Friday, March 2, 2012

Exposition & The 5 Paragraph Essay...

Hey STEaM Team,

      Nonfiction, perhaps more than any other type of writing, requires that you read critically.  Make judgements about what seems accurate, biased, or just plain wrong when reading a news storyor an editorial.  Try to discover a writer's intention when reading. 
The desire to know what's happening and what people think about it is a powerful motive for readers.        EXPOSITORY NONFICTION is factual and informative nonfiction writing.  Articles, news stories, and editorials are expository nonfiction.  You probably read some factual and informative writing every day, either on the internet or in a newspaper or magazine. 

    One Teacher's Perspective on Expository Writing. 




    Everything You Need to Know About Your Paper


    Additional Resource on THESIS! 

   We will be doing a collective note taking activity to gain a collective understanding of 3 things: Expository Writing, 5 Section Essays, and Thesis Statements.  For our next session together please bring an article or piece of text you have found that pertains to your space topic.  You will need a piece of text to participate in the Quality Circle Written Discussion. 
Sincerely,
C
From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

HIGH FIVE THESIS DAY...


Hey Guys and Gals,

      Check out some of these videos on writing a thesis statement!  Remember, your thesis is due today.  I will try to give you as much time as I can today.  If you're finished with your thesis, print it off (so i can write on it), and hand it in.  DO NOT LEAVE CLASS WITHOUT SEEING THAT I HAVE CHECKED YOU OFF!!



All you need to know about your papers! OUTSTANDING!

Also Great Video on Thesis


C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Conferring and Paragraph Mapping...




Happy Camel Day Y'all,

      Some kind of thesis is due on Friday of this week.  I keep beating this thing called "THESIS" into your noggins, but I promise you it will never go away.  A thesis is the anchor of your papers.  You should all probably know by now that it comes at the end of your introductory paragraph.  If you haven't thought of one or need help, ASK!!!

      Today in class I will be pulling strategy groups with the debators.  I will also be conferring with students who need to meet with me.  In CORE 1 I have a confernece set up with Luke, Max, and Jacob.  In CORE 2 I want to meet with Maya, Andrew, Beth, and Colin.  In CORE 3 I want to meet with Savannah, Antonio, and Dustin.  This is my conference schedule today and I am open for more. 

      To wrap up, there are two modules we have been working on recently:  PERFECT PARAGRAPH, PARAPHRASING, and PARAGRAPH MAPPING & QUALITY CIRCLES and COLLABORATIVE STUDY.  If you haven't finished those... YOU NEED TO!  One more thing: we will be using some form of British Parlimentary Debate style for our debates next Friday.  To start our class, please fill out one quick sheet of Cornell Notes based on the video below. 

BP Debate Style

Yours Truly,
C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Debate Groups At This Point...

Dear 8th Graders,

      This will be the second blog post today.  Below you will find the debate groups from ALL CORE CLASSES...

Debate Topic 10:  Domenic, Ben G, Jackson, Julio, Jason, Charlie Ho, Caitlin, Erik, Seth, Owen, Dustin, Karin, Antonio, Madison, Angie, Kris, Connor

Debate Topic 11:  Maya, Sam J, Colin, Beth, Shawn Ge, Dillon, Livi

Debate Topic 12: Ethan, Jeremy, Nick, Riley, Kristjan, Keegan

Debate Topic 13: Charlie, Nate, Brooke, Danny, Savannah, Charles

      A note on debate groups.  The turn out for the debates does not seem to warrant 4 separate debate topics.  Therefore there may be mix matched teams.  We may just be forced to debate within the perspectives of Britain vs. American Colonies. 

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Do I have a Thesis? How About a Quality Circle Team to Help...

Good Day Youngsters,

      Watch this video before reading the rest of the blog.  THIS IS YOUR PRIOITY FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK! 

   
      Think about this now that you have watched the video...  How do you think you are preparing to meet this learning target?  This learning target will keep popping up from now tothe end of your projects.
Writing in Social Studies
I can develop a thesis, support with multiple forms of evidence, and provide analysis with an explanation in written form.


      The class time today will be for you to complete a module and work on you writing projects.  Those of you debating, you need to write a constructive speech (your opening remarks).  Those of you who chose a different project You know you have a paper to write to accompany your reading and research.  Good luck.  You're all great.  Below you will find the bread brumb trail to the module for today. 
Hist Lit - Exp Col Am Rev - Go Public - Quality Circles & Collaborative Study

Sincerely,
C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Monday, February 27, 2012

Over the Weekend...


My buddy Bo looking for carrots. 

Brushing his butt after a great training session.
 (He almost bucked me off right before this.)
I'll let you guys make your own inferences as to what I did this weekend. 

Have a great class!

Debate Teams and QUALITY CIRCLES...


Good Day Almost Freshies,

      Happy Monday and welcome back from a long weekend.  Doesn't it feel great to take a few more days to breath!?  We have three things on our agenda today so buckle up...         

1.  We need to figure out how many debators are in each group.  Depending on how many we have we may have to combine groups or (if it works out well) we could have one person from each article on each team so that each team will have a constructive speech for each piece of text.  Yowza!!
10A&B    11A&B    12A&B    13A&B

2.  We have a One-Page-Wonder to read quickly and an activity called "WRITTEN DISCUSSION".  This activity will prepare us for QUALITY CIRCLES. Quality Circles are like study groups that can serve many purposes, overcome challenges, and resolve issues. 
Note: I will lead you through this as quickly as I can to give the remainder of class to you
LEARNING TARGET:
Reading & Media in History
Identify main ideas, analyze supporting details, and evaluate inferences within discipline specific readings.




3.  Work time: this last item on the agenda is FOR YOU TO LEAD!!  This is time to read.  This is time to think.  This is time to write.  This is time to organize notes.  This is time to organize nuggets. 
Note:  You should use this time to find MAIN IDEAS and think about your OPINIONS.  Main Ideas and OPINIONS will lead to your thesis!!  Pay attention to your thoughts. 
LEARNING TARGET:
Writing in History
Develop a thesis, support with multiple forms of evidence, and provide analysis with an explanation in written form.


Yours Truly,
C
P.S. Have I already said you need to pay attention to your thoughts? 
I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand. 
Do your best and forget the rest!!




From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Quote from Krohn...

See the possibilities
Seize the opportunities
-Mr. Ryan Krohn

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Do you have a Thesis? What exactly is a THESIS?

What up Almost Freshies!?

      Below you will find 3 checklists that will help guide you through your work today.  STEaM time is a little different than the last few days so all of you should have at least decided on a project idea. 
 
COMPARATIVE LITERARY ANALYSIS

During Work Time I Can…
Identify Title of my book____________________
Identify THEME of Interest__________________
Progress in my thinking within Book
Review a Section of Book
Connect Outside Sources to Text
Connect Textbook to Text
Harvest Level One Questions
Harvest Level Two Questions
Harvest Level Three Questions
Connect With Other Readers

Debate PreparationsDuring
Work Time I Can…
Connect Outside Sources to Primary Source Text
Connect Textbook to Primary Source Text
Read and Reread Article
Annotate Text
Brainstorm Ideas for Ethos Letter
Brainstorm Ideas for Logos Letter
Brainstorm Ideas for Pathos Letter
Begin Formulating Possible Debate Arguments
Begin Formulating Possible Debate Rebuttals
Find Your Own Primary Source Material
Connect With Other Debaters

Self-Proposed Project
Read and annotate text
Conduct Research on a possible persona
Create a persona
Connect With Other Interested Students
Write up a Proposal for the Project
Confer With Adult Facilitator

   What should be going through your minds now is the MAIN IDEA of you piece of writing.  Even if you are all doing a project or debate to go along with your piece of writing, a THESIS is the anchor of you thoughts.  Click on the videos below to see what i mean...

Whoever made this Youtube video needs to take a class on how to improve.  (But it's still filled with great information on what a thesis is!)

Sincerely,
C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Monday, February 20, 2012

ASK, and ye shall receive...

Good Day Y'all,

      Here are the three writing assignments we must learn and engage in before the end of the year.  We have 3 months; March, April, and May, to learn persuasive writing, a literary analysis, and expository writing; along with the constitution, Westward Expansion, and the Civil War.
How do these become projects I facilitate?
What module topics must we include to support this?
How do we make it LESS MINE & MORE OURS?
    Please familiarize yourselves with them and bring ideas to circle for discussion...

Persuasive writing, could be referred to as a creative writing or an argument, in which the speaker uses words to convince the reader of a writer’s view(s) regarding an issue. Persuasive writing involves convincing the reader to perform an action, or it may simply consist of an argument(s) convincing the reader of the writer’s point of view. Persuasive writing is one of the most used writing types in the world. Persuasive writers employ many techniques to improve their argument and show support for their claim. Another definition is "an essay that offers and supports an opinion".

By appealing to credibility, writers can make their claims more believable. This is called an appeal to ethos, as defined by Aristotle. The writer builds on his or her ethos by writing with clarity (an important element of style) and eliminating contradictions within the text itself. The writer will be more credible to the target audience if there are no internal errors in syntax and mechanics as well as no factual errors in the subject matter.
Writers can appeal to logic when writing to persuade using the appeal known as logos. This appeal is manifested in the supporting statements for the writer’s claim. In most cases, a successful appeal to logos requires tangible evidence, e.g., a quote from acknowledged written material. The writer will appeal to the rationality of the audience.
Possibly the most important appeal for persuasive writers is the appeal to emotions or pathos. “A successful pathetic appeal will put the audience in a suitable mood by addressing their knowledge of or feelings about the subject” (Mendelson). This can be a very effective way to win over an audience!
Most persuasive writing techniques use an effective combination of all three appeals. It is the best way to convince people.


Expository writing is a type of writing where the purpose is to inform, describe, explain, or define the author's subject to the reader. Expository text is meant to deposit information and is the most frequently used type of writing by students in colleges, high schools, middle schools, elementary schools and universities. A well-written exposition remains focused on its topic and lists events in chronological order. Examples of expository writing include driving directions and instructions on performing a task. Key words such as first, after, next, then, last, before that, and usually signal sequential writing. Second-person instructions with "you" are acceptable.[clarification needed] However, the use of first-person pronouns should be avoided. Expository essays should not reveal the opinion of the writer.
Exposition is a type of oral or written discourse that is used to explain, describe, give information or inform on what is being discussed. One important point to keep in mind for the author is to try to use words that clearly show what they are talking about rather than blatantly telling the reader what is being discussed. Since clarity requires strong organization, one of the most important mechanisms that can be used to improve the writer's skills in exposition is to provide directions to improve the organization of the text.It tells readers about the information in the selection.

Let's think about the type of writing that most of us encounter in our daily lives. When you pick up and read a non-fiction book, magazines, or newspaper article the author uses expository writing to inform you, the reader, about the topic. At school, students are required to submit school exams and research papers as a means for their teachers to grade their progress. Finally, at work, people are required to produce business reports and memorandums to inform their superiors and co-workers about the occurrences that take place at other levels of the company. In addition, oral exposition is primarily observed in oral academic presentations, business talks, and speeches that are delivered to a group of people. As each of these different cases illustrate, expository writing and speech surround us in our everyday lives. The primary intent of the Expository Writing Program contained at this web site will be to help move students closer to mastering the hows, whens, and wheres to select different oral and written expository styles for a variety of real world contexts.

Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for analyzing literature.[1] However, literary scholarship since the 19th century often includes—in addition to, or even instead of literary theory in the strict sense—considerations of intellectual history, moral philosophy, social prophecy, and other interdisciplinary themes which are of relevance to the way humans interpret meaning
Comparative Analysis


Sincerely,
C