WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 Warm-Up: Part 1: Go to and complete the anonymous survey. Part 2: Watch the video and write a brief response: Which statistic did you find most surprising?video

9 TH LIT AGENDA FOR TODAY  Update blog: Socratic Seminar Reflection  Exploding the Issue: The Literacy Gap  Developing H.O.T. Research Questions

EXPLODING THE ISSUE: THE LITERACY GAP For links to useful resources, go to my page: (gelleresol.weebly.com) Click on 9 th Grade Literature Find today (Wednesday) under Week 8 “Click here for resources”

CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC: BRIDGING THE LITERACY GAP PERSUASIVE ESSAY TOPICS 1.Why is the literacy gap an issue that should be addressed in the Southwest Atlanta community? 2.Does technology do more harm than good in the fight to close the literacy gap? 3.What can schools, families, and communities do to close the literacy gap? 4.How can technology be used to close the literacy gap? 5.Why should students at Pebblebrook take action to promote literacy? 6.What consequences will our country face if the problem of early childhood literacy is not addressed? 7.Why should functionally illiterate adults have access to literacy education? 8.Why should parents read to their children and provide access to books? 9.Why should English literacy be a priority for students in the U.S. who do not speak English at home? 10.How does illiteracy perpetuate the cycle of poverty, and what can be done about it? 11.Does a person need to be fully literate in his or her first language in order to achieve English fluency?

UNPACK YOUR TOPIC AND DEVELOP A THESIS  Define any unfamiliar words in the question  Paraphrase the question (put it in your own words)  Turn the question into a statement in order to form your thesis.  Choose and print your source material (at least three):  Browse through the sources provided  NO WIKIPEDIA! If there is an additional source you wish to use, I must approve it.  Check with me before you print!

SUMMARIZER: POST TO BLOG  Create a new BLOG page on your Weebly site.  Create your first blog entry: Socratic Seminar Reflection  Write a paragraph reflecting on yesterday’s Socratic Seminar. What, if anything did you learn? What did you observe? Did your opinion change? If so, how? What recommendations would you make for next time?  First summer reading response from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens must be posted by next Friday, October 9 th :  Habit 1: Be Proactive Take responsibility for your life. Being proactive is more than taking initiative. It is accepting responsibility for our own behavior (past, present, and future) and making choices based on principles and values rather than on moods or circumstances. Proactive people are agents of change and choose not to be victims, to be reactive, or to blame others. They take an Inside-Outside Approach to creating changes.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 American Lit Warm-Up: Part I:  Watch the videovideo  Go to and comment on the video as you watch ithttps://todaysmeet.com/PoeThoughts  Nickname must be your real name  The conversation will be saved, printed, and graded, so please keep it school-appropriate Part II (this can be done for homework):  Go to  Read the writing prompt for the first post, “John Brown: Hero or Terrorist?”  Click “Comment” and type your response (minimum 3 sentences).

AMERICAN LIT AGENDA FOR TODAY Class Website Checkup:  Check to make sure you have everything on your page that you’re supposed to. Edgar Allan Poe WebQuest: Resources:  The Edgar Allan Poe Museum:  The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore:  The Collected Works of Poe:  The Knowing Poe Website:

AMERICAN LIT SUMMARIZER  Go back to our TodaysMeet page:  List one interesting, surprising, or weird fact about Edgar Allan Poe  Respond to the following question:  How do you feel about “dark” literature as a genre? Do you like scary movies, stories, video games, etc.? Why or why not?  Ask a question (about Poe, this unit, or anything else that’s on your mind). If someone else asks a question that you can answer, answer it!