Enamored with English

Your final exam study guide is posted here....again.

One of my favorite writing reference sites is Owl Purdue.  Click here to see why.

For quick reference, a sample MLA formatted research paper is attached here.  Pay particular attention to the parenthetical citations included in the research paper.

For quick reference, a sample MLA formatted Works Cited page is attached here.

This weekend you should write a complete draft of your research paper.  You will have a chance to meet with me on Monday and Tuesday next week to go over these drafts.  (Please note that some of you may need to come after school if you want feedback on your drafts and I don't get to you in class.)  Your drafts should include Part I (research paper) and Part II (action plan).  If you already know what your memorial will look like, what your central symbol is and what it represents, please write Part III as well. 

Your final paper is due on Wednesday, June 15th.  Please submit your paper onto Turnitin AND print out a hard copy for me.

While I conference with students on Monday and Tuesday, you will have time to work on your memorial.  [If there are special materials that you need for the creation of your memorial please make sure you have them with you on Monday.]  You will also have all day Wednesday to work on your memorial and presentation.  ALL memorials are due on June 16th.  You will have the opportunity to present these memorials to your peers on Thursday and Friday. 

1)  97% of your research should be done at the beginning of tomorrow's class.
2)  All TEN journal entries are due at the beginning of class tomorrow.

Today’s Agenda:

Take out your notes so that I can come around and check them. 

Organize your notes (google docs for groups?) & research paper organization

Work time.

 

Reminders:  1)  Tomorrow will be the last day to work in the lab (TRC).  2) IRB journals are due on Friday.

 

Genocide Research Paper Organization

 

Part I:

Your thesis needs to answer the following question:

Why is it vital that the remembrance, history and lessons of the ____________________ (name your genocide) be passed onto to generations?

This is where your research and three key facts/examples from your independent reading book (survivor experience) come together. 

Organize your notes into subtopics: background, personal experiences, political climate, social climate, 8 stages (examples of organization, dehumanization, extermination, denial, etc…)

(2.5 pages double spaced)

 

Part II:

This section of your paper needs to address what you, as students, can do to combat and prevent prejudice, discrimination and violence in our world today.  (1 page double spaced.)

Please make sure your plan is specific and plausible.

 

Part III:

Explanation of your memorial.  (1/2 page)

Last page is your works cited

Sample Notes for viewing - organized by topic and source.

Today's notetaking information. Please read this document carefully as it has all of the information you will need over the next two days.  

External Websites:  Genocide Watch and Human Rights Watch

Mark your calendars!
The film, Race to Nowhere, will be shown Wednesday, June 8, at 7 pm at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, in the Fitzgerald Theater.  Filmmaker and mother, Vicki Abeles, aims her camera at high-stakes, high-pressure school culture and its impact on students.  The film asks families, educators, and the community to question our assumptions on how to best prepare our youth to become caring, engaged, and contributing adults. 

The showing will be followed by a short discussion.  Tickets may be purchased on the Race to Nowhere web site and at the door (if not sold out).  The film is co-sponsored by the CRLS Student Council and School Council.  More information below.


What is it?  Race to Nowhere, a documentary inspired by a parent's desire to understand how schools were causing stress in kids, has been making the rounds in nearby communities.  The grassroots phenomenon has parents across the country talking about homework policies and promising to lower stress on their kids and has students thinking deeply about the meaning of education.  Many people in Cambridge saw the movie in other places, and the buzz led a few to organize a showing.   

Why this movie?  It's a thought-provoking movie that inspires parents, teachers, students and community members to ask questions about our education system.  The CRLS Student Council and SChool Council are co-sponsors.  In the words of one senior who saw it in another town  " I think parents and teachers NEED to see it."

When? Wednesday, June 8   7 pm 

How much?   Tickets are $10 in advance (plus processing fee) or $15 at the door.  Every adult who buys a ticket can order one free student ticket.  The film distribution company charges a license fee and requires admission fees -- but shares proceeds with a nonprofit.  For the CRLS showing, all proceeds beyond the licensing fee will go to Friends of CRLS.

Tickets?  Buy online at:   rtncrls.eventbrite.com
As part of the agreement, the filmmakers handle ticketing for all community screenings.
If the link doesn't work, go to the website www.racetonowhere.com  -- click on screenings and find the June 8 CRLS showing. 

Read what a CRLS teacher wrote after seeing the movie:

I went into this screening without any prior knowledge of the film, nor an idea of "who" the film was targeting (cynically assuming a film like this had to target one group or another).

During the next eighty minutes I sat and watched -  at times, ashamed, saddened by what was being said and seen before me, reflecting on my role as an educator and parent; I was angered by some, empathized with most.  At the end of the screening three professors in the education department at Tufts answered questions and responded to comments for 25-30 minutes or so.  Many individuals, from the Medford, Boston, and Somerville public schools were present. A lot of undergraduate education students from Tufts were present, and used this time to comment on the film in light of their recent experiences in high school.  I sat back and listened, thinking to myself, yes, something needs to change....I feel passionately about this film, and believe that it is something the community should definitely see.

Weekend Homework:  Please continue reading your independent reading book and writing your journal entries this weekend.  This is your ONLY homework.

A couple of announcements in regards to class locations and scheduling for next week.

Period 2 will meet in the library on Monday and in Mr. Ware's computer lab (3rd floor of the Arts building) on Tuesday.  On both of these days Mrs. Maloney, another English teacher, will be in class with you, as I am on the ELA Interview Committee and will be interviewing prospective English teachers all day.  Mrs. Maloney will pass out detailed instructions on what you need to complete by the end of class on Tuesday.  Mrs. Samuels and her student teacher will be giving you instructions on Monday.  Please make sure to pay attention!

Period 4 will meet in the library on Monday and the TRC (3rd floor Mac lab in the Rindge building) on Tuesday.  I should be back in class for 4th period.

Please email me if you have any questions.

Username: crls
password: rindge

Not all databases will require a username and password

www.cpsd.us/crls/library

Prospectus Assignment - Due tomorrow.  Remember that only one prospectus needs to be passed in for each group. This should be formally written.