Monthly Archives: October 2016

10/17/2016

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Hooray! The English IV teachers found out today that we can and will proceed with the Synthesis or Multi-Perspective Essay. That means we didn’t waste our time! <3 <3 <3

Today, we focused on writing our thesis and generating ideas. We created a graphic organizer to help with this. In the centImage result for graphic organizerer circle, write your thesis.

In the squares around it, I want you think about examples that support your thesis. The more you write now, the easier writing the essay will be on Thursday.

Make sure that your examples support your thesis. For instance, if your thesis is about the idea that technology helps people be more productive, don’t give examples that detract from your thesis. Don’t talk about how technology can be distracting.

When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis,ask yourself the following:

  • Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question.
  • Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose?If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.
  • Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes something “successful”?
  • Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is likely to  be “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
  • Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
  • Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

 

10/13/2016

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So… today. It’s days like today that make me glad that we are patient with each other, because honestly, I’m not sure that I’d be very patient with my teacher if mistakes like this kept happening in MY class. To recap, I had to grade all of the Canterbury Tales test by hand and then today, I found out we may have to do an entirely different essay next week.

Yeah. Like I said, I don’t think I’d be a patient with my teacher as you guys were with me.

Today, I just gave you time to work on any missing assignments that you might have for me (or other classes).

The homecoming game is tonight, so if you are going to be there, stop by and say hi! I’ll be in the bleachers somewhere! 😀

10/12/2016

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Today was the senior meeting, so Janis Joplin herded you guys down to the auditorium and you guys checked credits and got pumped about June 2017! W00t!

A few notes:

  • I have graded the Canterbury tests) by hand) so they should all be correct (and better grades!)
  • I have graded the Wife of Bath dating profiles: you guys are hi-LAR-ious! However, a few people did a dating profile for the Wife of Bath herself, not the character from her tale. Remember – this is a frame story!
  • I have not graded the late work yet. I don’t mean to be snarky, but if it wasn’t a priority for you, why should it be a priority for me to grade it over the current work that I need to grade.
  • We will also be doing reteach/retest for the Canterbury Tales test – we are just trying to make sure that we give you a legitimate activity rather than busy work.

10/11/2016

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Continuing the topic of technology, each class was paired up to brainstorm over unintended consequences of smart technology that exists today.

Possible technology included: 3D printers, touch tables, flying cars, military “iron man” suits, digital tattoos, self-driving cars, smart glasses, wireless electricity, Cicret bracelets, night vision contacts, Cubic, jetpacks, hoverboards, intelligent locks, Smart Things Hub, and sound cloaking devices. Because this is a collaborative assignment, you can see what other groups found out about the technology and look at it yourself – lots of people were really interested in digital tattoos.

Then, I gave you some flex time to work on the assignment from yesterday and any other assignments that you are missing while I showed you guys some VR technology!

brandon

 

 

10/10/2016

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synthesis-topic-breakdownHave you guys ever tried to talk politics with a person who refuses to listen and consider a perspective other than their own? It’s frustrating, right? Imagine what happens when a college professor tries to assign a research paper and the students only write over the perspective that he/she agrees with – without looking at any other perspective?

This is one reason why we are working on the synthesis essay – or the multi-perspective essay. This basically what the ACT essay prompt is, so we’ll be working on an ACT essay prompt for the next two weeks.

Today, we looked at the prompt and broke it down. You can find this as a link in Blackboard. I have moved all of our writing to a section in Blackboard independent of the grading periods so that you can access your writing at any time throughout the year!

scribbles-and-writing

Remember, this is *my* Google Doc, so you will either need to make a copy to YOUR Google Drive or download a PPTX.

This is all you are doing for the topic breakdown: For each perspective, summarize what it is saying, explain what you think agree with, what you disagree with, and then finally, what is your overall perspective of technology.

We are writing the actual essay next Thursday. It will be timed, just like the ACT. I’m just making sure that we are prepared to write!

10/7/2016

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test-goshAfter a nightmare test scenario in 2nd period, we got back on track in 3rd. I took out an answer choice for #18 and gave you guys the “answer” to #22 since it was entered in incorrectly.

Because this is a skills based test, it’s open book. The Prologue is  on page 97-118, The Pardoner’s Tale starts on page 125, and the Wife of Bath’s Tale starts on 139.

Good luck!

10/6/2016

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test-in-test

That’s right. Our Canterbury Tales test is tomorrow! There will a history questions, Canterbury Tales prologue questions (indirect and direct characterization) Wife of Bath Tale questions, Pardoner’s Tale questions, and irony questions (can you explain why something is ironic).

We reviewed today with a Kahoot AND a Classcraft game.

My Kahoot winners were Stephen (2nd), Liz (3rd), Jason (4th), Kristi (5th), Gabby (6th) and April and Jason (7th) – they all earned an extra 100 gold! Jason was my overall winner with a score of 12,822. NO ONE COULD BEAT HIM! In fact, because Justin Y. (in the same class) scored a 12,721, I ended up giving THE ENTIRE CLASS 200 extra gold because they unleashed Beast Mode on the game!

Then, we did a Classcraft game where you tried to defeat a Wazler. Winners got gold AND XP! Woot!

There is also an irony review slide show and a whole bunch of other review games in Blackboard just waiting to be played.

10/5/2016

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I swear, we have a test gremlin this year who is conspiring against us. Our Canterbury Tales test which was supposed be on Thursday, has been moved to Friday.

We also missed Ms. Miller today. Shout out to my First Mate – hope to see you back tomorrow! <3

So today, we read the Miller’s Tale, but I encouraged people to use this time wisely. The Miller’s Tale won’t be on the test, so if you are missing assignments, GET THOSE ZEROS IN.

I graded the Linear Arrays, The Middle Ages Background PowerPoint, and I put in zeros if you didn’t turn in your little books.

Tomorrow, we will play review games over the following topics:

  • Middle Ages history
  • Direct/indirect characterization
  • Irony
  • The Prologue
  • The Wife of Bath’s tale
  • The Pardoner’s Tale

10/4/2016

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Before we begin, I talked to my classes about my expectations for behavior: namely, disrespectful behavior that is making me cranky. I referenced this old post from a few years ago. When I find that I’m bothered by something, I find that when I write about it, it helps me figure out what exactly is bothering me. What’s really bothering me right now are the following:

  1. Sleeping
  2. Multi-tasking – mainly games and texting
  3. Talking over me and my instruction

I know that I’m pretty casual and laid back, but this is really starting to grind my gears. I spend a lot of time, money, effort, and energy to make my classroom activities fun and engaging – which can be pretty hard in British literature. I don’t think people intend to be disrespectful, but I need to address it, or else I’m just going to keep getting angrier and more upset. I feel like I have to model what I expect you guys to do if you are bothered or upset by something.

With that being said, I was able to go back to what I like to do: teach!

After we watched the trailer for What Women Want, I asked the girls in the class a question: What is the one thing you want more than anything else in the world?

Then, I asked the guys would they spend the rest of their lives with an ugly, old partner who is faithful, nice, and intelligent OR a beautiful partner who cheats, lies, is mean, and starts petty fights all the time.

Tough questions!

Then we read/listened to the Wife of Bath’s tale. This year, we used Baba Brinkman’s rap. You can find the text and song in LMS.

She’s a keeper!

Afterwards, we created an online dating profile for the Lady in the tale. There are LOTS of links in LMS to help you create this, but the six basic questions are as follows:

OkCupid Questions

Remember – I need to get an idea from her answers that not only is she ugly and old from the questions, but also her ideas about wealth, fidelity, appearance, and morality. If you don’t remember, go back to her lecture when the knight says that he thinks she is too ugly and low class to love.

Have fun!

wedding

10/3/2016

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Monday, Monday, Monday! Remember – we have our Canterbury Tales test this Thursday! Today, we read the Pardoner’s Tale – the love of money is the root of all evil! We talked about situational and verbal irony.

I then gave you the rest of time in class to finish the Little Book. Remember – focus on author’s viewpoint – don’t just state facts or write a description of the character. We aren’t going to have anything on the test about matching character names with character descriptions, but there will be author’s purpose questions!

Today, we read The Pardoner’s Tale. If you weren’t here, you can read what’s in the textbook (page 125) or read The No Fear Version (skip pages 2-6).

We spent time talking about irony – verbal and situational irony.

We ended the day with finishing our little books.

foldable-questions

The three grades that we have are:

  1. The Middle Ages PowerPoint Review
  2. The Moral Linear Array
  3. The Canterbury Tales book/foldable.