Freshmen: Today we focused on the best way to begin a free verse poem, which is, to summarize the words of the Greek poet Horace, "in the middle of things." In other words, start you poetry inside an experience, as Stafford does in "Traveling Through the Dark." Your homework is to revise your current poem for this principle, and to craft a new poem based on the three principles of free verse we have learned so far. Both poems should be typed up and with you in class on Tuesday. You are also to read for 20 minutes twice over the three day weekend.
Sophomores: Today we looked at a couple of essays on This I Believe that tie in well with Life of Pi. Your task over the weekend is to finish Part I and to have a dozen notes for seminar on Wednesday. Keep working on your This I Believe assignment, and get a jump on vocab too if you can.
CNF: Today we had an interesting seminar on the first chapter of Blink. I enjoyed the ideas you brought to the class and learned a lot. Good work. Email me a photo of your bedroom if you haven't already. Next time in class we will test our powers of thin slicing using these photographs.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
turnitin.com Log-in Information
This year we will use www.turnitin.com for many essay submissions. In order to submit to this website, you must create an account. Here are the steps to follow:
1. Go to the website and click on "create account" on the upper right of the page.
2. Click on "student."
3. Enter the class ID.
-For Freshmen Period 1 it is 5458123.
-For Freshmen Period 4 it is 5458128.
-For Sophomores Period 5 it is 5458129.
-For Sophomores Period 8 it is 5458132.
**These are written down on the east wall of my classroom as well.
4. Then enter the enrollment password. It is Judge. Be sure to capitalize the J.
5. Then enter your name and so on. You must enter an email address and create a password. Write both of these things down in your planner so that you don't lose them.
6. In order to enroll, you must agree to their terms.
This will enroll you in the course and allow you upload papers.
1. Go to the website and click on "create account" on the upper right of the page.
2. Click on "student."
3. Enter the class ID.
-For Freshmen Period 1 it is 5458123.
-For Freshmen Period 4 it is 5458128.
-For Sophomores Period 5 it is 5458129.
-For Sophomores Period 8 it is 5458132.
**These are written down on the east wall of my classroom as well.
4. Then enter the enrollment password. It is Judge. Be sure to capitalize the J.
5. Then enter your name and so on. You must enter an email address and create a password. Write both of these things down in your planner so that you don't lose them.
6. In order to enroll, you must agree to their terms.
This will enroll you in the course and allow you upload papers.
Thursday, August 30
Most importantly, this week's prediction: Utah 35, Northern Colorado 7. Let's go, Utes!
Freshmen: Last period we focused on the importance of using "I" in your free verse poetry; today we focused avoiding participles, as they are a verb form which obscures the actors in a poem. Your task tonight is to revise your current poem for anything that you find will improve it, but most especially for using I and avoiding participles. Read for 20 minutes, and don't forget that vocab is upcoming.
Sophomores: Today our focus was on the common elements we found in the various creation myths you researched, and what those common elements reveal about human beings. Remember, Book I from Life of Pi, and 12 seminar notes, are due next Wednesday, 9/5.
CNF: Today we focused on finishing the Introduction and Chapter 1 from Blink; we will have a seminar on the reading on Friday.
Freshmen: Last period we focused on the importance of using "I" in your free verse poetry; today we focused avoiding participles, as they are a verb form which obscures the actors in a poem. Your task tonight is to revise your current poem for anything that you find will improve it, but most especially for using I and avoiding participles. Read for 20 minutes, and don't forget that vocab is upcoming.
Sophomores: Today our focus was on the common elements we found in the various creation myths you researched, and what those common elements reveal about human beings. Remember, Book I from Life of Pi, and 12 seminar notes, are due next Wednesday, 9/5.
CNF: Today we focused on finishing the Introduction and Chapter 1 from Blink; we will have a seminar on the reading on Friday.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Some Suggestions for What to Write in Your Socratic Seminar Prep Notes
Remember, the purpose of taking notes on what we read is two-fold:
1. Create a record of what you were thinking about as you read. It is a transcript of what was going on in your head while reading.
2. Prepare for our seminar discussion on the text, ensuring you can contribute in a meaningful manner.
These are some things you might do in your notes:
• Write down unfamiliar words. Try to figure out what they mean.
• Write down questions that occur to you about things you don’t understand, or about things you want to discuss.
• Write down things you think are particularly important, and write why.
• Write notes about what the reading section makes you think of, perhaps another text or event in your life.
• Write your personal reaction to the text, whether you agree or disagree with the author and why.
• Write a short paraphrase of any sentence or concept that seems more difficult. This way you will be able to remember it more easily later.
**Most importantly, use the question stems on the handout provided to help you craft questions that you would like the group to discuss.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Tuesday, August 28 and Wednesday, August 29
Freshmen: Today our focus was on an introduction to free verse poetry and our first key principle for writing free verse poetry, which we're going to call "The Power of I." In other words, good free verse poetry often relates a first-hand experience, which requires a first person speaker. Your homework is to read for 20 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday, and to write a free verse poem. The poem is due Thursday, and should be typed, it should be about a first-hand experience, and it should adhere to the principle we covered in class today.
Sophomores: Today spent some time reading, introduced the notion of Socratic Seminars and how you should prepare for them, focused on some issues that are pertinent to our text, viewed the rest of the Joseph Campbell interview "The Message of the Myth". Thursday, we will do compare and contrast with the creation stories we found and the key item will be answering the following question: What do the similarities found in many creation stories reveal about humanity? Check the blog for the reading schedule as well.
CNF: Today we focused on reading the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Blink. We also focused on what good Socratic Seminar notes should look like in preparation for the seminar we will have on Friday.
Sophomores: Today spent some time reading, introduced the notion of Socratic Seminars and how you should prepare for them, focused on some issues that are pertinent to our text, viewed the rest of the Joseph Campbell interview "The Message of the Myth". Thursday, we will do compare and contrast with the creation stories we found and the key item will be answering the following question: What do the similarities found in many creation stories reveal about humanity? Check the blog for the reading schedule as well.
CNF: Today we focused on reading the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Blink. We also focused on what good Socratic Seminar notes should look like in preparation for the seminar we will have on Friday.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Monday, August 27
Freshmen: Today our focus was on responding to poetry using a method known as CQC (comment, question, connection). We read Stafford's "Traveling Through the Dark." Your homework is to read for 20 minutes, and be sure you are working on your Letter to the Editor, Great Thought assignment, and vocabulary.
Sophomores: Today we started Life of Pi, stressing the implications of the author's note. Check for an earlier blog entry that has the reading schedule. Please read a couple of chapters before Wednesday's class. Bring the creation story you found and bring it to class as well on Wednesday.
CNF: Today we focused primarily on the three tasks of Blink that Gladwell lays out in the introduction. We'll read the Introduction and Chapter One this week.
Sophomores: Today we started Life of Pi, stressing the implications of the author's note. Check for an earlier blog entry that has the reading schedule. Please read a couple of chapters before Wednesday's class. Bring the creation story you found and bring it to class as well on Wednesday.
CNF: Today we focused primarily on the three tasks of Blink that Gladwell lays out in the introduction. We'll read the Introduction and Chapter One this week.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Friday, August 24
Freshmen: Today our focus was on introducing our quarterly Letter to the Editor assignment. Honors students must hand one in on or before Thursday, September 20, and all students (including honors), must hand one on or before Tuesday, October 16. Your homework is to read for 20 minutes this weekend, work on your Prayer and Great Thoughts assignment if possible, and work on your letter if possible.
Sophomores: Today we focused on an interview between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers about myth, specifically creation myths. Your task is to find and print a creation myth from the culture you were assigned. Bring Life of Pi Monday.
CNF: Today our focus was on the responsibilities creators of non-fiction texts need to adhere to. Bring Blink on Monday.
Sophomores: Today we focused on an interview between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers about myth, specifically creation myths. Your task is to find and print a creation myth from the culture you were assigned. Bring Life of Pi Monday.
CNF: Today our focus was on the responsibilities creators of non-fiction texts need to adhere to. Bring Blink on Monday.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Thursday, August 23
Freshmen: Today our focus was on a basic introduction to poetry. We read the poem "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins and did a short response exercise to William Stafford's "Traveling Through the Dark." Read these poems if you were absent. We also talked about the way vocabulary will work. You can find it on this blog under the title Freshman and Sophomore 2012-2013 Vocabulary Schedule. Your homework is to read for 20 minutes.
Sophomores: Today we took a quiz on the introduction to the Tao te Ching and talked about some of the principles that inform the text. We also began an introductory assignment with the This I Believe project, which is due September 10. Honors students, begin the reading assignment from How to Read Like a Professor. We will start Life of Pi next week, so get a copy ASAP.
CNF: Today we continued our introduction to various forms of non-fiction, this time turning our attention to radio. We listened to segments from the shows This American Life and Radiolab, using them as opportunities to practice taking notes as a way to capture our responses to a non-fiction text. We will start Blink next week, so be sure to have a copy.
Sophomores: Today we took a quiz on the introduction to the Tao te Ching and talked about some of the principles that inform the text. We also began an introductory assignment with the This I Believe project, which is due September 10. Honors students, begin the reading assignment from How to Read Like a Professor. We will start Life of Pi next week, so get a copy ASAP.
CNF: Today we continued our introduction to various forms of non-fiction, this time turning our attention to radio. We listened to segments from the shows This American Life and Radiolab, using them as opportunities to practice taking notes as a way to capture our responses to a non-fiction text. We will start Blink next week, so be sure to have a copy.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Sophomore World Literature Prayer Assignment
World Literature Prayer Assignment
Each day, a different student will lead the class in prayer. There will be three parts to our daily prayer. The first will be reading a selection from the Tao te Ching, one of our class texts. We will read them in order, starting at One and working our way up to (I hope) Eighty-One. Everyone needs to bring this book to class every single day. Please have the same translation – the one by Jane English and Gia-Fu Feng.
The second part of the prayer requires you to puzzle out what that day’s reading means. Essentially you are interpreting and translating it for us into simple language. Feel free to use the notes in the back of the text, if there are notes for your particular reading, to help you with this, though your thinking and interpretation must be your own.
The third part of the prayer involves you constructing a prayer that is an extension of this reading. This might involve you writing your own prayer or meditation, finding a scripture (or other) reading that is related to the section from the Tao te Ching, playing a song, showing a picture for a meditation, or the like. It is very wide open, and you should use your creativity for this assignment. The idea is to use the reading from the Tao te Ching to set the tone for our prayer. It will serve the same purpose that an epigraph does in a work of literature. Additionally, when appropriate, you should make your prayer relevant to our school, city, national, or world community.
Regardless of what you choose to do, you need to come to class prepared ahead of time, and your prayer plan needs to be written up clearly and explicitly – you will turn it in. If it isn’t typed, you will only receive half credit. If you do not use the correct Tao reading, you will receive no credit. Use the examples I have provided on the back as your model, and follow that format as well, if you wish to earn full credit. Remember, these are only examples – follow the format, but the content of each person’s prayer may differ greatly.
This assignment is worth 100 points. You will be graded on your preparation, the depth of thought displayed, the quality and clarity of the writing in your prayer plan, how accurately you interpret that day’s reading, and, especially, how well your prayer ties in with the reading from the Tao. I would suggest preparing this assignment many days in advance, as the essence of the selection from the Tao te Ching may not be readily apparent on first reading.
Two Sample Assignments:
Jeff Baird
World Literature
Mr. Baird
Period 1
Prayer Assignment
Reading: 1
Interpretation: Those things that are transcendent and eternal are impossible to name because the words we use are inadequate. We say “God” or “Tao”, but these labels only incompletely describe that which we speak of. The transcendent must be experienced to be understood. Language alone cannot capture transcendent ideas and experiences.
Prayer: A reading from the Gospel according to John.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Lord, our God, help us to know your holy name. Help us to focus on the things that are transcendent, rather than focusing on the transitory material things of this world. We pray in your holy name, Amen.
Jeff Baird
World Literature
Mr. Baird
Period 1
Prayer Assignment
Reading: 2
Interpretation: Duality is a central component of life: black and white, high and low, good and evil. These things are not separate, but different sides of the same whole. If not for ugliness, we could not know beauty; if not for sorrow, we could never know happiness.
Prayer:
Lord God,
Help us to embrace hardship, so we can know happiness. Help us to embrace hard work, so we can know leisure. Help us to embrace sadness, so we can know happiness. And bless us that we can always feel of your presence.
Help us to remember the words of your Son, Jesus:
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted…
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy…
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We pray this in your name. Amen.
Each day, a different student will lead the class in prayer. There will be three parts to our daily prayer. The first will be reading a selection from the Tao te Ching, one of our class texts. We will read them in order, starting at One and working our way up to (I hope) Eighty-One. Everyone needs to bring this book to class every single day. Please have the same translation – the one by Jane English and Gia-Fu Feng.
The second part of the prayer requires you to puzzle out what that day’s reading means. Essentially you are interpreting and translating it for us into simple language. Feel free to use the notes in the back of the text, if there are notes for your particular reading, to help you with this, though your thinking and interpretation must be your own.
The third part of the prayer involves you constructing a prayer that is an extension of this reading. This might involve you writing your own prayer or meditation, finding a scripture (or other) reading that is related to the section from the Tao te Ching, playing a song, showing a picture for a meditation, or the like. It is very wide open, and you should use your creativity for this assignment. The idea is to use the reading from the Tao te Ching to set the tone for our prayer. It will serve the same purpose that an epigraph does in a work of literature. Additionally, when appropriate, you should make your prayer relevant to our school, city, national, or world community.
Regardless of what you choose to do, you need to come to class prepared ahead of time, and your prayer plan needs to be written up clearly and explicitly – you will turn it in. If it isn’t typed, you will only receive half credit. If you do not use the correct Tao reading, you will receive no credit. Use the examples I have provided on the back as your model, and follow that format as well, if you wish to earn full credit. Remember, these are only examples – follow the format, but the content of each person’s prayer may differ greatly.
This assignment is worth 100 points. You will be graded on your preparation, the depth of thought displayed, the quality and clarity of the writing in your prayer plan, how accurately you interpret that day’s reading, and, especially, how well your prayer ties in with the reading from the Tao. I would suggest preparing this assignment many days in advance, as the essence of the selection from the Tao te Ching may not be readily apparent on first reading.
Two Sample Assignments:
Jeff Baird
World Literature
Mr. Baird
Period 1
Prayer Assignment
Reading: 1
Interpretation: Those things that are transcendent and eternal are impossible to name because the words we use are inadequate. We say “God” or “Tao”, but these labels only incompletely describe that which we speak of. The transcendent must be experienced to be understood. Language alone cannot capture transcendent ideas and experiences.
Prayer: A reading from the Gospel according to John.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Lord, our God, help us to know your holy name. Help us to focus on the things that are transcendent, rather than focusing on the transitory material things of this world. We pray in your holy name, Amen.
Jeff Baird
World Literature
Mr. Baird
Period 1
Prayer Assignment
Reading: 2
Interpretation: Duality is a central component of life: black and white, high and low, good and evil. These things are not separate, but different sides of the same whole. If not for ugliness, we could not know beauty; if not for sorrow, we could never know happiness.
Prayer:
Lord God,
Help us to embrace hardship, so we can know happiness. Help us to embrace hard work, so we can know leisure. Help us to embrace sadness, so we can know happiness. And bless us that we can always feel of your presence.
Help us to remember the words of your Son, Jesus:
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted…
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy…
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We pray this in your name. Amen.
Wednesday, August 22
Freshmen: Today we introduced the Prayer and Great Thoughts Assignment. Be sure to be prepared to do your assignment on the day you signed up for. Homework tonight is to read for 20 minutes.
Sophomores: Today we focused on learning about the Tao te Ching, and read the introduction to the text I gave you yesterday. We will have a quiz tomorrow. We also focused on this quarter's prayer assignment, and there is an explanation and examples posted on the blog. We will begin Life of Pi next week, so please get a copy.
CNF: Today, Issue Number One was watching an episode of The McLaughlin Group in order to: introduce you to one form of non-fiction texts, focus on a non-fiction text that deals with contemporary issues, see an example of spirited debate about an intellectual topic, and practice taking notes on a non-fiction text. To quote John McLaughlin: Bye-bye!
Sophomores: Today we focused on learning about the Tao te Ching, and read the introduction to the text I gave you yesterday. We will have a quiz tomorrow. We also focused on this quarter's prayer assignment, and there is an explanation and examples posted on the blog. We will begin Life of Pi next week, so please get a copy.
CNF: Today, Issue Number One was watching an episode of The McLaughlin Group in order to: introduce you to one form of non-fiction texts, focus on a non-fiction text that deals with contemporary issues, see an example of spirited debate about an intellectual topic, and practice taking notes on a non-fiction text. To quote John McLaughlin: Bye-bye!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Tuesday, August 21
Freshmen: Today we went over basic expectations for the course and read and responded to the poem "Valedictorian." Your homework tonight is to respond to Blog Prompt #1, read for 20 minutes tonight, and have your parents read the disclosure and bring it back tomorrow.
Sophomores: Today we went over basic expectations for the course and wrote our first belief statement of the semester. Your homework tonight is to respond to the blog prompt, and go over the disclosure with your parents and bring it tomorrow.
CNF: Today we went over basic expectations for the course and talked about the key essential question of the course: Which kind of decision making is more effective, snap judgements or meticulous ones? Your homework tonight is to go over the disclosure with your parents and to respond to the first blog prompt for the course.
Sophomores: Today we went over basic expectations for the course and wrote our first belief statement of the semester. Your homework tonight is to respond to the blog prompt, and go over the disclosure with your parents and bring it tomorrow.
CNF: Today we went over basic expectations for the course and talked about the key essential question of the course: Which kind of decision making is more effective, snap judgements or meticulous ones? Your homework tonight is to go over the disclosure with your parents and to respond to the first blog prompt for the course.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Compelling Non-Fiction Prompt #1
Briefly describe your favorite non-fiction text (whether it is something you read, watched, or listened to). This should be a paragraph long or so. Please sign it with your first name and the period which you have the class.
Freshman Prompt #1
Please write a review of one of the summer reading books. A good reviewer does the following: 1. Identifies the main ideas of the book, and discusses a few of them in detail. 2. Explains whether or not the book is good or bad, better or worse, than other books you've read, and uses specific examples when explaining your judgement of the book. Your review of the book should be a few paragraphs long. Please sign it using your first name and English class period.
World Literature Prompt #1
Cosmogony is the study of the origins of the universe. Myths are stories. All cultures and all peoples tell creation myths to explain where we're from and why we're here. One interesting element of these stories is how many similarities they share, regardless of the culture. We will soon engage in a study of creation myths, but before we do, I would like you to write a paragraph or so speculating on what elements are commonly shared among a wide variety of creation myths. Write a paragraph or so, and please reference and respond to what others have written before you. Sign your entry with your first name and the period of your English class.
Sophomore World Literature Life of Pi Reading Schedule
Finish the chapter by the class period it is due. For example, if the schedule says that chapter 84 is due by July 4, that means all chapters, including 84 are due before class that day (thank goodness no class on July 4 - imagine how hot the classroom would be).
Here is the schedule for Life of Pi:
Monday, August 27 we will begin the book.
Wednesday, September 5 Book I is due. Also do are a dozen notes for the seminar we will have that day.
Friday, September 7, Chapter 45 is due. We will conduct an in-class activity that begins with Chapter 46, so be sure to be up to speed.
Book II due on Monday, September 17. Also due are a dozen notes for the seminar we will have that day, as well as at least two entries on your Echoes of the Tao Think Sheet.
Wednesday, September 19 we will listen to Book III together in class and have our final seminar on the book.
Thursday, September 20, we will begin The Power of One.
Here is the schedule for Life of Pi:
Monday, August 27 we will begin the book.
Wednesday, September 5 Book I is due. Also do are a dozen notes for the seminar we will have that day.
Friday, September 7, Chapter 45 is due. We will conduct an in-class activity that begins with Chapter 46, so be sure to be up to speed.
Book II due on Monday, September 17. Also due are a dozen notes for the seminar we will have that day, as well as at least two entries on your Echoes of the Tao Think Sheet.
Wednesday, September 19 we will listen to Book III together in class and have our final seminar on the book.
Thursday, September 20, we will begin The Power of One.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Freshman and Sophomore English 2012-2013 Vocabulary Schedule
Freshman and Sophomore English 2012-2013 Vocabulary Schedule: Instructions and Due Dates
Do all the exercises for a particular chapter before that chapter is due on your own as homework. On the date the chapter is due, bring your book to class for credit. You will either earn full credit (50 points: work complete and correct), partial credit (25 points: some of the work done or many incorrect), or no credit (0 points: book is missing or hardly any work is complete). You may not hand this work in late. The date the work is due we will also take a quiz, typically worth 25 to 50 points, mirroring the work in the book. You are not required to do the unit reviews or the cumulative reviews, though you can if you wish.
Chapter 1 due Friday, September 14
Chapter 2 due Friday, September 28
Chapter 3 due Friday, October 12
Chapter 4 due Thursday, November 1
Chapter 5 due Thursday, November 15
Chapter 6 due Friday, December 7
Chapter 7 due Friday, December 20
***A cumulative exam covering Chapters 1-7 will be a part of your first semester final.
Chapter 8 due Friday, February 1.
Chapter 9 due Friday, February 8
Chapter 10 due Friday, February 22
Chapter 11 due Thursday, March 7
Chapter 12 due Friday, March 22
Chapter 13 due Thursday, April 18
Chapter 14 due Thursday, May 9
Chapter 15 due Monday, June 3
***A cumulative exam covering Chapters 8-15 will be a part of your second semester final.
Do all the exercises for a particular chapter before that chapter is due on your own as homework. On the date the chapter is due, bring your book to class for credit. You will either earn full credit (50 points: work complete and correct), partial credit (25 points: some of the work done or many incorrect), or no credit (0 points: book is missing or hardly any work is complete). You may not hand this work in late. The date the work is due we will also take a quiz, typically worth 25 to 50 points, mirroring the work in the book. You are not required to do the unit reviews or the cumulative reviews, though you can if you wish.
Chapter 1 due Friday, September 14
Chapter 2 due Friday, September 28
Chapter 3 due Friday, October 12
Chapter 4 due Thursday, November 1
Chapter 5 due Thursday, November 15
Chapter 6 due Friday, December 7
Chapter 7 due Friday, December 20
***A cumulative exam covering Chapters 1-7 will be a part of your first semester final.
Chapter 8 due Friday, February 1.
Chapter 9 due Friday, February 8
Chapter 10 due Friday, February 22
Chapter 11 due Thursday, March 7
Chapter 12 due Friday, March 22
Chapter 13 due Thursday, April 18
Chapter 14 due Thursday, May 9
Chapter 15 due Monday, June 3
***A cumulative exam covering Chapters 8-15 will be a part of your second semester final.
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