Autumn of the Multitaskers

Make sure to look at the previous two blog posts as well.

Take another look at (and finish) the multitasking article and identify the overall claim/assertion (the glossary of The Language of Composition has a good definition if you need one). Then, identify the claim/assertion in each section of the article (handily, sections are indicated by a drop cap). Blog your results for Monday.

By the way, here's a good NPR story on this subject. You can read it or listen to it here. Aside from looking at assertions, this topic goes well with our metacognition papers as we continue to learn how to use our brains most effectively.

Side note: Here is a really graphic blog on texting while driving that I found while looking for a picture of someone running off a road in Wyoming. ONLY for those with strong stomachs. It is the result of an accident. Seriously only for those with strong stomachs. If you have a hard time getting horrible images out of your mind, DO NOT LOOK!

Oh, and I thought all of these cartoons were funny and I couldn't decide which one to use.

 

We will be in the Library Lab to get started on our papers on Monday. Career Cruising will be Tuesday and Wednesday in the Library Lab. It looks like we might live there some next week.

Thinking about how you think

Start thinking about the process you use in your thinking this weekend. I'll give you an assignment sheet tomorrow, but here it is for you impatient types. The text of the assignment sheet is also included below. :)

Metacognition Paper

Using the Golding essay Thinking as a Hobby as a starting point, write an essay examining your own thinking at the current time. Unlike Golding, do not seek to trace your thinking over time, but deeply examine the state of your thinking now. Analyze how you deal with pressure, stress, difficult intellectual problems, writing, etc. in order to get at how you think. You do not need to use Golding’s classifications, though you may if you find them helpful.

Word Limit: 900 words +/- 10%

Due: October 7, 2013

Before you begin to write, consider the following:

• Your rhetorical situation: Speaker, Subject, Audience relationships; context; and purpose 
• A proposed overall arrangement (of course you can use multiple arrangements if needed) 

Points: 40

Grading will focus holistically on the following elements:

• Depth of analysis 
• Organization 
• Sentence structure 
• Diction/Voice 
• Conventions

The General AP Rubric provides more detailed information.

ever procrastinate?

This is the most interesting thing I've ever read about procrastination. I am most definitely an incubator, and I've worked hard to increase the time I start before something is due. Anyway, you might find this interesting. And it might help some of you with your Metacognition papers (more on those later).

What was he thinking?

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 first explain what the second two arrangements mean (the one he created during the dance and the one that closes the piece). Then, considering Golding's symbols, propose one additional symbol 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.

This is due Thursday.  Read through the article again.  Feel free to mark it up.  Think about this a bit before you begin typing.

Toxophilus Unleashed!

Read pages 38-48 in the TLC book (or rather review them since we went over them in class) and apply one of the techniques enumerated therein to the Toxophilus excerpt from this book written by Roger Ascham in 1545 and dedicated to King Henry VIII (the assignment is on page 48).

I've linked the Toxophilus excerpt in a Google Docs version so you can copy the text into your Google Docs or Word if you wish. Using tables, you can do the dialectical journal or graphic organizer on Google Docs and you can annotate using comments. You may wish to bring something in done by hand, though. Not sure if you can circle and draw arrows in the way you may wish to in a Google Doc. I do encourage you to try your hand at the dialectical journal or the graphic organizer.

Since a number of people will wish to turn this in as a physical document, please print out your electronic efforts if that's the direction you take so that I receive all of the assignments in the same medium. Thank you!

Enjoy your trip back into the scientific observations and practical concerns of the mid-Sixteenth Century England!

Due Monday 9/23 in class.

Remember we have a vocabulary test tomorrow!

Arrangement

Not this kind of arrangement... :)

This weekend, read pages 13-26(top). Pay attention to the classical model; it's also on the green poster in the classroom, but the book has an annotated example. This is a more useful alternative to the 5-paragraph essay as you seek to become more sophisticated writers. Additionally, this section walks through different patterns of development. The assignment at the end is practice recognizing those patterns in a piece we've already read earlier in the chapter. Please blog your responses to that assignment on page 26.

Rhetorical Einstein

Everybody likes riding bikes!

In the Language of Composition book (the  TLC book), read pages 1-10 and do the assignment on page 9-10 (I know we read the part about Lou Gehrig, but read the part after as there is a bit about assertions I forgot to talk about in 1st period). 

You should do this assignment on the blog. That means you create a new post titled with the assignment title and with your response in the blog body. If you have given me your blog address, I will get your assignment. If you haven't, I won't. Remember to hit "Publish" or it won't get to me.

Remember there is a vocabulary test tomorrow. See the Quizlet post below for studying resources.

Also, if you haven't sent me your blog address yet, see the Setting Up Your Blog, Part II post below.

Quizlet and Vocab

If you're looking for ways to study the vocabulary words for the quiz Friday, go to Quizlet.com and create an account (or log in if you have one), then type "mrgiddings" into the search box. From there, you can join my class, or just access the lists in that class. This week's list is up.

Setting up your blog, Part II

I still don't have addresses for all your blogs. If you haven't sent me your address, please do so. Here are some instructions if you've had difficulty. If you've already logged into your Fife Google Apps account, ignore the password section at the beginning.

1. Go to: http://mail.fifeschools.com
2. login using your school username and "password" as your password
3. Go through the rigamarole to change it if you never set it up last year. If you are completely new to the school, you may not have a login yet if you didn't turn in an AUP form when you registered.
4. Check out your new email account. If you go into settings, you can change the theme, and labs allows you to customize your tools quite a bit. That's your school email account. Yea!

Now go to More then Blogger

1. login using your FULL fifeschools email address if not already logged in
2. create a blog (you'll need your cell phone, or one of someone next to you)
3. email the link to your blog to agiddings@fifeschools.com .
4. play with it and learn how to use it. Make it pretty if you want to. :)

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

Poke around and see what there is to see. Play with it a bit.

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.

Reminder

Remember we have the rhetorical vocab test tomorrow. For the class that asked about format (3rd period if I remember correctly), I pulled it up and it is matching, but it's matching in the sense that you have a word bank and you match the words to a blank in a sentence. So it's essentially fill in the blank, but you have a word bank. Capisce? 

Set up your blog!

This year, you will turn in your daily type home work assignments on your blog and your larger process papers on Google Docs. In order to get going, you need to set up a blog. We will set these up in class on Wednesday. If you are technically adept or adventurous and like being a tad ahead of the curve, you can try and set your blog up early.

To do so, log into your Fife Schools account and from the top bar, choose More and then Blogger. Follow the prompts to set up your blog from there. It can be called whatever you want and you can play with the design to your heart's content, but remember that this is a school class blog you will use for AP English Lang this year and AP English Lit next year (maybe -- he might not use them). 

Setting your blog up early is not required. We will take time as a class to do this. Please do take some time to familiarize yourself with my blog. It has a lot of resources available for you in the links on the left and in Class Documents.

Also, please do not be alarmed or feel disoriented if my blog design changes. That will happen every so often.