D-Day minus 1...

Monday, December 13, 2010
Alright, folks. Tomorrow is the day of our final in-class essay! Be sure to bring your plan for the essay and all the books/texts that you require for the writing. These include but are not limited to, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Lord of the Flies, "Macbeth," "Inherit the Wind," and your banned or challenged book.

As for the essay, Mrs. Smith had some very specific instructions:

You must begin with a clear introductory paragraph which includes a strong, clear argumentative thesis statement.
Use at least three points of comparison with at least two different textual examples to support each point
Make sure to use at least four of the five texts we have studied this semester
Finally, make sure to end with a strong concluding paragraph
Double space! Proofread! No contractions or personal words! Turn in your best quality work.
Print out essay, shut down laptop and plug it in.

Here is the layout for the essay:

Heading: Left Side
Name
Class
Teacher
14 December 2010

Title: size 12, centered, no underline

Intro PP
Attention Getter
Explanation
Thesis-Three Points, Books, Authors, why are these things necessary etc.

Body PP (x3)
Topic Sentence
Set up situation
Lead in, “quote” (Shakespeare 2.1.7-9)
Explanation =>
    1. Analyze
    2. Connect back to paragraph
    3. Connect back to topic
Transition
Set up Situation
Lead in, “Quote” (Lawrence and Lee 1.2)
Explanation
Concluding sentence

Conclusion PP
Restate the thesis
Review the points
Satisfying Conclusion => Tie back to the attention getter

Works Cited
MLA format
Macbeth (Shakespeare 1.7.9).
LOF (Golding 79).
ITW (Lawrence and Lee 2.1).
1984 (Orwell 79).
451 (Bradbury Fahrenheit 67)
“HB” (Vonnegut).

The highlighted items are the Items that you can complete on your own. The rest must be done in class during the final.

Good luck on the last two days of English 9 Honors for 2010!

The Long Haul (Friday, December 10, 2010)

(So, apparently I’m not a follower of Smith’s blog anymore. I think it’s because Google made me create a new account, one which was never a follower. So due to these “technical difficulties”, this post might be a little late. Fortunately, I got Jonathan C’s help to post this. I apologize for any inconveniences. -SeanH)

The Friday before finals began with our usual “Hello Smith” and a frenzied Period 5 went under way.  The entire day was devoted to planning and preparing for our final for English Honors – an in class essay on challenging the system. Below I have included the entire outline, and notes we need to complete the essay. Homework is to read pages 117 – 147 in 1984. Also, thought it’s not mandatory, but Highly Recommended, you should work on the outline. I have what it is you should work on included in the outline below. Thanks, and have good weekend.

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Honors Final Question/Prompt – Looking at the novels we read this semester, what 3 things does it take to challenge the system?

• You can use – Macbeth, Fahrenheit 451, Inherit the Wind, 1984, Lord of the Flies, banned or challenged book, The Pedestrian and Harrison Bergeron
•          You must begin with a clear introductory paragraph which includes a strong, clear argumentative thesis statement.
•          Use at least three points of comparison with at least two different textual examples, to support each point.
•          Make sure to use at least four of the five texts we have studied this semester.
•          Double Space! Proofread! No contradictions or personal words! Turn in your best quality work.
•          Print out essay, shut down laptop and plug it in

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Smith’s Example Outline

·         Courage

o   Macbeth

o   451

·         Determination

o   451

o   ITW

·         Plan

o   HB

o   1984

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Citation Examples

Macbeth  à (Shakespeare ACT.SCENE.LINE)

LOF - (Golding 79)

ITW - (Lawrence and Lee 2.1)

1984 - (Orwell 79)

451  - (Bradbury Farenheit 670

“HB”- (Vonnegut)

“Pedestrian” - (Bradbury “Pedestrian”

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SKELETAL OUTLINE OF INTRO PARAGRAPH

•                 Attention Getter
•                 Explanation of Attention Getter
•                 Directly into thesis (See below) - Titles, authors, 3 pts, WHY

THESIS EXAMPLE  - Orwell, Shakespeare, Lawrence and Lee, and Bradbury through their works, 1984, Macbeth, Inherit the Wind, Fahrenheit 451, imply that in order to challenge the system one must begin with determination that will fuel the courage to eventually create a plan; since it is so paramount to challenge the system as a result to the social norms in place, one must contain these elements or be unsuccessful.

-          Points lead into each other

-          Flows

-          No because

-          Three points are obvious

-          Good Vocab

SKELETAL OUTLINE OF BODY PARAGRAPH

• Topic Sentence
• Set up situation
• Lead in, “Quote” (Citation)

• Explanation -1 Analyze (What does this mean) quote, 2 Connect to Current Paragraph, 3 Connect to thesis CTS

• Transition
• Set up Situation
• Lead in, “quote” (Citation)
• Explanation
• Concluding Sentence

SKELETAL OUTLINE OF CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH

Restate Thesis – Not word for word

Review points

End with a satisfying cyclical conclusion, tie back to conclusion.

What Smith Would Do This Weekend - Though you don't have to (and shouldn't) write your whole essay this weekend, there are a few things that Smith advised us we should do. 

1. Complete your skeletal outline for your essay
2. Write out your thesis
3. Complete your works cited
4. Find all your quotes

By Sean H

The Calm Before the Storm (Thursday, December 9, 2010)

(So, apparently I’m not a follower of Smith’s blog anymore. I think it’s because Google made me create a new account, one which was never a follower. So due to these “technical difficulties”, this post might be a little late. Fortunately, I got Jonathan C’s help to post this. I apologize for any inconveniences.)

Today, Period Five was relatively low key. We finished listening to songs related to 1984, including Smith’s all time favorite, Doubleplusgood. The class opened up our notes on the songs we had previously heard, and continued to comment on the new songs, including ideas and interpretations, what the song made you think about, and which James Bond scene they remind you of (thanks, Mariah and Anna).  The Homework was to read pages 117 – 147. The Lyrics sheet for the songs are linked below. Have a good evening, and study hard for finals.

By Sean Horblit

1984 Song Lyrics

READY FOR FINALS ANYONE?

Today, in the hectic class of Smith period 2, we started to work on the Monstrous outline for our dreaded final.  We spent a lot of the class deciding on how to write out the thesis and the rest of the paper. Discussing the thesis was a work that frustrated us. Then we decided we were good and moved to the body paragraphs. We got through the body paragraphs well and moved to explain the conclusion. Then a hectic end to a hectic day in the world of Smith. HOMEWORK IS AT THE BOTTOM!


OUTLINE

Looking at the novels we have read this semester, what three things does it take to challenge the system?

      Macbeth

      451

      Inherit the Wind

      1984

      Lord of the Flies

      Banned or challenged book

·         You must begin with a clear introductory paragraph which includes a strong, clear argumentative thesis statement.

·         Use at least three points of comparison with at least two different textual examples to support.

·         Make sure to use at least four of the five texts we have studied this semester

·         Finally, make sure to end with a strong conclusion paragraph

·         Double SPACE! PROOFREAD! NO CO TRACTIONS OR PERSONAL WORDS! TURN IN YOUR BEST QUAILITY WORK.

·         Print out essay, shut down computer and plug it in.

OUTLINE

Name

Class

Teacher

DD/MM/YYYY

Title (plain 12 fonts)

INTRO:

Ø  Attention Getter

Ø  Explanation of AG

Ø  Thesis(strong, clear argumentative, 3 points, books referenced and authors, This because of this)

Ø  EX:     Orwell, Shakespeare, Lawrence, Lee, and Bradbury through their works, 1984, Macbeth, Inherent the Wind, and Fahrenheit 451, imply that in order to successfully challenge the system one must begin with determination that fuels courage to eventually create a plan; since it is so paramount to challenge the system as a result of the social norms in place, one must contain these elements or be unsuccessful.

BP:

v  2 points, specific

v  DETERMINATION- social norms, why

v  MACBETH- defeating feudal system

o   Thanes, king

v  ITW- social norm of creationism

o   Taught evolution, taught out of bio book

v  TS

v  Set up situation- sentence onto it owns

v  Lead in, quote “”(author, act scene line).<period goes here

v  Explanation of quote

o   1-analyze the quote- evidence

o   2-relates to the topic

o   3-connect to thesis, RELATES TO TWO BUT IS MORE IN DEPTH

o   NO “THIS QUOTE MEANS, EXPLAINS, SAYS

v  Transition

v  Set up situation

v  Lead in, quote “” (author, (For ITW act scene)). <period goes here

v  3 explanations

v  Conclusion sentence

CONCLUSION:

ü  Restate thesis

ü  Review points- how have we seen the point necessary to challenge the system

ü  Satisfying conclusion

o   Tie Back to AG-talk about how the quote relates to the thesis

WORKS CITED

Citation:

Macbeth( Shakespeare 1.7.9)

LOF (Golding 79)

ITW  (Lawerence and Lee 2.1)

1984  (Orwell 79)

451 (Bradbury (book name if using other story) 79)

“HB” and “Pedestrian” – (author story, or for HB just author)

NO PERSONAL WORDS OR CONTRACTIONS

DO OVER THE WEEKEND FOR THE FINAL:

                ALL QUOTES, FILLED INTO OUTLINE, THESIS for MONDAY

PARAGRAPH STUCTURE FILLED OUT, THESIS, SKELETON FOR YOUR FINALS

Fischbowl Wednesday

Winston

Hello Smith! The whole class sang in a chorus. The kids in Smith’s 5th hour class had a reason to be happy, due to a plc late start, and lunch beforehand. The class started with everyone getting their computers and Mrs. Smith explaining what we needed to do for homework. After that we didn’t need to do much because our brains were more focused on the intelligent discussion of our Fishbowl, on the topic of pages 69-117. The main topic of the pages was the "love note" that the black haired girl gave to Winston, which was the three words I love you and what it could have possibiliy symbolized and meaned.

HW: Read 117-147, TIB comments, Loggel : Make it awesome!

1984 Fisbowl 69-117 Period 2

18 Days and Counting

Today we got out our computers, sat down, and gave our usual Hello Smith's. Then we got out our planners, and wrote down our homework, which was:

To read pages 69-117 of 1984 (Or through chapter 1 of book 2, unless you haven’t gotten that far, otherwise, read pages 1-117) by tomorrow and have several good questions (Preferably 3), for discussion tomorrow.

Next, we needed to Loggel our 1984 chapters, which will include a summary of the chapter, and any symbols that we notice through the chapter.

Also, we need to give our This I Believe comments under the discussion tab in Wikispaces for two other classes by Friday, but the sooner the better: Schlage, and Davis. We need to read 3-4 essays from Schlage, you should put comments on the people who have the least views. How would you feel if you had put (Hopefully) tons of effort into your essay about something really personal to you, and no one else reads it? Here’s the link for Schlage: http://ahsthisibelieve.wikispaces.com/Schlageter+ASW
For Davis, you need to do 2 or more, except if you were in the outside set of tables: then you’ll need to do the two people that Smith assigned to you first. If you were on the outside then you’ll need to do any 2 that you see, but if you see 3 people who did the same one, then find another that had less, and check to make sure that there are no repeats by people.
Here’s the link for Davis, and remember to scroll down to the bottom of the page:
http://ahsthisibelieve.wikispaces.com/Smith5DavisY.

Last (I promise): We need to have all of our books and stories that we’ve read this semester: Lord of the Flies, Macbeth, Fahrenheit 451, The Pedestrian, Harrison Bergeron, our Banned Book (Optional, but highly recommended if you can get a hold of it), and 1984 (Completely optional since we haven’t finished it yet), so that we can work on our outlines on Friday. (Hint, hint, get the outline done as much as you can before this!)



Afterwards, we wrote down out homework, we were introduced to another of Sage’s friends: Auto (I’m really sorry if that’s wrong!), and we talked about a few differences between schools here and in Africa (Don’t remember the exact country...)


Then, we listened to the soundtrack/CD of 1984, and opened up the lyrics of the songs on Smith’s web page.
Here’s the link, it’s the last file underneath 1st Semester, so it shouldn’t be to hard to find, it’s called 1984 songs:
http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/Default.aspx?tabid=1924.
We listened to a combination of instrumentals and other songs, and typed what we thought about them in the same word document using the Review Tab, Comments Group, and New Comment Button, and the connections that we could make to 1984, which we are going to do again on Thursday so be prepared.

Last, we used the rest of our time to work on reading 1984, Wikispaces and Loggel.

If I don’t get a chance to say it later, Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Cuanza, and any other Holidays that I don’t know about! 18 days and Counting! :)

2010 Is Not Like 1984

Today, we started off with a watching an Apple commercial form the year 1984 advertising the new, big brother defying Macintosh. After discussing the intended meaning, we saw a revised version about Obama, which I found to be pretty amusing. After that, we talked about the 1984 loggel and agreed on a plan on how we are going to accomplish it. The rest of the week looks fairly laid-back one, as we keep working on the loggel, along with reading from page 69-117 of 1984 by Wednesday.

Unfortunately, I'm having a few flash-drive problems and apparently (after going through every file on it to see if I had saved it in a different folder) it didn't save. I"m sorry if I'm causing any problems with this, i'm honestly not the best with computers.

If you try and remember your part tonight, then tomorrow I could make another list and post it tomorrow. And hey, we have all week to work on this so there's no real rush. Anyways, I hope you all have a good evening and merry 18-days early Christmas! peace.

Arrange by parts, then break up into chapters within parts. Everyone picks a partner and signs up for 1-2 parts.

Pt.ONE overview: Kelly/Clairissa

½: Calvin/Jared

¾: Rachel/Maggie

5/6: Savannah/Natalie

7/8: Andrea/Olivia

Pt. TWO overview: Aaron/Dom

1: Victoria

2/3: Janie/Maddie

4: Paul

5: Brooke

6/7: Jenna/Mackenzie

8/9: Chad/Brendan

10: Noah

THREE overview: Chris/Caleb

1/2/3: Courtney/Whitney/Hannah

4/5: Maria/Anna

6: Steven/Frank

P.S. This is Luke B's post because he doesn't have permits to post.

1984 Fishbowl 69-117 Period 5

Monday Mac Day

The first actual thing we did at school today was a debrief on how our fishbowl last week went. We decided that everyone needs to take more responsibility and move into the innercircle if your blogging in the outer circle. Also, we decided that the outer circle needs to be more focused on the subject. And remember, we are being graded as a whole class.

The next thing we did, was watch two videos. The first video we watched was a Macintosh commerical released in 1984. We talked about how the man is saying they are one and after Mac lady comes in and destroys the man, it's like the followers are able to be individuals. We also noticed how dark it was until the screen breaks and the light fills the followers faces.

The next video is a spoof of this one involving Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Some things we noticed was that the Obama Logo was on the woman's shirt, and Hilary is saying that America will be a team. This i like the previous commercial saying they will be one.

Next in the lineup is our loggel. It is the same username and password we had before, AHSSmith5 for both the username and the password. Logan created a new lifelog for us already so we don't half to use the old one. It will be arranged by chapters. Included under each chapter will be a brief synopsis along with some extra stuff, like character development and other info along those lines. Every partnership was assigned 2 chapters, and we were able to pick our partner. If you have any questions, ask Emily. Here is a list (by initials) of who gets what chapter.

Book One NS+KM+MC

1. JC IC                        
2. JC IC                           
3. KC AC                        
4. LB KH                    
5. LB KH               
6. GM EL                       
7. ML LM
8. GM EL                         

Book Two NS KM MC

1. VD AW
2. RB CS
3. AM JP
4. TG NM
5. TG NM
6. SS JC
7. WK EW
8. WK EW
9. JB SH
10. JB SH

Book 3

1 LM ML

2.MM TW

3. SS JC

 4.MG SW

Now for homework, we have to read 69-117 by Wednesday. Also, anyone who is working on Book 1 Chapter 1 through Book 2 Chapter 2 has to complete and publish their loggel by Wednesday. Also, the other students from Poland have their TIB essays up so you want to comment on about 4 of them sooner rather than later. Last, for some heads up, we have to bring all the books/ short stories we read throughout the year. These are: Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451, Harrison Bergeron, The Pedestrian, Inherit the Wind, Macbeth, and 1984. Happy Holidays!

Covering it LIVE-12/3/2010

Today's goal was to have a discussion using both a fishbowl and "Cover It Live." This method tops our old use of comments on a post to have a conversation. The actual class began with each student swiftly writing questions on the chalk boards in case the fishbowl ran out of ideas, but that didn't happen. The rest of the class was a blur and there was very rarely dead air.

Homework for today was to begin reading pages 69-117 of "1984"

PS: The above image is a representation of Big Brother from the movie 1984!

Friday December 3 2010

Two Weeks to Go!!!

To start off second period we wrote all of our thought provoking questions on the chalkboards. We quickly moved on to our class webpage where a live blog was waiting for us. Much more convenient then hitting the refresh button every minute, this “Cover it Live Blog” automatically updates and posts your comments.  We blogged for the majority of the class period about George Orwell’s 1984 pages 1 through 69 with a visit from Smith’s old friend Bud Hunt. The class period flew by and before you knew it the bell rang leaving us with four more hours to go.

Our Homework:

Begin Reading 1984 pages 69-117

Have a good weekend!!

P.S: This is actually Jared Contino using Jenna's account because I had posting problems from my account