Thurs, Dec 29

In class, student peer reviewed drafts of On The Road papers. If you missed class, you must meet with another class member to peer review papers prior to Monday's class. Criteria for peer review is below:

Identify the thesis

What is the author's criteria for analyis?

Score the effectiveness of introduction 0 (there is no introduction) - 3 (excellent, grabs reader's attention)

Identify & evaluate support used to make arguments.

How many quotes appear in the paper? Is this a sufficient amount? Too many?

Score conclusion 0-3

Is there a properly formatted Works Cited page?


Monday's class: Journal Writing Mondays!!
Tuesday: Final draft of On the Road paper due along with peer reviewed draft. Staple prior to class.

Revised Assignment through Dec 12

All students will be expected to have read OTR through the end of Part Three (pg 248) and answered all applicable questions on the Read Along by class time on Dec 12. Students traveling through Holiday Break are still expected to submit work previously assigned including final draft of paper due Dec 16.

Ted Talks - Social Networking (HW due 11/11)

HW due 11/11: read the handout on networking and view the following Ted Talk on the power of social networks.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/nicholas_christakis_the_hidden_influence_of_social_networks.html

Weekly Wrap-Up

In class on Thursday 9/15, students reviewed definitions and pronunciation of vocabulary (words borrowed in English from French). Vocab quiz Friday 9/16. If you miss the quiz, please complete on your own time and put in my mailbox by 8am Tues 9/20.

College essays: students should place 1 college essay or topic response for thorough reading in my mailbox by 8am Tues 9/20.

Camp Assignment

September/October Camp Assignment

English 12

Photojournalism Project

Photojournalists use images to tell stories. This assignment will help you to develop your story telling skills with your camera. If you do not own your own camera, feel free to use a camera phone and send the pictures to yourself for editing via email or borrow a friend’s camera.

1) Read the Wikipedia entry for ‘Photojournalism’ to familiarize yourself with the genre. Take special note of the defining characteristics of photojournalism: timeliness, objectivity, and narrative.

2) Decide on a topic. Options include but are not limited to: lift operators in Chile, people who rollerski themselves to death in Sun Valley, a day in the life of a coach, etc. Remember, because you will be behind the lens of the camera, YOU cannot be your own subject.

3) Once you have determined your topic, make a list of the types of pictures you will need in order to tell a coherent story (no fewer than 8). Be specific about location, angles, number and types of subjects.

4) Shoot the photos. Remember not to pose your subjects in any way. These pictures need to be candid. Take more than the 8 pictures you need to complete the assignment.

5) Select photos for project. Edit the photos for size, lighting, etc. (if you do not have iPhoto or Photoshop, there are plenty of free image editing programs available online. Try ‘Gimp’ or ‘Seashore’).

6) Consolidate the images into a document or blog where you will type no more than 1 paragraph of narrative for each photo. Remember: you really want the pictures to convey as much of the story as possible.

7) Proofread your writing.

8) Submission: either in hardcopy or as a blog (feel free to use Wordpress, Blogger, etc.), the final assignment along with the list of the photos you needed to shoot in order to tell your story.

9) Due in class Tuesday, October 18^th.

Tues, 9/13

In class today, students worked in small groups to develop a class contract for peer editing.

HW: Define the 30 French vocabulary words. Construct an illustrative sentence for 5 of the words (up to 5 sentences, but bonus points for incorporating multiple vocab words in single sentences).
Also, identify 2 personal strengths and 2 personal weaknesses from the peer review contract.

PR Contract:
honesty
effectiveness
trustworthy
caring
smart
asks questions
respects style
positive
flow
precision
avoids repetition
organization
corrections
grammar
new ideas
voice
p.o.v./opinions
sentence structure
communication
ID pros & cons
controversial topics
criticism

Wed, 9/7

In class, students viewed and discussed the following videos with respect to the college admission process.

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

HW: 10-minute brainstorm on potential essay topics. Assign prompt designations to potential topics once you have completed the brainstorm.

Tuesday, 9/6

In class today, students completed Vocab Quiz #1 and read and answered questions on a sample college essay.

HW due Wed 9/7: Review essay and questions for tomorrow's class discussion on what makes an effective college essay. Students who have already written and completed an essay should apply the discussion questions to their own essay as well.

Thurs, 8/25

In class today, we completed summer assignment presentations. We also began our discussion of the skills needed to be successful as a student and employee.

HW due 8/26: Read Old Navy article. Compile a list of your greatest grammatical weaknesses. You may begin this list with the prompts: "I don't know the rules for..." or "Common mistakes I repeatedly make are..."

Wednesday, 8/24

In class, students delivered informal presentations on their summer reading/writing assignments. Presentations will continue in tomorrow's class.

HW: You will find tonight's reading attached as two .pdf files in your email. Please complete the reading and then write a list of the skills your believe your education has and has not provided you with up until this point. Due tomorrow, 8/25.

Tuesday, 8/23

In class today, students read articles and worked in groups to discuss the importance of summer learning.

HW: Prepare (outline, index cards, etc.) for 3-5 minute presentation on what you learned about your own life as an athlete from reading the sport autobiographies this summer.