1st Hour - Week of 12-3-12

Welcome to December, kids! Have fun blogging this week!

1st Hour - Week of 11-26-12

Hi kids! Another week and another ten points to earn. You guys did an awesome job during your extra credit week. I'm very proud of you! There are plenty of organizers available to you over by the globe, so if you're sitting here without one filled out, GO GET ONE!

:)

1st Hour - Week of 11-19-12

I'm in a gift giving mood this week, and I'm sure you'll all be thankful for it. Since we only have one and a half days of school this week, blogging will either:

1. Give you a grade toward a blog you have a zero for, or...
2. Give you extra credit.

If you need an organizer to help you, please take one before you leave for the long weekend. Have fun! :)

1st Hour - Week of 11-12-12

First hour students, please put your reading responses here. Don't forget your four requirements!

1. Title of book, Author of book, topic you plan on discussing (1 point)
2. A 1-2 sentence summary of what is happening in your book right now (3 points)
3. An explanation of why what's happening right now is important (3 points)
4. What the summary plus your thinking help you understand about the book - make an inference or an evidence-based prediction. (3 points)

If you need a reminder of the potential topics to discuss, look here: http://mrsboehlesclass.blogspot.com/2012/09/ready-to-post-start-here-please.html

If you have any questions, just let me know! I look forward to reading what you all have to say! :)

Online Research for Personal Essays

It’s time to find some information about your topic so you can get some evidence to use in your arguments! However, as you know, the internet is full of incorrect and flawed information, so I’m going to try to help point you in a direction that will hopefully help you get some reliable facts.

First things first – if you chose any of the topics from 1-15 of the list I put on the projector yesterday, here’s where I want you to start: http://www.middleschooldebate.com/topics/topicresearch.htm This website has links to articles that will have information you can use.

1. Possible Argument Topics
2. K-12 Schools should ban the sale of junk food.
3. Junior highs and high schools should randomly test their student athletes for drug use.
4. Fast food restaurants do more harm than good.
5. Cell phones should be allowed in schools.
6.  Television is a bad influence on children.
7. All schools should provide students with music and art education
8. Zoos do more harm than good.
9. Homework should be banned.
10. The driving age should be raised to 18.
11. The United States should ban the death penalty.
12. Walmart is good for America.
13. The United States should have a draft for military service.
14. It is unethical to eat meat.
15. Beauty pageants do more harm than good.
16. The President of the United States should be elected by direct vote of the people.
17. The drinking age should be lowered to 18.
18. Year-round school is a good idea.
19. “Scared straight” programs are a good idea. 
20. Banning junk food commercials would make teens healthier.
21. Too much technology hurts kids.
22. Bullies should be treated as criminals.
23. School dress codes are too strict.

 

A lot of you are writing about animal abuse. Here are some sites that you might be able to use:

• http://www.aspca.org/Home/Fight-Animal-Cruelty - General information about types of animal abuse.

• http://www.aspca.org/Fight-Animal-Cruelty/Advocacy-Center/state-animal-cruelty-laws.aspx - Find out what the law says about animal cruelty in our state.

• http://www.peta.org/ - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – lots of info about animal rights

If you have another topic, try going here: http://www.debate.org/opinions/ and typing your topic in the search box. I typed in “bullying” and “child abuse” and got good results with both searches. If you don’t find anything, let me know and I’ll help you come up with search terms that will get you some good results.

So, you’re on a website reading some great info. Now what?

• Open your writing notebook.
• Write down the website you’re on.
• Make a bulleted list of information you found from the website.
• Repeat steps 1-3 for each new website you visit. 

That’s pretty much all you have to do with that information for now. Just find as much as you can during our time today!

1st Hour - Week of 11-5-12

First hour students, please put your reading responses here. Don't forget your four requirements!

1. Title of book, Author of book, topic you plan on discussing (1 point)
2. A 1-2 sentence summary of what is happening in your book right now (3 points)
3. An explanation of why what's happening right now is important (3 points)
4. What the summary plus your thinking help you understand about the book - make an inference or an evidence-based prediction. (3 points)

If you need a reminder of the potential topics to discuss, look here: http://mrsboehlesclass.blogspot.com/2012/09/ready-to-post-start-here-please.html

If you have any questions, just let me know! I look forward to reading what you all have to say! :)

1st Hour - Week of 10-29-12

First hour students, please put your reading responses here. Don't forget your four requirements!

1. Title of book, Author of book, topic you plan on discussing (1 point)
2. A 1-2 sentence summary of what is happening in your book right now (3 points)
3. An explanation of why what's happening right now is important (3 points)
4. What the summary plus your thinking help you understand about the book - make an inference or an evidence-based prediction. (3 points)

If you need a reminder of the potential topics to discuss, look here: http://mrsboehlesclass.blogspot.com/2012/09/ready-to-post-start-here-please.html

If you have any questions, just let me know! I look forward to reading what you all have to say! :)

1st Hour - Week of 10-22-12

First hour students, please put your reading responses here. Don't forget your four requirements!

1. Title of book, Author of book, topic you plan on discussing (1 point)
2. A 1-2 sentence summary of what is happening in your book right now (3 points)
3. An explanation of why what's happening right now is important (3 points)
4. What the summary plus your thinking help you understand about the book - make an inference or an evidence-based prediction. (3 points)

If you need a reminder of the potential topics to discuss, look here: http://mrsboehlesclass.blogspot.com/2012/09/ready-to-post-start-here-please.html

If you have any questions, just let me know! I look forward to reading what you all have to say! :)

1st Hour - Week of 10-15-12

***PLEASE READ THIS POST TO REMIND YOURSELF OF THE REQUIREMENTS BEFORE YOU POST!***

First hour students, please put your reading responses here. Don't forget your four requirements!

1. Title of book, Author of book, topic you plan on discussing (1 point)
2. A 1-2 sentence summary of what is happening in your book right now (3 points)
3. An explanation of why what's happening right now is important (3 points)
4. What the summary plus your thinking help you understand about the book - make an inference or an evidence-based prediction. (3 points)

If you need a reminder of the potential topics to discuss, look here: http://mrsboehlesclass.blogspot.com/2012/09/ready-to-post-start-here-please.html

If you have any questions, just let me know! I look forward to reading what you all have to say! :)

1st Hour - Week of 10-9-12

First hour students, please put your reading responses here. Don't forget your four requirements!

1. Title of book, Author of book, topic you plan on discussing (1 point)
2. A 1-2 sentence summary of what is happening in your book right now (3 points)
3. An explanation of why what's happening right now is important (3 points)
4. What the summary plus your thinking help you understand about the book - make an inference or an evidence-based prediction. (3 points)

If you need a reminder of the potential topics to discuss, look here: http://mrsboehlesclass.blogspot.com/2012/09/ready-to-post-start-here-please.html

If you have any questions, just let me know! I look forward to reading what you all have to say! :)

1st Hour - Week of 10-1-12

First hour students, please put your reading responses here. Don't forget your four requirements!

1. Title of book, Author of book, topic you plan on discussing (1 point)
2. A 1-2 sentence summary of what is happening in your book right now (3 points)
3. An explanation of why what's happening right now is important (3 points)
4. What the summary plus your thinking help you understand about the book - make an inference or an evidence-based prediction. (3 points)

If you need a reminder of the potential topics to discuss, look here: http://mrsboehlesclass.blogspot.com/2012/09/ready-to-post-start-here-please.html

If you have any questions, just let me know! I look forward to reading what you all have to say! :)

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Write a response to your book here. Feel free to respond to other people's responses as well. :)

All the Lovely Bad Ones

Write a response to your book here. Feel free to respond to other people's responses as well. :)

Transall Saga

Write a response to your book here. Feel free to respond to other people's responses as well. :)

Elsewhere

Write a response to your book here. Feel free to respond to other people's responses as well. :)

Ready to post?! Start here, please!

Hi, kids! Welcome to my blog! This is where you'll respond with your thinking about the book you're reading. Each of your books is fiction, so they all have a lot in common. I'm going to give you some ideas about what you can post that will work no matter which book you're reading.

You could write about...

• The main character. This is just like we talked about in intervention.  Here are some things you could think about your main character:
• What kind of person is your character? How do you know? Find evidence (proof) that supports what you know. 
• What patterns do you notice in this character's behavior? What do you think those patterns say about your character? Find evidence (proof) that supports what you know.
• How does the main character treat other characters in the book? What do you think that means? Find evidence (proof) that supports what you know.
  
• Conflict. There's conflict in every book because characters always face problems. It's what makes a book interesting to read. Here are some questions you could answer about conflict:
• What is the main problem of the book? How does the character handle it?
• What predictions do you have about how the problem will turn out? How will it be solved? What evidence can you find to support your thinking?
• Does the problem affect the relationships between the characters? How? Find evidence to support your thinking.
  
•  Setting. This is when and where the story takes place. Setting is VERY important in every fiction story you read. What have you noticed about your setting? Here are some things to think about:
• Authors use the setting to create a mood. What mood does the setting give your book? How do you know? Find evidence to support your thinking.
• The characters in your story interact with the setting, and sometimes it shapes or changes who they are. Does the setting in your book affect the characters? How? Find evidence to support your thinking.

If you ever need help thinking about what to write, come back to this post and you'll be able to get plenty of ideas. Make sure you're flagging your thinking as you read. It will really help you out when it comes time to respond.

Good luck! Have fun! :)