Critical Thinking Are you as Smart as a Lion? You’ll have four minutes to figure this one out. Pay close Attention to the scenario. No cheating or talking.

The Rather Lengthy Scenario There is an island filled with grass and trees and plants. The only inhabitants are 100 lions and 1 sheep.  The lions are special:  1) They are infinitely logical, smart, and completely aware of their surroundings. 2) They can survive by just eating grass (and there is an infinite amount of grass on the island). 3) They prefer of course to eat sheep. 4) Their only food options are grass or sheep. Now, here's the kicker: 5) If a lion eats a sheep he TURNS into a sheep (and could then be eaten by other lions). 6) A lion would rather eat grass all his life than be eaten by another lion (after he turned into a sheep). Assumptions: 1) Assume that one lion is closest to the sheep and will get to it before all others. Assume that there is never an issue with who gets to the sheep first. The issue is whether the first lion will get eaten by other lions afterwards or not. 2) The sheep cannot get away from the lion if the lion decides to eat it. 3) Do not assume anything that hasn't been stated above. So now the question: Will that one sheep get eaten or not and why?

The Answer and Logic The sheep would remain untouched.  In fact, the sheep would remain untouched if there is an even number of lions on the island, and would be eaten immediately if there is an odd number of lions on the island.  Here's the reasoning: Consider a scenario with just one lion and one sheep: The lion will eat the sheep. Why? Because after he eats it and turns into a sheep himself, there aren't any lions on the island to eat him, so he is happy. Now look at a scenario with 2 lions and 1 sheep. Here the sheep would remain unharmed. Why? Because if any one of them eats it, and turns into a sheep himself, he knows that he awaits certain death because he will then be a sheep and the other lion will be the only lion on the island and nothing will stop him from eating the sheep.  So now we know for a fact 1 lion and 1 sheep - sheep gets eaten. 2 lions and 1 sheep - sheep doesn't get eaten.  We can now make a conclusion about 3 lions and 1 sheep: the sheep will definitely be eaten, because the lion that eats it will know that by eating he leaves behind 2 lions and 1 sheep (himself). And as we already know 2 lions and 1 sheep is a situation where the sheep survives. You can use the same logic to go on to 4 lions and 1 sheep, and then all the way to 100 or 1000, but it will always be true that with an odd number of lions the sheep gets eaten and with an even number the sheep doesn't.

Goals for the Day I can analyze and justify my own score on the argumentative essay and then use this information to improve my essay.

Argumentative Essay Review Partner with someone you trust and someone who will push you to work and not waste time. Partner 1 – Read your own essay out loud to your partner. Read the essay EXACTLY as it is written. As you read, listen for places where you’ve made simple mistakes or obvious errors. Simply highlight these as they come. Partner 2 – If you hear anything that sounds odd or incorrect, point it out and have your partner highlight it. Partner 2 – Pay particular attention to whether you “buy” their argument. If you were uncertain of your position on this issue, would their essay convince you to side with them? If not, for any reason, explain why to your partner when they finish. Partner 1 – Listen closely to your partner – he/she is trying to help you. Take notes on what they say. When you finish – switch and have Partner 2 read out loud.

Highlighting Color 1 – Claims (thesis – position statements – topic sentences – subclaims) Color 2 – Support (any evidence that helps your to support a claim) Color 3 – Explanation (anything you use to help explain to the reader how your evidence helps you to support your position)

Hold Your Horses! Let’s look at claims. Life happens every single day. While being happy is a good thing, life happens and takes that happiness away in a snap. Yes, you should strive to be happy, but not make it a goal. A goal is something set for someone to achieve and maintain. In reality, you can’t always maintain happiness. You can fake it till you make it, but then you’re just lying to yourself. People who strive for happiness will never get there but will miss everything along the path that can make them happy. Forgetting about everything you have and who you have can lead people into sadness. The things you cherish most in life should make you happy. Missing out and pursuing happiness can affect how you see life as a whole. Most people grow up and are raised to think that certain things will make them happy like money or lots of friends. The kids who are raised in wealthier lives and got what they want will have a harder time finding happiness than kids who didn’t have much. When you don’t have much you cherish everything you get but when you get everything it’s not as important to you.

Highlighting Color 1 – Claims (thesis – position statements – topic sentences – subclaims) Color 2 – Support (any evidence that helps your to support a claim) Color 3 – Explanation (anything you use to help explain to the reader how your evidence helps you to support your position)

Examining the Rubric With your partner, read each score out loud. Begin with a 1 and move to the 9 or begin with the 9 and move to the 1, but go in order. As you read, highlight key differences between each score. When you finish, look at what you’ve highlighted. Discuss what these differences mean. For example, what does it mean to “sufficiently or effectively” support your position? If someone was trying to convince you of something you were uncertain about or disagreed with – would one example be sufficient in convincing you? If you’re arguing about something that broadly affects nearly every human on Earth, would one personal example be effective enough in convincing you that this is true for “all” or “most” humans? What would it take? What does it mean to have a “sophisticated” position? Dig deep into the language – does it make sense?

Comparing your writing to the rubric Now, look at your score. What is it about your writing that puts you in this score range? What would you need to do to move into the next score range? Discuss with your partner how you could do this.

A few odds and ins Do you present any of your evidence as hypotheticals? Do you begin any of your claims or support with the word “if”? Do you use the 2nd person “you” anywhere in your essay? How many good pieces of evidence do you actually have? How clear is your position? Could your position or even your support or explanations be made in a more “sophisticated” manner? How so? How much time do you spend tying your support back to your claims with clear explanations? Are all of your pronouns clear? For example…”If you are happy….” Who is “you”? Do you use effective transitional words and phrases throughout your essay? Would you say you have a transition in about half of your sentences? If not, why not? Are you doing an effective job of guiding your reader if not? Have you purposely used any rhetorical strategies to convince your audience? If so, what are they? Are they effective? If not, why not?

Rewrite your essay! Improve it. Make sure it scores at least one score better, but aim to jump multiple points if your can. Aim for a 9. Read it before you submit, revise, read again, revise again. Make this a final draft – a draft you would be super proud of. Go back and look at all of the slides from today after I post them on Weebly tonight, and check to see if you feel better about your responses to the questions asked in class today.

Turn in a revised copy of your essay – it should be a VERY well written final drafts with NO mistakes. Read Chapter 6 and 9 from 5 Steps to a 5. It’s on Google Classroom. Vocabulary Quiz #29 on Friday. Albert due on Sunday night. Continue to practice multiple choice questions daily until the exam.

Vocabulary Quiz #29 Login to Socrative using the token: Bauer2016