Enriched 05-10-2013

I'M BACK.....!

Okay maybe not completely, but it was requested by Alexis Marks that I put today's sample paragraph on the blog so here it is below.  Remember this is just an example.  The length, number of sources, number of citations, organization are all just examples of what you might want to try yourself.  There are plenty of ways to successfully write this paper.  Below is just one example.  If you have questions this weekend on your paper, just email me, and I will try to respond to you as quickly as possible.  You should have a complete rough draft typed and in class Monday.  If you put a lot of thought and effort into it this weekend, then you'll have less to worry about Monday and Tuesday night. 

Final copy Wednesday.

Then it's on to the presentation!  More on that later.

There are several reasons not to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR);

however, one of the most convincing arguments details how the drilling would destroy this “national
treasure” (Defenders of Wildlife). People have been known to travel hundreds if not thousands of
miles to enjoy the wonders that nature holds, and the area where the drilling is to take place definitely
holds that allure. It has been called “one of the last pristine wilderness areas on earth” (Hurd). The
natural landscape is home to “beautiful majestic mountains” (Hurd) as well as being “one of the largest sanctuaries for Arctic animals” (Why Trash an American Treasure?) including polar bears, Arctic wolves, and caribou (Why Trash...). If the drilling were allowed, there would be “major effects” (Potential Impacts of Proposed Oil Drilling) on the caribou and muskoxen habitats which would include “widespread, long-term change in habitat availibility and quality” (Potential Impacts...). In addition, the connection between drilling for oil and global warming has long been established (Should We Drill in ANWR?) and “countless research studies show that global warming adversely affects ANWR” (Should We Drill in ANWR?). Finally, the threat of oil spills and the damages they bring have been documented often. Each year “an average of 450 oil and other toxic spills occur” throughout Alaska's other oil drilling sites (Should We...). The damage one spill would cause could be catastophic.  These ideas all make for one strong argument supporting my initial claim. The articles effectively argue that drilling in ANWR to access the oil buried deep below the frozen tundra is akin to flooding a beautiful, old house to drown a pesky mouse: the framework is still there but the damage has been done. The articles drive home the point that this country was founded as a wild frontier, and we still celebrate our “purple mountains magesty” and “beautiful...spacious skies” every time we sing “America, the Beautiful”. Maintaining the unblemished beauty of the refuge would be “the greatest living reminder that conserving nature in its wild state is a core American value” (Why Trash...). As a lover of the outdoors, it will be a point that will weigh heavily as I shape my final position.

Destroying that beauty for oil becomes even more damning when the potential gains—or lack

there of—are revealed.

Standard 04-15-2013

An interesting development took place in class today.  While you had little trouble identifying the short story examples Chimamanda Adichie shared in her speech "The Dangers of a Single Story", you had much greater difficulty identifying the reasons she gives for why a single story is dangerous.  That's an important step and one that we will be taking a closer look at tomorrow.  Be sure to have your transcript of the speech handy.  We also want to spend a bit of time discussing the structure of the speech and the comparison of the video and the transcript.  Which do you think does a better job of conveying her message.  WHY?

Tough time with colons and semi-colons last Friday.  You seem to have done much better today.  We'll do some more with the material before re-testing you over it.

See you tomorrow.

Enriched 04-15-2013

We didn't get anywhere near as far as I had hoped we would today.  Because of that, we will continue our conversation tomorrow on the reasons Chimamanda Adichie offered for the danger of a single story.  We need to discuss her structure and the comparison of the video and the transcript as well.

Tonight I asked you to do a little bit of digging.  Look up Brad Paisley and/or L.L. Cool J. and their controversial song "Accidental Racist".  I want you to find an article on the topic, and print it off, and bring it in to class tomorrow.  If you would rather identify a URL and bring that in instead, that will also be fine.  We'll be writing on them soon, so, no, you don't need to do anything else with it tonight.

See you tomorrow.

Enriched and Standard 04-14-2013

We watched a great TED talk Friday by Chimamanda Adichie about the danger of a single story.  Here is a link to the video in case you were absent or in case you want to watch it again.  You were given the transcript of the speech and asked to read it for three things this weekend.

First you need to use one color of a highlighter to identify the copious examples she gives on the times people relied on a single story and drew erroneous conclusions.

Second you need to use a different color of highlighter to identify the reasons Adichie gives for a single story being so dangerous.  Again, there are several reasons offered.  Look throughout the piece.

Finally we will also be comparing the presentation of the information.  We saw it in video form and you read it off the transcript.  In what ways is the video a better platform for this presentation?  In what ways is reading the transcript a more successful platform?  Look for the strengths and the weaknesses of each.  We'll be discussing this as well Monday.  

Enriched students: Don't forget to have your pictures and PHOTO STORIES typed and in class on Monday.  We all had a reprieve last Friday.  Let's take advantage of that and turn in some awesome material.

Who out there is a Brad Paisley fan?

See you tomorrow.

Enriched 4-11-2013

Here are the  instructions for the picture writing you began in class today.

Time to write.

Informal paper but one that will be collected and assessed.

Using your pictures as your primary source material, you will be writing a few paragraphs that discuss how your photos demonstrate the danger of a single story.

Write a brief introduction that introduces the topic and hints at the story your pictures tell.

In the next paragraph discuss both photos/both “sides” of the story.

Conclude by sharing the importance of looking at both sides of YOUR story.

Standard 03-26-2013

Do you know your idioms?

Did you learn some new idioms today?

Greyson Papp and several others kept thinking of new ones throughout the class.

Next time I ask for an example, I won't have to hear about it raining cats and dogs because you'll have so many more at your fingertips.  Maybe you'll use...

cool as a cucumber

the bees knees

horsing around

cheesed off

a dime a dozen

a chip on your shoulder

under the weather

water under the bridge

There are a thousand of them!

We had some fun with the quiz, the matching game, and the idiom stories.  I have one more thing we'll try tomorrow.  You'll need a fresh, original one (one not discussed in class already).  We'll be idiom experts by spring break.

Battle of the Book is tomorrow.  Have you read the book? Do you have a team? Will you be participating?  Kenneth Oppel is in Mishawaka at this moment! He'll be at the school tomorrow.  He might even be asking questions during the battle.  Hope you are there.

See you tomorrow.

Enriched 03-26-2013

Quick, what are the Big Four questions you should be thinking about when reading non-fiction?

If you said...

What is the author's credibility?
What is the author's purpose? (Is the author biased?)
What are the arguments?
Is the information credible? (How is it supported?)

...then you are on your way to being an astute, informed reader of nonfiction.

Now do you have to ask these questions every time you sit down to read a piece of nonfiction?  No, but  depending on what you plan on doing with that information, those questions should always be floating around in the back of your mind.

If you are reading something so that you can better defend a position, or be more aware of the opposition's arguments, or just to formulate an opinion, then you need to be asking these questions.

You and a few classmates are currently breaking down an article on whether or not we should raise the minimum wage.  You are also writing an assessment on the strengths of the article.   While you all seem to have done a thorough job of analyzing the authors' credentials, and you easily picked up on the bias they brought to the article, the assessments of the arguments have not been that insightful.  How many arguments did they offer?  How many of the opposition's points did they break down?  What evidence did they offer to support any of these positions?  If you want to learn, you have to dig deep.

We'll pick up the discussion tomorrow, look at another article on the same topic (perhaps the other side?), and I see a debate in our near future.

Battle of the Book tomorrow!  I know over half of my period one class is participating.  I hope you have a team.  Be sure to do some last minute cramming.  Kenneth Oppel is in town as I write this.  He'll be with us tomorrow.  He might even ask some questions during the battle.

See you tomorrow.

Standard 03-24-2013

After a pretty smooth presentation schedule, we had a rash of absences Friday.  What happened?  It set us back a bit, so we will finish our presentations tomorrow--two per class.  Considering all the extra time these four presentations have had, they should be pretty incredible.  I can't wait.

We'll also take one of our final looks at Chopin's "The Story of an Hour".  Do you understand the importance of the final line?  It is of ultimate importance.  If you get that on your own, you have advanced to a higher level of comprehension and analysis.  Speaking of analysis, we'll do a little more with Chopin's piece once we look at that final line.

Have you read This Dark Endeavor yet?  If so, get a team together for the Battle of the Book.  It takes place Wednesday.  The author himself will be there and possibly asking questions for the contest.  We have a host of fun activities planned for the week aside from the Battle of the Book.  Even if you don't participate in the BOTB, you'll still manage to have some fun, especially if you have read the book.  

You might want to check out some other books by Kenneth Oppel.  One of my favorites is Airborn.  Here's a link to some of his others.  Some cool stuff.  

Have a great day.  Read a little Oppel.  See you tomorrow.

Enriched 03-24-2013

The classic debates are finished, and the performance tasks have been assessed.  Participation scores will be added tomorrow, and the third quarter grades will be submitted by the end of the day.  At that point, the third quarter will be over, and we will jump into the final nine weeks of your eighth grade career.

We'll do it with a heavy reliance on nonfiction, as you have heard me say many times.  Tomorrow, after a little Tool Time, we will look at your four questions.  What do you think you should be thinking about as you read nonfiction articles and books?  That will tell me a lot about how prepared you are for the coming unit.

I also have an article you'll be closely reading (yes, it's nonfiction).  Have those highlighters ready!

Have you read This Dark Endeavor yet?  If so, get a team together for the Battle of the Book.  It takes place Wednesday.  The author himself will be there and possibly asking questions for the contest.  We have a host of fun activities planned for the week aside from the Battle of the Book.  Even if you don't participate in the BOTB, you'll still manage to have some fun, especially if you have read the book.

You might want to check out some other books by Kenneth Oppel.  One of my favorites is Airborn.  Here's a link to some of his others.  Some cool stuff.

Have a great day.  Read a little Oppel.  See you tomorrow.

Standard 03-21-2013

One more day of presentations tomorrow.  Period three was treated to the best presentation yet by Jordan Vargo and Sam Nicholas.  So smooth.  So well practiced.  So informative.  So easy to watch and listen to and learn from.  Period three, you can learn from them.  Period four, it's time to pick up the slack.  Six of the seven pairs of presenters from period three showed up in my room today to practice and perfect their presentations.  One of the seven from period four did the same.  Should any of us be surprised that period three is performing better than period four?

We broke down our comprehension of "The Story of an Hour" in class yesterday and today, and we plan on finishing that tomorrow.  Then we'll move on to a little deeper analysis.  We'll discuss why Chopin set the story up the way she did.  It'll be our final dabble with fiction for a while.

The nonfiction quarter will start next week.  We'll be reading a lot of articles and longer nonfiction pieces.  Be ready to analyze!

End of the third quarter was today.  Grades are due Monday.  Do yourself a favor and check your grades on HAC to be sure you have turned everything in.

See you tomorrow.