End of Year Reflection

End-of-Year Reflective Writing

Due: May 8, 2014  

Self-reflection page with examples. (send by email and post to your blog)

Write as you reflect about the journey you’ve been on to read classics and a genre of writing (either Sports Lit or Sci Fi) and getting prepared to write essays in college. Look back on what you read and wrote this year, and give examples to illustrate how you developed confidence and/or skills as a reader and writer. As you reflect about your progress as a writer, specify which areas you gained skills in.

·         Sentence level writing, word choice, expressing your ideas in sentences

·         Coming up with big ideas, college-worthy claims or assertions

·         Organizing essays and paragraphs to present a logical flow to your reasoning

·         Using and analyzing evidence and quotes to support your reasoning

To what extent do you feel prepared for college reading and writing? Finally, envision where your writing may be going beyond this year. How would you like your writing to evolve? Thanks for a great year!

New paragraphs on The Stranger

TEA paragraph:

1)      ASSERT (topic sentence makes a claim) Craft a bold and creative assertion

2)      EVIDENCE quote(s) or examples,

3)      ANALYSIS (discuss and explain evidence,

4)      CLOSE (explain the implications of your assertion or show what it implies about the writing

5)      Revise your paragraph for clarity, grammar, sentence structure, or meaning. Add a title, email & blog it.

 

Justin:                   Words Reflect Meursault’s Experience of the World

T: Camus’ language reflects Meursault’s view that the world is hostile to him

E: words from the end of part I: spear, stabbed, slash, etc.

A: analysis of how violent words communicate M’s view of being attacked

C: Implications for the novel

 

Raul:                      Settings Affect Character

T: Different environments affect Meursault’s behavior and emotions

E: The beach environment panics M, whereas the prison makes him feel safer

A: Analyze quotes

C: Implications of a protagonist who changes with the setting

 

Christine:                             Can the Sun be One’s Enemy?  

T:                            Sunlight is Meursault’s Enemy  

E: On the beach, the sunlight attacks him; in the prison, the heat overwhelms him; in the courtroom, the “harsh light” from the sky oppress him

A: Analyze the three examples to clarify why the sun can be M’s enemy

C: Explore the implications of M’s impression that a natural element can make him feel attacked.

 

Nia:                        Understanding One’s Own Reactions    

T: When Meursault has insight into how his physical needs take precedence over his emotions, he comes to understand his own patterns of reactions and therefore feels safer.

E: “my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings” (65)

A: Explain the quote and how it supports the assertion.

C: Explore the implications that self-knowledge in the novel can lead to a greater feeling of safety.

 



Paragraph per week on The Stranger

Write a paragraph/week on Camus

With the goal in mind to get you as ready as can be for college writing next semester, you now have the option of writing a well-written paragraph each week on The Stranger (or you have the option of writing the 3-5 page essay). Each Thursday (April 10, 17, 24, May 1) we will take 30 minutes to write paragraphs on Camus. Follow the T.E.A. body paragraph structure: Topic (Assert something bold), Evidence (examples and/or quotes), Analysis (Show how your examples support your assertion), and Close (Write a succinct close to your paragraph that reasserts your claim and convinces the reader that it is true).

Use these paragraphs to explore the text, your ideas, and support your bold claims. Recent research on High School Students’ Expectations of College Writing: “Students incorrectly expected college writing to be “about filling a particular kind of form—that it’s very much about correctness and very little about inquiry” (11). Notes DelliCarpini: “They believe we grade mostly on grammar and mechanics.” (Source: Collier, Lorna. “Listening to Students: New Insights on Their College-Writing Expectations.” NCTE Council Chronicle. March 2014, Vol. 23, No. 3.)

·         30-minute in-class writing (which you can revise at home and turn in by email and on your blog)

·         Your name and a title, double space, in MS Word as an attachment

·         TEA Body paragraph style: 1) ASSERT (topic sentence makes a claim), 2) EVIDENCE (quote(s) or examples, 3) ANALYSIS (discuss and explain evidence, and 4) CLOSER (explain how your assertion explains the text and/or the narrator).

·         Choose a passage or section of the novel. Narrowly focus on one aspect of the writing or any character. Choose several examples.

·         Analyze your example(s).

·         Craft a bold and creative assertion to open your body paragraph.

·         By the end of your paragraph, write a closing to your paragraph connects your assertion, evidence, and analysis.

·         Revise your paragraph for clarity, grammar, sentence structure, or meaning.

·         Email your paragraph to the instructor and post it on your blog.

Brainstorm your ideas here or on a keypad.          Focus _____________________________            Name ____________

Your assertion: __________________________________________________________________________________________

Your evidence: __________________________________________________________________________________________

Your analysis: __________________________________________________________________________________________

Your closer: __________________________________________________________________________________________

Write a paragraph on patterns you detect in Meursault in The Stranger

Write a paragraph on patterns in Camus

·         30-minute in-class writing (which you can revise at home and turn in next day)

1.       Paper copy or type and email to instructor

2.       By the end of the week, post to your blog

·         TEA Body paragraph style: 1) ASSERT (topic sentence makes a claim), 2) EVIDENCE (quote(s) or examples, 3) ANALYSIS (discuss and explain evidence, and 4) CLOSER (explain how your assertion explains the text and/or the narrator).

·         1^st: Focus on a topic or a pattern you’ve detected in the writing (and that interests you).

·         Choose one:

1.       How does the writing style match the narrator’s view of life? Analyze examples.

2.       How do Meursault’s physical needs take precedence over social or emotional needs? Analyze examples.

3.       How does Meursault relate to people (Marie, Maman, Salamando, or Raymond)? Analyze one or two examples.

4.       A different pattern that you detect in the text and Meursault.

·         Analyze your example(s).

·         Craft an assertion to open your body paragraph.

·         By the end of your paragraph, write a closing to your paragraph connects your assertion, evidence, and analysis to what we are learning about Meursault as a character.

·         Revise your paragraph for clarity, grammar, sentence structure, or meaning.

·         Email your paragraph to the instructor and post it on your blog.

STYLE: How does the writing style perfectly match Meursault’s point of view?  ‘I was tired.’ (12)

PHYSICAL: Find examples of how Meursault’s physical needs are more important than his emotional needs. Washing hands. (25) Heat and light bother him. Hunger (47) Smoking. Physical thrills/attraction.

SHOULD: Meursault wonders about social conventions and “shoulds.” Should he have viewed the body?

RELATES: How does Meursault relate to others?

HABITUATION: Repetition and routine gets you used to anything. (Salamano)

YOUR CHOICE: Find a pattern in the book and analyze examples of it

Student-Led Discussion on Dune

Student-Led Discussion Questions on Dune

 

Choose your topic of interest: _____________________________________

(androids, ai, bene jeserit, arakis)

 

Choose your team  ___________________________________________________

 

Choose a recorder ____________

Brainstorm multiple discussion questions to lead the whole class in discussion.

(Make sure there are follow up questions so that the discussion can be sustained for 10-15 minutes.)

(Draw on your essays to generate more context and discussion questions.)

Decide on presentation format ____________________________________________

(one PowerPoint slide or word document to display the questions.)

Choose a format for the discussion:  ______________________________________________

(panel? Circle of desks? Presentation? Interactive?)

 

works cited page

Sci-Fi Essays

The best use of class time is to synthesize different texts and write about them. You are all so ready for the challenges of college writing and thinking and research.

For college essays, remember:

·         A catchy title

·         A startling thesis claim, or at least a kind of bold statement

·         Few proofreading errors per page (commas, apostrophes, fragments)

·         Paragraphing that makes sense, with T-E-A structure (topic, evidence, analysis)

·         Structure that allows readers to follow your logical thinking step by step

·         Works cited page with at least a few sources (and no plagiarized ideas)

·         Beyond that, be creative, use “I” in the conclusion if it works, and draw strong conclusions.

·         Don’t forget the MLA header

                                      

                                    Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1953.

Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game. NY: TOR, 1977.

Eller, Jonathan R. “The Story of Fahrenheit 451.” in Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1953. 2013 edition. 167-187.

Gaiman, Neil. “Introduction.” in Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1953. 2013 edition. xi-xvi.

Reagan, Roark. Personal Interview. 10 February 2014.

  

            OWL Purdue online resource for MLA citation: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/09/

 

Essay: Fahrenheit 451

Essay on Fahrenheit 451

(Must include at least on example from any of the following I, Robot, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Hamlet, or Ender’s Game; you may also use 1984 or Brave New World; list on works cited)

Mon. Feb. 3 Finish reading text

By Wed., Thu, and Mon, (Jan. 28-29, and Feb. 3): at least two blogs exploring your essay topic. Frame your own question.

Drafting in-class and at home Feb. 3-6

Due: Mon. Feb. 10, 3-5 page essay, college level, few if any errors per page, MLA headers, works cited page, strong intro and argument-like thesis, backed up with quotes and evidence from the text and perhaps other reading we have done.

Possible topics:

1.       How do Sci-Fi authors create a defamiliarized world that readers eventually enter into and immerse themselves? Trace the reader’s journey in entering that world with examples from different texts.

2.       To what extent are protagonists of Sci-Fi novels insiders or outsiders? What makes them outsiders, if they are? How much do readers sympathize with the protagonist and how do protagonists resist sympathy?

3.       To what extent do Sci-Fi authors portray futuristic societies as dysfunctional? Is this dysfunction meant to be a warning, satirical, or a prediction? Are readers merely entertained by dystopian novels or do such novels wake them up?

4.       Form your own question (with instructor’s approval).

Room to plan your essay (later blog your notes)                     

·         Form your own question

·         Lay out examples

·         Prepare a working thesis (with a strong point of view, argument, or claim)

Sketch preliminary structure

Blogging as we read Fahrenheit 451

Blogging as we read Fahrenheit 451
As we continue reading Bradbury's scifi novel, keep on blogging about the novel and connections with other novels, such as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Phillip Dick), Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card), and I, Robot (Isaac Asimov).

Some sample connections follow:
1. What is the role of the child in Ender's Game and Fahrenheit 451? How do children function to question the old order that no adults ever question? What does that say about how much society needs innocent, young voices?
2. How to start reading a scifi novel: with examples from Ender's Game, Fahrenheit 451, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Give examples of how authors make readers feel like outsiders at first (with words like "toon") and eventually let us immerse ourselves in this futuristic world. Some liken it to solving a puzzle (CH).
3. Look at this blogpost by CH that makes connections between three novels about how empathy plays a role:
   Even though Guy's job is to burn and destroy books, he feels empathy tho wards the books. Bradbury's novel parallels with Philip Dick's novel because both the main characters feel empathy towards the objects they have to destroy, and one person is the cause of their sudden realization of their empathy. For Guy, Clarisse's outside-of-the-box thinking, makes him wonder about his routine life, and makes him second guess the decisions he has made thus far. For Rick Deckard, the same happens but with Rachael Rosen. In Ender's Game, Ender realizes he has empathy for the buggers after he has unknowingly destroyed them. It is strange how the story line of different sci-fi novels overlap in some ways.
4. Look at this blogpost by NC that involves children questioning "common" knowledge:
    As we continue to read Fahrenheit 451, we see the development of Guy Montag through his daily interactions with Clarisse, his seventeen year old neighbor. During his times with her, he develops a nature of questioning what he thought he knew. This seems to parallel Ender in "Ender's Game" because he begins to question what he is being taught and his knowledge. The common theme I can see is questioning of "common" knowledge.
5. Look at this blogpost by RA:

In Ender's Game, the children are trained to become the best soldiers or commanders that have ever existed. Most of the children have an abnormal childhood and live by very strict military guidelines. There unreasonably is no freedom, except for during breaks and command choices during battle. Similarly, in Fahrenheit 451 people are not allowed to do the majority of the things they would like to do. For example, people can not even perform basic activities like reading about topics or book genres that interest them. The children in Fahrenheit 451 are represented as the spark of a possible revolution in an abnormal society. The girl that Montag meets causes him to realize his true emotions and really question the reasons for why their society is the way it is.

Ender's Game: Student-Led Discussion

Student-Led Discussion about Ender’s Game    Name___________

Annotate several questions below and write a follow up question. During the discussion, lead the conversation. PICK A PASSAGE in your text, underline one sentence (or short passage) that you will read aloud for your group to analyze. Page Number: ___  

Question to ask about the passage: ________________________________________

1.       p. 2-3 How does the monitor work? How does Ender’s monitor create the ultimate 1984 Big Brother watching everything you see?

2.       Can you relate the monitor’s surveillance to Edward Snowden’s revelations about how the NSA is watching all our phone calls, all our emails, and conversations of all heads of state? What does it say about a society that routinely allows such invasiveness?

3.       How does Ender's anger play a role in his successes?

4.       Is Valentine Ender's motivation?

5.       Why do V and P want to rule the world?

6.       Why does Ender stand out to Graff? -And Bean to Ender?

7.       Are children more ruthless than adults?

8.       Imagine Peter's reaction to Ender's success?

9.       What role does age play?

10.   What was Graff like when he was younger?

11.   If Ender played soccer, what position would he play?

12.   Are ethics gone? Are the rules like zero gravity? -Nothing to hold on to

13.   Discuss: -Isolating Ender

14.   Are the teachers the enemy?

15.   How can they FORBID crying? 108

16.   Competition and kids versus each other: military, school, soccer?

17.   Why does Graff find the need to constantly manipulate the game and make it unfair? C10

18.   What does the removal of the monster represent?  Pg 3 What is his motivation to win the games (both video game and battles)?

19.   How does space time affect people?

20.   How is Alai significant?

21.   Would Ender have continued his studies if he had known the truth about Stilton?

22.   Why do they not want the kids to develop like normal children?

23.   Why did humans not try to establish communication with the Buggers?(General)

24.   Why does Bonzo feel anger toward Ender? Pg. 86

25.   Why does the battle school manage every aspect of the children's lives? Pg. 109

26.   What could be the specific outcome of a child that grows up in a very closed and controlled environment in the battlefield? Pg. 109

27.   How does Ender feel having so much pressure being put on him?

28.   Does Ender like isolation?

29.   Why did they pick Ender as the focus of their attention?

30.   Why are the soldiers children and not adults, since adults are usually associated with wisdom?

Remember: Keep the conversation going but allow some awkward pauses. Listen to others carefully and paraphrase what they say to see if you understood them. Ask follow up questions. Include everyone in the conversation. Explore lines of inquiry and ask for help in pursuing deeper understanding of both the book but also human nature. Relate the book to real life and your own lives. Take some notes in preparation for a 40-minute in class writing based on one topic of the conversation.

WRiTING: Next class in-class writing topic: Write for 35 to 45 minutes either on paper or on a device and then email to the instructor. Write on any topic from the discussion, but explore it in depth. Use quotes from the book. Have a point to make or explore. Afterwards, give your writing a descriptive title that leads the reader into the piece. 

3rd Qtr Plans for SciFi (Ender, Bradbury, Dune, Stranger)

SciFi             

First week: Jan 6-10

·         Set own goals and blog them

·         Chatzy.com

·         Ender’s Game

·         Choose free read book

2^nd week Jan 13-17

·         Rourk Reagan on SciFi

·         Ender’s Game + Blogs about Ender  

·         Student-led discussion

·         prewriting

·         Free read book

3^rd week Jan 21-24

·         Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 + blogs

·         Blogs about Bradbury

·         Student-led discussion

·         Essay writing

4^th week Jan 27-30

·         Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 + blogs

·         Student-led discussion

5^th week Feb 3-7               Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 + blogs

6^th week Feb 10-14          Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 + blogs

7^th week Feb 18-21          Essay writing

·         3-5 page essay

8^th week Feb 24-28  Dune by Frank Herbert + blogs

·         Dune by Frank Herbert + blogs

9^th week Mar 3-5 (CAIS, end of 3^rd quarter)  

·         Dune by Frank Herbert + blogs  

·         Choose free read book

10^th week Mar 10-14       Dune by Frank Herbert + blogs

·         Dune by Frank Herbert + blogs

11^th week Mar 17-20       The Stranger

·         Choose free read book

    Spring break

12^th week Apr 7-11          The Stranger

13^th week Apr 14-17        Passover

14^th week Apr 21-25        The Stranger

15^th week Apr 28-May 2 College Catalogues

16^th week May 5-9           AP’s, Practice Triage and Skimming

17^th week May 12-16      AP’s, last day of class

18^th week May 19-20      Senior Final Exams

ENDER'S GAME

Let's try our new chatroom on TodaysMeet.com

CLICK THIS: https://todaysmeet.com/EndersGame

Chris-Just-Ni-Ral,

The first thing we need is THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS!

Later we can type our responses. We also might watch at trailer of the new movie and during it use the backchannel to comment and raise questions and draw our attention to different things.

 ENDER'S GAME TRAILER

CHAT ABOUT THESE IMAGES FROM THE MOVIE AND COMPARE THEM TO WHAT YOU IMAGINED. How does reading differ from movies for the audience?

 

 

SciFi Second Semester

2014 January Senior English Lesson

student comments:
My goal for second semester is to have better time management while writing essays

Develop my own ideas and opinions on the reading and be more open to sharing my ideas. I hope to also have developed a greater interest in reading, 

I will need to learn to turn out higher quality content more quickly. 

Increase my interest in reading. The more I practice this, the more I could improve my English and achieve the goals I set for myself 

I really look forward to collaborative discussions. I feel that a student led discussion will force me to get an even stronger grasp of the material. I also feel that I always use the same voice; I want to be able to shift between formal and informal writing at will.

For college, skim reding is an important skill that I need to be able to learn and use. At the moment, I tend to want to read every sentence 

As far as senioritis goes, I believe that will start kicking in after I get into a school that I am happy with.

New year, new directions in Senior English

Second semester in senior English, let’s set goals and design our curriculum together. Some guidelines and goals to consider:

·         More choice and structured independence

o   Students set own goals for 2^nd semester & for next fall

·         Web 2.0—not only consume but produce web content

o   More free choice in blogging 

o   Daily writing, in class and out

o   Blogging about articles, issues, discussions

o   More commenting on blogs (even professional blogs)

o   Inquiry guided by innate curiosity & free choice

·         College Essays

o   3-5 page essays twice per quarter

o   Formulate own questions to explore

o   Develop student writing voice between formal and informal

·         More independent reading

o   Choose free reading books

o   Paper or on device

o   In-class Sustained Silent Reading twice a week

o   Book talks

o   Website

o   Launch Buckley school-wide free reading

·         What we read together

o   The Stranger (Camus)

o   Metamorphosis (Kafka)

o   SciFi  Dune and Fahrenheit 451

o   Books to Films

o   Blogs and articles shared by students

·         Q-TEA (daily)

o   Questions (student generated)

o   Thesis Claims

o   Evidence (text, visual, web)

o   Analysis

o   Art, Images, blogs, web, books, films

·         Student-Led Socratic Discussion

o   Students form questions

o   Leaderless collaborative discussion

o   Everyone participates

o   Instructor is hands-off

o   Outer circle records observations about group dynamics, interactions, and probing questions

o   Outer circle uses projected backchannel Chatzy.com or TodaysMeet.com

o   Blog afterwards about ideas or group dynamics

·         End of year activities

o   Learn to skim read to get through 200 pages/week assigned college reading

o   Reading Triage: Close read, Skim Read, Don’t Read

o   Explore college catalogue and present first two years classes with GE requirements

·         Discuss Senioritis