Essay Prompt for Wednesday, December 19th

• Huckleberry Finn is a novel filled with death: Huck’s own faked murder, his father’s body floating down the river, Emmeline Grangerford, the fued, and more to come. Would you consider the book morbid? If not, what purpose does all of the death in the novel serve?

Here's some reading that will help with your essay:

Persuasive Writing

The purpose of persuasive writing is to assert an opinion which you are going to defend and to offer supporting evidence (data) in order to convince the reader to agree with you. In the process, you deal with opposing views, thus convincing him/her of the superiority of your argument. Additionally, a good writer may present emotional as well as rational appeal. All of your reasoning should lead to a logical conclusion. If your subject matter warrants a change, you will offer a solution to the status quo in a proposal.

Persuasive essays should include documentation which will require research. By investigating your topic and including supporting comments from authorities, you give credibility to your argument.

Make a clear statement of what you believe or assert, your hypothesis/ thesis Statement.

Part II - Writing Process

The thesis/hypothesis is your statement of purpose. The thesis//hypothesis should be one sentence in length. This is the foundation of your essay and it will serve to guide you in writing the entire paper. Don't begin to write your essay until you have a clear thesis/hypothesis.

Thesis defined: A proposition that is maintained by argument. An affirmation, or distinction from a supposition or hypothesis.

Gather all factual information using guidelines for documentation and works cited. Consider all potential explanations, rating them in order of importance or relevance to the thesis/hypothesis statement. Assemble collected facts to support each explanation.

Prepare an outline arranging the explanations in the best order for the desired effect. The purpose of an outline is to make your task easier. As you write your outline, ask yourself whether each idea serves to clarify and strengthen the thesis/hypothesis. Use the sample outline by inserting your specific information into the outline structure.

Proofread. The computer can check spelling errors easily, but be aware that sometimes a word is correctly spelled but used incorrectly in a particular sentence. It is still important to proofread after the spell check.

Part III – Essay Outline

Introduction PLEASE WRITE ON YOUR OWN PAPER
Get the reader's attention by asking a leading question; relay something enticing about the subject in a manner that commands attention. Start with a related quote, alluring description, or narration.

State the thesis/hypothesis-the causes and effects to be discussed; comparison of subject X and subject Y; your position on the issue; your proposal if applicable; and the main points that will develop your argument.

Body
First Point, Assertion, Explanation
Supporting evidence (examples, facts, statistics, quoted authorities, details, reasons, examples)
Supporting evidence

Second explanation
Support
Support

Third explanation
Support
Support

Fourth explanation (continue as above with additional explanations as needed.)
Support
Support

Address opposing viewpoints

Conclusion
Show how explanations (causes) are logical reasons producing the effects discussed; review subject X and subject Y; reiterate your assertion and proposition (if applicable). Reemphasize your thesis/hypothesis in a fresh way, showing how your have achieved your purpose. If you intend to draw to a conclusion about one subject over the other, emphasize that point.

Deal with opposing views.

Appeal to the reader to see how you have come to a logical conclusion.

Make a memorable final statement.

We Were Robbed

We totally should have won the Christmas door decorating contest, but I think someone (Mr. Davis) bribed the judges!

Essay Prompt for Monday, December 10th

Write an essay based upon the following prompt:

In Mark Twain’s book Huckleberry Finn, Jim claims that, “dey say Sollermun de wises’ man dat ever liv’. I doan’ take no stock in dat.” Why doesn’t Jim think Solomon is wise? Do you agree or disagree with Jim?

Remember to begin by brainstorming and creating an outline for your essay. Make sure your thesis statement is direct and obvious.

Short Answer Questions for Thursday, Dec 6th.

Short answer questions should be viewed as mini-essay questions. Your brainstorming and outlining should be the same. Here an outline for outlining (hehehe):

Outlining

1) Thesis statement: Make sure this statement is well-written, strong, direct, and states
your purpose for writing the essay.

a) Second Sentence: A detail or fact that reinforces your thesis statement.

i) Third Sentence: Evidence that reinforces your second sentence.

ii) Fourth Sentence: Evidence that reinforces your second sentence.

b) Fifth Sentence: A detail or fact that reinforces your thesis statement.

i) Sixth Sentence: Evidence that reinforces your fifth sentence.

ii) Seventh Sentence: Evidence that reinforces your fifth sentence.

Your short answer questions (and yes, you do need to brainstorm and outline each one before you write it) for today are:

1. What does Huck think about religion?
2. What role does superstition play in the novel?
3. "They get down on a thing when they don't know nothing about it" -Huck Finn- Write a response to this quote.

Good luck!

Hard Working Students!

Edited for FERPA sake.

Just for Kesli!

Julius Caesar Book Here

1. Show how each of the four generals--Octavius, M. Antony, Brutus, and Cassius--reveal their characters in the parley at the beginning of Act V.
2. How is Cassius' speech, Act V, Scene 1, a sample of prophetic imagery?
3. Explain Act V, Scene 3, lines 94-96, and Act V, Scene 5, lines 17-20.
   

Nonfiction Progress #1

Complete a detailed progress report concerning your nonfiction reading project. In your report include how many pages you have read in your book, the total number of pages in your book, a brief synopsis of your reading so far, and your general impressions of the reading. Also include any progress that you may have made on the project itself. Conclude with a general reflection of the reading and project assignment along with a time line that you plan to follow to complete your project by the 11th of December.

The report can be in any format that you choose, but must be posted to you account at www.turnitin.com. If you weren't here on Tuesday (or didn't listen!), create an account for yourself using:
Period 1

• Class ID 2080034
• Password Silver

Period 3

• Class ID 2090362
• Password Silver
  

Good luck!

Who is Kino?

Is he any of these guys???

Long live education!!!

In celebration of the return of YouTube to our daily education I'd like to post another awesome video. If you doubt the educational value, please come talk to me!

Analyzing the Audience

Look carefully at each of the following websites. Who is the intended audience? How can you tell? Be specific and detailed in your answers. Consider the following questions:

• Who will be reading/listening to/ using this material?
• What special characteristics do they have?
• Which discourse community do they belong to?
• What is their background and attitude toward the subject?
  

After you have decided the intended audience, decide the purpose of the website. Again, be specific and detailed in your answers.

Sport Compact Car
MSNBC
CosmoGIRL
American Geriatrics Society
EHS

Post your responses on your blog. Due 11/14/07.

Your Letter Should Look Like This

Your Street Address (make one up)
Your City, State Zip
Your Phone Number (optional and fake only)
Today's Date

Recipients Name
Recipients Street Address Real
Recipients City, State Zip

Dear Mr. or Mrs...

Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here.

Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here. Insert body of text here.

Sincerely,



Your Name Here

Hammer Time!

Another reason why I love Youtube!

If you can't see this in school, thank big brother.

Nonfiction Project Assignment Clarification

In case anyone is confused about the purpose or requirements of the assignment, here you go:

To begin, the purpose of this assignment is to understand the importance of nonfiction reading for self/career improvement and put it into action. This purpose is written on the board and we discussed in in depth as a class before beginning the assignment. In this discussion we decided that there were two basic reasons to read: reading for the intrinsic enjoyment of it, or reading as a tool to help you accomplish another task. This assignment is intended to emphasize the second of these two reasons.

Each student is to choose a task or project that is important to them. It could be anything from developing a new hobby or improving an existing one to developing skills necessary for a particular college program or career. Students have come up with a wide variety of ideas including acting in a self-made film, creating a chapbook of poetry, taking a professional family portrait, comparing and contrasting branches of the military, and many more.

Once a project is decided upon, each student must the choose a book to help them to accomplish their project. The book is the real purpose of the assignment and we will pay close attention and study many aspects of non-fiction writing as the students work toward their individual projects. The book must be a non-fiction piece of appropriate length. Content must be justified by the student as to how it pertains to their project in a proposal letter that they will right.

If you still have any questions, please post them here on the blog so that we may all learn from them. Thanks!

Proposal Letter

Your proposal letter should be a detailed request to me asking permission to continue your project as planned. Your proposal should be written in formal business letter format and should include the following items:

• salutation and introduction
• detailed summary of your project
• an explanation of why this book is right for you
  
• detailed description of the book that you have chosen to read and how it will help you accomplish your project goal (I know that you haven't read the book yet, so do the best with the information you can get from a quick overview of the book. You may find in the end that the book wasn't very useful in helping you to complete the project. That's how life works!).
  
• a step-by-step plan of how you hope to proceed
• summary

The proposal letter is due by the end of class on Friday. Good Luck!

RIP Blog Posts

I'm very sad to say that I'm not going to post to the blog anymore this semester. After the first few weeks of posts I realized that no one was utilizing the blog. I still really like the idea and I'll be working over it for next semester. Please shoot me an email if you have any questions.

09/05/2007

Wow, long weekend and they I forgot to post yesterday. I'm turning into a bit of a slacker...I wonder if it's contagious?

Yesterday we did a whole lot of reading from "Algernon" and then we completed the plural nouns worksheet. Not too much, but if you were absent talk to me about checking out a book so that you can catch up on the reading.

Today was a little more exciting. We began a small research project on Mental Handicaps. We divided into groups and each group will do a short PowerPoint presentation on their topic. The rubric for the project is listed under assignments (right hand side of this page). We're going to work on this project one more day (possibly Friday) and then we will present our findings to the class.

Last thing, I decided that Trent has to tell me who Steve Prefontaine is before the end of the semester or he will fail English. So, if you know, you might want to help Trent out!

08/30/2007

Today we learned a little bit about the Rarschach (raw shock) test, also known as the inkblot test. Everyone made their own inkblot using finger paints. Some of them turned out awesome. .. some of them not so awesome, but it was fun. We'll see Rorschach test in use in the book that we started reading today, Flowers for Algernon. We only got about 10 pages in, but already I'm loving this book.

We also completed the grammar section on "Common and Proper" nouns and turned in a worksheet.

Remember, your spiral notebook and syllabus are due tomorrow for full points.

08/29/2007

Isn't "Harrison Bergernon" a great story to start out with? Vonegut (the guy who wrote the story) is a master of political satire. I absolutely love his book Sirens of Titan, but Slaughterhouse Five is also good and is his best known work.

Today we talked about the future and what it might bring in the next ten years. We talked about awesome innovations and crazy laws that might come to pass. We talked a little bit about plot and then completed a plot worksheet for "Harrison Bergernon," on which we discussed exposition, rising action, climax, and falling action. This assignment should have been completed in class and turned in.

Tomorrow we are going to do some finger painting as an introduction to the novel Flowers for Algernon. I think it's going to be awesome!

08/28/2007

The second day of school and whew, I'm tired! I hope everyone's having as much fun as I am.

Here's the recap for the day:
We spent some more time covering rules and procedures to help the class move smoothly. If you have any questions about anything, please ask me. Remember, you will receive extra credit for any unused hall passes turned in at the end of the semester and/or if your parent/guardian joins you in class one day!
We learned about nouns and completed a grammar worksheet on nouns. If you didn't get this worksheet, you'll need to talk to me about it. I can't post worksheets online yet, but hopefully I will soon.
We also had a discussion about "plot," but there were no assignments.

08/27/2007

Howdy, howdy, howdy, and welcome to the blog! I hope you will take a minute to acquaint yourself with the blog and realize what a useful tool it will be this year.

The right column will contain daily (or nearly daily) updates of what is going on in our class. It will let you know what we have been talking about, what we have been reading, what we have been doing, and what assignments will be due. You are welcome and encouraged to make comments or ask questions on the daily posts simply by clicking on the word "comments" below the post.

The right hand column will contain a list of past posts, instructor bio (that's me!), and (most importantly) a list of assignments. By clicking on each individual assignment you can see a copy of the assignment, due date, and points possible. Students can use this feature to find any assignments they have missed while absent (or sleeping) and parents can see exactly what assignments their students should be working on.

Please email, call, or post on the blog any questions or suggestions that you might have. We will continue to adapt and improve the blog throughout the year to make in more useful to us.

Thanks for visiting, and here's to a great year!
Mr. S