Lisa Bijit

Response to Literature Writing Assignment

DUE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19

The response to literature should talk about why the author decided on the literary elements he put into the story. It should not be a summary of what happened in the story.

Structure

First paragraph - Introductory (setting and mood of the story)

Second paragraph - characterization (WHY did the author make the eldest brother smart? Why did the author make the second eldest brother strong? What was he trying to say about those characteristics in relation to the theme?) Write about :

• the king
  the wizard
  the cobbler
  each of the three brothers

Third paragraph - conflict. Tell which type of conflict it is using the literary terms given out in class Download literary_terms.doc . Then discuss how the conflict was resolved. How does this fit into the theme of the story?

Fourth paragraph - theme. What is the moral of the story - what was the author trying to teach the reader?

Fifth - opinion. Did you think this was a good story? What was your favorite part? What questions did you have about the story after you read it? Did you learn anything from the story?

Expository Essay - Problem/Solution

Due Monday, March 3rd

 DOWNLOADS

Essay Structure: Download writing_format.doc

Topics: Download topics_for_problem.doc

Gates Foundation Report on High School Drop Outs: Download TheSilentEpidemic3-06FINAL.pdf

MetLife Report on High School Drop Outs: Download highcost1.pdf

Overpopulation Links: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/kas/kas_01overpopulation.html

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/eye/overpopulation/overpopulation.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/3560433.stm

Download un_population_bomb.doc

Obesity Links:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/obesity/DS00314/DSECTION=2

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/index.htm

http://www.healthiergeneration.org/default.aspx

Transitions for Compare/Contrast Essay

Transitions for Compare/Contrast Essay

Transitions for Similarity
similarly
likewise
equally
in the same way
in addition
also
too

Transitions for Contrast
but
however
on the contrary
on the other hand
while
whereas
in contrast

Structure for Compare/Contrast Essay

Topic: Compare and contrast Aztec and Mayan cultures

First paragraph - hook and thesis statement (hook and thesis should be more than one sentence)

Second paragraph - Major cities in Aztec/Mayan culture

Third paragraph - Societal similarities and differences

Fourth paragraph - Religious similarities and differences

Fifth paragraph - Concluding

Mayan Notes

Pok-a-Tok is a game similar to soccer that Mayans played to the death.

The Maya deserted their cities because they didn't have enough resources to sustain themselves as a civilization.

A Catholic priest burned the Mayan history and religious text to force them into Christianity.

The Mayans knowledge of astronomy was so accurate that they could predict eclipses and other astronomical events within 33 seconds.

Mayans predicted the end of this world to be December 23, 2012.

They believed that the soul resides in the blood, therefore, if you give some of your blood in sacrifice to a god that is the highest honor. This practice made it easier for them to except Christianity because of the talk of the "Blood of Christ."

Cenotes were wells were the Mayans would throw tributes of gold and jade to the gods. A sacred well in Chichen Itza had skeletons of sacrificial volunteers. They believed that well sacrifice led them directly to heaven.

We're losing the Mayan culture because acid rain is wearing away the building facades (outsides). Also looters are taking pieces of the building to sell to tourists.

Tikal was the largest city in the Mayan empire (200,000 citizens). The Mayans had city-states each with a ruler. They fought with other city-states in their area, but preferred not to war until necessary.

Aztec Notes

Aztec notes for compare/contrast essay Download Aztecnotes.doc

Hooks for Expository Writing

Write hooks for each of the categories below. Remember that a hook is an interesting fact that will hook the reader into reading your paper and should be one or two sentences long.

Aztec Hook Categories:  1) Calendar, 2) Religion (human sacrifices), 3) Writing system, 4) Trading/barter system, 5) Wowerful culture (warriors), 6) City built on a lake.

Aztec Notes from video clips:

• Writing system consisted of illustrations much like a picture book.
• Marketplace in the center of the city where citizens traded goods and food by bartering because the Aztec had no money system.
• Religion was the focus of Aztec life and centered on human sacrifice because the Aztec believed the gods fed on human blood and hearts.
• The Spaniards estimated that the Aztec sacrificed 30,000 people per year. The sacrifices were mainly captured warriors, but a few were volunteers who were treated with honor until they were sacrificed.
• The Aztec had two calendars - one solar calendar and one religious calendar. These calendars rotate together and begin at the same time every 52 years. Every 52 years when the calendars coincide the Aztec believe something momentous will happen.
• Cortes landed in a year where the Aztec were waiting for a momentous event. This lead them to assume Cortes as a god.

Pronoun Writing Assignment

At the end of essay assignments, I try to find something fun for the students to do. We've worked on critical thinking skills using "crime stories" after the last two essays. For this past critical thinking packet, I added a pronoun writing assignment.

Students are to write a short paper telling me who they think committed the crime - the theft of a dog named Snowball. They are to use evidence from the packet to support their theory. To tie in to the pronoun unit, I asked that the students underline and label pronouns in their writing. I required the following:

5 personal pronouns, to be labeled "P"
3 possessive pronouns, to be labeled "PS"
3 interrogative pronouns, to be labeled "IT"
5 indefinite pronouns, to be labeled "ID"
3 demonstrative pronouns, to be labeled "D"

The writing is to be double spaced with the labeled pronouns above the pronoun.

Persuasive Project

    The Persuasive Project will take the propaganda techniques that we went over in class and let the students put them to use. Students will be working in groups with the option of working alone if they choose. Groups will form a band. They will first come up with a band name and logo. Next, they need to plan a concert tour. For sale on the tour will be bumper stickers, T-shirts, and CDs. All three should have the band name and logo and all should have the same colors. The tour bus should also be decorated in the same colors and have the band's name on it. A sheet for tour dates is in the packet along with a sheet to write down the miles from one city to the next. Students should go onto mapquest to find the mileage and log it on the sheet. There is a math trivia sheet that needs to be completed for a grade that uses the mileage sheet. The packet includes a music survey that one person in the group can complete. All members of the group need to complete a "superstar fact sheet."

All of the above will be one grade broken down as follows:

Logo - bumper sticker (5 pts.), T-shirt (5 pts.), tour bus (5 pts), CD cover (5 pts.) - total 70 pts.
the graphic must cover the entire surface and have something to do with the group name, include the logo, and be in the same colors. NO MARKERS, use colored pencils.

Tour dates - need to be in logical order (5 pts.), the tour needs to start in one region and continue to another region (5 pts.)

Mileage sheet - cities must be in correct order of tour dates, miles between cities must be listed and correct (5 pts.)

Math Trivia - complete and correct (5 pts.)

Music Survey - completed (5 pts.)

All "Superstar Fact Sheet" and cover page needs to be completed (5 pts.)

TOTAL = 100 PTS.

The completed project is due Tuesday, November 27th.

Persuasive Essay

Persuasive Essay Phase 1 Instructions Download Checklist.doc

Persuasive Essay Topics Download persuasive_essay_topics.doc    

The persuasive essay teaches a student how to see both sides of an issue, but to slant their writing toward their own personal viewpoint. The essay must be in third person (the use of "I", "me", "my", "you", and "they" is forbidden).  A list of six topics can be found above along with the direcitons given out in class.

Phase 1 - November 9th
Choose a topic
Decide on your position
Write a thesis statement
Write a hook

Phase 2 - November 12th - 14th
Prewrite three supporting details/examples for your position
Prewrite what an opponent to your position would say
Prewrite a counter-argument to the opposition

Phase 3 - November 15th - 16th
Write your rough draft

Phase 4 - November 19th
Hand in typed/handwritten final draft

Structure of paper:

1st Paragraph
Start with a hook (an interesting fact about your topic that is 1 or 2 sentences), a topic sentence (starts with "Research has shown", or "Experts feel" and states your opinion. ex: Research has shown that violent videogames desensitize students to violence in society.) Elaborate on the topic sentence (ex: When students are desensitized to violence in society, they can bring violence into schools making the school environment dangerous.)

2nd paragraph
The paragraph should be on one supporting detail to your topic with a counter-argument and an answer to the counter-argument.
(ex: Many students spend long hours in front of the television playing videogames. This takes time away from outdoor activities and can contribute to obesity in adolescents. Opponents of this view state that obesity is due to bad food choices at school and snacking at home not inactivity in front of the television. However, research has shown that the adolescents today spend 45% more time indoors than 10 years ago. The obesity level has risen according to this decline in outdoor activity.)

3rd and 4th paragraph
Repeat the structure in the 2nd paragraph

5th paragraph (concluding paragraph)
Start with a concluding transition (As you can see, or In conclusion, or For these reasons) and make your final statement. (Limiting or eliminating the time spent playing violent videogames will make the school environment safer. Students will feel more empathy for their classmates and have a more positive attitude toward society in general.)