Smith English 9 Honors

Kimberly M

2011-05-18T10:42:00.003-06:00

Here is the text of Kimberly's speech

Torri W

2011-05-18T07:00:00.060-06:00

Jonathan C

2011-05-18T07:00:00.059-06:00

Lauren B

2011-05-18T07:00:00.058-06:00

Karyn H

2011-05-18T07:00:00.057-06:00

Sage S

2011-05-18T07:00:00.056-06:00

Kendall C

2011-05-18T07:00:00.055-06:00

Anna W

2011-05-18T07:00:00.054-06:00

Emily B

2011-05-18T07:00:00.053-06:00

Whitney K

2011-05-18T07:00:00.052-06:00

Lauren C

2011-05-18T07:00:00.051-06:00

Sean H

2011-05-18T07:00:00.050-06:00

Logan M

2011-05-18T07:00:00.049-06:00

Stephen W

2011-05-18T07:00:00.048-06:00

Nick S

2011-05-18T07:00:00.047-06:00

Jack B

2011-05-18T07:00:00.046-06:00

Matthew C

2011-05-18T07:00:00.045-06:00

Elise L

2011-05-18T07:00:00.044-06:00

Nick M

2011-05-18T07:00:00.043-06:00

Justin G

2011-05-18T07:00:00.042-06:00

Mitch G

2011-05-18T07:00:00.040-06:00

Avery M

2011-05-18T07:00:00.039-06:00

James C

2011-05-18T07:00:00.038-06:00

Greg M

2011-05-18T07:00:00.037-06:00

Abby C

2011-05-18T07:00:00.036-06:00

Ian S

2011-05-18T07:00:00.035-06:00

John P

2011-05-18T07:00:00.034-06:00

Mariah L

2011-05-18T07:00:00.033-06:00

Megan M

2011-05-18T07:00:00.032-06:00

Emily W

2011-05-18T07:00:00.031-06:00

Justin G

2011-05-18T07:00:00.012-06:00

Vivian D

2011-05-18T07:00:00.001-06:00

Brooke R

2011-05-16T08:23:00.013-06:00

Anna S

2011-05-16T08:23:00.012-06:00

Caleb S

2011-05-16T08:23:00.011-06:00

Mackenzie R

2011-05-16T08:23:00.010-06:00

Jenna S

2011-05-16T08:23:00.005-06:00

Chris R

2011-05-16T08:22:00.001-06:00

Brendon M

2011-05-16T08:21:00.011-06:00

Grace M

2011-05-16T08:21:00.010-06:00

Kelly M

2011-05-16T08:21:00.009-06:00

Dominic M

2011-05-16T08:21:00.007-06:00

Maria K

2011-05-16T08:20:00.010-06:00

Hannah M

2011-05-16T08:20:00.009-06:00

Andrea L

2011-05-16T08:20:00.008-06:00

Olivia K

2011-05-16T08:20:00.007-06:00

Maggie H

2011-05-16T08:19:00.010-06:00

Noah G

2011-05-16T08:19:00.009-06:00

Victoria H

2011-05-16T08:19:00.007-06:00

Clairissa H

2011-05-16T08:19:00.005-06:00

Paul G

2011-05-16T08:19:00.003-06:00

Natalie C

2011-05-16T08:18:00.014-06:00

Savannah C

2011-05-16T08:18:00.013-06:00

Janie E

2011-05-16T08:18:00.012-06:00

Maddie F

2011-05-16T08:18:00.011-06:00

Chad C

2011-05-16T08:18:00.007-06:00

Jared C

2011-05-16T08:18:00.005-06:00

Luke B

2011-05-16T08:17:00.003-06:00

Aaron B

2011-05-16T08:17:00.001-06:00

Courtney B

2011-05-16T08:16:00.005-06:00

Rachel B

2011-05-16T08:16:00.003-06:00

Whitney A

2011-05-16T08:16:00.001-06:00

Steven A

2011-05-16T07:00:00.004-06:00

We're almost there Wednesday!

2011-05-14T21:31:00.000-06:00

Today was the fishbowl on meaning. I thought it went very well except towards the end when we got a little distracted. One week until the final! According to Smith's ideal TED talk schedule you should practice the first two minutes of your talk and work on the slides so you can bring them in and test them. Our final is on Wednesday and Friday so be ready to go. I hope all of your talks are going good!

Today we also made a list of the order of presenters:

1. Karyne H

2. Kimberly

3. Sage S

4. Lauren B

5. Kendall C

6. Anna W

7. Emily B

8. Whitney K

9. Emily W

10. Lauren C

11. Stephen W

12. Jack B

13. Vivian D

14. Elise L

15. Justin G

16. Mitch G

17. James C

18. Abby C

19. Mariah L

20. Megan M

21. John P

22. Ian S

23. Greg M

24. Logan M

25. Johnny C

26. Torri W

27. Avery M

28. Nick M

29. Sean H

30. Mathew C

31. Nick S

About the first 15-18 presenters will go next Wednesday so be ready if that's you!

Good luck!

Here is a link to this week on Smith's page.
Here is a link to the TED talk rubric.

Last Thursday of English!

2011-05-14T19:54:00.000-06:00

Today was a work day. According o Smith's ideal TED schedule you should practice the first 3 minutes of your talk and finish the slides so you can test them tomorrow. Smith talked about the importance of the first three minutes of your talk. She said to make sure that your audience is still engaged and they aren't bored. A good way to do this is through the use of an engagement piece like asking the audience for a show of hands or anything else you can think of. Remember to think about your presentation from the point of view of the audience.

Here is the list of what order presenters will go in:

1. Karyne H

2. Kimberly

3. Sage S

4. Lauren B

5. Kendall C

6. Anna W

7. Emily B

8. Whitney K

9. Emily W

10. Lauren C

11. Stephen W

12. Jack B

13. Vivian D

14. Elise L

15. Justin G

16. Mitch G

17. James C

18. Abby C

19. Mariah L

20. Megan M

21. John P

22. Ian S

23. Greg M

24. Logan M

25. Johnny C

26. Torri W

27. Avery M

28. Nick M

29. Sean H

30. Mathew C

31. Nick S

About the first 15-18 presenters will go on Wednesday, so be ready!

Here is a link to this week on Smith's page!

Here is a link to the TED talk rubric!

Superstitious Last Day of (Official) School 4/13

2011-05-14T07:55:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! Sorry I didn't get the blog up yesterday, blogger was down for me. Today in English were we haunted by ghosts and ghouls for the Friday the 13th celebration? Well, we are haunted by the finals next week. As long as you are prepared and practiced, you're going to do an awesome job on the finals. Class was spent as a work time as well as a time to make sure slides worked.

HOMEWORK:
Rest and relax for all your finals.
Practice the first four minutes of your speech on Saturday
Practice your entire speech twice on Sunday

That's it! Everybody have an awesome last week of school and good luck!

-Aaron B

Last Official School Day

2011-05-13T22:12:00.000-06:00

Hello class! Amazingly, we have already reached the end of our freshman year of high school. We clearly accomplished a lot over this year. A few examples:

We read 8 books this year: Lord of the Flies, Macbeth, a banned book of our choice, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Little Brother, Romeo and Juliet, and A Whole New Mind
We created podcasts of ourselves speaking on a topic of our choice, as part of the worldwide This I Believe project
We composed multi-page essays posted on our individual websites and enhanced with links, videos, pictures, and other online tools
We learned how to live blog with people outside of the class and apply the ideas presented in our novels to the world
We talked one-on-one with author Daniel Pink about his book, A Whole New Mind

Today in class, we had our final work day to finish up our TEDx Talks. If you were not able to test your powerpoint on the classroom computer at some point this class, you will want to come into the classroom after finals sometime before Wednesday. Ms. Smith said the room should be open and empty after noon (once all three finals are over), but will probably be in use during all test periods. For the weekend, Ms. Smith recommended we practice, practice, practice. According to her schedule, tonight we should practice and memorize the first four minutes of our presentation. Tomorrow, we should go through the entire five-minute speech. On Sunday, Ms. Smith suggested that we rehearse our entire speech twice, complete with our powerpoint in the background and a small audience (ie. Mom and Dad). Remember, we begin our presentations during the last final on Wednesday and finish them first thing on Friday. Presenters 15-18, approximately, will go on Wednesday, and the rest on Friday. If you do not remember when you present, view the typed list posted below on Thursday's scribe data. Ms. Smith also strongly suggested that we visualize our presentations a few times the night before we give our speech to the class. She said to sit in a quiet room, close our eyes, and envision our speech going perfectly. Other than preparing for the final, though, we have no homework. Good luck with your preparations; I cannot wait to hear from all of you!

Link to Ms. Smith's webpage (here you can find the presentation rubric, tips on presenting, a powerpoint that displays the week's agenda, and links to many of the assignments we have completed throughout the year, if you are feeling nostalgic): http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/Default.aspx?tabid=1924

If you would like to see some examples of the TEDx Talks done by Christian Long's class, click here: http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDxClassroomProject#p/u

What's Up, It's Wednesday!

2011-05-11T09:24:00.000-06:00

What’s Up, It’s Wednesday!

Today, class started off pretty quickly—everyone had their copies of A Whole New Mind on hand and laptops at the ready. After setting up the webcam and LiveBlog, we were off. The theme for today’s fishbowl was the chapter “Meaning”, which mainly brought up the points of religion.

Some main points of discussion:

· Should religion be brought into the workplace? If so, how should it be integrated?

· Would exposure to different cultures help? Should it begin at a young age?

· Why is religion a taboo subject?

· Why are certain subjects unmentionable in school? Should teachers and students be more open?

· Where do we draw the line on discussing religion?

· How does school deter from finding meaning?

Finally, the homework today is:

· Finish up your TEDTalk slides and have them on hand so that you can make sure they are legible in class tomorrow.

· Practice the first two minutes of your TEDTalk!

And, to end with a quote on meaning: “The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it.” – Carl Jung

7 Days to Go!

2011-05-10T16:42:00.000-06:00

Today we worked on our Ted Talks and Smith suggested to practice the first minute tonight and second minute tomorrow and third on Thursday and so on. We also signed up for when we are presenting for finals week. Tomorrow we have a fishbowl for Meaning and everyone should be reading "Type I and Type X".

Homework:
1. Practice first minute of Ted Talk tonight
2. Finish Ted Talk slides and speech
3. Read Meaning and "Type I and Type X" for fishbowl tomorrow
4. Have your slide show ready by Thursday so you can test out your slides to make sure they work for the Ted Talk

Get ready for finals!!!!!!!

Ruby Tuesday!

2011-05-10T09:21:00.000-06:00

Today in class, after starting off with our usual ‘Hello Smith!’, we basically outlined the entire week leading up to finals. Smith gave us some helpful information such as the timeline for our TEDTalk planning; she suggested we practice the first minute tonight, then add on the second minute on Wednesday, and so on. By following this course, the entire talk would be completed by Saturday, and Sunday would provide some time for final tweaks and touch-ups. Also, this would allow one to practice their first minute 7 times! Students should also aspire to have their slides done by Thursday in order to view them from the back of the room in order to avoid mishaps or to change them if they turn out the be illegible. Of course, with everyone atwitter over our Skype with Dan Pink, it took a while for the class to calm down at the start of class, but then we were able to get all of our thoughts our during the debrief. Some positive thoughts were:

· Pink listened to our questions and treated us as equals, displaying real interest

· Pink always had cognitive and clear answers

· Pink didn’t only draw from his own opinions but also addressed other concepts

· We asked plenty of insightful and thought-provoking questions

· Pink was a very casual, normal person

Others had constructive criticism, such as:

· I wish this was in Fishbowl format so I could talk!

Once we had run out of comments, Smith graciously granted us a free work day before our Fishbowl tomorrow. Our activity choices were to read “Type I and Type X”, a selection from Drive by Daniel Pink, to begin compiling our Powerpoint slides for our Ignite or Pecha Kucha presentations, or to begin converting our talk outline into true speech form.

Homework Tonight:

· Practice the 1^st minute of your TEDTalk

· Read “Meaning” in A Whole New Mind to prepare for the Fishbowl tomorrow

o Presenters are: Caleb S, Maddie F, Luke B, Noah G, and Savannah C

o Discussers are: Chad C, Chris R, Janie E, Brendan M, and Brooke R

· Read “Type I and Type X”, annotate if needed

o (Copies can be found in C-11)

· Make progress on your presentation slides—never hurts to be ahead of schedule!

Also, today is a Writing Lab Day in the Study Center.

To end my scribe on a positive note, here is a fun fact: Today is National Shrimp Day! Celebrate accordingly. (:

The Honors English Classes Skyping with Daniel Pink!

Monday, May 9th

2011-05-09T21:25:00.002-06:00

Dan Pink!
Today was the big day where we skyped with Daniel Pink, the author of A Whole New Mind. Kids got the privelage to ask him questions one by one. It was very interesting to hear about his personal viewpoints on things occuring in our every day lives. After all the fishbows we have had, it was intriguing to bring up some of those topics with him face-to-face. It was a highly anticipated discussion with very successful results.

Homework:
-Read Meaning and the drive article Type I and Type X by Wednesday
- Be working on your TED talk presentation (Be practicing your speech, finalizing your outline and meting with Smith as needed).

Skype With MR. PINK!

2011-05-09T16:33:00.003-06:00

Today, during periods two and three, we were offered an amazing opportunity. We were able to Skype with Daniel Pink himself. One by one students were allowed to sit at the table in the front of the forum and ask him any question. It was an incredible experience, and during it students were allowed to discuss their thoughts with each other and the guests on the live blog. During class we reviewed the Skype, what we enjoyed, what we disliked, and ways to improve it if it becomes a part of the curriculum for next year. Most students were in agreement that the questions asked were challenging, and most would have preferred to listening to the answers Mr. Pink had, rather than trying to focus on the blog. We were then given the rest of the hour to use as we wished. Some of the suggested things to work on was reading meaning (fish bowl is on Wednesday), reading the 'Type I or Type X' excerpt from drive (also needs to be read by fishbowl on Wednesday), or our TED talk.

Homework:

A detailed outline of your TED talk should be done by tomorrow.
Read 'Type I or Type X' and Meaning by Wednesday for fishbowl.
Begin working on your slides! You will need to test them before the end of this week!
Write/Practice your TED talk, remember, note cards are not allowed, so in the words of Dan Pink "Practice, practice, practice!!" (another tip from Mr. Pink on your TED talk, put yourself in the audiences shoes, what to they want to hear/know?)

Links:

TED talk rubric

This week's Power Point

Video of Skype With Dan Pink

AWNM Meaning Period 5

2011-05-07T13:30:00.000-06:00

AWNM Meaning Period 5

Friday, May 6th

2011-05-07T09:29:00.002-06:00

Happy Friday!

Today in period two we watched a video called "Celebreating What's Right With the World". It was an uplifting video about celebrating the beauty in the world. After, we just had some time to work. Smith finished up the personal meetings about out TED talk topics. It was a relaxing day with some good time to catch up.

HOMEWORK:
*Create a detailed outline if your TED talk speech
*Continue reading AWNM (The fishbowl on meaning is next wednesday)

***Remember that on Monday is Dan Pink day, so go straight to the forum. Make sure you bring your book, wear AHS apparel and if you have your own technology you can live blog on bring it with you. (Laptop, Itouch, etc.)

AWNM Meaning Period 2

2011-05-06T13:27:00.000-06:00

AWNM Meaning Period 2

Dan Pink Live Blog

2011-05-06T07:00:00.001-06:00

Dan Pink Live Blog

Thursday, May 5th

2011-05-05T19:15:00.002-06:00

Cinco de Mayo at its' finest!

Today we had a fishbowl over the A Whole New Mind chapters Empathy and Play. An intriguing discussion continued throughout the blog and the inner circle.

HOMEWORK:
*Bring schedules tomorrow for Smith to sign!!!
*Blog 8 is due tomorrow, it is on a TED talk that you choose on your own. Remember to be insightful, creative and make connections! Simply doing the post and answering the requirements will you get a C. Finish out Strong!
*Continue Reading A Whole New Mind.
*Continue to work on TED talk presentation. Remember- Make it an idea worth spreading!

***If you feel you need more face time with Smith about your TED talk presentation feel free to arrange a meeting with her.

Fishbowl Thursday!

2011-05-05T15:52:00.000-06:00

Today in English, we jumped straight in to our fishbowl on Play and Empathy. I was in the inner circle, where the discussion started slowly. We talked about when play and empathy are actually appropriate. A good point that was made is if you are a safety inspector, you probably wouldn’t want much play involved in the job, while if you’re with your friends running a small business, then there is room for play. The same goes with empathy, you don’t want too much of it in a workplace. We then focused on empathy. There were some could points about world leaders and what would happen if they empathized with everyone else, and how it would lead to peace or war. That’s the gist of what happened in the inner circle. I wasn’t really paying attention to the outer circle, but you can replay what happened here.

As for homework:

-TED Talk Blog 8 is due tomorrow (Last one! :)

-Bring your schedules tomorrow, as Smith will be signing them

-Work on your TED Talks! Smith’s plan is for you to work on a strong outline over the weekend that you can practice with. Here is the rubric if you need it.

-Also, if you want to get ahead, read the Meaning chapter of A Whole New Mind

-And remember that Monday we will be talking to Dan Pink in the forum during 2^nd and 3^rd hour, so make sure you tell your teachers you will be gone.

PLC Day

2011-05-04T20:14:00.000-06:00

Today was a PLC day, so you all know what that means... shortended classes. Most of the class was spent talking about our TED talks, as though deadlines are drawing closer. Here are a few key points:

- A 5 minute speech is about 2 pages typed, single spaced.
- By Wednesday, you should have the outline of your speech ready
- Make sure to dress polished, depending on how serious your topic is.
- Ignite vs Pecha Kucha, Ignite is designed to inspire, Pecha Kucha is more straight-forward
- The rubric for the presintation should be posted very soon.

Remember to bring your schedule on Friday if you are going to continue in honors next year.

Homework:
- Read the Drive article "...and the Special Circumstances When They Do"
- Submit Dan Pink Questions
-Work on that TED project!

The Short Class of Wednesday the 4th

2011-05-04T12:57:00.002-06:00

Today class began with a listing of the somewhat complex homework, it consisted of: Reading the "... and the Special Circumstances When They Do", TEDTalk day (watch and do a final blog on a TEDTalk of choice, Submit the Dan Pink question for monday (by tomorrow) and read PLAY AND EMPATHY for the fishbowl tomorrow.

Next we moved on to discussing the TEDTalk oral presentation.
Which was determined to be worth about 10-14% of the overall grade.

In addition appropriate wear was discussed. This means wearing something that suits the presentation you're giving.

NO NOTE CARDS ARE TO BE PERMITTED! The subject you are presenting on must become a part of you so much so that you can talk about it comfortably without cards.

Order is the next piece. Building a persuasive speech which makes sense with the subject is key to this catagory of grading

The presentation needs to be creative and engaging. Though this catagory is subjective, it is easy to see the difference between subjects that are important to the speaker and those that don't. The presentation must also be rehearsed and comfortable which goes back to the no note cards decree.

It was suggested that the speech be rehearsed as many times as possible and by starting with small building incriments that become the entire speech. This means rehearsing the speech in front of people and with mannerisms and hand movements memorized (posture is key!!).

Address and answer what matters in your TEDTalk. Tell the "why" behind your presentation. Either why it is important to you as a person, the audience, or both for that matter.

Make sure you have decided on the visual system you will use, be it Pecha Kucha or Ignite. The type you use determines how the speech flows so be sure to use the slides while presenting. All work must be sited but it doesn't need to be a slide so feel free to print the work sited and bring it in separately.

POST SCRIPT: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM, MARY ANDERSON

12 Days Left Of School!

2011-05-03T18:13:00.000-06:00

As the class opended up today, we got the ball rolling with "Hello Smith!" The majority of class went spent working individually. Wheather you were reading A Whole New Mind, working on your TED, submiting questions to Dan Pink or meeting with Mrs. Smith about your project, there was something to do. Remember, that this is the final push and to finish strong!

Homework:
~TED Talk 7 is due this Wednesday
~Send Dan Pink your questions on the blog by Thursday
~Read A Whole New Mind

Terrific Tuesday!

2011-05-03T12:53:00.000-06:00

Today in class we worked on our Ted Talks, blogs, or questions to Daniel Pink. Smith went around the class and had a one on one conference with all the students about their subject for the final Ted x Talk. If you have not been here you may have to schedule an appointment with Smith during an off hour or after school. Everyone should start to work on the Ted Talk because we only have 11 school days left until the Ted Talk is due.

Homework/Reminders:

Submit Daniel Pink questions by Thursday morning
Blog 7 is due tomorrow
Read A Whole New Mind
Fishbowl for Play and Empathy is on Thursday
All blogs are due by Friday
We will be skyping with Daniel Pink on Monday

Make sure you have talked to your second and third hour teacher to tell them that you will be gone

Don't give up we still have 12 days left keep trucking through!!!:)

Monday! (5/2/11)

2011-05-02T12:42:00.000-06:00

Today was the last regular Monday of Freshmen year English! Two weeks to go! Fifth hour started by discussing the homework (below) then moved into talking about schedules for next year. If you bring your schedules on Friday, Smith will sign your honors card. After all the questions were answered, we watched the Dave Eggers TED Talk. While Dave Egger’s talk was playing, Ms. Smith walked around and talked to us, one-on-one about our TED Talks and thesis statements. Everyone seemed to get lots accomplished. Have a wonderful last few weeks of school everyone!

Reminder: Next Monday we will be Skyping with Daniel Pink during 2 and 3 hour. Make sure to get the work you will be missing ahead of time!

Homework:

· Blog 6 due tomorrow

· Blog 7 due Wednesday

· Blog 8 due Thursday

· Work on TED Talk

· Submit questions to Daniel Pink by Thursday

Dan Pink Question

2011-05-02T08:53:00.001-06:00

Here's the place to post your thoughtful, provoking, and hopefully insightful question to ask Mr. Pink on May 9th. Questions are due by 5/5.

An Easy Scheduling Friday 4/29/11

2011-04-30T17:53:00.000-06:00

Good afternoon everybody!

Today was a very easy day in Mrs. Smith's class. We immediately left the classroom after the bell rang, and meandered over to the forum for a talk about scheduling. While I am not going to post everything covered in that talk, I do think it is important to note that arena scheduling is on May , so you need to have your registration packet completely filled out before then. If it is late, you will register LAST.

Homework includes the following:
Idea/Outline for your very own Ted Talk: Due Monday.
You need to have the following ready to show Mrs. Smith:
Topic for your Ted Talk- Answer the question, "What Matters?"
Topic Sentence Support/Thesis with points.It is recommended that your Ted Talk follows one of these two styles:Ignite: Click HERE for a video on how to give an ignite presentation, or HERE for generic information.Pecha Kucha: Click HERE for a video, or HERE for generic information

Ted Talk #6 (Dave Eggers) needs to be done by Monday. Click HERE.

Thanks Everybody! See you on Monday!

Electrifying Thursday

2011-04-29T14:55:00.000-06:00

Today we had the usual "Hello Smith", although not as loud as normal and started right away on the Symphony Fishbowl. The Topics included, how we use 'negative space' in our own lives, whether or not we are in a 'creative slump', and how colleges look at our grades/activities (how we focus our lives) to discuss whether or not they would accept us. Not at lot of movement into the Inner Circle, come on guys!
Our Homework was to complete our 5th TED Blog, your choice, due Friday. As well as the following to show Smith,
The actual topic for the TED Talk,
It answers the question "What matters?"
A topic sentence
A some details that support the thesis.
Your TED Talk needs to follow one of two styles,
Ignite: Click HERE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRa1IPkBFbg) for a video on how to give an ignite presentation, and HERE (http://igniteboulder.com/speaking/) for some other helpful tips.
Pecha Kucha (Pikachu): Click HERE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NZOt6BkhUg) for a video, and HERE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NZOt6BkhUg) for some Q&A's.
The 6th blog, by Dave Eggers, is due by Monday (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dave_eggers_makes_his_ted_prize_wish_once_upon_a_school.html).
You need to have a basic outline for your speech due by Monday.
We have only 3 blogs left with our TED Talk coming up, so you might want to get a head start on the next two.

That's all and good luck!
Go Warriors!

AWNM Play/Empathy Period 2

2011-04-29T07:00:00.001-06:00

AWNM Play/Empathy Period 2

AWNM Play/Empathy Period 5

2011-04-29T07:00:00.000-06:00

AWNM Play/Empathy Period 5

A Great Day for a Birthday in English Class (4/28/11)

2011-04-28T16:25:00.000-06:00

Guten Tag!
(That's German for Hello)

After a semi-enthusiastic but loud, "Hello Smith," the class got right down to business on our AWNM Symphony fishbowl. The topics ranged from combining classes in school to gender stereotypes. This fishbowl, as always, took up nearly the entire class period.

Homework is as follows:

Ted Talk Blog Response #5: Due tomorrow. This is based on a Ted Talk of your choice.

Ted Talk Blog Response #7: Due Next week.

Idea/Outline for your very own Ted Talk: Due Monday.
You need to have the following ready to show Mrs. Smith:
     Topic for your Ted Talk- Answer the question, "What Matters?"
     Topic Sentence
     Support/Thesis with points.
It is recommended that your Ted Talk follows one of these two styles:
Ignite: Click HERE for a video on how to give an ignite presentation, or HERE for generic information.
Pecha Kucha: Click HERE for a video, or HERE for generic information.

That's All for today!

Thanks to everybody for making it a great birthday for me!

20 Minute Work Time for Period 5

2011-04-27T13:35:00.008-06:00

In Mrs. Smith's period 5 class we greeted our teacher enthusiastically after a couple of tries and then we got down to business. She discussed a few dates with us: April 28 is the chapter six Symphony fishbowl, April 29 we are skipping class to receive our sophomore schedules, on May 2 our TED talk outline is due, and on May 9 our class is skipping our second and third periods to hear Daniel Pink talk (make sure to talk to your teachers beforehand that you won't be attending class).

TED talk outline:

Thesis statement: answers the question "What matters?" and Why?

Bullet points breaking down speech

form: ignite and pecha kucha

REMEMBER:

must answer the question "What matters?"

needs to be an idea worth spreading

5 minutes long (BE SURE THAT IT IS ONLY 5 MINUTES LONG, BECAUSE IF IT GOES OVER, SHE WILL CUT YOU OFF)

20 slides

For homework: you should finish blog 5 (if not already done), and work on Blog 7, make sure to have Symphony read by tomorrow and have insightful questions about the chapter.

Have Fun Buckaroos!

What a Wonderful ACT Wednesday!

2011-04-27T12:06:00.002-06:00

Todays class period was only 23 minutes long! Today in class we had a catch up day, here is what was reccomended:
TED videos: Blog #5 is not due until Friday, however it is highly reccomended that we watch it early since next week #6,#7,#8 are due, since #5, #7, and #8 are done on our own it won't hurt to get a head start.

TED Topic: Our TED talk subjects are due Monnday and we need to have a topic, decide what format we are using(Ignite or Pecha Kucha) and a thesis statement outlining main points of ourtalk.

Read a Whole New Mind: We have a fishbowl on Symphony tomorrow don't forget!!!

Homework: All of the above can be done as homework

English 9 Honors Period 5 4/26/11: Obviously the Best English Period Ever

2011-04-26T19:49:00.001-06:00

After the usual ”hello, Smith”, period 5 began. Smith began the class by asking us to give her feedback on the fishbowl. There were differing opinions on this topic. Some said the inner circle did a better job on the Design topic than the Story topic, others said the opposite. Some said the outer circle was having in-depth debates and were very active, others said they were off-topic and no one came into the inner circle. After that topic was exhausted, the class got to hear about Smith’s Monday. She let her kids sleep in, then they went out to breakfast and she told her kids to bring swimsuits. After the breakfast, they watched Soul Surfer, starring Arapahoe’s own Anna-Sophia Robb, and cried for the duration. Then they went swimming. The next portion of class was dedicated to work time. You could work on the next TED Talk response (due on Friday), your own TED Talk outline (due next Monday or Tuesday), or reading Chapter Six of A Whole New Mind, Symphony (fishbowl on Thursday). And there goes yet another day of English class...

Debrief Tuesday

2011-04-26T19:39:00.000-06:00

Today in Mrs. Smith's 2nd hour class we talked about how yesterday's fishbowl went, and how we can improve on staying to the text of the book and how we can relate it to the world. We also talked about how on Friday we will be going over arena scheduling and how that all works (Mrs. Smith says to get any possible work done by Friday that you need to because you won't want to later).

Homework:

Continue reading A Whole New Mind. Read chapter Symphony by Thursday for the fishbowl.
Prepare topic for TED talk final. Start working on outline due next week. This includes:

Topic sentence that answers "What Matters?" and why
Supporting points to topic
Remember:

Topic answers "What Matters?" and why
Points to support topic
Talk lasts 5 minutes
20 slides using either the Ignite or Pecha Kucha

AWNM Symphony Period 5

2011-04-26T14:02:00.001-06:00

AWNM Symphony Period 5

AWNM Symphony Period 2

2011-04-26T14:01:00.001-06:00

AWNM Symphony Period 2

Fishbowl Tuesday April 26, 2011

2011-04-26T12:34:00.002-06:00

{April 26, 2011}

Today, Smith's English Honors Class held a Fishbowl on the Story section of Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind. Two main guests also participated in this Fishbowl, Margaret Riel of Pepperdine University and my brother Ben. Ms. Smith was not here for the FishBowl, and Ms. Morritz and Mr. Fisch helped run the discussion.

Make sure you get a start on your TED Talk, and keep up on AWNM.

For a link to the Fishbowl Blog, click here.

Have a good week!

Fishbowl Monday

2011-04-25T18:09:00.000-06:00

Today we had a fishbowl on the topic of Story, and the discussion went pretty good until the end, when the inner circle started to go off topic a little bit. Mrs. Smith wasn't here today, so he had Mrs. Moritz there in our class to help guide our discussion.

Homework:

Debrief on class blog on how today's fishbowl went
Keep reading A Whole New Mind
Keep thinking about your TED talk topic for your final!

Friday! (Spring Pep Assembly!)

2011-04-22T14:52:00.001-06:00

This Friday we started off with a “Hello, Smith” as always and got right into our homework.

We need to start thinking of what our TED talk subject will be. Also think of the big picture, while splitting it up. Observe the way the TED talkers we have watched split up their presentation

Read "Story" in A Whole New Mind

Do blog #4 on Clay Shirky’s cognitive surplus. Be creative, think outside the box and think for yourself. Remember just completing it will earn you a Gentelman’s C.

After we talked about our homework, we watched and discussed Clay Shirky’s TED talk on cognitive surplus. His ideas were similar to Daniel Pink’s in the way that they share the belief that emotion beats any economic situation.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Friday in English: 4/22/11

2011-04-22T13:15:00.000-06:00

Today was another class TED Talk Day in English. First Smith talked about our TED blogs. She said that they are getting better, but some people are still being too superficial. You really need to make deep connections and really think analytically just like if you were having a conversation about the topic. Also, most of the blog post should be mostly analysis, not a summary. The rest of the class we watched the Clay Shirky TED Talk.

Homework:

Blog on the Clay Shirky TED Talk
Read “Story” in A Whole New Mind
Be thinking about your TED Talk Topic (deadline for the topic in less than a week!)

What Do Stories Have to Do With Advertising?

2011-04-21T22:42:00.000-06:00

We started off with our usual "Hello Smith" for the second time this week.

The first thing we did was just have a fun "How'd the Boston Marathon go?" talk. We learned that eh ideal running conditions for a marathon are cool temperature (40°-60°) with a good tail wind. Smith's husband had both of these. Since he got such a good qualifying time, he was allowed to start in the first wave of 9,000 out of 27,000 (at around 4,000th place)! By the end of the race he had made his way up to 2,000 and a personal best time (great job!), even though his watch had died at the beginning!

Then we debriefed on the Fishbowl with questions and comments. One of the biggest problems that we had as a class was that we were all way to vague. We kept getting into theoretical discussions that were right out of the big blue sky. We need to keep connecting back to the text and keep things down here on the Earth we all know. In the next discussion it would be a good idea to ask people to connect back to the text, "Where does it say that in AWNM?", so that we do not get so off topic next time. For those of you who have trouble moving into the inner circle, you just need to tell yourself, "I'm going into the inner circle, NOW!", leave your computer and use those limbs you got when you were born! You can always catch up on a blog and insert a comment, but jumping into the conversation 10 minutes after we talked about something is just plain awkward, so just get in there and get your talk in for the day!

Contradictory to other fishbowls, the new guests Eric Grant and Chris Long really spiced things up and brought a whole new level into our fishbowl. They challenged us to be metacognative, thinking about our thinking, and asking us "Why?" we think that way, pressuring us to truly realize what we are learning in itself, and at a deeper level. Their personalities shone through the text, allowing us to genuinely believe that there was another person on the other side of the screen. They showed us that we don't necessarily have to go along with what Daniel Pink says, as there are many views opposing his.

Speaking of opposing views, there is a blog that we are highly encouraged to read at http://weblogg-ed.com/2011/and-what-do-you-mean-by-learning/ (courtesy of Mr. Fisch!), in which the blog itself, and references to Gary Stager, who make convey many ideas on learning, knowledge, and application of knowledge. Feel free to email/blog to Mr. Stager about different views of A Whole New Mind, and he will very likely get back to you as explained by Smith.

Then Smith explained that if you have below a B, it will be very likely that you do not move into honors next year. If you have below a B and WANT TO move on into honors, or if you have an A or a B and DO NOT want to move into honors, you need to talk to Smith ASAP as time is ticking and space is limited for all students. For those of you who do not choose to move into honors next year, it does not stop you from getting back on into the honors track by auditioning at the end of your Sophomore year.

After all of these things, Smith explained the next chapter of A Whole New Mind (Chapter 5, Story), and how telling stories has become a rapidly popular advertising technique. We looked at several examples of these amazing products and some are ones we use everyday like ceral and milk:

Honey Bunches of Oats
Vitamin Water
Chipotle
Organic Valley

We were then given the rest of class to work on our TED Talks or read "Story", which are both due by Monday. The TED Talk can be found here: http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cognitive_surplus_will_change_the_world.html. Keep thinking about your TED Topic, as you need to know what your subject will be on by the 2nd or the 3rd of May, you've got until about May 2nd or 3rd, but you'll be working on the Talk itself for a lot longer, so don't wait and pick something that does not matter very much to you, and keep your eyes open!

Good luck to all of you! -Greg M.