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.

Visual Mataphors of Civil Disobedience

Today you will create / draw a visual metaphor to show how the thinking of Emerson, Thoreau, Gandhi and King are connected.  I drew an example on the board. You need to come up with your own.  I will explain more in class.

Following the train of thought...

  If you've been with us you should know by now what Emerson said in "Self Reliance", and what Thoreau said in "Civil Disobedience". Today we will see their thinking magnified by Mohandas K. Gandhi.

 You know that America was once one of many British colonies. India was also a British colony. In the 1930's Gandhi used his ideas about civil disobedience, his word was satyagraha, to help free India from British rule.

Today we will read a short excerpt from his speech on Civil Disobedience if you would like to read the full text you can find it here.

There is a copy of the text in your shared folder to read with your group. Only use the link above if for some reason you can not access the text in docs.

Writing about "Self Reliance"

So we spent two days reading and "discussing" Emerson in groups. Today you are on your own. You will probably need to open your copy of Self Reliance in Google docs, but do not use the chat window today. (I'll be watching.)

Open in docs:

• Your English Journal
• Your copy of Self Reliance (Do not open the chat window. Yes, I am repeating myself.)

Then do all six below. Work quickly, but be sure to explain your choices well.

1. Choose your favorite line from Self Reliance. Paste it into your EJ and write about what it means and why it is your favorite.
2. Chose a line from Self Reliance that you would quote while arguing with someone. Paste it into your EJ and write about what it means and why you would use it.
3. Choose a line from Self Reliance that you think people should pay attention to today. Paste it into your EJ and write about what it means and why people should pay attention to it today.
4. Choose a line from Self Reliance that you think is the most poetic. Paste it into your EJ and write about what it means and why you think it is poetic.
5. Choose a line from Self Reliance that you disagree with. Paste it into your EJ and write about what it means and why you disagree.
6. Explain in your own words what Emerson's point is in his essay. What are his big ideas? What is his advice to people?

Following the thought train

So yesterday Blogger was having technical issues and would not show me a login screen.  This is the post I would have put up for you yesterday if I had been able to. Through the magic of tiny URL we were still able to read and discuss the text.

Keep in mind some of the questions that came up in our conversation.

1. Does Civil Disobedience always work? 
2. Why does it work? 
3. When does it work? 
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Civil Disobedience? 
5. How does what Gandhi says in his first paragraph compare to what Obama says about Afghanistan? 

Good Morning, (Monday)
   If you've been with us you should know by now what Emerson said in Self Reliance, and what Thoreau said in Civil Disobedience. Today we will see their thinking magnified by Mohandas K. Gandhi.

 You know that America was once one of many British colonies. India was also a British colony. In the 1930's Gandhi used his ideas about civil disobedience, his word was satyagraha, to help free India from British rule.

Today we will read a short excerpt from his speech on Civil Disobedience if you would like to read the full text you can find it here.

Emerson Round Two

Good morning,

Lets go through Self Reliance again. Our excerpt is not long but it is dense in ideas and vocabulary. Remember our goal is to be able to explain what Emerson is saying.

Now copy and paste this section into your English journal. Explain Emerson's point in this section. Then give your opinion about his point. (Remember, explanation first and opinion second.)

"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude..."

Important! Tomorrow! Thursday 12/3  We (ok, I mean YOU) take our second in class essay assessment. It is a part of your grade.  You will have to read, understand and explain what someone else wrote and then give your opinion.  Take a look at the RUBRIC I have to use to score those.

Emerson

Good morning,
Have you thought about that question I gave you yesterday, "How do you decide what is right and what is wrong?"
There is a poll on the right. Please vote so we can see what influences us as a group.

Today we read excerpts from "Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  The entire text of this essay is quite long, but I am providing a link in case you want to see more.  (Your textbook has these same excerpts.)

Grading Essays and Exploring Right and Wrong

Good morning,
I hope you all had a wonderful week off.  Today we have two things to accomplish. The first is to self grade your Crucible Essay on a rubric I will give you. The second is a longer entry in your English Journal.

1. Open your Crucible essay in google docs. Re-read what you have and look carefully at the rubric I just gave you. Circle or highlight the squares on the rubric that you think most accurately describe your paper. I will collect your rubric in a few minutes.

2. English journal entry. Write an extended entry in your English journal about the question below. The point is to really explore who you are about this. Give examples from your life too.

How do you decide what is right and what is wrong?