TICA Bulldogs

Web site for after SSP

2008-05-16T03:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.netsmartzkids.org/indexFL.htm

Lesson 38

2008-04-10T08:57:00.001-07:00

Today, you will continue working on your news article. You will use the notes you took from your two Web site sources to outline an article that you will put in your newspaper project.

Lesson 37 April 8, 2008

2008-04-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

April 8, 2008

Look for BIAS in what you read!

Bias is when an author favors one view

more than another.

Ask: What idea is the writer leaning toward?

Ways a Reporter Can Influence (Bias) a Story

By running an incomplete story.

By excluding some facts.

By including an incorrect fact.

By including opinions with facts.

By not including enough facts and details.

By using emotional language

Look for BIAS in what you read:

They may present one-sided messages.

Ask: Do they present the opposing view as well?

Evaluating Bias Activity:

1. Open your Epals account

2. Open the mail in the incoming mail box

3. Read the email and look for bias using the worksheet.

4. Complete the bias worksheet.

5. Using your comments on the worksheet, write a reply to the author that details the bias you saw in the article.

6. Send your response to the author by replying to their email.
Evaluating Bias Worksheet
What does the author want me to do or think

Does the author present more than one side of the story?

Does the author exclude any facts?

Are the facts correct?

Are their opinions included with the facts?

Does the author use emotional language?

Responding to the Author: Reply to the author’s email using the following guidelines.

1. Use a greeting: Dear _______________

2. Tell them that you read their article and what you thought of their topic.

3. Tell them if you saw any bias and what words or sentences contained bias.

4. Say whether you agree or disagree with their position.

5. Thank the author for sharing their views with you

6. End your email with a friendly closing (your friend,) and your name.

Lesson 36 April 3rd, 2008

2008-04-02T13:57:00.001-07:00

Writing an Advertisement

1. Go online to research a business in Curacao that you'd like to write an advertisement for.

2. Using the Lesson 35 handout, complete the sections for brainstorming, thinking of keywords, searching for a business, choosing a business, and taking notes on the business.

3. When the Lesson 35 handout is completed, use the Lesson 36 handout to write sentence for each of the following propaganda techniques:

a. Testimonial - a quote from an expert

b. Name Calling - an "us versus them" mentality

c. Bandwagon - everyone's doing it/going there - don't be left out!

4. Choose the your favorite of the above three sentences - the testimonial, the name calling, or the bandwagon and post it as a comment to this blog.

Include your name and your partner's name

State the name of the business and what kind of business it is (Ex. Sarah's Lane - a gift shop)

Post your favorite propaganda sentence

5. We'll read and discuss your posts at the end of class.

6. Be sure to remember any strategies you learned so that we can share them!

Lesson 35 - The Cay Project

2008-04-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

Today, you will think of something you would like to do if you ever visited Curacao. Think of a business that you would truly enjoy visiting. For example, you might select a hotel or restaurant. Maybe you're the more adventurous type and would prefer to go scuba diving. Imagine that you have one chance to visit any business you want.

STEP 1: Use your guided notes page to brainstorm three types of businesses that you'd like to visit.

STEP 2: Write in keywords that you can use to find these businesses in a search engine.

STEP 3: Browse the Internet looking for sites on really good businesses that you might visit. Select a business and write the URLs for sites that give you information about this business on your guided notes page.

STEP 4: Take notes from the Web pages. using your guided notes chart.

On Thursday, you will create an ad for this business using the propaganda strategies we've been studying in class.

Lesson 34 March 20, 2008

2008-03-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

When you return from Spring Break, you'll begin reading a novel called The Cay.
In order to give you some background knowledge about the setting of the book, we're going to spend this last class together before the break to do a scavenger hunt.

Mrs. Gibbs will place you into groups or pairs.
You will each have a scavenger hunt handout.
Please put your names on the handout and decide how you want to divide up the task of finding the answers to the 20 questions listed there.

Remember to use your best strategies for searching and locating information, because you're working hard to try to get as many answered as possible before the class ends.

Be sure to find RELIABLE sites - the questions are a little tricky, but you can do this!

Good Luck!!

Lesson 33 March 18, 2008

2008-03-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Today, after reviewing what you've learned about propaganda,
your challenge is to create your own propaganda poster and upload
it onto your home drive. At the end of class, we'll put them up on the
screen and see what sorts of propaganda techniques you've learned to
use!

Here are your instructions:

1. Brainstorm with your partner the topic you want for your poster.
Look at the handout for suggestions.

2. Brainstorm with your partner the words you will include on your
poster. You may want to come up with a title, a tagline, and/or instructions
as we discussed in the mini-lesson.

3. Brainstorm with your partner the images you want to include on
your poster. Think about fonts and colors, size and proportion as well!

4. Using PowerPoint or Publisher (you decide) design your poster.

5. Upload your finished poster to your home drive so that we can put
it up on the screen. Be sure your name and your partner's name is in
the file name.

6. Write any strategies you've found to be useful on the back of your
notes sheet. We'll share them later.

We'll be around to help if you need it...

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Lesson 32 Propaganda

2008-03-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

Use these Web sites to search for posters that you can use on your propaganda PPT (in your home directory).

Web Site 1
Web Site 2
Web Site 3

Use good search strategies to search within the sites.

Your assignment is to find two posters, copy and paste them into the slides, and answers these questions about each poster:

What is the author trying to tell you?
How does the author communicate this to you?
What do you think the purpose is?
Do you think the author communicates his message?

When you finish your PowerPoint, be sure to save the new version in your home directory!

Lesson 31

2008-03-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

March 11, 2008

First we will do a short challenge activity to make sure we are learning the things we need to be learning in our Internet lessons. Then, we will look at bias on Web sites. Angie will give a very short PowerPoint about bias and will give some examples of how to evaluate Web sites on the whaling industry.

After you see these examples, you will look at three Web sites and see if you can find bias in them. Be sure to complete your worksheet on these sites.

Here are the links to the sites we will use today:

Now - your turn:

Lesson 30: The Newspaper Article

2008-03-06T09:43:00.001-08:00

Today we are writing the newspaper article that you began on Tuesday with Ms. Jackie. I will review the upside down pyramid scheme for writing a newspaper article, then we will get started. You should finish your article today.

Lessons 29 and 30

2008-03-04T17:54:00.000-08:00

My Name:____________________________________ 2^nd or 6^th?

Lesson 29: Dust Bowl Newspaper Article – March 3, 2008

Structure of a Newspaper Article:

l ______Headline____________ – The title of the article.

l _________Byline____________– Name of person who wrote the article.

l ______Dateline________________– city/state/country where article was written.

l ________Hook________________- Short, interesting sentence that makes the reader

WANT TO read the article.

l ______Lead______________- Summarize the 5 W’s:

___Who_____, _____What________, ____When___________, ______Where___,

__________Why_______ AND _________How______________

Second/Third/Fourth paragraphs

1. Give __________important___ ______details_________ __first_____

2. Include one or two ____direct ________quotes______

3. Put the ___least___ ______important______details____last________

Last paragraph

1. ___Wrap_____ ___it___ _____up____ in an interesting way.

2. Make sure all pictures or figures have a ___ caption__________

General Notes

1. Write in the third person (he, she, it, they)

2. Be objective -- never state your opinion.

3. Use quotes to express others' opinions.

Writing your Dust Bowl Article!

1.Question:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Sources: (look on your notes sheet or write them here…)

3. Organize your paragraphs:

Use the boxes on the back of this page to:

a. Write the 5W’s in the first box

b. Write important details in the second box

c. Write less important details in the third box

4. Open your Word document (DustBowlArticle)

a. Begin to write your article from your notes

b. Proofread your article

c. Ask your elbow partner to read it

d. Ask a teacher to read it.

e. Make changes as needed

5. Find a picture or figure or map

a. Copy it onto the Word Document

b. Write a caption for the picture or figure.

Lesson 28

2008-02-28T17:53:00.000-08:00

Follow this step by step guide to a good newspaper article:
1. What was your research question for your Dust Bowl article?
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬______________________________________________________
2. Research your question using keywords in a search engine. Find two reliable and relevant (useful) Web sites. Use your Evaluation Checklist (in your folder) to help with this.
3.Take notes on the information on your Web site.
Title of Web Site 1: _______________________
URL: ____________________________
Information I Can Use: My Notes:
Direct Quote 1
Direct Quote 2
What does the site say in answer to my question?

My response to what the Web site says about my question:

Web Site #2: ____________________________
URL: ___________________________________
Information I Can Use: My Notes
Direct Quote 1
Direct Quote 2
What does the site say in answer to my questions?

My response to what the Web site says about my question:

4. Now, open a new Word Document.
5. Save it as “DustBowlArticle1” in your English Students folder in your home directory.
6. The HOOK: Grab the reader's attention by using an opening sentence which is a question or something unexpected!
7. First paragraph: In the first few sentences, answer these questions:
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
8. Now, give the details. It is always a good idea to include one or two quotes from people you interviewed. Write in the third person (he, she, it or they). Be objective. Use active verbs so the reader feels things are really happening!
9. Last paragraph: Write a good conclusion. You might try ending with a powerful quote from one of your sources.
10. By-line: At the end, state who wrote the article; 'By ....'.
11. Proof-read your article and edit where needed.
12. Add a citation for each of your sources.

Save your article again in the English Studies folder. You will be putting it into a newspaper template soon.

Lesson 27

2008-02-26T17:52:00.000-08:00

My Question: _____________________________________

My Keywords: ______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

My Search Engine: ____________________________________

____________________________________

Don’t forget to EVALUATE the two Web Sites you select! Use your EVALUATION HELP guide to assist you as you select two useful and reliable sites!

Title of Web Site #1 - ________________________________________

URL: ___________________________________

Direct Quotes My Notes My Response

Title of Web Site #2 - __________________________________________

URL: ___________________________________

Direct Quotes My Notes My Response

BONUS:

Helpful Strategies that I used to find my two Web sites:

Helpful strategies that I used to evaluate my two Web sites:

Lesson 26

2008-02-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

Students will write down their questions from the last lesson. They will think of 2 backup questions in case they are unable to find enough sites for the first question. They will then identify topic and focus keywords for the questions. Finally, they will find Web sites that they can use to answer their questions. They will record the URLs in a Word doc in their home directories.

Lesson 25: Asking Questions February 19, 2008

2008-02-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

February 19, 2008 – Lesson 25 Questioning

When we’re researching a topic, we ask questions BEFORE to find out:

1. What do I ____ALREADY______ know?

2. What do I _________WANT________ to know?

We ask questions during the research to find out:

1. Where can I ______FIND______ the info?

2. Can I _____USE_______ this info?

3. Can I ______TRUST_______ this info?

We ask good questions because:

Good ____QUESTIONS________ lead to good _KEYWORDS_________;

Good ______KEYWORDS_______ lead to good ____SEARCHES______;

Good _____SEARCHES______ lead to good _____ANSWERS______!

Good questions have:

1. Appropriate _SCOPE_: Not too _SMALL__ nor too _LARGE__.

2. Are ___RESEARCHABLE___: it’s __POSSIBLE__ to find the answer on the Internet or in books.

If you can answer the question with a few clicks, the scope is too small.

If you’d have to ask lots of little questions, the scope is too large.

A question is UNresearchable if it:

1. Relies on __OPINION__ (Who’s responsible for the Dust Bowl?) or

2. Is ____UNCLEAR______. (What was the Dust Bowl like?)

Good questions have two parts:

1. ____TOPIC____ - General Inquiry

2. _____FOCUS___ - Specific Refinement

Questions that have a TOPIC and a FOCUS are researchable because these two parts become your keywords for searching.

You can tell if a question is likely to be a good one by asking:

Is it too large?

Is it too small?

Can you find the answer on the Internet?

Does it rely on opinion? Is it clear?

Does it have a topic and focus?

TOPIC: Dust Bowl

FOCUS: You pick (farming, weather, government, people, migration, life styles, etc)

MY QUESTION:

When your question has been approved by Mrs. Gibbs or Miss Jackie, please post it on the blog!

Lesson 24 February 14, 2008

2008-02-19T14:26:00.004-08:00

Synthesizing What We Read On the Internet

Lesson 24: February 14, 2008

A: ____________________________________________________

S: ____________________________________________________

R: ____________________________________________________

S: ____________________________________________________

A: ____________________________________________________

Reading for Synthesizing

Partner Reading and Synthesizing

l Go to Mrs. Gibbs’ Web site

2. Click on the link for the PBS Dustbowl

3. Click on the link for People and Places

4. Click the link for the name of the person or event written below:

Your Person or Event:

Black Sunday

Read one paragraph at a time.

Partner 1: Read aloud for Main Idea

Partner 2: Read again, then pause to think and discuss

Together: Write your notes on the double entry page attached.

Together: Write your personal response on the attached page.

Together: When you’ve finished all of the paragraphs,

write your synthesis.

Together: Post your synthesis on the TICA Bulldogs Web site

Click on New Post

Type in your synthesis

Click on Post

Click on View Blog to see what everyone wrote

Lesson 23 Synthesis

2008-02-12T09:11:00.000-08:00

Synthesizing What We Read On the Internet

Lesson 23: February 12, 2008

What are we doing when we synthesize information from several sources?

Reading for Synthesizing

A: Activate prior knowledge;

S: Scan for key words;

R: Read through once to get the main idea;

R:Read through again - pause and think/discuss;

S:Summarize in your own words;

A: Add a personal response.

Write a Silly Sentence:

A S R R S A

Practice Together

The realities were obvious. It was flat, treeless country where you couldn't count on rain, and the wind blew all the time. On old maps it had been sensibly labeled The Great American desert.

NOTES

MY RESPONSE

Practice Online Together

NOTES

MY RESPONSE

Lesson 22 Feb. 5th 2008

2008-02-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

Harlem Renaissance Project - Paraphrasing!

When we write about things we've read from online (or print) sources, we need to put the information into our own words. This is called paraphrasing, and it helps us to:

make the information our own by saying it in our own words
avoid plagiarizing material - a huge no-no!

Today, we're focusing on paraphrasing information from online sources.

You will receive a double entry journal with eight boxes:

In the first box, there is a direct quote from the encyclopedia about Langston Hughes. We'll read it together, then look at the box on the right to see how this quote was paraphrased.

In the second box down, there is another quote from the same article. Let's work together to paraphrase this one! We'll write out paraphrase in the box on the right.

Next, log back on to one of the sources you used for your Harlem Renaissance artist project. Find a quote from the article and write it in the 3rd box down. Write another in the 4th box. Work with your elbow partner to paraphrase each of those quotes.

NOW:

If you don't have all of your slides completed (please see Lesson 21 for list of slides you need), please finish those now!
Look through each slide to see if you've copy-pasted information from sources, or if the wording is very close to the original.
If you've not paraphrased the information that is on your slides, please do that now and include your original writing only on the slide.
If you're quoting the article - or a person - word for word, make sure you have it in quotes and include the citation on your works cited page

Good luck! We'll take time off from lessons to look at your presentations on Thursday!

Lesson 21

2008-01-31T09:09:00.000-08:00

Harlem Renaissance Project

Lessons 18 – 22

Berea Middle School

Days Four (Lessons 21)

Today, we will take time to finish our Harlem Renaissance project. By the end of this class, you should have AT LEAST SIX slides in your PowerPoint presentation:

1. Title Slide – this should have the name of the artist and your name.

2. Five facts about your person (Encyclopedia)

3. Paragraph about an important life event, such as a tragedy or stroke of good luck (Newspaper)

4. Paragraph about an important day or an important piece of art, music, poem that the person created (Magazine)

5. What can you conclude about your character’s life based on what you have read?

6. Works Cited: Citations for Encyclopedia, Newspaper, Magazine.

NOTE: Be sure to save your completed PowerPoint in your home directory in your English Studies Folder so that Mrs. Gibbs can grade it!

Write down any strategies you’ve found helpful!

You may ask your elbow buddy for help with the project, but each person must submit his or her own PPT.

What I conclude about my artist:

Strategies:

Lesson 20 - Harlem project/magazines

2008-01-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

Harlem Renaissance Project

Lessons 18 – 22

Berea Middle School

Day Three (lesson 20)

Today you will use an online magazine to find information about a special day in the life, or the work, of the Harlem Renaissance artist you have chosen to research. You should do the following things by the end of the day.

1. Use this page to record notes about the work of your artist. Then, make a PPT slide with this information on it.

2. Put a citation for the article that you used on the citations slide at the end of your PPT.

3. Upload the new version of the PPT into your home directory in your English Studies Folder. (This will be graded, so you must do it today.

4. Write the strategies you learned today on the back of this sheet. If you share your strategy with the class during the sharing time at the end, you will receive a raffle ticket!

Note: You may ask your elbow buddy for help with the project, but each person must submit his or her own PPT.

Notes:

Artist’s name: _________________________________________

Date of article: ___________________________________

What type of work did they produce? (art, music, writing, etc.)

What was the magazine article about? Was it a review, a commentary?

Interesting things I learned about the artist:

Citation:

“____________________________________.”___________________. Title of Article Online Name of Magazine

_____________. ______________________________________.

Year of Publication Publisher

_________________. <_________________________________________.>

Date of Access URL

Strategies I learned:

1.

2.

3.

Lesson 19

2008-01-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

Harlem Renaissance Project

Lessons 18 – 22

Berea Middle School

Day Two (lesson 19)

Today you will use an online newspaper to find information about an event in the life of the Harlem Renaissance artist you have chosen to research. You should do the following things by the end of the day:

Use this page to record notes about an interesting or important event in the life of your artist. Then, make a PPT slide with this information on it. Let’s think about a title for the slide…

Put a citation for the newspaper article that you use on the citations slide at the end of your PPT.

Upload the new version of the PPT into your home directory in your English Studies Folder. (This will be graded today, so you must do it today!)

Note: You may ask your elbow buddy for help with the project, but each person must submit his or her own PPT.

Notes:

Artist’s name (who): _________________________________________

Date of article (when): ___________________________________

What happened?

Where did it happen?:

Why was it important enough to print in a newspaper?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Interesting things I learned about the artist?

Citation:

“____________________________________.”___________________. Title of Article Online Name of Newpaper

____________. ______________________________________.

Year of Publication Publisher

_________________. <_________________________________________.>

Date of Access URL

Strategies I learned:

Lesson 18

2008-01-24T09:44:00.000-08:00

Taught on January 22, 2008

Today we will begin our Harlem Renaissance project. You will select an artist from the Harlem Renaissance and create a PPT about that person.

Today we will focus exclusively on online encyclopedias. You will go to the encyclopedias and look for articles on your artist.

Encyclopedias are great when you want an overview of a topic. It's a good place to start when you begin a topic. If you are looking for a person, it gives you biographical information, such as where your person was born or when he/she died.

You will use the guided note taking sheet that we give you in class to take note on the article from the encyclopedia.

Then, you will create a slide for your PPT to show the information that you read in this article, writing the information in your own words.

Lesson 17: Fact Monster Scavenger Hunt Game

2007-12-18T17:41:00.000-08:00

Lesson taught on December 18

Today we are going to play a game in teams. We will practice using our search, locate, and communicate skills

Here are the things we will do:

Five Minutes: Ms. Angie's Mini-Lesson

Forty Minutes: The game

Ten Minutes: Share strategies that worked.

Ms. Angie’s Mini-Lesson

Practice Question 1 : First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, who was married to Abraham Lincoln, gave birth to four sons

-- but only one son lived to adulthood. Which son lived to adulthood?

Circle his name below.

Robert Todd Lincoln

Edward Baker Lincoln

William Wallace Lincoln

Thomas Lincoln

“______________________________.” _____________________.
Title of Article Title of Web site

__________. ______________. <___________>

Practice Question 2: How many months did the earliest Roman calendar have?

ANSWER: ________________________

“______________________________.” _____________________.
Title of Article Title of Web site

__________. ______________. <___________>

Lesson 16: Survivor Story Lesson

2007-12-13T17:06:00.000-08:00

Taught on December 13, 2007

SECTION ONE: Finishing the work from Tuesday

We are going to continue the lesson that Ms. Jackie began on Tuesday today. The steps that you should follow in this lesson are:

1. Open a search engine.

2. Use keywords to find a survival story.

Hint: Find a true story about someone who was lost and who had to survive until he or she was rescued.

3. Write the URL of the site where you found your story on your worksheet.

5. Write a brief, three line summary about the story.

5. Find two DIFFERENT sources about the same story.

Hint: You might need to write the person's name into a search engine to find more sources.

6. Write the URL of all three sources into the Word document.

7. Beside each URL, write what kind of source it is and why you trust it.

SECTION TWO: The PowerPoint

**Only when you completely finish the worksheet**

Now, you will summarize what happened in the stories you read in a PowerPoint that has been added to your English Studies folder. Don't forget that you need to paraphrase information that you get from the site when you summarize the info on your site on the PowerPoint.

SECTION THREE: Writing the article

Finally, you will write a news article about the story based on all you read. The purpose of this article is to inform a specific audience about the story. YOU get to select the audience. Please select from this list of potential audiences:

Boy Scouts who will be camping soon
Parents of middle school students
Middle school students
High school students
Boy Scout troop leaders
Middle school teachers
Elementary school children at a summer camp

Type your name and your audience at the top of a Word document. Save it in your English Studies folder, and begin writing your article.

Lesson 15 Dec 11th LOST!!!!

2007-12-07T18:03:00.000-08:00

Here's the project for today...

1. Open a search engine.

2. Use keywords to find a survival story.

Find a true story about someone who was lost and had to survive until they were rescued.

3. Open a Word document - save it as "Lost" to your English Studies folder.

4. Copy/paste the url of the story into the Word document.

5. Write a brief (three lines) summary about the story.

5. Find two DIFFERENT sources about the same story.

You might need to copy/paste the person's name into a search engine to find more sources.

6. Paste the urls of all three sources into the Word document.

7. Beside each url, write what kind of source it is and why you trust it.

The Internet gives us access to many different types of sources.

For example, you can find information about topics you're interested in from newspapers, magazines, books, Web sites, and blogs ALL on the Internet.

How do you think you you can tell what kind of source you're looking at when you open a page on the Internet? Let's look at a few pages and see...
see link for bereahigh.org

Today, we'd like you to work in pairs or groups to see if you can find at least three different types of sources about someone who was lost and had to survive on their own - similar to Brian in Hatchet. But this time, make sure that it's a true story and not fiction - or a hoax!

To figure out if you've got a real "lost" story or a fake one, check your sources -- do they all say the same thing? What is it about the of the source that makes you trust it or distrust it?

If you learn anything new about how to find or evaluate articles, remember to mention them at the end of class when we debrief!

Now get to it! Can't wait to see your LOST stories!

Ask Gary!

2007-12-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

December 6, 2007

Today, we're going to take a closer look at the author of your novel, Gary Paulsen.

Learning more about the person who wrote a novel can sometimes give you insights into the story that make it more interesting.

After you learn a little about Mr. Paulsen, we'd like for you to think of a question that you would ask him if you met him.

You may share strategies with your "elbow partner", but we would like to have one email from each of you by the end of the class period.

Here are your instructions. Please use the tab in the taskbar to return to this blog to check to see if you've done everything. Have fun!

Open a word document and name it "Gary Paulsen".
Save the document to your home drive in the English Studies folder.
Use a search engine to find a few Websites that tell you about Gary Paulsen.
Read through the Websites to answer the following questions:

When and where was Gary Paulsen born?
What did he do when he was 14?
What sport did he become involved in during the early 1980's?
What made him want to become a writer?

What question would you like to ask him if you met him?

Write your answers to these questions in the word document.

BONUS: Copy and paste a photo of Gary Paulson into your word document.
BONUS BONUS: Answer your own question by looking online for interviews with Gary Paulsen

Save your work to your English Studies folder on your Home Directory.
Email your document to jmalloy@clemson.edu

We look forward to reading your questions!

Lesson 13?

2007-12-03T17:31:00.001-08:00

Ms. Jackie and I are happy to be back from Austin! We are looking forward to seeing all our TICA Bulldogs tomorrow in Ms. Gibbs class!

Tomorrow we need to make sure we do a few things. First of all, some people were absent when we were doing the surveys at the beginning of the semester. We need to make sure those people take those surveys.

Secondly, we need to talk about permission forms. We still need them from some of you, so please be sure to bring those in for us.

Finally, I am not sure if you guys finished your survival guides yet or if you are still working on them. Ms. Jackie & I need to talk with Ms. Gibbs to see what you guys are doing right now. If Ms. Gibbs would like, we might do a lesson involving sending an email attachment. If you are doing something else right now, Ms. Jackie & I will just do the make up surveys and restart lessons on Thursday.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break and a good week at school last week! I'm looking forward to seeing you all again tomorrow!

Ms. Angie

Lesson 12

2007-11-21T08:37:00.000-08:00

Today we continued working on our projects. We were not able to project anything on the screen, so there was no blog. But I thought I'd write what we did so that everyone would remember.

We had a substitute, so I should report to Mrs. Gibbs that the students were very well behaved. A couple of people in each class have finished the PPT.

Things that we discussed today primarily involved the communication phase of Internet reading. (Remember our posters? 1. Question; 2. Locate; 3. Evaluate; 4. Synthesize; 5. Communicate. ) Students who were collaborating on projects needed to share information for the different slides, so we practice emailing information to one another. We also talked about paraphrasing information from Web sites to avoid plagiarism.

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! Ms. Jackie & I will be in Austin, TX for a conference the week after the break, so we'll see you the first week in December!

Ms. Angie

P.S. Thanks for doing such great work in class on Tuesday! =o)

Lesson 11

2007-11-19T17:20:00.000-08:00

Today we will begin with a challenge activity that will help us know if you are learning the things that we would like you to know about reading on the Internet. Ms. Gibbs plans to use this for a grade, so do your best work. Please work on your own on this activity.

After you complete the challenge activity, please work on your Canadian Rockies Survival Guide PowerPoint. If you have not found your four Web site source, please work on that first. Don't forget to evaluate your sources to make sure they do not have bias; if you need help, just click on the "Help With Evaluation" link that is in the upper righthand corner of this blog (under helpful links). Once you have four good, reliable sources, begin working on your slides.

We appreciate all your hard work!

Lesson 10

2007-11-13T14:08:00.000-08:00

Today, we'll continue working on the Survival Project. Mrs. Gibbs will
put you into groups - you may work in groups of 2 or 4.

1. With your pair or group, decide if you have one good website to answer each of the four survival questions: what to eat; how to build a shelter; how to build a fire; how to deal with bears. If you don't have a web source for each question, work together to find some!

2. You and your partner(s) will need to each work on one of the questions - using the website as a source, create a slide that answers the question.

3. Create a slide that answers the question you used when you did your search. Look at Mrs. Gibbs example (How to Catch a Fish) to get ideas of how you can write information text.

4. Raise your hand if you need help!

Lesson 9: Survival Guide

2007-11-08T19:38:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, we worked a little with writing searchable questions before looking for answers online. Remember that a good question will have a TOPIC and a FOCUS. The topic and focus of a question will help you decide on your keywords to enter into the search box of the search engine.

Today, we're going to try to find websites that would be good sources of information for completing your Survival Guide powerpoint. First, let's talk about when you need to scan for information and when you need to read more carefully. We'll do an example together, and then you can work in pairs to find sources for the four questions you'll need to address in this project.
______________________________________________________________________________________________

Instructions for today:

Please work in pairs to find a really good website that will help you answer each of the following four questions.
When you've found a good website, copy the url (web address) into the Word document that you started on Tuesday.
Paste the url beside the question that you've written to address food, shelter, fire, and bears.
Good luck!

If I am stranded in the Canadian Rockies:

What will I eat?
How will I build a shelter?
How will I start and maintain a fire?
How will I deal with bears?

•

Lesson 8

2007-11-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

From Lesson 8 Powerpoint

Question and Locate It all begins here…

I. What do you want to know?

• Have a clear question

• What’s the topic?

• What’s the focus?

<> KEYWORD = Topic + Focus

Example 1

Where can I stay in the Canadian Rockies?

Topic: Canadian Rockies

Focus: accommodations

Keyword Search = Canadian Rockies accommodations

Results

Example 2

What’s the weather like in the Canadian Rockies?

Topic: ???

Focus: ???

Keyword Search: ???

Let’s work one together…

Slide 2 has to do with food:

What would you eat if you were stranded in the Canadian Rockies?

Please open a Word Doc

• Put in your name and your partner’s name.

• Date and 2^nd or 6^th period

• Question

• Topic

<>• Focus

Please save to English folder in Survival File

Think in pairs:

What is your SPECIFIC question about what you would eat if you were stranded in the Canadian Rockies?

Open a Word doc and write some possible questions.

Hint: Think about edible plants and animals

From Question to Keywords

Have a question? Good!

Locate an article

• Enter your keywords into a search engine.

• What did the results page turn up?

– Look at the titles

– Read the descriptions

– Decide on a page to check out

Is this the right website?

SCAN IT!

• Look at the headings – does it have the sort of info we want?

• Check out the links, pictures, sidebars – where would my info be?

Is this the right website?

READ IT!

Read through carefully for the info you need.

Decide what you’ll use

Decide how to present it

Lesson 7: STRANDED!!!!!!

2007-10-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

Today, you will begin reading a book called Hatchet.

It is the story of a young boy who is stranded in the Canadian rockies. He must survive with only a limited number of supplies.

Today, to prepare for reading this book, we are going to brainstorm some of the challenges and/or dangers one might face if stranded all alone in the Canadian rockies.

To begin, let's see if we can find the Canadian Rockies using Google Maps. Post your answers to these Google Maps queston as comments on this blog.

1. Lake Louise on Google Maps. How many miles is it from Berea Middle School to Lake Louise Canada? Post your answer as a comment on this blog.

2. Find Jasper National Park in Canada on the Google Maps. How far is it from Salem (where I live) to Jasper National Park? Post your answer as a comment on this blog.

3. Is Lake Louise, Canada closer to Jasper National Park or British Columbia? How do you know? Post your answers as a comment on this blog.

*****************************************************************************************************************************

PART TWO

I have put a worksheet for you to complete at this link: http://people.clemson.edu/~angelar/lesson6.doc. You can open this document on your laptop and type your answers. Remember to save it at the begninning so that you won't lose it if your computer freezes! You can upload it to the "Canadian Rockies" folder we made in class last week when you are finished. (Don't forget to do this because it will count as a grade!)

1. Your first task is to come up with four questions about challenges or dangers a person might face in the Canadian rockies. Write the questions on your worksheet.

2. Your second task is to search the questions in Google, using key words - not the entire question. Make notes about the sites you find that give you reliable information on your worksheet. If you need help with how to know if a web site is reliable, there is a link on the right called "Help With Evaluation" that you might want to click for advice.

3. Your third task is to search the same questions on ask.com, using the entire question, not just key words. Make notes about the sites you find that give you reliable information.

BONUS: If you use any good strategies while doing this activity, record them as a comment on this blog post. You and your partner will get raffle tickets if you are able to do this.

Email your worksheet as an attachment to jmalloy@clemson.edu and angelar@clemson.edu at the end of class. Be sure to save it in your Canadian Rockies folder in your home directory first!

************

Here is a video that might help you think of some ideas for questions:

Lesson Six - Email Attachments

2007-10-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

In Lesson Five, Ms. Jackie showed you some things that are very important when using laptops and the Internet at school. Today, we want you to practice some of the things that she taught you.

Here are the things we'd like you to do today:

1. Create a new folder in the English Studies folder in your home directory. Name the folder "Canadian Rockies."

2. Open a new Word document. Save the document as "YOURLASTNAME_CanRockies" in the new folder you just created in your home directory. Don't close the document after you save it; we're going to use it to do the rest of the activies. When you save it in the beginning, Word will save every few minutes for you. This way, if your computer freezes, you won't lose your work.

3. Use the Web sites listed below to find answers to the questions that follow. Type your answers in the Word document you just created. (Helpful hint: The first link has answers to all the questions, so that's a great place to start.)

Question 1: Where is Jasper located?

Question 2: How big is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies?

Question 3: If you were going to get married in the Canadian Rockies, which one of the recommended places would you choose? List at least three reasons why you would choose this location?

Question 4: If you were in the Canadian Rockies, would you rather visit Alberta or British Columbia? List three reasons why you prefer this location?

Question 5: Find a picture from the Banff National Park and paste it into your Word document.

Question 6: Find a picture of Lake Louise and paste it into your Word document.

Question 7: Which one of the tours at this site (http://www.canadianrockies.net/tours/winter.html) would you want to visit? What do you like about this particular tour?

4. Save the document one more time, just to be safe.

5. Email the document to Ms. Jackie and Ms. Angie.
Ms. Jackie's email: jmalloy@clemson.edu
Ms. Angie's email: angelar@clemson.edu

Lesson 3: Evaluation

2007-10-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

Today we are going to talk about how to know if Web site is reliable. Sometimes, people can put information online that is just not true. For example, have you ever hear of a walrus that lives in the mountains? If it sounds too strange to be true, that's a good sign that maybe it's just not true... even if the site has a picture!

It is always important to evaluate sites to make sure they are RELIABLE.

Now, we will use the activies at the JOE COOL / JOE FOOL site to help us practice evaluating Web sites. Just click this link to go through some of the practice activities. Raise your hand if you have any questions.

Finally, after you finish the tour and the quiz (for fun) at JOE COOL / JOE FOOL, I'd like you to try leaving me a comment here on my blog about the walrus site. Why is this site not reliable? Give me reasons from teh JOE COOL / JOE FOOL checklist.

Lesson 2

2007-10-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

Question and Locate Scavenger Hunt

Write the question you want to ask and some possible search terms for each problem. Then, when you get your laptop, try using the search terms in a search engine to see if you can find information that helps me with the problem.

1. I know that there is an old folktale about the jack-o-latern, but I don’t know anything about it.

Question: _________________________________________________________

Key Words: _______________________________________________________

Legend of the jack-o-latern:______________________________________

2. I know that there is a god named Kwoth in African mythology. I don’t know which country in African has Kwoth as part of their mythology. I think he is considered a nice god, but I’m not sure if he helps humans or if he is harmful to humans.

Question(s): _____________________________________________________

Key Words: ______________________________________________________

About Kwoth:_______________________________________________

3. I know that one of Shakespeare's characters was inspired by an Irish or Welsh goddess. Her name was Cordelia. I don't know which play had Cordelia as a character. I also don't know the name of the Irish or Welsh goddess that inspired Shakespeare to create her character.

Question(s): ________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

Key Words: _________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

About the play/the goddess: _________________________________________________________

TICA Bulldogs

Web site for after SSP

Lesson 38

Lesson 37 April 8, 2008

Lesson 36 April 3rd, 2008

Lesson 35 - The Cay Project

Lesson 34 March 20, 2008

Lesson 33 March 18, 2008

Lesson 32 Propaganda

Lesson 31

Lesson 30: The Newspaper Article

Lessons 29 and 30

Lesson 28

Lesson 27

Lesson 26

Lesson 25: Asking Questions February 19, 2008

Lesson 24 February 14, 2008

Synthesizing What We Read On the Internet

Lesson 24: February 14, 2008

Lesson 23 Synthesis

Synthesizing What We Read On the Internet

Lesson 23: February 12, 2008

Lesson 22 Feb. 5th 2008

Lesson 21

Harlem Renaissance Project

Days Four (Lessons 21)

Lesson 20 - Harlem project/magazines

Harlem Renaissance Project

Day Three (lesson 20)

Notes:

Citation:

Lesson 19

Harlem Renaissance Project

Day Two (lesson 19)

Notes:

Citation:

Lesson 18

Lesson 17: Fact Monster Scavenger Hunt Game

Lesson 16: Survivor Story Lesson

Lesson 15 Dec 11th LOST!!!!

Ask Gary!

Lesson 13?

Lesson 12

Lesson 11

Lesson 10

Lesson 9: Survival Guide

Lesson 8

From Lesson 8 Powerpoint

Question and Locate It all begins here…

I. What do you want to know?

• Have a clear question

• What’s the topic?

• What’s the focus?

Example 1

Where can I stay in the Canadian Rockies?

Topic: Canadian Rockies

Focus: accommodations

Keyword Search = Canadian Rockies accommodations

Results

Example 2

What’s the weather like in the Canadian Rockies?

Topic: ???

Focus: ???

Keyword Search: ???

Let’s work one together…

Slide 2 has to do with food:

What would you eat if you were stranded in the Canadian Rockies?

Please open a Word Doc

• Put in your name and your partner’s name.

• Date and 2nd or 6th period

• Question

• Topic

Think in pairs:

What is your SPECIFIC question about what you would eat if you were stranded in the Canadian Rockies?

Open a Word doc and write some possible questions.

Hint: Think about edible plants and animals

From Question to Keywords

Have a question? Good!

Locate an article

• Enter your keywords into a search engine.

• Date and 2^nd or 6^th period