Week at a glance October 21 - 25, 2013

Parent/Teacher Conferences at WRHS

Wed 4pm - 8pm (find me in the library)

Thurs 8am-4pm (classroom) and 4pm - 8pm (find me in the library)

During this short week we will turn in and continue revising Major Essay 2.  We will also complete our first Persuasive minor essay.  The requirements of the essay will require students to create an argument based on their readings from last week.  Students will then need to support their argument with examples from the text and analysis.  Minor Essay 3a is due Wednesday.

• Mon: Major Essay 2 rough draft due to turnitin.com by 11:59:59.  Minor Essay 3a - discuss the assignment, the expectations, and the grading scale.
• Tues: Minor Essay 3a - continue shaping and creating the essay.
• Wed: Minor Essay 3a due by the end of the hour. Submit pre-writing work.  Submit the essay online to turnitin.com.
• Thurs: No school - P/T Conferences
• Fri: No school

Week at a glance October 14 - 18, 2013

This week we'll begin our unit over persuasive writing.  We'll start the week with an overview of persuasive writing, including honest and dishonest techniques.  Since it's tough to be persuasive without having adequate evidence to back up our points, persuasive writing tends to go hand-in-hand with research.  We will also therefore review how to find credible research sources and integrate them into an essay.  Students should be working on Major Essay 2.  We'll wrap up the week with a Major Essay 2 thesis evaluation day on Thursday.

• Mon: Review and discuss the Major Essay 2 assignment.  Begin Persuasion and Propaganda Notes.
• Tues: Finish Persuasion and Propaganda Notes. Discuss researching and integrating sources into an essay.  For Wednesday: read Carr 633-641 and Gatto 665-672.
• Wed: Discuss and analyze Carr and Gatto.  Continue shaping and creating Major Essay 2.  For Thursday: send Mr. Ritchie an e-mail containing your thesis statement for Major Essay 2.
• Thurs: Major Essay 2 Thesis Evaluation.  Continue shaping and creating Major Essay 2.
• Fri: No school - End of the 1st Quarter work day

Major Essay 2 rough draft due to turnitin.com

by Monday, 10/21 at 11:59:59

Week at a glance October 7 - 11, 2013

Looking at the submissions for Minor Essay 2a, it likely would be good to get just a bit more practice and do one more minor essay.  If there is one issue to highlight, it is a lack of focus on specific details.  We're still writing too broadly, saying things that any intelligent person could say about our topic.  That is getting the job done.  Adding voice and presence into our writing means adding examples, details, and analysis that would only be found in our individual essays.  So, we'll continue with one more essay.  Rather than taking a week to complete this last essay.  We will instead make it our in-class response for the week by working on it in class Wednesday-Friday.

• Mon: Read and discuss Levitt and Dubner 476-478.  For Tuesday, read Tuchman 584-598.
• Tues: Discuss and analyze Tuchman.  For Wednesday, read Orwell 528-537.
• Wed: Discuss and analyze Orwell.  Minor Essay 2b due by 11:59:59 to turnitin.com.  Minor Essay 2c assigned - due in class by the end of the hour on Friday.
• Thurs: Minor Essay 2c - continue shaping and creating the essay.
• Fri: Meet in Library Lab D.  Minor Essay 2c due by the end of the hour to turnitin.com. Assign and discuss Major Essay 2.  For Monday: select a prompt and topic for Major Essay 2.

Week at a glance September 30 - October 4, 2013

As the saying goes, we are definitely "in the thick of it."  Students should be in the process of revising Major Essay 1, due Friday.  Students should also be in the process of shaping and creating Minor Essay 2a, due Thursday night to the online site turnitin.com.  If that weren't enough, we'll discuss a new assignment this week, Minor Essay 2b, and challenge ourselves with a brief cause/effect essay.  Depending upon the results of the first two minor essays, students may actually have one less essay to write.  We will discuss this possibility in class.

• Mon: Discuss results of Major Essay 1 rough draft.  Read and discuss Schlosser 
• Tues: Assign and discuss Minor Essay 2b, due Wednesday, Oct 9.  For Wednesday, read and be prepared to write about Gladwell 411 - 421.
• Wed: In-class response on Gladwell due by the end of the hour.  Continue to shape and create Minor Essay 2a.
• Thurs: Bring in pre-writing and notes for Minor Essay 2a.  Minor Essay 2a due by 11:59:59 to turnitin.com.
• Fri: Major Essay 1 final draft packet due.  Minor Essay 2a pre-writing and notes due.  Discuss results of both essays.  Shape and develop Minor Essay 2b.

Week at a glance September 23 - 27, 2013

During this week we'll continue identifying and analyzing examples of expository definition structure.  We'll have a bit of practice with the structure in class on Monday.  Students will then write their own minor (2-page) definition essay and submit their best attempt online next week -- no rough draft with feedback.  This is in part to encourage students to be more attentive to creating their best work during the writing process.  Students will also be wrapping up their work on their Narrative Essay unit during the next two weeks.

• Mon: Read and discuss Carter 337-342.  In-class response due by the end of the hour.
• Tues: Pass back and discuss results for the Minor Essay 1 final draft.  Minor Essay 2 assignment and discussion - best attempt written portion submitted in class; typed portion submitted to turnitin.com by 11:59:59 Thursday, Oct 3.  For Wednesday: read Cunningham 347-354 and Pollitt 555-557.
• Wed: Discuss and analyze the structure of Cunningham's and Bowden's essays.
• Thurs: Meet in the computer lab.  Discuss results for the Major Essay 1 rough draft.
• Fri: No school - Teacher In-Service

Major Essay 1 final draft packet

due Friday, Oct 4

Week at a glance September 16 - 20, 2013

This week we will have two focal points: 1) shaping and creating a best attempt for Major Essay 1; and 2) beginning our unit over Expository Writing.  Students should be developing their own story, tied to one of the five prompts for the Major Essay 1 assignment.  If there was a common issue among the essays that earned low grades on the Minor Essay, it was the lack of development of a single story from the first paragraph to the last.  It is therefore essential that students map their story in advance before beginning the writing process.

Simply defined, expository writing is writing that explains or informs.  Though it is not persuasive in nature, anyone would find it difficult to argue his/her way around a well-written explanation.  We'll identify and define the five basic expository structures.  Our readings for the week will help set up our first minor essay of the Expository Writing unit.  Students should pay close attention to the common underlying structure and writing style of the four essays.

• Mon: Shaping and creating Major Essay 1.  Expository Structures - lecture and notes.  For Tuesday, read Chabon 343-346.
• Tues:  Discuss Chabon.  For Wednesday, read Trillin 581-583 and bring in progress so far for Major Essay 1.
• Wed: Discuss Trillin.  Major Essay1 progress check.  For Thursday, read Didion 366-370 and Tuchman 584-598.
• Thurs:  Discuss Didion and Tuchman.  Continue shaping and creating Major Essay 1.
• Fri: Meet in Library Lab C.  Major Essay 1 electronic rough draft due by 11:59:59pm.

Week at a glance September 9 - 13, 2013

This week we'll wrap up our readings and notes over our first writing unit of the semester.  We'll discuss and analyze several notable examples of narrative non-fiction.  Students should be in the process of revising and editing their first minor essay.  Toward the end of the week, we'll assign and discuss the first major essay of the semester.  Throughout the week we'll also discuss and analyze the differences between passive, passive/aggressive, aggressive, and assertive tones of voice.  We'll wrap up the week in the computer lab putting on the final touches of Minor Essay 1 and shaping and creating Major Essay 1.

• Mon: Personality quiz.  The Four Voices of Writing - discussion.  For Tues: read Mayblum 164-169.
• Tues: Discuss results of Minor Essay 1 rough draft.  Wrap up notes over Cofer, Hughes, and Wiesel.    Complete Mayblum analysis.  For Wednesday: read Orwell 180-186.
• Wed: In-class Response 3 - the Four Voices of Writing.  Complete Orwell analysis.  For Thursday: select and analyze one narrative essay from the text that we did not read.
• Thurs: Wrap up notes over Mayblum, Orwell, and choice.  Major Essay 1 - assignment and discussion.
• Fri: Meet in the Library computer lab.  Printed copy of Minor Essay 1 due. Continue shaping and creating Major Essay 1.