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.

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”

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”

AGENDA 4/11

Periods 2 & 3 Guest speaker - Andrew Basmajian, Office of Sustainability and the Environment
Pust's Notes from periods 2 & 3
Period 5 Guest speaker - Josephine Miller, Office of Sustainability and the Environment
Pust's Notes from periods 4 & 5
Blank guest speaker notes form

HW: Keep thinking about research project possibilities

AGENDA 3/1

Debrief "Fall Canceled After Three Billion Seasons" and "Kitchen-Floor Conflict Intensifies As Rival House Cats Claim Same Empty Bag" - discuss humor devices used and what the author's satirical message is for each article

Watch "Brain-Dead Teen, Only Capable Of Rolling Eyes And Texting, To Be Euthanized"and discuss how this is an example of Juvenalian satire


Explain satire terms assignment: choose one of our unit texts so far, and select a humor device (hyperbole, understatement, jargon, incongruity, detail, timing, or pun) that is at work within that text.  First, define your chosen term. Then, quote the example directly from the text. Create an MLA formatted citation for the text. Finally, write an analysis paragraph exploring how the author uses the humor device to convey his/her satirical message.

Unit texts:
"Fall Canceled After Three Billion Seasons"
"Kitchen-Floor Conflict Intensifies As Rival House Cats Claim Same Empty Bag"
"3'-by-4' Plot of Green Space Rejuvenates Neighborhood"
"Dollar Bill On Floor Sends Wall Street Into Frenzy"

Videos:
"Brain-Dead Teen, Only Capable Of Rolling Eyes And Texting, To Be Euthanized"
"Introducing The Green Housewives - "Greener Than Thou'"
"1-900-976-0TSA" Saturday Night Live sketch
"US Schools Trail World In Child Soldier Aptitude"

Remember, for  the MLA citations, you'll need to provide the additional information found at each of these links! :-)

HW: Draft of first satire terms entry due Monday (handwritten is ok).

AGENDA 2/15

Gatsby color-marking revision activity for your 1st draft

AGENDA 2/1

Grammar practice: Pronoun ambiguity #2
Model how to annotate passage for The Great Gatsby
Assignment directions
Link to The Great Gatsby for printing --if you print from this source, remember to cite it as a web source!

For how to cite an e-book (if you read the file on your Kindle or Nook or iPad or whatever), consult this resource: http://www.mla.org/style/style_faq/mlastyle_cite_an_ebook
HW: Finish The Great Gatsby "creative" project and annotate your chosen passage for your rhetorical analysis paper