Read one...

Please read one of these articles and take notes on the concepts presented in this source.
1.  Leslie Owen Wilson's "The Second Principle: Types of Creative Thinking"
2.  David Kirp's "How to Fix the Country's Failing Schools. And How Not To"
3.  Liz Coleman's "A Call to Reinvent Liberal Arts Education"
4.  James Heckman's "The Economics of Inequality: The Value of Early Childhood Education"
5.  Cindy Long's "Four-Day School Weeks More Popular, But Impact on Students and Educators Unclear"
6.  Pete Bavis, Beth Arey and Dale Leibforth's "Advanced Placement: An Open Invitation"

Education unit responsive writing

Throughout this week, please watch one TED Talk from either these talks or these selected talks that relates to and will further extend upon ideas of interest to you from Monday's discussion groups.
In a comparison response, offer a summary of how the TED speaker's ideas are interconnected with the article's claims, and how/why you feel this is an important aspect of educational reform to explore. 

Synthesis Project and Presentation

In class today, we will be working on the group synthesis essay project and a collective response to go along with the subject of literacy.  The directions for this project are as follows:

For this short presentation, you will work in groups of 3-4 to:
1.  Consider the following prompt:
      Reading has long been considered a fundamental aspect to learning.  Benjamin Franklin, amongst countless others, knew of the importance of reading not only to an individual’s growth, but to the growth of society as a whole.  It was with this initiative in mind that he and fellow colonial citizens created the public library system in America.  Recently, through a variety of economic and technologically progressive circumstances, public libraries (including those in public schools) have been forced to be consolidated in locations, reduced in hours or staffing, or eliminated from communities nationwide entirely.  
Imagine that a community is considering these measures be taken in their local library branch and school libraries.  

Carefully read the following seven sources.  Then, synthesize information from at least three of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-developed essay that identifies the key issues associated with this problem of eliminating public libraries and examines the implications of these choices for the community.  

Make sure that your argument is central; use the sources to support and illustrate your reasoning.  Avoid merely summarizing the sources.  Indicate clearly which sources you are drawing from, whether through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary.  You may cite the sources according to the last name of the author, or the publication for the graphic.

2.  Discuss the various stances that could be taken in response.
3.  Decide on your group's claim and develop a thesis statement.
4.  Choose and justify the sources which you would use to support your position and to develop your counterargument.
5.  Outline the main points and supporting details from the various referenced sources.
6.   Decide who will present which aspect, so that each person in the group is speaking at least once.
7.  Present on Wednesday!  If you will not be present, your assignment is to write the synthesis essay.

Read, summarize and respond to your assigned article below:
Article 1:  "Why to Read: 10 Reasons Why Reading Books Will Save Your Life"
Article 2:  "Reading Books is Fundamental" by Charles Blow, New York Times, 1/22/14
Article 3:  "Millennials are Outreading Older Generations"
Article 4:  "Next Time Someone Says the Internet Killed Reading..."
Article 5:  "The Most Important Lesson Schools Can Teach about Reading"
Article 6:  "Reading is not a Skill"
Article 7:  "A Country Without Libraries"

The Season of Giving and Gratitude

This season is often associated with good cheer, generosity, and togetherness!  As you get together with others and send well wishes for the holidays and the new year, it is kind and thoughtful to show appreciation and gratitude for the role that someone else has played in shaping you, helping you through a difficult time, or just always being there for you.
I have provided "thank you cards" for you to write a letter expressing your gratitude to this person, putting your great language skills to work to make someone's day or whole Christmas! :)

If you are not in the spirit to do this today, take a card with you to write your letter at home.

You are also welcome to spend some time reading some thoughtful true stories in the most recent, holiday issue of Reader's Digest.

Hope you have a great Christmas break!

If you would like to spend some time reading To Kill a Mockingbird over break, no annotating required, I think you would enjoy it.  It is honestly my favorite book ever and I am so happy you will get to experience it also! :)
(we will have our first discussion day on this book on Friday, January 29th, so no pressure!)

"Superman and Me" responses

Write one style response (A or B), one voice response (C or D) and one purpose response (E or F) to "Superman and Me," including specific, supporting evidence from the piece within each response. 

STYLE RESPONSE:
A.  Examine the effect Sherman Alexie creates using repeated images and phrases, possibly for symbolic value, throughout the essay.
OR
B.  Examine the way that Alexie's use of the same symbolic image in the beginning and also the end of the piece has an effect on the reader.

VOICE RESPONSE:
C.  Explain how you feel Alexie's experiences with books shapes him and his perspective as a writer.
OR
D. How is Alexie's voice reflective of the fact that he is an adult looking back on these experiences with a more mature awareness of what was occurring? 

PURPOSE RESPONSE:

E.  Discuss the purpose you feel Alexie has in writing this essay, and whom you believe his intended audience to be.

OR
F.  Consider if this piece is an essay about reading, culture, or the importance of literacy itself.

Vocabulary for this unit

Vocabulary words for this unit are defined in the "Choosing Words" packet and the glossary of Everyday Use.  Please have these words defined for Monday, 11/30.

Vocabulary Words for this unit:
1. Efferent reading
2. Aesthetic reading
3. Implied metaphor
4. Personification
5. Hyperbole
6. Paradox
7. Understatement
8. Euphemism
9. Didactic
10. Parallelism
11. Allusion
12. Dialect
13. Repertoire
14. Scholarly language
15. Standard language
16.  Colloquialism
17.  Irony

Welcome and upcoming assignments

Welcome to class for today!  In my absence, please use the time in class to work on the assignments listed below.  We will complete the synthesis prompt tomorrow in class, so focus on other work that needs to be done, beginning with reading and annotating Douglass' piece (due tomorrow).

Read and annotate this piece for Friday, 11/20, recording your responses as you read, or when completed.
Frederick Douglass' "Learning to Read and Write" is in the 100 essays book, also linked below:
Frederick Douglass' "Learning to Read and Write"

Think about... 
DUE Monday, 11/23:
Read and annotate, Malcolm X "Learning to Read"
considering comparisons to Douglass' piece while reading

Memoir Project:
First Reader Response (choose from 1-5) due Monday, 11/23
Second Reader Response (choose another prompt from 1-5) due Mon., 11/30

DUE Tuesday, 12/1
"Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie