Welcome Juniors to 2015-2016 : )

You can find lots of information about this course here, including links that will make navigating this class, as well as the Common Core test this Spring, much easier.

Final Assignment: This I Believe Essay and Recording

Goal: Create a 200-400 word essay that addresses an issue, value, or idea that is important to you. The essay should use a story from your life, an old fable, or any sort of narrative to illustrate your belief to your audience or that explains how you came to believe as you do. Be sure to exactly state your value very clearly and explain why you believe as you do very thoroughly.

Step 1: Read each of the three very famous examples of this type of essay below.

Chief Seattle "Letter to All"

Malcolm X "My First Conk"

David Foster Wallace "This is Water"

Step 2: Read any five of the following essays. (You can search by subject matter or age group of author!) These essays are much more straightforward and written by everyday people like you and I. They are also very clear examples of what your essay should look like. Be sure to listen to each essay also.

This I Believe

Step 3: For each of these essays, answer the following questions:

What issue does each author address?
What exactly does each other believe in? What do they want?
What is the purpose of their essay (and their belief)?
What events, stories, situations, or examples does each story use?
What happens in each event?
How does what happens illustrate the author's belief?

Step 4: After you have listened to the essays on the "This I Believe" website, answer the following:

Discuss in general how these authors use their voices effectively (or ineffectively) to attempt to communicate the message of their essay more powerfully?

Step 5: Write, edit, post (on your blog), and submit (to me) your essay.

Step 6: Record your essay in my sound booth.

Step 7: Answer these survey questions.

(This is your final.)

"How To Tell A True War Story" by Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien in Vietnam

Make a list of all the things true war stories do and do not do. (Be sure to cite page numbers.)

According to this story, what is the most important thing a war story must do?

Pick one of the many smaller stories that appear in this story and explain what it is really about.

Does that story do what it must to be "true"?

Carrying Things

How does Tim O'Brien use the motif of carrying things to communicate what it was like to be a soldier in the Vietnam War? Be sure to use quotes as appropriate. Be sure to clarify "what it was like to be a soldier" according to O'Brien's story. How does what they carry demonstrate the physical and emotional experience of the war?

Vietnam War Battle Conditions Article Summary

Here is the link: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/war_vietnam.htm

Summarize the article in one paragraph. Use quotes as appropriate.

Summary Paragraph Using Citations

Today's assignment is to write a paragraph that summarizes the article you have chosen.

The paragraph should include:

• author and article
• a topic (idea) sentence that introduces the general point of the article
• a couple of sentences that set the stage, give background info, or define the basic scenario
• a number of detail sentences that communicate the article's main reasons of support for the point of the article
• a number of explanation sentences that explain the significance of those details
• a final sentence or two that wraps up the summary of the article's main point

Important: MOST OF THE SUMMARY SHOULD BE PARAPHRASES. You should only quote essential words and phrases, challenging or controversial ideas, particularly well-phrased points, or especially for concepts that you will discuss further in the paragraph. What and when to quote comes with experience, so don't get overly concerned with this concept at this point; we will talk about it more in the future. Just be sure to mostly use paraphrases and quote a couple of times when the point seems important.

The paragraph should be first written as a google doc and submitted for editing. This first draft will be scored, so do a thorough job of proofreading before submission.

The final draft should be posted on your blog. The post should also include a link to the source article your paragraph summarizes and some sort of relevant image.

Grades: 3 x 50 points

I will be adding three assignments to the gradebook between now and Monday: full credit score for Common Core pre-test completion (50 points), your Declaration of Independence, graded mostly for content and sentence quality (50 points), and for the overall quality and appearance of your blog as a whole (50 points).

If any of these need work or are not complete, I advise you to have their final versions submitted before you enjoy your weekend.

Please consider advice about your blog and how it will be graded. At this point, I will be noticing:

• the overall appearance of your blog: images, captions, fonts, colors...it should look like it is yours and it should be well designed!
• your use of titles to delineate different posts
• correct spelling, grammar, punctuation; it should look like someone at least as intelligent as you created it
• your ability to provide links where relevant

In short, I should get the feeling, at quick glance, that this blog was created by someone who is representing themselves as an engaged, motivated, smart, problem-solving individual. When I look more closely, I should see attention to detail and craftsmanship; your pride should show through in your creation. I should sense that the individual who created this blog has seized on this unique opportunity to learn and express themselves.