Week of 12/16-12/20
Monday:
In preparation for January's research paper unit, we are going to watch many short video clips dealing with technological advances. Check out the following two videos and note the pros and cons for Google Glass.Google Glass advert, The Fiction of the Science. Then, read the article Glassy Eyed and determine the author's stance on Google Glass.
We will discuss hooks today for our "Flowers for Algernon" persuasive essay Essay prompts. Hooks should grab your readers' attention and keep their eyes and focus on your writing. Take a gander at the following document for different types of exciting hook ideas: Creative hooks
Remember to avoid using pronouns (I, you, me, my your, we, our) in your essay. These are a distraction for your reader. There are some cases, however, where I is acceptable, such as in using a personal anecdote.
Now, I'm seeing a lot of questions being used as hooks. This is okay, but you must make sure the question is relevant and really connects with your topic. Does it boost the impact of your argument or does it come across as cliche or pointless? Challenge yourself to fix this!
Homework:
Your reading response letter for your dystopian novel is due on Thursday, 12/19. I've supplied you with the rubric, template, and questions, so I want to see some good work. We've had several weeks to work on this, so make sure you have a peer or family member read your work and sign off on your paper by this Wednesday. This will ensure that you've had a chance to seek feedback for your work before you turn it in. I'll be at lunch on Monday and Tuesday to help out with any specific questions you have about your letter.
Tuesday:
Today we will review the organization of our essay to make sure our writing makes sense. We will also go over the writing rubric and address any questions about expectations. Rubric
We will review the requirements for the thesis statement. Your thesis statement will simply state your opinion and give your two main reasons of focus for your paper. For example: Motivation is more important than intelligence because reason #1 and reason #2. We will use evidence from our lives, from the world, and from "Flowers for Algernon" to develop our argument. As we go on in the school year, we will develop more complex thesis statements.
We will also discuss transitional phrases for you to use between paragraphs and reasons: transitions. You must also work on coming up with a good topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph to inform the reader what the paragraph will be about.
Homework:
Work on reading response letter. Get a peer or family member to read it and give you feedback. They should initial the paper.
Wednesday:
First, I will check that you have had a peer or family member review your Reading Response Letter draft.
We have computers today and tomorrow, so we must maximize our time! We will have a brief mini-lesson on conclusions and clincher statements to leave our readers food for thought. Once you have completed your template, I will give you the go-ahead to start typing your essay either on a Word form or Google Doc.
Homework:
Complete final draft of Reading Response Letter. This is due at the beginning of class on Thursday!
Thursday:
Turn in Reading Response Letter. Work on typing your "Flowers for Algernon" persuasive essay. Our aim is to finish the essay by the end of class today.
Homework:
Put the finishing touches on your Flowers for Algernon Essay and print out a copy to turn in on Friday.
Friday:
By now you might be a wee bit tired of writing. We'll rejuvenate your desire to create by playing some fun MadLibs which will help us memorize those pesky parts of speech. Being able to easily identify and use different parts of speech will come in handy when we start diagramming sentences when you get back in 2014. Feel free to bring your independent reading book today as well!
Homework:
Look for an interesting book or magazine over the winter break. Then, READ IT AND ENJOY!
*Please remember to check your homes and lockers for any of my dystopian fiction books or class library books. It is important that these are returned to me.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Monday, 12/2
Classwork:
- Read for seven minutes.
- Discuss Reading Response Letter (in response to dystopian fiction) that is due on 12/19. Hand out rubrics.
- Review grades from Prepositional Phrase pre-assessment. Those who have mastered the skill (80%+ grade on pre-assessment) will continue reading Flowers for Algernon. Those who scored below 80 will take part in a brief, interactive Powerpoint review in order to answer the following questions: —What is a preposition? What is a prepositional phrase? How do I find the object of the preposition? Why are we doing this? We are reviewing preposition and prepositional phrases because the pre-assessment data shows that the majority of students are unable to define and identify prepositions. Prepositional phrases make our writing more sophisticated, so it is imperative to be able to use them properly.
- Continue reading Flowers for Algernon. Try to read through page 140, either individually or with a partner. On page 141, answer one Personal Response question, one Recall question, #9, and #1 in the Foreshadowing section. AIG: Replace any one of these with a five-sentence diary entry from the point-of-view of any character other than Charlie. In the voice of the character, describe your feelings and thoughts about Charlie's current situation.
Optional additional preposition practice:
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