Quick Write

How do you handle/approach a difficult or new text?

Persuasion and Rhetoric

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/04/

Agenda for Tuesday 9/14 (3A)

1. Warm-up: Read directions and complete handout appropriately.  Then, pick one of the statements and create a “T-chart” containing a side for each position on the issue and fill in with ideas supporting each side.

EXAMPLE:

Agenda for Thursday 9/9/2010

1. Warm-up: In the white workbooks labeled Writing Test, complete exercise 1 on pp.16-17

2. Review “Understanding the Writing Prompt”

3. Planning/Pre-writing/Brainstorming in order to develop a controlling idea or formulate an arguable thesis that makes a clear and knowledgeable judgment.

Activity/Practice: pp. 147 , 163 , 171 , 183 , 195

A.) Identify the TOPIC, AUDIENCE, and PURPOSE for all five of the writing prompts listed above.

B.) Then, pick any two of the five and generate a sufficient amount of relevant ideas by brainstorming/planning appropriately (SEE ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES FOR BRAINSTORMING ON pp. 42-52)

Quotes by Lou Holtz

Do right. Do your best. Treat others as you want to be treated.

If you try to fight the course, it will beat you.

It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.

Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.

The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.

Links, etc.

Greece NY:

http://web001.greece.k12.ny.us/academics.cfm?subpage=930

Teach Web 2.o

http://teachweb2.wikispaces.com/

JustReadNow.com Strategies

http://www.justreadnow.com/strategies/vocabulary.htm

http://www.justreadnow.com/strategies/organization.htm

http://www.justreadnow.com/strategies/discussion.htm

http://www.justreadnow.com/strategies/active.htm

Tips for Organizing Electronic Files & Folders

from About.com: 

5. Follow the file naming conventions.
Do not use spaces in file names, keep file names under 27 characters, and use all lower case. So a file named for a client should be jackdawson rather than Jack Dawson. If you break any of these rules, be consistent about it.

. Be specific.
Give files logical, specific names and include dates in file names if possible. The goal when naming files is to be able to tell what the file is about without having to open it and look. So if the document is a letter to a customer reminding him that payment is overdue, call it something like “overdue081206” rather than something like “letter”. How will you know who the letter is to without opening it? See the next point.

7. File as you go.
The best time to file a document is when you first create it. So get in the habit of using the “Save As” dialogue box to file your document as well as name it, putting it in the right place in the first place.

8. Order your files for your convenience.
If there are folders or files that you use a lot, force them to the top of the file list by renaming them with a ! or an AA at the beginning of the file name.

from Microsoft.com

• The best way to name your files is to think about how you’ll look for them next year. What keywords would you think of first? If you were searching on the Internet for the topic, what would you type? Then make sure that you include these keywords in the title.  If you make it a habit to give each document a good title now, you should be able to find the document by using your computer’s search feature. Just type in a logical keyword and, voilà, your document will appear.

Learn to keep your files organized

Everyone goes through stages in which they spend time getting organized. If you’re typical, you’re organized for a few days, and then you fall back into old habits. Try to stick to a few easy rules that maintain at least a basic level of organization when it comes to computer files.

• Include file names on your documents   The document name can be placed in the footer of a Microsoft Office Word document, for example, by using the AutoText command on the Insert menu. You can include only the document name or both the document name and the path to where the document is saved. (The latter is very helpful on a printed copy when you can’t find the document on your computer.)
• Create a directory for the past school year    When you start a new school year, put a copy of your files into that directory. Then you can modify documents as needed for the new school year without losing last year’s versions of the documents.
• Organize your e-mail   The same filing principles that were outlined earlier in this article can be applied to your e-mail account. Create folders for listservs, and apply rules that automatically file your e-mail messages as they’re delivered into your account. Also, be sure to use good subject lines in your e-mail messages — it’s much easier to find an e-mail message if it has a subject line that applies to the content of the message.
• Clean house   Get in the habit of going through your files and deleting the ones that haven’t been used in a long while. By using the search feature, you can find documents by date. If a file was last modified or created more than two years ago, delete it. If you think that you might use it in the distant future, burn it onto a CD before deleting it.
• Index your files   Did you know that your computer will index all of your files for you? Even text within documents. After indexing is set up, it will run automatically and requires little attention. This greatly improves the search functionality of your computer.

Set organizational goals that you can meet

When it comes to organizing your electronic files, don’t feel that you have to do it all at once. You can take it one step at a time. First, follow the steps in this article to set organizational goals that you can use going forward. Then, if your documents are strewn all over your computer, create a directory titled “Old Documents” and put all of your old files, just as they are, in that directory. As you access and use those old files, save each of them to its place in your new electronic filing cabinet.

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Student Employment Survey (from W. Johnson)

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N2CNGN2

A Mission worth Mention

“

To prepare all of my students to be successful students, workers, and citizens, I will:

• teach them to read and communicate using a range of texts, tools, and techniques
• develop in them the necessary personal and academic skills, knowledge, and habits
• engage them in sustained conversations about themselves, the world, and their place in it through a rich array of texts, perspectives, and experiences
• know each student personally so that I can serve as a mentor or guide them to those who can better provide such guidance
• inspire all my students to love learning by giving them opportunities to discover and explore their interests and talents through meaningful work, and by being a role model as a learner, reader, and adult. “

-Written by Jim Burke on his blog 12/7/2009.