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.




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!




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?

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):

Everylibrary Everywhere
If you decide to buy online, I recommend starting at this website.

Useful sites for determining page count, running times, etc include Amazon and IMDb.


And when in doubt, ask Google.

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.