Monday, November 30, 2015

Goals for the Day
  • Clarify our next steps
  • Refocus ourselves on effective persuasion and argumentation
  • Learn some new strategies for building effective arguments (Aristotelian and Rogerian arguments)


 Walk and Talk, Shake it Off
  • ·         How was break?
  • ·         How are feeling about your progress in our project?



Starter:  Rubric Review and Self Check-in
Please write this on a piece of paper and hand in to me. 
1.  Update me on your status with both parts of this project.  Be super honest and super specific.  When you look over the project guidelines and rubrics, how are you feeling about your progress?
2.  In what ways are you excelling in this project?  What is going well for you?
3.  In what ways do you need to make progress?
4.  Anything else you want to tell me about your situation in my class?



My takeaways from spending a week with your projects:
1.  We, as a class, are not ready to exhibit this project on a stage a week from tomorrow. I haven’t seen much evidence of your project work for exhibition, with a few exceptions.
2.  We need to spend more time working on making effective arguments, written and otherwise.
3.  The exhibition part of this project wants to be critiqued and practiced and refined. 
4.  Our written arguments need some critique and refinement as well.





Other Odds and Ends
1.  Did you turn in your research notes?  Did you turn in your project plan?  Check Powerschool and see if these assignments are missing.  If so, rectify it!
2.  Exhibition is still on for January!  I need an exhibition crew.  Who wants to help me coordinate it?  Who is my video and audio crew?  
3.  Note new due dates for your project!  See this calendar to review.
4.  Honors students, please make a meeting with me!



What makes for effective argumentation? 
1. Group Brainstorm/Review:  What makes for effective arguments?

2. Strategies for Argumentation:  Aristotelian and Rogerian Rhetoric


Work time/Homework:
Finish Opinion Column Analysis:  Due tomorrow
Revise/refine draft of written argument.  Decide:  Should you go Rogerian or Aristotelian?
OPTIONAL:  Read argumentative writing!  Read commentary and opinion!  Read letters to editors! 


Thursday, November 19, 2015

When you submit your draft to me, please answer the following in the body of the email or on the draft itself:
1.  What is the message you are trying to transmit?
2.  What is the impact you are trying to have on your audience?
3.  When I give you feedback, what would you like me to focus on?  What are you struggling with or stuck on?  Do you have a focusing question for my feedback?

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Worky, worky kids.....

Welcome, liberal panel!

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

2nd period:  Michael-led lesson on Syrian refugee crisis

WORK TIME
No, but really, your project plan is actually due:) And your research notes.....
DRAFT DUE THURSDAY @ midnight!!!  (If you want to turn it in earlier, by all means....)
Scroll down for a list sample projects.
The Rise of ISIS?  Inform yourself!

Are you missing an entire chunk of points from your quiz?  See me about quiz corrections!

Monday, November 16, 2015

Get beautiful work done!

Dear students:  Luca is sick today.  I am sorry I cannot be there today to support your progress in creating beautiful, rhetorically effective projects.  Feel free to email me with questions.  Follow the instructions below! 

STARTER 11.16 (in comp book)
Watch these two project models for critique and inspiration and answer the questions for each in your digital comp book:  
Tony Williams, blues song, "The Capitalist Blues"

  • What is the message?
  • Which Aristotelian Appeals do you see in the piece?  Give at least two examples.
  • What must the audience believe for this rhetoric to be effective?

Gordon Gianniny TED talk, "The Food Production Sandwich:  What is Wrong with our Food?"

  • What is the message?
  • Which Aristotelian Appeals do you see in the piece?  Give at least two examples.
  • What must the audience believe for this rhetoric to be effective?


Here is a link to a compiled list of student projects from previous years:  Browse and think of ways to bring your message to life in a way that is authentic to your project and your message!


TURN IN THE FOLLOWING TODAY (if you have not done so already!):

If you are done with both of those assignments, work on drafting your project.  You have a draft due to me for feedback on Thursday at the end of the hour.  If you want to turn in a draft early for feedback, you may.


GOOGLE FOLDER OF PROJECT RESOURCES



INFORM YOURSELF:  Optional, but highly recommended!
In light of what happened in France on Friday, I added an announcement in Google classroom to share an hour-long documentary about the Rise of Isis.   It is extremely important that we all understand what is going on in our world.  If you want to use class time today to inform yourself, by all means, do so.  We will talk about some of this stuff tomorrow.






Friday, November 13, 2015

Starter  Reflect for a few minutes on where you are in the project and what you might need feedback on.  Write a focusing question for today’s “tune.”

1. Project Share/Focusing Question (1-5 min)
  1. Presenter articulates the nitty-gritty of the project details.  Share the perspective you are trying to convey with your project. –AND/OR—Group members read the draft of the project in its written form—AND/OR—Presenter reads the project aloud to group members.
  2. Presenter shares out the focusing question from the starter and shares any areas they feel they need feedback on.
2.  Clarification (1-2 minutes)
  1. Participants ask questions to get information they may need about the concrete details of the project.
  2. These questions are matters of fact, and should not delve into deeper issues.
  3. Examples:
What is the ideological bias of the project?  What genre will you use?  How will you edit the video?

3.  Probing Questions (4-5 min)
  1. The purpose of probing questions is NOT to give suggestions, but to help the presenter think more deeply about their project and what they are trying to do with it.
  2. Probing questions should be big open-ended questions.  (think: seminar questions)
  3. Examples: 
Why is it important that you communicate this message to your audience? 
Why did you decide on this topic?   
How will you connect emotionally to the audience?  
What rhetorical impact do you want the audience to experience?

4.  Discussion (5-7ish minutes)
  1. Presenter should takes notes during this part.
  2. Participants share feedback with each other while the presenter is silent and removed from the circle.
  3. Start with WARM feedback. What is strong about the project?
  4. Move into suggestions/ideas for improvement.  Discuss the presenter’s focusing question!  Think about ways the project could achieve its desired effect, incorporate rhetorical strategies, and generally get to the next level of awesomeness.  Continue to discuss questions that you have about the project.
  5. Group openly discusses the ideas for revision that came out of the critique.  This is the time to help each other troubleshoot the project!
5. Reflection (2-3ish minutes)
  1. Presenter speaks to comments/questions that were posed in the discussion.  This is a time for the presenter to reflect aloud on those ideas or questions that seemed particularly interesting or helpful or to ask questions about the comments of the group members.
AFTER, reflect in writing:  What ideas/thoughts did I get out of today?  What are my next steps?


TURN IN PROJECT PLAN!!!

WORK TIME/HOMEWORK:  Draft your project!!!

GOOGLE FOLDER OF PROJECT RESOURCES

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Starter PM:  What questions do you have for our panel today?


PM class:  Welcome, Conservative Panel!



Project Models:



Worky worky!!!



Exit Ticket:  Project Data Collection


Research Notes and Project Plan due tomorrow!!!


Project Plan Guidelines
1. What is the topic of your project?  What is the exigency of the rhetoric?  Why is it important?
2.  Explain the perspective you want to capture in your rhetorical piece.  Can you distill it into a thesis statement?
3.  What genre will your oral, digital, or performance project take? 
4.  What main “arguments” will your project put forth?  If you are working within a creative genre, such as music or poetry, how will you incorporate arguments and evidence?
5.  How will you appeal to your imagined audience’s values/beliefs/emotions, etc?  Which appeals are most appropriate for your genre and topic?
6.  What challenges do you anticipate?  What will you need to overcome these challenges?

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Welcome, Samantha!
Project Model: Spoken Word

Samantha's thesis:  The hypersexualization of women in contemporary culture has led to a resurgence of feminist activism that women can tap into as a source of self-empowerment.


Gallery Walk
1. Write your thesis statement on your white board.
2. Write your project idea on your whiteboard.
3. Gallery Walk with post-it's:

  • What do you like or appreciate?
  • What do you wonder about the project?
  • What questions does the thesis statement bring up for you?  


Project Guidelines and Rubrics

Monday, November 9, 2015

2nd period:  Panel of Conservative Voices (with Ashley's class)

3rd period:  Quiz!  Source Analysis

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Announcements
Quiz postponed until Monday:)
Honors:  Conference with me TODAY!!!

Starter 11.5:  Did you see any possible project topics emerge from O'Reilly vs. Stewart?  What new insights into American politics did you gain?
(When everyone is done with the quiz, we will discuss.)


Small group discussion (Scribe on Google doc and share):
1. What main take-aways did you have from consuming the media coverage of the Bush administration's case for the Iraq War?
2. What are the ideological roots of the Bush Doctrine?  Upon what ideas about America is this foreign policy strategy based?
3. Why are some people critical of this doctrine?


WORK TIME!!!
(Scroll down to yesterday's post for guidelines)


Homework:  
1. Research your topic!!
2. QUIZ PREP:  Come Monday with one solid rhetorical source related to your project idea.  Your quiz will be based on this source!
For quiz, study...

  • Everything in the Herrick reverse outline
  • Aristotelian Appeals
  • Relationship between rhetor, message, and audience 


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Starter:  To Dooley's!  Let's go support the freshpeople for a quick minute!

WORK TIME/RESEARCH TIME
1. PROJECT WORK
Discuss:  Did you see any possible project topics emerge from O'Reilly vs. Stewart? (We will talk about debate tomorrow when everyone finishes quiz)

Research Notes and Source Analysis

Review topics:
This year's brainstorm
Previous year's brainstorm

From the project description....
Use this project as an opportunity to express yourselves authentically.  This is your America; use your voice to weigh in on our collective beliefs, conditions, problems and solutions.  


Questions to consider….

  • Could you make your audience think more deeply about something they may not fully understand?
  • Could you use this project as an opportunity to take a stance on an issue you are passionate about?
  • Could your rhetoric offer a solution to a problem?
  • What are you burning to convey to your community, your peers, the adults, the world?
  • What ideas do you want to test?  
  • What facts do you want to discover?  
  • What knowledge do you want to shape?
  • How can your rhetoric assist your advocacy?
  • How could your rhetoric build community?
  • How can your rhetoric empower (you or others)?


2.  Finish Quiz?

3.  Finish response to Leading to War.  See last Thursday's post?

4.  Conference with me?

EXIT TICKET:  What project ideas are you having as of now?

Monday, November 2, 2015

Tuesday: Quiz on the Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium

O'Reilly vs. Stewart:  Rhetoric and Ideology Quiz!

If you finish the Quiz early, begin to work on the independent research for your project.


Review topics:
This year's brainstorm
Previous year's brainstorm


Research Notes and Source Analysis
Announcements:

  • Honors:  Let's have a meeting on Wednesday!
  • Did you do Friday's assignment in your comp book?  (Scroll down to Friday's post to see what your 2 paragraphs should deal with.)
  • Gradebook will be updated before Wednesday's grade check.  
  • Quiz tomorrow and Thursday!
QUIZ contents
Part 1:  O'Reilly v. Stewart Debate Annotations and Long Answer

Part 2:  Thursday (application and identification)

  • Anything from Herrick reading and rhetoric lectures
  • Four A's of rhetoric
  • Aristotelian Appeals
  • Fallacies/Doublespeak


PROJECT ROLL-OUT and TOPIC BRAINSTORM
1.  PROJECT DESCRIPTION
2.  Review research notes and source analysis and project plan guidelines.  You must research a number of sources on your topic that both support and oppose your perspective.  (4 supporting and 2 opposing must be documented according to the instructions).  Who wants a paper copy?
3.  Topic brainstorm:  Small group brainstorm....add ideas to this Google Doc.

  • What are the political and social issues at stake in American (and human) life right now?  
  • What issues have you seen emerge in this election or in the news that you might be interested in researching?
  • What are possible topics on which young Americans are compelled to get rhetorical?  


PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME TO FILL OUT THE SURVEY!!
JESSICA WANTS YOUR FEEDBACK!!!



Intro O'Reilly vs. Stewart:  Rhetoric and Ideology Quiz!


What does each party believe about the issues?  Look at your study guide.  Which issues are you still unclear about?