Thursday, April 18, 2013

AGENDA 4/18

Announcements regarding CSTs - resources available on the right hand side of the blog!

Guest Speaker: Virginia Hyatt, SMMUSD Purchasing Director
Pust's Notes from Ms. Hyatt's visit

HW: Guest Speaker Notes from all speakers due tomorrow.  Notes on The Pact due tomorrow.  Creative research project and research question due tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

AGENDA 4/17

Guest Speakers - Transportation Wednesday
Mr. Joe Stitcher, Chief Administrative Officer, Big Blue Bus
Mr. Jay Dinkins, City Traffic Management Division

Pust's Notes from Transportation Wednesday

HW: Turn in creative research response by Friday. Guest speaker notes due Friday or Monday (staple together as one packet).  First section of research paper, typed draft due Monday.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

AGENDA 4/16

Period 5: Guest speaker, Ralph Mechur from SMMUSD Board of Education
Pust's Notes from Mr. Mechur's visit

Periods 2 and 3: Getting Started in Research
Get into collaborative research groups
Generate research questions and begin work on Part I

Part I of the Research Paper: Introduction
Establish urgency: why does this issue matter right now?
Establish passions: why does this issue matter to you?
Establish purpose: what do you hope to discover or accomplish?
Establish tension: what obstacles stand in the way of your helping to resolve this issue?
Establish audience: who else would this matter to or who has power or influence over this issue? What are your audience's potential counterarguments or tensions? What benefits would resolving this issue have for your audience?

HW: Part I of research paper, typed draft due Monday.

Monday, April 15, 2013

AGENDA 4/15


Period 3: Guest speaker, Natasha Guest, senior analyst from City of Santa Monica Human Services Division - focus on homelessness issues within the city
Pust's notes from Ms. Guest's presentation/Q&A
Blank guest speaker notes form for taking notes (the notes you take will be collected next week for credit!)

Periods 2 & 5:
Watch RSA Animate of Sir Ken Robinson's "Changing Education Paradigms" and note 3-4 key ideas. Discuss with partner
Share PPT presentation to launch Local Issues Project

HW (Period 2 & 5 only): Generate a research question for your topic with built-in tension (see PPT) and craft/design a creative piece to respond initially to your topic (refer to PPT for ideas)
Ideas for responding creatively:
  • Write an original poem
  • Make a Wordle
  • Create a drawing or image collage
  • Write a short story from the point of view of another “character” involved in the issue
  • Craft a descriptive sketch, using words to “paint the scene”

Friday, April 12, 2013

AGENDA 4/12

Period 3: Guest speaker, Natasha Guest, senior analyst from City of Santa Monica Human Services Division - focus on homelessness issues within the city
Pust's notes from Ms. Guest's presentation/Q&A
Blank guest speaker notes form for taking notes (the notes you take will be collected next week for credit!)

Periods 2 & 5:
Watch RSA Animate of Sir Ken Robinson's "Changing Education Paradigms" and note 3-4 key ideas. Discuss with partner
Share PPT presentation to launch Local Issues Project

HW (Period 2 & 5 only): Generate a research question for your topic with built-in tension (see PPT) and craft/design a creative piece to respond initially to your topic (refer to PPT for ideas)
Ideas for responding creatively:


  • Write an original poem
  • Make a Wordle
  • Create a drawing or image collage
  • Write a short story from the point of view of another “character” involved in the issue
  • Craft a descriptive sketch, using words to “paint the scene”