AGENDA 11/14

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

AGENDA 11/14

ANNOUNCEMENT: Due to Club Day on Friday (and the shortened periods that will ensue), you lucky ducks will have your timed essay on the argument prompt pushed back to next Tuesday!

Get into groups: discuss Billy Budd questions. Have one student record and another share out with the class as a whole.

Begin watching film: Crime and Punishment in America
Complete response to the two questions posted below--list one prompt on each side of a paper (I recommend jotting notes as you watch, perhaps on a separate sheet before crafting your "official" response):

What do you find surprising / shocking / interesting?
How might the ideas in this film connect to the issues of crime and punishment and the culture of fear in Billy Budd?

If time permits, share out responses and discuss. Turn in to the substitute at the end of the period. You'll get your notes/responses back tomorrow.

HW: Read Billy Budd through Chapter 23 by Monday, 11/19. Expect a reading quiz! Also continue reading indie reading book--you should be halfway through it before Thanksgiving!

List of Education Unit Texts

If you're making a foldable, or just want to make sure your notes are organized, here's the list of all of the texts from the unit:

Susan Jacoby's essay, “When Bright Girls Decide that Math is a Waste of Time”

William J. Bennett's essay, “What Really Ails America”

Neil Postman's essay, “Order in the Classroom”

Leon Botstein's editorial, “Let Teen-Agers Try Adulthood”

Horace Mann's speech, “Report to the Massachusetts Board of Education”

Austin Channell's TEDx Talk, “Why Taking Choir Kept Me from Being Valedictorian”

Sir Ken Robinson's RSA Animate talk,“Changing Education Paradigms”

Benjamin Barber's essay, “America Skips School”

Malcolm X's essay, "Learning to Read," an excerpt from his autobiography

Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s essay, "Delusions of Grandeur" (with an updated introduction!)

Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt, memoirs, The Pact

Recommended Websites for RH Paper

Recommended websites for Rhetorical Historical papers:

The New York Times Topics Page

Samohi Library page to access SIRS/Proquest Databases: You'll need the username and password!

Cagle.com: Daryl Cagle's index of editorial/political cartoons

American Rhetoric - index of historical speeches, complete with audio/video!

Pew Research Center - a nonpartisan fact tank with statistics and information about all sorts of wonderfully random things

For help with MLA Format and your working bibliography, consult these resources from Purdue's Online Writing Lab:

General Works Cited Format

In-Text Parenthetical Citations

Citing Electronic Sources

Citing Other Common Sources

Or these resources from Diana Hacker and Bedford/St. Martin's:

General Works Cited Format - there's a pull-down menu for citation types and examples

In-Text Parenthetical Citations

General Manuscript Format

And don't forget, there are some basic MLA reminders and samples beginning on page 35 of your binder reminder!

RESOURCES FOR THIS I BELIEVE ESSAYS

The essay guidelines offered by NPR, which provides specific tips for writing a good essay
The original producers' invitation, which describes the purpose and focus of the project
And of course, you can scan the This I Believe website, http://thisibelieve.org/, for tons of sample essays that you may read or listen to--perhaps the best way to acquaint yourself with the project (and see what has already been written).

My "This I Believe" essay that I submitted last year, which is now part of the "This I Believe" database

REVIEW FOR THE AP TEST