Today, we started class by reviewing the general state of your Animal Farm PR Projects, which you turned in, in various states of completion, last Wednesday. We confirmed who had turned in what, who still needed to turn in work, and how that work would be completed.
We also discussed what a real "finished product" looks like -- proofread, spell-checked, and free of penciled-in corrections or additions -- and the distinction between "finishing" a project by nominally completing all the components with a last-minute burst. This was a three-week project, and you had ample class time to work on it, but we noticed a definite uptick in your general energy level and productivity as the deadline approached, and the fact that some groups accomplished nearly every part of their project in the last 24 hours (an observation that those groups collectively confirmed) gave us pause.
We'll be working on revising these ads and improving both their appearance and their execution over the next three weeks. This process will start with individual conferences tomorrow.
Next, we reviewed the elements of a good "content sandwich" paragraph, which we had last discussed on Wednesday, November 18. We distributed the color-coded handout that we posted last time: find it at the link below if you don't have your copy:
Content Sandwich Model
Finally, Thomas and Kelsey participated in an exercise to illustrate some ways that logos-based rhetorical elements arise naturally in the course of a one-on-one discussion, and we began to identify particular questions that will give rise to the various elements of the "content sandwich" structure. Tomorrow and Wednesday, we'll finish those questions.
Your homework (due Wednesday) is to read two poems, and write a content sandwich paragraph that supports ONE of FOUR possible claims about the poems. Please find a copy of the assignment at the link below:
Two Poems, One Paragraph
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wednesday, November 18
Today was the great unveiling of your Animal Farm projects! You all had the chance to present one of your Animal Farm ads to the class and everyone's work was clever, creative and enjoyable. For those of you who have not turned in all of your ads, you know that you need to talk to Mitch or Liz.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Tuesday, November 17
Today, you spent the entire time working on your Animal Farm projects. For some of you, tomorrow's deadline weighed heavier and heavier as the period went on; for others, things were more relaxed.
We distributed a checklist at the beginning of the period for you to submit tomorrow with your projects. Click on the link below to find a copy:
Animal Farm Project Checklist
Your only assigned homework is to finish the project!
We distributed a checklist at the beginning of the period for you to submit tomorrow with your projects. Click on the link below to find a copy:
Animal Farm Project Checklist
Your only assigned homework is to finish the project!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Monday, November 16
Today, you began class by showing off your weekend homework -- to write a logos-based paragraph (or two) proving that a particular character in the Adam and Eve story (Adam, Eve, God, or the serpent) was most responsible for Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Some of you didn't have your paragraphs; you were told, politely but firmly, that in the future not having an assignment on the day it is due will generally mean that you'll need to stay after school to complete it.
Next, we laid out an extremely important concept for the year (and for many years to come) -- the basic model for an expository paragraph. Known as the "content sandwich," this six-ingredient paragraph contains every element crucial to good logos. Some of your artists' renditions are below:
We then went on to look at a sample content sandwich paragraph, identifying each of the elements as it appeared. To see it (in color-coded form!), click on the link below:
Content Sandwich Model
Your homework -- as it has been for the past two weeks -- is to put the finishing touches on your Animal Farm advertising project, which is due on Wednesday morning.
Next, we laid out an extremely important concept for the year (and for many years to come) -- the basic model for an expository paragraph. Known as the "content sandwich," this six-ingredient paragraph contains every element crucial to good logos. Some of your artists' renditions are below:
We then went on to look at a sample content sandwich paragraph, identifying each of the elements as it appeared. To see it (in color-coded form!), click on the link below:
Content Sandwich Model
Your homework -- as it has been for the past two weeks -- is to put the finishing touches on your Animal Farm advertising project, which is due on Wednesday morning.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thursday, November 12
We began Writer's Workshop today by looking at four different possible leads to the same story; typical, reaction, action, and dialogue. You shared your opinions on the various leads and discussed what makes a strong lead to a story. We then read and discussed the poem, "The Wall." Then, you were all off and writing!
Write On!
Write On!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wednesday, November 11
You continued your evidence/claim work with the Genesis story by working in like-minded groups (others who chose the same "culprit" that you did, either God, Adam, Eve, or the Serpent) to find four pieces of evidence to support your claim. In your groups you then explained why these four pieces of evidence support your claim that your "culprit" was the one responsible for getting Adam and Even exiled from the Garden of Eden.
Individually, you chose the two most effective pieces of evidence and explained why they were the most effective.
HOMEWORK DUE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16: Write a logos-based paragraph that uses at least two of these pieces of evidence to "prosecute" your character and prove that he, she, it, or IT is the most responsible for Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden.
Individually, you chose the two most effective pieces of evidence and explained why they were the most effective.
HOMEWORK DUE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16: Write a logos-based paragraph that uses at least two of these pieces of evidence to "prosecute" your character and prove that he, she, it, or IT is the most responsible for Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 10
Today marked your second (of three) in-class work periods for your ongoing Animal Farm projects, which are due on WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18...a scant eight days away. Since this is a five-part project that many of you have had on "low priority" for the past week, there was a palpable feeling of pressure in the air as the period drew to an end today, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
We encourage you to plan out the next eight days wisely and put some work into your project consistently -- all of your ads are due at the beginning of class next Wednesday.
Don't forget tonight's homework -- to come to class tomorrow with two pieces of evidence, written out on a separate piece of paper, that support your claim about which character (Adam, Eve, the Serpent, or God) bears most responsibility for Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden.
We encourage you to plan out the next eight days wisely and put some work into your project consistently -- all of your ads are due at the beginning of class next Wednesday.
Don't forget tonight's homework -- to come to class tomorrow with two pieces of evidence, written out on a separate piece of paper, that support your claim about which character (Adam, Eve, the Serpent, or God) bears most responsibility for Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Monday, November 9
Today, we began class by resetting the story of Adam and Eve, which we had begun to read on Wednesday. Mitch emphasized that, although this is a creation story that has very real meaning for many people and religions, we are considering it as a work of literature. To see the version of the story we are reading, click on the link below:
Adam and Eve
You read through the remainder of the story, and discussed many of the elements that you encountered. Some people were surprised to learn that there is no "apple" featured in the story: instead, reference was made to the "fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil." Additionally, you noted that the "serpent" in the story did not have any explicit associations with the devil or Satan -- which differed from the accounts that many of you had heard.
Once we were done reading the story, we spent a few minutes clarifying the various punishments that God gave the serpent, Adam, and Eve. Then, we asked you to write down (in bullet-point form) two or three ways that each of the four characters were responsible for Adam and Eve's explusion from Eden. You used a half-sheet to do this: get a copy from the link below:
Character Responsibility
You then paired with other people in the class and added/subtracted/refined your bullet points, based on your conversations. We then listed several areas of responsibility for each character on the board, as in the pictures below:
Finally, we asked you to choose ONE character whom you think is most responsible for Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden. You did so, although some of you were torn between two characters: a majority of you identified God as the primary culprit.
This led to your homework for the next two nights (due Wednesday): to find at least TWO pieces of textual evidence (i.e. direct quotations) from the Adam and Eve story that will support your opinion about the character who bears the greatest responsibility. This evidence MUST be written down on a separate sheet of paper: you should also feel free to use ellipses and brackets if doing so will make your evidence more effective.
Adam and Eve
You read through the remainder of the story, and discussed many of the elements that you encountered. Some people were surprised to learn that there is no "apple" featured in the story: instead, reference was made to the "fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil." Additionally, you noted that the "serpent" in the story did not have any explicit associations with the devil or Satan -- which differed from the accounts that many of you had heard.
Once we were done reading the story, we spent a few minutes clarifying the various punishments that God gave the serpent, Adam, and Eve. Then, we asked you to write down (in bullet-point form) two or three ways that each of the four characters were responsible for Adam and Eve's explusion from Eden. You used a half-sheet to do this: get a copy from the link below:
Character Responsibility
You then paired with other people in the class and added/subtracted/refined your bullet points, based on your conversations. We then listed several areas of responsibility for each character on the board, as in the pictures below:
Finally, we asked you to choose ONE character whom you think is most responsible for Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden. You did so, although some of you were torn between two characters: a majority of you identified God as the primary culprit.
This led to your homework for the next two nights (due Wednesday): to find at least TWO pieces of textual evidence (i.e. direct quotations) from the Adam and Eve story that will support your opinion about the character who bears the greatest responsibility. This evidence MUST be written down on a separate sheet of paper: you should also feel free to use ellipses and brackets if doing so will make your evidence more effective.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Thursday, November 5 -- X-PERIOD ESSAY
The goal of this activity is to practice and improve your skills in planning your essay and writing strong thesis statements and introductory paragraphs, building on what we've been doing in class. You're going to do three 10-minute chunks of essay writing; in each case, you'll go through the three steps of a) planning your entire essay, b) articulating a thesis statement, and c) writing the introductory paragraph. Start by creating a simulated testing environment; find a space that has no distractions (music, people, pets, etc) and at which you can sit upright at a desk/table. Alert your parents that you're doing timed essay writing homework and need about 30 minutes of uninterrupted quiet.
Remember that you should take between 5-8 minutes of the 10 minutes to do the planning for your essay. It's important that you plan out the entire essay, so that you can structure your intro paragraph appropriately. If your essay is well-planned, you'll be able to write your intro paragraph in 2-3 minutes easily.
Be intentional about which form of introductory essay that you choose to use - "001" or "122". "001" is great when you want to grab the reader's attention and build up to your thesis. "122" is best when you want to immediately present your thesis and prepare the reader for the contents of the body paragraphs (which are related to the two "2" sentences).
[Notice how that last paragraph is an awesome example of "122"?]
Please don't complete any of these essays. You don't need to write out the body paragraphs or conclusion (unless you want to, for your own benefit of extended practice). The assignment is to do three 10 minute chunks, not one 30 minute chunk, and the two are not interchangeable. The process of each of the 10 minute chunks will be selecting a topic, prepping your essay, and writing the intro - but since each is on a different topic, each will have different content from the others.
Feel free to email Zaq if you have questions. zroberts@theberkeleyschool.org
Due: Thursday, 11/12.
Remember that you should take between 5-8 minutes of the 10 minutes to do the planning for your essay. It's important that you plan out the entire essay, so that you can structure your intro paragraph appropriately. If your essay is well-planned, you'll be able to write your intro paragraph in 2-3 minutes easily.
Be intentional about which form of introductory essay that you choose to use - "001" or "122". "001" is great when you want to grab the reader's attention and build up to your thesis. "122" is best when you want to immediately present your thesis and prepare the reader for the contents of the body paragraphs (which are related to the two "2" sentences).
[Notice how that last paragraph is an awesome example of "122"?]
Please don't complete any of these essays. You don't need to write out the body paragraphs or conclusion (unless you want to, for your own benefit of extended practice). The assignment is to do three 10 minute chunks, not one 30 minute chunk, and the two are not interchangeable. The process of each of the 10 minute chunks will be selecting a topic, prepping your essay, and writing the intro - but since each is on a different topic, each will have different content from the others.
Feel free to email Zaq if you have questions. zroberts@theberkeleyschool.org
Due: Thursday, 11/12.
Thursday, November 5
Today was Writer's Workshop and you all stunned me with your quiet and thorough dedication to editing/fixing the mechanics errors that I had found in your final pieces. When these pieces are polished, you will return to working on your second piece for Writer's Workshop.
Write On!
Write On!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Wednesday, November 4
Today, you began class by quickly reviewing the "quotation tools" that we discussed on Monday -- ellipses and brackets. You then returned to the quotation notes sheet you'd filled out on Monday and used either, or both, of these tools to alter a piece of evidence supporting the claim "Skittles are better than M&M's." Your alterations were effective and made the evidence much more streamlined, although we also discussed the drawbacks of altering a piece of evidence too much -- chiefly, that the presence of multiple ellipses and brackets makes the audience suspect that important information is being left out, which undermines your argument.
Subsequently, you altered a second piece of evidence, but this time in ways that violated the standards we'd discussed on Monday -- just to see what it felt like. Your revised evidence was uniformly twisted and warped from its original state.
Finally, we gave you copies of the "Adam and Eve" story, and began reading it, in preparation for an evidence-finding exercise next Monday.
For homework, continue working on your Animal Farm projects, which are due on November 18.
Subsequently, you altered a second piece of evidence, but this time in ways that violated the standards we'd discussed on Monday -- just to see what it felt like. Your revised evidence was uniformly twisted and warped from its original state.
Finally, we gave you copies of the "Adam and Eve" story, and began reading it, in preparation for an evidence-finding exercise next Monday.
For homework, continue working on your Animal Farm projects, which are due on November 18.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday, November 2
Today, we looked at some ways to manipulate textual evidence "legally" -- and some of the ethical ramifications of doing so.
To begin with, you filled out a sheet illustrating the various techniques for altering evidence -- specifically, ellipses (...) and [brackets]. The sheet also set forth the purpose of quotation marks with textual evidence (to assure the reader that the words within the quotations are "verbatim" -- exactly (word-for-word) what the speaker/writer said/wrote). See a copy here:
Quotations, Ellipses, and Brackets
In the process filling out this sheet, we also touched on three ethical issues: altering quotations to "clean up" a speaker's use of the English language, using quotations when no actual recording of the original speech exists (making the quote non-verifiable), and inventing quotations. We read two specific articles that dealt with these issues:
Ethics of "Cleaning Up" Quotes
Sony's Fake Critic
We finished class by emphasizing the two most important rules of quotation tailoring: (1) Always let your readers know when you’ve altered a quotation in any way; (2) Always make sure that the way(s) you’ve altered a quote don’t change the author’s original, intended meaning.
No homework was assigned, save the ongoing Animal Farm project; your first in-class workday for this takes place tomorrow.
To begin with, you filled out a sheet illustrating the various techniques for altering evidence -- specifically, ellipses (...) and [brackets]. The sheet also set forth the purpose of quotation marks with textual evidence (to assure the reader that the words within the quotations are "verbatim" -- exactly (word-for-word) what the speaker/writer said/wrote). See a copy here:
Quotations, Ellipses, and Brackets
In the process filling out this sheet, we also touched on three ethical issues: altering quotations to "clean up" a speaker's use of the English language, using quotations when no actual recording of the original speech exists (making the quote non-verifiable), and inventing quotations. We read two specific articles that dealt with these issues:
Ethics of "Cleaning Up" Quotes
Sony's Fake Critic
We finished class by emphasizing the two most important rules of quotation tailoring: (1) Always let your readers know when you’ve altered a quotation in any way; (2) Always make sure that the way(s) you’ve altered a quote don’t change the author’s original, intended meaning.
No homework was assigned, save the ongoing Animal Farm project; your first in-class workday for this takes place tomorrow.
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