March 30, 2015 - Tuesday

Class Work


Discussion:
"The Things They Carried"
All Carried
Norman Bowler & Pat Kiley
Mitchell Sanders
Kiowa
Ted Lander
Henry Dobbins
Jimmy Cross


What "barriers" did each create?
What was being locked out or kept in?
Was Robert Frost correct? Did "good fences make good neighbors?"


What about bridges? (See graphic organizer . . . you have 10 minutes for quick research.)


Quick-write to follow . . .In what ways were the things that they carried barriers? In what ways were the things they carried bridges? Is it easier to build "fences" or "bridges?" Quick-write - 10 minutes. Write your thoughts in the space in CANVAS.


2. What movies did you view - thumbs up or thumbs down? Talk about these.
A. TitleB. Copyright date
C. Director
D. Actors
E. Names of characters
F. Information about the musical score
G. Plot in four sentences or fewer
H. Setting (Time and place)
I. Awards nominated for and/or won
J. Other interesting information


How to write a movie review . . . See rubric and http://www.dailywritingtips.com/7-tips-for-writing-a-film-review/
Samples: http://movies.about.com/od/newmoviesandreviews/fl/Review-Cinderella.htm
http://movies.about.com/od/newmoviesandreviews/fl/Review-Unbroken.htm
http://movies.about.com/od/newmoviesandreviews/fl/Review-American-Sniper.htm


Homework
Write a review of the war movie you viewed. Keep the seven tips and the rubric in mind. Do share your opinion! Should the reader spend money to view the film or not?
Post in Canvas by Thursday and print a paper copy for peer review. (50 points)


What do you know about the Mirabal sisters? See what you can find out by Thursday. List 10 points. Include URLs. Post by Thursday. (30 points)

March 26, 2015

Class Work

1. You need a paper copy of your "Travel to the Wall" essay.
2. Find your partner. Switch papers. Read and report. (Peer editing sheet provided)
3. Sharing . . . nominate a reader or volunteer to read.  We have time for 3-5 readers. I will select if all else fails!
4. Take out your list of characters and what they carried from "The Things They Carried."  (Groups will report - class discussion to follow)
 Who carried what? Why?
A. What were the challenges?
 B. Did the things they carried make any difference.
1. Join a group. Compare lists and write a master list on the board. Be prepared to discuss the questions/answers with the class.
2. What does this story say about war? What does it say about the Vietnam war? Does this compare to the "current" war? 
5. Bridges graphic organizer . . . groups of three.
6. In what ways were the things that "they" carried barriers? In what ways were the things they carried bridges? Quick-write - 10 minutes. Write your thoughts in the space in CANVAS.



Homework

1. Review the peer editing notes. Post the final draft of the "Travel to the Wall" essay in CANVAS by Tuesday, March 31, 2015.

2. War movie trailers:
Hurt Locker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GxSDZc8etg
Zero Dark Thirty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYFhFYoDAo4
Unbroken: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrjJbl7kRrI
Captain Phillips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3ASoBrFGlc
Divergent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sutgWjz10sM
Insurgent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suZcGoRLXkU
Hunger Games Mockingjay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e2xY0pMz70
American Sniper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MItGoIxoVGk
Black Hawk Down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnV6wM-vd9s
The Hobbit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVAgTiBrrDA
Saving Private Ryan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwhP5b4tD6g
Pearl Harbor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGwI-392jfE
Green Berets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xhfSWEbbhM
Great Escape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkwmIDx9RwQ
War of the Worlds 1953: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_fSawuo2Rg
War of the Worlds 2005: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msxe3yJPfyY

Feel free to select any war movie you care to view. This is a short list of possibilities.



Homework: Watch a "war" movie this weekend.  ( Brainstorm possibilities) We will write a review of the movie in class on Tuesday. You need to know the following:
A. Title
B. Copyright date
C. Director
D. Actors
E. Names of characters
F. Information about the musical score
G. Plot in four sentences or fewer
H. Setting (Time and place)
I. Awards nominated for and/or won
J. Other interesting information

Post the notes in CANVAS so that you have them with you when you come to class. (30 pts)

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Class Work

1. Pretend that you have been hired by a travel agency. Your first assignment for the agency is to write a one page blurb that will entice people to add your "wall" to the list of things they want to see while visiting the area.
2. You are not sure how to do that, so you decide to take a look at some travel magazines that are scattered about the office.

• Read two samples.
• As a table, make of list of the information readers would expect to find in an article.
• Share with the class. We will create a class list of requirements for the article.

3. Now, you need to determine the audience. Who are these travelers?
A. From where do they come?
B. What are the demographics? Age, income, education? Married? Single? Families?
C. Are there children in the group. This answer will determine what information you intend to include in the blurb and what words to use.
D. Physically fit/active/challenged?



4.Next, the folks will need to know -
A. Time needed to visit the wall
B. Other activities in the area
C. What one will learn by visiting the wall
D. In short, why should one visit the wall?

Share a  bit of the history of the wall and tease the reader with some information about how and why the wall was built.

Example: http://www.affordableasia.com/infocenter/attration/china/beijing/forbidden-city



Post your draft by Thursday. We will have a peer editing activity.


************************************************************************

What did you bring with you to class today? Take an inventory. If you prefer, make your inventory list from your handbag or back pack or tote bag. What do you carry? Why?

"The Things They Carried"  by Tim O'Brien



Homework


A. Read this interview with the author, Tim O'Brien: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125128156  Make a list of 10 interesting things you learned about the author. Post in CANVAS.





 Read "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. This is a short story.

http://www.tarleton.edu/Faculty/sword/The%20Things%20They%20Carried.pdf



Keep track of the characters and list the "things" each carried. Bring the lists to class on Thursday.


Extra Credit Opportunity!
Full text:
http://juniorcpdhs11-12.wikispaces.com/The+Things+They+Carried


Read the rest of the story. Write a one-page review. Be sure to note if you would or would not recommend the reading to others. Give me a paper copy when you are finished.

March 12, 2015

Class Work

This was the homework:

Write about a personal experience that included a barrier or wall. This can be a physical or metaphorical wall. One page - just "quick write" and share the story. Due in CANVAS by Thursday. (25 pts.)


Let's share a story or two . . .

• Table sharing
• Someone at another table sharing
• Whole class sharing

So, do "good fences make good neighbors," or not? That is the basis of the topic of our next essay. 

Now, let's think bigger. What kinds of walls or fences exist that are not necessarily tangible? (Discuss)



Go for the lyrics or for a poem - here is an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKY-smJ6aBQ
A winter's day 

In a deep and dark December; 
I am alone, 
Gazing from my window to the streets below 
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow. 
I am a rock, 
I am an island. 

I've built walls, 
A fortress deep and mighty, 
That none may penetrate. 
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. 
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain. 
I am a rock, 
I am an island. 

Don't talk of love, 
But I've heard the words before; 
It's sleeping in my memory. 
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died. 
If I never loved I never would have cried. 
I am a rock, 
I am an island. 

I have my books 
And my poetry to protect me; 
I am shielded in my armor, 
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb. 
I touch no one and no one touches me. 
I am a rock, 
I am an island. 

And a rock feels no pain; 

by Simon and Garfunkel

As you look at the lyrics, what words and phrases create a "picture" of this personal "wall?"



Now, find your own song lyrics! Are there any lyric writers in the house? Feel free to write your own lyrics.



If you are having trouble finding song lyrics about fences or barriers, look for a poem or write your own.



Here is a chart to use to help you figure out what to include in your next essay. Let's talk first.
Gather ideas over the holiday. Fill in the spaces in this chart. Keep track of your sources. Bring a paper copy to class on March 24, 2015

Walls/Barriers: Do good fences make good neighbors? Prove it!

Quotations about walls or barriers.
Famous poems or song lyrics about walls or barriers. Are there any famous walls in movies? Name and explain.
Facts about walls, yours specifically.   A.      Time to build B.      Cost both in money and human effort C.      Size D.      Etc. You have much of this on your “wall” report.
How effective is your wall? How effective are walls in general? In short, are they worth the effort? Prove it with facts/statistics.
What is your personal experience with walls/barriers?
Do you recommend walls/barriers either physical or methaphorical? Explain.

Ballads

http://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/Ballad
 
Quotations about walls: http://www.quotesoup.com/quotes/search.aspx?category=walls


Let's have some fun. Take an object out of the box. Let you brain explore. In what ways can this object be a wall or barrier? Can you think of any stories? Have you had any experiences?


Quick-write - post in CANVAS.





 

March 10, 2015

Class Work

1. Take out the paper copy of your "Friend or Foe" essay. Find the other student in the room who shares your number. You are partners!

Use the EMCC rubric to edit the paper.

Homework:  Write the final copy of the essay. Post it in CANVAS by the Tuesday  following spring break. (100 pts)

2. Do good fences make good neighbors?

http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/mending-wall

Handout: "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost

 
Create a dialogue between one of the wall menders and a "someone" at home.  Take the next 10 minutes to create a conversation between you and one other person. Either play the role of the neighbor who believes that "good fences make good neighbors," or play the role of the narrator who believes that "something there is that doesn't like a wall."

Have the chosen character have a conversation with someone who was not out helping to mend the wall. Stick to your chosen character's point of view in the conversation. The other participant in the conversation may be either a hostile or a friendly audience. That is, that individual may either disagree or agree with you.



3. What wall or fence did you select for research?
Share the history of your wall with the others at your table.

A. Was your wall a result of or a part of war?
B. Was your wall created for the sake of beauty?
C. Was your wall functional - served a purpose. For instance, was it big enough to keep wild beasts away?
D. Was your wall erected to keep something or someone inside?
E. Was your wall "successful"? What good is a wall anyway?


(Share with the class.)

So, do "good fences make good neighbors," or not? That is the topic of our next essay. 

Now, let's think bigger. What kinds of walls or fences exist that are not necessarily tangible? (Discuss)



Go for the lyrics or for a poem - here is an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKY-smJ6aBQA winter's day 

In a deep and dark December; 
I am alone, 
Gazing from my window to the streets below 
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow. 
I am a rock, 
I am an island. 

I've built walls, 
A fortress deep and mighty, 
That none may penetrate. 
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. 
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain. 
I am a rock, 
I am an island. 

Don't talk of love, 
But I've heard the words before; 
It's sleeping in my memory. 
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died. 
If I never loved I never would have cried. 
I am a rock, 
I am an island. 

I have my books 
And my poetry to protect me; 
I am shielded in my armor, 
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb. 
I touch no one and no one touches me. 
I am a rock, 
I am an island. 

And a rock feels no pain; 

by Simon and Garfunkel

As you look at the lyrics, what words and phrases create a "picture" of this personal "wall?"

Now, find your own song lyrics!

Here is a chart to use to help you figure out what to include in your next essay. Let's talk first. What has your experience been? See the homework assignment below for details.

Walls/Barriers: Do good fences make good neighbors? Prove it!

Quotations about walls or barriers.
Famous poems or song lyrics about walls or barriers. Are there any famous walls in movies? Name and explain.
Facts about walls, yours specifically.   A.      Time to build B.      Cost both in money and human effort C.      Size D.      Etc. You have much of this on your “wall” report.
How effective is your wall? How effective are walls in general? In short, are they worth the effort? Prove it with facts/statistics.
What is your personal experience with walls/barriers?
Do you recommend walls/barriers either physical or methaphorical? Explain.

Homework:  



A.  Write about a personal experience that included a barrier or wall. This can be a physical or metaphorical wall. One page - just "quick write" and share the story. Due in CANVAS by Thursday. (25 pts.)

March 5, 2015 - Thursday

Class Work


Let's review - Technology/Medicine Friend or Foe (A handout was provided earlier.) Let's look at the guidelines together. You will be writing the draft and posting in CANVAS by Tuesday. We will peer edit on Tuesday. Bring a paper copy to class.

Technology/Medicine – Friend or Foe?

For this essay, you are writing to convince the opposition of the merits or dangers of technology or controversial medical advances.  For this essay, you must pick a side. Think of this essay as a debate on paper. You must know what the opposition thinks, but you do not support that point of view.

I. Introduction –
a. Identify the specific technology you will be discussing – cell phone, computer, automobile, dishwasher, microwave, GPS, etc. Or you may discuss a specific medical advance such as stem cell research or cloning. 

b. Capture the attention of the audience in the normal way with startling statistics, an interesting anecdote, a quotation from an expert, lines from a song or poem, a thought provoking question, etc. In short, make sure that what you say makes the reader want to know more.
c. In addition, state your thesis – make your point of view clear!
II. The body of the paper will do several things –
a. Convince the readers that they either need or do not need the technology.
b. Provide a brief history of the specific technology you plan to discuss. What was life like before its invention? When was it invented? How has it evolved? What is its story?
c. Provide clear evidence to support your point of view. You must have proof from
1) At least two experts.
2) A current news source such as a newspaper or magazine
article or news cast.
3) An interview with at least one user if you select the technology option or with an interested party if you select the medical advances option.
4) A personal anecdote if you select the technology option or have personal experience with the medical option.5) Lines from literature – poem, short story, or novel. We read “The Veldt” and “There Will Come Soft Rains.”6) Strong statistics from an expert source.
The body of the paper will be several paragraphs in length.
III. Conclusion –
Wrap it up for the readers. Leave them with a call to action to either give up or get the gadget you selected or to support or fight against the medical advance you selected. Be sure they know why they need or do not need one. Consider:
a. Convenience
b. Cost
c. Safety
d. Environmental impact

e. Societal impact – negative and positive

f. Religious thoughts

e. Ethical concerns

******************************************************************************

Moving on . . .

1. You have 10 minutes to go out of the room, find a wall or barrier, take a picture of it or make a sketch. In addition, find a rock. Bring the picture/sketch and rock back to class. See you soon!

Writing about a rock . . . (You may use paper or you may type on a Word document.

• Size
• Shape
• Distinguishing features
• Color
• Weight
• Sound
• Smell
• Uses??? Be creative here.

Keep your reactions for the future.

 

Moving on . . . .

2.

Table Work: Create a mind-map using Walls/Barriers as the center element. Branch out from there.  One map per table, please. All names must appear on the map. The person with the birthday closest to today is the "illustrator" of the map.

The person with the birthday farthest from today is the "leader/questioner" who keeps asking, "What else do we know about walls?"  and other questions.
Moving on . . . .
3.
. Take out your wall/barrier photos or sketches. Share and discuss.

• Why did you select that wall or barrier?
• What do you like about it?
• What is the purpose of the wall/barrier?
• Talk about the shape and size of the wall or barrier.
• Is that wall or barrier effective?
• If you could change one thing about that wall or barrier, what would that be? Explain.

Homework: Find a famous or not so famous wall or barrier. Post a picture of it on CANVAS and answer the following questions: (Due Tuesday, March 10, 2013)

• Why did you select that wall?
• Why was it built?
• What uses did it serve?
• How old is it?
• How was it made? 
• What materials were used?
• How many people did it take to complete the wall?
• What else do you know about the wall?
• Was the wall a "success?" 

And now - a little poetry!

Do good fences make good neighbors?

http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/mending-wall

Handout: "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost

March 3, 2015 - Tuesday

Class Work

1. At your table, take 3 minutes each to share your anecdote.
2. Let's have fun with numbers.


Use numbers to support your point of view - Let's practice.

How much is a bottle of soda, coffee, or water here at EMCC? 
How often do you purchase soda, coffee, or water each week?
How much do you spend each month?
How much do you spend each year?
What else in your life costs that much? Are you making a good investment?

If you started with the larger number and need a smaller number, show that one is only spending ______ amount per day. It might sound like a good deal!

Tips: : http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/statistics/


Now let's look at charts and graphs.https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/672/01/

Partners Please

With a partner, work though the rest of the chart/graph quiz: http://www.tv411.org/reading/understanding-what-you-read/reading-charts-and-graphs
 (Be sure to click "Begin Lesson" at the bottom of the page.)

Work with a partner to verbally explain a chart or graph.

• Find a chart or graph
• https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0SO8wuK4vRU96cAssJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzb3NtaGwzBGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQNTc3XzEEc2VjA3Nj?p=Writing+About+Charts+and+Graphs&fr=yfp-t-901
• Instead of just putting the chart or graph into your essay, you need to write about what you see. You may include the chart or graph in the text of your paper, but you will still need to explain it in your own words. Point out what you want the reader to see and to understand. Talk about the chart or graph of your choice and write to explain what the chart of graph is saying. Submit one paper copy per partner set.

Homework

1. Work on the introduction of your technology/medical essay. (Paper Handout)

Complete the introduction. Be sure to address a, b, and c. Post in CANVAS by Wednesday.(25 points)

2. Locate a chart of graph of your own that supports your topic. Explain in paragraph form what the chart is illustrating and explain how it relates to your topic. Post the chart and the paragraph(s) in CANVAS by Wednesday. (25 points)