Rough Draft Day

Remember to bring a copy of your rough draft tomorrow that people can write on.  Please double space it so they have room to write on it. 

We will be using the following revision guidelines as our primary guide with an emphasis on the higher order concerns.

If it makes you feel any better about working on this paper this week, I am also working on a paper (entry 4) for National Boards.  Trust me when I say that I would rather write yours. ;)

Lab Tomorrow

We are in the computer lab tomorrow.  Please bring your paper, either posted to your blog or on a USB drive so you can work on it.  Rough drafts are due on Thursday.

Period 2, please don’t forget to read The ABC’s of Home Schooling on page 50 of Everyday Use for Friday (half day, bay-bay!).

Fall Tutoring Schedule

Starting TODAY, the FHS open computer lab and tutoring services will be up and running.  The days and times are listed below but we will also be publishing a flyer that can hang in classrooms (mine is by the clock for you clock watchers).  In addition to an adult supervisor, the tutoring times will be staffed with students who are strong in the math and English areas.  Please use these programs to your advantage.

Monday – Open Lab

• Room 407 (Study Hall)


• 2:30-4:00

Tuesday – Tutoring

• Room 801 (Art room)


• 2:40-4:40

Wednesday – Tutoring and Open Lab

• Room 407 (Study Hall)


• 2:30-4:00

Thursday – Tutoring

• Room 801 (Art room)


• 2:40-4:40

Know Thyself (even more!)

As you begin thinking through your metacognition paper, gather some notes about how you think in various situations so that you will be able to work and ask good questions on Monday in the computer lab.

Also, remember that we are on week 3 of the vocabulary and week 2 of DGP.

Have a great weekend!

Know Thyself

Once again you need to determine where your timed write falls on the AP rubric (I couldn’t get the current one up this time).  Remember not to inflate your position on that rubric; be as honest as possible.

In addition to assigning your essay a number, write up an explanation like the ones from the question leader we read in class.  The basic pattern to those explanations are: what did the student (in this case you) do well (kind of summarize your argument and main points); where was the essay lacking; and finally what is the verdict.  Remember to be specific! Another way these are often written is as an evaluative walk through the essay, such as this example we discussed in class:

The opening two sentences of this essay, although attention-getting, have little to offer in terms of evaluating or advocating arguments about corporate sponsorship of schools. The second half of the opening paragraph asserts the student’s main claim: students should not be limited in their consumer choices. The following two paragraphs do the work of evaluation, weighing arguments for and against corporate involvement in schools, but the evaluation is fairly simplistic, particularly when considering the drawbacks of corporate sponsorships: the company’s products might be undesirable, and students who excel without corporate support are not given enough credit. The language problems, which are most conspicuous in paragraph 3, impede a reader’s understanding of the student’s intended meaning. Thin content development, failing to go beyond assertions without support, and pervasive language problems earned this essay a score of 3.

For those of you concerned with length, the example above is a good length.

Lastly, evaluate where you’re at in fulfilling the goal you created after the first one.

See you tomorrow!

NOTE: Ms Arndt said she collected your timed writes so we'll make this due Friday after I give them back tomorrow.

What is he thinking about?

Having read Thinking as a Hobby, consider the different ways that the statuettes are positioned.  Golding is pretty clear that their positioning indicates a philosophy of life held by he or the headmaster at various points in time.  Think about the elements symbolized by these three statuettes: the thinker, the leopard, and the Venus de Milo.  I know you can probably come up with other symbols for aspects of life; His choices help indicate his own philosophy.

Your task is to use Golding's symbols and up to one additional symbol of your choosing and come up with an arrangement that works with your philosophy of life.  Blog the results of your musings.  Make sure to explain their placement and what it all means.   There is no wrong answer -- there are thoughtful answers and answers that are dashed off without much thought.

As I will be gone tomorrow and you have no homework Tuesday night, this will be due Wednesday.  Read through the article again.  Feel free to mark it up.  Think about this a bit before you begin typing.

Arranging your writing

Read pages 13-25 and then do the assignment on page 26 of our textbook.  I would complete the reading tonight and then bring any questions that arise from the reading to class tomorrow so we can discuss them after the timed write.

The actual assignment then is due on Wednesday.  Please blog it.

Yes, we are doing an argument timed write tomorrow.  Please don't forget to get the  vocabulary for week 1--our test will be on Friday.

Time for a little essay introspection...

Your task this weekend is to determine where your first timed write falls on the AP rubric.  It is important that you not inflate your position on that rubric; be as honest as possible.  If you know where you are now, you can more easily figure out what you need to do in order to get where you want to be by the time it counts.

In addition to assigning your essay a number, write up an explanation like the ones from the question leader we read in class.  The basic pattern to those explanations are: what did the student (in this case you) do well (kind of summarize your argument and main points); where was the essay lacking; and finally what is the verdict.  Another way these are often written is as an evaluative walk through the essay, such as this example we discussed in class:

The opening two sentences of this essay, although attention-getting, have little to offer in terms of evaluating or advocating arguments about corporate sponsorship of schools. The second half of the opening paragraph asserts the student’s main claim: students should not be limited in their consumer choices. The following two paragraphs do the work of evaluation, weighing arguments for and against corporate involvement in schools, but the evaluation is fairly simplistic, particularly when considering the drawbacks of corporate sponsorships: the company’s products might be undesirable, and students who excel without corporate support are not given enough credit. The language problems, which are most conspicuous in paragraph 3, impede a reader’s understanding of the student’s intended meaning. Thin content development, failing to go beyond assertions without support, and pervasive language problems earned this essay a score of 3.

For those of you concerned with length, the example above is a good length.

Have a good weekend!

PS If you have LOST YOUR BOOK and it is the one with the blue/black stain along the bottom cover (Bunker left it in his backpack in the back of his truck in the rain once), then I have it in my room.

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Politcal Cartoons

Ah, there's nothing like meetings all day (or rather one meeting that lasts all day).  Though we got good, important work done and I'm glad we did it, trust me when I say I would have rather been with you!

Tomorrow we'll pull up your blogs in class and take a look at your political cartoons (the sub did tell you to do the assignment on page 13, right?  If not, do the assignment on page 13!).  You will have the chance to walk us through your cartoon and we'll discuss what we see. 

I hope things went well today and that the timed write helped you tap into your dormant writing skills, or at least helped get the lead out.  We may debrief them a wee bit tomorrow, but don't worry as we will spend all of Friday going over them. 

See you tomorrow!

Einstein

Second period, remember to post your responses to the Einstein letter on page 9-10 in Language of Composition.  You will get credit for this blog.

First period, be happy we finished in class.  :)

We will take our first timed write tomorrow.  Remember that it is not graded, but will be used as a diagnostic of your writing at this time.   Bring your books to class as you will need them after the timed write is finished.

Let me know how things go with the sub.  I've never had this one before and I'm always looking for good ones.

Intro to Rhetoric

This weekend, read up to page 9 in Language of Composition.  Don't do the Einstein assignment that starts on p. 9 as we'll work on that in class after we've discussed the reading.

Also, 2nd period remind me that we need to finish our qualification of 2009 question 3 (the Horace assertion).

Have a great weekend!!!

Horace Prompt

Don't forget to finish your prompt for the Horace quotation we looked at in class today.

See you tomorrow.  Bring your books.

Also remember that the SUMMER ASSIGNMENT IS DUE TOMORROW (9/4)

We Be Bloggin'!

Welcome to the blog!

It’s time to set up yours.  Intructions are here.  Make sure you follow ALL of the directions.  If you have trouble, let me know.

You will use your blog to submit some of your homework.  You’ll get a fair amount of your homework from my blog.  The blog can be very useful if you take a little time to learn how to use it. 

Some tips regarding the blog:

Pay Attention

Read each noodleblog post in its entirety.  I will do my best to give you clear instructions.  Do your part by reading them.

Hit Publish

When you publish your posts, hitting “save” only saves them.  You must hit Publish for your post to make it on your blog in such a way that others can read it (or give you credit for it).

Learn how to use the site

Visit http://edublogs.org/support and at least watch the video entitled “an introduction to using edublogs”.

Make Sure You’re Up To Date

Go back and make sure you’ve done all the assignments and all the parts of the assignments on this blog.

In the future, check this blog every day for announcements and assignments.  You are responsible for doing the work posted here.

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