Grades Updated

Grades have been updated. You have until the day of your midterm to share any missing assignments you may have forgotten to share. :) Remember to email me at jenmurphy11@gmail.com to let me know if you have shared something late. Email me if you have questions.

Cultural attitudes & your independent reading book

In College, you will often do research do supplement your reading. This may include critical theories about your author to researching the context influencing your book. Today, you will research the historical and cultural context of your book to help you understand more about the cultural attitudes that helped to shape the characters, plot or themes of the book. This can be completed in question and answer form with complete sentences or paragraph form.

1. Create a google doc title it ___(per) cultural attitudes _____(name)
2. Identify the time period / school of thought your book was written in (i.e. realism, modernist)
3. conduct some research: What attitudes / beliefs did this school of thought reflect? (a few ideas have been given to you on the handout)
4. What beliefs was your author known for during the writing of this book? What historical events influenced your author (i.e. the belief that man was inherently evil brought upon by civil war)
5. You should be about ¾ of the way done with your book. Where do you see these ideas reflected in the story. (Give 1-2 examples of something a character does, a description of people that reflects the nature of the belief.)
6. Document all of your sources in a works cited list using MLA format (1-2 sources minimum) Try to stay away from wikipedia

These are a few sources to get you started
Try novel resources & literary movements from PBS

University of Maryland American realism 

Modernism

Monday, January 13th Debatable Topics assignment check if you were absent

1. make a list of the issues (4-5) that might make good debate topics

- Is the topic interesting?

- Is the topic recent & relevant? Has there been legitimate recent conversations around it.

- Is it easy to research?

3. what question (s) are being asked that we would debate? Form the top 3 issues into questions & identify if it is argument of fact, value, policy

(i.e. should torture be allowed in U.S. government interrogations?) - Policy

4. Are there other questions around this topic that would be interesting to argue - add 3 additional questions (i.e. To what extent should national security be limited?)

Make-up assignment: turn in 3-4 debatable topics and questions & identify what type of argument they are

Midterm Review

Please sign up for 1-2 words to present
create a visual (i.e. poster)
- concept / term 
-  example
- definition
- effect / purpose / function (i.e. funny, reinforces an idea, etc. ) (look on the back of your handout - functions & effects)

extra credit for presentation that goes beyond - highly creative (song - acronyms in song help us remember  dance, performance art, a game)
{i.e. I had a dog named BINGO and BINGO was his name-o / I had a term called anaphora - A for always repeating, N for some nice repetition at the beginning of sentences or clauses, a again for - ok you get the idea - then a - clap clap clap - n clap clap clap, etc. } - have fun with it, give us something memorable

#1-10 will present Wednesday
#11 - 20 Thursday
#21 - 30 Friday
#31 - 43 Monday

Presentations should be approx 1 minute.

Midterm review

New Laws 2014 due Friday morning 1 / 10

Check out New laws affecting California in 2014 

other laws of interest 

Choose a controversial new law or issue that is significant to investigate. Research the basic facts and impact it has had so far on our society. In a approx 1 page (single spaced) paper, discuss the following:

1. Choose a law - define the basic premise and policies, where it has been instituted
Is it the first law of its kind (a precedent) or are there similar laws in other states?

2. Context - Research the background behind it - reasons it was developed?
People's stories
original laws - modifications to these?

3. Discuss the various perspectives to the law - Who are the stakeholders (the people affected most, who has the most voice in this) what are the reasons people are for / against it?
what are the social, legal, historical, economic benefits or disadvantages

4. What are the arguments of fact, value, and/or policy associated with your law? What are the questions being argued and why might this be contentious?

5. Discuss your  position on the law and explain why

6. Cite your sources using MLA format 


Transgender law

Compassion Essays

are now graded

Compassion Essay Rubric

A lot of you did a great job - much improvement from the last essay. You should see me if you scored low on the essay. If you did not share your essay with me this really dropped your grade.