We're going to court!

Students finished reading The Outsiders, and now it's time for our culminating project for the novel. Instead of a final written assessment, we will be holding a mock trial for Johnny and Ponyboy based on the novel.

Students have been divided up and assigned specific roles for the trial. Below are the roles, along with the assignments and rubrics for each.

Prosecution Attorneys:

Assignment
Rubric
Argument

Defense Attorneys:

Assignment
Rubric
Argument

Witnesses:

Assignment
Rubric


Jury:

Assignment
Rubric

For your research, visit this site and click on the appropriate link for your role. Explore the articles and other information/resources available to you, but for the assignments, stick to the sheet I gave you IN CLASS.

All assignments are due on the day of the trial (Wednesday, February 27, 2013) and will be graded twice - once for Reading and once for Language Arts.

Extra credit opportunity!

Tomorrow on NPR (90.3 FM), a special is airing on SE Hinton's The Outsiders as an American icon.  The segment will be between 20-30 minutes and will air at 1:00 p.m.

For 10 bonus points in Reading (will be automatically added to your lowest grade), you may listen to the segment and then write a summary of what you heard.  Summary must be at least half a page (typed or hand-written) to receive credit.

Click here, if you want to listen!  :)

The Outsiders - Wanted Ads

This week, we have been discussing the concept of identity as we read chapters 3-5 of The Outsiders.  What IS identity?  What are the things that make up who we are?  What are the things that impact who we are becoming? How is individual identity different from group identity?

Students will be creating "Wanted Ads" for a character from the book to represent two identities of that character - the one that the Greasers see, and the identity that the public sees.

Here are the instructions students received in class today:

Your task:  Create two “wanted ads” for either Johnny or Ponyboy (choose one or the other) on poster board or a sheet of solid white copy paper.  You may cut a sheet of poster board in half and use them for your two ads, or you can use two sheets of copy paper.

Your ads must represent two different identities of the character: The identity that their friends the Greasers see (poster A), and the identity that the public sees (poster B).

For each ad, decide whether Johnny or Ponyboy would be wanted for acts of VIOLENCE/RIVALRY or wanted for acts of LOYALTY (include a list of things the character is wanted for on each ad).

Include page number citations for details from the text that support what you include on your ad (at least three citations for each ad).

Follow the rubric below.  This assignment will be graded as a Reading CLASSWORK grade.
Here is an example of a Wanted Ad that would receive an A (although you'd need to add citations form the text!):  http://msvertullo.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/file/view/WANTED+Poster.pdf

WANTED AD – RUBRIC
DUE DATE: TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2013

Each ad should include:

·        Character name

·        Hand drawn or printed visual of character, detailed and in color

·        Accusations

·        Physical description

·        Personality traits

·        Specific acts committed (minimum three) and any consequences—a paragraph that contains quotes from the novel that support one trait or the other (violence and rivalry or loyalty)

·        Known hangouts and nicknames (if any)

·        What to do if found

Remember – both ads should include each of these elements, but should reflect the identity of the character as viewed by the GREASERS on poster A, and the character’s identity as viewed by the PUBLIC on poster B.

Required Elements are present on each ad: ________/40 pts

Information is accurate and supported with details from the text ________/40 pts

Appearance of ads is neat, colorful, creative and with very few spelling and grammar mistakes __________/20 pts

 

Final Grade __________/100 pts

 

*Please note that late projects will be deducted one letter grade per day that they are late. After a project is four or more days late, the max grade a project will receive is a 50/F.

The Outsiders Web Quest

Students,

Today we will embark on a Web Quest to learn about the setting, culture, and background info for The Outsiders. Follow the link below, and you will find step-by-step instructions for your Web Quest. Your findings will be pasted onto a Word document and printed (NOT SAVED) at the end of the period.

http://www.zunal.com/webquest.php?w=51190

Your Web Quest results will be one CLASSWORK grade for Reading.

Character Analysis - Final Drafts

Final drafts are due on FRIDAY, 11-9-12.  You must turn in a hard copy.

As you revise, consider the questions on your revision form and make the necessary changes to your paper.  You will be graded based on the organization and content of your paper as well as whether or not you use MLA format.

 You need to submit the following with your final draft, stapled together in this order (top to bottom):

1.    Final draft

2.    Revision sheet

3.    Rough draft

4.    Planning guide

You will receive a Language Arts CLASSWORK grade for the submission of your planning sheet, rough draft, and revision sheet.

You will receive a Language Arts TEST grade for your final draft.

Character analysis essays

Students have been working very hard on character analysis the last couple of weeks.  After writing along with me for an essay on "Rikki tikki tavi" and taking apart a sample essay on "Thank You Ma'am," students are now writing their own essays to analyze Roger's character in Hughes short story.

Students received planning sheets today.  Completed planning sheets are due on Monday, 11-5-12.  This deadline is VERY IMPORTANT, as without a completed planning sheet, students will not be able to begin drafting and will fall behind (and earn zeros) on subsequent assignments.

With our planning sheets on Monday, we will move to drafting and revising.  The final draft will be a test grade in Language Arts, and drafts will be counted as classwork grades.

To access the full text of "Thank You Ma'am," please click here.

Email me at clairehardin@hotmail.com with any questions!

IB Learner Profile...for Rikki tikki!

This week, students are working on a mini-project (meaning it is a classwork grade and not a test grade) for "Rikki tikki tavi."

The Task:  Re-examine the IB learner traits that we went over before reading “Rikki tikki tavi” (review the Power Point below).  Decide on the FOUR TRAITS that you think Rikki exhibits most in the story, and create an IB profile for him (think Facebook profile!) on a half sheet of poster board.

For each trait you choose, you must provide TWO specific examples from the story along with your explanation of how he demonstrates the trait in that part of the story.

For each example from the text, you must cite the author’s last name and the page number in parenthesis.

Include a photo of Rikki (either hand-drawn or printed from an online source) and make your profile colorful (but please, no glitter).

The Rubric: Four IB traits are included on the profile – 25 pts

Two examples from text are included with each trait – 25 pts

Explanations of how each example shows Rikki tikki demonstrating the trait– 25 pts

Profile is neat and colorful – 25 pts

Projects are due on Friday, October 19, 2012

Ib Learner Profile from shinojosa37