1. Timed Writing Day YOU NEED TWO PIECES OF PAPER AND A WRITING UTENSIL. GET YOUR BRAINSTORM FROM YOUR FOLDER. ----------------------------------------------- WHEN YOU WRITE YOUR ESSAY, DO NOT SKIP LINES OR PUT A BLANK LINE IN BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS. 2 PAGES MAX. HOLD YOUR ESSAY UNTIL THE END OF CLASS.

2. LET’S SALSA! (DAILY NORMS)  S how actions that facilitate learning for the self and others.  A ctively participate and be cognitively present  L earn to be open to new learning  S et cell phone to OFF and S end it to your backpack/purse  A ct with a positive attitude

3.  W5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.  W9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.  W10: Write routinely over extended time frames (for research, reflection, and revision) and short time frames (a single sitting for a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. OBJECTIVES

4. 50 MINUTE PROMPT Read and think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations. “The discovery that someone we admire has done something wrong is always disappointing and disillusioning. Yet even when people we consider heroes have been tarnished by their faults, they are no less valuable than people who appear perfect. When we learn that an admired person, even one who is seemingly perfect, has behaved in less than admirable ways, we discover a complex truth: great ideas and great deeds come from imperfect people like ourselves. Assignment: Do we benefit from learning about the flaws of people we admire and respect? Source: www.collegeboard.com, 2009

5. Due today WRITING NOTES & REVISIONS— GRAB A COLORED PENCIL, AND YOU NEED TWO MORE PIECES OF PAPER

6. LET’S SALSA! (DAILY NORMS)  S how actions that facilitate learning for the self and others.  A ctively participate and be cognitively present  L earn to be open to new learning  S et cell phone to OFF and S end it to your backpack/purse  A ct with a positive attitude

7. PASS YOUR PAPER PLUS YOUR BLANK PAPER BACK (LAST PERSON, GIVE IT TO THE FRONT PERSON)

8. First impressions are so important. How many times have you heard that? It is true that the first impression—whether it’s a first meeting with a person or the first sentence of a paper—sets the stage for a lasting opinion. REVIEW: HOW TO WRITE AN OPENING PARAGRAPH

9.  The introductory paragraph of any paper, long or short, should start with a sentence that piques the interest of your readers.  In a typical essay, that first sentence leads into two or three sentences that provide details about your subject or your process. All of these sentences build up to your thesis statement.  The thesis statement is the subject of much instruction and training. The entirety of your paper hangs on that sentence. But its function is to be informative and direct.  This means it’s not normally very exciting.

10.  To get your paper off to a great start, you should try to have a first sentence that engages your reader. Think of your first sentence as a hook that draws your reader in. It is your big chance to be so clever that your reader can’t stop. THE FIRST SENTENCE

11.  Surprising fact:  The pentagon has twice as many bathrooms as are necessary. The famous government building was constructed in the 1940s, when segregation laws required that separate bathrooms be installed for people of African descent. This building isn’t the only American icon that harkens back to this embarrassing and hurtful time in our history. Across the United States there are many examples of leftover laws and customs that reflect the racism that once permeated American society. CONSIDER THESE IDEAS FOR CREATING A STRONG BEGINNING.

12.  Walt Whitman once said “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.” QUOTATION

13.  In each example, the first sentence draws the reader in to find out how the interesting fact leads to a point. You can use many methods to capture your reader’s interest.  Statistic  Three out of four dentists recommend using Colgate brand toothpaste. FINDING THE HOOK

14.  A homograph is a word with two or more pronunciations. Produce is one example … DEFINITION

15.  It was a dark and stormy night… SCENARIO

16.  Underline the first sentence with the colored pencil. 1. Did the first sentence make you want to keep reading? Why or why not? Write a few notes on the blank paper. 2. Did they have a hook like the ones we discussed? If yes, what was it. If not, what could you suggest? A quote? Definition? Statistic? Fact? Scenario? If yes, write it on the paper; if not, tell them a suggestion and why.  Underline the last sentence of the intro with a colored pencil. 3. Is this a thesis? Did they have a thesis? Was the last sentence of the first paragraph a sentence that told you what the paper was going to be about? Write any notes here. LOOK AT THE PAPER YOU HAVE

17.  In order to keep you on track and your reader, “sprinkle” or chicken pox the prompt in once or twice.  Underline with a colored pencil every place the paper revisits the prompt. It must say something about benefitting from learning about the flaws of people we admire…if it ONLY says anything about admire, this is not revisiting the prompt. 4. Jot some notes about the use or lack of use of the prompt.  Did the prompt ever get answered? Can we benefit from learning about the flaws of people we admire and respect? Star ***with the colored pencil where it is answered. 5. Jot some notes about this part. CHICKEN POX THE PROMPT

18.  After receiving your notes, go back, rewrite and:  re-construct your introductory paragraph. Adding in any suggestions and anything you learned.  Be sure to check your thesis statement to make sure it still holds true. If you did not have one, you need one! Reverse outline here!  See the suggested places where you could add the prompt and write it.  Write both of these on a separate sheet of paper and staple it to your first copy.  Brainstorm, essay, partner revisions, your new revisions END WITH A GOOD BEGINNING

19.  Give a one-minute speech over anything we discussed these past two weeks: your experience at RRHS thus far; the scariest situation you ever found yourself in; test taking, etc. It is your choice based on things we have discussed. You may have notes but you MAY NOT read from them.  You will be “judged” by someone in the class as well as me. You will then reflect on the back of the rubric about how the experience was for you & why and what you plan to do differently next time.  These speeches will take place 8/19 so be prepared. SPEECHES ASSIGNED