Article of the Week #5 What Motivates You?

As we get ready to voraciously feed from the novel, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger I thought about the protagonist Holden Caufield. He spends the entire novel trying to find himself, but he does so through other people. He looks at himself through the eyes of people be believes that are worthy (well, not always, but we'll get into that later).

So, in light of this profound revelation I began to wonder-who has influenced you the student, the person that stands before me each and every day with the exception of Wednesdays since we don't meet on---well you get the point.

In CQT format please tell me:
                           1. How has one person (your peer or elder) influenced you in a positive way?
                           2. What would you tell others about this person?
                           3. How has knowing this person changed your life in a real way?
                           4. Why has this person made an impact on your life?

You do have to know the person--as in talked to them face to face on more than one occasion (since you'll be using what they told you as your quotes for "Q" part of the paper).  I know I gave you four options above, but I wasn't sure if you might need an extra one in case you didn't like one; so there it is my gift to you an extra option.

The CQT form is due on Thursday, November 18th; please be prepared to share and discuss how different types of people have motivated us to do better in our own lives. I think like Holden, we (humanity) look to others to see how we are judged so that we can get to know ourselves a little better. Funny isn't it that we often have to look outside of ourselves in order to see who it is we really are.

Happy Writing!

Article of the Week #4: How Writing By Hand Makes Kids Smarter

Before I forced you to come to this blog what were you doing? It's a rhetorical question relax I don't really want a specific answer-or do I? With all of the new technology swirling around us I am amazed (even still) how quickly I can write out my thoughts on paper. How I can instantly (well, almost) create a short story that involves a sister, brother and a murder whereas when I chain myself to the keyboard my mind wanders and I begin to become seduced to all that is available at my fingertips: facebook, etsy(shopping), food network (I'm a girl who loves to cook),email or reading book reviews on amazon so I know what to check out at the library instead of doing what I had intended.

Read the article How Writing by Hand Makes Kids Smarter featured in The Week and tell me, does writing by hand make you smarter? What do you think about a student if they are asked to write in cursive on the board during D.O.L and can't do it? Make sure to read the directions this week as I've tweaked them just a little bit.

Directions: After reading the article please post a comment below. The comment should have ONE thing that surprised you and ONE thing you disagreed with. WAIT ! There's more- please post a question you had about the article or how it might relate to your life. You must answer at least one question posted by someone else in the comment section.

We will not be doing the traditional written response this week; we will use a CQT style response. I  know   strange that letter combination doesn't even make a word. It stands for Content--Quote--Tie-In and if you lost your copy in class or need a new one here it is CQT Graphic Organizer Handout. Don't worry all will be explained and this new tidbit of knowledge may just come in handy in more way than one.

Mrs. Ordway

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail"- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson PowerPoint and Cloze Notes

The king of granola, self-reflection and the original transcendentalist trendsetter...Ralph Waldo Emerson. If you were absent today or lost your notes (shame on you) I am here to help. Here is the Ralph Waldo Emerson PowerPoint and the Emerson Cloze Notes.  On a side note let's send a little appreciation to Dr. Karen Roggenkamp the original creator of the PowerPoint that we used in class today.  

Go forth and transcend young ones.

Article of the Week 3: The Internet is Spying on You

What do you know about your online activity. No, really think about it. What do you really know about the sites you visit even if they are harmless to anyone who looks up your browser history? Read the article The Internet is Spying on You from The Week and see what is really going on in the cyber world we are living  operating within.

How many of you love to surf the net to see what your friends are up to or to find good deals on the latest must have items? Read the article, let it sink in and begin putting your response together.
Directions: You are to write a one page(5 paragraphs) MLA formatted response. You must tell me what you agree with, disagree with and what confused  you in the article (something you still question) or something that may have surprised you. You must have at least one quote to back up your opinion, using the article as the support for you opinion. You may not say something is one way "because you said so" that line only works when your mother is trying to "ruin" your life because you can't go to the mall. Be prepared to discuss and turn in your paper on Thursday, November 4th. We will discuss how to start your introduction in class since many of you are having issues writing a solid thesis and allowing it to flow naturally into the bodies of your essay.


Enjoy and know that Mrsosenglish.blogspot.com is watching you.

Mrs. Ordway