Socratic Seminar Discussion

Goal: Socratic seminar on issues of expression, message, and meaning, while practicing paraphrasing and extending the conversation.

Agenda:
Read
Seminar 1
Seminar 2
Debrief

Phrases to help with paraphrasing: 
So you are saying that...
I heard you say... Was that right? 
So basically you think...because...
In other words I mean that...

Phrases to help with extending the conversation:
Say more about that...
How does that relate to...
How do you know...
What makes you think that...
Can you explain more about...
I'm still wondering about...
Will you elaborate on the part about...

Reminders: 
All work needs to be turned in/finished before your final. 
You can still call in your letter to McBride. 
Finals are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. 

Preparation not procrastination: #Winning

Goal: Prepare for socratic seminar tomorrow.

Agenda:
Read
English Journal Self Evaluation
Socratic Seminar Prep

English Journal Self Evaluation:

• Paste the sentence below into your English Journal and complete it with your thoughtful response. 
• Consider the English Journal Scoring Guide as you decide on your score. 

January 25, 2016  Self Score:        
I believe I have earned a ______ <<(Your score 1-5) on my English Journal because_______________________ _______________ <<(Your reasons you think you earned that score.) 

Socratic Seminar Preparation:

• On Friday you heard about several other articles you could read before our Socratic seminar tomorrow. 
• I gave you a organizer page to get started with looking at those articles. 
• If you lost the paper version I gave you Friday you can get a copy of it HERE. (You'll need to print it before class tomorrow.)

Red  "The Evolution of Hip-hop: Is it even Hip-hop?"
Orange "Is rap the most important music since 1960? Scientists say they have proof"
Yellow "Meet the Teenage Indigenous Hip-Hop Artist Taking on Climate Change"
Green "Hip-hop is resistance against the inequalities in society"
Blue "Mic Check: Here's Why Hip Hop Hasn't Grown up Yet"
Purple "Hip-hop is Resistance Against the Inequalities in Society"

Reminders:

• Prepare for your Socratic Seminar tomorrow. 
• Study for your final (Thursday or Friday) STUDY GUIDE.
• Call in your letter to Mr. McBride if you haven't already. 
• All other missing work or regrade requests are due BEFORE your final. No work will be accepted or regraded after the final for your period. Check Power School to see what you might be missing. 

Jigsaw Articles on Hip Hop

Goal: Explain about the article you read on Wednesday and hear about 4-5 other articles.

Agenda:
Read
Meet briefly with your group from Wednesday
Jigsaw discussions
Choose a new article

Meet:
Review the article you read Wednesday with your group.
Be sure you are ready to explain it to another group.

Red  "The Evolution of Hip-hop: Is it even Hip-hop?"
Orange "Is rap the most important music since 1960? Scientists say they have proof"
Yellow "Meet the Teenage Indigenous Hip-Hop Artist Taking on Climate Change"
Green "Hip-hop is resistance against the inequalities in society"
Blue "Mic Check: Here's Why Hip Hop Hasn't Grown up Yet"
Purple "Hip-hop is Resistance Against the Inequalities in Society"

Jigsaw: 
I will send you to a new group.
Take turns explaining the article you read Wednesday.
Listen because you will be choosing one of the articles you hear about to read on your own.

Socratic Seminar Preparation: 
I'm giving you a paper copy if you want it, but I know some of you like to prepare on the computer.
If you work online you need to print your preparation doc before class on Tuesday.
You can make a copy fo the preparation doc HERE. (Do not share it with me.)

Reminders:
English Journals due today.
Call in your letter to McBride if you still need to. (I have entered grades for those of you who called before 4pm on Thursday. If you called after that I might not have entered your grade yet.)
Socratic Seminar on Tuesday. Be sure to complete the preparation doc and bring it on paper.

Book Reviews and Study Guide

Goal: Complete and submit your book reviews and reflect on your growth as a reader this semester.

Agenda:
Read
Book Reviews and reflections

Book Reviews and Reflections Form:
1. Be sure you have already written and posted one review on Goodreads recently.
2. Go find that review and just that review. You want the page that has your review and no other reviews.
3. Copy that link.
4. Fill out the BOOK REVIEW SUBMISSION FORM.
5. On the form you will paste the link to your review on Goodreads and then answer questions about the OTHER book you read also.

Study Guide for the Final
I am giving you a copy of your study guide in class.
You can also make a digital copy of it HERE.

Reminders:
Call in your letter to Mr. McBride if you forgot last night. My phone is available at lunch, after school, and even during class if you ask nicely.
English Journals are due tomorrow. Are you all caught up?

More reading about hip hop

Goal: Read and discuss an article with your group so that you can explain it to another group on Friday.

Agenda: 
Read
Read an article
Discuss with your group

Read an article:
Each group will have a different article to read and analyze.  Be prepared to share your findings with the class. Read the one that matches your group number.
Red
Orange 
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple

Be able to answer these questions. Discuss them with your group. 

1. What is this article mostly about? Be able to explain the main idea in one or two sentences. 
2. What are two-three important details or claims in the article?
3. Discuss how this article connects to what you read/learned from Mr. McBride. Be able to explain that. 
4. Find an example of ethos, pathos, or logos in the article and be able to explain why it is ethos, pathos or logos. 
5. Does this article present a positive or negative view of hip hop and why do you say that? (Hint: evidence from the text helps here.)

Reminders: 

• Call in your hip hop essay by 9:00 PM tonight. You can even use my phone during advisory, lunch, or after school. 
• Book reviews due tomorrow! Write one on Goodreads to get ahead. 
• English Journals due Friday. 

Writing Groups

Goal: Writing groups for your letter to Mr. McBride

Agenda:
Read
Writing Group Procedures
Writing Groups
Debrief

Writing Groups: 

• Sharing your writing with a group will help you improve your writing and learn what a reader might think while reading your work. 
• Follow the procedures in the chart or on THIS PAGE with your group. 

Reminders: 

Read! (Really not kidding about that. Book reviews happen Thursday)

Finish your letter to Mr. McBride. Due Tomorrow.
Call in your letter by 9:00 PM Wednesday.
English Journals due Friday. 

Writing the second paragraph of our response to Hip Hop Planet

Goal: Complete the second paragraph of your response to Mr. McBride

Agenda: 
Read
Review work from yesterday
Look at expectations for paragraph two
Work on paragraph two

Review: 

• Who wants to play, "I want a better grade on my essay."?
• Yes, one brave volunteer will have his or her essay reviewed by me while the rest of the class gets to watch. You get your essay fixed and you earn a better grade. The rest of the class gets to learn from your mistakes. Who's in? Taking volunteers only. 

Expectations for paragraph two: 

1. In the first sentence, state whether you agree or disagree that we have become a “hip hop planet.”
2. Choose one to two main idea statements from McBride’s essay, and explain to him how you agree or disagree with the statements by providing reasons and examples from your own experiences and observations.
3. Close your paragraph by stating whether McBride’s essay was strong or weak, and explain to him why he did or did not make his point.

Reminders: You have a lot due next week as the end of the semester looms. I tried to spread it out and all of it is things you should already be caught up on.

• Tuesday: Draft of your response to McBride due before class. (I'm scoring these during second period, so they need to be complete by then.)
• Wednesday: Final draft of your letter to Mr. McBride due with edits based on peer feedback. This is when I start grading your Google Docs. CALL IN your letter to McBride by 9:00 PM Wednesday night.
• Thursday: Book reviews. You should pre-write one of your reviews. You can even post it on Goodreads already. Thursday you will submit the Goodreads link and answer questions about your OTHER book.
• Friday: English Journals due. You will do your self score in class and then I start grading them.

Writing Assignment Begins

Goal: Beginning a draft of your response to James McBride.

Agenda: 
Read
Explain writing assignment
Begin drafting
Collect Homework

Writing Assignment: 

• We have been reading and analyzing James McBride's Hip Hop Planet; now it is time to write about it more formally. 
• I've sent you a document to write your assignment. Look for it in your "Shared with Me" section in Google Drive. 
• The assignment has two parts. The directions below are only for the first part. We will work more on the second part tomorrow. 

ASSIGNMENT:  SUMMARIZING AND RESPONDING IN A LETTER TO JAMES MCBRIDE

• Now that you have considered the topic of hip hop and its global influence, you will write a summary and response in the format of a letter.

• Your task is to compose a letter to James McBride with the purpose of letting him know what you think about the claims he makes about the importance and power of hip hop in his essay.

• The first portion of the letter will be a summary where you show McBride that you understand the main points of his essay. The second portion of your letter will be a thoughtful and formal response to his ideas.

• Yesterday you made great progress on your rhetorical precis. You can use the precis as the opening paragraph of your letter to Mr. McBride. If your precis is already in great shape you should add to it as the directions above suggest. 

Reminders: 
Final draft of your response to McBride is due Tuesday 1/19/16.
You will "call it in" on Wednesday 1/20/16. (Please don't call on before Wednesday.)
Keep reading. Two NEW book reviews due 1/21/16.
English Journals due 1/22.

More Precis

Goal: Making progress on the rhetorical precis you started yesterday.

Agenda: 
Read
Rhetorical Precis
Homework (yep, homework)

Rhetorical Precis: 
Most of you made a good start on your rhetorical precis yesterday. Today we will take a look at how you are doing and make more progress. These are some of the hard parts:

• You need to know what McBride's main point or argument is to complete the first sentence. 
• The first sentence of a precis is long and that can make it hard to avoid grammar mistakes. 
• In part two you need to summarize his claims in one sentence. 
• Lots of you aren't clear on his purpose, probably because you also aren't clear about his main point. 

Example: Here is a complete precis for Undercover Parent. Looking at this one might help you write about Hip Hop Planet. 

Parent and New York Times journalist, Harlan Coben in his article “The Undercover Parent” (March 16, 2008) argues that putting spyware on your child’s computer is extremely beneficial in keeping your child safe on the internet. He supports this claim by explaining the purpose of spyware then goes on to present things people who object to spyware might say, but he rebuts those claims with logical arguments and implies parents who won’t use spyware are not good parents. Coben’s purpose is to inform and show a solution to the problem of internet safety in order to convince parents to use spyware to keep their children safe online. He adopts an informative, yet strong and convincing tone, to convince parents to adopt his view on the topic. 

Homework: Stylistic Word Choices

• McBride chooses his words carefully. 
• I am giving you a sheet for homework that uses quotes from his essay with some boring words (in bold). 
• Find the better word that McBride actually used then explain why his choice was better. 
• Also keep reading your book!

Rhetorical Precis of Hip Hop Planet

Goal: Write a rhetorical precis of Hip Hop Planet.

Agenda:
Read
(Do you need to check out your book?)
Looking at a few rhetorical precis.
Rhetorical Precis of Hip Hip Planet

You will need: 
Your English Journal
Your digital (or paper) copy of Hip Hop Planet

Directions:
Using the format on the chart, write a four sentence rhetorical precis of Hip Hop Planet in your English Journal.

Reminders: 
Check the calendar below for end of semester due dates. Hint: Click the blue + button to add the calendar to your calendar for easy access.
Be sure your English Journal is up to date.
Two new book reviews due on January 21. That's only 9 days away!

Charting the text

Goal: Delve deeper into what McBride is saying and doing in his essay.

Agenda: 
Read
Charting the Text

Charting the Text:

• You will need your digital (and/or paper) copy of Hip Hop Planet.
• I'll give you the charting organizer on paper.
• Work with your group to look at what McBride is saying in each section.
• Click on the picture to get a larger version of the rhetorical verbs. >>

Reminders: 
Check the calendar below for end of semester due dates. Hint: Click the blue + button to add the calendar to your calendar for easy access.
Be sure your English Journal is up to date.
Two new book reviews due on January 21. That's only 10 days away!

Review and a choice for AOW

Goal: Review, catch up, and choose an article of the week to read and write about in your English Journal.

Agenda:
Read
Review/Catch Up
Article of the Week

Review/Catch Up:
This week we began by looking at the origins of Hip Hop culture. We then read Hip Hop Planet by James McBride. You made several entries to your English Journal for quick writes and notes. Yesterday we looked closely at paragraphs 11 and 12 for deeper understanding. We focused on this sentence in particular:

"At its best, hip-hop lays bare the empty moral cupboard that is our generation’s legacy."

Article of the week (AOW): 
At the end of paragraph 11 McBride says "The drums are pounding out a warning. They are telling us something. Our children can hear it." We talked a bit in class about what that warning might be about.

1. Select your own AOW from this group of articles related to the events in Ferguson, Missouri. 
2. Read the article carefully several times. 
3. Write two paragraphs in your English Journal. Summarize the article in the first paragraph. (Tip: Practice using the structure of a rhetorical precis.) Respond with your thinking in the second paragraph. 
4. Consider how the events in Missouri and around the country might connect with Hip Hop Planet. 

Some questions to consider on your second read: 
What interesting language did this author use and why?
Which sentences might have more meaning than I first realized?
What are the most important points or details in this text?
What is the author's purpose for writing this piece?

Close reading of part of Hip Hop Planet

Goal: Our goal today is a closer examination of part of the text we read yesterday to help us understand the author's purpose better.

Agenda: 
Read
Close reading of part of Hip Hop Planet
English Journal Entry

You will need: 
Blog
Hip Hop Planet (in 'shared with me')
Your English Journal

Close Reading: 
Now that you've read James McBride's complete article, we're going to spend some time today focusing on just a few paragraphs, specifically the last two paragraphs.

Today's English Journal Entry:
Respond to the following questions in your English Journal.

   1. What is McBride’s purpose for writing this article?
   2.  Do you agree with his argument? Why or why not?

Reminders: 
Carry a plastic trash bag in your backpack to wrap your textbooks when it rains. You are responsible for water damage.
Next two book reviews due 1/21/16.

First reading for Hip Hop Planet

Goal: First reading of Hip Hop Planet using the "Say Something" protocol.

Agenda
Read
Reminders
First read of Hip Hop Planet

First Read: 

• Today you will do a first reading of "Hip Hop Planet," an essay by James McBride. 
• You will use the same "Say Something" protocol we have used before. 
• Read on your own, but stop after every few paragraphs to talk to your partner about what you understand and don't understand. 

Reminders

Socratic Seminar make up after school TODAY. 

Two NEW book reviews due 1/21/16. Keep reading. 

Building Background Knowledge

Goal: Build some background knowledge about the history of  Hip Hop to better understand upcoming reading material about the genre. Practice with listening and note taking.

Agenda
Read
Quick write
Video notes

Quick write: We didn't get enough time for this yesterday. Respond to the following in your English Journal. You can write about all the questions or just one.

• What influence does hip hop have in our society or in our world?
• What is its message?
• Is it just music or something more?

Video Notes: In your English Journal take notes as we watch the short video on the origins of Hip Hop culture and music. 

Reminders: 

Socratic Seminar make up tomorrow (Wednesday) after school. If you were absent on 12/18 you need to attend to replace the 0 you got for not being here for our discussion. 

Welcome back

Welcome back! 

Happy New Year!

We're going to read for the first ten minutes.

You also need to open Socrative and join room 6867.

Today we're going to talk about what we know (or don't know) about hip hop.

In your English Journal:

Reflect and respond to the following prompt:

• What influence does hip hop have in our society or in our world?
• What is its message?
• Is it just music or something more?

Respond to these questions with examples from your own experience and observations.

Reminders: 

• If you would like to watch a short 10 minute video on the history of hip hop culture so you better understand what we will be looking at this week, you can find it here. (We're not watching it in class.)
• Your next two book reviews will be due January 21. 
• Finals start January 27th,