Thursday, October 31

All students: Remember that you must pay your tax on candy to Mr. Baird on Monday, November 4 - that is something really good, chocolate only (Twix, M&Ms, etc.). 10% of your total trick-or-treating haul is standard.

Freshmen: Today we had a seminar on Speak. Finish the book, with a seminar prep, for next Thursday. Due on Friday is Chapter 4 vocab. For those who didn't respond to the blog in a timely manner regarding your feedback on your most recent essay, if you view the comments (which I can see via an icon on turnitin.com), you can earn some credit. This is due by Friday, November 1.

Sophomores: Today our focus was on Peekay and how his personal beliefs have changed and evolved since we first met him. Vocab is due Friday; also due Friday is submitting your essay to turnitin.com; due Monday is finishing The Power of One, along with your seminar prep, your Echoes, and your Triple Entry Journal.

Sophomore Honors students: Please read and study the essay I gave you by Joe Stokes about The Power of One. That's what an A paper looks like for honors.

CNF: Today we began Bigger Faster Stronger. 

CNF Extra Credit Opportunity

Based on what we viewed in class, you may find this interesting: http://freakonomics.com/2011/07/07/hey-baby-is-that-a-prius-you’re-driving/

If you want to listen to it and write a one page reaction based on what we viewed, you can get extra credit. Get it to me by 11/4, let's say.

Tuesday, October 29 and Wednesday, October 30

Freshmen: Today our focus was on narrative essays. Due in class on Monday is a narrative essay of your own. We focused on the elements of thesis, narrator, problem and solution, and conflict. In addition to these elements, you need to have a good title and identify the lead and conclusion technique you're using in your header. Follow all seven of our steps for writing good essays.

Other things you need to do: the first two marking periods of Speak and a seminar prep are due for Thursday's class; due for Friday is Chapter 4 vocabulary; and tonight you need to log into turnitin.com and read through the comments on your Seven Step Essay; then write a comment on this blog post that explains what you learned about writing from the feedback on your essay. If you want, for extra credit, you can revise and annotate the improvements and hand it in on Friday. Additionally, I have extended your proof of submission of this essay to Thursday.

Sophomores: Today our focus was on Ken Rand's 10% Solution. You are to take your film compare and contrast essay, 10% it, and submit a copy of it to turnitin.com by 8 AM Friday, November 1. As a final reminder, your essay should list the lead and conclusion technique you used in your header, have a great title, cite your sources numerous times correctly, have a clear thesis that you then prove using evidence from the texts. Review the handout I gave you on the assignment to be sure you touch on all the bases.

Additionally, Chapter 4 Vocabulary is due Friday, and you should finish reading The Power of One by Monday, November 4.

CNF: Today we finished Who Killed the Electric Car? and figured out was responsible (spoiler: it was Lizzie).

Crystal Caves

Sophs: Check it out - http://www.weather.com/tv/tvshows/weather-films/destination-uncharted/spectacular-caves-world-photos-20130626?pageno=1
Not sure if one is Doc's, but you never know...

Friday, October 25

I don't know how, I don't know why, but it'll be Utah 24, USC 21. We then beat ASU, WSU, and Colorado, plus a bowl win, which means we get an 8 win year. Mark it down.

Freshmen: I hope you had a good day at the Rosary Rally. Be sure you stay current on your reading.

Sophomores: Our focus was primarily on the Tao, both the echoes we see in the texts we're reading as well as some of the themes, figures, images, and ideas that are recurrent in it. Remember, you need to have your essay complete for our next meeting, and should have both a hard copy and access to an electronic copy. You should be through Chapter 22 as well for next class.

CNF: Today we began a documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car?

Thursday, October 24

Freshmen: Today we focused on spelling and its importance. You should read for 20 minutes tonight, as you attempt to meet the due date for Speak. Also work on your seminar prep and vocabulary.

Sophomores: Today we wrote about whether it's possible to separate who a person is from what that person does, using Geel Piet as our model. Your homework is reading, working on your seminar prep, vocabulary, your Triple Entry Journal, and your film essay. Remember that tomorrow, I will collect your Echoes of the Tao assignment.

CNF: I thought we had a very interesting seminar. If you would like to earn some extra credit, view this Ted Talk about education and write a short reaction, say half a page to a page typed. It doesn't have to do with cheating, but it does touch on many of the education-related topics you all brought up in the seminar today: http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley.html. I do need this by Friday to count on this quarter's grade.

Tuesday, October 22 and Wednesday, October 23

Freshmen: Today we began the novel Speak. Check the reading schedule on the blog; remember this reading does count for your in-class and at-home reading. Chapter 4 vocab is due November 1.

Sophomores: Our primary focus was on a seminar on The Power of One. Keep up with the reading schedule, which can be found on a September post. Honors students - we have a meeting tomorrow. Continue working on your essay, and remember, Chapter 4 vocab is due November 1.

CNF: We began Chapter 1 from Freakonomics.

In-text and Blocked Citation Example from The Power of One

Prompt: Using a few entries from your Triple Entry Journal, write about something you learned about life from The Power of One.

In Bryce Courtney’s The Power of One we learn that “A man is only free when he is free in his heart” (196). Doc tells the main character, Peekay this, while imprisoned during the second World War, his only crime that of being German. Doc asks Peekay in a letter:

What is a German?... Does it tell you if he is a good man? Or a bad man? No, my friend, it tells you nothing about a man to say he is German. A man must think what he is on the inside. What he is on the outside? How can this matter (182)?

                  This is something Peekay incorporates into his understanding of the power of one, and is something that shapes how he views everyone, especially Geel Piet, a life-long criminal he meets inside Barberton Prison. When discussing this man with Morrie, whom everyone else sees only as a kaffir and a criminal, Peekay says, “It’s not what a man does, it’s what a man is that counts” (353).

Key technical points:
1. The in-text citations all are a part of a larger sentence; quote marks set them off from the rest of the text, and the page numbers are in parentheses at the end of the sentence before the terminal punctuation mark.
2. The blocked citation is single spaced and therefore does not require quote marks to set it off from the rest of the text. It also has a page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence before the terminal punctuation mark.

Monday, October 21

Freshmen: Today we finished viewing Spellbound and analyzing the filmmaker's use of the various rhetorical devices we will study from here on out. Please post a comment that's a paragraph or so where you explain how a rhetorical device or two were used. Please read students' responses, and feel free to comment on what they've said, while at the same time adding insights others have not. Read for 20 minutes and bring Speak to class tomorrow. The Freshmen Honors meeting has been postponed to 11/12. The other dates for this semester are going to have to be adjusted as well.

Sophomores: Today we focused on how to cite from a text, learning about both in-text and blocked citations. Review the reading schedule for the next period's due date. Keep working on your film essay as well.

CNF: Today we concluded our analysis of the data from our cheating survey. We also began Chapter 1 from Freakonomics. 

Speak Reading Schedule

Hi. Here is our reading schedule for Speak. You can use your 20 minutes of reading homework time to meet these due dates, as well as our in-class reading time; if it takes you more time than that to meet these due dates, then you'll need to read more, and if it takes you less and you finish early, read from something else.

10/22 - Begin Speak in class.

10/31 - First and Second Marking Period due. You should have a seminar prep consisting of a dozen items, both questions and comments, for this date. Your seminar prep should capture what you were thinking about as you read.

11/7 - Book due. You should have a seminar prep consisting of a dozen items, both questions and comments, for this date. Your seminar prep should capture what you were thinking about as you read.

Compelling Non-Fiction Extra Credit Opportunity

Hi. If you want to hear an incredible story, go to This American Life's website (http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/507/confessions) and listen to the podcast "Confessions." Act I deals with an incredible story that is, essentially, a story about how Blink-like thinking went terribly wrong and it took some Freakonomics-like thinking to set things write (in some ways, the opposite scenario as what Gladwell chronicles in his story about the Getty). If you'd like to listen to it and write up a page-long reaction, you can earn up to 50 points extra credit.

Wednesday, October 16

You all took your school-wide tests today, but of course are curious about my prediction: Utah 38-Arizona 21. Mark it down.

Tuesday, October 15

Freshmen: We continued to study rhetorical devices used in both documentary film and essay; read for 20 minutes Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and the weekend.

Sophomores: Today our focus was on Geel Piet. Be sure you are reading every night to stay current in our text and start workin on your film and essay project.

CNF: Today we studied cheating in sports, including sumo, and curuiously, the illegal recruitment of animals for major D1 basketball programs and the use of magical phantasams by at least one major leaguer (and you know if one's been caught, dozens are doing it).

Monday, October 14

Just to be clear, I did have the score Utah 24, Stanford 21 written on the board in my room - I didn't want to put it here for fear of jinxing things. That said, Saturday the score will be Utah 38, Arizona 24.

Anyone who attends the fall music concert tonight can write a one page, typed, review of it for extra credit.

Freshmen: Today we previewed the various rhetorical devices we will study and learn as writers of essay by studying how documentary films are the cinematic equivalent of the essay, analyzing how documentary films use the same sort of techniques that essay writers do. Read for 20 minutes tonight as your homework.

Sophomores: Today our main focus was on discussing Chapters 10-12 from The Power of One. We've got quite a bit of reading due for the next due date, so make sure you are checking the blog and keeping up.

CNF: Today we looked at the data from the survey on cheating and figured out the story it was telling.

Friday, October 11

Freshmen: Today wrapped up our Seven Step Essay Process by talking about publishing, which of course can take many forms - you've already done this twice with this piece by submitting it to me and sharing it with a classmate. You need to find an outside source to publish your work, too, and submit it to them. You have two weeks - proof of submission is due on 10/25. This can be a publication, a website, a newspaper, etc. Your grade is based only on the attempt, not the actual publication of it. Also, read for 20 minutes this weekend.

Sophomores: Today we started talking about different lead techniques to try with your upcoming essay project. Check the reading schedule; you should finish Chapter 12 for Monday's class.

CNF: Today we began studying the first sub-topic addressed in Freakonomics: cheating. We took a survey, listened to a Ted Talk titled "Our Buggy Moral Code", and listened to Act Two and Three of This American Life's "Getting Away With It."

Thursday, October 10

Freshmen: Today our focus was on Step Seven of our Seven Step Essay Process. Tonight you need to edit it for grammar, punctuation, and spelling, and polish it for format. Then you should go to easybib.com and create your bibliography or works cited page. Attach this to your essay. It should be your final page, separate from the rest of your essay. Submit this to turnitin.com before 8 AM Friday morning and bring a paper copy of your essay to class tomorrow. Read for 20 minutes tonight.

Sophomores: Today our primary focus was on making progress in the reading. Please check the blog schedule.

CNF: Today we read the Explanatory Note and Introduction to Freakonomics.

Tuesday, October 8 and Wednesday, October 9

Freshmen: Today we finished learning about The 10% Solution and started revising your essays based on it. You should finish revising the essay based on The 10% Solution tonight and bring a revised copy to class on Thursday. Read for 20 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday and remember, your letter to the editor is due on Thursday.

Sophomores: Today we finished Cry, the Beloved Country and wrote a short in-class essay regarding how South Africa is portrayed in the film. We also began a film and essay project; the essay is due on 10/29. See the reading schedule so you know what is due for Monday.

CNF: Today we concluded Blink with an essay and discussion. We will start Freakonomics on Thursday.

Monday, October 7

Freshmen: Today we started to learn about Ken Rand's 10% Solution. You need to be able to access an electronic copy of your essay tomorrow in class. Read for 20 minutes tonight.

Sophomores: Today we took a quiz, did a bit of writing, and had a seminar on The Power of One.  Check the reading schedule for your homework.

CNF: Today we finished Blink.

Integrating Citations Into a Journey Narrative Example

                  Laura and I stood at the ticket counter, somewhat daunted by what we had just heard. Our plane back to Salt Lake was delayed for at least five hours. We were simultaneously disappointed to be stuck at the Los Angeles airport and thrilled that this trip - our first together - would be extended.

                  “I guess we’d better call Summer,” Laura said. Summer was her best friend, and had agreed to pick us up after our trip to see Jimmy Buffet play at the Hollywood Bowl for our first anniversary. We set off in search of a pay phone.

                  It wasn’t long before a young man stopped us, inquiring where we were from. When we told him, he said, “Ah, yes - Shawn Bradley. He is very, very tall.” All I could do was nod - BYU’s starting center was, at seven-foot-seven, very tall indeed. That seemed to comprise the young man’s total knowledge of Utah. He went on: “You want to buy book? I am Hare Krishna - here you buy this book.” He handed something to me and I fumbled in my pocket, pulling out a bill, which he took from me and disappeared back into the crowd.

                  “What just happened?” I asked Laura. “I think I gave that freak twenty dollars!” We sat down and started to leaf through the book, which appeared strange and unfamiliar. “Great,” I said, tossing it aside, “there’s money I’ll never get back.”

                  We got up and continued searching for a phone, and every Hare Krishna I saw looked like a shyster who would pick my pocket given half the chance. It wasn’t until much later that I came to understand that, as Yann Martel writes in Life of Pi, “Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing Muslims” (50). All I knew at that moment was some bald dude took the money I wanted to spend on pizza.  

Friday, October 4

Freshmen: Today we took a vocab exam. You need to be able to electronically access your revised, best copy of your essay. Read for 20 minutes this weekend.

Sophomores: Today we took a vocab exam. Chapters 6-9 and a seminar prep that reflects what you are thinking as you read is due for Monday's seminar. Keep working on your 3EJ and your Echoes assignment as well. We also talked about how to integrate citations from a novel into your writing. This weekend, access the comments regarding your journey narrative on turnitin.com and revise your essay based on this lesson and the comments I have left you. Print your revised (i.e. improved) essay, and annotate your improvements on the page. Bring this printed, annotated version of your essay to class on Monday. I have posed an example of how to integrate citations on the blog.

CNF: Today we read Chapter 6 and the Conclusion of Blink.

Oh, and - let's go, Aggies! 35-14 over BYU in the state's JV game.

Thursday, October 3

First of all: Let's Go, Utes! Prediction: Utah 35, UCLA 28. Trailing 21-28 to start the fourth quarter, we'll have two great drives and two stops and win the game.

Second of all: Rachel and Rachel, how's it going?

Freshmen: Today we focused on Step Six of our Seven Step Essay Process. You are to continue revising your essay, and it should be done for Friday's class. Be sure it is saved electronically in a way it can be access from school. Read for 20 minutes and remember Chapter 3 vocab is due on Friday.

Sophomores: Today we continued Cry, the Beloved Country. Remember Chapter 3 vocab is due on Friday, and that Chapters 6-9 from The Power of One and a seminar prep is due for Monday.

CNF: Today we began reading Chapter 6 and the Conclusion from Blink.

Exclusive Extra Credit Opportunity

Hi. We are running dangerously low on tissues in the classroom and cold season is approaching. So, as an exclusive offer for those people who actually check the blog, if you'd like to bring a box of tissues, I'll give you ten points extra credit. Bring it in in the next week or so and write your name on the box.

Tuesday, October 1 and Wednesday, October 2

Freshmen: Today we concluded Step Four and began Step Five of our Seven Step Essay Process. Your task today was to order your information and then write your essay. The requirements for your essay are as follows: Use a lead and conclusion technique we studied; have a clear thesis; arrange your information in a clear and logical way that proves your thesis; use the three techniques covered in the first three chapters of They Say I Say - respond to what others say about your topic, summarize someone's position from your research on your topic, and cite from your research at least three times using templates from They Say I Say; and, lastly, format correctly. You should take your handwritten essay and type it up and bring it to class on Thursday. Read for 20 minutes the next two nights and remember Chapter 3 Vocab is due on Friday.

Sophomores: Today we continued our exercise in close reading and the method of observe-induce-thesis by viewing part of Cry, the Beloved Country. The idea is to build some background for the people, place, and time period of The Power of One. You should finish Chapters 6-9 for next Monday and remember Chapter 3 Vocab is due on Friday.

CNF: Today we had a seminar and began Chapter 6 and the Conclusion of Blink.