Stand Up and Speak: April 28, 2017

Focus: How do I help an audience to think better or differently about something?

1. Warming up with high-velocity responses to the Waiting for Superman guiding questions

2. Analyzing and evaluating Waiting for Superman's use of ethos, logos, and pathos

• Please turn in your documentary tracking notes when you finish your discussion.

3. Delivering one-minutes speeches with a focus on the rhetorical appeals

• Have a buddy film you on your cell phone.
• You need to remain "on stage" for at least 50 seconds, even if you run out of things to say.

4. Self-assessing our speeches with a reflective rubric

HW:
1. If you did not get a chance to watch your speech and complete the reflective rubric, please do this over the weekend and turn in your rubric on Monday.

*If you were absent today or did not give your speech today for whatever reason, you will need to do so on Tuesday.*

2. Assigned book club reading and syllabus for Tuesday, May 2.

Book Clubbing, Day 1: April 27, 2017

Focus: What current American issues are you starting to understand better or differently?

1. Warming up with a little demo of using rhetorical appeals in your one-minutes speeches

2. Offering you a real-life example of one of your first semester syllabi. Remember that you may earn up to 30 points per syllabus:

• 20 points for a thoughtful, meaningful syllabus that is ready to go before class begins.
• 10 points for clear and thorough discussion notes on the syllabus.
• Click HERE to see a 1st semester sample with student discussion notes and my feedback.

3. Book Clubbing, Day 1

4. Wrapping up with your success ticket

HW:
1. If you need to add to your documentary tracking sheet, please do so tonight; I will be collecting them in class tomorrow. If you're going to be absent tomorrow, please turn yours in TODAY.

2. Practice your one-minute speech for TOMORROW. If you're absent tomorrow, prepare to deliver your speech on Tuesday. Click here if you need to see the speech topics.

2. Assigned book club reading and syllabus for Tuesday, May 2.

Waiting for Superman, Day 2: April 26, 2017

Focus: What do we need to understand about public education in the United States?

1. Warming up with a large-class collection of your ethos, logos, and pathos observations

2. Watching the second half of Waiting for Superman with your documentary tracking notes

3. Concluding by investigating what this documentary helped us understand better or differently about American public education;: Returning to your Waiting for Superman pre-writing questions and turning them into post-writing questions

HW:
1. Assigned book club reading and syllabus for TOMORROW. Remember that you may earn up to 30 points per syllabus:

• 20 points for a thoughtful, meaningful syllabus that is ready to go before class begins.
• 10 points for clear and thorough discussion notes on the syllabus.
• Click HERE to see a 1st semester sample with student discussion notes and my feedback.

2. If you did not complete your documentary tracking notes or your post-writing questions, you need to complete them by Friday; this when I will collect/evaluate them.

3. Practice your 1-minute speech for Friday. Click here for the topics. Remember that the first two rows are focusing on pathos, the second two rows are focusing on ethos, and the third two rows are focusing on logos.

Waiting for Superman, Day 1: April 25, 2017

Focus: What do we need to understand about public education in the United States?

1. Warming up with your documentary contract (and 6th hour, possibly Mr. Miles)

2. Questioning American education with high-velocity writing on your Waiting for Superman pre-writing stats

• You can save this in your shared Book Club Folder.

3. Viewing Waiting for Superman with a focus on ethos, pathos, or logos (tracking sheet given as a handout in class)

HW:
1. Bring in your signed contract as soon as possible (Thursday at the latest).

2. Assigned book club reading and syllabus for TOMORROW. Remember that you may earn up to 30 points per syllabus:

• 20 points for a thoughtful, meaningful syllabus that is ready to go before class begins.
• 10 points for clear and thorough discussion notes on the syllabus.
• Click HERE to see a 1st semester sample with student discussion notes and my feedback.

3. Practice your 1-minute speech for Friday. Click here for the topics. Remember that the first two rows are focusing on pathos, the second two rows are focusing on ethos, and the third two rows are focusing on logos.

Setting the Bar High: April 24, 2017

Focus: How do we set the bar high for our final unit?

I left you a final round of journal feedback on your most recent blog.

1. Warming up with three good things and Mr. Miles!

2. 4th hour: Checking your grades, reflecting on your successes and needs, and making plans

• Circle any grades that are incorrect and write down why they are incorrect.

• Circle any recent work that you plan on revising/doing for the first time. Write down your plan/deadline for completing this work.

• Offer a brief reflection at the bottom of your grades: Do you feel proud of your work this semester in American Lit? Are these grades an accurate reflection of your learning? Why or why not? Any goals for the final stretch?

3. Recommitting to high standards: 

• Our class contract
• Book clubs: Your freedoms and responsibilities

4. Setting your book clubs expectations (please have your signed sheets and books out on your desks):

• Click HERE to revisit what an excellent syllabus looks like.

• Fill out the bookmark: Which reading will be due which days? Who will be in charge of the syllabus each day? Please write this on your bookmark AND in your calendars.

• Create a shared folder called "Book Club Folder." It should be shared with each member of your group and placed inside your Transcendentalism folder. ALL SYLLABI AND CLASSWORK must be placed inside this folder.

• Complete your book club manifesto and place it inside your shared book club folder.

5. Starting to read (if time allows)

HW:

1. Share the documentary contract with your parents/guardians and ask them to sign it. Due Wednesday. 

2. Complete your assigned reading/create your syllabus for Thursday.

3. Work on your one-minute speech for Friday (see last Friday's blog if you were absent).

4. If you didn't have your signed letter or book in class today, take care of it immediately. If you have make-up work/late work that you circled on your grade sheet, take care of that as well.

Looking Back to Look Forward: April 21, 2017

Focus: How can we wrap up our last unit and set ourselves up for success in our final unit?

Shortened Class: Spring Assembly
4th ends at 10:44
6th ends at 1:03

1. Warming up (6th hour): Checking your grades, reflecting on your successes and needs, and making plans

• Circle any grades that are incorrect and write down why they are incorrect.

• Circle any recent work that you plan on revising/doing for the first time. Write down your plan/deadline for completing this work.

• Offer a brief reflection at the bottom of your grades: Do you feel proud of your work this semester in American Lit? Are these grades an accurate reflection of your learning? Why or why not? Any goals for the final stretch?

2. Introducing you to the American Lit Final Speech Overview and Rubric (also linked to website)

3. Selecting your one-minute speech topics and recapping Pathos, Ethos, and Logos

• 1st 2 rows: Pathos (appeal to our emotions / gut reactions)
• 2nd 2 rows: Ethos (convince us that you're trustworthy and highly qualified to talk about this topic)
• 3rd 2 rows: Logos (appeal to our sense of logic by giving us facts, numbers, graphs, etc.)

3. Watching the ending of The Great Gatsby with a focus on directorial choices

HW:
1. Make sure your book clubs are finalized; your SIGNED book club letter is due on Monday, April 24. You also need to walk in with the book in your hands on Monday.

2. Turn in your school copies of The Great Gatsby by next Friday, April 28. Or, now.

3. Whatever missing grades, revisions, make-up work, etc. you examined in our warm-up today--please take care of those over the weekend.

4. Start brainstorming ideas for your one-minute speech next Friday.

Writing Your Way to Complexity: April 20, 2017

Focus: How can we write our way to a better understanding of Fitzgerald's themes?

1. Warming up by reading the reminders you wrote to yourself yesterday and rereading the prompt

2. Composing your timed writing (55 minutes)

• Click here if you need an online version of the prompts and rubric.

3. Using the rubric to edit your essay

4. Submitting your essay to www.turnitin.com

HW:
1. If you had issues submitting your essay to www.turnitin.com, please take care of that tonight by midnight. If you need extra time to finish your essay, please take care of that tonight; cap yourself at 15 minutes.

2. Complete your book club letter and have your book IN YOUR HANDS when you walk in on Monday, April 24. Also, if you're thinking about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (so good), it's being turned into an HBO movie. You can check it out here.

3. If you have not yet finished your Gatsby blogs or fishbowl comments, please do so by this Friday at the latest.