Monday class period

If not completed already, nature unit multiple choice test corrections should be worked on today as your first priority--due by Tuesday afternoon.

• In class today, we will be evaluating the "we are all one" unit multiple choice with annotated answer key to see what correct answers are and why.
• Next, we will work on schemes and tropes quiz adaptations.  You can earn back a total of seven points through various additions to your quiz discussed in class-- see me for further explanation if absent.  These adaptations will be done in class.
• Then, we will consider College Board released commentary and sample writings for the essay you wrote over the weekend. This info. can be found HERE.

For HOMEWORK due TOMORROW:
Choose three speeches (from magazine article linked here: page one and page two) to read and analyze for purpose/claim, and contextual significance.  Then,  record ONE important quotation from ONE speech to memorize and share with the class on Tuesday, and prepare to explain why it is so powerful.

"We are all One" unit reading assm., due Friday

Begin by reading Barbara Lazear Ascher "On Compassion"
In response, please answer the following questions on lined paper:
1.  What do you believe Ascher's main purpose is in writing this piece?  How does she go about developing this purpose?
2.  Analyze and defend what you believe to be the two most effective rhetorical strategies Ascher uses when presenting her ideas on compassion.
3.  Compare Ascher's ideas with those given by King in "The World House," using direct references and quotes wherever necessary for support in this comparison.  

Nature Unit Synthesis Essay

Please use THIS DOCUMENT to read through the nature synthesis essay prompt and (sources E, F & G handed out in class).
This essay will be DUE ON MONDAY, 5/2.

Henry David Thoreau and Walden

Some additional sources are linked here to learn more about Thoreau and Walden Pond, as it exists and is preserved today.
The Walden Woods Project
Walden Pond State Reservation with the National Park Service
The Thoreau Society

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"