Period 5: Rough Draft Research Paper Graded

There were 17 out of 25 research paper rough drafts turned in. All of those turned in on Nov. 23 have been graded. Please read the comments on Turnitin.com. The three that were turned in on Nov. 24 will be graded next. The remaining eight papers should be turned in as soon as possible, as the later it is turned in, the lower the grade will be.

Overall, I was pleased. Most people cited sources where necessary. There is still some confusion on the formatting of in-text citations and the Works Cited page. Please see the OWL website for clarification.

Some of you are in great shape. Jonathan, Mari, Maria: All you need to do is add an interview and double check your citations. Bravo! Others have more work to do, but now that you have feedback, it should be easy enough to do. It's those who have not turned anything in that need to worry.

Rough Draft of Research Paper Due Wednesday, Nov. 23

You will turn in the rough draft of your paper to turnitin.com
First, you will need to go to the website and create an account. You will use the ID 4573808 and password period4 or 4573811 and password period5, according to which class you are in.
I've created an assignment called Introduction. This is just a practice assignment, so you can see how the program works. It won't be graded. It won't explode. It won't hurt you. Go ahead and try it.

SAS Teachers Available for Feedback

On Tuesday, Nov. 8, SAS teachers will be available upstairs in the 400 building from 1:40 to 2:00 p.m. to give you feedback on your Senior Project topic and/or thesis statement.

If you are unable to attend, you must get feedback from a teacher at some other time (advisory, nutrition, lunch, after school)before class on Thursday. This is a homework assignment.

Those who attended the last "office hours" session have completed the assignment.

Education Week Teacher: Senior Projects: A Cure for Senioritis

Education Week Teacher: Senior Projects: A Cure for Senioritis

Q. and A. | How Facebook Use Correlates With Student Outcomes - NYTimes.com

I thought you might find this interesting.

Q. and A. | How Facebook Use Correlates With Student Outcomes - NYTimes.com

Cyberbullying: The Power and Peril of Anonymity - Digital Education - Education Week

For those of you who are researching this topic, read the following article.

Cyberbullying: The Power and Peril of Anonymity - Digital Education - Education Week

10 Bibliography (Source) Cards Due Monday

Turn in 10 index cards, one for each source, when you walk in the door on Monday. Use the cheat sheet I gave you for formatting, or check on the OWL link on this page (see below, right). Write on one side of the card only.

Next week, you will be taking notes from your sources, so you will need to buy some index cards.

SAS "Office Hours" on Tuesday After School

In college, your professors will have office hours when you can discuss questions that you have. After school tomorrow, SAS teachers will have "office hours" to discuss the Senior Project with you. The lineup is as follows:
English Teachers: Room 422 (Carmicle)For questions about MLA style or thesis statements
Math Teachers: Room 424 (Hermosillo)For how to use statistics in your research paper
History/Social Studies Teachers: Room 420 (Tobenkin)For all those current event topics such as immigration or global warming
Science Teachers: Room 421 (Cusolito)For topics that involve one of the sciences
Foreign Language/ Electives Teachers: Room 423 (Taron)For feedback in general

Ms. Taron also has expertise in nutrition. Counselors will be in various rooms.

This is not required, but it is highly recommended. Teachers are often busy and this is a chance to have their undivided attention.

Field Trip to Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Get your field trip slips in! We are going to LACMA this Tuesday. We will get a tour of the new California Design exhibit from 11:15 to 12:15. After the tour, you can eat your lunch on the lawn, or buy something from the museum cafe or the lunch trucks on Wilshire Boulevard.

Letter of Intent

5th Period Honors: Your letter of intent is due Friday, Oct. 7.

4th Period Regular: Your letter is due Monday, Oct. 10

Letters must be typed. Follow the guidelines in the Senior Project Survival Guide. Remember to sign your name above your printed name.

Syllabus is Available

Download from the box at right. This syllabus is subject to change depending on assemblies, field trips, guest speakers, and the like.

Download Senior Project Survival Guide.

It can be found in the box at right. Read through it and keep a copy handy on a flash drive. (Bonus: You will receive a handy flash drive/rubber bracelet as soon as your project's thesis statement is approved.)

I Miss You All Already

Thanks for a great year. I will remember the Class of 2011 fondly. Remember to send me a pennant from your college and I will put it on my wall with your name, so all my future students can be inspired.

7 insider tips to paying for college - Paying for College | GreatSchools

7 insider tips to paying for college - Paying for College | GreatSchools

James Joyce

The next two weeks we are reading the great Irish writer James Joyce. First we will read "Eveline" from the book of short stories Dubliners (pgs. 1207-1212 in your textbook) and complete Writer's Response on page 1208.
Then we will review some questions about the story and complete an exercise in using precise verbs. Replace the verbs in the passage beginning with "A bell clanged upon her heart" and ending with "Amid the seas she sent a cry of anguish." (pg. 1212 column two) Rewrite the passage with different verbs.
We will read "Araby," another story from Dubliners and do a Venn diagram comparing the character Eveline and the boy from "Araby." Students will use the Venn diagram as notes for a comparison essay of "Eveline" and "Araby."
Finally, we will watch an A & E Biography video on Joyce and take notes.

Comparison of Andrew and Meursault

Turn in your 250-word comparison of Andrew from the film Garden State with Meursault from the novel The Stranger.

The Stranger Essay Test on Monday

I hope you enjoyed your Spring Break and are well rested. Be prepared on Monday to write an in-class essay on The Stranger, by Albert Camus. You will choose one of two prompts. You may use your book and your notes.

Choose one: explain Meursault's philosophy of life, or your own.
1. Throughout The Stranger we see Meursault's philosophy develop from a man who didn't think much was important through events such as his mother's death and funeral, and his trial. It is only in prison, just before his execution that he formulates his philosophy of life. What is his philosophy?
2. What is your philosophy of life? What do you believe in? How do you live your life? What do you think about life and death? How do you define morality? God? How does love factor into your life?
Remember, you are writing an essay, not simply answering the questions. Make sure you have an introduction, body and conclusion.

Philosophical Journal

As I told you in class, you will be keeping a philosophical journal as you read The Stranger by Albert Camus. You may get a special notebook or use notebook paper and staple the entries together. Each entry should be at least a half a page of standard size notebook paper; if you use a smaller notebook, adjust accordingly. Write each entry on a separate page. There will be 15 entries, including three separate entries over one weekend. Journal entries will be posted on the board each day. The entire list is as follows:
1. In The Guest, Daru doesn't want to take sides. He thinks he can escape responsibility by letting the Arab decide his fate. Can you really avoid making decisions in life? When is not making a decision a decision in itself?
2. In The Guest, the Arab chooses prison over freedom. Freedom can be liberating or frightening. Can it be isolating to be completely free?
3.Read chapter two of The Stranger. On pg. 21, Meursault says, "I don't like Sundays." Compare how you feel on a Friday afternoon with how you feel on a Sunday afternoon. Is there a difference? What is it?
4.On pg. 21, Meursault says, "I cut out an advertisement for Kruschen Salts and stuck it in an old notebook where I put things from the papers that interest me." Cut out pictures, ads, articles that interest you from a newspaper or magazine and paste them on a separate page in your journal.
5. Read chapter three of The Stranger. On pages 27-28, Salamano says, "He's always there." Comment on the love/hate relationship in your life. (sibling, computer, etc.)
6. On page 39, Meursault realizes the sound he hears is Salamano crying. If you heard someone crying (neighbor, friend, stranger), what would you do?
7. Read chapters four and five of The Stranger. Choose one of the following journal entries:
Have you ever been disappointed in a goal? What did you do? Give up or try again?
Does adversity make you stronger?
Is marriage a serious thing? What does marriage mean to you?
What is your impression of Paris? Do you want to visit there?
What is your impression of old age?
What is your best physical quality? What if you lost it?
8, 9, and 10: Read chapter six of The Stranger. Keep a diary for the weeekend. You must have at least an entry for Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday. (see handout for complete instructions.)
11. Read part II, chapter 2. "There are some things I've never liked talking about." (pg. 72) What are the things you don't like talking about? Why? If nothing, why are you able to talk about everything?
12. Read part II, chapter 3. "It was just chance." (pg. 95) Comment on the role chance has played in your life.
13. Read part II, chapter 4. "My fate was being decided without anyone so much as asking my opinion." (pg.98) Have you ever felt this way? Explain.
14. Read part II, chapter 5. "Maman used to say you can always find something to be happy about." (pg. 113) How do you find things to be happy about? What makes you happy?
15. Read Albert Camus's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech. "Each generation feels called upon to reform the world." (handout pg. 526) Does this observation apply to your generation? Why or why not?

Meet in the Library on Monday

Before you begin reading The Stranger, by Albert Camus, I want to introduce you to various philosophies, including existentialism. We will meet in the library on Monday, where you will pair up and do some quick research on a philosopher. Each pair will give a two-minute presentation on their philosopher while the rest of the class takes notes.

Bring your literature textbook on Wednesday

We will continue our short story unit with The Guest, by Albert Camus.

Verb Tenses

If you were absent on Friday, we did Practice pg. 579 in writing.

On Monday and Tuesday, you will have an open-book test on Grammar Review pgs. 592-596.

Poetry Trilogy Due Friday by 5 p.m. on Turnitin.com

3 Poems - 2 Poets - 1 Theme

Choose three poems by two poets that have the same theme. (You must choose two poets we have read in class but you may find others poems written by them.)
Possible themes: love, nature, death, loneliness, alienation, routine of life

Write a five-paragraph essay about the three poems and their theme.

Write one-to-two biographical paragraphs on each poet in your own words.

Reproduce the poem and annotate at least three literary terms (such as simile, metaphor, personification, etc.).

Upload the assignment as one document on Turnitin.com. Your user name and passwords are the same as last semester. If you should need the class codes they are:
3646394 (period 2)
3646413 (period 4)
3646395 (period 5)

Memorize a Stanza

Your test on The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, by T.S. Eliot, is to memorize a stanza of 10-12 lines on Friday.

Score Sheets, Portfolios

I received all the score sheets yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to read through them or record the scores. I will do this on Monday while you write your portfolio reflections and I will return the score sheets to you by the end of class.

In our teachers' meeting on Friday, consensus was that your speaking skills were good, but that the level of analysis was low. Teachers made such comments as, "all show and tell, no analysis," "encyclopedic in breadth, superficial in depth," and "where's the beef?" They thought that the presentations need to show more of the research from your research paper.

With that in mind, I'd like you to address the Five States of Mind in your reflection. They are as follows, along with sample questions for you to address:
Craftsmanship: What criteria did you use to decide to _____(create a product, volunteer, whatever you did for your 20 hours)___________?
Consciousness: How did you make decisions about your Senior Project? How does your Senior Project compare to how you planned it?
Efficacy: What are some of the things you did to make the Senior Project go so well? How did you know that you could handle the situation?
Flexibility: What were some options you considered for your Senior Project?
Interdependence: What were some of the resources you utilized in your Senior Project? Who helped you with those resources?
(Cognitive Coaching Foundation Seminar Learning Guide, 7th ed, Arthur Costa and Robert Garmston)

Score Sheets, Portfolios

I received all the score sheets yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to read through them or record the scores. I will do this on Monday while you write your reflections and I will return the score sheets to you by the end of class.

In Friday's teachers meeting, consensus was the your speaking skills were good, but that the level of analysis was low. Teachers made such comments as, "all show and tell, no analysis," "encyclopedic in breadth, superficial in depth," and "where's the beef?" They thought that the presentations need to show more of the research from your research paper.

With that in mind, I'd like you to address the Five States of Mind in your reflection. They are as follows, along with sample questions for you to address:
Craftsmanship: What criteria did you use to decide to _____(create a product, volunteer, whatever you did you your 20 hours)___________?
Consciousness: How did you make decisions about your Senior Project? How does your Senior Project compare to how you planned it?
Efficacy: What are some of the things you did to make the Senior Project go so well? How did you know that you could handle the situation?
Flexibility: What were some options you considered for your Senior Project?
Interdependence: What were some of the resources you utilized in your Senior Project? Who helped you with those resources?
(Cognitive Coaching Foundation Seminar Learning Guide, 7th ed, Arthur Costa and Robert Garmston)

Slides Are Looking Good

Great work, everyone! I like what I have seen.
Now that your slides are done, the only thing left to do is practice,practice, practice.
I think the best use of our time is to practice in groups of three or four, using either the laptop assigned to you or (if this is unfeasible) your flash drive. You can make corrections to your slides, if necessary, but no major changes.

On Monday, we will watch a 26-minute video on Overcoming Stage Fright and practice some more.

PowerPoint Slides are due tomorrow

All students (periods 2, 4, and 5).
Your slides are your ticket in to class tomorrow. Failure to bring your slides will result in not being admitted to class. You will load your slides on to the individual computer that you will be using for your presentation next Thursday. To avoid last-minute panic, we are requiring that all slides be turned in on Thursday, Jan. 27. If you forget your slides, you will need to go home and get them, or have someone bring them to school.

Guidelines for Slide Show Presentations

These are guidelines. Use your own judgement.

Between seven and 15 slides
Easy on the text. Use bullets instead of paragraphs.
Choose a color/style that is pleasing to the eye. Keep it clean and simple.
Limit the use of "bells and whistles." These can be annoying.
Remember to use spell check. There is nothing worse than seeing a misspelled word on a big screen.

Concord Review Showcases Student Writers - NYTimes.com

I found this article interesting. Please read and write a one-paragraph response.

Concord Review Showcases Student Writers - NYTimes.com