Thursday, August 30 and Friday, August 31

Sorry, forgot to post this yesterday...

English 12A: On Thursday, we continued to prepare for the final project of the trimester by further studying some essays from This I Believe's website. You got a handout to help you with this that's due September 4. Also due September 4 is your summer reading and the graphic organizer that goes along with it. You'll take an essay exam on the text on September 5. For up to 50 points extra credit, attend author Chris Crowe's presentation on September 12 at 7 PM and write a short reflection on the event and how it helped you understand the book.

On Friday, we took a district-wide assessment.

CNF: We learned about and practiced thin slicing by reading Chapter 1 from Blink, taking notes on it, discussing our ideas, and thin slicing some couples' interactions. We will conclude this on Tuesday.

Wednesday, August 29

English 12A: Today we read Chapter 3 in the Tao te Ching; from there we focused on the second major theme of our class, which is that of personal belief. We looked at the end-of-the-trimester project that we will undertake, which involves writing an essay for NPR's This I Believe Project. We will continue with this tomorrow.

CNF: Today we did a few things to help us better understand what we will read in Chapter 1 of Blink: we took the Big Five Inventory personality test, and your homework is to have someone close to you take it about you; we also watched a Ted Talk titled The Mathematics of Love, and will continue to study some of the ideas addressed there tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 28

English 12A: Today our focus was on getting background on the Tao te Ching as a text and work of literature. We had some discussions and took a quiz and began the bell work packet that we will do each day.

CNF: We read the introduction to Blink and had a discussion about the ideas therein.

Monday, August 27

English 12A: Today we began a study of the ancient Chinese text the Tao te Ching. To begin this study, we read the introduction and the students took notes on key words and ideas in the introduction. We will finish reading it in class on Tuesday, and you will be able to use your notes on the quiz we will take on the introduction.

CNF: Today we began reading Blink, focusing especially on our biases about decision-making and the three tasks Gladwell sets out for the reader in his introduction. We will finish the introduction in class on Tuesday and discuss it.

Friday, August 24

English 12A: Today we focused on revision, specifically of your essays about the film More. In class I tried to emphasize the importance of modeling your work after other writers who you feel are effective, and the importance of identifying specific things other writers do that are effective so you can imitate it yourself. Your homework is to revise your essay based on your peer's comments, what you learned from your peer's paper, and what you learned from the sample paper I provided you. That can be found on Canvas. Your essay must be submitted to Canvas no later than Monday morning.

CNF: Today we focused on both decision-making and nonfiction by examining the topic of flight versus invisibility via an episode of This American Life.

Thursday, August 23

English 12A: Today we focused on some basic literary concepts, particularly theme, and then applied these concepts to our reading of Mark Osborn's short film, "More." You completed a think-sheet in class about the concepts and the film and began writing an essay, the instructions for which you can find on Canvas, along with a link to view the film if you need to see it again.

We also discussed the summer reading assignment and how you need to complete it by Tuesday, September 4. A link to the graphic organizer you need to complete by this date can be found here https://brighton.canyonsdistrict.org/docs/Brighton_Reads_2018-2019.pdf and on Canvas under Summer Reading. The test will be Wednesday, September 5.

CNF: Today we studied how non-fiction texts are constructs, just as fiction texts are. Toward that end, we listened to a couple of stories from Radiolab and This American Life and examined how ethos, pathos, and logos were used to manipulate us as listeners.

Wednesday, August 22

English 12A: Today we covered our disclosure statement (which can be found on our course Canvas page), and wrote in response to a few prompts (which can also be found on our Canvas page). Your signed disclosure is due Thursday, 8/23, and your summer reading and the graphic organizer should be complete by 9/4 - there will be a discussion on 9/4 about the summer reading, and a quiz on 9/5. Thanks for a good first day.

CNF: Today we went over our disclosure statement (which can be found on our course Canvas page) and had a basic overview of our course and its primary theme. Bring your disclosure back to class on Thursday. Thanks for a great first day.