People Who Share the Last Name, "Black": October 3, 2017

Focus: What role do the minor characters play in Oskar's journey?

1. Warming up with some visits to everyone named "Black":

• Flip through Oskar's chapters and list everyone he's visited so far named "Black."

• For each person, write one word that indicates your initial perception or Oskar's first impression of this character (one-word biography style).

• IF APPLICABLE...Then cross it out, and write down your final perception or Oskar's shifted impression of this character.

2. Combining partnerships to form groups of four and compare answers

• Why is each Black significant to Oskar's journey? What does each one help him question or understand differently?

• What do all of the Blacks have in common? 

3. Enjoying ELIC Fishbowl #3: Pages 174-207

4. Wrapping up with questions, epiphanies, and kudos!

HW:

1. Read pages 208-259 for Thursday in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; complete your journal entry. This is longest reading assignment you will have, so you will want to read at least 15 pages tonight. Also, you will have 20-30 minutes of reading time on BOTH Wed and Th to help you stay caught up without stressing you out.

If you miss a Fishbowl or Socratic, you must make it up. Read over the syllabus and blog comments, then add an extended comment to the class blog. 

2. Spend 5 minutes with your ELIC vocabulary words; vocabulary assessment this Friday.

One-Word Biographies: September 29, 2017

Focus: How can a one-word biography help you uncover a shift you've undergone?

1. Warming up with ELIC Words, List 1 (www.quizlet.com) and round-robin storytelling

2. Offering you an overview of our memoir unit

3. Friday freewriting: Click HERE for today's memoir slides on creating one-word biographies

4. Five-minute spontaneous share

HW:

1. Read pages 174-207 for next Tuesday in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; complete your journal entry using either the three passage, three question format or one of the more creative choices. Do what works for you! 

If you miss a Fishbowl or Socratic, you must make it up. Read over the syllabus and blog comments, then add an extended comment to the class blog. 

2. We will continue our READING JOURNAL CONFERENCES in class next Monday and Wednesday. Click HERE for the rubric. 

3. MONDAY IS THE FINAL DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING ANY WORK FROM THE LAST SIX WEEKS. 

Alas, Poor Yorick: September 28, 2017

Focus: Why does Foer include the play Hamlet in his novel? What does it help us understand about Oskar's role?

1. Warming up with a crash course on Hamlet

• Read "Hamlet in a nutshell"
• In your journal or in your ELIC Google folder, spend some time listing possible parallels (strong similarities) between the play Hamlet and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. In particular, what conflicts do Oskar and Hamlet share?

• Read/act out Act 5, scene 1 from Hamlet using No Fear Shakespeare (pages 8 and 9).
• What's Hamlet struggling with in this scene?

• How might his struggle relate to Oskar's struggles?

2. Optional: Watching the "Alas, poor Yorick" scene from the 1990 Hamlet (in the book, Oskar plays the role of the Yorick, the skull)

3. Enjoying Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Discussion #2: Pages 86-141

4. Wrapping up with takeaways/reflections

HW:

1. For Tuesday: Read pages 174-207 in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; complete your journal entry.

If you miss a Fishbowl or Socratic, you must make it up. Fishbowl: Read over the syllabus and blog comments, then add an extended comment to the class blog. Socratic: Read over the syllabus and the class notes, then add an extended comment to the class blog.

2. We will continue our READING JOURNAL CONFERENCES next Monday. Click HERE for the rubric. 

3. THIS FRIDAY IS THE END OF 6 WEEKS. All make-up work from the first 6 weeks must be submitted by Monday, Oct 2. After Monday, any grade in IC will remain as is.

Using Foer's Words: September 27, 2017

Focus: How will the characters' quests unfold?

1. Warming up with a review of yesterday's fishbowl discussion

• Kudos to the blogger of the day: Ms. Jacqueline P.

2. Meeting the ELIC words, List 1 (in www.quizlet.com)

3. Reading ELIC, journalling, and conferencing (click HERE for the conference rubric)

More creative journalling options:

• Write about your day in Oskar’s voice, or Thomas’ voice, or any of the character’s voices.

• If you had a book like Thomas’ in which you wrote out the phrases you needed most, what would they be this week? What does that suggest about you as a character?

• Turn a chapter you just read into a poem. Give it a title.

• Take pictures. Use them to seek connection/understanding in the same way Oskar does. Or draw. Make sure you explain the connections.

• Find clues to your own life (it’s up to you to decide what you’re trying to figure out). You could use headlines from newspapers, from social media, or any other “artifacts” from your daily life. Describe your journey compares to Oskar’s (or the grandparents’).

HW:

1. For Thursday: Read pages 142-173 in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; complete your 4th journal entry. You can continue journalling in the same way, or you can try out some of the creative options above! Whatever you do, make sure you post it on your blog:

If you miss a Fishbowl or Socratic, you must make it up. Fishbowl: Read over the syllabus and blog comments, then add an extended comment to the class blog. Socratic: Read over the syllabus and the class notes, then add an extended comment to the class blog.

2. Spend five minutes with ELIC words, List 1.

3. All make-up work, missing work, and revisions must be submitted by this Monday, Oct 2. After this date, grades from the first 6 weeks will stand as they are.

Unpacking the Grandparents' Emotional Baggage: September 26, 2017

Focus: What do we understand about the characters in ELIC so far, and what are we wondering?

1. Warming up with tightly packed emotional baggage from the grandmother's and grandfather's narratives

Left side of the room: 

• Find a chapter written in the grandfather's voice. 
• Identify one short sentence or phrase that alludes to his history/background/emotional baggage. 
• Write it on the whiteboard on the side or in the back of the room.

Right side of the room: 

• Turn to the chapter written in the grandmother's voice. 
• Identify one short sentence or phrase that alludes to her history/background/emotional baggage. 
• Write it on one of the whiteboards in the front of the room.

Everybody

• What are noticing about the grandparents?
• What are you wondering?

2. Discovering background on Dresden: What does it help you understand about their narratives?

• Click HERE to read about the bombing of Dresden.

• Click HERE for before and after pictures of Dresden (before the bombing and after).

• Click HERE to read a survivor's story (he was a POW in Dresden at the time).

• Click HERE to read another survivor's story (this one was a child at the time).

• Click HERE to watch an interview with a Dresden survivor (contains war footage).

3. Enjoying our first Fishbowl discussion: Pages 85-141

Outer circle reminders:

• Hit F5 to refresh the screen.
• When you're replying directly to someone, hit "reply."
• Bring a quotation into at least one of your comments/questions.
• Stay consistent from the beginning of the conversation to the end.

4. Wrapping up

HW:

1. For Thursday: Read pages 142-173 in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; complete your 4th journal entry. You can continue journalling in the same way, or you can try out some of the creative options below! Whatever you do, make sure you post it on your blog:

• Write about your day in Oskar’s voice, or Thomas’ voice, or any of the character’s voices.

• If you had a book like Thomas’ in which you wrote out the phrases you needed most, what would they be this week? What does that suggest about you as a character?

• Turn a chapter you just read into a poem. Give it a title.

• Take pictures. Use them to seek connection/understanding in the same way Oskar does. Or draw. Make sure you explain the connections.

• Find clues to your own life (it’s up to you to decide what you’re trying to figure out). You could use headlines from newspapers, from social media, or any other “artifacts” from your daily life. Describe your journey compares to Oskar’s (or the grandparents’).

If you miss a Fishbowl or Socratic, you must make it up. Fishbowl: Read over the syllabus and blog comments, then add an extended comment to the class blog. Socratic: Read over the syllabus and the class notes, then add an extended comment to the class blog.

2. For tomorrow: We will begin our READING JOURNAL CONFERENCES in class tomorrow (Wednesday). Click HERE for the rubric. 

3. THIS FRIDAY IS THE END OF 6 WEEKS. All make-up work from the first 6 weeks must be submitted by this date. After Friday, any grade in IC will remain as is.

A 9-Year-Old's Quest: September 25, 2017

Focus: Why is Oskar's quest important to us?

1. Warming up with three good things

2. Viewing the hero's journey as depicted in Finding Joe; mapping out the Joseph Campbell hero's journey as a class (around 4:00--13:34)

"Here it is: there's only one story. There, I said it and I can't very will take it back. There is only one story. Ever. One. It's always been going on and it's everywhere around us and every story you've ever read or heard or watched is part of it." 

-- Foster, How To Read Literature Like a Professor

3. Trying out Campbell's hero's journey with your favorite quests, then using the hero's journey to understand the start of Oskar's quest

4. Reading, journalling, and conferencing on Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Tuesday leaders: You have this time to prepare your syllabus.

HW:
1. Read through page 141 in ELIC and complete your third journal entry if you have not yet done so to prepare for Tuesday's Fishbowl discussion

2. Leaders need to prepare a syllabus and post it to the class website before class tomorrow.

3. THIS FRIDAY IS THE END OF 6 WEEKS. YOU HAVE UNTIL MONDAY, OCT 2 TO SUBMIT ANY MISSING WORK, TO RETAKE ANY "QUIZZES," AND TO ALERT TO ME TO ANY INCORRECT GRADES. AFTER MONDAY, THE GRADES WILL STAND AS THEY ARE.

Protecting Ourselves from Sadness: September 22, 2017

Focus: How are the characters in ELIC protecting themselves from sadness?

1. Warming up with a Friday Freewrite (scroll down to the bottom and find the Sep 21 prompt)

2. Giving you 20 minutes to read and journal; remember that by Tuesday, you need to have read through page 141 and have completed your journal entry on the blog

To clarify: By Tuesday, you should have THREE journal entries posted on your blog

• Journal #1: Pages 1-15 (we did this in class)
• Journal #2: Anywhere from pages 16-85 (you either did this Wednesday or Thursday night)
• Journal #3: Pages 86-141 (you can do this today, over the weekend, and/or on Monday)

*All journal entries right now should follow the same format: Three passages, each with 1-2 good questions.*

3. Watching the first twenty minutes of the film adaptation of ELIC to help you picture the characters and understand the plotline; use the film notes to guide your deep thinking

4. Submitting your movie notes to Mrs. Friis before you leave

HW:
Read through page 141 by Tuesday and complete your journal entry (three passages with questions on each). You will have 20-30 minutes of reading time on Monday to work on this.

Jumping Into the Fishbowl: September 21, 2017

Focus: How do we discuss Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close?

1. Warming up by finishing Thomas' narrative:

As we read...

• What are you learning about Thomas?
• What are you wondering?

After we read...

• How do Oskar's and Thomas' narratives relate?

2. Offering you an overview of our ELIC fishbowl discussions and giving you time to sign up and exchange information with your fellow leaders

3. Trying out a short, sample Fishbowl discussion on ELIC, leaving 5 minutes for wrapping up

HW:
1. For tomorrow: Finish reading through page 85 for tomorrow, but you do not need a journal entry tonight IF you did one last night. If you did not get to the journal last night, do one tonight. 

• Find three passages from pages 16-85. Type them out.
• For each one, ask a Level 1 and a Level 2 question (or two Level 2 questions if nothing is confusing you).
• Hit the "Publish" button!

• Note: If you'd like to listen to someone read the book aloud, click HERE for the audiobook. You can do a free 30-day trial, but I believe you do need a credit card number.

2. For Tuesday: Read through page 141 by Tuesday, and complete a third journal entry following the same format we've been using. You will have 20-30 minutes of in-class on time on Monday to read, journal, and conference with me.

To clarify: By Tuesday, you should have THREE journal entries posted on your blog

• Journal #1: Pages 1-15 (we did this in class)
• Journal #2: Anywhere from pages 16-85 (you either did this Wednesday or Thursday night)
• Journal #3: Pages 86-141 (you can do this today, over the weekend, and/or on Monday)

*All journal entries right now should follow the same format: Three passages, each with 1-2 good questions.*

3. Tuesday's Fishbowl leaders need to prepare a syllabus and post it to the Google doc on our website before class on Tuesday.

Figuring out Our First Two Narrative Voices: September 20, 2017

Focus: What background do we need to understand our first two narrators?

1. Warming up with your first journal entries and answering each other's questions

• Find three passages from the first 15 pages. Type them out.

• For each one, ask a Level 1 and a Level 2 question (or two Level 2 questions if nothing is confusing you).

• Hit the "Publish" button!

Sample: When Oskar asks his dad why the earth doesn't fall through the universe, his dad replies, "The earth does fall through the universe...It's constantly falling toward the sun. That's what it means to orbit" (Foer 12).

Level 1 Question: Why is Oskar so interested in science?

Level 2 Question: How is Oskar "constantly falling" in the first chapter of the book, and what is keeping him in orbit?

Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat. You want to do have at least three passages, each with two good discussion questions.

• Note: If you'd like to listen to someone read the book aloud, click HERE for the audiobook. You can do a free 30-day trial, but I believe you do need a credit card number.

2. Discovering background on Dresden; using a Venn diagram to consider 9/11 and Dresden side-by-side

• Click HERE to read about the bombing of Dresden.

• Click HERE for before and after pictures of Dresden (before the bombing and after).

• Click HERE to read a survivor's story (he was a POW in Dresden at the time).

• Click HERE to read another survivor's story (this one was a child at the time).

• Click HERE to watch an interview with a Dresden survivor (contains war footage).

3. Reading aloud Thomas's narrative (he's a Dresden survivor)

As we read...

• What are you learning about Thomas?
• What are you wondering?

After we read...

• How do Oskar's and Thomas' narratives relate?

HW:
Finish reading through page 52 for Thursday's first Fishbowl discussion. For your second journal entry, I'd like you to perform the same activity we did in class yesterday: 

• Find three passages from pages 16-52. Type them out.
• For each one, ask a Level 1 and a Level 2 question (or two Level 2 questions if nothing is confusing you).
• Hit the "Publish" button!

• Note: If you'd like to listen to someone read the book aloud, click HERE for the audiobook. You can do a free 30-day trial, but I believe you do need a credit card number.

What The? Oskar's Voice: September 19, 2017

Focus: What the? What are we learning about Oskar, our unusual narrator?

1. Warming up with a a quick timeline of what actually happened on 9/11

2. Flipping through the book to figure out this book's "rules" (in you "In-class Thoughts" doc)

• As a class: What do you notice about the cover? What about the title page? What might be the intent behind these designs?
• Which pages stand out to you? What exactly are you looking at?
• What patterns are you starting to notice?
• What are you wondering?

3. Creating your ELIC journal:

1. Go to www.blogger.com.
2. Sign in with your school Google account.
3. Create a new blog for this class. Include your First name (and last initial, if your name is Ethan), and whatever else you want to call this blog. It will serve as your reading journal for the year.
4. E-MAIL YOUR WEB ADDRESS TO ME.
5. Choose the layout, template, etc. that makes you happy.
6. Note: If you're a handwriter and/or an annotator, you can simply snap a picture of what you wrote and upload that to the blog. Do what works for you.

4. Reading Oskar's narrative; try to get to page 15 (finish tonight if you do not finish in class).

• Your first journal entry/blog post: 

• Find three passages from the first 15 pages. Type them out.
• For each one, ask a Level 1 and a Level 2 question (or two Level 2 questions if nothing is confusing you).
• Hit the "Publish" button!

• Note: If you'd like to listen to someone read the book aloud, click HERE for the audiobook. You can do a free 30-day trial, but I believe you do need a credit card number.

5. Setting up your Fishbowl discussions (links to all of today's handouts are on the website)

HW:
1. SKIP TO PAGE 35 and read through page 85 for Thursday's first Fishbowl discussion. For your second journal entry, I'd like you to perform the same activity we did in class today (three passages with a Level 1 and Level 2 question for each). Focus on passages and questions that you genuinely want to discuss as a class.

2. Thursday's leaders need to prepare a syllabus and post it to the link on the class website before class on Thursday.

3. Make sure your cultural hysteria essay is submitted by 3:00 pm today to www.turnitin.com

9/11: Shattering and Rebuilding: September 18, 2017

Focus: What story of 9/11 can we learn from the images and voices from that time?

1. Warming up with three good things and a quick essay check-in

2. Exploring Time Magazine's Photoessay: "Shattered"

• New Google Folder: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (inside 1st Semester)

• New Document: In-Class Thoughts (inside Extremely Loud...folder)

Take your time on these photos; if there are some too difficult to look at, move to the next one.

Get inside a photo: Select one photo that resonates with you. Spend some time describing it, imagining that you are the photographer. What are you trying to capture in this photo? What senses can you use to describe what's happening here? What's the tone, or emotion of this photo?

Step outside the photos: If this photoessay had a written thesis, what do you think it would be? What story do they tell about 9/11?

Face the book: The main narrator of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is Oskar. He's nine years old, and he has just lost his father to the 9/11 attacks. Based on the photos you've just spend time with, what three adjectives might you use to describe Oskar's state of mind?

3. Listening to voices of resilience; click here for their stories, to be followed by small group discussions:

• What were your takeaways from these videos? What specific things struck you?

• What do you make of the cover of this book and the title page? Can you make some connections between what you've learned/seen today and the design of the title?

4. Flipping through the book: Throughout the book, you'll find items from Oskar's journal (photos, business cards, magazine clippings, letters, etc.). As you look through his journal items, try to make inferences about Oskar (you can just do this on your Google doc). In other words, what educated guesses can you make about Oskar based on what he puts in his journal? What questions do you have?

5. Starting to read the first pages ("What the?"): Continue adding to your list of inferences and questions about Oskar. I don't yet recommend going beyond page 15.

HW:
1. Finalize your cultural hysteria essay. Click HERE for the Monday night checklist. Remember that it must be submitted by 3:00 pm Tuesday to www.turnitin.com for full credit (late essays are penalized 3 points a day in your "Focus" grade).

2. By the end of class tomorrow, we will be through page 15 of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. No need to read tonight unless you fell behind in class today or were absent.

Revising for Style: September 15, 2017

Focus: How can I strengthen the style of my essay?

Housekeeping Items:

• If your draft was not complete at the time I assessed it, you can complete it by 11:59 pm on Sunday for credit; be sure to e-mail me. (After that, it's a final draft, for which you will receive a separate grade).

• If you revise your annotated bibliography, hand your rubric back to me when you're ready for me to re-grade it.

• Tuesday is the deadline for the final draft. It must be in www.turnitin.com by 3:00 pm. If you are absent Tuesday, your final draft should still be submitted by 3:00 pm on Friday.

1. Warming up with a "quiz" on subject-verb agreement

2. Applying your first vocabulary and grammar lessons to your essay:

• Replace at least one word in your essay with a word from Puritan Words, List 1.

• Skim your essay for subject-verb agreement (especially your long, complex sentences). SAS Writing Reviser, which we're trying out in the second half of class, can also help you with this.

3. Trading essays and peer editing for grammar and style

Round 1: Grammar Police

• Check for comma/punctuation issues with a read aloud.
• Check for capitalization errors.
• Check for misspelled words that autocorrect won't fix (such as "affect" vs. "effect").
• Check for run-on sentences and sentence fragments.
• Anything else?

Round 2: Word Choice Cowboys (click HERE for slides and scroll to Slide 27)

4. Playing around with sentence variety using SAS Writer Reviser (also linked to my website)

• Log in (with Google account)
• Launch Resource
• Create Essay (copy and paste)

HW:
1. Continue finalizing your draft. It is due September 19 by 3:00 in www.turnitin.com. Click HERE for the Monday night checklist.

2. If you have a copy of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, start bringing it on Tuesday.

Re-Envisioning Your Essays: September 14, 2017

Focus: How do we strengthen the content of our essays?

1. Warming up with the ground rules of peer editing

• Rule #1: Be honest, but kind. Build trust.

• Rule #2: The first eight minutes at each station will be quiet; the last two minutes will be for talking about your feedback.

• Rule #3: Phrase your feedback in a way that suggests what the author can/should try (rather than criticizing them for failures).

• Rule #4: Follow the steps carefully. There are only ten minutes at each station; work efficiently.

• Rule #5: Be generous with your feedback.

2. Strengthening each other's essays by riding through the five editing stations

• Number them in the order in which you want to peer editor to address them. Which stations serve your greatest areas of need?

3. Wrapping up with goals for tonight and the weekend

HW:
1. Revise your essays based on today's peer feedback. You will want an updated draft tomorrow for our final editing day on style.

• If you were not able to peer edit today because your draft was unfinished, you need to find someone to edit your essay using the yellow packet.

• FINAL DRAFTS ARE NOW DUE TUESDAY, SEP 19 BY 3:00 IN www.turnitin.com

• Click HERE for directions on how to enroll in our Turnitin class.

• Contact me if you'd like help / detailed feedback on your rough draft. Tell me what you want me to focus on specifically. I need at least 24 hours to do this, so don't wait until Monday.

2. We will begin Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close next Tuesday; if you have your own copy, start bringing it to class then.

3. Open-note, open-friend "quiz" on subject-verb agreement tomorrow (bring your blue packet to class). 

Styling Up Your Opening and Closing Arguments: September 13, 2017

Focus: How do we open and close our essays in a compelling way?

1. Warming up with a goal and a little image-inspired creative writing

2. Writing what you really want to get across in your intro and/or conclusion

Introductions:

• Establish who/what/when/where/why?
• Define important terms you'll be using.
• Funnel down into your thesis, which should be the last sentence.

Conclusions:

• Wrap up your argument without restating it word for word.
• Establish why your hysteria is important in a larger context. How does it connect to other hysterias? To who we are as a country? To what we fear and what we do to feel safe?
• Offer solutions or ideas about why there's a lack of resolution.

3. Reminding you of your class guidelines as a source for great ideas for your introduction and conclusion

4. Self-assessing areas of strength and need with the official rubric

5. (Re)introducing you to www.turnitin.com with a focus on how it serves you

• Click HERE for Class ID, enrollment key, and general guidelines.

HW:
1. Revise / add to your essay tonight so that you're ready for peer editing tomorrow.

2. The new due date for the final draft of this essay is Tuesday, September 19. You're welcome. Remember to submit it to www.turnitin.com by 3:00 pm.

2. Wanna buy Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? There's still time! We start next Tue.

Making Your Case: September 12, 2017

Focus: How do we use evidence to make our case?

1. Warming up with suspicious objects and using them to make a strong case

• The crime: Your lunch has been stolen.

• The primary suspect: Ms. Leclaire

• The only piece of evidence: The utensil on your desk

• You have five minutes to make your case.

• Step One: Lead into it by explaining what was happening right before the crime happened. Set it up.

• Step Two: Explain how this specific utensil played a role.

• Step Three: Tie it back to your main argument, which is that Ms.Leclaire deserves to be convicted.

2. Offering you a brief mini lesson on using lead-ins and lead-outs to make your case (click HERE for yesterday's slides and HERE for today's slides)

• Taking the blank sheet of paper challenge with one of your numbers and one of your quotations.

3. Drafting and conferencing, drafting and conferencing

P.S. If you're needing more help with yesterday's lesson on lead-ins, click here for a student sample from last year with amazing lead-ins (highlighted for you).

HW:
1. Finish your draft for tomorrow. Get ready for some peer editing! We will do a mini lesson on introductions and conclusions tomorrow, so don't worry if yours are weak right now.

2. Open-note, open-friend "quiz" on subject-verb agreement on Friday.

You've Been Drafted, Take 2: September 11, 2017

Focus: How do I use evidence to make my argument?

1. Warming up with three good things

2. Improving our writing with Grammar You Must Know, Lesson #1: S-V Agreement

3. Offering you a brief mini lesson on using evidence: quoting, paraphrasing, and leading in (click HERE for the slides)

4. Using your annotated bibliographies for your cited evidence

Option 1: Try making a comment on each statistic/quotation/fact you might bring in.

• Will it be in quotations or paraphrased? 
• Are there any areas where you need to do some more research? Make yourself a note.

Option 2: Copy and paste directly into your outline or draft

• Either paraphrase or leave in quotations. 
• Go ahead and CITE it right now (will save you time later).

3. Drafting, drafting, drafting with a focus on using and leading into your evidence

***If you need ideas on what to focus on in your paragraphs, click HERE for the class-generated guidelines.***

HW:
1. Continue working on your draft based on today's lesson; focus on choosing compelling evidence and leading it to smoothly.

2. Complete rough draft due Wednesday by the end of class.

3. Open-note mini quiz on Grammar You Must Know, Lesson #1 this Friday.

You've Been Drafted: September 8, 2017

Focus: How do I build a strong first draft?

1. Warming up with a Quizlet Live review and a creative assessment on Puritan Words, List 1

2. Revisiting your thesis statements (if needed); please see my feedback on Wednesday's blog

Is it clear?

Is it specific?

Is it debatable?

Is it provable?

Which of the criteria above do you need to work on with your own thesis? Take a few minutes to either revise your thesis or to type yourself note with specific criteria to work on.

3. Taking yesterday's Lego ideas and applying them concretely to essay-writing (in small groups)

• Read the sample student essay.
• Help each other find structures for building an essay by generating a guideline sheet.

4. Figuring out where you need to go next:

• Reworking your thesis?
• Developing an outline?
• Researching more?
• Writing your introduction?
• Composing a body paragraph?

Note: Please start a new document called "Draft" and save it in your Cultural Hysteria folder.

HW:

1. For Monday: Compose one page of your first draft (double-spaced). It can be an intro and part of a body paragraph, or your first body paragraph and part of your second. Think about what writing routine works for you and for this particular assignment.

2. Heads-up: FINAL DRAFT IS DUE NEXT FRIDAY, SEP 15 BY 3:00 PM in www.turnitin.com

Building a First Draft, Part 1: September 7, 2017

Focus: How do I build a strong first draft?

1. Warming up with literal and metaphorical building

• Build a boat. What's the most important part about the structure of a boat?
• Build a tree. What's the most important part about the structure of a tree?
• Build a house. What's the most part about the structure of a house?

• Build an essay. What's the most important part about the structure of an essay? 

2. Workshopping a thesis statement together on the class blog for the following qualities:

Is it clear?

Is it specific?

Is it debatable?

Is it provable?

Which of the criteria above do you need to work on with your own thesis? Take a few minutes to either revise your thesis or to type yourself note with specific criteria to work on.

3. Taking your Lego ideas and applying them concretely to essay-writing (in small groups)

• Read the sample student essay.
• Help each other find structures for building an essay by generating a guideline sheet.

4. Figuring out where you need to go next:

• Reworking your thesis?
• Developing an outline?
• Researching more?
• Writing your introduction?
• Composing a body paragraph?

Note: Please start a new document called "Draft" and save it in your Cultural Hysteria folder.

HW:

1. For tomorrow (Friday): Compose one page of your first draft (double-spaced). It can be an intro and part of a body paragraph, or your first body paragraph and part of your second. Think about what writing routine works for you and for this particular assignment.

2. Take five more minutes to review your Puritan Words, List 1. Be strongly familiar with the words, but don't worry about strict memorization. We will have a creative assessment tomorrow.

3. Heads-up: FINAL DRAFT IS DUE NEXT FRIDAY, SEP 15 BY 3:00 PM in www.turnitin.com

Building a Thesis: September 6, 2017

Focus: How do we develop a routine for building a structurally sound thesis?

1. Offering you little scientific inspiration on the importance of observing and questioning

2. Observing: Look over your research with a curious mind, and try the following:

a. Make a few simple observations regarding your topic/research that you think are important and/or that interest you the most.

• As Y2K approached, people were quick to panic.

• Many assumed that a technical glitch would essentially lead to the end of civilized life.

• People hoarded goods, build underground shelters, and prepared for the new millennium as though preparing for a natural disaster or a war.

b. Based on your observations, ask a Level 3 question that you hope to answer as you dive into your research. TYPE IT AT THE TOP OF YOUR ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Remember: A Level 3 question has many possible answers and can be applied to many situations.

• Ex: Why is paranoia contagious?
• Ex: What is the link between reliance on technology and mass panic?

• Once you have your Level 3 question, you will know exactly what you will spend your essay trying to prove!

3 or 4. Shaping your structure:

• What might you discuss in your first body paragraph? Your second? Do you need a third or a fourth?

3 or 4. Making your thesis:

• Looking at your structure, develop a thesis that makes an argument, hopefully by answering your big, Level 3 question, and lays out the overall structure.

• My Level 3 question: Why is paranoia contagious?

• My rough thesis: The events of Y2K expose that paranoia is most contagious when it's rooted in dependence on technology and fear of poverty.

• POST YOUR THESIS ON TODAY'S CLASS BLOG. DUE BEFORE CLASS TOMORROW.

HW:
1. For Thursday: Please finish your thesis if you did not finish in class. I will be reviewing them with you individually in class tomorrow. POST IT ON TODAY'S CLASS BLOG.

Also, if you need to add to / modify your annotated bibliography to support your thesis, please do so tonight.

2. Spend 5 minutes with Puritan Words, List 1; we will have an assessment on Friday. Strong familiarity with the words is required, but strict memorization is not.

3.  If it's in your budget or on your bookshelf, please acquire your own copy of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Getting to Your BIG Question: September 5, 2017

Focus: How can simple observations lead to important questions?

1. Warming up with three good things

2. Offering you little scientific inspiration on the importance of what you're doing

Questioning --> Researching --> Observing --> Better Questioning --> Thesis

3. Gathering and evaluating research by finishing your annotated bibliography

• Click here for an overview of the what/why/how of the annotated bibliography
• Click here for a sample annotated bibliography from last year.

4. Observing: Look over your research with a curious mind, and try the following:

a. Make a few simple observations regarding your topic/research that you think are important.

• As Y2K approached, people were quick to panic.

• Many assumed that a technical glitch would essentially lead to the end of civilized life.

• People hoarded goods, build underground shelters, and prepared for the new millennium as though preparing for a natural disaster or a war.

b. Based on your observations, ask a Level 3 question that you hope to answer as you dive into your research. Put it in bold font at the top.

Remember: A Level 3 question has many possible answers and can be applied to many situations.

• Ex: Why is paranoia contagious?
• Ex: What is the link between reliance on technology and mass panic?

• Once you have your Level 3 question, you will know exactly what you will spend your essay trying to prove!

HW:
1. Finish your annotated bibliography by tomorrow (Wednesday) if you did not finish in class.

Topic Sign-Up

2. Spend five minutes a day with Puritan Words, List 1. We will have our assessment this Friday; strong familiarity with the words is required, but strict memorization is not.

3. If it's in your budget or on your bookshelf, please acquire your own copy of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.