December 8

Medicine Bag--popcorn kernel to remind you that you should cull a source for its most valuable information: summarize, paraphrase, and then only quote "the kernel," the essential words. How-to paraphrase: Writers Inc., p. 105.

Writing Spotlight--8-sentence hamburger paragraph. Sample paper with similar skills.

Post My Antonia

HOMEWORK:
1. Read "Shadow Scholar."
2. Bring textbooks again.
3. Work on revising your Problematizing paper.

Jonny Harline's 2006 "Answered Prayer" jersey, helmet, and cleats--Fundraiser

During December, my son Jonny is raffling off his 2006 BYU gear to help a couple of needy families with Christmas. If you're interested, here's the link.

"Problematizing a Topic" Revision

On December 8, I will be working on revision skills with you. For example, many students still need practice with introducing sources and MLA documentation. After December 8, I'm willing to add some points to your paper grade if you successfully improve your paper and if you follow these guidelines:

1. Go to Google Docs, find your paper, check the box to the left of the document, and then go to the top and "rename" your paper. The rename should be your last name and a 2. For example, I would rename my paper Harline 2. This will help me know which documents come to me as revisions and who they belong to.

2. While revising, use the highlighter option to highlight everything you change.

3. Keep in mind that I do not mark every problem I see because then I would be revising your paper for you. I try to give you an idea of some issues that should be worked on. A successful revision means that you carefully go through the overall organization, the MLA Style, the title, the introduction, the topic sentences, the attributive tags, the word choice and punctuation, etc.

November 15 through December 6

The Finer Things Club--reading My Antonia by Willa Cather
Finer Things Club rules, schedule, and assignments

November 11

A&B Chapter 21 Activity:
1. Analysis of heroin article.
2. Take-home quiz. Start with Skill 24.

Students checked out My Antonia at the Writing Lab. We will start working on this book next time.

Problematizing Papers--Google Docs

Google "Google Docs" and choose the second hit. If you don't have a Google account, sign up for one. Then go to Docs or Google Docs.

You will be uploading your Problematizing paper on Google Docs so I can read and comment on it there. Here's the easiest way to do it:

1. In Google Docs, under the words "Google Docs" on the left side, click on "Upload."
2. This will bring you to a new screen. Click on "Select Files to Upload" and then browse for your file.
3. Go to the bottom and click on "Start Upload."
4. When the upload is finished, go back to the top of this "Upload" page and click on "Back to Google Docs."
5. You should see your document listed on the light blue part. Open your document by clicking on it.
6. Click on Share in the upper right. From the drop-down menu, choose "Email editors/viewers."
7. Under permissions, you'll see Private, and that's fine. Go to the bottom under Add People and add my email address: pharline@alpine.k12.ut.us
8.Close.

Please email me if you have a problem. I'm excited to read and comment on your papers on Google Docs.

HOMEWORK: Ch. 21 take-home quiz.

November 9

Combining and Decombining Sentences

MLA Style Spotlight--go to OWL Purdue, MLA Style, Sample Paper

Writing Lab

Homework

Read Chs 21 & 22

Fresh Draft

Revise--Using the revision suggestions you got during Peer Reviews last Friday, revise your Problematizing paper, and print this fresh draft for class Tuesday. We will be reviewing MLA Style and doing some additional revision to your papers.

Read Chapters 21 & 22

See New Schedule Below

October 26

Writer's Notebooks--students evaluated their remaining five Glass Castle entries (how many points did you earn out of 50?).

Source Credibility activity

Attributive Tags

HOMEWORK

Read A&B Chapter 21 & 22.
Look at MLA Style guide on OWL Purdue website.

.

New Teacher Conference Schedule

I have adjusted the schedule:

Teacher Conferences

18 Oct--Keslee, Tamela, Marie

20 Oct--no conferences

22 Oct--Robyn, Kim, Anna, Christie, Audrey, Colter

28 Oct--Adrienne, Jill, Britney, Jason, Skyler, Taylor, Ryan, and Jenny

1 &3 Nov--Carson, Ben, Nate, Corbin, Brandon, Courtney, Alexis, Tucker, and Cayden

5 Nov--Peer reviews (bring 3 copies of your paper to class; 10 points)
9 Nov--Revision at Writing Lab
11 Nov--Paper due (100 points)

October 12

Comma Activity

A&B Text: researching, writing an Exploratory Essay

Writing Lab

Researching from Home

Pioneer Library Login ID--pioneer; password--search.

October 8

Problematizing a Topic--PBS News, Wed, Oct 6, the Supreme Court privacy v. First Amendment rights case.

Research Demonstration

Writing Lab--continue researching your topic.

HOMEWORK

Read A&B Skills 22 & 23, pp. 578-91.

Post your GC review.

Glass Castle reviews--correction!

User name: pghsenglishblogs@gmail.com
Password: sharing writing

October 6

Wallowing in Complexity--Critical Thinking Skills

Close observation of an artifact--with your group, examine one of the New Yorker pictures and generate questions based on aspects of the picture that you find puzzling. Identify a puzzling feature and try to generate several possible explanations for the feature, none of which seems conclusive or totally satisfactory.

After listening to group responses, we listed possible questions on the board: 1) When it comes to learning about computers and technology, are older people at the mercy of the younger generation? 2) Does text messaging isolate people from those they're with? and 3) Do people miss living their lives by watching others live on screen?

Paper 2: Problematizing a Topic

Students turned in a binder paper with freewriting about the topic they chose, more freewriting about their topic after researching in the Writing Lab, and stapled this paper to an article or "artifact" they found while researching.

HOMEWORK:

Post your book review of Glass Castle. I will also give you credit for printing the review and bringing it to class (you can post it later).

October 4

Comma Activity

Wallowing in Complexity--learning how to problematize a topic
1. Critical thinking skills on p. 30.
2. The Believing and Doubting game: most modern Americans should be vegetarians.
3. Freewriting: What is puzzling, controversial, or unknown about the Rutgers invasion of privacy case?
4. Idea Mapping: the "mosque at ground zero."
5. Close observation of an artifact (New Yorker magazine covers): generate questions, identify the puzzling features, generate several possible explanations.

College essay revisions--turn in

HOMEWORK--due Friday, October 8

Assignment: Write a review of The Glass Castle on www.teenreviewsoftheglasscastle.blogspot.com. Go to www.blogger.com. User name--pghsenglishblogs@gmail.com and password "sharingwriting" . Once you get into the blog, click on the red B in the upper left corner (on the blue bar). Click on New Post. When you're done writing, click "Publish Post."

Organization: In organizing, I think a four-paragraph (like a five-paragraph essay but with only two reasons rather than three) essay would be the easiest format to follow. In other words, start with an introduction that ends with a thesis statement, write two body paragraph developing your reaons, and end with a conclusion.

I'd like you to decide whether you recommend the book, recommend the book but with hesitations, don't recommend the book, or recommend the book with a caveat.

Write a thesis statement using one of these formulas:

1. I recommend The Glass Castle because (2 reasons).
2. Although ____________ (list a hesitation), I recommend TGC because _____________ (list a reason).
3. I don't recommend the book because (2 reasons).
4. Although _____________ (list a caveat), I don't recommend TGC because ______________ (list a reason).

September 30

Comma Activity

Understanding Rhetorical Context (text p. 27)--writing emails to different audiences.

WN Sharing (Glass Castle)

Paper 2: Problematizing a Topic
Angles of vision--a mosque at "Ground Zero."

HOMEWORK:
Revise College Application Essays
Read Ch. 2, pp. 28-top of 38.

College Application Essays REVISION

I have graded half of your essays, and I'll have the other half done on Tuesday. When you get your essays back, I'd like all of you to revise your essays based on my comments. All serious writers appreciate feedback from readers who want to help them make their writing more precise and engaging; getting this feedback and then rewriting is part of the writing process. I will also reward your efforts by raising your grade if your improve your essays.

If you got your essays back on Friday, you should plan to revise them for Thursday (Sept. 30). If you get your essays back on Tuesday, you should plan to revise them for the following Monday (Oct. 4).

NOTE:
1. When you resubmit your essays, staple the fresh draft to the draft I graded.
2. On the fresh draft, highlight (with a highlighter) the changes you made and explain those changes in the margin or on a separate piece of paper. Please make it easy for me to see what you've changed.

September 24

Writer's Note response--Analyze how you think Jeannette developed her own angle of vision in Welch (15 minutes). Discussion.

WN sharing--Keslee and Carson.

30 Days DVD, "Muslims in America"--we got 10 minutes into this before the bell rang.

Note: We are starting work on our next paper--Problematizing a Topic. This paper is described on p. 26 in the text: Write a two-page (double-spaced) essay that poses a question about a problem that perplexes you on a subject matter of your choice or on one designated by your instructor. Besides explaining your question and providing needed background information, you should help readers see (1) why the question is problematic--that is, why it is a genuine problem with no easy right answers--and (2) why the question is significant or worth pursuing--that is, what benefit will come from solving it. Remember that your task here is to pose the question, not answer it.

HOMEWORK:
1. Read Glass Castle, p. 245 to the end.
2. Write GC Writer's Notebook entry.
3. Read Allyn & Bacon text, Chapter 1.

September 22

Glass Castle



The naqib

September 20

Glass Castle
1. Reading quiz--write a factual, an interpretive, and an evaluative question; trade with another student and answer.
2. WN sharing--Ryan, Ben, Nate, Corbin, Marie, Jill, Brittney, and Cayden.
3. Angle of vision--write the chocolate bar scene from Jeannette's mother's point of view (pp. 173-174).

HOMEWORK:
1. Read GC, pp. 195-221 and write WN entry.
2. Read A&B Chapter 1 by Tuesday, Sept 28.

NOTE: I will probably have your essays graded by Friday, Sept. 24.

September 16

Secret word points?

Writer's Notebook response: Recall a favorite piece of writing that you have done in the past. Jot down a brief description of the kind of writing this was (a poem, a personal-experience essay, a piece of workplace writing, a research paper, a newspaper story, a persuasive argument). Where would you put this piece of writing on the closed-to-open continuum? Explore why you liked this piece of writing. Are you at your best in closed-form writing that calls for an explicit thesis statement and logical support? Or are you at your best in more open and personal forms?

Lego Instructions Critique: Follow instructions to build Lego creations. Provide feedback to the creators and me about your experience building. Write compliments and suggestions on the creator's instructions. Indicate which parts of the instructions are helpful and which parts are confusing.

Glass Castle:
1. Go over and turn in Frost questions homework.
2. Write three Glass Castle questions. Take quiz and discuss.
3. WN sharing--

Obama Gun Toters: read article and respond in WN.

HOMEWORK:
1. Glass Castle reading and WN.

September 14

Glass Castle
Imitate Jeannette Walls' writing on p.129, paragraph 2.
Parallel structure--rewrite "Dad stuck his head..." incorrectly.



College Application Essays
Reflection--Good writers write for a purpose to an audience within a genre.
About their purpose: What am I trying to accomplish in this paper? What do I want my readers to know, believe, see, or do?
About their audience: What are my readers' values and assumptions? What do they already know or believe about my subject? How much do they care about it?
About their genre: What kind of document am I writing? What are its requirements for structure, style, and document design?


Homework
1. Glass Castle reading to p. 170.
2. Writer's Notebook entry. Make sure that you do each kind of entry (minus one since we skipped last time) at least once. Please refer to your A&B textbook to understand what you're supposed to write and how to write it.
3. Frost's "Road Not Taken" questions.
4. You should have your A&B text by now. We are into Week 4, so you will may lose participation points for not having your book with you. Thanks for making this a priority.

Secret Word: castle

September 10

Glass Castle:
1. Reading Quiz.
2. Writer's Notebooks sharing--Audrey, Alexis, and Jennie.

Parallel Structure Grammar Girl

College Application Essays--Peer Reviews (you must have 2 copies of your paper).


HOMEWORK:
1. Read GC to p. 150. No WN entry due.
2. Revise College Application Essay. Final draft due Sept 14, Tuesday.
3. Complete "Parallel Structure" exercises--last two pages of handout.

September 8

Glass Castle: take reading quiz, share Writer's Notebook entry, and discuss reading.

College Essay: first draft due; revise at Writing Lab.

HOMEWORK:
1. Glass Castle reading to p. 125 and WN entry.
2. Revise essay and print two copies for Peer Reviews.

September 3

Reading Quiz, Glass Castle, pp. 31-61.

Writer's Notebook Glass Castle responses--the sub will initial your responses.

Writing Lab--write college essay first drafts.

HOMEWORK

1. College essays first draft due next time, Sept 8.
2. Glass Castle reading and Writer's Notebook response.
3. Have you been accepted and registered with UVU? Have you ordered your textbook?

September 1

Writer's Notebook entry: What was the last thing that you lost? If you found it, explain how. If you haven't, explain how the loss affected you.

Another Writer's Notebook entry: Listen to NPR story about a new children's book titled Barrio ABCs.

Glass Castle Reading Quiz (to p. 31).

Writer's Notebook--Glass Castle: Share the entry you wrote for today's reading.

College Essays: prewriting.

HOMEWORK:
1. Glass Castle to page 61.
2. Spend some time drafting your college essays. Next time, I've scheduled time in the Writing Lab to work on your essays, so either email a copy to yourself or put your draft on a flash drive and bring it to the Writing Lab Friday.
3. Get admitted to UVU by September 7; get registered for this class by September 8.

Textbook ISBN

The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, Fifth Edition, Brief Edition.
ISBN # 978-0-205-59873 OR ISBN # 0-205-59873-0.

UVU Registration Information

In order to complete your UVU registration, you must have test scores on file there. Here are your options:

1. When you took the ACT, you had your scores sent to UVU and you got a 19 or higher on the English and Reading sections.
2. You have a paper copy of your ACT score, make a copy, and bring it to Joan Penrod or Sherri Bowman in PGHS Rooms 120 or 129 right away.
3. You can take a last chance "residual test" at UVU this Friday, Sept 3, if you preregister in time with the UVU Testing Center and they're not full. If you've taken this test within the last 60 days, you supposedly can't retake the test this Friday.

August 30

Writing Spotlight--relative pronoun sentences. Combine two sentences into one.

UVU Registration. My CNA # is 16082. With this number, you can start on gold APPLY TODAY instruction page at "Click on 'registration menu.'" Last day to register without the $50 late fee is Sept 7 (the day after Labor Day).

College Essay Assignment

The Glass Castle.

HOMEWORK
1. GC to p. 31.
2. GC Writer's Notebook assignment. See Aug. 26 post for reading schedule and WN assignments.
3. Get on the internet to find a college application writing prompt for a college you plan to apply to. If you are going to apply to BYU, you can use the prompts on the back of the assignment.

August 26

Writing Spotlight--What's the difference between that/who? Let's consult Grammar Girl!

Class Syllabus.

Writer's Notebooks.

School photos.

Glass Castle reading schedule.

HOMEWORK
1. Get English binder.
2. Get Zip-Loc gallon bag (bring an extra if you don't mind). Put Cindy Lou Who inside.
3. Order textbook--once again, it's The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, Fifth Edition (Ramage, Bean, and Johnson). The sooner you order, the more money you can probably save by getting a used one. I'd like you to have your textbook by Sept. 3.
4. Decorate front cover (back cover optional) of your Writer's Notebook. Combine both pictures and words to create a personalized cover.

If you read this post, you'll be able to tell me the secret word next time: "clarity."

Disclosure Document

Here's a link to the Disclosure Document.

Order textbook

If you order now, you can probably save money on a used copy on Amazon, half.com, or some other site that sells used textbooks. Or you can try the UVU bookstore where they should have new and used copies. The textbook is--

The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, Fifth Edition (Ramage, Bean, and Johnson)

UVU Registration

I'm looking forward to meeting you on Thursday. You don't have to register for college credit to take this class, but if you want credit, make sure you're admitted to and registered with UVU. Here are some important UVU dates:

September 7: last day to complete UVU admissions with NO late fee; last day to submit prerequisite test scores for English to UVU CE office.

September 8: final day for class signup; $50 late fee begins for UVU admissions.

September 14 deadline for late UVU admissions and late class signup.

sample

Cyber bullying

March 18

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH TOPICS

As a class, we decided to do Empirical Research Papers on the subject of food. Here are topics we brainstormed:

food groups (Becca)
diet (James)
time of day
cooking (Trevor, James)
eating disorders (Kathie, James)
metabolism--can it change? genetic? jump start? (Melissa)
correlation between blood type and diet? (Katie, Nate)
emotions--journaling? correlation between what you eat and how you feel? (Katie, James, Nate, Bec)
cause/effect--exercise (James, Melissa)
food - feel better - exercise (Nate, Trevor)
Scales, diet, motivation (James)
slow food movement (Trevor)
caffeinated drinks (Trevor)
record eating for a week (Trevor, Bec)
America v. Europe (Asia, Africa, So. American), portions? (Nate, Katie)
cultures--importance, times (Melissa, Trevor)

HOMEWORK

Follow scheduled reading and assignment: do Research Plan--individual part (top p. 252).

March 12

WRITING SPOTLIGHT
Avoiding sexist language. Quiz. Do 1-4 questions (not the fill in the blanks).

MRS. HARLINE'S RESEARCH
I brought documents that show the evolution and chronology of my own Inquiry project.

INQUIRY AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Spend 35 minutes reflecting and typing answers.

Mar 1

INTO THE WILD Chapters 8-11

INTO THE WILD Presentations
Ch 9--Trevor
Ch 10--Kyleigh
Ch 11--Melissa

Homework--Read Into the Wild, Chapters 12-15

Feb 25

INTO THE WILD Chapters 4-7 reading quiz

INTO THE WILD Practice Presentations

(Sub--I attended a teacher training session this day.)

Class Feb 23

PAPER 3 DUE: WRITE A REFLECTION

INTO THE WILD
1. Reading quiz (Chs 1-3)
2. Discussion: How did Krakauer start this project? What do you think of his writing?

Peer Review T & B's paper

Please read T & B's paper and write a comment. As we did in class, start by giving compliments and then suggestions. I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

Class Feb 8

WRITING LAB AND TEACHER CONFERENCES
I collected first drafts for 10 points. I conferenced with Nate, James, and Kyleigh.

Teacher conference schedule:
Feb 10--Katie and Kathie
Feb 12--Melissa, Trevor, Becca

Brittany and Tiffany:
Please send your first draft by Friday via email to pharline@alpine.k12.ut.us

Class tidbits
1. The paper basically appears in 3 sections: 1) summary and thesis statement; 2) analysis of the rhetorical strategies the article's author used; and 3) your own ideas about the content. The "Your Own Ideas" section of your paper could serve as a conclusion to the paper, and would probably be 1-2 paragraphs.
2. I wrote a body paragraph to show the class. Click here to view.

BT--hope you're having fun!

Class Feb 3

DEMONSTRATION

I showed the class a paragraph I wrote about the sportsmen (as though I were also writing a Summary/Strong Response Paper). Here's a link to the paragraph.

Notice that I start with two topic sentences; I finish the paragraph with a concluding sentence. In between, I 1) introduce example; 2) provide example; and 3) follow up example with analysis and explanation. I do this over and over throughout the paragraph.

Also note that my quotes are short.

Since I was analyzing word choice, I included many short examples. In your own paper, you may choose to use one or two longer examples in a paragraph instead, but you would still follow the same pattern: introduce example, provide example, and analyze example.

Class Feb 1

DEMONSTRATION
I showed the class how I annotated an opinion article about hunting and fishing written by sportsmen. Then I filled out the Prewriting Rubric with details from the article. After filling in the rubric, it was easy to see which 2-3 points I wanted to write about in my paper: 1) the sportsmen's tone and word choice added to their ethos; 2) the sportsmen's altruism came through because they seemed to genuinely care about the land--this also added to their ethos; and 3) the sportsmen were vague about their evidence.

Each of these 3 points will become a well-developed paragraph.

WRITING LAB

Class Jan 28

EXAMINING ETHOS AND CREDIBILITY
Reviewed Dupe Detector.
Students presented Made to Stick credibility examples and completed worksheet.
Homework application: Fill in Prewriting rubric that analyzes "ethos" in your article.

Homework for Jan 26

PAPER 3 PREWRITING

1. purpose/audience
2. writing style/word choice
4. use of evidence

APOSTROPHE QUIZ from GrammarGirl

REVISE SUMMARY (10 points)--print and bring to class.

Grammar Girl Apostrophe Homework

Grammar Girl is back and ready with a friendly tutorial about apostrophes. Please read Parts 1 & 2 and be ready for a quiz Jan 26 at the beginning of class. Here's the link to Part 1, and here's the link to Part 2.

Class Jan 20

PUNCTUATION PRACTICE: Add commas, apostrophes, and a hyphen to these sentences.

PEER REVIEW SUMMARIES

SUMMARY/STRONG RESPONSE PAPER: Analyzing Purpose, Audience, and Writing Style--yellow packet.

HOMEWORK:
1. Revise summary.
2. Finish yellow packet.
3. Do first two prewriting boxes in the Paper 3 packet.
4. Start drafting if you get ideas from your prewriting.

Class Jan 15

Pick up Writer's Notebook.

Quote of the day: "Without music life would be a mistake." (Nietzsche)

Apostrophe spotlight and quiz.

Choosing a topic: Collect your possible "strong response" articles.

Writing Summaries: In the text, review "Understanding Summary Writing," pp. 117-121. Read summary criteria on the grading rubric. Evaluate two student sample papers from last year.

Start homework:
1. Choose article.
2. Read your article several times and annotate the article; you must understand it well enough to write a summary of it.
3. Write a one-paragraph summary of your article and bring two copies to class next time.

Summary/Strong Response Paper Schedule

Here's a link to the schedule. Check here for homework assignments.

Here's a link to the grading rubric.

Reminders about Jan 13

Homework:

Finish Socratic questions we discussed--"I'd Rather Smoke than Kiss" article.

Read/review Chapter 6 for reading quiz.

Read Chapter 6

Reading quiz coming your way on Monday.

Reminders and Grammar Girl assignment

1.Bring your textbook to class next time to do the "Tattoo" assignment.
2.Writers Notebooks are due Thursday, January 7.
3.Semi-colon quiz next time. Here's the link the Grammar Girl.

Summary/Strong Response Paper

We are starting work on the Summary/Strong Response Paper (Chapter 6).Click on the assignment link (in the last sentence) and read the "Assignment" description, information about "Topic Choices," and the first few steps in the "Writing Process" to get an overview of the assignment.

Before beginning work on this paper, students must complete these three assignments this week:

• Read Chapter 6 (homework).
• Complete "On Teenagers and Tattoos" work.
• Find and print 2-3 interesting somewhat-controversial articles.

"On Teenagers and Tattoos" work (A&B pp. 110-113)

Take the survey, read the article, and complete the assignments at the end.

 Find and print 2-3 interesting somewhat-controversial articles

To write the paper, each student must have a somewhat-controversial article to evaluate. You will be more engaged in the paper if you're evaluating an article you're interested in responding to. So before beginning work on the paper, I want my students to help identify interesting articles that might be used to write the paper. Go to Pioneer On-Line Library, SIRS Knowledge Source, Pro/Con articles, and browse the topics and and skim articles. By the end of the class Thursday, print the best 2-3, put your name on them, and give them to me (well, the sub since I will be gone Thursday).