Friday, December 11, 2009

Classwork: 2009.12.11

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Today! MLA!

NOTE: THIS ASSIGNMENT WILL BE MORE DIFFICULT TO FINISH IN THE ALLOTTED TIME. GET STARTED IMMEDIATELY AND STAY FOCUSED.

The MLA Style Manual "is an academic style guide widely used in the United States, Canada, and other countries, providing guidelines for writing and documentation of research in the humanities, especially in English studies"1.

In other words, you'll be using this a lot in school --- high school, college . . . .

And so today we're going to work on two things:
    1. What an MLA-formated paper looks like.

    2. What your entries on your Works Cited page will look like.


-1-


Go here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20090701095636_747.pdf.

This tells you everything you could want to know.

Some questions:
    A. What order do name/teacher/etc go in?
    B. What side of the paper do they go on?
    C. What font are you supposed to use?
    D. What does the title look like?
    E. What are those things in parentheses like "(Hunt 256)"?
    F. How wide are the margins?
    G. What sorts of things are italicized?
    H. How is the Works Cited page arranged?


EMAIL YOUR ANSWERS TO ME AND TO YOU.

    -2-


    Take out your list of works that you are using for your bundle, then go here: http://www.easybib.com/.

    Click on "Click here to select a source".

    Make Works-Cited entries for each part of your bundle. EMAIL THESE TO ME AND TO YOU. These will be part of your final paper.



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    Notes



    -----1. "The MLA Style Manual." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 1 Dec 2009, 01:01 UTC. 4 Dec 2009 .
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Friday, December 4, 2009

Classwork: 2009.12.04

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Thesis Statements



1. According to "Man", what is an argument?

According to Gideon Burton, a "good thesis statement":
    ...is specific
    ...goes beyond affirming what is already known or accepted
    ...will divide an educated audience
    ...gives the reader a clear sense of what is to come in the full argument

In other words, a thesis statement is:
    a sentence
    that you can prove true
    but a reasonable person could disagree with.


In your Big Assignment, you will need to show how one idea threads through every portion of your bundle. This will need to be presented as a thesis statement.

2. Go here and look at the two sample theses they give. Why is one better than the other?

2a. How could you disagree with the better one?

3. Now go here. Explain how the better one is better.

Write all your answers on a piece of paper and hand it in before you go.

Now either log off the computer and read for the bundle assignment or look up the parts of your bundle that are online.
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Friday, November 13, 2009

November 13, 2009

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Today we have TWO ASSIGNMENTS. The first helps you with your homework assignment, the second is due by the end of class.



Part of homework
Go to http://themedassignment.blogspot.com/.

Pick a bundle. Write down all the stuff it has. Be prepared to check out the school library for these things.

Figure out where the permission slip is.

Get it signed as soon as possible. Like, this weekend!



Due at end of class
Read "The Lost Boys" by Richard Whitmire on The Wall Street Journal website.

Answer the following questions then either email them to me or write the answers on a piece of paper and turn it in. DUE AT THE END OF CLASS Answer in complete sentences.

1. Which group of people is entering college less frequently these days?

2. What percentage of people now unemployed are male?

3. Why, in your opinion, are boys doing poorly in school?

4. Why, in your opinion, are women less likely to start new businesses?

5. What happens in colleges with more than 60% of the student body is female and less than 40% is male?

6. Do you think it is appropriate for universities to let in boys who are less prepared than the girls they let in?

7. What are some of the things girls do better than boys, according to the article?

8. What is the mystery talked about in the last paragraph?

9. What do you think the reason is that boys are falling behind?

10. Pick one of the statistics from Boys Project and explain how it related to this article.

11. What can America do to solve this problem?

12. What can you do to solve this problem?
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Friday, November 6, 2009

November 5, 2009

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READ THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE STARTING. TODAY'S TASK IS SIMPLE, BUT IT COULD TAKE YOU THE WHOLE PERIOD.

Today, pick your three favorite bundles from http://themedassignment.blogspot.com/.Be sure you choose bundles you are willing to devote the next two months of your life to.

Now we're going to figure out which one of those three will be the best choice for you.

Some things to consider:

    Do I have time to find all the stuff in this bundle?
    Do I have time to read all the books, watch all the movies, etc?
    Are the books in convenient libraries, or are they supercheap and easy to buy?
    Or are they far away, or crazy expensive?
So for each item in your bundle, figure out the following things and write them down (show me when you're done):

1. Title (example: Ender's Game) (example: Shrek)
2. What it is (example: novel) (example: film)
3. Closest library (example: El Cerrito) (example: Richmond)
4. Cost (example: $5.65) (example: $12.29)
5. Where (example: Amazon.com) (example: Overstock.com)
6. How long (example: 386 pages) (example: 93 minutes)
7. Available online? (example: no) (example: no)

You'll answer these questions for every part of all three bundles (exception: websites, Wikipedia articles, other plainly online content).

ASK ME QUESTIONS IF YOU'RE NOT SURE HOW TO DO THIS.

These websites may help (note that they are also in the sidebar of the bundles page):Useful sites for determining page count, running times, etc include Amazon and IMDb.


And when in doubt, ask Google.
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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Classwork: 2009.11.03

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Poetry Project

poets should be selected from those listed at poets.org



Poster

    at least one picture or drawing of the poet
    at least one picture or drawing of one of the poet's bookcovers
    at least one poem by the poet
    a brief biography of the poet
    a list of your sources

Presentation

    about the poet's life
    read one of the poet's poems
    explain the poem's meaning

We will be presenting these in class on Monday, November 9, 2009.

If you need to print out your pictures during class today you will have to email them to jepson[dot]mr[at]gmail[dot]com and I will print them from the teacher's desk. You can either save the images to your computer then attach them to an email, put them in a Word document then email them, or send me a direct link to the image. You can accomplish these tasks by rightclicking with the mouse. If you need help, ask.



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If you finish getting all the information you need, then finish the twenty questions from Friday.

And when you finish that, get a start on checking out the bundles at http://themedassignment.blogspot.com/. On Friday, you will be looking more closely at your three top choices.
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Friday, October 30, 2009

Classwork: 2009.10.30

Part 1:Pick a Poet


Go to poets.org and choose a poet. (The 20 most popular contemporary poets and 25 most historical dead poets are listed on the right side, but you can choose anyone on the website.)

On a piece of paper, write down the poet's name, and the name of at least three of his/her poems.

Then go to a library....
....and find a book of poems by that poet. Copy down the ISBN.

Show this paper to me THEN KEEP IT SOMEWHERE SAFE. You will be doing more with this poet later.


Part 2:Introduction to our BIG assignment


Go to http://themedassignment.blogspot.com/.

This site has over 100 options and in the next few weeks you will need to select one of these options.

Today we're only interested in seeing what kinds of information are on this site. Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper to be handed in today:

    1. What is the the name of the first bundle listed on this page?

    2. How many books does this bundle have?

    3. How many bundles were posted in November 2008?

    4. Find the bundle called "The Russian Space Program." What date was it posted?

    5. In the bundle "Infinite Universe," what is the title of the included novel?

    6. Which website is most recommended for MLA help?

    7. Who has to sign the permission slip?

    8. What website do I recommend if you decide to buy your books?

    9. What English teachers did Mr Jepson get the idea for this assignment from?

    10. What is "Project Gutenberg"?

    For the next ten questions, choose one bundle and answer the questions while looking at that bundle.

    11. What is the name of the bundle you selected?

    12. How many books does that bundle have?

    13. How many movies does that bundle have?

    14. How many pieces of music does that bundle have?

    15. What Wikipedia article does that bundle require you to read?

    For the rest of the questions, you will have to get information about the bundle you chose that is not available on the bundles webpage.

    16. Find the Wikipedia article. What does it have to do with the bundle's title?

    17. How many paragraphs long is the Wikipedia article?

    18. Write down the title, author and ISBN of one of the books in your bundle.

    19. Write down the location of the closest library for that book.

    20. How much does that book cost to buy (and tell me what website you got the price from)?
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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Classwork: 2009.10.13

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Part 1

    Lord of the Flies Test

    1. Take this quiz. (Press the yellow button to start.)
    Take a screen shot of your score. (How to take a screenshot.)
    Save the screenshot as [yourname]-LotF-Oct132009.
    Upload your image here.
    Leave a link to the image in the comments of this post. If you are worried that I won't know it is you, leave your name in the comment also.

    2. Read this article.
    Make a chart of the reasons people gave for why or why not William Golding deserved the Nobel Prize for Literature.
    Based on your opinion of Lord of the Flies, which side of the argument to you agree with? Explain your reasons in a well-formed paragraph below your chart (or on the other side of the paper). Turn it in before class ends.

    3. Pick two of the symbols from the book listed here.
    Write a paragraph explaining how these two symbols make the book better. (So make sure you picked two good ones.)


Part 2




Part 3

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Thursday, October 1, 2009

Classwork: 2009.10.02

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Due at the end of the period.

Use your own paper or email your answers to jepson[dot]mr[at]gmail[dot]com.


PART ONE

Go to http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-10/ff_smartlist where you will find “12 Shocking Ideas That Could Change the World.”

Choose at least five of these ideas, read the short article and answer the questions on a separate piece of paper. (You may do more than five for additional credit.) Please give well thought-out answers in complete sentences. Staple your answers neatly to the paper before we leave.

John Arquilla “Go on the Cyberoffensive”
What does John Arquilla think government hackers should be doing?
Why?

Thorkil Sonne “Recruit Autistics”
What is Thorkil Sonne doing with autistics?
How is it working out for him?

Gregg Easterbrook “Embrace Human Cloning”
What human clones already exist?
Who does Gregg Easterbrook think might use cloning?

Ralph Keeney “Cheat Death”
Why do most people 15-64 die?
How does Ralph Keeney suggest we fix that problem?

Dambisa Moyo “Cut Off Aid to Africa”
What's the name of Dambisa Moyo's book?
Why does she think aid to Africa is harmful?

Nils Christie “Empty the Prisons”
Count: How many prisoners does the US have per 10000 citizens?
How does Nils Christie think we could bring that number down?

Stewart Brand “Save the Slums”
Where are the slums Stewart Brand is talking about?
What good do they do?

Stefan Szymanski and Stephen Ross “Bust Up Big League Sports”
Describe what Stefan Szymanski and Stephen Ross's version of the big leagues would look like.
How could this make the leagues more competitive?

Ludwig Minelli “Legalize Assisted Suicide”
What country has legally assisted suicide?
What does Ludwig Minelli do for those who want to kill themselves?

Jamie Heywood “Forget Medical Privacy”
What's the most common symptom of ALS?
Why does Jamie Heywood think everyone having access to information like that would be good?

William Gurstelle “Take Smart Risks”
What is "the golden art of living dangerously"?
How can you tell that William Gurstelle is in favor of it?

Robert Gates “Overhaul the Pentagon”
What is Robert Gates's job title?
Why does the US military waste so much money?


PART TWO

Pick the three "dangerous ideas" that you find most interesting and find at least one book on that topic using the library websites listed below. Start with the library you have a library card for, but if you can't find a book there, check out one of the other libraries. Once you've found the book, copy down the TITLE, AUTHOR, ISBN, the LIBRARY THAT HAS IT, and WHAT IT HAS TO DO WITH THE DANGEROUS IDEA. Do this for all three ideas you selected (you may do more than three for additional credit).
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