DUE Monday 1/29 Chapter 4 of Debunking ..

1. Team leader, help your team determine what section from chapter 4 each individual is going to read and share out with the class on Monday.

• The handout is located next to the box of files on the table.

2. Read your selection and take notes like we have been doing. If you have a question ask a classmate or look at another one of my blog entries for the Debunking ... assignments.

3. To get homework credit you have to do at least one section. Use TEAMWORK. Make sure that all the sections are covered.

DUE Monday 1/29 Fahrenheit 451 pp. 126-137

Read pp. 126-137

Find a line from the story or a paragraph that you like and explain why you like it.

OR

Explain what you find interesting or exciting in this part of the book.

Class Agenda for Friday 1/25

Sorry everyone, I took a day off to try and rest and get over this cold I've been trying to fight off for a week. You will be doing lots of boat work today, but here is what you need to do for Humanities.

As of 7:09 pm on Thurday very few students have told me which of their blog entries they want me to comment on. See my blog entries starting "Period ... " and make sure you do this ASAP if you have not done so already.

Period One, the new seating arrangement is for you to sit with your debate teams. The tables close to my desk are for the pro team and the ones by the partition are for the con team.

1. Debrief the Debunking Assignment that was due today. Get in your debate team groups and share each others notes.

2. Be sure to take the next chapter of Debunking, Chapter 4. It can be found next to the boxes where your files are kept. You have a homework assignment on it, see seperate blog entry.

3. Determine your leaders, liasons, and groups, and who will actually be speaking during the debate. If several people want to be leader take a secret vote. Remember that leaders and liasons are also in groups. If you have a speaking role for this debate, such as giving a constructive speech or being a cross-examiner, you cannot have a public role in a debate in the future. Is this the most important debate for you? If you forget what you are supposed to do in your group look at the handouts we went over yesterday, especially the one about groups.

4. Blog. See seperate blog entries for Fahrenheit, and Debunking.

5. On your own initiative you can start researching the debate topic in greater detail. Wikipedia is a good start (search for 9/11 conspiracy theories) and will point you to other sources. There is no "due" assignment on this.

6. I have not forgotten about descripitive writing, but we are taking a break from it for now because of the other work that has to get done.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and I hope that when I see you on Monday I will be completly over this cold. I will use the opportunity to comment on your blogs!

Mr. J

DUE Friday 1/26 Debunking Assignment

DUE Friday 1/26: Debunking 9/11 Myths Chapter Three (The Pentagon)

Don't forget to write down the title of the section you are reading and the page number. This time the reading groups are large and the writing is short. It is okay if people read and take notes on the same thing as long as all sections of the chapter are read. When you debrief with your reading group be sure to add their information to your notes.

1. Read the sections determined in your reading groups.

2. Take notes on your section or sections using the following format:

A. Claim: Short summary in one or two sentences

B. Fact: Short summary in one or two sentences

C. Analysis: What do you think about the fact or the claim ( you choose)? Is it convincing? Why or why not?

3. Be prepared to share your notes with the members of the reading group and to take notes on what your own.

Update

For a thread related to key concepts in political philosophy check out the comments on Thursday's 1/25 Fahrenheit thread. Thanks to J.V., Matt, Justin, and Bianca for contributing so far. Would anyone like to keep the thread alive with questions or comments? What are some other examples of the tyranny of the majority from history or contemporary society? Why is the term relevant to Fahrenheit? If someone wants to write about the last question and post it on the menioned thread (not here) I'lll accpet it as credit for another Fahrenheit 451 assignment.

Mr. J

PERIOD 4 DUE Friday MORNING 1/26

Send a comment to this post and do the following.


IT IS DUE FRIDAY MORNING, if you are late you will lose what should be easy points. That means you should do this at home on Thursday night.

1. Find a blog post that you would like me to comment on. It can be any post, the topic does not matter. I said before that it should be your “personal best,” but it can be anything that you want a comment on. Maybe it is something that you are very proud of and want to show off, maybe it is something that you had a hard time with and want some suggestions. It is up to you.

2. Send a comment to this post. The comment should:

A. Have your name

B. Have the title and date of your blog entry

C. Write one sentence telling me why you decided on this one. Are you proud of it? Do you want some suggestions?

D. It needs to have a URL link directly to the entry, not your home page

3. You will not get any points if you leave out any of these steps.

Mr. J

PERIOD 1 DUE Friday MORNING 1/26 ….

This is due Friday morning. DO NOT TURN IT IN LATE - THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE AFTERNOON WHO LIKE TO WORK DURING LUNCH. Do this Thursday during the day or at home. If this is turned in late you will lose what should be easy points.

Send a comment to this post and do the following.

1. Find a blog post that you would like me to read. It can be any post, the topic does not matter. I said before that it should be your “personal best” but it can be anything that you want me to look at and comment on. Maybe it is something that you are very proud of and want to show off, maybe it is something that you had a hard time with and want some suggestions. It is up to you.

2. Send a comment to this post. The comment should:

A. Have your name

B. Have the title and date of your blog entry

C. Write one sentence telling me why you decided on this one. Are you proud of it? Do you want some suggestions?

D. It needs to have a URL link directly to the entry, not your home page

3. You will not get any points if you leave out any of these steps.

Mr. J

DUE FRIDAY, 1/26 Fahrenheit 451 pp. 110-125

DUE FRIDAY, 1/26 Fahrenheit 451 pp. 110-125

1. Summarize what happens in one or two sentences.

AND

2. On your blog, copy down one sentence from this reading selection that strikes you as particularly descriptive. Which of the 5 senses does it appeal to? What verbs, adjectives, or figurative language are used and why are they effective in describing a certain action, person, or thing?

DUE THUR 1/25 Debunking 9/11 Myths Chapter Two

DUE THUR 1/25: Debunking 9/11 Myths Chapter Two

1. Read the sections determined in your reading groups.

2. Take notes on your section or sections using the following format:

A. Claim: Short summary in one or two sentences

B. Fact: Short summary in one or two sentences

C. Analysis: What do you think about the fact or the claim ( you choose)? Is it convincing? Why or why not?

3. Be prepared to share your notes with the members of the reading group and to take notes on what your own.

DUE THURSDAY 1/25 Fahrenheit 451pp. 91 - 110

Read Fahrenheit 451 pp. 91-110

Everyone needs to:

Give a very short (1-3 sentence) summary of the two main scenes in this section. The first scence was at home in the living room and the second scene was in the fire house with Beatty.

AND

Analyze the use of language in the reading by analzying figurative language or descriptive verbs and adjectives.

If you chose figurative language, do the following:

1) What are your favorite metaphors or other examples of figurative language in this section?
Quote the passage and explain why you think the choice of words was particulary effective. Also, what images does the figurative language invoke? What physical senses? Is the figurative word or words appropriate to the thing being compared? Why or why not?

If you choose verbs and adjectives, do the following:

1) Find a sentence or two that has strong adjectives and/or verbs. Quote the book and explain why these are strong descriptive words and why they are effective. How do they appeal to the senses? What mental images do they invoke?

It's not required, but if you have a question about what's going on, ask it on your blog!

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY:

1) On p. 108 Bradbury uses the term "tyranny of the majority" (bottom of first paragraph). Who can explain the term and tell us where it comes from?

DUE WED 1/24 Debunking Assignment

Read the section from Debunking 9/11 Myths that you were assigned in class.

On a seperate sheet of paper:

1. Summrize the "Claim" section in one or two sentences

2. Summarize the "Facts" section in one or two sentences

3. Analysis: Write a short paragraph analzying the "facts" section. Was it convincing? Why or why not?

DUE WED 1/24 Descriptive Paragraph

DUE WED. 1/24 Descriptive Paragraph

This is classwork, but I will accept it on Wed. 1/24.

Write a descriptive paragraph about something you like or look forward to. Remember to try and create a mood by:

1. Appealing to the 5 senses

2. Using strong verbs

3. Using strong adjectives

4. Using figurative language

• Metaphors
• Similies
• Personification

If you are having a hard time with adjectives, don't forget the handout I gave you.

DUE Wednesday 1/24 Fahrenheit 481 pp. 81-91

Read pp. 81-91

Do the following three things --- this has one more step than last time.

1. Write a question. What are you confused about?

AND

2. Visit the blogs of a few of your classmates and check out his/her F. 451 posts. Find someone who you have not commented on before and answer his/her question. If you can’t find one that you can answer, comment on their blog entry for the book. Of course, I encourage you to answer/comment on as many blogs as possible, but the minimum is one.

AND

3. Answer one of the following questions:

A. According to Faber, “three things are missing” from the popular media (like the “parlor games) of his society. Write what they are and explain what he means.

B. Faber jokingly proposes a plan of action and then starts to discuss it seriously with Montag. What is the plan of action? More importantly, why does he say it won’t work? Analyze his answer. Why won't it work?

Google Reader Problems

It is important for your blog to appear on Google reader. That is the only way of being able to quickly view your classmates’ blogs and comment on them. It is also the ONLY way you are going to get credit for your journal (i.e. blog) assignments. Go the google reader and if you notice that your blog is not their ( http://www.google.com/reader/view/ ) or that the link is not working, you need to resend me your blog url. Send it by commenting on this thread.

It is important that you do NOT change your url once you send me the link. If you do, the link on Google reader will not work.

Mr. J

DUE Tuesday 1/23 - Fahrenheit 451 pp. 71-80

Read Fahrenheit 451 pp. 71-80

1. Write a question about the reading. What are you confused about? If you don't get an answer on your blog, be sure to raise the question in class. Even if you do get an answer, and you think it's a good question with a good answer, bring it up in discussion.

2. Answer at least one of the following questions:

A. What does Montag mean when he says that books "point, one way or another, to Clarisse?"

B. How will books get us out of "the cave?" What is the cave and how will books get us out of it?

C. What is the signfificance of the story about the sieve and the sand? There is a reference to it shortly after the story is told. Why? What's going on here.

If you don't know what a sieve is you can look it up. Anyone care to do that and post the definition?

This is not an assignment, but I thought I would share my favorite quote from this section, and one of my favorite quotes of the book. It's on p. 73, "We've started and won two atomic wars since 1990! Is it because we're having so much fun at home we've forgotton the world?" Feel free to share your favorite quotes here or on your blogs.

Mr. J

A NOTE ON GRADES - Your "personal best"

I will grade the blogs in a way similiar to what I did for journals.

Each post will be worth 3 points, unless specified otherwise. Every week or two I will add up the total possible points, check your posts, and verify they are complete and on-time.

I will read all of the posts, but I will not be able to comment on all of them. I will periodically comment on random student blogs AND ...

I will periodically ask you to indicate one of your blog entries that you are particulary proud of and would like me comment on and grade for more points. I will call this your "personal best" blog entry and it will be worth 6 points instead of three. This way, everyone will get comments from me, and can show off their best work.


Of course, if you have a question posted on your blog feel free to send me an email or a blog comment to check it out.

Mr. J

P.S. I will give class Lotto tickets to whoever can solve Austin's puzzle. It can be found on my blog, in the comments section of my descriptive essay.

Due Tuesday 1/23/06 -- Commenting Assignment

Descriptive paragraphs were do today and I would like you to take some time to read and comment on your classmates' work.

Visit the blogs of at least 4 classmates and look over their paragraphs.
Choose at least one to comment on and do the following:

1) Write about your general impressions. What kind of mood is conveyed? Did you like the piece? Why?

2) Choose one sentences that have strong adjectives and verbs. Analyze why those words are strong and convey the mood set by the author. If you think the words could be stronger, give suggestions.

3) Give examples of figurative language and why you think it is effective or not. If figurative language is not used give some suggestions

4) Give any other suggestions or recommendations.

REMEMBER

1) Be polite

2) Use detail (use quotes, evidence, details etc...)

3) Use "because" ... "I liked this because ... "

Read my previous post on how to write good comments.

Reflection on comments made to “My Descriptive Writing Sample #1” 1/13/06

Reflection on comments made to “My Descriptive Writing Sample #1” 1/13/06

Wow! I’ve just finished reading all of the great comments on my descriptive writing sample. I thank all of you. One thing I noticed was that some of you liked how it was a bit ambiguous and made you think about the thing being described. Others, however, were turned off by that aspect.

I would like to take a moment to reflect on HOW to write a comment and some of the comments that I found particularly helpful. Pay Attention, because these are the types of things that I will be looking for when I grade comments in the future!

FORMATING YOUR POSTS:

This commenting assignment was a bit different because I had questions designed to make you look at specific things. I really liked how Lishane and Susie included the questions in their post, like this example from Susie:

Q: Find at least two strong adjectives that the author used and explain why they were effective. For example, what sense does it appeal to, what mood or image does it convey?

A: In the sentence, “With head hanging like a dead snake…” the adjective, dead, makes the mood seem sad or just there.
In the sentence, “My finger lazily crawls to the plastic pad -- resigned to the fate of all procrastinators…” the adjective, lazily, makes the mood seem as if there is absolutely no want to do this activity.

By doing it this way, it makes it very easy for me to grade and there will be no doubt that you covered all your bases for full credit. Another way of doing this, like I saw Cameron and Olivia do on another thread, is to put the question in bold and type the answer in regular font.

GIVING SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS:

Perhaps the most important aspect of writing comments is giving recommendations. I know that on this assignment I did not ask for them, but Kit and Mike C. did a good job of giving specific feedback. Kit mentioned that the title might not have been the most appropriate and Mike C. said that the whole things might have been too vague. What’s the point if the reader does not get it? If I were to write another draft I would have to reconsider the title, and even some of the adjectives and nouns in taking Mike’s critique to heart, although I must admit that I like forcing the reader to use their imagination. And as a reader, I appreicate an author who does the same to me.

USING ANALYSIS AND SPECIFIC DETAILS

Many of you were very specific in your analysis and this is exactly what you are supposed to do! Too many to mention stand out as being really effective, but here are a couple.

Yesenia quoted specific sentences (always effective in commenting ) and then gave specific reasons for why she thought the word choice helped the writing. Here is an example from Yesenia:

“With head hanging like a dead snake”
This was used to explain the way he was walking towards the chair which was in front of the computer that he dreaded. This helped the blog because it gave it more a descriptive picture of how he was walking. So that it didn’t just sound boring for example it could’ve said “he walked to the chair” which doesn’t create a interesting picture.

Michael did a great job of being specific when he said why he liked a sentence (not just that he liked it), as in this example:

What I really liked about the end of your writing is how you added why you had to use the computer. It sends a message that says you are trapped with what you fear the most.

Anjelica did the same when she wrote:

Another strong adjective that was used was “A shot of cold air struck my face” because it feels like I have just felt the cold breeze just as the writer described.

VOCABULARY:

Kate mentioned that she did not understand some of the words, but that she was able to figure them out by the context (the words coming before and after) or by looking them up in the dictionary. Props to Kate! That is exactly what you are supposed to do. If you don’t get it, look it up or ask someone who does.