Evernote

Some of you may find Evernote to be a useful program. I have used OneNote for several years now and Evernote is similar. However, Evernote is free and runs through a web browser, a desktop application, or a smartphone app and syncs to all locations. 

This could be a great tool for research papers and for taking notes in class. I highly recommend checking it out. If anyone is interested, I can show the class what it is and how I'm using it.

Also, as many(?) of you have twitter on your phones, I will try tweeting when a new blog post goes up so you're less likely to be caught off guard. Those tweets will show up on the blog to the right.

HSPE Humor

This is funny, and sad. Be glad you're not a sophomore...

First sally into the Morals of the Prince

Is it just me,or does he look
a bit like Sheldon? Bazinga!

Work on this tomorrow in class and have it finished for Monday.

First reading:

• Make annotations that help you understand the text. You may need to read the text more than once for this and stop to consider sentences that you don't initially understand.

Second reading:

• Make notes about his argument (2 types)
• How he develops his ideas (think analysis)
• What you think about those ideas (think argument)

PS If you were gone, here is the excerpt we're reading (chapters 15-18). Pick up a copy in class as the translation I have in the book is newer and a bit easier to understand.

Paper Reminders

Papers are due tonight by 11:59.

If you've had trouble with the MLA heading, it should look like this:

First and Last Name
Teacher name
Class title, period
8 February 2011

Title: Reading Between the Lines

Good luck and happy writing. I promised 3rd period we'd analyze commercials tomorrow and then we'll dive into Niccolo Machiavelli's The Morals of the Prince on Thursday after a quick reflection on complex texts.

What's this!? Extra Lab time!?

Whoo hooo!!!!

For those of you crying about writing your papers during the Super Bowl (Bryce) ;) or just wanting to polish your paper and get more peer review, this post is for you.

On Monday, 3rd period will be in the study hall lab and 5th period will be in the English/Social Studies lab. The paper will be due on Tuesday. The calendar reflects this new schedule.

Happy Groundhog Day!!!!!

Punxsutawney Phil

The Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Punxsutawney Phil, once again appeared at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob in the Pennsylvania Wilds to make his annual prediction.

Phil surveyed his surroundings and found no shadow, so an early spring it will be! You can watch it here.

Remember that your next grammar section is due February 18th and begins on p 252. You can that date and other important dates here.

Implications at work

Don't let this be the story of your essay!

Tonight for your homework, work on your papers!

Don't wait to get started. Take the trip through the text that we took today and start trying to form your thesis out of it. Outline, bubble graph, t-chart, mind map -- whatever -- just get going. Don't start writing on Thursday night or in the lab Friday; that's about peer review and getting help. Since neither I nor your classmates can steer parked cars, you need to have a draft of something to critique.

The turnaround on this paper is fairly quick. Don't dawdle.