Tuesday, April 28, 2015

April 28-29- finish the Of Mice and Men paper

Today we finished typing up our Of Mice and Men paper.

Friday, April 24, 2015

April 23 and 24- Of Mice and Men theme paper

Complete this outline to help write your paper.

Your argument for Of Mice and Men: “Which theme is most important in Of Mice and Men?”

Write down the theme you picked here: ____________________________________________

Write down three examples from the book that help explain this theme. For each example, write what it is saying about the theme.

1. Example #1: _________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

What the example is saying about the theme: _______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

1. Example #2: _________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

What the example is saying about the theme: _______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

1. Example #3: _________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

What the example is saying about the theme: _______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Now write down one other theme that has importance in the book (your COUNTER-ARGUMENT) ____________________________________________________________________________________

Give an example that helps explain the theme: ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

What the example is saying about the theme: _______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Why your theme is still a better choice for your paper (REBUTTAL): ______________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

You’ve just completed the Body of your paper. Stand up and say “I’m the first one done.” If someone else has already said this, say “I’m the second one done.” And so on…

Now for the Introductory paragraph:

Write down a statement about your theme that might be interesting (for example: “There are times when death seems like the only answer…”) This is your GRABBER.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Now write a statement answering this question: Which theme is most important in Of Mice and Men?”

This is your THESIS STATEMENT

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Now for the Conclusion paragraph:

First RESTATE YOUR THESIS statement- Say your Thesis statement in another way.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Then write down a statement that you can finish up your paper with. An interesting way to end your paper- perhaps one final comment on how the theme connects to your own life. This is your KICKER.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

And now put it all together. Write out your paper in this format:

· Introduction paragraph with your GRABBER first and then your THESIS.

· Your first body paragraph with three examples of your theme

· Your second body paragraph with the COUNTER-ARGUMENT and REBUTTAL

· Conclusion paragraph with your RESTATED THESIS and KICKER

Monday, March 9, 2015

March 9- Tony Robinson

Today we began by discussing the death of Tony Robinson. We talked for awhile and then kids filled out/read the following:

Using these three prompts, write on anything you have heard about the Tony Robinson story.

Things I know

Things I think

Things I fear

Tony Robinson Shooting: Protests Continue in Madison, Vigil Planned

Passionate but peaceful protesters descended for a third day Sunday on the Madison, Wisconsin, street where an unarmed black teenager was killed by a police officer Friday night.

Tony Terrell Robinson Jr. was shot by veteran Madison police officer Matt Kenny after reports of the 19-year-old jumping in front of traffic and assaulting someone in a home. Police said Kenny forced his way inside of the home after hearing a disturbance and fired on Robinson when the teen attacked him.

Neighbor, Marshal Erb, said scene of the crime filled "almost immediately" with protesters, including Robinson's aunt and grandmother, who told the group gathered there that Robinson, a recent high school graduate, was "a beautiful, beautiful soul."

RESPOND TO THIS QUOTE (How the quote makes you feel, what you might ask the speaker, what you might have said)…

"This has to stop, and we can stop it," Craig Spaulding, a friend of the Robinson family, told NBC News outside the home where the teen was shot, hours before a vigil was set to take place there. While the Madison police chief "has taken tremendous strides," Spaulding said, there have been "mounting tensions" between the community and police for years.

Robinson's death has "ripped this community apart," Spaulding added.

RESPOND TO THIS QUOTE (How the quote makes you feel, what you might ask the speaker, what you might have said)…

During a news conference Saturday, Madison Police Chief Mike Koval said the case would be independently probed by the state Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation.

Koval said he understood the frustration in the community and that the shooting death of a young black man by a police officer would likely spark distrust. "When you have a person of color who is unarmed and that life is then taken, it's only natural that questions and objections should arise," Koval told NBC News Sunday. "I get that and I'm empathetic to that," he said.

RESPOND TO THIS QUOTE (How the quote makes you feel, what you might ask the speaker, what you might have said)…

Robinson’s aunt speaks out

On Friday evening, Lorien Carter spoke to a crowd in front of the building in Madison, Wisconsin where her nephew, Anthony Terrell Robinson, was earlier shot and killed by a police officer, Matt Kenny.

She said: “Here in our little bubble of Madison, WI … I want y’all to know, that for minorities, we are [in one of] the top five worst places to live. But we are [also in one of the] three happiest cities to be in. So who is it happy for?”

RESPOND TO THIS QUOTE (How the quote makes you feel, what you might ask the speaker, what you might have said)…

Carter’s words evoked not only the bitterness of losing a young man too soon, but also well-documented disparities affecting Madison’s African American community. For many, Robinson’s death was a harsh reminder that their city is not the progressive utopia it sometimes styles itself to be.

Other recent high-profile shootings

The shooting came days after the U.S. Justice Department cleared Darren Wilson, the white former Ferguson, Missouri, officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, of federal civil rights charges. A second report found patterns of racial profiling, bigotry and profit-driven law enforcement and court practices in the St. Louis suburb.

There have been several high-profile deaths of black suspects killed by police officers in recent months. In New York City, Eric Garner died after officers put him in a chokehold and a video showed him repeatedly saying, "I can't breathe." A police officer in Cleveland fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who had been pointing a pellet gun at a playground. And although Milwaukee police determined the officer who fatally shot Dontre Hamilton acted in self-defense, he was fired for ignoring department policy and treating Hamilton as a criminal by frisking him.

We then finished reading chapter one. Once finished we worked on foreshadowing:

Read these two sections of chapter one:

top p. 11 “Well we…” to bottom “ashamedly at the flames.”
middle p. 15 “George motioned…” through top p. 16 “I won’t get…”

Based on these two readings, write what you think will happen in this book. Why do you think this? ½ page.

Friday, March 6, 2015

March 6 and 9- foreshadowing

We finished reading chapter one. Then we discussed foreshadowing.

Read these two sections of chapter one:

top p. 11 “Well we…” to bottom “ashamedly at the flames.”
middle p. 15 “George motioned…” through top p. 16 “I won’t get…”

Based on these two readings, write what you think will happen in this book. Why do you think this? ½ page

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

March 5- Fix Elie letter

Fix your letter to Elie:

Take a look at the comments on your letter and your scores.

Fix as many things as you can in the 45 minutes you've got. If you feel good about sending it to Elie, print it out and sign your name on the bottom. IF YOU WANT ME TO REGRADE IT, SEND ME AN EMAIL TELLING ME WHAT YOU CHANGED.

Then, in an email to me, answer the following questions about your letter:
(jschachter@madison.k12.wi.us)

What was your question for Elie?
Which part of your letter do you think was the best?
Which part of your letter could you do better at?
If he were to respond to your question, what do you think he would say?

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

March 4- Barbie

Today we read an article about Barbie's pregnant friend Midge. If you need a copy of the article, come into class.

Monday, March 2, 2015

March 2- Of Mice and Men pre-reading questions

We discussed some of the themes and situations occurring in Of Mice and Men and filled out a worksheet with it.

Complete these sentences:

1. When I think of Hoboes, I think of…

2. When I think of ranches, I think of…

3. What I know about the Great Depression is…

4. What I know about migrant workers is…

For each statement, circle which answer is truest for you. Then write a sentence or two explaining why you think that.

1. Friends should stand by each other, no matter what.