Week of November 26th

Deadlines are subject to change; if you have any questions, please shoot me an email to inquire. I'll do my best to post any modifications as they come up.

Monday, November 26th: Visions of “The Jazz Age”
Using 1920s advertisements and the A&E Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald to surmise culture, values, and attitudes of America in the 1920s and compare with those of today.

Homework (due Tuesday, November 27th):
• Read Chapter One of The Great Gatsby.
• Complete email assignment on syllabus. Remember to print and bring emails to class.

Tuesday, November 27th: Point-of-View & Character Development
Analysis of narrator and principal characters introduced in Chapter One. Sketching the “Valley of Ashes.”

Homework (due Wednesday, November 28th):
• Complete 30-40 note cards (or equivalent) and bring to class, along with a list of works used. See blog for grading criteria.

Wednesday, November 28th: Note Card Check & Writing the Formal Outline
Note card self-assessment and check-in. Instructions for the formal outline presented in class.

Homework (due Thursday, November 29th):
• Read Chapter Two & Three of The Great Gatsby.
• Complete email assignment on syllabus.

Thursday, November 29th: The Language of Jazz
Rhetorical analysis of Chapter Three (and a preview of Chapter Four) in groups. Report and discuss.

Homework (due Monday, December 3rd):
• Read Chapter Four & Five of The Great Gatsby.
• Complete email assignment on syllabus.

Monday, December 3rd: As Time Goes By: Gatsby Meets Daisy
Share diaries with Daisies and Gatsbys. Introduce and plan oral interpretations of Chapter Five in groups.

Homework (due Wednesday, December 5th):
• Complete formal outline for research paper.

Tuesday, December 4th: As Time Goes By: Gatsby Meets Daisy (continued)
Finish and perform oral interpretations. Discuss.

Wednesday, December 5th: Drafting & Citations
Turn in formal outlines (if possible, please email me a copy as well). Drafting the research paper: synthesis of sources, integrated quotations, and parenthetical citations.

Homework (due Thursday, December 6th):
• Read Chapter Six of The Great Gatsby.
• Complete assigned MLA exercises (will post URL on blog).

Thursday, December 6th: Time, J. G., and the American Dream
Tracing Gatsby’s past. Time as motif and theme in Gatsby.

Homework (due Friday, December 7th):
• Read Chapter Seven of The Great Gatsby.
• Complete email assignment on syllabus.

Friday, December 7th: Drama at the Plaza
Clip from The Great Gatsby (1974). Discussion.

Homework (due Monday, December 10th):
• Work on research paper draft and continue reading The Great Gatsby.
• Email a specific question about your draft for our MLA workshop on Monday. Please send your email by Saturday night so that I can set them up for class. Attachments are fine.

Monday, December 10th: Stump the Teacher
Possible quiz on MLA basics. Answering your drafting and citation questions.

Homework (due Wednesday, December 12th):

• Read Chapters Eight & Nine of The Great Gatsby.
• Complete email assignment on syllabus.

Wednesday, December 12th: The Holocaust is Complete
Socratic seminar or class discussion using student questions.

Homework (due Thursday, December 13th):
• Complete first draft of research paper. You must bring a printed copy to class for credit.

Thursday, December 13th: Peer Consultation
Peer consultation on research paper drafts (high level revising).

Homework (due Friday, December 14th):
• One-pager responding to literary criticism (details to be announced) and The Great Gatsby.

Friday, December 14th: Responding to Literary Criticism
Sharing one-pagers; jigsaw with literary criticism.

Homework (due Monday, December 17th):
• Revised rough draft of research paper. You must bring a printed copy to class for credit.

Monday, December 17th: Peer Consultation
Peer consultation on revised research paper drafts (close editing).

Homework (due Thursday, December 20th):
• Final research paper emailed to skitsis@arlington.k12.ma.us and smkitsis@gmail.com by the end of day. I will send confirmation of receipt.

Tuesday, December 18th: Affluenza
Set up literature circles for winter break. Affluenza and the death of the American dream.

Wednesday, December 19th: Affluenza (continued)
Wrap up Affluenza. Connections to The Great Gatsby.

Thursday, December 20th: Class Does Not Meet
But research papers are due to me by email at the end of the day. Unless you preferred Wednesday?

Friday, December 21st: Affluenza
Self-assessment of research papers. Wrap up the A&E Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Have a great vacation! Upcoming deadlines to be aware of:

• Wednesday, January 2nd: Read first half of lit circle book with 10 substantial sticky notes.
• Thursday, January 3rd: Research briefs due; begin presentations to class.

Update: Taking Notes

Hey, APES. I hope your Thanksgiving was a tasty one … and now that we’ve all slept off the stuffing-induced stupor, I wanted to follow up with some specifics on taking notes. This is just to communicate expectations and criteria for Wednesday’s check in.

My expectation is that you will have 30-40 note cards (depending on how “information rich” they are) or their equivalent (if you are taking notes electronically). Don’t panic, it goes faster than you might guess, but don’t procrastinate either. I also expect you to use 3-4 different sources. Note that you do not need to FINISH taking notes on one great source before moving on to the next, if it’s longer than an article, and probably shouldn’t. My experience is that students who are still stuck on one source by the note card check-in wind up writing weaker papers: it becomes harder to diversify your sources and the result often winds up being more of a book report than true synthesis.

Please review the grading criteria for Wednesday:

• Required number of note cards (or equivalent) is met: 30-40 cards
  
• Every scrap of information can be clearly tied back to a source (use a code to save yourself work!) and a page number (if applicable)
  
• Clear and systematic topic headings are used, and notes contain sufficient context that you (and I) can make some sense of them
  
• Notes cover appropriate breadth and depth of information: at least 3-4 sources
  
• Notes are legible

Remember what a "finished" note card might look like:


And electronic notes can be taken in PowerPoint or Word:


If you are using any online sources that are not from unquestionably trustworthy sources (organizations that your teacher will have heard of, for example), please check them with me. I am highly skeptical of any website that does not have the oversight of an editor, even if the individual is or claims to be highly qualified. As always, don’t hesitate to drop me an email if you have any questions or concerns!

Enjoy the long weekend, and I’ll see you on the other side …

Literary Magazine

Remember that you can earn extra credit by submitting your work to the literary magazine! Click here to visit the magazine's site for full details.

Week of November 13th

Tuesday, Nov. 13th (H)
• Due: Read and annotate “Why Don’t We Complain” by William F. Buckley, Jr. and “Professions for Women” by Virginia Woolf. Complete one-pager in the argument and persuasion mode.
• Class: Discussion of the research paper process; explanation of the annotated works cited assignment. Share observations on death penalty essays.

Wednesday, Nov. 14th (F)
• Due: Email to skitsis@arlington.k12.ma.us with two potential topics for the research paper. Be sure to identify which is your stronger preference, if applicable. Please send your email by 11.59pm on Tuesday, Nov. 13th.
• Class: Workshop in the Media Center. Note: We’ll be taking third lunch.

While we are in the Media Center this week, there are several tasks to accomplish:

❏ Investigate sources, electronic and print, for your Annotated Works Cited assignment
❏ Expand and revise your selected one-pager (final should be two to three pages)
❏ Peer consultations on one-pagers (be sure you offer your feedback on at least one essay and you receive feedback from at least one peer in return)
❏ Conference with Ms. Kitsis on research paper topics, writing concerns, etc.

Thursday, Nov. 15th (S)
• Due: Bring a copy of your expanded one-pager if you are planning to peer edit today.
• Class: Workshop in the Media Center.

Friday, Nov. 16th (U)
• Due: Revised and expanded one-pager (now two to three pages) with all drafts.
• Class: Workshop in the Media Center.

Monday, Nov. 19th (M)
• Class does not meet today. I will be available after school if you have questions.

Tuesday, Nov. 20th (T)
• Due: Annotated works cited due.
• Class: Lesson on taking notes for writing from sources.

Wednesday, Nov. 21st (W)
• Due: Work on taking notes.
• Class: TBA. Note: If you are out of class for the math assembly be sure to pick up your annotated works cited before vacation; I will have them ready to return to you today.

Have a great Thanksgiving vacation!

Monday, Nov. 26th (H)
• Due: Continue taking notes; we’ll have a formal note check on Wednesday, Nov. 28th.
• Class: Introduction to The Great Gatsby.

Week of November 5th

The blog posts for Scapin and the research paper are below, keep scrolling. Note the change to the calendar: I do need you to write your one-pager in the argument mode for Tuesday, November 13th as well as reading and annotating the two essays on the initial syllabus for us to keep on track for the week. Thanks for your flexibility.

Monday, Nov. 5th (S-Day)
• Due: Read and annotate “The Men We Carry” and complete one-pager in the division or analysis mode.
• Class: Wrap up discussion of McDonald’s and share your analysis. Trade papers for peer revisions, and trade examples of effective feedback.

Tuesday, Nov. 6th (U-Day)
• Due: Meaningful peer review of example and division or analysis one-pagers.
• Class: Quick discussion of Scapin. Introduction to the appeals.

Wednesday, Nov. 7th (M-Day)
• Class drops. Boo.

Thursday, Nov. 8th (T-Day)
• Due: Your blog post at http://kitsis.blogspot.com.
• Class: Lecture: Logic and argument.

Friday, Nov. 9th (W-Day)
• Due: Read and annotate “Death and Justice” by Edward I. Koch and “The Death Penalty” by David Bruck.
• Class: Discussion of essays.

Monday, Nov. 12th
• No school today. Enjoy!

Tuesday, Nov. 13th (H-Day)
• Due: Read and annotate “Why Don’t We Complain” by William F. Buckley, Jr. and “Professions for Women” by Virginia Woolf. Read the introduction to the argument section and write a one-pager in that mode. Suggested topics are p. 340 #2 or 3; p. 354 #1, 2, or 3, or see the listed topics on p. 367. You are not required to do additional research for this one-pager (if you are personally motivated to do so, I won't stop you!); treat it more like an SAT topic at this stage of the game.
• Class: Discussion of essays. Overview of the research process, preparation for workshop time.

Research Paper Topic: Collective Brainstorm

Important: Whenever you post to a blog for this class, do not use your full name or the full name of any classmate for the sake of privacy. First names or initials only, please. Click "Comment" and select "Anonymous" when you are ready to post, and email me with any technical questions.

Remember: A good topic for this paper is one that could be plausibly argued for either side. If only a crazy person would disagree with you ... what kind of an argument do you have to make?

Part I: Sharing Topics
Your first task for the argumentative research paper – due at the end of the day on Thursday, November 8th – is not for yourself. Rather, it is a gift to your classmates.

Your assignment is to post two high-quality possible research topics to the class blog to help your peers brainstorm some new ideas. These topics are going to be fair game for anyone to pursue, so you might not want to post a topic that you are really excited about researching yourself.

In brainstorming areas of interest, consider issues that have already come up in class – problems that you and your classmates identified in the “Mission Possible” essays, questions that came up in the literacy narratives, debates held over 40 Model Essays. Think about your other courses. While you should not recyle a research topic from another class, there might be other questions raised by your studies that you’d like to explore in more depth (please clear any overlap with me in advance).

Then browse headlines and major publications. Skim quality sources – use this as an opportunity to check out some new, great rhetoric in contemporary nonfiction (see suggestions below). Consider electronic databases available through the Media Center and the public library, and visit either or both in person to browse through back issues of magazines (the reading room at Robbins is the more gorgeous thing in town, in my opinion).

For each topic, post the following:

• A short title, for ease of browsing.
  
  
• Identify the topic in the form of a synthesis essay question: “Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that . . . ”
  
  
• Then include a potential source to accompany this topic – something you saw in browsing the many available resources. Give the full citation information: title, author, publication, date, URL, etc. Then write a one sentence summary of what the article appears to be about (read the first page and skim the rest quickly).

As you propose topics, keep an eye on scope. For example, researching “educational reforms” would not be an appropriate topic: it’s far too broad. What are you really interested in? Whether affirmative actions really helps minority students? The effects of voucher programs on public schools in states that have them? The efficacy of charter schools? Whether the bilingual program should be reinstated? Then determine a position that a student researcher can “defend, challenge, or qualify.” That statement will likely be revised over the course of the project, but it will be a start.

Part II: Selecting & Refining Topics
As you consider which topic you would like to work with, keep in mind that a good topic meets the following criteria:

1. It’s interesting to you. You’ll be working with this issue for the next two months. The more that it evolves out of a natural and genuine curiosity, the more enjoyable and satisfying the research and writing will be.
   
   
2. You will be able to find reliable and authoritative print sources. Try a subject search on the Minuteman Library Network; you’ll soon find out if there are resources available on your subject.
   
   
3. The scope is appropriate. The topic should be focused enough to be handled in considerable depth in 12-15 pages.

On or before November 12th, email me two high-quality topics that you are interested in pursuing for your paper. Make it clear which one(s) you are most excited about pursuing. You should format these topics the same way, written in the form of a “task” (defend, challenge, qualify) and including at least one good potential source.

Be sure that you’ve identified a topic of appropriate scope – not too broad, not too narrow. If there are a few possibilities you are considering within a certain topic area, that’s fine too; name more than one. You don’t need to know which side you’ll be arguing at this point, since that’s what the research is for. You just need to establish that there’s a debate worth joining.

Resources to Consider

A) Databases in the Media Center
You may need passwords to access these; get a password slip from the Media Center to keep at home.

Opposing Viewpoints
Articles and papers presenting both sides of controversial social and political issues. Great place to go for early brainstorming. Do be cautious about dated or overly broad topics. Count this database as one source in your arithmetic.
http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/arlinghs

Social Issues Resource Series
Full-text articles on social, political, health, mental health, historical, and scientific issues, including special current issues information.
http://ars.sirs.com/

Newsbank/Infotrac Databases
Magazine and newspaper databases.
http://www.mln.lib.ma.us/electronic/arl1.htm

Minuteman Regional Library Database
I adore this database. You can access the historic New York Times, dating back to forever ago (or 1851, which is close). And the Boston Globe, and other great stuff. Does require a public library card, or the passcode from the Media Center.
http://mmrls.org/homeaccess.html

B) A Few Recommended Periodicals
Not only do these magazines have great information, the prose is usually stellar as well.

The Atlantic Online
http://www.theatlantic.com/

The New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/

Harper’s
http://www.harpers.org/

The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/

National Review
http://www.nationalreview.com/

FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting)
http://www.fair.org/index.php

The New York Review of Books
http://www.nybooks.com/">

The New York Times Magazine
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/magazine/

The Economist
http://www.economist.com/

C) Miscellaneous
Other helpful resources to consider.

Supreme Court Decisions
Browse Supreme Court opinions by topic and use the full text of the opinions as a possible source.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html


Note: If you come across any great resources as you work, include them in your post to share with the rest of us!

Scapin Questions

Consider the following questions from the Scapin study guide prepared by the kind theater folks for tomorrow's performance:

1. Clearly AHS’s production of Scapin isn’t set it the time the play was written. Why has the time of the play been changed? What is gained by this interpretation? Take note of the set and costumes. Do these changes support the play or distract from the play? Support your answer with specifics.
   
   
2. Does this production create a “sense of truth” onstage? Why or why not? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
   
   
3. In commedia dell’arte, the plot of a play was often just a framework within which the actors could then improvise. After having seen this play, what sections can you imagine would have been left open to improvisation in Moliere’s time? What are the advantages of having the freedom to improve during a play? What do you think are the disadvantages?
   
   
4. Several of the actors in this production have appeared in other shows at AHS. If you have seen them before, discuss what it’s like to see them again in a completely different role. If you haven’t seen them before, can you imagine them playing a character who is very different from the one you saw in the show? Do you feel this makes the case for having troupes of actors who consistently work together on different productions? Why or why not?

Enjoy the show!