happy thanksgiving

Here are some simple, FREE tips for enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend:

1. Don't go shopping today.  (Learn how Big Retail is trying to kill Thanksgiving)
2. Don't go shopping tomorrow. (Learn the Dirty Secrets of Black Friday "Discounts")
3. Seriously, don't go shopping tomorrow. (video of Black Friday chaos) 

Wishing you and your families a happy, healthy, less expensive Thanksgiving! :)

final presentations

Pondering your presentation preparation?

In contrast to the vocabulary final (Wednesday of dead week, December 4), which will be about as formal and anti-fun as you can imagine, and the essay final (Thursday of dead week, December 5), which will require you to organize and articulate your expertise on multiple texts and literary elements, and which will probably make your pen-wielding muscles ache, your final presentation

            is

                                  different.

This is your opportunity to showcase:

• What you've learned for the first time;
• What you've improved the most;
• What you've done best;
• What you want to learn more about;
• What you know;
• Your strengths and talents.

That's it.

(Imagined) Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How will we be graded?
A: Creative/effective communication of a topic that convinces your audience that you've mastered an element of the course = A.

Q: What tools/media can we use to create our presentation?
A: Anything that doesn't harm sentient beings or break any laws/school policies.  Except posters.  No posters.

Q: Is there a time limit?
A: Sort of.  We will be limited by the number of presenting groups in each two-hour final period.  However, if you use online media we can direct the audience to your site for the overtime.  This may be an interesting way to augment/replace what I have in mind over the break.  If your group has planned a presentation that you know won't fit into the final period schedule in its entirety, please plan on showing the "directors' highlights" and walking your audience through it.  Please remember-- and this goes for everyone-- to leave a couple of minutes for Q&A.

Q: Can we collaborate with students in other classes?
A: Yes.  You may collaborate with anyone on Earth.  Extra credit if you collaborate with anyone not on Earth.

Don't forget the secret ingredient.  Please plan to submit your group's proposal in class on Tuesday, December 3.  Have fun and comment to this post with questions/ideas.

november 26

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Often our bodies live in the present and our minds live in the future.  What are you looking forward to this afternoon, over the Thanksgiving weekend?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Working period: papers/writers' conferences
3. Turn-in option

HW:
1. If you turned in your paper, please post to your blog (title: PAPER CUT) about the experience of writing and turning in your completed draft.  What did you do well?  What do you hope to improve?  What was new about the experience and what did it teach you?
2. If you didn't turn in your paper, please post to your blog (title: PAPER CUT) about the experience of writing, revising, and improving your paper.  What did you do well, what do you hope to improve, what is challenging about the experience, and what is it teaching you?

racism in the news (II)

What does it say about our society that a man can be arrested FIFTY-SIX times just for going to work?

sample works cited page

Here is a link to Purdue University's OWL Writing Lab/MLA formatting & style guide.

racism at san jose state

Our research topic, sadly, is in the news.

november 25

JOURNAL TOPIC:

(1) On Thursday million of Americans will eat until they are sick. Why?
(2) What are you thankful for?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Citations/formatting
3. Abstract
4. Due dates: pros and cons of turning in next draft before/after weekend

HW:
1. Citations
2. Abstract
3. Revisions