Wednesday, August 29, 2012

WELCOME BACK!!

Greetings, new Sophomores!!

It's been so great getting to know you over the past few days :)  You guys seems like such a fun, smart group of students and I'm glad to get the year rolling.

Just as a reminder, everything that needs to get signed is due FRIDAY, so don't forget!  Get everything signed ASAP!!  If you forgot anything, your documents are posted here on the blog.

UPCOMING DUE DATES:
Friday August 31 - Parent signatures on letter & tech form
Wednesday September 5 - Letter to Miss Cordes

And just a friendly reminder....


Make this a year to remember!!



Monday, April 9, 2012

Social Justice - The Mission of Slam Poetry

Good morning, students!

Last week, we began our SOCIAL JUSTICE discussion.  We watched a video about TOMS shoe company and discussed the definition of social justice.  On Friday, we played the Line Game and realized that we have a whole lot of things in common.  Many of you in your reflections talked about how you were surprised that you even had the bad things in life in common - having electicity or water shut off, family in jail, and even being suspended from school. 

In order for us to really understand social justice, we have to have empathy - the ability to understand and feel the pain and plight of another person.  We must be able to feel for each other if we want to make a difference.

One important way that we develop empathy is by listening to each other's stories and sharing our own.  Through the power of creativity, we can write poetry that others can hear and can help us heal.  That is what this unit is all about.  Don't be afraid to write boldly.  Write about what matters to you so that your classmates can develop empathy and that we can all unite under a common mission of social justice.



Monday, April 2, 2012

JC Honor Revisions - Take 2

Good morning, Sophomores!

I hope you all had a restful and relaxing break - it's time to get down to business and get this 4th quarter off to a good start! 

Last week, you all were working on revising and uploading your final drafts of your Julius Caesar essays on Google docs.  Unfortunately, I didn't recieve quality work from everyone.  In fact, I'm afraid, that from most of you, I got the bare minimmum effort.  You know that is not acceptable.  My expectations for you are high - especially now that you're only one quarter away from being Juniors.  Let's step it up...

Here are the slides from today's revision discussion and what you are expected to complete by tomorrow night.  That's it folks.  Step up to the plate.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Julius Caesar - Honor Essay Revision

Hello students!

It's time to REVISE your in class essays!  Here are the steps you need to take in order to complete your FINAL DRAFT (Due on Friday March 23rd):

  1. Review your score from your first essay.  What do you need to work on?  Start by revising those things first.  Here is a revision checklist for your use.
  2. Type up your revised paper in Microsoft Word.  If you can, have a friend or another teacher take a look at it before you finalize the paper.
  3. When you are completely done, UPLOAD your document to GoogleDocs.  This is really easy!  Just follow these directions:
    1. Go to Google.com
    2. Click SIGN IN.
    3. Your school sign in is:  ID#@students.d94.org (example: 33333@students.d94.org)
    4. Your password is:  Network password used for computers with 94 at the end (example: 20156494)
    5. Click on DOCUMENTS.
    6. Click UPLOAD (the square button next to CREATE).
    7. Click SHARE (blue button in upper right corner) the document with ACORDES@D94.ORG
      1. Under VISIBILITY, select ANYONE WITH LINK
      2. Under ACCESS:  Select CAN COMMENT
    8. This must be done BEFORE the end of the day on Friday March 23rd.
  4. YOU'RE DONE!  You can check back to see the comments that I have written about your paper throughout spring break. 

Sunday, March 18, 2012

The Counterargument/Refute

Izzy posted on our Facebook page about the counterargument/refute part of the paper.  I thought I'd share my answer with everyone here on our homepage:

Counterargument = a sentence acknowldeging the other side
Refute = several sentences that come BACK and prove that your side is still stronger. 


EXAMPLE: [counterargument] Some may say that Brutus is dishonorable because he killed his best friend. [refute] Yet, this wasn't just a random murder out of jealousy or rage. This was a planned assassination that was necessary. Caesar's power would have been uncontrollable, so Brutus's decision was made to protect all of Rome


Any questions?? Please email, comment here, or post on Facebook and I'll be there to help out!!


Best, 
Miss C.

Brutus - Is He HONORABLE??

Over the weekend, you guys are preparing to start writing your FINAL ESSAY on Julius Caesar.  Here are the photos from the board and some reminders to help you be as prepared as possible tomorrow:

  • YOUR THESIS:  
    • You must DEFINE honor.  What is it?
    • You must DECIDE one way or the other - is Brutus honorable or not?
If you need ideas or need help brainstorming, post comments here or on Facebook!  Let's keep brainstorming together!!

See you tomorrow,
Miss Cordes


Monday, March 12, 2012

Best of the Best Examples!

Hey Guys!!
Here are the presentations we talked about in class that are great examples of incorporating textual evidence and analyzing the evidence! You can use these when you are writing your essays as examples of how to format your ideas. :)





HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!!
~Miss D. and Miss Cordes