enhance your understanding of the text.  First responses will be due the following day.

Today we discussed chocolate milk and whether or not it should be banned from the lunchroom. Overall, the discussions were much improved from the Shoot-out ones.  More evidence was drawn specifically from the text to defend your positions.  I have some more sources on this topic I want you to examine and then we will need to discuss whether or not Christina Hoag, the writer of the piece, is biased.

Standard: You identified five strong similarities and five strong differences between The Ernest Green Story and Warriors Don't Cry.  Then you were given instructions on your next assessment: a presentation over the two mediums.  Here's a link to the instructions.  You should be working on the presentation tonight.  You'll also receive more class time tomorrow with the expected due date being Friday.  Here's your chance to shine!

 

ISTEP!

Whew!  We survived day one of ISTEP.  Great work.  We won't talk about the test here because that would be wrong but the sentiment seemed pretty positive.  Now keep that momentum going for one more day.  Tomorrow will most likely bring the longer essay.  Remember all those tips we discussed in class and believe in yourself.

Honors:  Super discussions over the "Shoot-out" article today.  While we missed some key argument points, the arguments we shared were usually well supported by the text.  Remember, at this point our goal is to defend our positions using the best arguments and evidence available.  Think through carefully and fully to be sure you aren't letting good ideas fall by the wayside.

Read those nonfiction books and be sure to prepare for Thursday's group meeting.

Tomorrow?  Chocolate milk anyone?

Standard: We wrapped up our The Ernest Green Story viewing and now have several pages of notes to draw from.  Our next step will be to judge and rate those notes as insightful arguments and make choices as to the ones you will be using in your paper.  We'll probably even flash draft tomorrow. See you then.

ISTEP Tomorrow!

Be sure you are resting tonight and eating well tomorrow morning.  We want you as sharp as possible for tomorrow's testing.  Remember all the tips we've gone over.  You can do well!  I have faith in you.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Honors:  We looked at an intriguing game called Shoot-out today and debated the worth of the game itself and violent role playing games as a whole.  Here's a link to the article.  Some people got caught up in their own views, but the trick today was to try and support the side you were assigned based solely on the information presented in the text I shared.  Evidence, evidence evidence!  You need to draw evidence from the text if you are going to be successful in convincing someone to come to your side of an argument.  More to come on different topics tomorrow.

Standard: We continued to gather information from The Ernest Green Story to compare and contrast with Warriors Don't Cry.  I know a lot of you have a nice pool of information to draw from.  We'll finish up tomorrow and then start writing the compare/contrast papers.