DAY 05 - CYCLE 02 - SEMESTER 01: 09-11-09

HANDOUTS FROM TODAY:

Class Participation Self-Assessment

IN CLASS TODAY:

We continued with the last five words of vocabulary unit 1: reconnaissance, substantiate, taciturn, temporize, and tenable.  THE FIRST VOCABULARY QUIZ WILL BE ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15th.

Today, you discussed "Zoo Island."  Some of you were designated as question askers.  The rest could comment as they saw fit.  You kept the conversation humming along, for the most part. 

While you touched on many of the story's major themes, there are two significant areas on which we will need to work:

1. CLOSE READING.  Often, when one of you would make reference to the text, you would hedge by saying things like, "Well, I can't remember exactly where it is, but..." or would make vague reference to the book without actually looking for evidence.  Similarly, even when ideas were being refuted, no one brought up evidence that contradicted the claim being considered.
2. FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONING. Questioners remained largely silent during discussion, but the role of questioner is absolutely critical in getting a conversation to go deeper into the text, and to build a larger understanding.  An excellent question which should be asked in every discussion is "How do you know?"  Questioners also draw together themes from the conversation: e.g. If A is true and B is true, then doesn't this imply C?  Instead, questioners clearly saw their role as solely to keep the conversation moving if it stalled.  You can bet we will be talking about this role in specific terms, since it is one everyone must practice.
   

CLASS NOTES:
Click here for a copy of today's class notes.

HOMEWORK FOR NEXT CLASS:
Write a THESIS STATEMENT and THREE SUBCLAIMS on any aspect of "Zoo Island." Your choice as to topic.  Remember the five elements of a good thesis statement: refer to your handout from 09-10-09.