February 22-28, 2012

During these class periods students first received a lecture on what a research project paper is and what it requires. Here are some key notes:

Then students learned about what kinds of questions to ask in doing research; for example:

Finally, students were taught the skill of "Annotating" a research article. Students must read and annotate at least four articles on their research topic; these annotations are due at the end of class on Monday or Tuesday. Thursday through Tuesday were days to do research in class.

Mr. Zartler collected and graded the annotations.

Reminder: SSR sheets will be collected from the 3-Ring binders at the end of the week.

Wednesday 16 Februray

After SSR students engaged in a variety of conversations about class, and grades.

Tuesday/Wednesday 14/15 February

Students began with a focused write on the topic: “Is a photograph an unbiased point of view?” After discussing how point-of-view and bias are related, students had SSR. Most students thought that the previous semester of SSR had improved both their reading rate and skill.


Next students participated in this lesson built around photographs of survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

Friday / Monday 10 / 13 February

Students first considered the word "Genocide."
Then students wrote to the prompt: "Do you find it remarkable that there needs to be a word like genocide? Why or why not?"
The class then brainstormed questions they had about genocide in human history. These questions were not answered, but may become focal points of the research paper that students will write this month.

Next students began studying a set of articles about recent genocides. Students then attempted to answer a set of questions handed out in class in order to identify fact from opinion.

Students received three new vocabulary words: bias; point of view; and propaganda.

The class then examined articles for bias, and for facts. These handouts are available form Mr. Zartler.

Wednesday / Thursday 8 / 9 February

In class students watched the video One Survivor Remembers. After watching this academy award winning documentary the class created a Venn Diagram comparing Gerda Weissmann's experiences to those of Elie Wiesel.

At the end of class students had SSR time. SSR logs are due March 2nd / 3rd.

Monday / Tuesday 7 / 8 February

We began the new semester with a a discussion of Grant High School culture.