June 7

Mostly acting today but I have at least one rehearsal to do.
Tomorrow I want to try to give you time in the lab to a)finish your Multigenre Projects and b)begin preparation for the Final Exam.

June 3

SSR today, then we begin acting. Ms. Legakis and I will grade your presentations. We are looking for strong voices full of emotion with some sense that you know what the words mean.

If you have not done a rehearsal yet you cannot act today--unless you are willing to forfeit those points (for the rehearsal).

If you recieve a poor grade on your presentation you can redo your performance before school or after school with me.

June 1

SSR then we'll talk about what to do next.

May 31

I am imprisoned at the District Office on Juniper Street. An all-day meeting. Imagine your dullest class. Imagine you have this class all day with only two short bathroom breaks and one 45 minute lunch. Imagine endless PowerPoints of charts and numbers and vocabulary you don't really understand. That's what I face today.
So be happy you are not with me. Tomorrow we begin performances of Romeo and Juliet, so do your Multigenre Projects and/or go over your acting parts.
I wish I was there with you.

May 26

I just found out we don't have school on Monday. (Shows you how dense I am.) That really makes me want to remind you of what you (and I) face over the next two weeks:
You need an official rehearsal for your acting.
You need two props for your acting.
You need a backdrop for your acting.
You need several genre's of writing that add up to 1,500 words.
Remember that in my world every paper needs revision so the first draft you give me of any genre will not get you any points.
If you do a paper without showing me anything until you are done you might find you need to do something over again because you misunderstood the assignment, so please check in with me or Ms. Legakis soon.
You've had very little homework in this class but now is the time for you to manage your time--all of it. That might mean working over this holiday. Excuses about not having enough time to do 1,500 words will fall helplessly to the ground since you will have four uninterupted days to finish this work.

Ms. Legakis is out sick today so we can only use the lab today.

May 24

We'll concentrate on the acting today. I invite all groups to begin work on your backdrops, and I hope you'll begin thinking about props.
Remember that every group must rehearse in front of Ms. Legakis or myself.

May 23

SSR + work on Multigenre projects.

May 20

SSR then continue to work on acting and the Multigenre Project. Many thanks for all your hardwork the past few weeks.

Ms. Legakis and I will try to spur your imaginations and help you in any way we can.

May 19

Today we begin the Multigenre Project. I will show you a few ideas but ultimately this will depend upon your willingness to use your own ideas and your imagination (along with your knowledge of Romeo and Juliet. This will also call for you to budget your time, using some time to prepare your acting roles and some time to do the writing.

May 18

After SSR we begin the last big unit of the semester, your Multigenre Reports. I will show you what is expected.

May 17

Today you will receive the details of the work for the remainder of the semester. Please select three scenes that your group would like to perform and hand this to me.

HOMEWORK: Title Page for the Multigenre Project is due tomorrow. (You can change it later. I just want to see you do one for practice.)

May 16

SSR + Act 5, scene 3.

May 12

We'll spend most of the period watching the film today though I may stop the movie occasionally to point out important points. We'll pick up the film right after Tybalt is killed.

May 11

SSR + acting out scenes from Act III.

We will act out Act III, scene 1, from lines 115 (enter Benvolio)
then Act III, scene 2, from lines 31, (enter Nurse)
and finally Act III, scene 3, from the beginning of the scene.

If time I'll show more of the film.

There is HOMEWORK today, a ten question scantron 'quiz', due tomorrow.

May 10

3rd will begin with an art project, then we will act out two small scenes from Act III of Romeo and Juliet. Finally we'll watch those same scenes in the film.

4th will do what Ms. Legakis says.

May 9

3rd period will do SSR, then an interesting exercise about figurative language. Any remaining time will be devoted to watching more of the play.

4th period will get instructions from Ms. Legakis.

May 6

3rd period:SSR then we'll act out the balcony scene and, if time, see the next scene in the movie.

4th period: Ms. Legakis will give you your instructions. SSR might not happen today due to her university commitments.

I need two Romeo's and two Juliet's today. Can I get volunteers???? and I need a volunteer director.

Romeo 1
Romeo 2
Juliet 1
Juliet 2

May 5

I have a warmup about the scene we just watched yesterday plus an introduction to the next part of the play that we will watch today.

May 4

SSR + watch next part of film (the party at the Capulet's house and the 'balcony scene').

I will take a couple minutes to go over the scene with the nurse.

May 3

3rd period will act out scenes from Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet to get a full understanding of what is happening.
4th period will be given instructions by Ms. Legakis.

HOMEWORK: 3rd period: I've given you back all your work for this quarter. Those with Incomplete may repair any problems and hand in the work for full credit. Those with zero's may still hand in the work for half credit.

May 2

No 3rd period.
4th period SSR + work on the prologue.

April 29

3rd period, 20 minutes SSR, then I want to talk about the 'real' Shakespeare and show you a bit more of the film to support that discussion.

4th period Ms. Legakis will tell you what you are doing.

April 27

Both classes begin with 20 minutes SSR.

3rd period will see a bit of a movie about Shakespeare.
4th period will continue with work on sonnets.

April 26

3rd period will do an exercise about poetry including the prologue to Romeo and Juliet.
HOMEWORK: bring a completely scanned copy of the prologue to class tomorrow.

April 25

3rd period your sonnets are due today. You may hand them in for half credit for the next two weeks. I will be giving you back your sonnets for revisions. What you have done is a first draft.

Begin with 20 minutes SSR, then 3rd period will learn about blank verse. 4th period will continue with lessons on sonnets.

April 22

20 minutes SSR then we will do exercises concerned with sonnets.

3rd period remember you have homework to write your own sonnet. We may talk more about this today.

April 21

Both classes will do activities connected to Shakespeare's sonnets.


HOMEWORK due Monday, April 25: write your own Shakespearean sonnet ababcdcdefefgg.

April 20

REMINDER OF MWF PROCEDURES:
-get SSR book immediately
-sit in seat
-low voices till we start SSR, then silence

3rd period: Today SSR then a lesson on sonnets

4th period will finish the sonnet assessment from yesterday.

April 19

3rd period we'll have a brief warm up, then most of the period will be consumed with a film, which I hope you will find interesting.

4th period will learn about sonnets, iambic pentameter and related subjects.

April 18

4th period, we need to change your seats for two days. Please pay attention to Ms. Legakis. We'll begin with silent reading. Then we'll discuss class rules briefly. Then we'll look at a film about Elizabethan England as an introduction to.......(ta da) Romeo and Juliet.

April 8

Benchmark tests today. If you finish early you can work on the take home test I gave you yesterday or Silent Read.

April 7

We'll go over the homework. Then we'll finish presentations (this is the last day) Then we'll review The Odyssey. 3rd period you will be given a take home test on The Odyssey.

April 6

Silent reading then presentations. If time we'll go over the homework.

April 4

Twenty minutes SSR then presentations. HOMEWORK: 3rd please read 698-702. Pay attention to the two pictures, one on 698, one on 699. I'll ask questions about them tomorrow as well as the reading.

April 1

Twenty minutes SSR then slide shows. We are behind in the presentations so I want to cancel today's quiz in 3rd period but I might try to have a quick discussion of the material.

March 31

3rd period will have a quiz and see two short films. Then we'll do presentations. 4th period will do presentations.

March 30

Twenty minutes SSR then presentations today. I'll call name at random if I don't get volunteers. The idea here is to learn and improve your presentations. I'll offer criticisms and suggestions. This will not be graded except to see if you covered all the requirements and that you were ready on time. 3rd period will have a quiz. See yesterday's agenda for tonight's reading assignment.

March 29

We'll do the first slide presentations today. I hope for volunteers or I'll pull name from a hat. My goals: Talk about books. Let's not rush through these slide shows; let's use these as a springboard to inspire discussions about books. Write about books. Each day that we do this I'll ask you to write a short diary entry about one topic that came up during our discussions. If you have ideas for writing topics please raise your hand and let me know. HOMEWORK: 3rd period tonight read pages 684-686. Quiz tomorrow. Wednesday night read 691-694 (expect quiz); Thursday night read 694-696 (expect quiz).

March 25

Twenty minutes SSR.
Then Ms. Legakis (if she is able; she might be out sick) will do a PowerPoint presentation for you.
And finally we will work on a STAR test prep activity involving the writing of thesis statements and 'hooks'.

March 24

All period in the lab working on Response to Literature

March 23

Twenty minutes SSR, then we go to the lab.

Response to Literature is due tomorrow at 4pm.

HOMEWORK: 3rd period read pages 678-683. Quiz tomorrow.

March 22

Each class will have some kind of quiz to begin the class period, then you can return to "Response to Literature".

March 21

20 minutes SSR.
Then 3rd will do a brief warmup about Circe, followed by a short film.
4th will do a Jekyll warmup then to the lab.

HOMEWORK:
3rd read pages 675-677. Quiz tomorrow.
4th prepare for some kind of quiz or activity tomorrow intended to test whether you actually read Jekyll & Hyde.

March 18

Twenty minutes SSR.

Then 3rd period will read a portion of The Odyssey and answer questions.
4th period will write an obituary for Dr. Jekyll after we discuss the last chapter.

March 17

3rd period you will begin with some review material from Ms. Legakis.
Then we will resume work on Response to Literature.

4th period we will begin by discussing Mr. Lanyon's letter.
Then we will resume work on Response to Literature

March 16

Twenty minutes SSR
Then we will do some reviewing and discussion of the books you are reading.

March 15

We'll begin with an assessment designed to see if you did last night's reading.

Then we'll go to the lab to resume work on the Responses to Literature.

HOMEWORK:
3rd read pages 660-670 on the Cyclops. Possible quiz tomorrow.
4th read pages 25-35 (two chapters). Possible quiz tomorrow.

March 14

20 minutes SSR, of course.

3rd we'll read and discuss more of The Odyssey.

4th we'll read and discuss more of Jekyll and Hyde.

HOMEWORK:

3rd read 656-659. I will 'assess' whether you did the reading or not tomorrow.

4th read pages 23-27. We will discuss quotes tomorrow. I will try to spread things around so that I can figure out who is not doing the reading, if anyone.

March 11

Start with 20 minutes SSR, then we'll talk briefly about the book you are reading (The Odyssey or Jekyll and Hyde), then go to the lab to work on Response to Literature.

I'm expected to have firm deadlines on assignments so if you haven't given me the four paragraphs yet I'll deduct 10% off your grade for that assignment for each day it is late.

March 10

1. Finish the four paragraphs. I've delayed the due date to today at 4pm.
2. Continue with Response to Literature slide shows or movies. Due date is March 24.

3rd, you were supposed to read pages 652-655 last night. As a kind of WARM UP today I'd like you to explain these lines to me. Put your answers on Google docs. Save it as LastNameCALYPSO. (You need not write the questions. Just number your answers)

a. No words were lost on Hermes the Wayfinder
who bent to tie his beautiful sandals on,
WHO IS HERMES AND WHY IS HE PUTTING HIS/HER SANDALS ON?
b. Though he fought shy of her and her desire for him,
he lay with her each night, for she compelled him.
HOW DID SHE COMPEL HIM?
c. To this the strategist Odysseus answered:
"My lady goddess, there is no cause for anger.
My lady Penelope {Odysseus' wife}--how well I know--
Would seem a shade before your Majesty."
WHY DOES HOMER CALL ODYSSEUS A STRATEGIST?

4th period I want to show you a bit of a movie before you begin your other labors.

March 9

We'll begin with 20 minutes SSR.

3rd period: We will begin talking about The Odyssey. If time we'll go briefly to the lab to look at the geography of the Mediterranean Sea, the location of Troy, Sparta, Ithaca & other places in the story.
4th period: Then we'll go over quotes from chapter 3 of Jekyll and Hyde.
If time I'm going to show you a bit of a movie of J&H.

HOMEWORK: 3rd read pages 652-655 in the Blue Book. I will orally call on random students to discuss the reading tomorrow.
4th: read pages 14-17. I will orally call on random students to discuss the reading tomorrow.

March 8

We'll be in the lab to work on Response to Literature slide shows, but we begin with:

3rd a quiz on the last chapter of White Fang.
4th a discussion of key quotes from pages 6-11 in Jekyll.

HOMEWORK:
3rd read first page of The Odyssey in blue book
4th read next chapter of Jekyll

March 7

We'll begin with SSR for 20 minutes, then adjourn to the lab to investigate aspects of The Response to Literature.

If you have decided who is in your group then do this as a group. If you are still uncertain or prefer to work alone then do your own paper.

Submit this on Google docs. Save as LastNameFirstInitialRESPONSE1
For groups please be sure everyone's name is prominently on the document. Maximum of three people in a group.

I'd like four paragraphs from you:
1. significant ideas in literature
2. support key ideas in an essay
3. stylistic devices in literature
4. ambiguities and nuances in literature

Within each paragraph I'd like your understanding of what each phrase means. For each paragaraph I'd like at least one URL pointing to a website that helped you understand the phrase.

Suggestions-advice:
a. put key word sequences in quotes when searching "stylistic devices"
b. understand that there are other ways to say these things so your search may lead you to different combinations of words ('significant ideas' might become 'themes' or 'main ideas')
c. We will continue this tomorrow. Deadline for submission is Wednesday at 4pm. Worth 50 p0ints.
d. talk to each other and to me. Ask questions. Don't sit there confused about what to do.

4th period HOMEWORK: read pages 6-11 tonight.

March 4

It finally occurred to me last night that you can't do the Response to Literature until you read the books, so a three week deadline is ridiculous. Let's reset this deadline today.

We'll begin with SSR.
Then you can get together and try to organize yourselves into groups to decide what books to read for "Response to Literature".
And finally I thought I'd give you a couple practice problems from past STAR tests.

March 3

I was sick last night and I received many new papers, so please understand that I will not be caught up with the grades till Monday.

Today in 3rd we'll continue to design the "Response to Literature" unit. Then we'll do something unusual: we will read a chapter of White Fang aloud and discuss it.

HOMEWORK: Read "The Gods Domain" and "The Call of Kind". (We'll finish some of the Gods Domain in class). Very likely there will be a quiz tomorrow. I may include chapters 22, 23 & 24 on the quiz.

Today in 4th we'll go to the library to pick up copies of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; then continue to design the "Response to Literature" unit. We'll read some of Jekyll aloud to get a feel for Robert Louis Stevenson's writing style.

HOMEWORK: Read the next ten pages of Jekyll. I'll quiz you on them tomorrow.

March 2

We'll begin with SSR. Then return to the issue of "Response to Literature". The idea is for us to design an activity that will fulfill the state's requirements while preserving some of your ability to control your own learning.
There are several tools at our disposal:
-Marcus has been pushing for oral examinations. Maybe you could all use the Smart Boards to make some kind of presentations?
-Some people don't like the computers but they are a good tool. Should internet research be part of this activity? Prezi? PowerPoint? Some other software?
-The state website recommends documents of 1,500 words or more. But we could change this if necessary.
-Deadline? I've been bad about this in the past. Perhaps we need a firm deadline right now--say three weeks? March 21?

HOMEWORK: 3rd period read "The Southland". It's probably too soon for another quiz but you never know.
4th period you are getting copies of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde today. Please read the first ten pages tonight.

March 1

I want to quiz you on the Vacation Reading so we'll begin with that then I'll give you time to work on research papers and Station to Station.

At the suggestion of a brilliant student I have a sign up sheet for help. If you need my assistance and don't want to raise your hand you can sign up on the clipboard and I'll get to you as quickly as I can. Please be patient and polite.

February 28

We'll do the usual silent reading today, then discuss some rule changes (see my post on February 23).
We will then introduce the 'Response to Literature' standard that the state wishes you to accomplish. We will begin this writing tomorrow. See to your right for the details of the standard.

Sitting in groups, but with each person doing their own paper, we'll work through the a, b, c & d that you see to the right--using the book you have been reading. I'll lead you through it. You'll need a piece of paper and something to write with. Put your full name at the top. Title it RESPONSE TO LITERATURE.

HOMEWORK: 3rd please read "The Long Trail". I'll be testing you tomorrow on pages 212 to 292. This is the equivalent of four quizzes so this one will be worth 80 pts. Under the new rules if you fail this one you will have only until Monday, March 7 at 4pm to make it up. As always you make up failed quizzes orally with me before school, after school or during lunch.
4th there is no reading but you will have a quiz tomorrow on pages 230 to the end of the book. This will be worth 60 pts. Makeup rules are the same as for 3rd period.

February 25

I spent the week going through Google docs and your assignments on the school computers but the district must be doing some kind of maintenance on the ABI because I can't enter anything right now. I'll get the work in as soon as possible.

February 23

I have received some instructions from my boss to change a few things about my teaching. This will, of course, affect you as well. Here are the specifics:
1. I must add more oral discussions. We'll do more of that roundtable type thing we did in early February.
2. Tell you in advance about what we are going to be doing:
--in March 3rd, 5th and 6th periods will read The Odyssey in the blue book. This means everyone must take their blue book home and bring it to school each day. I will post a schedule in room 151 when we return from President's Week. 4th period will read another novel while the other classes do The Odyssey. I'm debating between two or three books.
--in late March or early April we will start Romeo and Juliet.
--in April we will have STAR testing which will take up more than half our school day.
3. Give you firm deadlines for assignments. That means I must establish a firm time when your Station to Station and Research Projects are due. I hereby declare that I will not accept either of these assignments after 4pm on Wednesday, March 2nd.

To give you some idea where you stand I'm gradually putting in partial grades for the Research Project based upon where you are in the process.

February 18

Silent reading for twenty minutes then to lab to work on Research or Station to Station. If I see a bunch of people off task I'll come up with some kind of assignment to bring order to the room.

However! I'm going to ask you to do some reading over the President's Week. (Bring your book to Tahoe or Anaheim or wherever).
3rd please read up to page 284.
4th please finish the book. (Be sure to read the Epilogue.)

I'll quiz both classes the day we come back on this reading.

February 17

We'll be in the lab all period. We'll begin with a quiz.

My main goal is for everyone to finish STATION to STATION and the RESEARCH REPORT. There is also the crossword to complete. I will circulate and try to help as many folks as possible one on one. Please ask for help.

Check you email and Google docs accounts for feedback from me.

HOMEWORK: 3rd read "The Mad God"; 4th read "The Rice Harvest".

February 16

I'm in an all-day meeting today.
Please begin with 25 minutes of SSR.

Now I have a challenge for you. I'd like you to go to the lab and make a crossword puzzle about the book you are reading (White Fang or Red Scarf). Here is a short puzzle I made:
http://www.armoredpenguin.com/crossword/Data/2011.02/1516/15160728.087.html
(You may not use any of my clues.)

To make your own puzzle look at the link on the right side of the page.
Remember these tips:
1. Answers should not have spaces (JACKLONDON not JACK LONDON)
2. Have a mixture of short answers (WOLF) and long answers (MACKENZIERIVER)
3. 35 clues required for this project now, but we will add more clues later.
4. Give your puzzle a title, author's name and description.
5. To see your puzzle go to the bottom of the page and hit "Make Puzzle"
6. Share your puzzle with the public at the bottom (otherwise you will lose all your work.)

HOMEWORK: 3rd read: "The Enemy of His King". Likely quiz tomorrow.
4th read: "The Class Education Exhibition".

February 15

We'll begin with a quiz, then proceed to type your letters of appreciation.

Before you type your Business Letters please see me about getting your yellow copies proofread.

(A note to you and myself: it is always confusing to me to come up with good items for the Final Exam--which is still months away. Two likely items would be; 1. an MLA Works Cited using www.easybib.com and, 2. a personal business letter like the one you are typing today.)

(Second note to myself): I see on the bulletin board that there is a "College Night" tonight. I know nothing about it--probably got an email that I ignored--so somebody remind me to find out more about this!!)

HOMEWORK: 3rd read: "The Famine"; 4th read "Half-City Jiangs"

February 14

The next state standard is the business letter. Actually this format is good for business or personal letters. We'll use it for both.

But first we'll do our 20 minutes of SSR.

Then I have a handout that takes you through the letter-writing process.

HOMEWORK: 3rd read: "The Covenant"; 4th read: "An Educable Child"

February 11

Silent reading for twenty minutes.
I have short film to show in both classes. We'll then discuss some issues connected to the novels you are reading.

Next I'll explain the rules for writing a business letter.





HOMEWORK: 3rd read "The Trail of the Gods"; 4th read "Locked Up".

February 10

I'm ill. I hope you can treat me with some consideration today.

3rd period,we'll begin with a different kind of warmup: I'd like you to open a WORD document and hit F12. Save it as WOLFDOG. Now do some research and learn the difference between a wild dog and a wolf. Summarize what you learned on your document. When you finish raise your hand and I'll check your work for credit.

4th period, your warmup concerns Ji Li Jiang. What happened to her after she wrote this book? Save your file as LastNameJiLi.

After the warmup we'll do a quiz.

Then:
My sense is that many of you are finished with the two activities for the week: The Research Project and Station to Station. If this is true we will move on to the next state standard, the Business Letter. I'll show you how to do this.

HOMEWORK: 3rd read: "The Outcast". 4th read: "Junior High School At Last".

February 9

We'll begin with Silent Reading for 20 minutes.
Then resume work on Station to Station and your Reseach Papers.

HOMEWORK: 3rd period read "The Bondage". There's a good chance there will be a quiz tomorrow. 4th period read "Fate".

February 8

3rd period will start with a quiz, then I will show you a short film. Finally I'll ask you to work on Station to Station and your research reports. By Friday here's what I expect on the reports:

a proper MLA heading (do the date correctly)
a Works Cited with five or more entries including at least one book and one magazine.
A long quote
Two short quotes; one from a book, one from a magazine.
All quotes cited correctly using a parenthetical reference as per MLA style
No spelling errors, no red squiggly lines
1,500 words (includes heading and quotes)
For Korematsu speech folks you need three sources, 500 words total but other requirements stay the same.

4th period will have a quiz then do the Station to Station and Research reports.

HOMEWORK: 3rd read "The Makers of Fire"; 4th read "A Search in Passing"

February 7

Silent reading.
Then I'll show you how to cite a short quote on your research papers.
Then you'll resume work on Station to Station.

My goal for the week is for you to finish your research papers by Friday. By that date you will need Works Cited with 5 sources (3 for those of you who did the Korematsu speech). You will also need a single quote from a book and a magazine, cited properly. I'll explain today.

HOMEWORK:
3rd period read "The Law of Meat"
4th period read "The Propaganda Wall"

I'll quiz two or three times this week to keep you on your toes, but I don't know what days I'll do it.

February 4

Simple today:
Quiz
Silent Reading
Continue with Station to Station.

Next week we will pick up the research papers where we left off. The next step is to learn how to cite a source from a short quote or long quote. I'll show you how.

HOMEWORK:
3rd period: read The Wall of the World
4th period: read The Sound of Drums and Gongs

February 3

3rd period will begin with a quiz then do the STATION to STATION exercise that we didn't get to Tuesday.
4th period will be making da zi bao then doing STATION to STATION.

HOMEWORK: read the next chapter in the book.
3rd period: The Gray Cub
4th period: Graduation

Quizzes in both classes tomorrow.

NOTE: look to the right. 3rd period you will find the full text of White Fang on the internet. If you are ever caught without your book you can do your reading online.

February 2

We'll start with silent reading. Then I'd like to take some time to discuss the books you are reading.

HOMEWORK:
3rd period: read The Lair
4th period: read The Red Successors

February 1

THIS WORK WAS CANCELLED SO THAT YOU COULD DO YOUR TENTH GRADE SCHEDULING. WE'LL DO THIS LATER THIS WEEK.
We'll do some sort of quiz on the next chapter in your book. Third period that is chapter 3; Period 4 that's chapter 2.
Then I'll ask you to do some research on a topic related to your book. Third period we will dig into Jack London and the Klondike Gold Rush.
Fourth period we will find out about the Four Olds.

The game I'm going to ask you to play I call "Station to Station". The idea behind it is to take one piece of information and follow it where it leads. In theory every person will end up in a different place even though each person began the journey in the same place.
I have provided you with a start point. For third period it is http://www.arcticwebsite.com/LondonJackKlond.html
For fourth period the start point is http://www.morningsun.org/smash/cr_3_1968.html

Now read over the start point. Find something that interests you. It might be a name of a city or a food or a question (what kind of food did Jack London eat in Alaska or Why did they call it the Cultural Revolution?) Using Google Search or Google Images or some such, investigate this topic. On a new Google Docs document write a brief summary of what you learned. One stipulation. Try to keep the topics concerned with our main theme: Third period, the Klondike Gold Rush; Fourth Period, The Cultural Revolution.
Now you have at least one new website to read. Within that website fine another topic or question to investigate. On that same Google Docs document tell me a bit about what you learned.
Now try the same process again. As you go to one website use that to search for the next topic.
Do this six times so that you have six summaries. Include pictures where that will help your explanation. Assume you are teaching a sixth grader with this exercise so don't make your explanations too complicated.
Name your document LastNameSTATIONTOSTATION.
But I want to throw you one more curve. Somewhere in your search I'd like you to mention a PRIMARY SOURCE. What's that? Look it up. Once you figure out what a Primary Source is, tell me which Primary Source you saw in your investigations today.

January 31

Today is Fred Korematsu Day. We will do silent reading as usual but I've put out some books on Japanese Internment that might interest you.
After SSR we will go to the lab to do a short research project on Japanese Internment. Here is the idea:

At the main high school we have a new printer that can create posters, 13" x 19". On our computers we have a program called Microsoft Publisher that can help you make such posters. I'd like you to try. The goal would be to print a few of the best posters tomorrow. The theme of the posters would be Heroes of Liberty. I'd like you to focus on key people like:
Rosa Parks
Nelson Mandela
Fred Korematsu
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Cesar Chavez

And particular times:
the Civil Rights Movement
the Movement for Women's Rights
The Gay Rights Movement
Japanese Internment or perhaps discrimination against Muslim Americans today
The Farm Worker Movement

You'll need to do some quick reading but most of your time should be spent on the poster itself.

We also have some new rules to discuss today.
HOMEWORK: read the next chapter. Test tomorrow.

January 27

We might as well do the whole class in the lab today.
First we'll do a quiz on the reading.
Then we'll get back to the research reports. A few people are far along in this process. I'd love for those folks to help the others. Let's make it a goal to get everyone through this today: everyone should have a research report with a long quote and, most important, a Works Cited with four entries.

If there's time I'll ask you to do the next step: how to cite a short quote.

HOMEWORK: read chapter one. Possible quiz on Monday.

January 26

We'll do three things today:
1. Silent reading, of course.
2. Distribute your next reading book. I made an executive decision.
3rd period will be reading White Fang by Jack London
4th period will be reading Red Scarf Girl
You will be expected to read approximately 20 pages per night. This will be homework though you are free to read this book during SSR. I will be quizzing you periodically to see if you are doing the reading.
3. We'll do more work on the research reports. I've commented on every paper I received yesterday so just about everyone has something to work on.

HOMEWORK: 3rd read "The Trail of the Meat"; 4th read "Note to the reader", "Note on pronunciation", Foreward, and Prologue. Both classes will be quizzed on this reading tomorrow.

things to remember

1. Go to the top of the page and name your file correctly. Right now your files should be
LastNameResearch1 (that is the first stage of your research report)
LastNameWorksCited1 (that is your works cited with at least 4 sources)

2. Learn how to put your Works Cited on a separate page. The YouTube movie tells you how and I will tell you how.

3. As you deal with my comments please erase those comments so I can see what you did. And if I have suggested edits to your words be sure to turn the entire document to black type once you fix whatever needs fixing.

January 25

Today I want you to make progress on your research reports. This will cause some problems between us. Please be polite when you tell me I'm tormenting you.
I will be acting as your editor. I will strive to give you feedback intended to improve your writing and thinking skills. In doing this I will make demands on you that you might not like.
By Thursday I would like you to:
1. Produce a Works Cited with four entries including at least one book and one magazine article.
2. Learn about your topic. Many of you have already written copiously about your subject based upon prior knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to push you to learn things you didn't already know and to produce an interesting document that your classmates would want to read. This means reading about your subject--and not just Wikipedia. Books, magazines and longer treatments are crucial.
I want to emphasize that at this point my goal is QUALITY NOT QUANTITY. I expect to ask all of you to rewrite and improve what you have done to date.
I will be reviewing your sources. If I think your sources are UNRELIABLE OR SUPERFICIAL (Wikipedia is superficial most of the time) I will require that you add other sources.

I am going to show you the movie about setting up MLA on google docs. Enjoy!

January 24

I'm going to ask all classes to write me a note again. I hope this is acceptable. I will distribute a syllabus to all students. And we will, of course, do 20 minutes of silent reading. I have some new rules governing SSR which I will describe. Finally we will begin some reading.
If we can get our next novel then your homework will be to read the first 20 pages.

Students will be able to analyze literature in terms of mood and tone
Students will be able to evaluate informational material in terms of argument