March 31

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Explain what you think Ralph Waldo Emerson meant when he wrote, "A chief event of life is the day in which we have encountered a mind that startled us."

AGENDA:
1. Journal/check HW
2. Discussion: definition and study of culture in literature
3. Vocab midterm review
4. Literature circles

HW:
1. Vocab midterm tomorrow, Friday 4/1
2. Literature analysis #5 due tomorrow, Friday 4/1
3. Literature circle work

March 30

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Explain the name of your favorite musical group. Does the name have a meaning? Does it make sense to people (and is it supposed to)? Who chose it, and why do you think it "stuck"? (Hint: Don't just say "it's catchy"-- there are lots of "catchy" ideas we've never heard of because they didn't catch on.)

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Literature circles meet to: a)contribute discussion questions & take notes on conversation, b)list outstanding passages, c)list vocabulary, d)list/discuss connections, e)list/discuss items for further research, f)identify group needs and assign action items to group members for tomorrow.
3. EXIT TICKET: Write a "thinker's narrative" for the narrator of your novel. If your information is incomplete because you just started reading, include the information you've gotten already and list questions that you'll seek answers to in upcoming pages. (One paper per group.)

HW:
1. Study vocabulary for Friday's (4/1) midterm
2. Make sure literature analysis on track for Friday
3. Literature circle work
4. Read Wikipedia entry on culture and explain (in a brief written paragraph) whether or not a skateboard is a cultural artifact. Be ready to discuss this and definitions of culture in class Thursday 3/31.

March 29

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Who is the best athlete of all time? How do you define best and athlete?

AGENDA:
1. Journal/turn in "thinker's narrative" HW
2. Literature circles
3. Check out: Anna Karenina, A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Things Fall Apart, or Good Earth


HW:
1. Reading/assignment per literature circle


LITERATURE CIRCLES2

March 28

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How important is the narrator's identity to your understanding of a story? How important is the reader's (or listener's/viewer's) identity to "getting the message"? Explain using at least one example from Rashomon.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocab [good news: no quiz today, no list this week; other news: vocab midterm Friday, 4/1]
3. Narrator's thinking/thinker's narrative (Rashomon, prepare for literature circles)

HW:
1. Thinker's narrative (please see below & answer questions)
2. Study vocabulary
3. Remember to bring I.D. tomorrow for checking out books in library


influences on subconscious thinking

March 25

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Imagine watching today's weather in a scene of an Akira Kurosawa movie. Since we know he did everything on purpose to send the audience a message, what do you think the weather might symbolize?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Group discussion using the nine intellectual standards of critical thinking (opening questions: Which version of the truth is most accurate so far and why? Are there any other explanations you can think of that would tell yet another story about the same set of facts? What will happen next and how do you think the plot will end?)

HW: Study for vocabulary quiz Monday 3/28

March 24

JOURNAL TOPIC:
This is a visual prompt; write a short story about the following picture & caption. [Source: Van Allsburg, Chris, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston: Massachusetts (1984)]


harris burdick stone skipping back

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Rashomon: continued

HW: Read the discussion thread here and write down three new ideas that you think are of value.

March 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Give your opinion on this classic riddle: If a tree falls in a forest, but no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Provide at least two reasons for your answer.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Quiz: Rashomon study guide
3. Rashomon: continued

HW: Read the following study guide (and note the typo in the title). Use your notes to begin answering the following questions. Remember, especially where your information is incomplete, to write yourself some questions and ideas about what to look for in the rest of the movie.


Rashamon

Rashomon Study Guide

Please read the following study guide (and remember how helpful it can be to print and mark up a copy!) for quiz Wednesday 3.23.


Rashomon study guide

March 22

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe the taste of water.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Partners: Rashomon
3. Notes/Discussion on "big picture" and "the little things that make the big things happen"

HW: Read Rashomon study guide (see next post)

March 21

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What was the first thought you had when you woke up today? What would you like your first thought to be tomorrow?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Correct 3/18 vocab test
3. This week's vocabulary
4. Habits of mind

HW:
1. Vocab sentences
2. First thought of the day

March 18

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe how something you learned this week changed your thinking. If nothing did, ask yourself whether this represents a strength or a weakness.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocab/lecture quiz
3. Read literature analysis book (#5 due Friday, April 1)

HW:
1. Read literature analysis book
2. Write down your first thought when you wake up each morning (Friday, Saturday & Sunday)-- be ready to discuss in class on Monday, 3/21

March 17

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Do you dream? About what? Why? Does dreaming have any impact on your "real" life?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Applying intellectual standards
3. Attribution theory

HW:
1. Read "Through the Open Window" (p.540-544) and answer R&A questions #1-7 on p. 544
2. Prepare for vocabulary quiz tomorrow-- and make sure you know each of the nine intellectual standards

March 16

JOURNAL TOPIC:
If you could communicate fluently in two other languages, which languages would you choose? Why? What would you express, and to whom? What information would you have access to that you don't now?

AGENDA:
1. Journal/check HW
2. Group discussions: applying critical thinking/intellectual standards to reading

March 15

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Happiness has been described in many ways, from "a warm puppy" (Charles Schultz) to "a warm gun" (John Lennon). What is happiness to you? Explain your answer.

AGENDA:
1. Journal/check HW
2. Critical thinking defined
3. Nine intellectual standards of critical thinking (click HERE for original at Critical Thinking Foundation's website)

HW:
1. Read "Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets" (pp. 6-20 in blue textbook)
2. Answer questions #1-6 on p. 20
3. Answer this question-- How did the nine intellectual standards of critical thinking help you think about this story and/or answer the questions on p. 20?-- and be prepared to discuss your ideas with a small group in class tomorrow.

March 14

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Imagine: in the next few minutes you will be summoned to the principal's office, where you will be ambushed by a roomful of officials who falsely accuse you of wrongdoing. How do you feel? How will you respond? Explain in detail.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocabulary (can you remember as much as the average toddler?)

HW:
1. Vocab sentences
2. Have you chosen your next literary analysis book?

March 11

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you.

AGENDA:
1. Journal/turn in literature analysis
2. Vocabulary quiz

HW:
1. Find a good book and a few minutes to relax, because next week will be busy...

March 10

JOURNAL TOPIC:
The owner of a time machine gives you a choice: travel back 30 years to visit your parents' lives, or travel 30 years ahead to visit your own. Which will you choose? Why? What do you expect to see?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Review/study vocabulary
3. Read/work on literature analysis

HW:
1. Quiz tomorrow
2. Literature analysis due tomorrow

March 8/9

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How did this class help prepare you for the CAHSEE? Was the writing task on the exam harder, easier, or about the same as the average daily journal topic?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Attention/Perception

HW:
1. Study for vocabulary quiz Friday 3/11
2. Literature Analysis due Friday 3/11

March 7

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Look 24 hours into the future and describe in detail your experience of passing-- better yet, blowing the doors off-- the CAHSEE.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. CAHSEE Room Assignments
3. Vocab

March 3

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Some people believe words describe our thoughts-- other people believe words create our thoughts. What do you believe? Why?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. CAHSEE practice questions
3. Visual lit. (cont'd.)

HW:
1. Study for tomorrow's vocab test

March 2

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe a mistake you're glad you made. Was it a difficult experience? What did you learn from it?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. More standardized testing tips
3. The medium is the message (continued)

HW:
1. Think. Be prepared to report your work tomorrow (Thursday 3/3)

March 1

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Do you think the opposite of love (i.e., a strong positive feeling) is hate (i.e., a strong negative feeling) or apathy (a lack of feeling/caring)? Explain.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. CAHSEE prep: multiple choice questions and essay prompts available this week at lunch
3. 21st century literature online and on the big screen

HW:
1. Read/work on Lit. Analysis #4 (due 3/11)