Huge+Assignment

For lack of a better title, this is the name of the semester long assignment you will be doing. It will consist of several parts as follows: Part 1: Reading Circle one/reading response journals Part 2: Reading Circle two/reading response journals Part 3: Research/Essay writing Part 4: Presentation Zen creation Part 5: Delivery of presentation Zen ** Parts one and two ** : Reading Circles ** Purpose: ** Reading circles are small version of group class discussion. They are nice because each circle will be discussing a different topic, so you can decide what you want to do rather than have something forced upon you. Additionally, real conversations can develop due to the limited size rather than having a few individuals lead the class discussion for the whole class. ** Content: ** You have been supplied with a list of books to choose from for your reading circle. You will be placed into a group randomly. The idea is to mix ideas with people you may not always mesh with or merely just don’t talk to on a regular basis. As a small group, you will then decide on the book you will read from the list provided. It is an extensive list covering a variety of topics that line up with the topics we will be discussing from //ReReading America// on days we are not doing the reading circles. As a group you will set up a schedule for reading that will allow you to complete the book of your choice by the deadline given. You will do this twice this semester. After you complete reading circle one, groups will be randomly rearranged and you will repeat the process with a new book in group two. Along the way, you will do reading response journals and turn in discussion logs for each meeting (see below for more info). ** Procedure: ** ** 1. ** You will randomly be placed in groups ** 2. ** As a group, you will choose a book from the list that you will agree to read. Individually, you must purchase your book and have a copy with you by the first scheduled meeting. ** 3. ** As a group, you will decide upon a reading schedule you will follow. Meeting days have already been assigned. Your job is to make sure you finish the whole book by the end of reading circle one. ** 4. ** You will follow your schedule for each class period that is designated as a reading circle day. Readings are to be done before you arrive in class that day. Failure to read on a consistent basis may result in removal from the group and in your having to do all the work on your own (way less fun!). ** 5. ** Each time you meet as a group, you will have a new role in the group (see group role handout). I will rotate groups on each meeting and observe your conversation while alternately wandering the room and observing all conversations. ** 6. ** Grades will be given based on the following: a. the quality of your contributions to your lit circle discussion ` b. the extent to which you keep up with your responsibilities to   your group c. the quality of your ideas on your Lit Circle Notes d. the quality of your group’s discussion ** 7. ** You will know your role prior to class and should come prepared to lead your part of the reading circle with your questions already written out on the forms provided. Forms will be turned in at the end of every reading circle discussion. ** Parts one and two ** : Reading Response Journals ** Purpose: ** The purpose of a reader response journal is to help you think critically about your reactions and responses to the text. These are **not to be summaries** of what you have read, but instead, the journals should explore your connections, questions, observations, analysis, and predictions about the elements of the novel. Summarizing will get you a 0! ** Content: ** Journals will be done in the form of a wiki using wikispaces.com, which is a free site. We will set this up as a class, but you will each have your own individual wiki. On the assigned days on the schedule, you are to email me your wiki link and I will grade your responses. These make up a sizable portion of the grade, so do be sure to do them and do them well. ** Procedure: ** 1. Thought the reading circles are a group project, the reading journals are an individual evaluation of the work you have done and the quality of thought you are putting into your reading. 2. On the days listed on your schedule, you are to email me the link to your wiki and I will grade what you have done. Any posts made after the due date will not be counted toward your points. 3. Grades will be given based on the following: a. Each response must be three paragraphs of at least 7-10 sentences i. Paragraphs one and two should be based on any or the writing prompts on the writing prompt page or any opinion on a specific thought you have over the reading section ii. Paragraph three must begin with a quote from the assigned reading section (be sure it’s in quotation marks and includes the page numbers). You are to explain why this passage stands out to you and how it adds to your understanding about the issue your book is centered on or how/why you disagree with it. b. Format: posts must be in formal English with few to no grammatical errors (posts that do not meet these requirements will not be graded – put effort into your work!). Posts should be in size 12 standard font (Times New Roman, Calibri, Veranda, Ariel). However, the responses should be informal. c. Be aware that book titles are underlined or italicized and chapter title (if applicable) go in quotation marks. d. These posts are to be informal. They are personal reactions to your book! e. The depth and detail (not FLUFF!) of each paragraph. f. Discussion of your understandings and reflections about the text you have selected and the section you have read. g. **// Support for each paragraph by giving specific examples, especially page and line numbers from the text. //**  h. Overall investment of yourself as a reader with this text. i. Attention to creating writing that is suitable for public viewing in terms of spelling, grammar, and usage. ** Part Three ** : Research/Essay Writing ** Purpose: ** To synthesize ideas from //ReReading America// and your reading circle text in a coherent, well-researched, formal, argumentative essay. This will show how well you have grasped the subject of your texts, how well you can argue through writing, and how well you can write a formal essay. You will do one essay over a topic you pick based on each of the reading circles. Due dates are on the class schedule. ** Content: ** Each essay should be five full pages, contain a minimum of six reputable sources, be written in formal style and language, contain all the basic parts of the essay, and effectively argue your position. ** Procedure: ** 1. Based on your readings from //ReReading America// and your reading circle book choices, you are to choose a topic that is small enough to be well covered in five pages of an essay. be sure to think about what you would possibly want to write on every time you read an article or a section of your book. You do not want to wait until the last minute to formulate a topic. The sooner you get started on this, the better off you will be. At any point, you may bring me an outline with a thesis and topic sentences written out and I will give you advice before or after school. 2. As soon as you have your topic, you must fill out an outline. Writing Wednesdays will be a good time to go over outline ideas. Be sure to have me check off your ideas so that you start off headed in the right direction. 3. Once you have finished the outline, you have to begin your research. Again, this isn’t something you can leave until the last minute. Strong essays take a while to write and must go through at least one revision process. Several writing Wednesdays will be dedicated to individual conferences between you and me. You must have a typed, printed copy of your essay that is at least three pages long to get your points for these conferences. See the course schedule for when your time will be. 4. You must revise your essay at least once. This must be done by hand on a paper copy that was previously typed and printed out in Word (or another program). This will be due for points at the time the whole essay is due. 5. Submit final essay to turnitin.com by the due date listed on the schedule. In class that day you will turn in a folder with pockets that contains your outline and your hand edited copy of the essay. 6. Essay will be graded based on the scoring guide previously given to you. ** Parts Four and Five ** : Presentation Zen creation/delivery ** Purpose: ** to demonstrate your understanding of the content of your focused reading circles and class discussions into an effective, well-research, well-presented presentation. This style of presentation will be very valuable to you in life after school. The business world and even colleges no longer accept boring power point presentations with bullet points that you read off of! Think of this as life skills in the making. ** Content: ** You will choose one specific topic presented from **either** of the reading circle books you chose. You are to address the issue, give a brief background of the issue, and focus on solutions of the issue in your presentation. You will only be allowed one 4x5 note card with notes for you. This note card will be turned in at the end of your presentation. Full sentences are not allowed. You should know the content of your presentation well enough that you only need a few words for each slide to remind you of what you are going to say. If you write the whole presentation out on the card, you will be given an automatic F! See handout for more specifications on this project. ** Procedure: ** 1. The score of this project and the final essay combined will be your final grade for the semester (10% of your total grade!). Try to pick a topic as early as you can. Obviously it should be a topic you genuinely care about. Once you have your topic, you will begin your research. 2. Once the research is completed, you will need to find pictures (not clip art) for your slides. Be sure to save the URLs of the pictures as they are required on the slides and you must submit a works cited page after you give your presentation. 3. Be sure to rehearse your presentation!!!!! Points will be deducted for monotone presentations and/or presentations that are given with lots of stumbling over words. It should be a seamless, smooth presentation. 4. For more details on the presentation requirements and grading criteria, see the handouts. ** HUGE Assignment! **  For lack of a better title, this is the name of the semester long assignment you will be doing. It will consist of several parts as follows: Part 1: Reading Circle one/reading response journals Part 2: Reading Circle two/reading response journals Part 3: Research/Essay writing Part 4: Presentation Zen creation Part 5: Delivery of presentation Zen ` b. the extent to which you keep up with your responsibilities to your group e. The depth and detail (not FLUFF!) of each paragraph. f. Discussion of your understandings and reflections about the text you have selected and the section you have read. g. **// Support for each paragraph by giving specific examples, especially page and line numbers from the text. //** h. Overall investment of yourself as a reader with this text. i. Attention to creating writing that is suitable for public viewing in terms of spelling, grammar, and usage.
 * HUGE Assignment! **
 * Parts one and two ** : Reading Circles
 * Purpose: ** Reading circles are small version of group class discussion. They are nice because each circle will be discussing a different topic, so you can decide what you want to do rather than have something forced upon you. Additionally, real conversations can develop due to the limited size rather than having a few individuals lead the class discussion for the whole class.
 * Content: ** You have been supplied with a list of books to choose from for your reading circle. You will be placed into a group randomly. The idea is to mix ideas with people you may not always mesh with or merely just don’t talk to on a regular basis. As a small group, you will then decide on the book you will read from the list provided. It is an extensive list covering a variety of topics that line up with the topics we will be discussing from //ReReading America// on days we are not doing the reading circles. As a group you will set up a schedule for reading that will allow you to complete the book of your choice by the deadline given. You will do this twice this semester. After you complete reading circle one, groups will be randomly rearranged and you will repeat the process with a new book in group two. Along the way, you will do reading response journals and turn in discussion logs for each meeting (see below for more info).
 * Procedure: **
 * 1) ** 1. ** You will randomly be placed in groups
 * 2) ** 2. ** As a group, you will choose a book from the list that you will agree to read. Individually, you must purchase your book and have a copy with you by the first scheduled meeting.
 * 3) ** 3. ** As a group, you will decide upon a reading schedule you will follow. Meeting days have already been assigned. Your job is to make sure you finish the whole book by the end of reading circle one.
 * 4) ** 4. ** You will follow your schedule for each class period that is designated as a reading circle day. Readings are to be done before you arrive in class that day. Failure to read on a consistent basis may result in removal from the group and in your having to do all the work on your own (way less fun!).
 * 5) ** 5. ** Each time you meet as a group, you will have a new role in the group (see group role handout). I will rotate groups on each meeting and observe your conversation while alternately wandering the room and observing all conversations.
 * 6) ** 6. ** Grades will be given based on the following:
 * 7) a. the quality of your contributions to your lit circle discussion
 * 1) c. the quality of your ideas on your Lit Circle Notes
 * 2) d. the quality of your group’s discussion
 * 3) ** 7. ** You will know your role prior to class and should come prepared to lead your part of the reading circle with your questions already written out on the forms provided. Forms will be turned in at the end of every reading circle discussion.
 * Parts one and two ** : Reading Response Journals
 * Purpose: ** The purpose of a reader response journal is to help you think critically about your reactions and responses to the text. These are **not to be summaries** of what you have read, but instead, the journals should explore your connections, questions, observations, analysis, and predictions about the elements of the novel. Summarizing will get you a 0!
 * Content: ** Journals will be done in the form of a wiki using wikispaces.com, which is a free site. We will set this up as a class, but you will each have your own individual wiki. On the assigned days on the schedule, you are to email me your wiki link and I will grade your responses. These make up a sizable portion of the grade, so do be sure to do them and do them well.
 * Procedure: **
 * 1) 1. Thought the reading circles are a group project, the reading journals are an individual evaluation of the work you have done and the quality of thought you are putting into your reading.
 * 2) 2. On the days listed on your schedule, you are to email me the link to your wiki and I will grade what you have done. Any posts made after the due date will not be counted toward your points.
 * 3) 3. Grades will be given based on the following:
 * 4) a. Each response must be three paragraphs of at least 7-10 sentences
 * 5) i. Paragraphs one and two should be based on any or the writing prompts on the writing prompt page or any opinion on a specific thought you have over the reading section
 * 6) ii. Paragraph three must begin with a quote from the assigned reading section (be sure it’s in quotation marks and includes the page numbers). You are to explain why this passage stands out to you and how it adds to your understanding about the issue your book is centered on or how/why you disagree with it.
 * 7) b. Format: posts must be in formal English with few to no grammatical errors (posts that do not meet these requirements will not be graded – put effort into your work!). Posts should be in size 12 standard font (Times New Roman, Calibri, Veranda, Ariel). However, the responses should be informal.
 * 8) c. Be aware that book titles are underlined or italicized and chapter title (if applicable) go in quotation marks.
 * 9) d. These posts are to be informal. They are personal reactions to your book!
 * Part Three ** : Research/Essay Writing
 * Purpose: ** To synthesize ideas from //ReReading America// and your reading circle text in a coherent, well-researched, formal, argumentative essay. This will show how well you have grasped the subject of your texts, how well you can argue through writing, and how well you can write a formal essay. You will do one essay over a topic you pick based on each of the reading circles. Due dates are on the class schedule.
 * Content: ** Each essay should be five full pages, contain a minimum of six reputable sources, be written in formal style and language, contain all the basic parts of the essay, and effectively argue your position.
 * Procedure: **
 * 1) 1. Based on your readings from //ReReading America// and your reading circle book choices, you are to choose a topic that is small enough to be well covered in five pages of an essay. be sure to think about what you would possibly want to write on every time you read an article or a section of your book. You do not want to wait until the last minute to formulate a topic. The sooner you get started on this, the better off you will be. At any point, you may bring me an outline with a thesis and topic sentences written out and I will give you advice before or after school.
 * 2) 2. As soon as you have your topic, you must fill out an outline. Writing Wednesdays will be a good time to go over outline ideas. Be sure to have me check off your ideas so that you start off headed in the right direction.
 * 3) 3. Once you have finished the outline, you have to begin your research. Again, this isn’t something you can leave until the last minute. Strong essays take a while to write and must go through at least one revision process. Several writing Wednesdays will be dedicated to individual conferences between you and me. You must have a typed, printed copy of your essay that is at least three pages long to get your points for these conferences. See the course schedule for when your time will be.
 * 4) 4. You must revise your essay at least once. This must be done by hand on a paper copy that was previously typed and printed out in Word (or another program). This will be due for points at the time the whole essay is due.
 * 5) 5. Submit final essay to turnitin.com by the due date listed on the schedule. In class that day you will turn in a folder with pockets that contains your outline and your hand edited copy of the essay.
 * 6) 6. Essay will be graded based on the scoring guide previously given to you.
 * Parts Four and Five ** : Presentation Zen creation/delivery
 * Purpose: ** to demonstrate your understanding of the content of your focused reading circles and class discussions into an effective, well-research, well-presented presentation. This style of presentation will be very valuable to you in life after school. The business world and even colleges no longer accept boring power point presentations with bullet points that you read off of! Think of this as life skills in the making.
 * Content: ** You will choose one specific topic presented from **either** of the reading circle books you chose. You are to address the issue, give a brief background of the issue, and focus on solutions of the issue in your presentation. You will only be allowed one 4x5 note card with notes for you. This note card will be turned in at the end of your presentation. Full sentences are not allowed. You should know the content of your presentation well enough that you only need a few words for each slide to remind you of what you are going to say. If you write the whole presentation out on the card, you will be given an automatic F! See handout for more specifications on this project.
 * Procedure: **
 * 1) 1. The score of this project and the final essay combined will be your final grade for the semester (10% of your total grade!). Try to pick a topic as early as you can. Obviously it should be a topic you genuinely care about. Once you have your topic, you will begin your research.
 * 2) 2. Once the research is completed, you will need to find pictures (not clip art) for your slides. Be sure to save the URLs of the pictures as they are required on the slides and you must submit a works cited page after you give your presentation.
 * 3) 3. Be sure to rehearse your presentation!!!!! Points will be deducted for monotone presentations and/or presentations that are given with lots of stumbling over words. It should be a seamless, smooth presentation.
 * 4) 4. For more details on the presentation requirements and grading criteria, see the handouts.