Friday, June 13, 2008

Finals

After groups presented I asked my period three class to write about what they felt they learned this year. These are excerpts from their writing. Period five highlights will be posted Monday after their final.
  • I've learned that technology is my friend not my enemy, especially when it comes to my English class.
  • What I learned about myself is that I need to stop being so lazy and get my priorities done or I will not be so successful in life.
  • I think that this class has helped me a lot in [writing] though, because of the writing groups.
  • I think that it was a very help full way to get us interested back into class and well personally I think that it made me want to come to class.
  • I've learned that literature is a lot more interesting than I thought.
  • In this class we have read a few good books.
  • After a while it became very easy and comfortable for me to write essays.
  • Lastly I learned that sometimes you really don't know why things are they just are. So shut up and do your work. :D
  • I feel like you, Mrs. Roberts have helped me mature in that way and helped prove to me that I can do it just as long as I give it a try.
  • I learned the you have to work hard in order to be successful.
  • I got to read a good book The Great Gatsby and really bring out my ability to write a some what good paper and to have fun in this class.
  • I never thought I could stand up in front of a whole bunch of students and speak to them and give a presentation to them. The idea of doing that frighten me so much and it still does, but not as much as before.
  • I learned that if you try hard you can accomplish things. Especially if your teacher is cool and lets you turn in work late even for partial credit. I learned that I can do more work when I'm on a computer. So using these computers have been helping me get a way better grade than what I think I would of gotten. I liked working in the group it was fun.
  • When I would have a bad start in school this was the class I would look forward to all the time. I'm going to miss this class a lot and thats pretty much it.
  • I have been through a lot but I'm sure this is just a preparation for the rest of my life, so I'm willing to go at another rough round and learn from a lot of mistakes. And school its a great place, yeah its boring sometimes but I guess we can learn a lot from it, duh its school but yeah I wish it wouldn't end that fast.
  • This class has been so fun and interesting to me that it just made me want to learn more and actually come to class.
  • I never would have thought I could be a technologists for a group, but I actually did a damn good job at it if I do say so myself.
  • When I herd my friend Jesus talk about her I thought that teachers like her aren't true. Miss. Roberts has earned her spot on my top 10 favorite teachers. She earned spot number 5.
  • Well this year I learned that school does not have to be hard as long as you do all your work, and that I can accomplish what ever I put my mind to.
  • Through out this year I noticed that just being mediocre isn't enough, it's about putting a high standard for others to try to reach. Being in this class I also started to like writing a little bit more and the books and stories we read in class were really enjoyable.
  • When people look at your writing they get an idea to who you are and how you think.
  • I've also learned that I'm better at computers than I thought.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Readings on Water Shortages

Four articles about water shortages. Read one and post your reply to your blog.
  1. Dawn of a thirsty century
  2. Drought declared in California
  3. Worldwide Water Shortage On Horizon
  4. Not all wet
Mystery words: Which one goes with your topic?
  1. Methane
  2. Nitrogen prices
  3. Desalination
  4. Richard Reid
One possible solution to food shortages is the introduction of genetically modified crops. There are arguments for and against this possibility. Explore the issue and inform yourself at Harvest of Fear, a PBS site.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Thursday 6/5

Do you know which word(s) go with your topic? If not you have more work to do.
  1. Earth Liberation Front
  2. John Howard (hint: he's a politician)
  3. Haiti
  4. Hamas
  5. Delta Smelt
Work on your research and your presentations today. Don't forget to check the link to the Presentation Guidelines under Links You Can Use.

Readings on Terrorism

Today's task:
1. Read one of the articles linked below.
2. Write a post about it on your blog. (Include: Full title, what it said, what it relates to and what you think.)

  1. Terrorism RESEARCH

  2. Patriot Act draws privacy concerns

  3. International security chiefs meet in Jerusalem to discuss counterterrorism
  4. Pentagon: Suspected Mastermind of USS Cole Bombing Confesses

One more thing:
  • Guantanamo
  • Kyoto
  • Rome
  • Atlanta
One of these places relates to the topic your group is studying. If you don't know which one then you have a lot more research to do.