Taking care of business on our magnet field trip to watch Shakespeare at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.
A digital classroom space for Mr. G's CHS MST Pre-AP English 10 class
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Caesar Take Home Exam Pre-Write
We've worked through the better part of 3 sets of sentence errors that mimic the format you saw on the PSAT and will see on the SAT. Now it's time to apply your new found understanding of the rules we've reviewed by drafting your response to the Caesar Take Home Exam.
As you work on your responses, consult the rubric and be sure to strive for the cleanest possible mechanical and grammatical piece you can write. That is ONE of the elements of a successful response in this sort of a prompt. Remember, the prompts, format, and rubric you see on this assignment are VERY similar to what you'll see in AP Lit. (possibly AP Lang.) in the coming years.
TODAY'S TASK: Create a new blog entry on your blog and start drafting a response to 1 of the 3 questions on the exam.
For those of you choosing question #3, make sure that you focus your response based on one of the three prompt suggestions: a defense, challenge, or qualification of the prompt. To be clear, a defense is where you support the proposition/premise of the prompt (the ends justify the means); a challenge is where you argue against it; a qualification is where you say something like, "Yes/No, but only if ..."
Your due date for the final on this will be roughly 2 weeks from now, right around the time we complete and show the videos.
As you work on your responses, consult the rubric and be sure to strive for the cleanest possible mechanical and grammatical piece you can write. That is ONE of the elements of a successful response in this sort of a prompt. Remember, the prompts, format, and rubric you see on this assignment are VERY similar to what you'll see in AP Lit. (possibly AP Lang.) in the coming years.
TODAY'S TASK: Create a new blog entry on your blog and start drafting a response to 1 of the 3 questions on the exam.
For those of you choosing question #3, make sure that you focus your response based on one of the three prompt suggestions: a defense, challenge, or qualification of the prompt. To be clear, a defense is where you support the proposition/premise of the prompt (the ends justify the means); a challenge is where you argue against it; a qualification is where you say something like, "Yes/No, but only if ..."
Your due date for the final on this will be roughly 2 weeks from now, right around the time we complete and show the videos.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Writing the Literature Review!
So we've sampled the literature through the annotation process, taken notes, etc., now it's time to put it together in a lit review.
This is not very different from the other formal academic writing you've done in the past. You'll have an intro with a thesis, a body of support (made up of the predetermined categories of HO, CTP, CD, etc.), and a concluding section. This is, really, the first half of your larger research paper.
That being the case, you should make some sort of reference to your project. You have several options for this: you can do it in the intro/thesis; you can do it as part of the analysis/concluding thoughts in your body paragraphs; you can do it in the conclusion; you can do it in all those places. Just do it (Nike)! Notice my citation.
As you weave the research into the paper, remember to vary your approach in integrating quotes and paraphrased material. Good writing will do this in number of ways. The Integrating Quotes handout is a good resource/review on different strategies for this. Part of the rubric is tied to your use of these different strategies. Remember that anytime you borrow somebody's direct words or paraphrase their ideas/work, it deserves an APA citation. Be sure you attempt to correctly use what we call "in text" citation of your sources, following the APA format. Consult the OWL APA Guidelines for In Text Citation as you work on this.
If you're visual and you want to see a pretty good model of a finished lit. review product, check out this paper: Lit. Review Example It's a little on the long side for your first version of your lit. review, but it's a decent holistic model that does the things you're supposed to do according to the rubric.
Notice, for instance, in the example how they have a title page (you must do this), their use of leveled APA headings, and a reference page that is properly formatted, with only the references they used in their paper, no annotations.
Finally, keep the Literature Review Rubric close at hand during this process. There is no excuse for NOT doing well if you follow this and strive to format according to APA guidelines.
You can do this ... don't leave it to the last moment ... you'll be fine.
Hard copies are due for turn in/class activities on Tuesday, 10/18. No excuses.
This is not very different from the other formal academic writing you've done in the past. You'll have an intro with a thesis, a body of support (made up of the predetermined categories of HO, CTP, CD, etc.), and a concluding section. This is, really, the first half of your larger research paper.
That being the case, you should make some sort of reference to your project. You have several options for this: you can do it in the intro/thesis; you can do it as part of the analysis/concluding thoughts in your body paragraphs; you can do it in the conclusion; you can do it in all those places. Just do it (Nike)! Notice my citation.
As you weave the research into the paper, remember to vary your approach in integrating quotes and paraphrased material. Good writing will do this in number of ways. The Integrating Quotes handout is a good resource/review on different strategies for this. Part of the rubric is tied to your use of these different strategies. Remember that anytime you borrow somebody's direct words or paraphrase their ideas/work, it deserves an APA citation. Be sure you attempt to correctly use what we call "in text" citation of your sources, following the APA format. Consult the OWL APA Guidelines for In Text Citation as you work on this.
If you're visual and you want to see a pretty good model of a finished lit. review product, check out this paper: Lit. Review Example It's a little on the long side for your first version of your lit. review, but it's a decent holistic model that does the things you're supposed to do according to the rubric.
Notice, for instance, in the example how they have a title page (you must do this), their use of leveled APA headings, and a reference page that is properly formatted, with only the references they used in their paper, no annotations.
Finally, keep the Literature Review Rubric close at hand during this process. There is no excuse for NOT doing well if you follow this and strive to format according to APA guidelines.
You can do this ... don't leave it to the last moment ... you'll be fine.
Hard copies are due for turn in/class activities on Tuesday, 10/18. No excuses.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Ryann's World: Propaganda/Media Literacy Portfolio
Ryann's World: Propaganda/Media Literacy Portfolio: This is an advertisement from a magazine. This ad is trying to get people to think that tide is the best laundry detergent and that they...
I really like Ryann's use of all sorts of media in her Prop/Media Portoflio. Nice collection of samples, solid analysis. Check it out.
I really like Ryann's use of all sorts of media in her Prop/Media Portoflio. Nice collection of samples, solid analysis. Check it out.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Work time ...
Today is yours to work on completing the Annotated Ref assignment. Be sure to review the rubric as you work on completing this step. For those of you who need more time at home to complete this, be sure to use the home/remote login info for ProQuest: username (papermaker) and password (welcome). Otherwise it will not let you login.
Finally, don't forget that you MUST bring to class tomorrow, along with your Annotated Ref assignment, either your note cards OR your digital notes for the progress check on this. I need to see good evidence of you having critically read the sources and that you're pulling out meaningful tidbits of info/quotes/stats, etc. that you can later plug into your lit. review.
Later this week and next week you'll have class time to start piecing your lit review together. The due date for this is 10/18, in class, hard copy with title page, lit review, and reference page. Email with questions.
Finally, don't forget that you MUST bring to class tomorrow, along with your Annotated Ref assignment, either your note cards OR your digital notes for the progress check on this. I need to see good evidence of you having critically read the sources and that you're pulling out meaningful tidbits of info/quotes/stats, etc. that you can later plug into your lit. review.
Later this week and next week you'll have class time to start piecing your lit review together. The due date for this is 10/18, in class, hard copy with title page, lit review, and reference page. Email with questions.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Smart Searching / Annotated Referece Pages
For our time in the lab today, each team will work together to complete the Smart Search Planner. Work together on the hard copy version I give you first. When you're done with this, have your "captain" upload a copy to Google Docs, share it with your teamates (and me), then the team can split up the duties of completing the online document. It should go quickly if you share the work. Now you'll have access to this no matter where you are.
Once you're done with the planning, I'd like you to access ProQuest and begin your research. The goal is to find 8-10 resources that help you answer the larger research question and smaller subtopic questions you've identified in your planner. Read the articles critically, keeping in mind that in your Annotations of these sources are just that: a critical summary of the source with a description of how you plan to use it. Please understand the difference between a mere summary and an annotation.
This Annotated Refereces assignment is due next week, on Wednesday in class. Please consult the rubric. There's no excuse for NOT doing well on this if you follow these guidelines.
Finally, a word about the dreaded "note cards". I'll give you the option of doing this in a digital document (like a Word document) or on note cards. I know this seems tedious, but it is a step in scholarly research that you need to be familiar with. I'll dispense with the 40+ requirement ... as long as I see good evidence of critical note taking ... as long as you still identify the category (HO, CTP, CD, WC) and type of use (paraphrased or direct quote). Deal?
By the way, here's the link to the overview we did in class the other day: MST Research Overview
Once you're done with the planning, I'd like you to access ProQuest and begin your research. The goal is to find 8-10 resources that help you answer the larger research question and smaller subtopic questions you've identified in your planner. Read the articles critically, keeping in mind that in your Annotations of these sources are just that: a critical summary of the source with a description of how you plan to use it. Please understand the difference between a mere summary and an annotation.
This Annotated Refereces assignment is due next week, on Wednesday in class. Please consult the rubric. There's no excuse for NOT doing well on this if you follow these guidelines.
Finally, a word about the dreaded "note cards". I'll give you the option of doing this in a digital document (like a Word document) or on note cards. I know this seems tedious, but it is a step in scholarly research that you need to be familiar with. I'll dispense with the 40+ requirement ... as long as I see good evidence of critical note taking ... as long as you still identify the category (HO, CTP, CD, WC) and type of use (paraphrased or direct quote). Deal?
By the way, here's the link to the overview we did in class the other day: MST Research Overview
Friday, September 23, 2011
Project Survey & Propaganda/Media Literacy Portfolio
Greetings, Magnetos.
We have two tasks today. The first is to take a survey of all the project ideas that were submitted so we can get a sense of the most popular ideas and form teams. Since many of you know already the team and project you'd like to do, some of this may be moot, but I ask that you do it authentically, nonetheless. It's a simple 5 point scale. Instructions are below for how to access it:
Secret word is “talktome”
10th Grade MST Research Topics Survey 2011
The second assignment for us today is to apply our understanding of rhetorical strategies and devices by compiling a digital Propaganda/Media Literacy Portfolio. We'll use our blogs for this, which will allow you to hotlink to video and static images that you can cite as your examples. I'll explain this more in class, but the link to the assignment is below. Disregard the references in it to alternate forms. You will be doing this digitally as a single blog post. The due date for this is Wed night of next week.
Propaganda/Media Literacy Portfolio Assignment
We have two tasks today. The first is to take a survey of all the project ideas that were submitted so we can get a sense of the most popular ideas and form teams. Since many of you know already the team and project you'd like to do, some of this may be moot, but I ask that you do it authentically, nonetheless. It's a simple 5 point scale. Instructions are below for how to access it:
Secret word is “talktome”
10th Grade MST Research Topics Survey 2011
The second assignment for us today is to apply our understanding of rhetorical strategies and devices by compiling a digital Propaganda/Media Literacy Portfolio. We'll use our blogs for this, which will allow you to hotlink to video and static images that you can cite as your examples. I'll explain this more in class, but the link to the assignment is below. Disregard the references in it to alternate forms. You will be doing this digitally as a single blog post. The due date for this is Wed night of next week.
Propaganda/Media Literacy Portfolio Assignment
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Project Ideas!
This is due by 5PM on Thursday in an email to Mrs. Dean. Please CC Mr. Wright and me:
1.Using at most 3 sentences, tell enough about your proposed project so your classmates and teachers will have a good idea what you want to do:
2.Please give us a working title to your proposed project:
This will count as a Seminar/Research grade for the English class (20 percent for the category).
Friday we will take a survey of the ideas and try to find out which is most popular. From that we'll form teams on Monday.
1.Using at most 3 sentences, tell enough about your proposed project so your classmates and teachers will have a good idea what you want to do:
2.Please give us a working title to your proposed project:
This will count as a Seminar/Research grade for the English class (20 percent for the category).
Friday we will take a survey of the ideas and try to find out which is most popular. From that we'll form teams on Monday.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Feed catching, etc.
OK, so we've set up our blogs, now we want to be able to easily follow certain content using something called RSS (really simple syndication) feeds and a web based program called a "feed catcher (or aggregator)". We'll be using Google Reader and possibly some other tools of your choice that will easily allow you to subscribe to RSS content.
Once you've subscribed to all the class blogs (chsfirstnamefirstletteroflast.blogspot.com), I'd like you to navigate to Sparknotes Summary/Analysis of Act I.i and review what we read on Tuesday, including the analysis section of the summary. Sparknotes in my mind should never substitute for your reading of something, but it's a great way to refresh and read some analysis/literary criticism of something we've read. I'll purposefully direct you there from time to time.
When you've finished the reading of that section, use your blog to create a new post. Call it "Caesar Act I.i Reflection". What I'm curious to hear about in your post is how the setting of Caesar and Shakespeare's Elizabethan world relate to today. We've recently considered the role and power of place. What the author of the analysis suggests in the last sentence is that, despite the historical place and chronological gaps between Rome, Elizabethan England, and today, the so called "masses" always tend to be easily whipped up into a frenzy and motivated by those who know how to motivate people.
To what degree is that an accurate characterization of today's general public, the plebes, if you will? Does place in this case take a back seat to the people in power and the means by which they control the people? Is the author correct in saying that "the play is remarkably prescient" of what's going on today? Use your observations, knowledge of current events, your reading, etc. to support, refute, or qualify your stand.
When you're done with your response, use the feed catcher to see who has new pubished content and go read their responses. Once you've done that, comment on at least 3 posts from 3 different blogs. Fin.
Once you've subscribed to all the class blogs (chsfirstnamefirstletteroflast.blogspot.com), I'd like you to navigate to Sparknotes Summary/Analysis of Act I.i and review what we read on Tuesday, including the analysis section of the summary. Sparknotes in my mind should never substitute for your reading of something, but it's a great way to refresh and read some analysis/literary criticism of something we've read. I'll purposefully direct you there from time to time.
When you've finished the reading of that section, use your blog to create a new post. Call it "Caesar Act I.i Reflection". What I'm curious to hear about in your post is how the setting of Caesar and Shakespeare's Elizabethan world relate to today. We've recently considered the role and power of place. What the author of the analysis suggests in the last sentence is that, despite the historical place and chronological gaps between Rome, Elizabethan England, and today, the so called "masses" always tend to be easily whipped up into a frenzy and motivated by those who know how to motivate people.
To what degree is that an accurate characterization of today's general public, the plebes, if you will? Does place in this case take a back seat to the people in power and the means by which they control the people? Is the author correct in saying that "the play is remarkably prescient" of what's going on today? Use your observations, knowledge of current events, your reading, etc. to support, refute, or qualify your stand.
When you're done with your response, use the feed catcher to see who has new pubished content and go read their responses. Once you've done that, comment on at least 3 posts from 3 different blogs. Fin.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Newsletter?
A few of you have yet to sign up. Please take care of that: http://www.mistergweb.com/phplist/?p=subscribe
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Digital Immigrants vs. Digital Natives
For many of you in this class, you are what techies refer to as "digital natives". The digital revolution in communications that started in the 1990s is something that you've grown up with. You were born into this world. So called "digital immigrants" are people, like me, who have migrated to this from our old ways. Though I'm fairly comfortable in this world and have been mostly naturalized into it, most of your parents and teachers, however, are not ... but they are probably in some part of the process (some kicking and screaming) of being forced into this new, digital world.
Post a quick response/comment to this idea and share either your story of citizenship in the digital world, or perhaps an interesting story or anecdote about a digital immigrant you live with and their journey to the new digital frontier. This might include a time when you fully realized you were a native to this technology and many of the people around you weren't.
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