Fri. Nov. 29 Presentation and Test prep

Today, we watched the last scheduled presentation. If you haven't presented, we will see you at lunch on Monday. Also, I explained the exam (25 M.C. questions and a choice of four questions to answer just one of as an essay). If you were not here, speak to classmates for notes.

Thurs. Nov. 28 Presentations

Today, students presented their research presentation. We have one more to do tomorrow. I will then give you information for Monday's exam.

Wed. Nov. 27 Research Presentation

Today, you were given your last class to create your research presentation. We will start to show them tomorrow. If all goes as planned, you will have your Night exam on Friday.

Tues. Nov. 26 Research Paper Test

Today, you worked on your research presentation which should be ready to show on Thursday, November 28. If all goes as planned, you shuld be writing your test for this unit (the novel Night) on Friday, November 29. The test will be a written response and multipole choice comprehension questions. If the presentations are not all seen on Thursday, the test could be bumpted to Monday.

Mon. Nov. 25 Research project

Today, you completed the "Tell it from Me" survey and then still had forty minutes to work on your presentation, which is to be ready to show on Thursday, Nov. 28.

Fri. Nov. 22 Research project

Today, you worked on your research presentation for Thursday.
I added a "wikipedia citation" to your "works cited" list. Do it as explained below:

Title of info. "Wikipedia." Wikimedia Foundation, date last modified. Web. Date you were on it.

So....
Rwanda. "Wikipedia." Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.

Thurs. Nov. 21 Research Paper work class

Today, you worked with your partner on your research paper. You will have until Thursday to show this to us as we will be involved in a survey on Monday that will cut into your time.

Wed. Nov. 20 Research Presentation

Today, you continued to work on your research presentation. It was supposed to be ready for presentation on Wednesday of next week but, due to a survey you have to fill in on Monday, you will have until Thursday to show.

Tues. Nov. 19 Research Paper

Today, we discussed what is meant by "Justice." We did a google search, found information, and cited it correctly as shown below:

Justice

According to Wikipedia, justice is “concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, equity and fairness…[Wiki].”

Moral means a set of standards indicating what is right and what is wrong. They can be internal or external in their development.

Injustice, simply put, means “unfair.”

I then handed out your majore assignment for this section. I have pasted the information below. Keep in mind that the presentation date is Wednesday, November 27. The students formed groups today and many picked the situation they want to examine. It is a first-come-gets-it format so you MUST see me before you start working on this.

B30

Visual/Multimedia Presentation

 

Through our understanding of the past, we can make changes to the present and to the future. It just takes thoughtful reflection, a true understanding of all aspects of the human condition, and the ability to see ourselves for what we are and what we are capable of – either in the positive or the negative.

 

Assignment:

 

Using the United Nations Definition of Genocide, research a situation that can be defined as such. My only condition here is that it must be a 20^th or 21^st century incident.

 

You are to:

·          define the situation

·         provide the expository and context (history)

·         provide at least one first person account of the situation

·         create a Powerpoint which provides visuals to reinforce your text and to support your assertions, but DOES NOT state everything you are saying. Its purpose is to expand, not to repeat

·         explain how the situation you are presenting is defined as Genocide

·         demonstrate how the situation could have been avoided, minimized, or stopped at the time.

·          Show how we can benefit from the knowledge you have provided by connecting it to the world today.

·         Cite all sources as indicated in the “Plagiarism” handout I provided you already.

·         Provide me with a copy of your written work and “Works Cited” page.

 

You will be given five class days to complete this task.

You may work in groups of two or three (maximum).

Your presentation should be ten to fifteen minutes in length

You cannot present on the Holocaust or Rwanda

 

You will be marked on:

·         Organization (presenting information in a logical, interesting sequence which the audience can follow).

·         Content Knowledge (knowledge of incident with explanations and elaboration)

·         Visuals (visuals used to reinforce the text and enhance the presentation)

·         Mechanics (no misspellings or grammatical errors either in Powerpoint or in written report)

·         Delivery (used a clear voice; correct, precise pronunciation of terms; used body language effectively; maintained eye contact with audience)

·         Overall presentation (showed knowledge, made a convincing case, demonstrated empathy for subject matter, engaged the audience, creatively displayed information

 

Check out: www.wikisummarizer.com/Page/Default.aspx for web search

Mon. Nov. 18 Night themes genocide

Today, I finished off discussing the "power of evil" theme in Night. I then showed you a Powerpoint on genocide, the conditions that are necessary to arrive at the defined act, and preventions that could work under various circumstances. If you were not here, look this information up on line as there is lots out there.
I am giving you this information in preparation of your reseach presentation, which I will hand out tomorrow.

Fri. Nov. 15 Night Themes

Today, you did a timed writing on how Elie changed during the course of the novel.
I then gave you notes on the themes of Night. The main one addressed was "Man's inhumanity against man." The minor ones addressed were "night", "faith", and "the power of evil." If you were not here, you will need to do a net search to locate these.

Thurs. Nov. 14 Night question completion

Today, we marked questions 60 to 80 as a class in order to ensure that we are all citing properly. For the rest of the class, you were to finish up the questions to the end of the novel. They are due tomorrow.

Wed. Nov. 13 Night final chapter

Today, you were to hand in all the Night answers up to and including 97 (questions 1 and 2). I then gave you the rest of the questions that will take you through to the end of the text. You are to have it read and the questions answered for tomorrow's class.

Tues. Nov. 12 Citation info

Today, I handed out a booklet on citation (how to do it correctly) and we read/highlighted and discussed the information. I then handed you back your last set of Night answers in order for you to correct the citation problems. By the start of class tomorrow, you need to have handed in all questions including answers 1-3 of pages 85 to 97.

Thurs. Nov. 7 & Fri. Nov. 8 Night 66-84

Today, you were to hand in your questions for pages 47-65 of the novel Night (I will still accept them tomorrow as some were missing on Monday/Tuesday and need catch-up time). You are to hand them in whether we have a class officially or not (if I am not in the room, slide them under the door. It will be locked so they will be secure).

I then discussed your answers to pages 23-28 to reinforce expections.

You were then instructed to read pages 66-84 and answer the questions I provided (mislabled as pages 63-80). These questions are due on Tuesday.

For Friday, you are to read pages 85-97 and answer the questions for this chapter (they were also handed out on Thursday and are due on Tuesday).

Wed. Nov. 6 Active Reading Review & Chpt 4 read

Today, you were given the following timed (10 mins.) activity:

What are the seven steps to reading actively? Which ones cannot be done in a text but should be completed on a separate sheet of paper?

 

We then discussed these, tweaking them to make them more relevant for your independent novel study as well as for texts that are not printed out (so you can't mark them up). The list we came up with is as follows:

Steps to Active Reading

1. Analyze the title (write it down: add one or two words to describe what it might mean).

2 Highlights or write down the five Ws, unknown words and allusions and then define them in your own words.

3. Paraphrase in a couple of words what you are reading after each paragraph or sequence of events.

4. Once done reading, summarize the text you read in three sentences.

5. Determine what the topic is and write it down.

6. Determine what the purpose is and write it down.

7. Come up with five questions that were not answered in this text.

Students then handed in their answers for chapter 3 (pages 29-47) and were given the questions to answer for this chapter (pages 47-65) for tomorrow.

Tues. Nov. 5 Chapter 4 and 3 (questions)

Today, I handed back your chapter one questions for Night. I reminded you to really check to make sure you are answering the question asked. I then handed out the chapter three questions for you to complete. You are also to finish reading chapter four for tomorrow (pages 47-65).

Mon. Nov. 4 Dehumanization

Today, you handed in your commas worksheet. You then wrote a five minute timed activity in which you addressed the following: What examples of dehumanization at work are present in the first three chapters of this novel?"
We then discussed the answers.
Our discussion led to the following examples:

Dehumanization in Night

 ·                     Ghettos (crowded, disease, hygiene issues, clean water).

·                     Losing wealth (means lack of food, lack of soap, shampoo, health care).
·                     Separated by gender (destruction of family units, societal connections).
·                     Cattle-cars (animal transportation!!!!; less than proper animal space and sanitary conditions)
·                     Shot like dogs (similes to animals take away the sense of man).
·                     Wear something that identifies a group.
·                     Curfew
·                     Tattoo of number (no name)
·                     Shaving off hair
·                     Clothing
·                     Beaten without consequence
I also handed you a list of glossary terms found in Chapters One to Three, which we discussed.
The students also handed in their Chapter Two answers.

Fri. Nov. 1 Night Chpt 2 and 3

Today, you handed in your active reading activity for Chapter Two of the novel Night. You then wrote a summary on the chapter (10 minutes).
I then handed out questions for Chapter Two, stressing that you need to write down the place you found the information (unless it is very general).
Finally, you weekend assignment is to read Chapter Three (pages 29-46).