may 31

JOURNAL TOPIC: (do this at the end of the period)

How does online media give us the chance to communicate differently than writing on paper?  What media did you choose to tell your story on your website?  Why?

AGENDA:
1. Turn in your paper
2. Digital design
3. Journal
*READ 180 (if you have time)

may 30

JOURNAL TOPIC:

This past weekend I flew across the country.  Security lines were long, flights were delayed, and people seemed stressed out and frustrated.  When I was younger, I loved to fly-- it was something I got to do, and it was fun.  Now, especially when I fly for business, flying seems like something I have to do.  What's the difference between getting to do something and having to do something?  How would school be different if it was something people get to do instead of something they have to do?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpiece Academy wrap-up
3. Paper prep
*READ 180*

***

PLEASE REMEMBER: 

PAPERS ARE DUE TOMORROW 

AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS.  

NO EXCEPTIONS. 

NO EXCUSES.

Mahalo.

***

immigration forum

may 29

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What did you do this weekend to succeed in this course? 

-OR-
Write a short story with the following ingredients: an alligator, a cafeteria worker, and an umbrella.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ/READ 180
2. Masterpiece Academy: wrap-up
3. Final paper process: DUE THURSDAY

may 24

JOURNAL TOPIC:
"Good luck."  What a bunch of crap.  We know better.  Since the 1600s we've had sayings like, "The harder I work, the better luck I have" and "Chance favors the prepared mind."  So why do so many of us ignore the obvious and just hope for the best without taking the right-minded action that will more likely create the results we desire?  Why leave your fate to... well, fate?  What can you do today to improve your luck?

--OR--

Choose your own topic.


AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ 180*
2. Masterpiece Academy
3. Tips for writing the paper

Alisson (15 minutes)
Mari (15 minutes)
Judith (15 minutes)
Sandra (16 minutes)
Erika (5 minutes)

may 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today's the day.  But... the day for what?  Explain your answer.

--or--

You find a scorpion in your shoe.  The hard way.  Describe in detail.

--or--

Choose your own topic.

1. Journal
*READ 180/ READ*
2. Outline and begin the rough draft of your final paper (see prompt here); please give your paper to the substitute teacher at the end of period 5

*REMINDER: If you are presenting tomorrow (Thursday, May 24) please send me your materials

may 22

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What makes something funny?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ 180/ READ
2. Masterpiece Academy

Yesenia (6 minutes)
Jose (8 minutes)
Maria (10 minutes)

may 21

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe a time you or someone you know got hurt.  What happened?  How did you react?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ/ READ 180*
2. Masterpiece Academy

thanks for your concern

I appreciate those of you who asked if I was alright this morning.  I won't speak to the cause of the injury, but I will say this much (in language you're sure to understand):  You ain't never gonna have a teacher as hard-headed as me.  And by the way, I was still on time for class this morning.

masterpiece academy day 2

Bruno brought us onto the field to learn about football:

Lessly taught us about her goal of becoming a doctor.  You can see her presentation HERE.

laurel or yanni?

I'm stumped.  Read about it HERE.

may 18

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe the most interesting Masterpiece you've seen so far.  What made it compelling?  The topic?  The speaker?  The materials?  Explain.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ 180/ READ*
2. Masterpiece Academy

Bruno (10 minutes)

masterpiece academy day 1

Thanks to Jesus for a great presentation on becoming an auto mechanic!  It's great to see how a person can get interested in something because he wants to help people and he's good with his hands, and turn that interest into a career path.  Great start to our Masterpiece Academy!

may 17

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What do you hope to learn from other students in the Masterpiece Academy?  Describe at least one idea you hope to get from the topics of the presentations, and one idea you hope to get from the presenters/styles of presenting.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ 180* / READ
2. Prep for Masterpiece Academy

OUR FIRST PRESENTATION!! 

Jesus (10 minutes)

please take this survey

Hi All,
This just in from Yulianna-- please take this survey to help her with her Masterpiece!
Mahalo.

https://goo.gl/zZKwSb

may 16

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today the thinking is all about your thinking.  What are you thinking about?  Why are you thinking about it?  How is your thinking influenced by your feelings and your memories, your fears and hopes and expectations and rumblings in your tummy?  What can you do in this very moment to change your thinking in ways you think will help you think better?  Will this improve your life?  Ya think? ;)

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ 180*
2. Masterpiece Academy

• Review calendar
• Work on projects

masterpiece academy calendar

May 16


May 17
Jesus (10 minutes)

May 18
Bruno (6 minutes)
Lessly (10 minutes)


May 21
Bryan (10 minutes)

May 22
Yesenia (6 minutes)
Jose (8 minutes)
Maria (10 minutes)

May 24
Alisson (15 minutes)
Mari (15 minutes)
Judith (15 minutes)
Sandra (16 minutes)
Erika (5 minutes)

masterpiece academy final question

When the last presentation has been given, this is the question I will ask you to write on for your final reflection.  Please start a post or notes that will help you remember what's important.
______________________________________________________________________________

For the next few weeks the Masterpiece Academy will be your showcase.  As you reflect on this experience, and your overall experience in this course throughout the year, please address the following questions in a traditional MLA-style essay.  Then post about it to your blog in any medium (music, pictures, video, animation, [?]) that brings your thesis to life.  (You may embed the original paper if you can't think of a better way to communicate.)

Please Note: Everything on the traditional paper assignment counts.  Please proofread and/or ask a friend or relative to help with organization, flow, and mechanics (capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar, MLA style, e.g.)


Masterpiece Academy Question

Montaigne ended his essay "Of The Education of Children" this way:

To return to my subject, there is nothing like alluring the appetite and affections; otherwise you make nothing but so many asses laden with books; by dint of the lash, you give them their pocketful of learning to keep; whereas, to do well you should not only lodge it with them, but make them espouse it. (1580)

The word espouse originally meant "to marry" and took on connotations like "embrace," "love," and "advocate."  Have you espoused learning?  Explain your growth in this course via a narrative that portrays you as the dynamic protagonist in your own Bildungsroman.  Please include the following elements.

ELEMENT 1: You have been treated as colleagues and you have been given a great deal of choice in this course; this represents a high level of trust.  Did you and the others deserve it?  Earn it?  Honor it? 

ELEMENT 2: Fiction has been called "the lie that tells the truth."  Which works, authors, or characters did you read this year that rang true enough to make you feel like they described parts of you and/or your journey? (Please mention at least three.  It makes them sad when we forget them.)

ELEMENT 3: Have you re/connected with a passion that drives you?  If so, how will you continue your learning?  If not, how will you proceed?

ELEMENT 4: [Something about literature or this course that made you laugh out loud.]

ELEMENT 5: [A unifying theme that runs through a minimum of five (5) presentations; a quality of the content, or the speakers, or their communication techniques that strikes you as something important that we have in common.]  Please illustrate/support your point with specific examples from the presentations.

ELEMENT 6: Evaluate whether you completed the hero's journey.  Are you a hero?  To what extent did you respond to the call of adventure?  Did you find a mentor, conquer a challenge, and return enlightened?

ELEMENT 7: For old time's sake, sneak in a literary technique.  Don't make a big deal out of it.  I'll know it's there.

may 15

JOURNAL TOPIC: ["Hotel California" by The Eagles; "California Dreaming" by The Mamas and The Papas; "California Love" by 2Pac]

Why do you think California so legendary for so many people around the world?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpiece Academy/ introduction and calendar
*Check out the English 3 Masterpiece Academy*
3. Final exam
*READ 180*
*Prepare your masterpiece and post to your blog*

may 14

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe a time you took responsibility for something-- a project, an action, a conversation.  How did the experience make you feel?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ 180*
*Essay overtime*
2. Masterpiece Academy: the week in preview
3. MGOM
4. Writers' conferences

may 11

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How's your masterpiece progressing?  Are you satisfied?  What do you still have left to do?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ 180*
2. Finalize calendar
3. Fahrenheit 451 essay

fahrenheit 451 essay

Based on our discussions and your contributions today (please see whiteboard notes at bottom), here is the essay prompt.  Please make sure that your essay is posted to your blog no later than 11:59 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time on Sunday, May 6.  If you have any trouble posting, please type or write the essay and bring the hard copy to class with you on Monday, May 7.

The feedback in class may be described in three categories: elements of the book, elements of Ray Bradbury's writing, and connections between the book and our lives in 2018.  Therefore, please feel free to mix and match from the menu of options below.  Please observe the minimum requirements as described, and please feel free to include more and/or your own original thinking.

I look forward to reading your work!


CORE PROMPT:
Fahrenheit 451 was published in 1953.  What does the book have to offer readers in 2018?

CATEGORY 1: ELEMENTS OF THE BOOK (Include at least one)

• Themes
• Self-determination
• The role of technology in society
• How authorities attempt to control people
• Happiness
• Integrity

• Characters
• Montag as dynamic character: how did he change?
• Protagonist/antagonist: Montag v. Beatty
• Clarisse's influence on Montag-- and the plot
• How Mildred helped and hurt Montag

CATEGORY 2: CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE BOOK & OUR LIVES (Include at least one)

• Bradbury's technological predictions
• Seashells (ear buds)
• Parlor walls (flat screen TVs)
• Bradbury's social predictions
• Medics as mechanics
• Substitutes for happiness

• High school and college education

CATEGORY 3: ELEMENTS OF THE WRITING (Analyze at least three to support your major points)

• Characterization (direct and indirect)
• Syntax
• Tone/Mood
• Symbolism
• Synecdoche
• Figurative language

may 10

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Yesterday's test.  Last week's tests.  Tomorrow's tests. Why all the tests?  How can you use this hour to prove that you've learned something in this course?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ 180*
2. Prove yourself
3. Finish Fahrenheit 451 & prepare for tomorrow's essay

may 9

Please remember that today we meet for testing in Room 235.

After you finish the test, please take a moment to reflect on the experience in your journal.

may 8

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "I Melt With You" by Modern English; "Modern Love" by David Bowie; "Modern Man" by Bad Religion]

Agree or disagree with the following quote:

I have always had this view about the modern education system: we pay attention to brain development, but the development of warmheartedness we take for granted.
Dalai Lama

--OR--

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ 180*
2. MGOM
3. Fahrenheit 451

masterpiece academy note (II)

Here are the observations you made in class:

EXPECTATIONS

Do:

• Prepare
• Remember to bring whatever you need with you
• Organize
• Talk to us; don't just read off your paper or your slides
• Meet our eyes and share your enthusiasm & passion for your Big Question/idea/skill
• Give us at least one awesome thing to remember
• Be clear
• Be loud enough for us to hear
• Manage your time
• Show your confidence
• Involve your audience 
•  Dress for success
• Practice with visuals so audience members can see them easily
• Stay respectful until the end of the period (no rustling before the bell)

Don't:

• Bore us
• Wait until the last minute/ procrastinate
• Interrupt
• Don't crowd visuals with too many distractions
• Don't hesitate or repeat yourself
• Be shy

LOGISTICS

• Each presentation should be >10 minutes (including Q & A)
•  How are you presenting? 
• Do you need Internet connection or other online tools?
• Are you using PowerPoint or Prezi or Google Slides or ?
• Are you creating a video to show on YouTube, Vimeo, or another platform?
• What do you need?
• Materials
• Support

masterpiece academy note

It's time for the inmates to take over the asylum.

Each student will show how s/he has become a master.  Each of you will teach the rest of us:

• How you decided what you're passionate about;
• The value your topic/field/skill has for us;
• How you learned more about the topic/field/skill by:
• Finding resources
• Becoming fluent in the language of the practitioner
• Seeking out a mentor 
• Collaborating and getting feedback from peers/blog followers
• How this has enriched your life and your experience in this course.

Per our conversations in class, your presentation should include:

• Visuals and/or hands-on experiences that bring the audience into your world
• Enough craft so as to convince us you didn't just throw something together for a grade
• Handouts or main points you think we should remember.

Please note that there will be a final essay exam based on the curriculum you create, so be sure-- as both presenter and audience member-- that you are getting the maximum understanding and value from everyone's presentations.

We will discuss general expectations and logistics today in class.

education equity community forum

2018_05_07_08_19_21 by dpreston1441 on Scribd

may 7

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Look back through your journal.  What was your favorite topic so far?  Why?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*READ 180*
2. Essays & other ways to tell our stories
3. This week in the lab: writer's conferences and masterpiece prep
4. Fahrenheit 451

this just in

Thanks for this, Isaiah!

2018_05_04_09_45_49 by dpreston1441 on Scribd

denham's dentrifice in real life

I will never stop at this gas station again.

may 4

JOURNAL TOPIC:

What would you say or do if a person walked up to you and said, "I bet your mom never told you this, but you have a brother.  Me.  It's nice to meet you."

AGENDA:
1. Journal
*Read 180
2. Discuss the ending of Fahrenheit 451
3. Review Part III highlights and writing techniques
4. Weekend essay

may 3

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What do you want to get out of school during this last month? 

AGENDA:
1. Journal topic
2. Read 180
3. Fahrenheit 451
4. Masterpiece work

TESTING 5/9

On Wednesday, May 9 we will meet in Room 235 for testing.  Please make a note in your calendar.

the correct answer is...

This is a test.  I want to know how many of you check the course blog before class.

Here is the offer: if you comment to this post with ANY observation about Fahrenheit 451 or your experience in reading it, you will receive a bonus of one letter grade on Friday's test (so if your answers earn a B, for example, you will receive an A).

The catch?  You have to publish your comment to this post BEFORE we meet in class today at 10:35AM PDT.  See you soon :)

may 2

JOURNAL TOPIC: (* after you write in your journal, please post today's entry as a comment to this post.*)
Tomorrow morning the garbage trucks come. Tonight I will perform the rituals of Garbage Day Eve: I will collect the trash from all the wastebaskets in the house, I will cinch up the big garbage bags from the kitchen, laundry room, and garage and put them in the garbage cans, and I will roll the garbage cans to the curb.  These tasks aren't necessarily the sort of thing a kid dreams about doing when he grows up, and no one is paying me to do these things or even giving me a grade.  So why do I bother?  A few reasons: 1) I don't want the smell, bacteria, mess, or insect/rodent infestation that comes with an accumulation of garbage in my house; 2) I don't want to wake up tomorrow morning with a start and race to beat the garbage truck; and, most importantly, 3) over time I have taken a great deal of pride in maintaining my home.  I learned a lot about #3 when I was in Tibet and watched the Buddhist monks care for their monastery.  (That was also the trip where I learned to truly love washing dishes -- to this day, there is something about a clean kitchen that makes me really happy.)

What tasks in your life are necessary but not necessarily appealing?  What do you do that gives you a sense of accomplishing something difficult, or the sense of ease that comes with being organized, or just the sense of relief at getting something unpleasant out of the way?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpiece meetings
3. Masterpiece calendar
4. Check in re: tomorrow and Friday
5. Continue in Fahrenheit 451
6. Read 180

finals schedule

SANTA MARIA HIGH SCHOOL

JUNE FINALS BELL SCHEDULE

 June 4-6, 2018

Monday, 6/4/2018

                           1^st Period                              7:30 – 9:20

                           Break                                    9:20 – 9:40

                           6^th Period                              9:40 – 11:30

                           Lunch                                   11:30 – 12:00

                           7^th Period                              12:10 – 2:00

Tuesday, 6/5/2018

                           2^nd Period                             8:30 – 10:20

                           Lunch                                   10:20 – 10:50

                           3^rd Period                              11:00 – 12:50

Wednesday, 6/6/2018 – Last Day of School

                           4^th Period                              8:30 – 10:20

                           Lunch                                   10:20 – 10:50

                           5^th Period                              11:00 – 12:50

Thursday, 6/7/2018 – GRADUATION!

may 1

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Write a paragraph in response to the essay you read on Fahrenheit 451.  You may focus on any of the following: What was the thesis?  How did the author connect the use of symbolism and synecdoche?  How did the author compare Fahrenheit 451 with Hamlet?  How did the author use his own experience to introduce the topic?

AGENDA:
1. Journal/discussion
2. Reading quiz
3. Fahrenheit 451: the beginning of the end (reading schedule for the week)
4. Read 180