Blog 6
Choose one of the following options, write, and post it!  Make sure you keep your writing goals in mind- try to work on them in this post!

1. Respond to points made on a particular issue.
   
2. Fact check and respond.
   
3. Who won this debate?  Why do you think so?
4. Compare to the GOP primary debate- what’s similar?  What’s different?  Why?
   
5. Pick out some specific quotes- analyze the rhetoric!
   
6. Response Inception!  Choose a response to the debate (political cartoon, op-ed, article, news clip) and analyze the response
   
7. Choose a candidate or an issue.  What values are being expressed?  How can you tell?

 
Starter 22: 

1. Where are you currently with your senior project? What ideas do you have? 
   
2. What are you worried about? 
   
3. What questions do you have

 
Intro to Senior Project Personal Learning Plan (on Senior Project Page)

1. Senior Thesis = Paper
2. Action Project = Project 
3. TED Talk/Thesis Defense = Verbal presentation
4. This document will be the basis of you POL prep, and your project.  You’ll need to have this totally done before your POL.
   
5. We’ll have these two days to start working on it, a check in day in mid-November, and then POL prep in December.

 
Individual Conference sign-up
Sign up with me for an individual conference.  We’ll talk through your current state with regards to your senior project, and I’ll get an initial sense of the direction you’re heading.  If you’ll be gone on Friday, make sure we conference TODAY!
 
HOMEWORK:

1. Tocqueville Revisions:  Rolling deadlines.  See Tocqueville Revision Due Dates for your revision due date.  Remember to submit using the guidelines in A Guide to Test Corrections and Resubmitting Written Work (on docs page).  Revisions that are late or do not follow directions will not be considered.  All revisions are due in the box on my desk at the start of class- not at break, at lunch, or the end of class.
   
2. Writing Reflection and DP Update:  DUE Friday at midnight.  Do not email me your reflection--just post it to your DP.

TWO SURVEYS
To start today, we have two surveys for you to take.

1. Survey 1:  ​School Culture Survey 
2. Survey 2:  ​College Essay Project Feedback

​College Essays- get them exhibited!
See the instructions on the board on the College Essay Display Board instructions.  Get them mounted, get them hung in the hallway.  Make sure they are formatted to my instructions!

Writing Reflection

1. Look at the Three Levels of Writing and my Writing Rubric as a resource (honors folks, see the Honors Rubric).
2. Develop three specific writing goals for yourself as a writer based on these documents and my feedback.  We're going to be using these goals for the rest of the semester to gauge your growth as a writer, and will use your end of semester writing reflection as a springboard for your senior project paper.  As you feel like you achieve your goals, we'll develop new ones!  This reflection will be worth 40 points, and will go into the "Am I developing as a learner?" category.  HINT:  This is worth as much as your college essay, so make it good!
3. Write 3 Goal Paragraphs:  For each of those three goals, write a paragraph.  That paragraph should include: 
   • What your goal is 
   • An example from your Tocqueville writing, your college essay, or your blog that shows the need for that goal
   • Some ideas about how you can work towards improving this skill for your next piece of writing
   • Example:  Goal 1- Understanding the Text.  I will make sure that I thoroughly understand the text I am using in my writing before I use it as evidence.  In my Tocqueville writing, I used a quote in my essay that said "..........."  In my essay, I said that this quote meant ";....quote from essay....."  However, I misunderstood this quote because I didn't put it in the larger context of the argument Tocqueville was making.  In fact, the quote means (tell real meaning of quote here).  To improve this in future writings, I think I need to summarize the meaning of every paragraph of the reading in my annotations, and I need to ask questions more actively during seminar coaching.  If I'm reading it independently, I need to make sure I completely understand one paragraph before moving on to the next paragraph, rather than just continuing to read on.
   • Example: Goal 2- Logical Flow.  I will  make sure that all my paragraphs logically flow from one idea to the next.  In my Tocqueville writing, my first paragraph was about the tyranny of the majority, and my second paragraph was about the current presidential election, and the lies that candidates are telling.  I didn't connect these two ideas at all, so it was confusing for the reader to make that jump.  In future writing, I could do a number of things to improve this.  Early in my writing process, I could make sure that I have an outline, so that I've clearly thought through the logical flow of my paper.  I can also use transition sentences to show the reader the links between ideas.  Finally, I can references terms and ideas from the previous paragraph in the one after it to show the reader how the ideas from the preceding paragraph connect to the ideas in the next paragraph.
   • Example: Goal 3- Semicolon Usage.  I will make sure that I'm using semicolons correctly in my writing.  In my college essay, I had written this sentence:  "....example of sentence from college essay that uses semi-colons incorrectly..."  In her feedback, Lori pointed out that I was using the semi-colon incorrectly here.  I looked up the rules on semi-colon usage, and found that I should only be using them to join two complete sentences- right now, the piece after the semi-colon is not a complete sentence.  In future writing, to make sure that I am doing this correctly, I can go through and circle every semi-colon I use, and then read the sentences before and after it out loud to make sure they can stand on their own as complete sentences.
4. Write 1 paragraph about your revision in your College Essay.  Talk about one specific way that you grew as a writer between your first and final drafts of your College Essay.  In this paragraph, you should include:
   • How you grew (what skill improved?)
   • What it was like before (give a specific example- you could quote an early draft of your essay here!)
   • What feedback you got that pushed you to revise
   • Evidence of your growth in this area (again, you should quote the final draft of your essay here!)
   • Explanation of what you did to make this growth happen- what was your process?

​DP Update
Create a tab for your college essay.  It can be within your Humanities class tab, or can be separate.  Include BOTH the information from you Display Board AND the full text of your college essay. 

Put your writing reflection on your regular Humanities page.  Label it, Writing Reflection 1.

HOMEWORK:

1. Test Corrections:  DUE Wednesday, 10/14, at the start of class.
2. Optional Tocqueville Revisions:  Rolling deadlines.  See the Tocqueville Revision Due Dates for your individual due dates, and the Guide to Resubmitting Written Work.  All revisions are due at the START of class.

College Essay Formatting

• NO name, header, page numbers
• Single spaced
• 1" margins
• No indents at start of paragraphs, but put spaces between them
• Professional font, 11 or 12 pt

DONE with your college essay?  You could...

• Help a classmate revise or proofread their essay
• Give yours to Lori for a final proofread
• Work on other college.scholarship essays or application materials
• Meet with Jess
• Work on other Humanities work (Tocqueville revisions or test corrections)

​
HOMEWORK:

1. College Essay Final Draft:  DUE start of class, Tuesday 10/13.
2. Test Corrections:  DUE start of class, Wednesday, 10/14
3. Optional Tocqueville Revisions:  Rolling deadlines.  See Tocqueville Revision Deadlines for your due date.  All are at the start of class.  Remember to look at the Guide to Resubmitting Written Work!

*** You need 3 printed copies of your essay by the beginning of class! 

• Write the essay prompt at the top of your essay
• Write the word count at the bottom of your essay

Review Document: College Essay Tuning Protocol

See the groups I've made for you.  Once you are in your group, find a place, pull some tables together, and get started!  This should take the entire 2 hour block.   

HOMEWORK

1. College Essay Final Draft:  Due TUESDAY, 10/13, at the start of class.
2. Test Corrections:  Due WEDNESDAY, 10/14, at the start of class.
3. Optional Tocqueville Writing Revision:  Deadline varies- one week after you receive it back from me.  See the Tocqueville Essay Revision Due Dates for your individual dates.  All these are for the start of class.

Healthy Kids CO Survey
Take the survey in the first half of class
 
Opt Out Policy
I have developed a formalized “opt out” policy that pertains to your College Essay.  This would enable you, in cases, to opt out of the  peer editing workshops and/or the exhibition of final work. Please read the “College Essay Opt Out Policy” document on my DP Docs page.
 
Support Groups
Meet quickly in your Support Groups.  Are you on task?  If not, what specific steps can you take that will put you on track?  Do you need to modify your schedule in any way to respond to different needs? 
 
Project Work Time 
As always, there are oodles of tasks you can accomplish during this time. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Write, write, write!
   
2. Support Group meetings, discuss.
   
3. Group edits, self-edits, or pair edits. 
   
4. Feedback from me (sign up for a conference)

 
Today's Objective:  Have 3 copies of your paper printed, double-sided, and placed in the box at the end of class.  (Officially, the deadline for this is tomorrow, BOC, but let's get it done today and not have homework!!!) 
 
*** Make sure to write your essay prompt at the top of your essay, and the work count at the bottom.  This will aid your tuners during the workshop tomorrow, and is a necessary requirement for the exhibition of your work. 
 
Tomorrow is NOT project work time.  We'll be doing peer critiques, so lets get our essays in shape!

HOMEWORK

1. Test Corrections:  Due Wednesday, 10/14 (but if you get them to me sooner, I'll grade them sooner!)
2. College Essay Drafts:  3 copies, printed.  See detailed instructions above.  DUE:  TOMORROW.
   

Preface:  Independence!
One of the themes of this year for me, for you, is increasing independence.  As such, I’m putting you in the driver’s seat for much of this process.  In college, it’s unlikely that your professors will have interim deadlines for papers and projects.  You will have to plan your time, hold yourself accountable, and seek the help you need.  So let’s practice that with this project—there’s some symbolic resonance, no?
 
Starter 21

• Give handout, + tips sheet
  
• What does success look like for you in this project?  How will you measure if you’ve achieved it? 
  
• What is a potential obstacle to success, and how do you intend to overcome it? 
  
• Look through the tips of dos and don’ts.  Which of these will be most helpful to you?  Which of these might you have difficulty with?  (The WHY is implied for both of these questions.)

 
Sample Essay Read-aloud.    
Choose one of the sample essays to read out loud.  Non-readers should follow along with the paper in front of you.  As you read look for the following.  When the read aloud is done, discuss:

1. Personality- where does it come from (use of story, written word, other?)
   
2. Favorite sentences/essay moments
   
3. What are the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the essay? 
   
4. Would you want this person in your college?  Why/why not?

 
Where Are You?
The corners of the classroom have been labeled with numbers 1-4.  Go to the corner that best represents your current status in regards to college essays.  Use the following criterion:
 
Which phrase best describes your current situation in regards to college essay writing?

1. I haven't started yet, and don't have a clue what the outcome might look like. 
   
2. I have a prompt and have started writing, but I'm nowhere near done. 
   
3. I have finished at least one essay, but it would benefit from some more refinement
   
4. I have mostly finished my college essays, but still have a few more and/or supplementary writing I can work on and refine.

 
Support Groups
Pick a group of 3 students from your corner and form a support group.  You will be working in/with your support group for many of the remaining College Essay Boot Camp tasks.  After your group is formed, see me for a scheduling sheet (Handout: “Support Group Scheduling” - Docs Page) and a packet of helpful resources.  You'll run through the following tasks:

• As a group, you'll need to designate a slavedriver, timekeeper, and snitch.   This is how your group will keep on track and on schedule. 
  
• Also as a group, you'll create a schedule using the handout and resources on the handout. 
  
• Now, consult together to design a schedule that will suit your needs.  You'll need to consider:
  
• Brainstorming: How much brainstorming time will you need to develop quality ideas?  How will you know when you should move into the writing process? 
  
• Idea troubleshooting: Don't get started with the actual writing process until you KNOW you have an idea/angle/story worth writing about.  Lets allow time for this! 
  
• Independent Writing: How much writing time will you need to each achieve your objectives?
  
• Mid-write meeting: Make sure you don't spend too much time writing on a crappy idea.  Run your idea by your support group half-way through the writing process to make sure you're not pursuing something you shouldn't be. 
  
• Self-editing and refinement: How much time will you allow for this? 
  
• Partner or Support Group Editing: You'll need to assemble your support group to edit your work BEFORE we move into Peer Editing Workshops all day Friday.  Rubric provided. 
  
• Peer edit workshops: In groups of 4, you will take 2 hours to look at/refine everyone's paper.  I will supply you with the editing protocol.  You will not be in support groups for this process; I will provide the groups.
  
• Due: You will need to have a FINAL draft printed by the beginning of class on Wednesday. 

 
Now get started on your schedule! 
I will make photocopies of your group schedule, and provide each group member a copy.  

HOMEWORK:  ​Whatever you assign yourself based on your Support Group Schedule.

Test Corrections
Okay, so that Constitution Test was a little rough!  DON'T PANIC!  I don't normally do this, but for this test I'm going to offer test corrections.  You have one week to get them to me (so, until next Friday), and you can work on them in class today.  See the document here for how to complete these: Test Corrections.  You will receive partial credit for each answer you complete.

Mock Senate Issue Poll
Time to decide on what issues we want to tackle!  I've chosen 4 issues the senate may tackle this fall- we need to choose two of them to focus on.  Click on the poll link to voice your opinion!

Blog 5
Finish Blog 5 and get it posted if you didn't finish yesterday in class.

Finished?  Check out this TED Talk on online Filter Bubbles.  As you watch, make some mental connections to the Big Sort and Political Misinformation!
​

HOMEWORK:
Work on test corrections.  DUE:  Next Friday (but the sooner you get them to me, the sooner your grade will improve!)

Constitution Test
Take the test!  No time limit, but it should take about an hour.
 
Blog 5
There is limitless information in or modern society, but we are only able to access a tiny portion of it.  It is important to consider how what we see is shaped by the sources, the people and media, which we get our information from.  Choose ONE of the following to talk about in this blog!
 

1. What is the main source where you get information about the world?  What perspective does that source show you?  How does this connect to the Big Sort or the article we read yesterday?
   
2. What is the “Big Sort?”  How do you see in it your own life?  What implications does this have for democracy?
   
3. React to the article “The Power of Political Misinformation.”  What is its message?  How does it connect to you?  Do the debate we watched?  Is there a way around the problem it poses?
   
4. Want a challenge?  Take either the “Big Sort” or “The Power of Political Misinformation” and make connections to the Tocqueville reading from last week.

 
HOMEWORK: 
Blog 5 is due by the end of class Friday.  You’ll have some time (15-20 minutes) to finish it on Friday if you don’t finish it in class today.  If you think you’ll need more time than that, you probably want to work on it a bit tonight.