ACE & Guided Study: Fall Final

Time is running out ladies and gentlemen, the year is halfway over and it's time to start thinking about finals.

I spoke with several of you about project ideas for your fall final, and you narrowed it down to three options you wanted to choose from. Check it out:

1. “Why Us” College Entrance Essay:

• According to College Board, there are two types of college entrance essay prompts, the “You” prompt, where the student shares about themselves and their life experience. There is also the “Why Us” prompt, in which the student outlines their career goals and why/how their school of choice will help them to attain those goals. Choose of the following essay prompts for your essay.
• “Tell us about yourself, your reasons for applying to __________ and your reasons for seeking a college education.” – University of San Francisco
• Describe your reasons for selecting __________ and your personal and professional goals and plans for after college.” – Loyola College MD
• We would like to know…what experiences have led you to your professional field and objective.” – Boston University

2. Leadership Qualities Essay:

• Analyze the leadership qualities of a business or world leader. For example you could choose Nelsen Mandela, Steve Jobs, or JK Rowling. Pick out 4-5 qualities that made that person successful, analyze these qualities and discuss why they are necessary/useful for success. Write a 5 page essay, double spaced, 12 pt font, Times New Roman, on your chosen topic. Your essay must include at least 3 sources, cited with MLA or APA documentation.

3. Resolving Conflict in the Workplace:

• Write a script for a 4-5 minute skit. You will be preforming this skit for the class on finals day. Your subject will be about resolving conflict in the workplace. Your skit should present the problem, a bad way to handle it, as well as a successful solution. Before choosing this project, please see me to get topic approval. You may work with a partner on this or you can fly solo if you wish.

If you have any questions about your final, or about the project/topic you have chosen, please see me. Don’t wait until the last minute!

All Projects will be due in class, on final’s day.

¡A rough draft of your project is due one week previous to the final deadline!

Check out the Rubric below, or download the PDF here (Adobe Reader needed).

Image Source: Link

Great Books: Fall Final

Here we are! Already the end of the Fall Semester and time to start thinking about Finals. I'm not a big fan of tests, so as usual, this semester you will be working on a project to show off your skills.

We've spent the past few weeks reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and we've focused on the following BIG Question: If we learn many important childhood lessons from books we read, and if Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is meant for kids and not adults, what is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland supposed to teach Victorian children?


We've had discussion, we've analyzed Dr. Seuss, and now it's time to show off what you know. Your final will be in two parts. In Part 1 you will be creating a children's book, complete with moral. In Part 2 you will be analyzing your book in an essay, much like we analyzed Dr. Seuss -- looking at characters, plot, imagery, overall message, and how that message is conveyed to the reader.

Remember the activity we did the other day, when I asked you what a picture book needed to be a good picture book? You came up with 7 categories and helped rank those categories in order of importance. Some of you have already guessed, but others may not have noticed that you were actually creating a rubric.


Check out the PDF below, or download it from here (Adobe Reader needed). Your essay will be due in class on Finals day, be prepared to present your project and discuss with the class.

Have fun!

Image Source:  Link

ACE & Guided Study: Independent Project Rubric

If you've been working on an independent project in the ACE or Guided Study class, you better make sure your familiar with this rubric. Be ready with your Action Plan, 'cause this is how you'll be graded.

Download PDF of the Independent Project Rubric here (Adobe Reader required), or see below.

All Classes: What's in a Name?

Ah, the age of the Internet. What bliss it is to have so much information at our fingertips! What joy to be able to do so much electronically! How green we are as we turn in assignments online, saving trees and wasted paper!

Hazzah!

When turning in work, even electronically, you still have to put your name and the title of the assignment at the top of the assignment. This is an important reminder and a lesson I am surprised many of you have forgotten. Without a name on your paper you will not receive credit.


Your paper heading should look something like this:

Name Date Class Period Title Of Assignment Example: Career Research Project

When using the DropitTO.me service or when emailing me an assignment, your file name should look something like this:

"Student Name - Assignment Name.doc"

I know you don't want to loose partial or whole credit on an assignment any more than I want to hunt for a name to match a paper. We can all wonder in the glory of electronic convenience and still manage to turn things in properly. Please don't forget to put your name on your assignment, both in the document/powerpoint/ect AND in the file name!

All Classes: Google Research Tips Infographic

Created by: HackCollege

Great Books: Alice Vocab and Character Assignment

In case you missed it, here is the vocab and character assignments from the Alice Unit.

Vocabulary: Keep Definitions in your notebook, a quiz will be given at the end of the novel.

1. Genre - A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
2. Anthropomorphism - The attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.
3. Allegory - A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
4. Parody - An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.
5. Rhythm - A strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound.
6. Rhyme - Correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, esp. when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry.
7. Pun - A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.
8. Ubiquitous - Present, appearing, or found everywhere
9. Disingenuous - Not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.
10. Pervasive - Spreading widely throughout an area or a group of people.

Characters: Character descriptions and analysis are due at the end of the unit and should have one paragraph for each character.

1. Alice
2. The White Rabbit
3. The Queen of Hearts
4. The Cheshire Cat
5. The Duchess 
6. The Mad Hatter

For your character analysis, consider the following questions:

Is the character well rounded? What motivates the characters actions? What are the items associated with the character, are they symbols of something greater? How does the character effect other characters in the book? Ect.

Great Books: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

Time to start a new text, so if you are absent today you will need to see me about getting your copy of the novel from the book room. Our new novel is another one of your selections: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and it's sequel, Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

The goal is to finish both texts by the end of the semester, so we're really going to have to move to make that happen.

Taking your comments from the last unit into consideration, we're going to be approaching this one a litter differently. Rather than doing a set of questions after each chapter, students will be responsible for coming up with 3 open-ended discussion questions for each day of reading. The plan is to read throughout the week and finish with discussion on Friday's (at this point your should have 6 discussion questions ready to share.) Yes you WILL be turning in your questions for a grade, and as always, your discussion participation will be graded as well.

Fortunately the Alice books are in the common domain, so there are free copies all over the internet. Check it out.

The Big Question we will be tackling in this unit is the following: If we learn many important childhood lessons from books we read, and if Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is meant for kids and not adults, what is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland supposed to teach Victorian children?

The Prezi we will be going over class today in embedded below. You will need to take notes, and you will need to include those notes in your notebook for the end of the 6wks.

Down the Rabbit Hole with Lewis Carroll on Prezi

Great Books: Minority Report

Greetings students! You were given the choice of one film this semester and you chose to watch it after out dystopian novel, Anthem by Ayn Rand. Here we go!

This week we will be watching Minotiry Report, directed by Steven Speilberg and starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton. The summary according to the Internet Movie Database:

In the future, criminals are caught before the crimes they commit, but one of the officers in the special unit is accused of one such crime and sets out to prove his innocence.

Sounds exciting. After watching the film you will be writing a short 5 paragraph essay on one of the following prompts:

1. How is this a dystopian film? What are the characteristics the film shares with the characteristics on our sheet?
2. What kind of dystopian control is used in the film? What are some examples of that control? Is it an effective way to controlling the people?
3. Who is the dystopian protagonist in the film? What are the dystopian characteristics they share with the characteristics on our list?
4. Compare the film with another dystopian story you know, either Anthem by Ayn Rand, or another of your choice. 

As you can probably tell, you will need the handout for "Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics" that we went over in class the other day. If you've lost your copy download the PDF here (Adobe Reader needed) or view the handout below.

Great Books: Anthem Essay Rubric and Help

By now you should have finished your essay outline and Zero Draft, you should also be well and truly ready to work on tweaking your Zero Draft into something more presentable. Lets take a look at what you need to accomplish with this essay and how it will be graded.

Download a PDF of the rubric here. (Adobe Reader required)

Lets look at Voice:

• Your paper should contain a strong sense of voice. I want to see that this paper is coming from you, I want to be able to see the way you think.
• Even though your essay needs to contain your voice, you aren't talking to your friends. Keep your audience in mind (me, your teacher, as well as the judges of the essay contest.) No chat speak, emoticons, and watch the grammar mistakes. 
• Keeping the audience in mind, remember this is an analysis essay, and should be written as such. It's important to remember to never use the word "I", "you", or "we". Do not refer to yourself or the reader at any time in the essay. If you get stuck try using the word "one" as in: "It makes one think." or say "the reader" instead of "you" as in: "The use of first person perspective really draws the reader into the story"

Lets talk Citations:

What is a Citation?

A citation is the tag that is placed is a direct quote from a book or short story, that is placed in academic writing. Citations and quotes are used in analysis essays to make connections between the reading, and the essayist's claims. For example, if I claim that the light bulb in Anthem is a symbol for knowledge, I had better include a quote and a citation to help the reader see that connection.

Why are Citation's important?

Citations and quotes help the reader understand the connections you are trying to make in your essay. They are especially important when you start pulling in other resources to back up your ideas. Citations let the reader know when you are using someone else's ideas, which is a really good idea in academic writing. If you don't give someone credit for their idea with a quote and a citation, then you are plagiarizing their ideas, and that will get you into a lot of trouble. 

What does a Citation look like?

For this essay, we're keeping things pretty simple, you are probably only going to be citing the novel, so your citations will look something like this:

"Quote" (Author Last Name, Page #)

"I am done with this monster 'We,' the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame." (Rand, 97)

How many Citations and Quotes do I need?

There is no hard and fast rule, it really depends on what you are trying to say. For the beginners you should aim for at least 3 per page, OR 2 per body paragraph.

Guided Study & ACE - Career Research Project

Please copy the questions and type your answers in paragraph form. Please cite your source(s) of information. 

1. What is the median salary and salary range for professionals in your career interest?
2. List ten things that professionals in your career interest do at their job? (What do they do?)
3. What are some professions related to your career interest?
4. Research someone who is an expert in your career interest.  Write a short biography of that person.  Include what that person does for their job, what kind of background do they have, and other interesting information about that person?
5. How many people are employed in your field in the United States? (include your source of information)
6. What is the projected job growth in your field? (i.e. How many jobs will there be in the future compared to today?) (include your source of information?
7. What kind of education (B.S. or B.A., M.S or M.A., Ph.D?) do people in your career interest need?
8. What are some subjects students should study in high school and college to pursue this career?

ACE: Due Nov. 8rd

Guided Study: Due Nov. 9th

Great Books: Anthem Essay

This week we're starting essays for the Anthem Essay Contest, information below:

Topics - select ONE of the following three topics:

1. Why did Ayn Rand name her main characters "Prometheus" and "Gaea"? Compare the historical myths of Prometheus and Gaea to the lives of these two characters.
2. What does Equality finally understand about his society when the Council threatens to destroy his invention?
3. In the final chapter of Anthem, Prometheus writes that he now understands "why the best in me had been my sins and my transgressions; and why I had never felt guilt in my sins." What has Prometheus come to understand about himself? Why does his society regard the "best in him" as sinful?

Technical info:

• Essays must be between 600-1200 words long.
• Write your essay in 12 point font, Times New Roman, and double space
• You do not have to use any sources other than the novel, if you prefer. However, if you feel you need to use outside sources, let me know and I will work with you to make sure your research is properly cited. 
• This IS for a grade! (several actually)
• Outline: Due Oct. 17th 
• 0-Draft: Due Oct. 21st
• 1st Draft: Due Oct. 26th 
• Final Draft: Due Oct. 31st
• Did I mention there are prizes?
• FIRST PRIZE: $2,000
• 5 SECOND PRIZES: $500
• 10 THIRD PRIZES: $200
• 45 FINALISTS: $50
• 175 SEMIFINALISTS: $30

ACE: College and Career Vocabulary Extra Credit Assignment

Copy the following list of words into a Word Document. You may know some of these definitions already, look up the rest until you have defined each item. These terms will be useful to know as you pass from high school, to college, the job field, or the military.

1. Academic Elective
2. Admission/Application/Acceptance
3. Advanced Placement (AP®)
4. Apprenticeship
5. Associate’s Degree
6. Bachelor’s Degree
7. Career Pathway
8. College
9. Commission
10. Community and Technical College
11. Core Course
12. Cost of attendance
13. Degrees
14. Doctoral Degree
15. Electives
16. Enlist
17. Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
18. Extra-Curricular Activities
19. FAFSA
20. Fees
21. Financial Aid
22. Financial Need
23. Four-year colleges and universities
24. Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
25. Grade Point Averages (GPA)/Letter Grades
26. Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET)
27. Guidance Counselor/Academic Advisor
28. Higher Education
29. Journey-level Worker/Trade Professional
30. Lifelong Learning
31. Master’s Degrees
32. Merit-based Financial Aid
33. National Merit Scholarship
34. NM Bridge to Success Scholarship
35. NM Lottery Scholarship
36. Occupational Education
37. Officer Candidate Schools (OCS) or Officer Training Schools (OTS)
38. Open Admissions Policy
39. Private vocational colleges
40. Proprietary or for-profit schools
41. PSAT®
42. Public/Private Colleges
43. Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)
44. SAT I® and SAT II®
45. Transcript
46. Transfer of Credits
47. Tuition
48. Tutor
49. Undergraduate
50. University

ACE & Guided Study: College Research Project

Lets talk Colleges.

Research Project time folks, lets start thinking about what various colleges offer to students, what the costs are and what kind of programs are available for students to participate in. Check out the rubric below (we will be talking about this in class) and let me know if you have any questions. If you have lost the hard copy rubric I gave you in class, you can download the PDF here. (Adobe Reader required)

ACE Students: This project is due 9/30/11

Presentations will be on 10/3/11

Great Books: Anthem by Ayn Rand

This week we are starting Anthem by Ayn Rand, a classic example of dystopian literature and a perfect first novel for this class. During this unit we will be looking at the following literary terms: Motif, Symbolism, Theme, Point of View. We will also discuss utpoias and dystopias, as well as the concepts of collectivism, and individualism.

The entire novella is available online and I've included a copy of it below.

Great Books: Dueling Authors

This week....

DUELING AUTHORS

Two Books Enter...One Book Leaves.

 
In the first week of class I asked for suggestions of possible "Great Books" to use in class. Unfortunately there were so many wonderful suggestions there was no way for them all to be incorporated into the class. So, this week is your opportunity to make your favorite book or author shine, while laying the smack down on your classmates.

Are you up for the challenge?

After selecting your favorite book/author, consider the following elements of great literature:

1. Great Characters
2. Great Plot
3. Great Language

To prepare for your battle of the books, gather the following information about your chosen champion:

1. Basic information: Setting: time/place, characters, ect.
2. Summary of Plot: Conflict, 3-5 Main Events, Resolution
3. Main Character: Description & changes
4. Example of Language: One quote showcasing the power of your author's writing
   

Once you have gathered all this information you should be ready for our Literary Thunderdome! Whose author will reign supreme?

Great Books: Nine Billion Names of God

This week we are reading The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke.

Arthur C. Clarke, prolific science fiction writer is responsible for such classic works like: The Fountains of Paradise and 2001: A Spave Odyssey. Clarke continues to be an essential figurehead of the sci fi genre and was a firm believer in the power of science fiction, saying:

One of the biggest roles of science fiction is to prepare people to accept the future without pain and to encourage a flexibility of mind.

For more about Arthur C. Clarke check out the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation.

Do what you love.

As a teacher I always want my students to reach for the stars and push-push-push themselves to be their best. As my students get closer and closer to graduation, the subjects of future schooling and potential career paths are a part of a constant conversation.

Below is an interesting infographic from Salary Tutor comparing salary to job satisfaction. I'm posting it here to remind us, that no matter how much money you would like to make in the future, in the end, you should do what you love.

Click for a larger version.

Great Books: Billy Collins

This week we are reading former poet laureate, Billy Collins.

About Billy Collins from poets.org

His work has been featured in the Pushcart Prize anthology and has been chosen several times for the annual Best American Poetry series. Collins has edited Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry (Random House, 2003), an anthology of contemporary poems for use in schools and was a guest editor for the 2006 edition of The Best American Poetry.

About Collins, the poet Stephen Dunn has said, "We seem to always know where we are in a Billy Collins poem, but not necessarily where he is going. I love to arrive with him at his arrivals. He doesn't hide things from us, as I think lesser poets do. He allows us to overhear, clearly, what he himself has discovered."

In 2001, Collins was named U.S. Poet Laureate. His other honors and awards include fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation. In 1992, he was chosen by the New York Public Library to serve as "Literary Lion".

We will be reading a small selection of his work including:

• Introduction to Poetry
• Fishing on the Suqyehanna in July
• Forgetfullness
• Some Days
• Litany
• The First Night
• The Golden Years
• Workshop

You can also find Billy Collins all over Youtube.com, with recorded readings and some very interesting animated poetry. I've included some of these videos below.

ACE: Finding your Internship

The ACE program is all about allowing students opportunities to get real-world, hands on experience and receive academic credit for it. We have a lot of work to do in order to find mentorships and internships that will be a great fit.

What can you do to help this process? Get ready!

1. Consult my yellow ACE handbook for career area's you are interested in and make sure I have a list.
2. Check out the internship description and requirements are before you make a decision. Think about the people in your life, is there anyone you know who might be able to give you a hand in landing that dream position?
3. Do research online, we need to keep our options open.
4. Finish your ACE application and get that turned in ASAP!
5. Work on your resume and cover letter, these are hugely important to the process and you need to have them ready when potential mentors ask for them.
6. Make some phone calls yourself. I understand you may feel nervous doing this, but most of what I am doing now is calling around just to see if internships are available. Often they are not, but it never hurts to ask and the more ground we cover the better it is for everyone. Remember, the sooner we get an internship set up, the sooner you can get out of class and get to work!
• Consider this scripts for phone calls:
• Hello my name is ____________________________ and I am from Atrisco Heritage Academy HS. I was interested in an internship at your business/company/firm. Can you please let me know if there are any internships available? Or who would I need to talk to in order to set one up?
• If available ask: What would I need to do to apply? Is there a formal application? An Interview? What are the requirements? What would the internship entail?
• Write down who you call, when, and who you spoke to. Also don't forget to write down everything they told you (even if it was bad news!)

Great Books: Flannery O'Connor

This week we are reading Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor.

Flannery O'Connor is considered one of the greatest of American writers. About her own fiction, Flannery O'Connor said:

"All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it, but most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless and brutal."

Though her fiction often comes off as very dark, Flannery O'Connor always insisted her world view was actually very positive. See for yourself and take part in the discussion! Click the covers below to view the whole story, or the SparkNotes version.

           

To read more about Flannery O'Connor, click here.

ACE and Guided Study: Building Your Resume

This week we will be working on building a working resume, one you can use when looking for a internship, a mentorship, or a job. Mastering the resume is perhaps one of the greatest and most valuable real-world skill we can teach you. We will be working on building up your strengths, identifying your skills, and presenting them all in a clean, professional manner.

We will be working with this Resume Worksheet Packet, to get your ideas down on paper, before typing it up useing one of the templates provided in the back of the packet. (You will need some kind of PDF reader to open that file.)

Great Books: Why War? by Sigmund Freud

This week we are reading Why War? by Sigmund Freud

In 1932 Albert Einstein was charged by the League of Nations to engage in a dialog, in a series of public letters, on a pressing problem or question. He chose psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud. The question he posed was: 

"Is there any way of delivering humankind from the menace of war?" He was asking the question that many of us are asking today: "How can we promote peace?"

This week we will be reading and discussing Sigmund Freud's response, which I have embedded below. For more information on Sigmund Freud click here.

Welcome Back!

Keep an eye here for assignments, class documents, and more!

The Last Word of the Day Test

Iota -n 1. The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding to the English i. 2. A very small quantity or degree; a jot; a bit.

Unctuous –adj 1.characterized by excessive piousness excessively smooth, suave, or smug 2.having an oily or soapy feel

Pervasive -adj 1.existing in or spreading through every part of something

Rancor –n 1.bitter, rankling resentment or ill will; hatred; malice.

Mercurial –adj 1.changeable; volatile; fickle; erratic 2.animated; lively; sprightly; quick-witted. 3.pertaining to the metal mercury.

Affable –adj 1. pleasantly easy to approach and to talk to; friendly; cordial; warmly polite 2. showing warmth and friendliness

Decorous –adj 1. characterized by dignified propriety in conduct, manners, appearance, character, etc.

Verisimilitude –n 1. the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability 2. something having merely the appearance of truth.

Prodigal -adj 1.wastefully of recklessly extravagant 2.giving or yielding profusely;lavish (usually followed by of or with)

Debilitate -verb. 1. to make weak or feeble; enfeeble: The siege of pneumonia debilitated her completely.

Contemp Issues - Your Immigration Solutions

Well, our podcasts are finally done! I've just finished the last touches on my cut and I think I've figured out this hosting thing. You can use the mini players below  to listen to your Immigration Solution Podcast, or you can check out this link to download the mp3.

Good job guys!


3rd Period

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6th Period

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3rd Period - Opperation: Total Media Starvation

 This week we are starting our unit on technology and it's effect on our lives, a topic YOU chose. (Good job guys) Because of AP testing and Law Academy activities going on this week, I'll be posting assignments here for those of you who are missing class.

Operation: Total Media Starvation. Can you unplug?

On Friday we briefly discussed the differences between media and technology. We decided that technology is the means in which media is presented to us. For example: your iPod is technology and your music is media. This weekend I challenged you to give up media for a 24 hour period. No music, no radio, no newspapers, magazines, and no internet access. After some discussion we decided books were okay, and telephone use was fine as long as you didn't text.

So, how did it go?

Your assignment today is to write a 750 word response to my challenge OR draw/write a 10 cell comic strip on the same subject. You should discuss you experiences, was it hard? Easy? Impossible? Did things end up the way you feared/hoped? Did you learn anything new about yourself?

When you are finished, watch the documentary below. The film follows three college students as they try to give up using computers for 3 whole weeks, as they struggle to communicate, get their assignments done, and make it through "digital detox."


Watch more free documentaries

Word Of the Day: 5th 6 Weeks

Serendipity –n 1. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. 2. good fortune; luck

Languish -verb to be or become feeble, weak, or enervated, to be or live in a state of depression or decreasing vitality

Culpable -adj: deserving blame or censure; blameworthy.

Aberration –n 1.the act of departing from the right, normal, or usual course. 2.the act of deviating from the ordinary or normal type.

Microcosm -n.1.a little world; a world in miniature 2.anything that is regarded as a world in miniature.

Xenophobia -n. an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.

Masticate -v 1.To grind with or as if with the teeth in preparation for swallowing and digestion; to chew; 2.To crush into a pulp.

Enigma -n 1.a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation .2.a person of puzzling or contradictory character. 3.a riddle.

Precarious adj. 1.Dangerously lacking in security or stability. 2.Subject to chance 3.Based on uncertain or unproved premises.

Auspicious -adj 1: promising success, favorable 2: fortunate, prosperous

Contemp Issues: Frontline Assignment

As you know this week we are knee deep in high stakes SBA testing and on Wed and Thurs we have a slightly different school schedule because of the testing. Due to this alternate schedule, we will be working on some side assignments in class that can easily be made up by the juniors who are currently testing.

Frontline: Growing up Online

The video is 55 minutes long, to watch the whole episode, click the link BELOW the embedded video.

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Watch the video above and write a one page compare/contrast paper:

The Internet is sometimes labeled the new "Wild West." Is this true? Do a Web search to learn about what life was like in what is characterized as the Wild West. Come up with a list of five themes that represent the Wild West and compare them to what the Internet is like. Is this an good representation of online life?

Continue your writing for another one page reflection paper where you reflect on the following questions:

How would you characterize your experiences online? Think about the benefits and the dangers of the internet, does the good outweigh the bad? Or does the dangers of the internet make more trouble than it’s worth?

Is the internet something we need to protect young people from? If so, how? Is the even something we should be worrying about?

Both of these papers are due next week on April 11 & 12.

Independent Study: Important Dates

Image Source

Welcome back from spring break! It might not seem like it now, but we have just hit the slippery slope heading to the end of the year. Not counting Finals week, we only have roughly 8.5 weeks of class left! The countdown has begun and it's time to start thinking about your final due dates.

You decided on these due dates in class, so I hope you can keep up! As usual, you will have weekly/daily logs due every week (on Friday) but here are the big assignments leading up to, and including, your final!

• April 8th – Interview Questions Due
• April 18th – Interview Transcript and Reflection Due
• April 27th – 1st Rough Draft Due
• May 9th – 2nd Rough Draft Due
• May 20 – Final Paper Due
• May 26 – Infographic Due (may change depending on finals schedule)

Contemp Issues: The Least of These

Watch more free documentaries

Today we will be picking up on our discussion of the US immigration policy that deals with children and families in detention centers. Last time we read about Fega, a Nigerian girl who was kept in detention for over a year after being abandoned by her parents. Today we will be looking at the Hutto Facility in Texas, were families with children are kept pending their asylum applications or deportation hearings.

As part of the Bush administration policy to end what they termed the “catch and release’” of undocumented immigrants, the U.S. government opened the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in May 2006 as a prototype family detention facility. The facility is a former medium-security prison in central Texas operated by CCA, the largest private prison operator in the country. The facility houses immigrant children and their parents from all over the world who are awaiting asylum hearings or deportation proceedings.

As these events unfold, the film explores the government rationale for family detention, conditions at the facility, collateral damage, and the role (and limits) of community activism in bringing change. The film leads viewers to consider how core American rights and values – due process, presumption of innocence, upholding the family structure as the basic unit of civil society, and America as a refuge of last resort – should apply to immigrants, particularly children.

As we watch will need to come up with three open-ended questions which you will bring up in discussion at the end of the film. These questions will be for a grade.

Independent Study: Google Search Tips

Here's the information we went over yesterday in class, if you would like to take a look again. I recommend looking at this in full screen (under the "More" button) to be able to read it clearly.

Google Search Tricks on Prezi

Independent Study: Infographic Rubric

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We've been looking at some really awesome inforgraphics in class, while evaluating what works in quality infographic design. From that evaluation, you created the rubric and decided on how the different parts should be graded. 

As you continue with your research, remember that you should try to narrow your topic. A narrow topic creates more in depth research, and is more interesting to you as well as your audience. A broad topic creates shallow research, that only covers the surface, common knowledge information on a topic. 

Also, be aware that your research is going to be transformed into an infographic. Start thinking about how you want to present your information. What facts need to be included? What can be translated into graphs and charts? How can you make your infographic engaging and interesting? Keep in mind the point values you gave to  each item on the rubric (below) as you start to think about this project. 

Click for Infographic Rubric

Journal Write: Immigration

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Today we start taking a look at immigration and immigration issues in America. Because of our location, as a border state with Mexico, I would hazard a guess that many of us know at least one person who has immigrated to the United States, legal or not. As we move through this topic, we will often look at the stories of people who have fought to come here, to the country and the life we often take advantage of.

For your journal write today, I want you to think about the people you know who have immigrated, or tried to, to the United States. What do you know of their story? Are they legal? What do you know of the process to becoming a legal immigrant? What is life like for someone who is in the country illegally?

If you don’t know someone who is an immigrant, write about what you think it would be like to come into a new country and try to start a new life. What would motivate a person to leave the country of their birth? What kind of impact has immigration had on the US, both in the past and now, as part of current events? Is it a positive one? Is it negative?

Word of the Day Quiz

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Our next word of the day quiz is upon us. You'll be expected to know the following:

Insipid –adj 1. without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities. 2. without taste to be pleasing, as food or drink; bland

Harbinger -n 1: one that pioneers in or initiates a major change, precursor 2: one that presages or foreshadows what is to come

Doppelganger -n 1. A ghostly double or counterpart of a living person. 2. Alter ego; double.

Abscond -v To depart secretly; to steal away and hide oneself; used especially of persons who withdraw to avoid arrest or prosecution

Homage –n 1)respect or reverence paid or rendered 2)something done or given in acknowledgment or consideration of the worth of another

Gung-ho -adj 1. Wholeheartedly enthusiastic and loyal; eager; zealous. 2. In a successful manner

Woebegone -adj. 1: strongly afflicted with woe; woeful. 2: exhibiting great woe, sorrow, or misery. 3: being in a sorry state

Hubris –n. excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.

Oscillate –v 1. to swing or move to and fro as a pendulum does. 2 to vary or vacillate between differing beliefs, opinions, conditions

Encroach–v 1. To advance beyond proper, established, or usual limits. 2. To trespass upon the domain, or rights of another.

Blight –n. 1)the rapid discoloration, wilting, and death of plant tissues. 2)any cause of destruction, ruin, or frustration.

Zenith -n. 1. A highest point or state; culmination. 2. The point on the celestial sphere vertically above a given position.

Study Skills Job Presentation

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We've been researching different jobs and careers the last few weeks, now its time to put it together into a presentation for the whole class.

My Job of Choice: PowerPoint Presentation

Create a PowerPoint Presentation on the job you have been researching. Your presentation should include the information you have gathered, as well as interesting and colorful images. You need to make sure the information is clear, in complete sentences, without any misspellings or typos. Don't forget to proofread!

You will be presenting this PowerPoint to the class, you presentation should last at least 3 minutes.

Your PowerPoint should have the following, required slides. 

1. Title Slide - Includes Name, Class Period, Title, Ect...
2. Description - What kind of work would you be doing? What is your responsibilities?
3. Salary - How much does this job pay per hour, or per year?
4. Educational Requirements for the Job - What type of education do you need to do this job?
5. Educational Steps - Where can you get the education, certification, or training you need to do this job?
6. Advantages/Disadvantages of this Job - What are some good things about having this job? What are some bad things?