My bad

So, I guess I messed up with the COW issue. Turns out that subs are not allowed to use COWS so you were unable to type up those outlines. I hope that you took the time today to at the very least WRITE out an outline. That will come in handy tomorrow when I get back to school and we actually get to use the COW. My dream/ ideal is to have an online copy of all facets of your research paper. We have started already with the sources and thesis statement, soon we will have an outline, then we will be writing out those rough drafts. 
The reason we are doing this in steps is so that you can spend as much time REFLECTING on the process as possible. At the end of all of this I am going to ask all of you to write up an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses in terms of writing research papers. No one expects you to be experts at this point. It is all about learning and exploring our different ways of creating original work. 
So, that being said, look forward to a day of "outlining" on Wednesday. Also, know that I am very proud of all of you for all the work you've done, and the wonderful human beings that you are becoming.
Cheers,
Odum

Schedule for the coming week

I hope that everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving break. Mine was pretty good, save for these mind-wrenching headaches which I am suffering (more on that to come).


Monday: We will be looking at two things 1. The thesis statements and sources (ways to refine your thesis statements, ways to find additional sources, research help) and 2. The question of Beauty and Virtue. I want us to dig deep into our perceptions of these concepts and really explore the origins of our convictions as to "what is the Beautiful" and "What is the good" 
We'll be writing, sharing and doing a "genealogy" of our ideas


Tuesday: I will be away getting some tests done on my beautiful brain to see what is causing my headaches so we will have a sub. That does not mean a free day though. I am requesting the COW for this day for you to use to write. By Wednesday I want a preliminary outline of how you think your paper will be constructed. It will look something like this...


I. Thesis statement
II. First point of argument 
    A. Summary of the first point of argument
    B. Evidentiary basis for this point. Every statement should have evidence for support
    C. Contrary positions and why they are wrong
III-? This should continue as long as you have points to argue. Remember that this paper is intended to be a position paper. If you have a thesis that is incontestable, then your thesis is not ambitious enough.


Wednesday & Thursday: We will be watching Simon Schama's "Power of Art" films for the BBC and answering the question, "what did the artist conceive of as beautiful?"
We will be doing this for two days and during the films, I will be calling up students to conference on their outlines with the goal of having time on Friday to begin writing our rough drafts.


Friday: I am submitting a request for the COW for this day to give you an opportunity to write your rough drafts. I will also be writing a paper at the same time to model how I write a paper.

Research Paper Stuff due by the en d of Thanksgiving break

I mentioned this in class and am planning on fleshing this out more fully tomorrow when we do research in library, but I thought a more tangiable expression of what I am looking for in this assignment would be helpful.

1. You need a total of TWELVE sources.
     A.  These sources need to be "print" but you CAN FIND THEM ON THE INTERNET
     B.  The point here is to find legitimate sources that we can be reasonably sure are reliable.
     C.  You need to cite each source AS YOU FOUND IT; meaning if you found it on the internet, even if it is a newspaper article, you need to cite it as a web site. If you find your source in "meatspace" (formerly known as "physical reality," "the material world," or "the phenomenal universe") cite it as it is (a book, a film, an article, etc.)

2. You need a thesis statement
     A. Definition: A single sentence that states a text's thesis, usually somewhere near the beginning. Ex: "Sweatt v. Painter advanced equality by ultimately improving African American educational rights, thus transforming American democracy for a better today."



www.apstudynotes.org/english/rhetorical-terms/scheme/
 
     B. Make sure that your thesis statement ANSWERS A RESEARCH QUESTION and ASSERTS A POSITION. If it does not, it is not a thesis statement
 
 
This needs to be on both a physical document as well as emailed to me at rickodum@gmail.com (as a word doc, pdf, txt, etc.)
 
The document needs to be single spaced, 12-pt font and in Times New Roman font
Format it like this:
 

Your Name

Date Created

Period

 

Research Paper Thesis Statement and Initial Bibliography

 

Thesis Statement: Type your thesis statement.

 

 

 

Bibliography:

 

Sources cited in MLA format, numbered and in alphabetical order by the last name of the author, or if no author is listed, by the title of the work.

 

 

 

 

 

Music and the Season

I was listening to KMFA on the way home and found a warm, fuzzy feeling coming over me at the sound of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf." When I got home, I asked my wife about this and she said, "you always listen to more Russian composers when it gets cold."


Upon reflection, I found this to be true. Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich all have been infiltrating my iTunes "Classical: Symphony" playlist over the last two weeks.


Why is this? Why is it that changes in the weather draw me to certain music? Is this a unique feature of "me?"


No, I do not believe this to be so. How else do we account for "Songs of the Season" on my cable's music channels, or for "Holiday music" as a genre? Doesn't Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" play on this concept?


The question of the week is...


Why do we like certain music certain times of the year? Give me an answer and a few examples of music YOU like at certain points of the year.   

Sorry I have been remiss in posting anything this week. Next week you will have a schedule and a blog assignment, so be sure and look for that. In recompense, here is a list of Zen thoughts for the day

1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.

2. A day without sunshine is like, night.

3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.

4. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.

5. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

6. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

7. Honk if you love peace and quiet.

8. He who laughs last thinks slowest.

9. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

10. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

11. Support bacteria. They’re the only culture some people have.

12. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

13. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

14. Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.

15. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

16. How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise my hand…

17. OK, so what’s the speed of dark?

18. When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

19. Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don’t have film.

20. Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines.

Schedule for the Week of 11/9/2010 to 11/12/2010

Schedule for the Week of 11/9/2010 to 11/12/2010

With TEKS alignment (for Great Ideas)

Monday: Staff Development/ No School

Tuesday:

            Great Ideas:    Quiz over Heart of Darkness part II

Intro to Artistic Expression of Heart of Darkness Theme (Due next Monday) assignment ((2) The student expresses and supports responses to various types of texts and

compositions. The student is expected to: (B) use elements of text and other art forms to defend his/her own responses and interpretations; (5) the student understands and interprets visual representations. The student is expected to: (A) describe how personal creativity is expressed within the requirements of an

art form and through the elements of artistic design; (C) explore the relationship between form and expression)

Wednesday:

Great Ideas:     Developing and discussion of how to translate literary themes into artistic works. Planning materials and group roles. Development of rubric for assessment. ((2) The student expresses and supports responses to various types of texts and compositions. The student is expected to: (B) use elements of text and other art forms to defend his/her own responses and interpretations; (5) the student understands and interprets visual representations. The student is expected to: (A) describe how personal creativity is expressed within the requirements of an art form and through the elements of artistic design; (C) explore the relationship between form and expression)

           

          

Thursday:

Great Ideas:                 “Creativity Day” This day is reserved for the students to create their artistic expression of a Heart of Darkness theme. The students will need to bring all of their materials, or schedule ahead of time if they need video or sound equipment. ((5) The student understands and interprets visual representations. The student is expected to: (A) describe how personal creativity is expressed within the requirements of an art form and through the elements of artistic design; (B) identify conditions that encourage creativity; and (C) explore the relationship between form and expression. (6) The student analyzes and critiques the significance of visual representations. The student is expected to: (A) recognize and evaluate how literature and various other art forms convey messages; and (B) examine the impact of literature and various other art forms)

Friday:

Great Ideas:                 Apocalypse Now Film Study. Prepare (notes) for an in-class essay comparing Conrad’s expression of themes through language with Coppola’s expression of those same themes through film (screenplay, direction, cinematography). ((5) The student understands and interprets visual representations. The student is expected to: (A) describe how personal creativity is expressed within the requirements of an art form and through the elements of artistic design; (B) identify conditions that encourage creativity; and (C) explore the relationship between form and expression. (6) The student analyzes and critiques the significance of visual representations. The student is expected to: (A) recognize and evaluate how literature and various other art forms convey messages; and (B) examine the impact of literature and various other art forms)

Schedule for the Week

Monday: Finish Examined Life, Check out of Heart of Darkness books, Reading

Tuesday: Discuss sources for research paper, Postmodernism and Feminism lecture (Baudrillard, Derrida, Feminist Literary Critique)

Wednesday: Annotating the Bibliography, Research experience log assignment, Reading Heart of Darkness

Thursday:  Finish/ Review Postmodernism/ Feminism, Quiz over Part I of Heart of Darkness, theme exercise in Heart of Darkness

Friday: Postmodernism and feminism quiz, Wrap-up of "self and the Other"