Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Lots to get done soon

Good morning,

We will read at the bell.

Yesterday you met with your writing groups to share the draft of your Civil Disobedience essay.  You should have a complete draft by now.  I will assign draft grades today.

The final draft of your Civil Disobedience essay is due on Friday 3/1.  I will grade it in Google Docs so be sure it is shared with me.  You must use MLA format and your paper should look as good as it would if you were printing it out. (Turning in work online is not an excuse for turning in sloppy or incomplete work.)

Your two book reviews are due Friday 3/8.  Write them in GoodReads and use the Book Reviews tab above to send me the links to your reviews.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Starting on your essays...

Good morning,

We are reading at the bell.

I want to give you time to begin drafting, but first lets take a look at some of the evidence that you suggested yesterday.

YOUR SUGGESTED EVIDENCE

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Collecting Quotes


Good morning,

We will read at the bell.

On Tuesday I briefly introduced you to your next writing process prompt.   ESSAY PROMPT

To support your writing process you will need lots of evidence from the writings of Emerson, Thoreau, Gandhi and King.  Today we will work on gathering that evidence.  You will all contribute quotes and commentary about them and you will all be able to use the results of today to help you write your essay.

Use THIS FORM to get started.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Finishing Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Good morning,

Today is the last day we will spend on the Letter from Birmingham Jail.  If you haven't already finished reading the rest of it you will need to do that and respond to the questions on THIS FORM.

You may work alone or with a partner.  Your answers will be graded.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Health Survey and Process Prompt

Good morning,

Today you will be taking the California Healthy Kids Survey and then we will discuss the process prompt for your next writing assignment.  We call this a process piece because you will work on it over multiple drafts. We will also work together, starting tomorrow, to create some shared resources that will help you with the essay.

Essay Prompt 

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Letter From a Birmingham Jail

attribution: National Archives
Good morning,

We will read at the bell.

When your computer is ready please go to your view only folder and find the document called Letter From a Birmingham Jail.  Make your own copy. (Add period number and your name to the title.) Please share your copy with me.

We will read through this today.  Today we are looking to understand what Dr. King is writing about. Later we will look again at the structure and logic of his thinking.

Monday, February 11, 2013

A Stride Toward Freedom


 We have seen how Thoreau's ideas on civil disobedience influenced Gandhi. Today we will see how those ideas were used during the American civil rights movement.
"Prior to reading Gandhi, I had about concluded that the ethics of Jesus were only effective in individual relationships. The "turn the other cheek" philosophy and the "love your enemies" philosophy were only valid, I felt, when individuals were in conflict with other individuals; when racial groups and nations were in conflict a more realistic approach seemed necessary. But after reading Gandhi, I saw how utterly mistaken I was."  -MLK

We will read an excerpt from Stride Toward Freedom by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. You will work with a partner to read the text and answer the questions on this form about what you read.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Learning from Gandhi

Good morning,

We will read at the bell and then your will need your English Journal.

Yesterday you read the words of Mohandas K. Gandhi to understand his perspective on non-violent resistance. Today we will watch some clips from a film about his life. You will need your English Journal to write about what you see and think after each segment that I show you.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Examples of Civil Disobedience

Good morning,

We will read at the bell.

We have been reading Thoreau in detail to learn about his concept of civil disobedience. As you know this is a huge part of what makes America the country that it is today, but did you realize how often civil disobedience is still happening? 

Below are five examples of situations that may or may not be forms of civil disobedience. Alone or with a partner, please review all five articles. Then choose three that you would like to write about.


UC Fee Hikes
Cindy Sheehan
Nuns Arrested
Blue Shield
Seattle Teachers

Use this form to explain the details of the situations you read about and also to explain why you think they are or are not examples of civil disobedience.