Essays

Dear All,
I have received a couple of emails from parents concerning tonight's assignment. Students who came to class prepared on Friday and worked to come up with evidence that supports their stance are not complaining about the essay requirements. Many students worked on their essay in class and some were surprised to see that they already had 500 words written. A 750-1,000 word essay sounds like a lot of work for one night. However, if you have kept up with the assignments, writing the essay should not be overwhelming.

Some students who missed two days last week asked me for an extension, and I obliged. The essay will probably be at least two pages if typed and double-spaced. For students who are planning to attend college, being able to write an essay of this length in class will be necessary. Do not stress. Just write. Do what you can tonight. And remember that I cannot grade something that does not exist, so try your best. I will work with you if you are at an impasse.

Resources

Dear Class,
Thank you all for being such active participants for our guest speaker, Jenna Lockwood. We now know what lobbying is all about. Many of you wanted to use the principals' positions as research. Feel free to use their research as a source. They have already done the number crunching and fact finding. Now that you know the mission and position of some of the groups who are affected by HB56, go to their websites.

Here are the names of some of the groups we learned about today:
ALFA - Alabama Farmers Federation
FAIR - Federation for American Immigrants
BCA - Business Council of Alabama
Center for American Progress

Happy hunting! Bring three sources with you to class tomorrow.

Argumentative Essays

We are writing argumentative essays this week and taking a closer look at HB56. Remember to bring three outside sources to class on Friday. I do not care about what your view is as long as you are not offensive and provide evidence that supports your claim. Using Stephen Toulmin's model for argumentation should help all of you craft effective arguments. On Friday, you will be working on the content of your essay. From your sources, a claim must be made. Evidence must support that claim. Your warrant connects the evidence to the claim. Think of each claim as a support system for your thesis, or your opinion on the issue. 

All of you will be able to vote this year, and I want you all to gain a deeper understanding of the legislative process--especially the use of propaganda and effective arguments.

Don't forget to consider the parallels being drawn between the Civil Rights Movement (Juan Crow and the Underground Railroad) to HB56. Are those analogies relevant? Is Alabama merely a guinea pig for a national plan? Hmmm. Find research to support your stance. 

Listening Journal

 This assignment counts as a major grade!

Click here to listen to the podcast! There is a transcript for the podcast, so you can read along while you listen. If the link does not work, google This American Life. The episode was aired on January 27, 2012 and is titled "Reap What You Sow."

For homework, you must respond to the podcast in 350-550 words. If you have access to a printer, please type your response.


Here is a listening journal that I wrote. Feel free to model yours after mine. Note that the beginning provides context information. Then I summarize the important information. Lastly, I provide my reactions. I am sorry that I do not have a high school model for you. Thanks for being my guinea pigs. You all are excellent writers and I look forward to reading your responses!

          Krista Tippet features cognitive neuroscientist Adele Diamond in her November 2009 interview for the National Public Radio Show On Being. Diamond shares research in support of educational theories that advocate educating the “whole child.” In the segment, “Learning Doing Being,” both Diamond’s spiritual and educational backgrounds preface the conversation. Labeling her home as Jewish Mormon, Diamond’s academic influences are equally diverse. Studying the fields of anthropology, sociology, and psychology led Diamond to pioneer the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience. After a abandoning a thesis where she sought to see if those ideas were cultural and not social, Diamond explains her dissertation that focuses on the changes that occur in babies across cultures due to a maturational component that might explain why those changes occur. She explains that the prefontal cortex is behind the behavioral changes she documented in graduate school. Tippet notes the shifts taking place in education and asks Diamond to explain how such metacognitive processes help students. The skills, ultimately, are more important than content that is learned for exams; Diamond believes that learning how to problem solve or how to look up information is more important than declarative knowledge.

            Recognizing that music, story telling, sports, and creative play are integral parts of the human condition helps students with academic pursuits. Participating in activities where the executive functions of our brains—inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility—helps people become better planners and problem solvers. Citing Lev Vygotsky, Diamond notes that a child’s social and cognitive development are integrated processes; a child’s ability to play creatively with others provides a better indication of their future academic success than an IQ score. Included in the interview is a clip from a classroom where students play an improvisational storytelling game that requires the brain’s executive functions to be used by all players. Diamond notes that learning to focus attention is important and aids in helping students learn to reflect and persevere, but expecting students to learn such skills by passively sitting in a desk is unrealistic. Learning by doing is important to Diamond because, “The more of you that gets involved—the body, the emotions, everything—the more you get out of it in many ways because it changes the brain, nurtures the brain.” Creating an atmosphere that is joyful allows students to relax, which is important in order for executive functions to be productive. Stress inhibits executive function and Diamond believes that learning can and should be fun even though the material is important.

            Bingo. Listening to Adele Diamond almost effortlessly articulate ideas that are difficult for me to describe was refreshing. I try to teach in a way that requires students to think critically and actively, and my students oftentimes resist. In an attempt to increase their metacognitive awareness, I played the first ten minutes of the interview before a rather demanding lesson plan that incorporated dramatic play. The students thought that Diamond’s philosophy was interesting and they were able to understand why I had them acting out Macbeth rather than passively reading it. I hope that more research is done on the benefits of dramatic play so that American officials will have more empirical data that cannot be ignored or denied. 

Youth Legislature Information

On Friday, February 24, 2012 the following students should be excused from school:

12^th Grade                  

Garrett Herring                           

Ross Herring                          

James Kirkland                                                                     

Lauren Renfroe

Lauren Wiggins

11th Grade

Morgan Graham

April Garrett

10th Grade

Caleb Gray

Sara Saunders

9th Grade

Madison Gilmore

Jefferey Saunders 

Justin Law

8th Grade

Scout Buffy

They will be participating in the YMCA Youth Legislature program in Montgomery.

Contact Information

YMCA Youth in Government State Office 334-269-4362

Contacts – Sam Adams -- Assistant Director, Travis Roques – Registrar

Renaissance Hotel 334-484-5000

All students except the following will meet at 7AM on Friday in the gravel parking lot behind the school.  Lauren Wiggins, Garrett Herring, Madison Gilmore, Jefferey Saunders, and Justin Law will travel separately.

A detailed agenda can be found at ALYIG.ORG that lists the events and locations for the entire weekend. 

We will return early Sunday afternoon.

Test Review

Tomorrow's test will cover John Milton's poems "When I Consider How My Light Is Spent" and "How Soon Hath Time." Make sure you can articulate why he chose to personify time and patience. Don't forget to include Milton's biographical information.

Review the elements of satire. Be able to use the vocabulary words from Swift's "A Modest Proposal" in a meaningful way. Rather than testing you on the content in Swift's essay, I want you to consider the author's purpose. What groups was he attacking? How does Swift structure the essay so that readers are inclined to consider his proposal? How does satire serve as an effective tool for addressing social injustice?

The essay portion of the test requires you to select one of Alexander Pope's epigrams. For the introduction, you should include a context sentence. Quote the epigram. Briefly describe your personal situation that relates to the epigram. For the body paragraph(s) you should explain the personal situation in more detail and show how the epigram relates to your personal situation. For the conclusion, refer to the introduction and summarize your main points. Add any related insight.

Play Rehearsal

IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND REHEARSAL, PLEASE NOTIFY ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Here's the schedule for play rehearsal:

2/16 - Adults - scenes 5, 7, 11
2/17 - Main Players - scenes 1-11
2/21 - Main Players - scenes 1-11 (off book)
2/22 - Adults - scenes 13, 17
2/23 - Narrator only
2/24 - Dark (Youth Leg)
2/27 - Teens  - Scenes 10, 14, 16
2/28 - Main Players  - scenes 1-17 (off book)
2/29 - Main Players - block the ending
3/1 - Narrator, Teens, & "Sun Drop" scenes 1-4
3/2 - Adults & "River Dance" scenes 5-7 and 17
3/5 - Teens & "Lady Gaga" scenes 8-10
3/6 - Adults & "Maggie May" scenes 11-13
3/7 - Teens & "Mean" scenes 14-16
3/8 - Adults & "Footloose" scenes 17-18
3/9 - *Full Company - run through the entire show -
This rehearsal might run long, so be prepared to stay after school until we finish.
3/10  - Saturday - Afternoon rehearsal for main players

3-12 - 3-16 TBA

3/17 - Saturday (time TBA) - Dress Rehearsal - Full Company
3/18 - Sunday OPENING NIGHT
3/19 - School Performance & Evening Performance

Good News!

Alabama's Virtual Library is available without a username and password! The system can recognize whether a computer is accessing the databases within Alabama; therefore, it is no longer necessary to sign up. It will not be long before research projects begin. All students must have access to Alabama's Virtual Library to ensure that reliable sources are being used.

Satirical Stories

Seniors,
The stories I have read thus far are exactly what I was hoping for--ridiculously funny, sharply sarcastic, and extremely thoughtful. Though I did not anticipate this assignment to be a major grade, I think that many of you could benefit from the opportunity to submit your satire as a major writing assignment.

If you would like to submit your satire for a major grade, a typed copy must be submitted no later than Thursday, January 16. Remember that your story must include the following elements of satire: exaggeration, parody, reversal, and incongruity. Below is the rubric I will use to assess the writing.

Rubric for Satire Piece Enter rubric description Publish Post  Level 1 (N/A) 50-59% Level 2 (N/A) 60-69% Level 3 (N/A) 70-79% Level 4 (N/A) 80-100% Knowledge and Understanding The student: demonstrates understanding of the relationships among facts, ideas, elements, and concepts, with focus on supporting the central idea of the satirical piece. Level 1 Supports central ideas with facts, examples, or reasoning that are somewhat relevant. Level 2 Supports central ideas with facts, examples, or reasoning that are somewhat relevant and appropriate. Level 3 Supports central ideas with facts, examples, or reasoning that are relevant, appropriate, and sufficient. Level 4 Supports central ideas with facts, examples, or reasoning that are relevant, appropriate, clever, and compelling. Thinking and Inquiry The student: demonstrates critical thinking and inquiry skills with a focus on formulating a compelling and clearly-stated satire. Level 1 Objective is present yet vague, simplitic, or unclear. Level 2 Objective is present yet conventional and focuses the satire somewhat. Level 3 Objective is formulated and demonstrates a clear execution for a satire. Level 4 Objective is well-formulated, insightful, and demonstrates a clear, precise, and clever satire. The focus of the satire is presented forcefully. Communication The student: communicates for different audiences and purposes. Also, communicates information and ideas with a focus on supporting the main objective for the satire. Level 1 Uses form, diction and style with limited success for desired effect. Limited organization of ideas in the satire and is a series of random points. Level 2 Uses form, diction, and style with some success for desired effect. Organizes ideas in the satire somewhat logically. Level 3 Uses form, diction, and style consistently and appropriately for desired effect. Organizes ideas logically and coherently. Level 4 Uses form, diction, and style in an exceedingly creative manner for desired effect. Organizes ideas clearly, logically, coherently, and in a unified manner. Application The student: applies writing process and language conventions (spelling, grammar, punctuation) Level 1 Limited evidence of preplanning submitted, appears rushed. Several major and minor errors are evident and occationally interfere with the reader's understanding. Level 2 Some steps of process evident. A few major and minor errors are evident and occastionally interfere with the reader's understanding. Level 3 Good use of all steps of writing process. Some minor errors are evident but do not interefere with reader's understanding Level 4 Thorough use of all steps of the writing process; revisions done. Few minor errors are evident and meaning is clear.

Good job, groups!

The modern Macbeth scenes exceeded my expectations. Below are some photos from two of the second period groups. They chose to turn the play into a western, incorporating some elements that definitely worked. There were Native Americans who used smoke signals and chants instead of witches. The banquet scene was replaced with a saloon card game. Bandits replaced the murderers. The list could go on. 

First period, I apologize for not taking photos. If it's any reconciliation, your modern interpretation was phenomenal. Here's the synopsis: 

King Duncan is Steve Jobs. The equivalent of a king in modern society very well could be a powerful CEO. Macbeth's name is shortened to "Mac." The very manipulative Lady Macbeth is renamed "Linux." Banquo, Macbeth's foil, has the initials "P.C." The witches with prophetic powers are renamed "Siri, Suri, and Sori" and concoct fatal viruses. The concept for this version of Macbeth is intriguing and relevant. 

I hope that we have time at the end of the year to produce a short film for each of these modern versions.