Monday, April 30

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

English 12B: Today we completed Days 35 and 36 in your packet for The Elements of Style, completed another entry in the Hero Catch Phrase Project, and then focused on the sonnet form, for those of you who wish to focus poetry in your Genre Responses. Spend at least 30 minutes tonight working on your project.

CNF: Today we watched So Much So Fast as a way to better understand information asymmetry.

Friday, April 27

English 12B: Today we took a quiz on Part IV of The Elements of Style, did another Hero Catch-Phrase entry, and talked about children's books a little more. You should be about done with your research paper and should begin working on your Genre Responses, which we will continue to discuss moving forward.

CNF: Today we finished Chapter 2 of Freakonomics and watched a Ted Talk by Jamie Heywood, who's one of the principal figures in the documentary we will watch next week.

Thursday, April 26

English 12B: Today we could not take the quiz for The Elements of Style due to Canvas issues, so we will do that tomorrow. We did complete section IV of the book and looked at some children's books for those of you that may choose that option for one of your genre responses. You should work on your Capstone every day.

CNF: Today we viewed a Ted Talk about information asymmetry and began reading Chapter 2 from Freakonomics.

Wednesday, April 25

English 12B: Today we completed Day 33 of our packets for The Elements of Style, did an entry in the Hero Catch-Phrase Project, and took a look at another short story, for those of you choosing to do this Genre Response. There is also a new powerpoint on Canvas to help you write your short stories titled Short Story Structure. It will help you write your short story in seven easy steps.

CNF: We concluded the documentary (Dis)honesty, The Truth About Lies.

Tuesday, April 24

English 12B: Today we talked about one of the options you have for a Genre Response for the Capstone Project - short stories. We read a few short stories, discussed some of their elements, and talked about how to connect an idea for a short story to the larger topic your Capstone focuses on. We also did Day 32 of The Elements of Style and continued to write.

CNF: Today we viewed part of a documentary titled Dishonesty, the Truth About Lies.

Monday, April 23

English 12B: Today we did both days 30 and 31 in The Elements of Style packet. We also began the Hero Catch Phrase Project. We concluded class discussing the one universally required Genre Response for the Capstone Project, which is a letter to the editor of The Salt Lake Tribune. See the link on the blog or on Canvas for their requirements. Work on your Capstone for 15-30 minutes tonight.

CNF: Today we finished Chapter 1 from Freakonomics, and read an article from National Geographic titled "Why We Lie." We had a short discussion on these in class.

Capstone Project Letter to the Editor Submission Guidelines

If you want to see The Tribune's address or their submission guidelines, go to https://www.sltrib.com/footer/2017/07/26/contact-us/ (Links to an external site.)

Thursday, April 19

English 12B: Today we concluded our study of the Monomyth and studied how to create a bibliography or works cited page for your research paper (the main difference being a bibliography lists all sources you used, while a works cited page references the works you actually refer to in your paper - I want you creating a bibliography and listing all sources). See Canvas under Assignments under Capstone Project for help with this. Spend at least an hour on your essay this weekend.

CNF: Today we watched a Ted Talk titled "Our Buggy Moral Code," continued reading Freakonomics, and read an article titled "Why We Lie."

Wednesday, April 18

English 12B: Today we completed day 28 of our packet from The Elements of Style, studied the monomyth some more, reviewed various conclusion strategies and picked one to shoot for with the research papers, and wrote. Spend 15 minutes on your project tonight.

CNF: Today we focused on some of the foundational found in Freakonomics, watched a documentary on corruption in Japanese Sumo, started reading Chapter 1.

Tuesday, April 17

English 12B: Today we read more from The Elements of Style, read Chapter 8 from They Say I Say to better understand transitions, and worked on your research papers, which you should spend at least 15 minutes on at home tonight.

CNF: Today we broke down the data from the survey we took on cheating and continued to read the Explanatory Note, Preface, and Introduction for Freakonomics.

Monday, April 16

English 12B: Today, we studied some commonly misused expressions listed in The Elements of Style, studied the seventh stage of the Monomyth, and worked on your research papers. You should be close to done with them by the end of the week so we can move on to other aspects of the Capstone Project.

CNF: Today we watched a Ted Talk titled "The Future of Lying," completed a survey about cheating here at Brighton, and read the Explanatory Note, Preface, and Introduction to Freakonomics.

Friday, April 13

English 12B: Today we read section III of The Elements of Style and took a quiz on it on Canvas; we also discussed the fifth and sixth stages of the monomyth cycle; and lastly, we spent some time working on your research projects. Continue to work on them this weekend, say, for 30 minutes or so.

CNF: We completed our reading of Blink and discussed to what extent Gladwell accomplished the three tasks he laid out in the introduction. We will begin reading Freakonomics on Monday.

Thursday, April 12

English 12B: Today we focused on two more stages of the monomyth, concluded the second section of The Elements of Style and took a quiz (if you were absent, take this on Canvas - you are not allowed to use your book or packet on the quiz), and worked on your Capstone Research Papers.

CNF: Today we talked over a few ideas related to the end of Blink, and tried as well as we could to finish it. We'll wrap it up on Friday.

Wednesday, April 11

English 12B: Today we focused on Day 23 of your packet for The Elements of Style (rule 21). There will be a quiz on the second section of the book on Thursday. We then learned about the first two stages of the Monomyth, and then continued to work on your Capstone Research Papers.

CNF: Today we continued to read from Blink and watched a Ted Talk by Dan Ariely called "Are We Really in Control of Our Own Decisions?"

Tuesday, April 10

English 12B: Today we finished a review of the different kinds of introduction techniques available for your Capstone Research Paper and began writing your introductions - melding them with two chapters from They Say I Say. We read Chapter 7 today, which advocates "stating why it matters" - that is, not assuming that your reader will understand why your topic (and your stance on it) is important. You have to state it outright. And, going back to Chapter 1, we emphasized that you are entering a conversation about your topic. Your introduction should reflect mastery of three things: entering the conversation, stating why it matters, and executing the introduction technique you have chosen. We also read Elementary Rule of Composition 20 in The Elements of Style, and you should expect a quiz on The Elementary Principles of Composition on Thursday. Your homework for the rest of the year is to spend 15 minutes each night working on your Capstone Project.

CNF: Today we watched a Ted Talk, "How to Spot a Liar" and did an experiment with a piece of standup by George Carlin (Gladwell's thesis was drastically refuted...). We also continued to read Chapter 6 in Blink.

Monday, April 9

English 12A: Today we did a number of things. We read Elementary Rule of Composition 19 in The Elements of Style. We formulated thesis statements based on the research you compiled over the last month or so. We ordered the information in such a way that it will make sense for your reader. And we reviewed the different Introduction Techniques we studied last trimester as you prepared to begin writing your own introduction tomorrow. Notice how I used excellent parallel structure as I expressed related ideas in similar form.

CNF: Today we focused on Chapter 6 in Blink and the story of Amadou Diallo and the song Bruce Springsteen wrote in response to it; we also did a little studying of mircroexpressions.