Interims are in. Grades are on HAC.

I have not blogged lately because there has been a lot going on at school.  I will enter the grades for the debates very soon.  Thursday is the D.C. trip.  Friday we will finish up a movie that centers on debating.

Next week we start some new units.  That is all.

The grade I am using for interims is on HAC now.

Last Friday, the roads were slippery. It's totaled. :(

We are finishing up the debates on Monday.  I will enter those grades then.  The students know what they have received. 

Next week will be busy:

Monday: Finish debates and do some grammar
Tuesday: DCAS
Wednesday: DCAS
Thursday: D.C. Trip
Friday: Bingo reward activity

The group debates start tomorrow.

I put two grades on HAC.  I need time to enter the first AR test results.  Hopefully tomorrow.  Interims are due soon.

Here is the outline the students should have filled in for tomorrow.

Debate Outline: Fill in this outline before your turn

First turn

Handshake: (Grab attention and draw in.)

  After researching ants and exploring the topic, I am going to prove to you that ___Captital Punishment is a good thing!_____________ _______________________________________________________________.   ________________ _________________________ because reason 1, reason 2, reason 3.

Reason 1:

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-

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-

Reason 2: 

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-

-

-

Reason 3: 

-

-

-

-

Reason 4:

-

-

-

-

Second Turn

Think about the other side.  What do you think they will say, and what arguments do you have ready incase they use these arguments?

They will say ________________________________ , but ___________________________________.

They will say ________________________________ , but ___________________________________.

They will say ________________________________ , but ___________________________________.

They will say ________________________________ , but ___________________________________.

Third Turn: Rebut their rebuttals and move into your conclusion

Conclusion: 

           I have proven to you that ______________________________________________. _______________  ___________________________________________ because reason 1, reason 2, reason 3. I have also discussed how… (list some of the points you covered in the part where you refuted the other side.)

We will have debates on Thursday

We will be having debates on Thursday.  The students are in the same groups they were in for their commercials.  On Friday, I assigned the topic and gave the students time to brainstorm.  Today I gave them an hour on the computers and explained the basics of what they need to be prepared for Thursday.  Here are the topics:

What is the goal of prison? PUNISH

What is the goal of prison? REFORM

Solitary confinement is GOOD

Solitary confinement is BAD.

Capital punishment is A GOOD PUNISHMENT

Capital punishment is NOT GOOD!

Reading "The Bet" was GOOD

Reading "The Bet" was A WASTE

Here is the outline that the students need to complete to be prepared.  I have done debates for years.  I am trying to tell students what they need to be prepared for a debate.  They think that they can just wing it.  That is not how it works!  The winner is the one who earned the most points.  

Debate	Debate
Start Strong!     Handshake     Thesis Your position   Reason 1- sup, sup, sup   Reason 2- sup, sup, sup   Reason 3- sup, sup, sup (If needed)   Reason 4- sup, sup, sup   Reason 5- sup, sup, sup	Round 1 (1-5 points) (4) (4) (4) (4) (4)
Rebuttal Round 1.     My opponent stated __, but they are wrong because… 2.     My opponent stated __, but they are wrong because… 3.     My opponent stated __, but they are wrong because…	Round 2 (1 repeat)   (1-3 rebut) (1 repeat)   (1-3 rebut) (1 repeat)   (1-3 rebut)
Rebut their rebuttals 1.     My opponent stated __, but they are wrong because… 2.     My opponent stated __, but they are wrong because…	Round 3  (1-3 rebut) (1-3 rebut) Eye/prepared (1-5) Conclusion (1-5) (Max 3 extra)
Conclusion    Reason 1,2,3    Opponent wrong 1,2,3
Use the visuals as you present
	Possible: 48ish 35 = A 30 = B 25 = C 20 = D

All essays are graded.

Please see HAC for the latest grade.  I have a few make-up assignments from a few students to enter.  I will do that tomorrow morning.

There is a quiz on the 17 vocab words from The Bet on Thursday. Here are two Power Points I have used in class to help study.  They are not complete.
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Pictures

I handed out grade slips today. Sec. 1 essays scored.

Today was pretty much a work day.  We did Achieve.  Also, the vocabulary took longer than I expected.  No big deal.  They are some very hard words!  We will take our time and be sure to have these learned by the quiz sometime next week.  I will have the students looking at the etymology of the words for roots and prefixes, anything that might help us to learn the words better.

I handed out grade slips today.  All students should know if they have handed in the required assignments.

I graded the essays for section 1.  The scores are on HAC.  

I will be out Thursday for jury duty again.  FYI

We are staring "The Bet"

Homework:
The first AR test is due by February 20.
There will be a vocab quiz on the words below next week, probably Monday.

Before reading The Bet, on a separate sheet of paper, do the following.

In about three sentences or so, explain your thoughts on these statements.

1.   There are things in the world more valuable than money.

2.   Money can buy happiness.

3.   The love of money is the root of all evil.

4.   Eye for an eye- if you kill, you are killed.

5.   Solitary confinement is a humane punishment.  Days? Weeks? Months? Years?

Example:

I believe that money can buy happiness.  Money can buy happiness because …..  Another reason money can buy happiness is ….

Vocabulary for The Bet

1.   A Priori-

a.    Definition

b.   Sentence fragment from the story

2.   Obsolete-

3.   Immoral-

4.   Humane-

5.   Incessantly-

6.   Capricious-

7.   Rapture-

8.   Erudite-

9.   Haphazardly-

10.  Emaciation-

11.  Ethereal-

12.  Sirens-

13.  Pipes of Pan-

14.  Abysses-

15. Posterity

16.  Stipulated-

17.  Renunciation-

Request for Washinton D.C. trip chaperones

We just had a team meeting, and Mrs. Seifred was saying that we are very short on chaperones for our Washington D.C. trip on February 28th.  If there is a way you can help, please contact Mrs. Seifred or me.

Thank you.

We start our next unit on Tuesday

I will be out for jury duty on Monday.  On Tuesday we will start reading "The Bet."  The short story will set the stage for a long unit on persuasion.  More details will follow, but I have taught persuasion for years.  If your child had me last year, you should remember the ant debates.  I don't know exactly what I will change this year, but I have some creative ideas swirling around in my head.

We had fun filming the ads this week.  I cannot post them because they are, well, too embarrassing for the general public to see.  But we are watching them in class and getting a good laugh.  It is interesting to see how weak their arguments are for getting the procedure done.  If this is a pretest for persuasion, they need some guidance.  I usually have them make their ads AFTER we study persuasion.  We will revisit the ads later.

Have a nice weekend.