Tuesday, September 13 and Wednesday, September 14

Freshmen: Today we began an in-depth study of essays. We are reading many essays from a packet I have for you and taking notes on what positive features or characteristics we notice that these essays share. This will take us a few days.
Meanwhile, read for 20 minutes tonight and Wednesday. Keep working on vocab. Get a copy of They Say I Say for Monday (honors, you need The Elements of Style).

CNF: Today we did something called and Implicit Association Test. You can do several of these. Do the ones with the harvard.edu addresses and write down the results.

Monday, September 12

Freshmen: Today we concluded our activity on What Writing Is. Read for 20 minutes. All students need a copy of They Say I Say for Monday; the honors students also need a copy of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style to read in conjunction with this book.

CNF: Today we held our second seminar. We will do an activity in preparation for Chapter 3 on Wednesday.

Friday, September 9

Freshmen: Today we took our first vocabulary quiz. Search the blog for the vocab schedule for the rest of the semester. Read for 20 minutes over the weekend. Your essay is due to turnitin.com by 7:59 AM Monday morning. Also, I would like you to go over your summer read essay. Compare your six traits score with mine, using the one pager to interpret the differences. Choose one trait to make the focal point of your essay on "More."

CNF: Today we began Chapter 2, taking three notes per section in preparation for our next seminar, which will be on Monday. Complete the chapter for that day.

Thursday, September 8

Freshmen: Today we explored the question, "What is Writing?" You responded to the prompt "Writing is a process, not a single activity. It has many steps, behaviors, activities, and changes. Some of these include:". We will continue this discussion tomorrow. Read for 20 minutes for homework tonight. Due Friday is Unit 1 vocab (must have your book for credit tomorrow). Due Monday is your essay on "More."

CNF: Today we engaged in a priming activity and also talked about the difference between what we say we want and what we actually pursue. We will read on Friday, so bring your book.

Tuesday, September 6 and Wednesday, September 7

Freshmen: Today we focused on the literary concept of Theme, practiced our thinking technique of observing, synthesizing, and stating a thesis. We did this primarily by watching Mark Osborne's short film "More" (you can find this on youtube). We also went over the expectations for vocabulary (you can find the schedule on this blog) as well as how to use turnitin.com (see this blog for info regarding that). Your homework is as follows: Read for 20 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday; chapter 1 vocabulary is due Friday; finish your observation, synthesis, and thesis chart for the film - your thesis should be what you believe the theme of More to be; due Monday by 7:59 AM is an essay to turnitin.com that answers some variation of the following prompt: What is the theme of "More"? or, What is the message of "More"? Remember, a good essay is 8-19 paragraphs long, your theme should be a sentence (rather than a one word statement), and everything in the essay should revolve around what you believe the theme to be. Set up your turnitin.com account this week and see me if there is a problem.

CNF: Today we practiced our ability to thin slice based on bedroom photos, couples in conversation, and the Big Five Inventory.

Friday, September 2

Well, the Utes survived... oh, wait - classes!

Freshmen: Today, we focused on reading film. Your task is to complete your Break it Down graphic organizer and on the back answer this prompt in relation to the film: What's happening here, or, What's this about? Remember to have a clear, concise thesis statement, and support that thesis with details from the text. Also, periods 3 and 4 should read for 20 minutes twice - once for the weekend and once for Monday. Period 6 should read for 20 minutes three times, considering that section does not meet on Tuesday. All sections need a copy of their vocab book for the next time we meet, because we will take a diagnostic vocab exam and you need your vocab book in order to do that.

CNF: Today we had our first seminar - you all did great. Be sure to get me a photo of your room and be sure you take the Big 5 Inventory through Berkley's website and write down where you fit on each spectrum. Thin slice as much as you can over the break, except where pizza or pie is involved.

Thursday, September 1

Freshmen: Today we continued with our Break it Down exercise. Your task is to complete the paragraph about the song we listened to. Be sure you have a concise, supportable thesis that you support with evidence. Read for 20 minutes.

CNF: Today we attempted to finish the introduction to Blink and Chapter 1 with 2 notes per section for the seminar on Friday.