Monday, October 16th

1. Review:

Thesis: Arguable statement which is the main idea of your paper/paragraph

Formula: Subject + Attitude/Belief +(because) Blueprint = Thesis

Thesis Checklist:

• Answer to an intellectual question (research question)
• Must be arguable/debatable (not a statement of fact)
• Points the direction of argument (how and why?)
• Passes the "so what" test
• Language is vivid and clear

2. Types of Claims- These will help you address a subject in an effective manner.
Purdue OWL Thesis/Claims

3. Practice thesis writing. In your notes, using the types of claims notes, formula, and then the checklist, write a thesis for each of the following topics.

Remember to write the research question first... the types of claims and/or Bloom's question stems can help you approach these topics.

Kansas City Sports
Iphones
Friendship
High School Activities
Happiness

4. When you are done, go through the checklist to make sure that you have addressed all components of a strong thesis. Look over the formula... do you have all three components? Write down what type of claim you are using for each thesis... is it cause and effect? Definition? Value? etc.?

5. For Tuesday, on your own paper, review the 10 thesis statements on the following handout. Identify if they are strong or weak.. .and why? Rewrite the weak thesis statements.

Thesis Practice Handout

October 12th

Thesis Writing.... Got to Care!

1. Remember, the ultimate aspect of success in thesis/claim writing comes from the care in which you approach the content. You must start caring and forming opinions about the world around you! Therefore, read the following articles. Please note the opinions of the authors do not necessarily reflect my own.. the purpose of these specific articles are to engage your opinions on timely subjects.

No One Cares About Climate Change

Average Cost of Raising a Child

Emma Watson- WP

Why India's Narendra Modi

For each article, draw a t-chart in your notes and on one side take notes on WHAT YOU LEARNED and on the other side write WHAT YOU THINK.

This is, of course, is a style of higher level annotation where you are not only keeping track of new information... but also starting to form opinions about what you are reading!!  As you are gathering the "what"... you are starting to think of the "why" and "how".

Be thinking about the formula of the thesis/claim and the checklist as you are doing this activity.

2. When you have finished this, you will need to submit a document to Google Classroom with a THESIS STATEMENT for each t-chart/article.

October 12th

Thesis Writing.... Got to Care!

1. Remember, the ultimate aspect of success in thesis/claim writing comes from the care in which you approach the content. You must start caring and forming opinions about the world around you! Therefore, read the following articles. Please note the opinions of the authors do not necessarily reflect my own.. the purpose of these specific articles are to engage your opinions on timely subjects.

No One Cares About Climate Change

Average Cost of Raising a Child

Emma Watson- WP

Why India's Narendra Modi

For each article, draw a t-chart in your notes and on one side take notes on WHAT YOU LEARNED and on the other side write WHAT YOU THINK.

This is, of course, is a style of higher level annotation where you are not only keeping track of new information... but also starting to form opinions about what you are reading!!  As you are gathering the "what"... you are starting to think of the "why" and "how".

Be thinking about the formula of the thesis/claim and the checklist as you are doing this activity.

2. When you have finished this, you will need to submit a document to Google Classroom with a THESIS STATEMENT for each t-chart/article.

Tuesday, October 10th

1. Step 3 of Writing- Breaking Down the Topic is due today. You should have broken down each topic to a manageable size. Label these clearly.

2. Take VERY good notes on the following material. I will go over it on Thursday.

STEP 4 of Writing: Writing a THESIS OR CLAIM. 

Definition of THESIS: arguable main idea of a paper or paragraph

Purpose of Step 4: to provide analysis and argument of a topic, as well as providing a clear road map for the writer and the reader. 

Formula of a thesis: Subject + Attitude or Belief about this subject + Blueprint = Thesis

Checklist for evaluating a thesis:

1. Is the thesis/claim debatable? 

2. Does it answer an intellectual question? 

3. It is not a statement of fact (consider the audience). 

4.  Does it clearly point the direction of the argument (limiting it scope).

5. Is the language vivid and clear?

6. Is the point I’m making one that would generate discussion and argument, or is it one that would leave people asking, “So what?” (does it pass the "how" and "why" test?)
7. Does it use an active verb? (Avoids "Be Verbs... is, are, am, were)

3. Review and take notes over the following links:
Thesis Handout 

http://www.csus.edu/englishta/ta/inclassactivities/Writing%20a%20strong%20thesis%20statement.doc 

** Try the revise exercise at the end.

October 9th

1. Your 4 brainstorms are due today for STEP 2 of Writing.

Write down the following in your notes... :)

2. Step 3 of Writing is "Breaking Down the Topic".
The purpose of this step is to make the topic size match the paper size.

The process for this step is to take a topic that develops from your Brainstorm (Step 2), and carry it into Step 3. Your goal for this step is to make the topic size manageable for the amount you are expected to write. You are also looking at the hierarchy of ideas when it comes to the topic.

Think about writing a 5 page paper... World War II is too large for 5 pages. Needs to be broken down into something more manageable. ** Rule of thumb. How big would the book in the library be if you found it on that topic? If it is "book sized" it is too big for a small paper.

The TEMPLATE for STEP 3:
(1) What comes before the topic (larger issues/categories)
              |
         TOPIC
              |
(2)  What falls below the topic (smaller issues/categories)

An EXAMPLE for STEP 3

Teen experiences      Steps of education
                \                  |
               High School
                  |               \
              Activities      College/career prep
               |      |                            \               \
  Athletics    Academic           IB Courses    Technical Education
 
(Keep going until you have met a topic size that is appropriate for the size of your paper)

3. IN YOUR NOTES... Practice with the following two "practice" topics: 1. Lee's Summit. 2. History
This practice should be done IN YOUR NOTES.

4. For Tuesday- Do Step 3 of Writing for EACH of your 4 chosen topics. This will be 4 total.
Make sure to clearly label as step 3 these and DO NOT embed these in your notes.

Friday, October 6th

1. Your Twitter Audience Awareness assignment is due to Google Classroom at the beginning of class today.

2. We will finish up Step 1 of Writing- Audience Awareness with the Totem Pole of Academia.

3. Introduction to Step 2 of Writing- Brainstorming.
Pick 4 topics... do a brainstorm for each.
THESE TOPICS WILL FOLLOW YOU THROUGH THE REST OF THE STEPS OF WRITING. Pick wisely.

Rules of Formal Academic Writing.... Put these in your notes!

October 4th/5th

#AudienceAwarenessTwitter

Step One: Choose your hashtag
You may search Twitter (and possibly use Google) to see if there are any hashtags currently in use that grab your attention. Once you decide on a hashtag, you will tweet using the class hashtag to alert Mrs. Cole of which hashtag they chose to explore.

Please use the following format for this tweet: “I chose Hashtag _______  #AudienceColeTwitter”

You will not use the pound key for the hashtag they have chosen in this tweet because this tweet is not related to that hashtag.

Step Two: Research your hashtag and Audience
You will search the hashtag on Twitter. There you will find an archive of all the tweets that used the hashtag. You will then research how the hashtag has been used/is being used.

Consider the following: Who is using the hashtag? What is the context in which people are using the hashtag? What is their purpose for using the hashtag? Are there any major divides in how the hashtag is used (do some use it sarcastically while other use it seriously)? Who are reading these tweets? Students will tweet answers to these questions with the class  #AudienceColeTwitter

Step Three:  Possible Audience
Consider who else might follow this hashtag without actively using it in their tweets.

Consider the following: Are there people you imagine looking up this hashtag without using it in their tweets? Who could these people be? Will this impact your tweet? Tweet answers to these questions with the class #AudienceColeTwitter

Step Four: Other Audience
Consider who else might read their tweets.

Examples of  possible audience: teachers, employers, colleagues, etc. Answer the following questions: Will this impact your tweet? How? Tweet answers to these questions using the class #AudienceColeTwitter

Step Five: Audience Awareness gone well
In your research of this hashtag, where have you seen audience awareness handled thoughtfully? Screenshot a tweet example and explain what you see as a successful handling of audience.
Tweet answer using class #AudienceColeTwitter

Step Six: Audience Awareness gone poorly
In your research of this hashtag, where have you seen audience awareness handled poorly? Screenshot a tweet example and explain what you see as a poor handling of audience.
Tweet answer using class #AudienceColeTwitter

Step Seven: Tweet 
You will actually produce and publish a tweet using your chosen hashtag. You will take a screenshot of your tweet and then tweet that picture using the class #AudienceColeTwitter

Step Eight: Reflect
Once you have tweeted on your chosen hashtag, you will tweet out your reflection of this activity. You will thread your tweets... by chance if you don't know how to do this: How to Thread Tweets

Things to consider... What have you learned about audience awareness from this activity? What have you learned about audience awareness and social media?

Step Nine: Collect
Now that you are done with the activity, you will collect screen shots of each tweet, and arrange on a Google Document... under each step label. You will have a total of 8 Steps...  Upload this document to Google Classroom by October 6th.