March 9-13

Welcome to our 10th week in the semester.  Looking ahead, we'll continue with our Science and Nature/Environment unit with a variety of essays and passages that will allow you to gain some background knowledge and exposure to some of the more famous American work in the area including Rachel Carson, Henry David Thoreau, and Charles Darwin.  We will continue our work with the synthesis essay by analyzing our previous baseline essay. 

MONDAY:  Meet in our regular classroom, pick up a vocabulary sheet for the week, then go to the College Center for a presentation.  HW: Post Keystone Synthesis essay to Turnitin.com by 10:59 p.m. on Monday night, if you haven't already.  Bring the McGraw Hill book with you to class the rest of the week.  For Wednesday, read "Economy" by Henry David Thoreau beginning on page 663 and read and think about the comprehension questions on page 666.

TUESDAY: (minimum day due to Open House Night) Finish discussions of the first passages from last week, including E.O. Wilson's The Future of Life and Chief Seattle's Letter to President Pierce.  Introduction to passage by Henry David Thoreau.  HW: For Wednesday, read "Economy" by Henry David Thoreau beginning on page 663 and read and think about the comprehension questions on page 666.

WEDNESDAY: Discuss "Economy" and the comprehension questions in class.  Vocabulary activity.  HW: Read Charles Darwin's "Natural Selection" beginning on page 559 for class on Thursday. 

THURSDAY:  Read your answer to the baseline synthesis essay about technology in schools and compare it to the Synthesis FLT sheet and rubric.  Pick one FLT that you could use to improve the essay and rewrite one paragraph.  Discuss and share answers in class.  Talk about Darwin's "Natural Selection" as a class.

FRIDAY: Vocabulary quiz.  View and analyze visual representations of environmental messages with OPTICS worksheet.  Rhetorical analysis practice.  HW: Read Rachel Carson's "The Obligation to Endure" on page 624 and answer the first "rhetoric" question at the end of the passage as well as the multiple choice handout for Monday.