Jennifer Holzhausen's Homework Blog

February 28, 2013 (Blue)

B1 - Checked DEN's for "No Logo" and discussed the article for quite a while.  I passed back graded Summaries and Critique rough drafts today.  Next, I distributed several packets of supplementary readings from the Writing Analytically textbook.  Many of the readings I have given you correlate directly with the Comparative Critique assignment.  Be sure to read the sections that focus particularly on analysis and making sources engage in conversation together.  These will be very useful to you when putting your paper together.  Students received copies of the article for next time and a handout on "The Method."  Next, we completed an activity using The Method to analyze a patio furniture advertisement.  Near the end of the block, we discussed the Comparative Critique assignment and students received a chart they will use in groups to put together ideas for a cross-comparison of two articles from this unit that may be used as samples for putting the Comp. Critique paper together.  Assignments:  Start working through the supplementary readings.  Take your time.  Read "The Fiction of Truth in Advertising" by Patricia Williams and do a DEN.  Work on the revision of your Critique paper.  The Final Drafts of the Critique are due on Wednesday, March 6.

B3 - Returned graded work.  Distributed research packets.  Students were taken to the Computer Lab for the rest of the block today to work on their research.  I asked them to focus on one of their three subtopics today and find two sources to document and take notes over.  Assignment: If you were unable to complete the source information sheets for two sources today, please have those completed before class on Monday.  We will spend two more days in the computer lab next week.  Packets will be due on Wednesday of next week.

B4 - Students worked on their terms for Chapters 1-4 together in their groups, then we resumed the Powerpoint lecture we started in class last time. When we finished taking the notes, we briefly discussed Forbes magazine's recent list of 71 of the World's Most Powerful People. Students randomly drew numbers, and they will be researching basic biographical information on the person to determine what makes him/her so powerful. Next, I distributed a list of questions to think about over Chapters 1-4. We'll discuss some of these questions in class next time. Assignment: Research your person from the drawing today. Come up with basic biographical information that will inform us a little bit about who the person is and what makes him/her so powerful. Read Chapter 5, then skip Chapter 6, and read Chapters 7-8.  Also, please be sure to study SAT Vocab. this week... The test is Monday.

February 27, 2013 (Gold)

G1/G2 - Students were taken to the computer lab again for the entire block today.  They were expected to find source information and take notes over 2 sources.  I asked them to focus on a different subtopic than before.  Assignment:  If you have completed source information for a total of 4 sources at this point, there is no additional assignment.  These packets should be completed by the end of the block on Friday when I collect them. 

G4 - Students worked in their groups to wrap up the definitions of the terms from Chapters 1-5 that we started going through last time.  Next, I randomly chose people to present their "Powerful Person" research that they were asked to look into for today.  If I did not call on you today, be prepared with the information next time.  We'll try to do a few of these reports each day.  I have asked students to keep a list as the information is presented to them about each person.  These could very well show up on the test at the end of this unit.  I distributed the study guide questions for Book I: Chapters 7-8, then asked students to choose a question to answer in their journals (half-page response).  We went back to the list of questions from last time to see if there were any topics we didn't get to last time that needed to be discussed, then we started addressing questions for today's reading.  Near the end of the block, I asked students to work as groups to complete a Word Association Activity about the game Monopoly.  I will tell you more about the significance of this game later.  Assignment:  Read Book II: Chapters 1, 4, 5.  Skip Chapters 2-3.  SAT Vocab. Test #20 on Friday - definitions only.  You will also have a Quiz on Friday over anything we have read so far and some of the notes from the Introductory Powerpoint presentation.          

February 26, 2013 (Blue)

B1 - Distributed replacement calendars today.  The schedule had to change due to our recent ice day.  After catching up a little bit, I went around and checked double-entries and notes for "Advertising's Fifteen Basic Appeals" by Jib Fowles.  We discussed The Merchants of Cool  and the article for quite a while.  After going through each of the 15 appeals and discussing examples of ads we have seen which work for each of them, we completed a "Notice and Focus" activity from Writing Analytically until the end of the block.  I will pass back Summaries, distribute copies of supplementary readings from Writing Analytically, and we will go through the notes on the Comparative Critique paper in class on Thursday.  Assignment:  Read "No Logo" by Naomi Klein and complete  a double-entry.  The article is lengthy, so your double-entry should be rather lengthy as well. 

B3 - I distributed revised homework calendars today.  Students committed to their research paper topics today.  I asked them to complete a small half-sheet and turn it in at the beginning of the block.  Next, we went through a short Powerpoint presentation over Thesis Statements.  Students completed a worksheet on which they wrote their thesis statements and then turned them in for a grade.  I gave them a handout on Source Information and how to document the appropriate information for each of the sources they use in their papers.  Lastly, we went through a sample Source Information sheet together so students could see how it will be done when we go to the computer lab on Thursday.  Assignment: Unless you were absent and still need to complete the Topic Sheet and Thesis Worksheet, there is no assignment! :)

B4 - I distributed revised homework calendars.  Rough Draft Packets of the Research Paper were DUE today.  Please know that these will take me QUITE a while to work my way through.  Please be very patient with me as I begin that process.  Once you receive your rough draft back from me, you will have one week to complete the final draft.  At some point after Spring Break, we will talk about presenting this information to the class. After collecting rough drafts, I had students take and discuss an Opinionnaire.  We touched upon several points on the Opinionnaire as a large group, then I passed out copies of the new homework calendar, SAT Vocab. List #20, and a copy of the worksheet for our notes for today.  We were able to get through about half of what I had planned to go over.  We will finish my Powerpoint lecture on Thursday.  At the end of the block, I passed out a list of terms from 1984 for groups to divide amongst themselves.  Groups can then report their terms back to each other at the beginning of the block on Thursday.  Assignments:  Read Book I: Chapters 1-4 (p. 1-48) of 1984.  Based on contextual information in the story, take notes over the terms you were assigned for your group.  Be sure to jot down page numbers where these terms appear.  In addition, start studying SAT Vocab. List #20.  For List #20 and #21, you will only be tested on the definitions;  you will not have to put the words into contextual sentences.  As a result, the vocab. tests will count DOUBLE. 

February 25, 2013 (Gold)

G1/G2 - Returned graded work.  Students were taken to the Computer Lab for the rest of the block today to work on their research.  I asked them to focus on one of their three subtopics today and find two sources to document and take notes over.  Assignment:  If you were unable to complete the source information sheets for two sources today, please have those completed before class on Wednesday.  We will spend two more days in the computer lab this week.  Packets will be due on Friday. 

G4 - Students worked on their terms for Chapters 1-5 together in their groups, then we resumed the Powerpoint lecture we started in class last time, beginning with biographical information on the author.  When we finished taking the notes, we briefly discussed Forbes magazine's recent list of 71 of the World's Most Powerful People.  Students randomly drew numbers, and they will be researching basic biographical information on the person to determine what makes him/her so powerful.  Next, I distributed a list of questions to think about over Chapters 1-5.  I asked students to write a half-page journal choosing any ONE of the questions on that sheet to answer.  We discussed those in small groups, then we started going through the list together as a class to discuss some of the major issues in the novel so far.  Assignment:  Research your person from the drawing today.  Come up with basic biographical information that will inform us a little bit about who the person is and what makes him/her so powerful.  Skip Chapter 6, and read Chapters 7-8.  You may have a quiz.  Also, please be sure to study SAT Vocab. this week... The test is Friday.

February 22, 2013 (Blue) NO SCHOOL - ICE

All Blue classes - I will revise the current homework calendars and get those to you on Tuesday.

W131 - Summaries are graded! Grades are now posted. You'll get them back from me on Tuesday.  I plan to start your Critique Rough Drafts this weekend... maybe today.

Honors 10 - I will collect your rough draft packets from you in class on Tuesday.  This gives you plenty of time to make them nice and pretty for me. :)  We will pick up where we left off, and anything I had planned for today will happen on Tuesday.  The schedule will, obviously, be bumped out through the second day of Spring Break at this point. Sigh.

Gold classes - nothing has changed for you.  Everything will proceed as normal on Monday.  I will be reading 1984 Chapters 1-5 today. :)

February 21, 2013 (Gold)

G1/G2 - Students committed to their research paper topics today.  I asked them to complete a small half-sheet and turn it in at the beginning of the block.  Next, we went through a short Powerpoint presentation over Thesis Statements.  Students completed a worksheet on which they wrote their thesis statements and then turned them in for a grade.  I gave them a handout on Source Information and how to document the appropriate information for each of the sources they use in their papers.  Lastly, we went through a sample Source Information sheet together so students could see how it will be done when we go to the computer lab on Monday.  Assignment: Unless you were absent and still need to complete the Topic Sheet and Thesis Worksheet, there is no assignment! :)

G4 - Rough Draft Packets of the Research Paper DUE.  I collected ALL of the rough draft packets today! (YAY!)  Please know that these will take me QUITE a while to work my way through.  Please be very patient with me as I begin that process.  Once you receive your rough draft back from me, you will have one week to complete the final draft.  At some point after Spring Break, we will talk about presenting this information to the class.  After collecting rough drafts, I had students take and discuss an Opinionnaire.  We touched upon several points on the Opinionnaire as a large group, then I passed out copies of the new homework calendar, SAT Vocab. List #20, and a copy of the worksheet for our notes for today.  We were able to get through about half of what I had planned to go over.  We will finish my Powerpoint lecture on Monday.  At the end of the block, I passed out a list of terms from 1984 for groups to divide amongst themselves.  Groups can then report their terms back to each other at the beginning of the block on Monday.  Assignments:  Read Book I: Chapters 1-5 (p. 1-63) of 1984.  Based on contextual information in the story, take notes over the terms you were assigned for your group.  Be sure to jot down page numbers where these terms appear.  In addition, start studying SAT Vocab. List #20.  For List #20 and #21, you will only be tested on the definitions;  you will not have to put the words into contextual sentences.  As a result, the vocab. tests will count DOUBLE. 

February 20, 2013 (Blue)

B1 - Collected Draft #3 of the Critique paper for my comments.  Students discussed a variety of questions regarding Advertising and Consumerism while I collected their papers.  I then asked small groups to generate 4-5 questions about the Marriage and Family unit for potential use on the Research-Based Analysis paper at the end of the semester.  For the rest of the block, students watched and took notes over The Merchants of Cool, a PBS documentary (link available on Moodle).  We will discuss the video in class on Friday.  Assignment:  Please read Jib Fowles' article, "Advertising's 15 Basic Appeals" (p. 539+) and do a double-entry notebook assignment.  Be sure to include notes over each of the 15 appeals - whether you include that in your DEN or take the notes separately is up to you.  If you were absent today, please also watch the video and take notes on your own as soon as possible.  

B3 - Students watched about 30 minutes of clips from the movie, The Bucket List.  This movie serves as the inspiration for our research paper project.  I gave students new homework calendars today, the expectations and requirements for the research paper assignment, and walked through a Powerpoint Presentation which outlines the details and requirements of the paper.  By the end of the block, students were asked to generate a list of 10 things they want to accomplish before they die and narrow the list to one researchable topic for their paper.  Assignment:  Be ready to commit to one topic for this research paper when you walk in the door on Friday. 

B4 - I checked Rough Draft packets today, then students completed three 15-minute rounds of peer-editing on their packets.  I gave them a copy of the check list/rubric I will use to grade the Rough Draft Packets and a copy of the rubric for the Final Draft.  Students were taken to the computer lab for the rest of the block to work on revisions.  Assignment:  Rough Draft packets should be revised and cleaned up for me for Friday.  At the beginning of the block, I will collect fresh, clean copies along with the peer-edited drafts and the peer-editing sheets from today.  We will also begin our unit on 1984 on Friday.

February 19, 2013 (Gold)

G1/G2 - Students watched about 30 minutes of clips from the movie, The Bucket List.  This movie serves as the inspiration for our research paper project.  I gave students new homework calendars today, the expectations and requirements for the research paper assignment, and walked through a Powerpoint Presentation which outlines the details and requirements of the paper.  By the end of the block, students were asked to generate a list of 10 things they want to accomplish before they die and narrow the list to one researchable topic for their paper.  Assignment:  Be ready to commit to one topic for this research paper when you walk in the door on Thursday. 

G4 - I checked Rough Draft packets today, then students completed three 15-minute rounds of peer-editing on their packets.  I gave them a copy of the check list/rubric I will use to grade the Rough Draft Packets and a copy of the rubric for the Final Draft.  Students were taken to the computer lab for the rest of the block to work on revisions.  Assignment:  Rough Draft packets should be revised and cleaned up for me for Thursday.  At the beginning of the block, I will collect fresh, clean copies along with the peer-edited drafts and the peer-editing sheets from today.  We will begin our unit on 1984 on Thursday.

February 18, 2013 (Blue)

B1 - Checked Draft #2 of the Critique paper. Students peer-edited and focused especially on the Introduction and Thesis Statements.  We went to the computer lab for the rest of the block so students could work on their revisions.  Assignment:  Draft #3 due to me for my comments on Wednesday.  We will begin the Comparative Critique unit on Wednesday as well.

B3 - Test: The Hunger Games.  Students turned in their copies of the book today.  All tests are graded, and grades are current.  Assignment: None! We will begin the Research Paper unit on Wednesday. 

B4 - Checked the first two sections of the paper for today.  Some have a LONG way to go.  Students peer-edited in their groups, then we went to the lab to work on the rest of the draft.  I checked Works Consulted pages as time allowed today.  Assignment:  The whole rough draft should be completed for peer-editing for next time, including Works Cited, Works Consulted, and the Outline.  You will turn the revised rough draft packet in to me on Friday at the beginning of the block. 

February 15, 2013 (Gold)

G1/G2 - Test: The Hunger Games.  Students turned in their copies of the book today.  All tests are graded, and grades are current.  Assignment: None! We will begin the Research Paper unit on Tuesday. 

G4 - Checked the first two sections of the paper for today.  Some have a LONG way to go.  Students peer-edited in their groups, then we went to the lab to work on the rest of the draft.  I checked Works Consulted pages as time allowed today.  Assignment:  The whole rough draft should be completed for peer-editing for next time, including Works Cited, Works Consulted, and the Outline.  You will turn the revised rough draft packet in to me on Thursday at the beginning of the block.