Quizlet Vocabulary

The final exam words have all been entered on Wallyjr's Quizlet account. Check it out for studying purposes.

Click here for the link.

Final Exams

The vocabulary final on second semester words will be on Monday, June 7. You have gathered the word lists to know in a vocabulary packet. They are Things Fall Apart, Carlito, Night, Phobia and Friends.

The final exam during your finals block will involve creating a comic strip that captures a common theme and four characters encountered this year in English 10. The final assessment also involves reflection papers on what you were trying to accomplish in the comic strip.

Night Reading Schedule

Reading Due Date:

Thursday, April 15: 1-20
Friday, April 16: 21-43
Monday, April 19: 45-62
Tuesday, April 20: 63-80
Wednesday, April 21: 81-98
Thursday, April 22: 99-109

Friday, April 23: Final Exam

Research Letter Grading Criteria

Here's what you need to turn in by 3:10 on Monday, April 12 and how the assignment will be graded. Remember that you also need to give a brief speech about your letter.

1. Research Letter

•Topic is relevant and well-selected
•Letter makes a persuasive, well-organized argument about your chosen ethical issue
•Includes citations to at least 3 credible sources
•Includes some background information and acknowledgement of the opposition
•Illustrations/ quotes provide strong support for your topic
•All quotations and paraphrases are introduced with a signal phrase that indicates the source of the information
•Tone is appropriately formal and serious
•Sentence are fluid, concise
•Word choice is precise
•Letter reflects revision and evidence of engagement with the writing process
•Letter is properly formatted according to business letter model and single-spaced
•Entire packet is submitted in a neat, orderly fashion with attention to detail

2. Works Cited Page

•Properly formatted according to MLA standards
•All Entries Double-spaced
•Alphabetized
•Inclusive of all sources cited within the text of the letter

3.Printed copies of sources

•Copies of all sources are submitted with essay
•Sources show evidence of annotation or proof of careful notetaking

4. Flow Map of Credibility for all sources not found on school database

•One flow map is submitted for each source that is not from a school database
•The information on each flow map is specific to the source being evaluated

Research Passwords

Some of the databases require passwords, so check out the list below that has user name as U and password as P. Please print off these user names and passwords and tape them to your computer at home. I will only leave them live on the blog for a few days.

ABC-CLIO
U: ehornets
P: ehornets

Culture Grams
U: edina
P: hornets

EBSCO
U: edina
P: hornets

GALE
U: mnkedina
P: elm4you

Proquest
U: Of4crftbvf
P: welcome

SIRS at home
U: MN0307h
P: 55439

World Book
U: edina
P: worldbook

Research Letter Due April 5 to April 12

Individual Persuasive Letter Based on Research

Assignment

To demonstrate your understanding of the research process and to engage in a thoughtful analysis of a meaningful contemporary issue, you will write a letter to a publication, person, corporation or organization that persuades them on a specific ethical issue. For your research, examine a contemporary ethical issue tied to current corporate and consumer practices. Although you may research and write about a food-related issue, do not write about the same topic that your group did after watching Food Inc.

Letter Paragraph Organization

Your persuasive letter paragraphs do not need to follow the PIE format of literary analysis. In fact, business letters are brief, rarely do they go beyond one page of single-spaced type. Click here to see a business letter format for typing. Your letter should follow this organizational plan:

• Introduction—creative attention device and specific ethical thesis—the point you want to prove. (2 sentences)

• The basic arguments on both sides of the ethical question. Consider the consequences, pros and cons of each position. You may need to include some brief background information. Information in these paragraphs will be supported with in-text citations. Using “according to” or other signal phrases works well in a business letter; however, you may use parenthetical, in-text citations. (2 – 3 paragraphs)

• Conclusion—Based on your research, what is the best ethical response to your issue? In other words, what’s your call to action? What do you want people to do? Why? (1-2 sentences)

Note Taking
Complete some type of note-taking that ensures you are properly paraphrasing and correctly using direct quotations so that you do not plagiarize. Annotating printouts works well for note taking. Alternatively, you use paper or note cards to capture information without printing it. Just be careful to use quotation marks when you are copying lines exactly.

Research
As you research, remember that you must reference a minimum of three credible sources.
• Credible web sites have a known author (usually one that can be contacted), links that work, few grammatical errors, and listed resources.
• If you use articles from the school’s on-line databases, you are assured that they are credible.
• If you use a source not from the school’s database, create a flow map that shows why you determine the source was credible. See the flow map glued in your notebook.

Final Products
1. One-page letter (typed, single spaced block formatting, 12-point font, one-inch margins)
2. A properly formatted MLA works cited page
3. Flow maps that trace the credibility of Internet sources not found on school databases.
4. Some evidence of notetaking, probably annotated Internet printouts.

Help Available
Remember that The Writing Center is open before school and during lunch to assist you. Also, check out the teacher’s blog for links to citing sources and formatting a business letter.

Due Date
Your letter is due anytime between Monday, April 5 and Monday, April 12. You will not receive late points if you turn in the paper by Monday, April 12 at 3:10 p.m.--the last day of the due date window. I will grade the papers on "a first in, first graded" basis in case you want to take that into consideration when planning your due date.

Nectar Reading Schedule and Test

The final exam for Nectar in a Sieve is on Friday, March 19. That test will also include vocabulary words from the Carlito song.

Here is the reading schedule for Nectar:

The date indicates the night you should read the assigned pages as homework:

March 2: Chapters 1 & 2, pp. 3-17
March 3: Chapters 3 & 4, pp. 18-30
March 4: Chapters 5 to 7, pp. 31-45
March 5: Chapters 8 to 10, pp. 46-57
March 8: Chapters 11 to 13, pp. 58-77
March 9: Chapters 14 & 15, pp. 78-91
March 10: Chapters 16 & 17, pp. 92-102
March 11: Chapters 18 to 21, pp. 103-123
March 12: Chapters 22 to 24, pp. 124-149
March 15: Chapters 25 & 26, pp. 150-164
March 16: Chapter 27, pp. 165-176
March 17: Chapters 28 to 30, pp. 177-186