Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson

Monday 31 March 2014 for Periods 1, 2, 5, & 6 and Tuesday 1 April 2014 for Period 7


We're putting our research paper on hold for a week or two. Most students have completed their rough drafts. A few need to catch up. In class, students began listening to the introduction and first chapters of Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson. Students who missed class or have left their copy at school should take advantage of online e-text.

Students will be expected to have finished reading the first four chapters before coming to the second class of this week. A quiz will be given.

Homework: Finish reading any of the first four chapters of Pudd'nhead Wilson not completed in class.

Introduction, Conclusion, and Note Cards and Bib Cards Due

Devotional Text: Philippians 4:4

Students have the class period to finish drafting the introduction and the conclusion of their research paper.

Before the end of the period, students must turn in their introduction, conclusion, their forty note cards,and five bib cards. Students should make sure their name is written on the back of each note card. They should write their period number on the back of the last card so that it is visible when the stack is rubber banded together.

No homework

Have a great spring break!

Drafting the Introduction and Conclusion of the Research Report

Wednesday 19 March 2014 for Periods 5 & 6 and Thursday 20 March 2014 for Periods 1, 2, & 7

Devotional Text: Hebrews 13:1-3

Introduction
Opening Strategies
The introduction for the research paper should be between five and eight sentences in length.

The first three to five sentences should contain an opening strategy

Common Open Strategies                How that Might Work with the Religion Report
Open with an anecdote.                       Retell/summarize a Bible story that relates to your
                                                             paper's topic.

Open with thought-provoking details.    List examples of incidents from the Bible that relate
                                                             to your paper's topic.

Open with a contrast.                          Contrast today with first-century Palestine. For
                                                             example, if your paper is about what was the life
                                                             of woman like in first-century Palestine,
                                                             then you would describe briefly the life of
                                                             contemporary women before asking your
                                                             primary question.

Open with a quotation.                       Use Brainy Quote or Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
                                                             to locate a quotation related to your paper's topic.
                                                             Introduce the person who said the quote, present
                                                             the quote and comment on the quote before
                                                             asking your primary question.

Primary Question
After your opening strategy, continue your introductory paragraph by stating your primary question.

Expository Thesis
Immediately following the primary question, state your thesis. Remember the thesis for this paper is not argumentative/persuasive.

Preview
A preview lists for the reader the subtopics of your paper. Your preview may be a part of your thesis sentence or a separate sentence.

Conclusion

The conclusion for the Religion research report should be three to five sentences long.

Restate the report's thesis.

Reconnect to the opening strategy.

Describe relevance to Bible for a modern reader.

Drafting the Fourth and Fifth Body Paragraphs of the Research Report

Tuesday 18 March 2014 for Periods 2, 5, & 6 and Wednesday 19 March 2014 for Periods 1 and 7

Devotional Text: Hebrews 12: 5-6

Students had until the end of the period to submit their second and third body paragraphs.

Mr. Stone emphasized the importance of including parenthetical citations while drafting. He also reviewed the nature of expository commentary, noting that students should not be expressing there personal feelings in this paper. Rather, they should use sentences of commentary to explain how the examples they provide fit the generalization they have made in the paragraph's topic sentence.

Students had most the period to continue drafting using laptop computers in the classroom. Students were expected to have completed the fourth body paragraph during this time.

Homework: Finish the fourth body paragraph if not completed during class time and complete the fifth body paragraph.

Avoiding "Dummy Subjects"

Many student writers ineffectively begin sentences with "dummy subjects," such as "there" or "it." The website Daily Writing Tips provides a good explanation of "dummy subjects."

A professor from John A. Logan College, a community college in Illinois, also provides a helpful handout to assist students in understanding how to revise their sentences to avoid "dummy subjects."

Drafting Second and Third Research Body Paragraphs

Monday 17 March 2014 for Periods 1, 2, 5 and 6 and Tuesday 18 March 2014 for Period 7

Devotional Text: Hebrews 11: 13-16

Student submitted a rough draft of their first body paragraph for their research papers at the beginning of class.

The class used the period to continue drafting using the classroom laptop computers. Students were expected to complete the second body paragraph during class.

Mr. Stone reviewed the difference between a topic sentence, a sentence of concrete detail, a sentence of commentary, and a closing sentence with a color-coded example.

While students were drafting, Mr. Stone worked with students individually reviewing the quality of their thesis and topic sentences.

Homework: Finish the second body paragraph if not yet completed and draft the third body paragraph. Both typed paragraphs should be submitted at the beginning of the next class period.

Integrating a Source Practice #1: A Single Author Print Book

A Single Author Book

Bibliography Card

Note Card

ACCEPTABLE ANSWERS

GOOD

Jill Ker Conway, critically acclaimed author,says, "If we see our past as a moral and spiritual journey in time, our imagined future will continue that quest" (176).

*technically acceptable, however, the interrupting appositive construction after "Conway" and before "says" makes the sense choppy with so many commas

BETTER

Critically acclaimed autobiographer Jill Ker Conway says, "If we see our past as a moral and spiritual journey in time, our imagined future will continue that quest" (176).

*A smoother grammatical construction can sometimes be created by placing the information before the author's name in a manner that does not create the appositive construction that requires the commas.


BEST

Critically acclaimed autobiographer Jill Ker Conway suggests in When Memory Speaks: Exploring the Art of Autobiography, "If we see our past as a moral and spiritual journey in time, our imagined future will continue that quest" (176).

*Names the author
*Creates further context for the reader by naming the title of the source
*lists a credential of the author (an achievement, qualification, or aspect of a person's background that makes him/her particularly suitable for something)which provides the reader with a sense of the source's authority on the subject
*correctly uses a direct quote grammatical construction (a tag verb (e.g., says) immediately followed by a comma, a space, opening quotation marks, the exactly copied words,closed with a second pair of quotation marks)
*indicates the end of the sources "speaking" by the parenthetical in-text citation
*provides the correct information inside the parenthetical citation
*places the period after the parenthetical citation because the citation is considered a part of the sentence


UNACCEPTABLE ANSWERS

POOR

In the book When Memory Speaks: Exploring the Art of Autobiography, Jill Ker Conway tells us, "If we see our past as a moral and spiritual journey in time, our imagined future will continue that quest" (176). As an acclaimed author of three books on autobiography three books on autobiography, Conway knows what she is talking about.

*inefficiently provides all the required information, but in more than one sentence


POORER

Jill Ker Conway says that "If we see our past as a moral and spiritual journey in time our imagined future will continue that quest" (176).

*fails to provide information about the authority of the source
*incorrectly uses indirect quotation construction (note the use of "that")for a direct quote


POOREST

Jill Ker Conway acknowledges that, "If we see our past as a moral and spiritual journey in time, our imagined future will continue that quest." (When Memory Speaks 176)

*fails to provide information about the authority of the source
*incorrectly mixes indirect and direct quotation constructions (note how the writer uses both "that" and a comma instead of using just one or the other)
*places the period inside the quotation marks instead of after the citation
*puts the wrong information inside the parenthetical citation

More Integrating a Source Practice

Thursday 13 March 2014 for Periods 5 & 6 and Friday 14 March 2014 for Periods 1, 2, & 7

Devotional Text: Philippians 2:5

Students continued to practice integrating a source using a teacher-provided note card and bibliography card.

Mr. Stone reviewed the pattern for the body paragraphs of the research report:

Topic Sentence
Concrete Detail
Concrete Detail
Commentary
Concrete Detail
Concrete Detail
Commentary
Concrete Detail
Concrete Detail
Commentary
Closing Sentence/Transitional Sentence

Homework: Draft one body paragraph for the research report. Revise Citation Practice #1 and/or Citation Practice #2 if necessary.

Practicing In-text Citation

Wednesday 12 March 2014 for Periods 5 & 6 and Thursday 13 March 2014 for Periods 1, 2, & 7

Students practiced integrating source material into a sentence using MLA in-text citation. Mr. Stone provided sample note and bibliography cards. Students used their style manuals to assist them.

No homework.

Integrating Sources and Composing a Body Paragraph

Students complete an open-book quiz over pp. 108-116 of Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers' A Pocket Style Manual.

Mr. Stone highlighted aspects of Section 33a: MLA in-text citations (122-130)and distributed the grading rubric for the research report and began reviewing the requirements.

The body paragraphs for the research report have a different ratio of concrete detail to commentary than the earlier essays students have written for the course. Instead of a ratio of one sentence of concrete detail to two or more sentences of commentary (1 CD:2+ CM), the research report will have a ratio of two sentences of concrete to one or more sentences of commentary (2CD:1+ CM).

Each body paragraph will generally have the following pattern:

Topic Sentence
Concrete Detail
Concrete Detail
Commentary
Concrete Detail
Concrete Detail
Commentary
Concrete Detail
Concrete Detail
Commentary
Closing/Transitional Sentence

Homework: Read pp. 122-130 of Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers' A Pocket Style Manual.

"Sources Have Feelings Too"

Monday 10 March 2014 for Periods 1, 2, 5 & 6 and Tuesday 11 March 2014 for Period 7

Journal Entry: "Introductions"

Describe a time someone forgot to introduce you. How did you feel? What happened?

OR

Describe a time someone messed up your name when introducing you. How did you feel? What happened?

(Utilize the description techniques we discussed earlier this year: naming, detailing, and comparing. Be sure you answer the basic questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how.)

Mr. Stone shared a haiku deck created by Danelle Taylor-Johnston titled "Introductions: Sources Have Feelings Too." Students took notes on the presentation using the two-column note format. After the presentation, students practiced the concepts presented in the right column of the notes in the left column using their bib cards and note cards.

Homework: Read Sections 30 to 31b in Sommers' A Pocket Style Manual(108-116).

A quiz will be given at the beginning of the next class period.

Editing Devotional

The handwritten prewriting for the rough outline and the typed draft of the outline were collected at the beginning of class.

Copies of the students' revised drafts of their devotionals were returned to them. Students were given a peer editing sheet and directed to peer edit a classmate's devotional.

Homework: Complete a final draft of the devotional. Submit it to TurnItIn.com and bring a printed copy to the next class for grading.

Publishing Opportunity
Students have the opportunity to submit their devotionals for possible publication in the English Department's summer devotional book to be titled The Hand of God. For consideration, devotionals must be between 200-250 words in length. Student may need to revise their devotional in length to meet this criteria.

Students who wish their devotional to be considered for publication need to complete the following three additional steps:

1. Submit your devotional to devotional@lla.org.

2. Complete Entry Release Form/permission form and give to Mr. Stone.

3. Print an extra copy of your devotional and give it to Mr. Stone.

Note Cards

Mr. Stone will be checking next week for students completed note cards. Each student should have made a minimum of forty note cards and five bibliography cards.

Each note card should have the following five elements:

1. Source letter
2. Key word
3. Page number/medium for non-print sources
4. Note (paraphrase, quote, or summary)
5. Student's name (on back)

Each bibliography card should provide the publishing information for the source in MLA format. Use the directory to MLA works cited models in Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers' A Pocket Style Manual to locate the details for specific types of sources (131).

Creating a Rough Outline

Devotional: John 4:48

Mr. Stone provided the following instructions:

1. Be sure your note cards are sorted by key word. You should have a pile for each secondary question.

2. Go through each pile and review the specific details that you have gathered. Write out a generalization about those specific details that could serve as a topic sentence for a paragraph. Complete this process for each of your five secondary questions (and possibly a sixth pile if you made cards related to the key word of your primary question).

3. Once you have written five topic sentences, then look back at your primary question and consider a generalization that would cover your five topic sentences and answer your primary question.

4. Review your statement of the main idea (thesis/the answer to your primary question) and your five topic sentences (your five subtopics). Decide the best order for your subtopics. Number the order.

5.Type out the statement of your main idea (This will be stated at the end of your report's introduction.)followed by the five topic sentences for your body paragraphs in the order you want them in your paper.

Students will turn in two papers at the beginning of class. A sheet showing their handwritten work for steps 2-4 above and a second typed sheet showing step 5.

Homework: Finish making a rough outline. Bring the two papers described above to class.

Transitioning from Note Taking to Drafting/Forming a Central Idea

Devotional Text: John 4:13-14

Students wrote their primary question on a piece of paper and began to consider how they might write a single sentence answer to the question that would serve as the main idea of their research reports.

Mr. Stone wrote student examples on the board and analyzed them with the class.

Researchers often begin with a primary question and then ask the secondary questions necessary to answer the primary question.

As a writer turns from researching to drafting, she/he reconsiders the primary question. To answer this question, usually the writer must consider the specific details found as responses to each secondary question. A generalization about the details found to answer a secondary question becomes a topic sentence. The writer then considers the group of generalizations to form an even broader generalization which will answer the primary question.

Homework: After reviewing the notes you have already taken, write five more note cards to fill in gaps. Each student should come to class having now completed a total of forty note cards.

During the next class period, students will work on creating a sentence outline for their paper by answering in a single sentence each of their secondary questions and then their primary question.

After School Help

Mr. Stone continues to be available Mondays at lunch time and during the optional period after school on Mondays through Thursday. Students who have questions or have low grades should definitely make use of this opportunity.

Assessing Research Progress

Devotional Text Luke 3:3

Mr. Stone distributed six rubber bands to each student. They sorted the thirty note cards they have completed so far (if they are up to date) into piles by the cards keywords/subtopics.

After examining their note card piles and looking back at their primary and secondary research questions, students wrote an entry in their journal titled "Research #2." They were to describe the progress of their research: How many note cards have you completed? How many note cards do you have for each of your subtopics/secondary questions? Do you have notes from at least two different sources for each of your subtopics/secondary questions? How many sources have you located? Do you need more sources? For which subtopics/secondary questions do you need more notes?

Mr. Stone began reading and discussing Section 28: Managing Information; Avoiding Plagiarism (Hacker and Sommers 100-103) and discussed the creation of a working main idea with most periods.

Homework: Complete five more note cards towards the forty note cards required for the assignment.

Note: If you have not used the advanced search function of Google and limited your search to .edu domains, you should definitely explore this approach to finding resources.

Research in the Library

On Thursday, February 27, 2014, all five sections of English I spent a period in the LLA 7-12 Library to allow students access to book sources for their research report.

Homework for Monday, March 3, 2014 (Tuesday for Period 7):

Make as many additional note cards as needed to get you to thirty.