Monday 19 March

Students watched I.i. - I.iv of Macbeth.

Students (who had turned in their research paper rough drafts) got back their research paper rough drafts.

Any one who needs additional help needs to see Mr. Zartler immediately.

Week of 12-16 March

Students should have turned in the rough draft of their research paper.

Students checked out Macbeth. We have read I.i. through I.iii. In periods 2,3, and 7. Periods 2 and 3 have read through I.v. and scene a professional version of these acts.

We have discussed how the concept of "paradox" is important to the play; see these notes:

Monday / Tuesday 5/6 March

Students began their monthly SSR sheets.

Mr. Zartler began by describing the specific skills required in writing a research paper:
A) Doing research (completed!)
B) Organizing Complex Ideas (what we're working on with outlining)
C) Clear explanations (rough draft; final draft work)
D) Citing Sources in MLA format (focused on in final draft)

Mr. Zartler gave a lecture on turning notes into an outline.

Students reviewed their notes, and the graphic organizers they created last week. They then tried to explain what question their notes were trying to answer.

Another way to think about this is to consider all of the notes gathered during research as pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Consider what picture you will see after assembling all of these pieces.

The answer to the question (above) or a description of the picture is the THESIS STATEMENT of the research paper.

By the end of class students should have an outline for their paper including complete topic sentences for all paragraphs except the conclusion.

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.