Starter15:
1. What did you do over Thanksgiving Break? 2. What was your favorite story from TTTC? Why? 3. Why do you think O'Brien wrote this book? The Things They Carried Coaching Work with your group to gain a better understanding of the novel Story by Story --Summarize the main events of the three chapters into 4-5 short bullet points.
Characters --Make a list of the main characters. --List the 3 most important traits of each character Overall Book --Discuss the message of the book. --1-3 sentences each: A. What is the author trying to say about the experience of Vietnam? B. What is the author trying to say about truth and storytelling? Discussion Questions --Come up with three good discussion questions in your group. Give them to Stephen. The Things They Carried Pre-Writing Answer any two of the following questions in well thought out paragraphs. These may be handwritten or typed. This is your ticket to participate in seminar tomorrow. Without this, you will not be allowed to participate, and you will receive a 0 for the seminar. If typed, they MUST be printed BEFORE CLASS STARTS. 1 page single spaced. 1) What does it mean to tell a true war story? 2) How does one tell a true war story? What are the particular difficulties, according to this narrator, in telling the events of war? 3) Would "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" be a better story if we knew, precisely, what happened to Mary after she left camp? Why or why not? 4) What is meant by the statement, "True war stories never generalize," on page 74? 5) What do you think is the heaviest thing the men carry? Why?
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"I know one thing: that I know nothing." -Socrates Oh, come on, Socrates. You and I both know--that is one impressive beard you have there! Fact, sir! SOCRATIC SEMINAR Let's do this. 5 Steps of Socratic Seminar
1) Annotating the Text: Interact with the content of the text by writing questions, comments, and making connections in the margins (with sticky notes) of--at the least--the following stories: - The Things They Carried - How to Tell True a True War Story - Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong Congratulations, you've done Step 1 already! (Right?) 2) Coaching: Monday, during the first part of class, we will work in pairs or groups of three to make sure that we all understand the main ideas of the TTTC. This step helps to make sure that our seminar is not a discussion of what happened, and helps us to delve into the deeper questions of the text. Huzzah! 3) Pre-Writing: Monday, during the second part of class, you will demonstrate your deeper thinking about TTTC in 1-2 pages of writing (single spaced) You should have plenty of time to finish this in class. Without a complete Seminar Pre-Write you will not be able to participate in the Seminar, which means you would earn a 0 for the Seminar. At the risk of overstating, we will begin and complete our Coaching and Pre-Writing Monday (12/2) in class. 4) Seminar: Tuesday, we sit in a circle, you have your book with you, and I channel Socrates and pose questions as we push to a deeper understanding of the text through our inquiry-based discussion and dialogue. This is not a debate--there is no "winning" in Seminar. We will be split into 2 groups, as usual. 5) Seminar Reflection: Tuesday/Wednesday, your two page, double-spaced seminar reflection will be due on Wednesday at the end of class. I will provide the necessary handout and assessment guide next week. I stole all this, and much, much more from Lori Fisher Sleep in, exercise, and fill your body with good food!
DEADLINE PASSED: If you haven't submitted your paper yet, please do so before you leave for break. Thank you to the 18 or so of you followed my instructions and submitted the paper yesterday (on time.)
I. Free write -Write half a page in response to the song that I play at the beginning of class. II. Independent Work Time -Use this time to make sure your last day before break at AHS is successful. Need a -Use this time to wrap up any loose ends with your Veteran's History Project so far. -Hint: Logistics people should be focusing on video logs. Technology people should be focusing on getting footage to Keenan so he can compile our video for exhibition. Communicators you will be responsible for making sure a thank you note is written to your veteran. III. Stephen Shares Pictures -I'd like to spend a little time sharing some photos from college and early Durango life. IV. Veteran Videos -We will spend class time watching at our Vietnam Veteran interviews. Thank you for getting these done way ahead of schedule. I'm so pleased with your HARD WORK and EFFORT. The finish line is near. Let's finish the race with style and sophistication. Deadline Alert: Email Stephen Link To "Rough Draft 2" By Midnight Tonight DON'T BE AFRAID. I. Save and Print
-Save all of your current edits as a new Google Doc. Save as, "Gulf of Tonkin, Rough Draft 2" -Save your thesis sentence and your strongest paragraph as a new Google Doc. Save as "Gallery Walk 11-21-13." Make sure your name is nowhere on the actual document. -Print "Gallery Walk." II. Gallery Walk -Lori Fisher and Sara Price, two of Animas' finest writing instructors, will be our guests for the Gallery Walk. -Notes from the Gallery Walk -Return to class at the end of the Gallery Walk and complete the unnumbered starter exercise. III. Choose Your Adventure! -Project Work Time *Veteran's History Project -Tech People Meet with Keenan -Logistics: Video Logs -Communicator: Start drafting a thank you note to your veteran. *Gulf of Tonkin Writing -Rethink, Rewrite, Revise -Submit link of "Rough Draft 2" to Stephen by Midnight. 1) No Starter
2) Choose Your Own Adventure A. Veteran's History Project -Look at Checklist -Logistics People, Tech People....it's your time. B. Gulf of Tonkin Writing -Critique? -Rethink, ReWrite Tonkin Writing D, Seminar on TTTC coming up after Thanksgiving... I. Rachel Talks College!!
-We are so fortunate to have Mrs. Rachel Sands visit our class today! She is an authority on College/University questions. Woo hoo! -This talk will last the entire first period. After break, we will take some much needed time to reflect on our project, the exhibition, your work, and my teaching. -Two online surveys -One classroom meeting II. Mid Project Reflection -Please click the link above and take the survey. -The project name is "Vietnam Project." Type it exactly as I have (without quotation marks.) III. Why AHS survey? -Please click the link above and take the survey. IV. Classroom Meeting We have classroom meetings at least once a week to communicate; address and solve problems. -Sharing: Let's talk about any interesting events that are coming up (outside of school, too.) -Deciding: Desk arrangements, lighting, project procedures? -Planning: Exhibition, and can we best prepare for it. -Reflecting: Let's think about progress, what has been learned, what might have worked better, and what changes might help the class. How is your perspective changing on what it means to be a student; a teacher? V. Rethink, Reflect -I will give you the rest of the class to run critiques, work independently, or schedule a conference with me in order to further refine What Makes Great Historical Writing
-This is our warm up activity for the day. As a class, let's construct a list about what makes great historical writing in your opinion. Gulf of Tonkin Rubric IN-CLASS WRITING DAY. BE NOT AFRAID, NOR ASHAMED. SHOW US YOUR BRILLIANCE. CHECK OUT THIS PICTURE OF THE USS MADDOX... WRITING PROMPT:
WHAT IS THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE GULF OF TONKIN INCIDENT? -Use your outline -Use the student models -Use your Historical Thinking Skills Handout -Email me a Google Doc link or a Word attachment at the end of class. |
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