The Month of January 2011

Thesis Paper (100 Points)

Final paper is due on Tuesday, January 11. Have your rough draft and all parts of the final draft.

Independent Reading Project (50 Points)
(15-20 Minute Presentation)

Directions. You are to become the expert on the book you have read. Your job is to teach the rest of the class about your book. You must lead the discussion; however, the class must somehow become involved. Below is a list of requirements and suggestions on how to teach your book. If you think of another way in which you would like to teach your book, you must let me know in advance and get approval. In any case, you must have your project completed by the due date. All students must somehow be involved in putting this project together and presenting it. A suggestion: PowerPoint presentations are great for organizing your presentation and presenting information. The order in which requirements are listed below are not necessarily in the order in which they must be presented. Create a lesson that logically flows from one section to the next.

Author Background – Provide significant information about the author and especially provide information that connects the author to the book they have written.
Example: Paulo Coelho and the information you learned about him connects to why he may have written The Alchemist.
Brief Summary – Provide a brief summary of the novel. This is just so the audience has an understanding of the book. This should include a list of significant characters and events in the story. You must also touch upon the key themes found in the novel. Specific passages and quotes from the novel should be used in this section.
Example: Ms. Rich’s summaries for The Odyssey with themes and characters added to summary.
Writing Prompt – Although some of your classmates did not read your novel, get them involved in the novel by having them do a five minute free-write on a theme, topic, connection, etc. Create a prompt that generates good discussion and connects them to the happenings, characters, etc. in your novel. Use this writing prompt as part of your discussion with the class.
Example: Antigone log entries.
Article – Find an article that connects to something in the novel and share it with the class. This can be an encyclopedia entry, an actual current or not so current article, or even an information page off a reputable website. This should be photocopied and given to each member of the class. Therefore, make sure it is no longer than 2 pages in length. See me if you have an issue with this.
Example: A novel on China may deal with footbinding. I may want to share with the class what footbinding is and how it is done. Therefore, I would research footbinding and print out the article from the website, encyclopedia, or magazine.
Cultural Information and Setting – This is the most important part of the lesson: What did you learn about the culture and country in which your novel takes place? Share a map of where your story takes place and discuss traditions, beliefs, and interesting information about your culture. What is it that you learned through reading that you should share with your fellow classmates? Specific passages and quotes from the novel should be used in this section.
Question and Answer Period – Be open to any questions your classmates may have. Periodically throughout the presentation ask the students if they have any questions. You may also want to end the presentation with a question and answer period.
Review Game – Did your audience stay focused and involved throughout your presentation? Create a review game – Review Jeopardy, Review Basketball, etc. – to end your presentation. Questions should be based off the information provided throughout the presentation. Have fun with this.

We will be in the computer lab on Wednesday, January 5 through Monday, January 10. This gives you four days in class to work on this project. Use the evenings at home to gather information. This way the lab time enables your group to put the presentation together. All work must be completed for class on Tuesday, January 11. All groups must be ready to go on this day.
Period 2: Computer Lab # 438 Side A
Period 3: Computer Lab # 438 Side B

December 2010

Due Date Updates for Thesis Paper:

For Wednesday, Dec. 14:
--Continue to revise the introduction and first section of your paper
--Add Quotes to your first section
--Begin working on the second section of your paper
(Don't forget to be reading your independent reading book!)

Due Monday, December 13:
-- Have your typed introduction with the revised thesis statement
-- Have your typed outline
-- Type the first section of your paper -- Everything under Roman Numeral I in your outline -- (We will add the quotes later. For now just do this {insert quote here} when writing the paper)

For Friday, Dec. 10:
-- Have a typed, revised thesis statement
-- Have a typed introduction
-- Have a typed outline
-- Have your noodletools account created


Thesis Paper (Completed Rough Draft) is due Tuesday, December 21: This includes the added quotes and conclusion. You must bring the rough draft, the outline, and your works cited page to class on this day. The final draft will not be due until Tuesday, January 11.

THESIS PAPER:

You will be working on a thesis paper for our Fate vs. Free-will Unit. Please listen for due dates in class. You will be doing the writing process over the next couple of weeks. Every part of the writing process will be graded. Keep everything you do. I will be collecting the rough draft with the final draft to see an improvement in your writing. The rough draft is due on Tuesday, December 21. I will not be in school on Friday, December 17 or Monday, December 20. Do not wait until the last minute if you have any questions on the thesis paper. Please refer to the assignment sheet and rubric while writing your paper. The rubric is listed below.


Rough Draft _____/10
Outline
Paper
Works Cited
Peer evaluation
Paper clipped/stapled together in correct order


Format of Final Draft _____/10
MLA heading with title
MLA outline format (outlines the actual paper)
MLA Works Cited page format
Times New Roman or Courier New, 12 Font, Double-spaced
Titles of novels underlined or italics, articles and short stories in quotes


Introduction of Final Draft _____/5
Hook
Works mentioned
Authors mentioned
Strong thesis statement
Thesis statement is the last statement of introduction


Body of Final Draft _____/30

Three works and article used
Development (3-5 pages in length)
Commentary/analysis


Overall Structure of Final Draft _____/20
Coherence (sentence structure/word choice)
Unity (all paragraphs connect to the thesis)
Organization/Transition
Typing errors
Grammar/punctuation/usage/spelling/use of present tense


Quotes in Final Draft _____/20
MLA format
Quote sandwich
Tells who says the quote
Introduces the quote
Tells the significance of quote
Quote choices


Conclusion _____/5

Total: _____/100

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INDEPENDENT READING ASSIGNMENT:

Read the following by Wednesday, December 22:

Purple Hibiscus – Pages 3-139
The Sound of the Waves – Pages 3-94
The 47 Ronin Story – Preface – middle of page 122
The Sounds of the River – Pages 1-128

Be prepared for a small group discussion on Wednesday, December 22 and Thursday, December 23. In order to be prepared for the discussion, you must organize and type (MLA Heading & Format) the following (20 Points):

• Five Discussion Questions (Type questions that you think your group will want to talk about. Don’t worry about small details: your task is to help people talk over the big ideas in the reading and share some reactions. Think about areas of theme, symbols, and character development as you prepare your questions.)
• Two Connection Topics (This means connecting the reading to your own life, to happenings at school or in the community, to similar events at other times and places, to other people or problems that you are reminded of. You might also see the connections between this book and other writings. You must explain your connections)
• Two Passages (Pick parts of the story that you want to read aloud to your group. Select passages that are interesting, powerful, funny, controversial, confusing or thought-provoking. Along with including the quoted passages and page numbers, provide a brief explanation of why you picked each passage and your interpretation/reaction to each of them.)

The final section of reading will be due on Tuesday, January 4.

Purple Hibiscus – Pages 140-end
The Sound of the Waves – Pages 95-end
The 47 Ronin Story – middle of page 122-end
The Sounds of the River – Pages 129-end

Once the work is completed, you and other students will prepare a PowerPoint to teach your novel to the rest of the class. Instructions will be given after the break. However, you may want to consider the following as you are reading: author information, cultural information, and connection to the current unit – Family Relationships and The Role of Family Members in Different Cultures.