DAY 02 - CYCLE 02 - SEMESTER 02: 01-13-10

HANDOUTS FROM TODAY:

Today, you received a copy of several advertisements from a magazine.  Because I photocopied the pages, they are not available for download from the class wikisite. Please see me if your need a copy.

You also received a handout about appositives in sentence diagrams. 

IN CLASS TODAY:

Today, we worked on Unit 7 in the Sentence Diagramming Workbook, and you received an additional handout on appositives.  Remember that an appositive (a word, phrase or clause) renames another word phrase or clause in the sentence.  Wondering if something is an appositive?  Take out a word and see if it still works:
- Those flowers are pretty.
- Those flowers are pretty. Yup. This makes sense.
- Those Flowers are pretty. And this makes sense too.
So... Those (flowers) | are \ pretty
We also looked at possessives used as nouns, and expletives.  Today's lesson was tricky.  We'll practice these concepts tomorrow, too, before moving on.
After that, we spoke about yesterday's video clip and started to analyze HOW he tried to persuade the judges.  We looked at appeals to reason, to emotion, and how he tried to present himself as being worthy of listening to.  We also looked at his intentions.

Afterward, we analyzed a few advertisements, and the hidden assumptions behind them.  We used a chart to help:
               REASON                  EMOTION                 AUTHORITY

THINK



DO




FEEL

HOMEWORK:
Read and annotate the introduction in your Seagull Reader: Essays (2nd Ed.), Edited by Joseph Kelly.
The introduction appears on pages 3-21 of the text. It is not an easy read throughout, since it presents information in much the same way a textbook does. The toughest part will be understanding "logical arguments," but the rest should go fairly smoothly. Take notes, concentrate, read it AWAY from the computer/cell phone/TV/anything with an on switch and do your best. We'll start talking about the ideas tomorrow, and you'll have a quiz on the introduction on Thursday. Why a quiz? Because the material presented in the introduction constitutes the set of tools we will be using in the rest of the unit to build a better understanding of the art of persuasion: if you don't fully understand the tools and how they work, you can't build much. If you have questions about what you read or are having trouble, feel free to post a comment here. That way, I'll have a good idea of where we need to focus our efforts tomorrow!

DAY 01 - CYCLE 02 - SEMESTER 02: 01-12-10

HANDOUTS FROM TODAY:

There were no handouts for today.

IN CLASS TODAY:

Today, we began with the first five words of Unit 6 in the Vocabulary Book: abject, agnostic, complicity, derelict, and diatribe.

We also officially began the Argument Unit, in which we will:

• learn methods of persuasion,
• analyze a variety of arguments presented to us in a variety of media,
• evaluate some examples of argument for effectiveness,
• and attempt our own written argument in response to an issue raised in our studies.

In having you incorporate an argument based in reason, an argument based on emotions, and a demonstration of mastery of the material in your essay on Montana 1948, I was giving you a bit of a pre-test for this unit.

Today, we wrestled a bit more with the concepts that in the next few days we'll be naming: logos, pathos and ethos.

To begin, I had you talk to a partner about the ad and the article you brought in, answering the following questions about each.

1. Does the article/ad want you to DO something or THINK something or FEEL something (or a combination of these)? Name its intention.
2. You chose these articles and advertisements because you thought them effective.  Justify that choice.  (Be aware that with the article, part of your motivation may be "Because it reaffirms what I already think.")  What are the sources of their effectiveness?
3. For whom is the article/ad intended? What makes you think that?
4. From the prespective of both the article and the ad, I asked you to complete the following statement: "You,     describe intended audience member here    , should        do/think/feel  what?           because                                           ."   For example, an ad for an athletic shoe might read You, an athlete who takes his/her workout seriously, should wear our brand of shoe because its precisely engineered for intense athletics.

Tomorrow, we'll be talking more about just HOW articles and ads get you to think this way, but for today, we're still just getting our feet wet.

To continue, we looked at the following sample of an argument taken from the television series Boston Legal (included here with thanks to Mr. Daniel Sharkovitz of Martha's Vineyard Regional High School).  We watched the clip twice.  The first time, I just had you watch.  The second time, you watched with pen in hand, and I asked you to look at how the protagonist tried to score points with his arguments.  We discussed his approaches and tried to see some patterns in our ideas.




CLASS NOTES:

There were no notes for today.

HOMEWORK:
For Wednesday:Write up an explanation of HOW the lawyer in the clip above seeks to changethe minds of the judges. Consider not only his message, but how he delivers it.  Your analysis will form the basis of our discussion tomorrow, sobe thorough.  I will check homework again.  For tomorrow night, you will need to use the book that appears below.  Please make sure that you own it.  Bring your Sentence Diagramming workbooks to class. 

COMING UP ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT (DUE THURSDAY):
Read the introduction which appears on pages 3-21 of the Essays text.  It is not an easy read throughout, since it presents information in much the same way a textbook does.  The toughest part will be understanding "logical arguments," but the rest should go fairly smoothly.  Take notes, concentrate, read it AWAY from the computer/cell phone/TV/anything with an on switch and do your best.  We'll start talking about the ideas tomorrow, and you'll have a quiz on the introduction on Monday.  Why a quiz? Because the material presented in the introduction constitutes the set of tools we will be using in the rest of the unit to build a better understanding of the art of persuasion: if you don't fully understand the tools and how they work, you can't build much.  If you have questions about what you read or are having trouble, feel free to post a comment here. That way, I'll have a good idea of where we need to focus our efforts on Thursday!

DAY 05 - CYCLE 01 - SEMESTER 02: 01-11-10

HANDOUTS FROM TODAY:

There were no handouts for today.

IN CLASS TODAY:

1. You wrote your verdicts judging Wes innocent or guilty of being liable for Frank's death. You were to base your arguments in a reasonable appeal, and appeal to emotion, and a demonstrated knowledge of the book.

CLASS NOTES:

There were no notes for today's class.

HOMEWORK:
Find and print (or copy) ONE advertisement and ONE newspaper opinion-editorial that you would describe as "effective" for whatever reason (the ad doesn't even need to have words).  Bring your vocabulary book to class tomorrow; we will begin unit 6.  You will find links to op-ed sections below (listed alphabetically).
The Boston Globe
The Chicago Tribune
The Financial Times
The Los Angeles Times
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The New York Post
The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Washington Post (you have to create a free account to get to their material)

DAY 04 - CYCLE 01 - SEMESTER 01: 01-08-10

HANDOUTS FROM TODAY:

There were no handouts for today.

IN CLASS TODAY:

1. We opened by discussing rules for discussion so that everyone gets a change to make his or her case fully. 
   
2. Then, we discussed!

CLASS NOTES:

Notes for today may be found here.

HOMEWORK:
Using Wednesday's and Friday's notes to help you, you are to write a full summary of both the case for and the case against Wes. That means you will have two summaries. Each should outline both the argument and the key pieces of evidence. No matter which side you agree with, do both sides justice, and represent them as fairly and thoroughly as possible.


These documents will be extremely useful in the in class writing assignment on Monday in which you issue a verdict for or against Wes, making a case for your decision. Your goal is to convince me that your verdict is the right one because it is reasonable given the facts of the case, inspires in me an appropriate emotional response to Wes's character, and demonstrates a firm command of the novel's evidence. You may use the 12-sentence format, or deviate from it as your argument requires, but your final product must have three pieces of evidence.

You will turn in both your summaries and your verdicts at the end of the period.

DAY 03 - CYCLE 01 - SEMESTER 02: 01-06-09

HANDOUTS FROM TODAY:

There were no handouts for today.

IN CLASS TODAY:

1. We began with Sentence Diagramming, going over "Exercise 6: Predicate Nominatives and Predicate Adjectives."  This is review for you, but some of the sentences were a bit tricky.  A good trick is to circle the subjects and verbs in the original sentence, as we did in the sentence: He became angry and silent and left the room. Once you have that identified, it's easier to pick apart the sentence and figure out where things go.  Also, don't forget the flow chart tricks!

1. 
2. Then, I checked your homework--a list of four reasons to consider Wes guilty or innocent of the charge of being liable for Frank's death.
3. Then, you were asked to consider yourself in one of four possible roles for the purposes of today's discussion, depending on how strong an opinion you had:
   Prosecuting Attorney: Your job is to convince others that Wes is accountable for Frank's death. That means you need to prove your case; you might be convinced of his guilt, but others are not, and your job is to get them to think like you do. How will you do that? Cater to their emotions? Show them through logical analysis of facts? Dazzle them with your clearly superior knowledge of the subject matter?
   Defense Attorney: Your job is to defend Wes from these charges, and prove to others that he cannot reasonably be held responsible for Frank's death. Like the Prosecuting Attorneys, you are out to make a compelling case that cannot be ignored. How will you convince others? Through an appeal to reason? An appeal to emotion? By demonstrating your own clearly superior insight into the novel's details?
   Character Witness: Your job is to provide evidence. When either of the attorneys make their cases, your job is to give back up by providing the evidence they seek, offering details, and if you can find them, citing specific passages for the attorneys to talk about. This requires a good sense of the book's details.
   Judge: Your job is to ask questions of the attorneys and witnesses in order to get a clearer picture and to force attorneys to make better, more compelling cases. You will need to listen carefully to discussion and ask good follow up questions, and be willing to demand substantiation from others: What makes you think that? But if that is true, then why this ?, etc.
   
4. We then discussed the charges, and I took notes.

CLASS NOTES:
Notes for today may be found here.

HOMEWORK:
WE WILL CONTINUE DEBATE ON FRIDAY.  We will spend the first 5 minutes devising a structure for making sure the conversation does not turn into a free for all.  Like a regular courtroom, we will allow both sides to make their cases in full, without interruption, and judges need to be impartial.

Homework for Friday, then, will be the following:

Using Wednesday's and Friday's notes to help you, you are to write a full summary of both the case for and the case against Wes.  That means you will have two summaries.  Each should outline both the argument and the key pieces of evidence.  No matter which side you agree with, do both sides justice, and represent them as fairly and thoroughly as possible. 

These documents will be extremely useful in the in class writing assignment in which you issue a verdict for or against Wes, making a case for your decision.  Your goal is to convince me that your verdict is the right one because it is reasonable given the facts of the case, inspires in me an appropriate emotional response to Wes's character, and demonstrates a firm command of the novel's evidence. You may use the 12-sentence format, or deviate from it as your argument requires, but your final product must have three pieces of evidence.

You will turn in both your summaries and your verdicts at the end of the period.

DAY 02 - CYCLE 01 - SEMESTER 02: 01-05-10

HANDOUTS FROM TODAY:

There were no handouts for today.

IN CLASS TODAY:

1. We opened with some sentence diagramming review of the following sentences.  This week, we will continue with sentence diagramming.
   Wes was very frightened.
   Did he really believe Frank?
   David feels absolutely unmoored
   Gail shot the cumbersome shotgun.
   
   
2. Then, I checked your homework--a prepared set of notes for today's discussion on the following questions:

• What allows Grandpa Hayden to be so dismissive of the law? Consider internal and external factors (e.g. personality, culture, socio-economic status, etc.)
• To what extent is Wes Hayden dismissive of the law?
• Much of the book considers law vs. lawlessness, or civilization vs. wilderness.  Where do we see these forces conflict with one another, specifically for Wes,for Gail, and for David?
• Is Wes Hayden master of his own fate? Is Frank?
• ADDED: Is Wes a good brother?

    3.  Your reading quizzes were returned to you yesterday in your mailboxes. Please see me with questions or concerns.

CLASS NOTES:

Notes for today may be found here.

HOMEWORK:
Wes Hayden has been charged with being liable for Frank's death.  That means he can be held legally responsible.  Do you agree or disagree that this is a reasonable charge?  Come up with at least four reasons as to why Wes can be held responsible or why he can't; you may have reasons for both sides.  One of your reasons must appeal to a sense of REASON (e.g. be a logical argument), and another must appeal to a sense of EMOTION (e.g. try to make the listener angry at or sorry for Wes).  You are to write dow your reasons and bring them to class with you tomorrow, where they will be spot-checked.  Please bring your sentence diagramming workbook as well.

DAY 01 - CYCLE 01 - SEMESTER 02

WELCOME BACK everyone!
HANDOUTS FROM TODAY:

You were given your grade printout at the end of class.

IN CLASS TODAY:

1. Montana 1948 reading quiz.
2. Small group activity centered on selecting scenes from the novel that best help us answer essential questions about the book's main themes:

• What allows Grandpa Hayden to be so dismissive of the law? Consider internal and external factors (e.g. personality, culture, socio-economic status, etc.)
• To what extent is Wes Hayden dismissive of the law?
• Much of the book considers law vs. lawlessness, or civilization vs. wilderness.  Where do we see these forces conflict with one another, specifically for Wes,for Gail, and for David?
• Is Wes Hayden master of his own fate? Is Frank?
• ADDED: Is Wes a good brother?

    3.  Review of final exam, grades, comments.


CLASS NOTES:

Notes for today may be found here.

HOMEWORK
The four questions addressed in today's group activity will form the basis for discussion tomorrow.  You are to use the notes from today's class, review the scenes selected by the groups, and select ONE question to talk about.  You are to prepare a separate page of notes for class discussion tomorrow that outlines your answer to the question, lists pages on which evidence can be found, AND an explanation of how that evidence proves your point.  I will spot check notes at the beginning of class on Tuesday.

COMING UP:
On Wednesday and Thursday, we will be putting Wes Hayden on trial in class as being liable for Frank's death.  I will be asking you to use evidence from the novel, and to make appeals to both reason and emotion.

On Monday, you will arrive to class with a summary of the arguments for and against Wes, and you will be hand-writing a verdict in which you declare him guilty or innocent of the charge.  You may use your book and your summary that you prepared as homework to help, but that is all.  You will not be able to use class notes.  At the end of the period, I will collect both your argument summary and your verdict.