Today in English class we took a vocab quiz consisting of literary terms and the vocab words from sections 4.1-4.8. Once we finished the quiz, we were supposed to write a quick 5 minute journal responding to this question: Do you believe that humans are innately good, evil, or both? It was interesting to here everyone's answers. Eight people thought humans were good, seven people thought humans were both good and evil, and only one person thought humans were evil. We discussed the different reasons why we answered what we did, and everyone made a good case for their answer. The many different answers forced all of us to really think about our opinions of the human race. Later, we took notes over the time period of the American Renaissance also known as the Romantics period and the two types of groups in that time period. Dark Romanticism refers to the people who thought humans are both good and evil and Transcendentalists thought humans are good. We ended our day by beginning to read a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne called, "The Minister's Black Veil." For homework we had to finish reading the story and answer some Reading Guide questions.
I, personally, really liked our discussion in class today. The topic about humans being good or evil really pushed me to think about my opinion of the human race. I think that humans are both good and evil. I believe that God created all of us to be good, I do, but I also believe that he gave us the choice to be good. Mia Gerachis said in class that God created all of us in His image to be good and I agree, but some people don't make it to the good side. There are some people that are just naturally evil and some that are naturally good. I believe God has a plan for everyone, and He gives everyone signs and opportunities to be good, but some people just don't take them. The few that do, however, and truly carry them out are the lucky ones.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Class September 20, 2010
In class today, we talked about the strengths and challenges of the student driven learning experiment. Once we had talked about the strengths and challenges, we voiced suggestions for the project. Some of the suggestions were to make the experiment more focused and a shorter amount of time. Ms. Flournoy talked about the Early American Literature Assessment and how to go about studying for it. Also, Ms. Flournoy handed out a piece of writing by Benjamin Franklin, so we could practice skimming and finding the main ideas. We also took notes on the major Puritan beliefs. Our homework is to study for the Early American Assessment tomorrow.
I thought the discussion about the experiment was helpful in figuring out the pros and cons of the experiment and how to better the experiment. The notes we took on Puritans during class helped me understand the major beliefs of the Puritan people. I thought the handout served as a good preparation for the assessment tomorrow.
I thought the discussion about the experiment was helpful in figuring out the pros and cons of the experiment and how to better the experiment. The notes we took on Puritans during class helped me understand the major beliefs of the Puritan people. I thought the handout served as a good preparation for the assessment tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
3rd Period English on September 14th
Hey Guys!
Today was day three of "The Experiment". As you all know, we have broken into groups to research the broad topic of "Early American Literature." We have been given very few instructions and are allowed to use the internet freely. Ms. Flournoy strongly encourages us to talk amongst ourselves and with other groups. Borrowing ideas from other groups is totally legal as well. In class today, Ms. Flournoy clarified that we should focus on literature before the 1800s. She also reminded us that each group will be allowed to ask her two questions on Tuesday and that all work for this project is due on Friday. Some of you might be wondering what exactly what type of "work" is Ms. Flournoy looking for. As much as I wish I could answer that for you, I can't. However, I do remember her suggesting to us to think about how you learn best and use that to help arrange what you've learned while researching with your group.
My group, consisting of Taylor Dickey, Kate Chernosky, and myself, has decided to make an iMovie to present as our work on Friday. So, after researching different people and subjects last night at home, we came together during class today and started filming. We have decided to take "Early American Literature" and break it down into three phases. In each phase, we have a general overview of the themes of writing at that time as well as "interviews" with various authors and poets. Some of these include Anne Bradford, Thomas Paine, and even Captain John Smith. While my group worked hard, we definitely had a good time filming because some of us got really into character. I think this will help us remember what we have learned because we can connect the facts back to the funny interviews we conducted with our friends. Although I have enjoyed parts of this project, there are a few aspects that make me uneasy. First of all, I am the kind of person that likes knowing what I am working towards. Not knowing exactly what is expected of me is difficult, and is a little stressful. But, I have found this experiment interesting and different- and I actually have learned things from randomly surfing the internet! One thing that has really helped me has been talking with Taylor and Kate. We shared one computer, forcing us to work together. Although we sometimes got off on random tangents, we generally collaborated and came up with some interesting ideas!
Today was day three of "The Experiment". As you all know, we have broken into groups to research the broad topic of "Early American Literature." We have been given very few instructions and are allowed to use the internet freely. Ms. Flournoy strongly encourages us to talk amongst ourselves and with other groups. Borrowing ideas from other groups is totally legal as well. In class today, Ms. Flournoy clarified that we should focus on literature before the 1800s. She also reminded us that each group will be allowed to ask her two questions on Tuesday and that all work for this project is due on Friday. Some of you might be wondering what exactly what type of "work" is Ms. Flournoy looking for. As much as I wish I could answer that for you, I can't. However, I do remember her suggesting to us to think about how you learn best and use that to help arrange what you've learned while researching with your group.
My group, consisting of Taylor Dickey, Kate Chernosky, and myself, has decided to make an iMovie to present as our work on Friday. So, after researching different people and subjects last night at home, we came together during class today and started filming. We have decided to take "Early American Literature" and break it down into three phases. In each phase, we have a general overview of the themes of writing at that time as well as "interviews" with various authors and poets. Some of these include Anne Bradford, Thomas Paine, and even Captain John Smith. While my group worked hard, we definitely had a good time filming because some of us got really into character. I think this will help us remember what we have learned because we can connect the facts back to the funny interviews we conducted with our friends. Although I have enjoyed parts of this project, there are a few aspects that make me uneasy. First of all, I am the kind of person that likes knowing what I am working towards. Not knowing exactly what is expected of me is difficult, and is a little stressful. But, I have found this experiment interesting and different- and I actually have learned things from randomly surfing the internet! One thing that has really helped me has been talking with Taylor and Kate. We shared one computer, forcing us to work together. Although we sometimes got off on random tangents, we generally collaborated and came up with some interesting ideas!
Thursday, September 9
Thursday, our rough drafts were due in class. We needed to have them printed and completely written in order to edit in class. Instead of exchanging in class, we did a self- edit of our papers. We were given a form with different editing questions which we filled out while editing our paper. We were able to ask Ms. Flournoy questions about our thesis's, papers, etc, and get feedback. The homework for the night was to finish editing your rough draft and polish to turn in as the final draft on Friday. It needed to be printed for class on Friday.
I think it would have also been helpful if we did a group/ peer edit so we could have gotten another opinion and been able to strengthen our papers more. I think it also would've been effective if we had more of a group discussion and maybe another draft due. But the students should have asked themselves, is my paper edited completely? Are there any details or information did I miss? Did I completely explain my thesis in all my paragraphs? Such questions would have helped the students completely revise and look at their papers, for a cleaner, polished, final draft.
I think it would have also been helpful if we did a group/ peer edit so we could have gotten another opinion and been able to strengthen our papers more. I think it also would've been effective if we had more of a group discussion and maybe another draft due. But the students should have asked themselves, is my paper edited completely? Are there any details or information did I miss? Did I completely explain my thesis in all my paragraphs? Such questions would have helped the students completely revise and look at their papers, for a cleaner, polished, final draft.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Thursday, September 2
On Thursday, we started of the class by showing Ms. Flournoy what we had brainstormed for our upcoming essay on the two novels we read over the summer. She came around and checked our ideas and our thesis statements. The thesis statements needed to be concise and specific to a point of view or argument that we needed to have formed. We then worked on our papers and asked any questions we had regarding our writing.
This class helped me to better understand the way an english thesis needs to be written. It also helped me to compare my ideas with the people sitting next to me to make sure I was on the right track. The essay we are writing is over The Lords of Discipline and Of Mice and Men. It is to compare and contrast the systems relationships they have. Throughout the essay we are asked to consider the farming system and hazing system and what they contribute to the novels. This class and essay have given me a better understanding of the novels and time to begin to flesh out all of my ideas for the paper.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Class Tuesday, August 31, 2010
On Tuesday in class we started out by passing around our one-page compositions about relationships in Of Mice and Men, and then we passed those in to the teacher. Then we brought up the topic of our big essay over Of Mice and Men and Lords of Discipline. We then split into groups of 3 and sketched some pictures of what key systems affected the relationships in each book. It was a really helpful exercise because it got the whole class brainstorming about possible ideas of systems to include in our essays. Finally, we took some quick notes on the formatting of our essays and made sure we all knew what each body paragraph consists of, how to integrate quotes, etc.
I got a lot of things out of these discussions in class. I really figured out how the systems in both books affect the relationships of each character-for example, in Of Mice and Men, the workers are the ones who really hold up the ranch and all that is produced there, but they get hardly anything from working so hard. Also, in Lords of Discipline, there might be more plebes than there are cadre members, but the cadre members and all the upperclassmen/veterans seem to have much more power because of the way they are banded together. The plebes, although a large group, have not come together in a true fellowship yet, so this makes them weaker. I got a lot of interesting ideas for my paper, and this activity really broadened my view of the intricate systems in both books. I thought the activity was very effective.
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