Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

Dear Juniors,

If you missed class, we completed the following:

1. JOURNAL #1: Refer to your annotations/notations for today regarding FACEBOOK. Identify TWO annotations for ORANGE and TWO annotations for GREEN. Tell me why you found those passages interesting and insightful. Please record the passages in your journal entries. For example, "As I read the article, a section that I found interesting relates to the number of people currently using Facebook. The author states, ......." Now proceed to explain why you found the text interesting and insightful.....Any questions?

2. We then reviewed the color coding structure by identifying each section (topic sentence, conrete detail, commentary, etc) in the following examples. Each student identified the appropriate structural element by color coding the body paragraphs below. We discussed why #2 is so much stronger.
 

Paragraph Examples

#1. Bryson Nickle

            Due to the pain that one feels during post surgery, scientists and doctors use new medicines to help patients through pain relief. However, many drugs fail to provide sufficient relief due to the weakness of the drugs. For example, Stephen Aaron, a middle-aged man from Salt Lake City, Utah, recently required back surgery. He received morphine to help cope with the pain he felt, however, the pain pushed through the medicine to a point where he found it almost unbearable. The drugs couldn't provide the relief he required, and unfortunately legalized marijuana isn't an option in Utah. Very few people react negatively to marijuana Allergic reaction reports seem to come up very seldom and far in between. These reasons help indicate why medical marijuana should become an option in all states.

#2. Bryson Nickle (with more commentary/support)

            Due to post surgery pain, medical professionals have used new approaches, including the use of marijuana, to assist patients with pain relief. According to one study conducted by the US Society for Neuroscience, “Careful studies show marijuana directly interferes with pain signaling in the nervous system. This insight may lead to a new class of pain killers. Patients suffering from spinal cord injuries and the ill effects of chemotherapy will find pain relief through using marijuana (Joy, Stanley and Benson). This statement has merit. Stephen Aaron, a middle-aged man from Salt Lake City, Utah who recently required back surgery,  received morphine to help cope with the strong post surgery discomfort; however, the morphine did not ease his pain. If current pain options cease to alleviate patient pain, then other avenues need consideration.  A second study sponsored by the Healthcare Regularly Agency (HRA) indicated that the 200 individuals used in the study “found the use of marijuana  most effective, particularly  regarding pain relief and improved sleep” (Armenteno). If Mr. Aaron had taken marijuana for his pain, he would have recovered more quickly and experienced less side effects from the surgery. Unfortunately, the use of medical marijuana creates a barrier in many states. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia permit the use of medical marijuana (Seimons). If approved throughout the United States, medical marijuana would decrease pain experienced by those recovering from surgery and other illnesses.

  3. We then returned to the triangle regarding steroid use that we developed during our last class period. We looked at some pro/con elements that we could include in the body paragraph regarding steroids to strengthen the validity of the paper. Each student received a copy of a document entitled "PRO/CON ELEMENTS REGARDING STEROID USE." We proceeded to write the body paragraph that we triangled last class period.  EACH STUDENT SUBMITTED THEIR PARAGRAPH PRIOR TO CLASS ENDING>

HOMEWORK:
1. Students randomly selected one of the following topics:

• Golf...Is it a sport? (This one is for you, Tate)
• Building a mosque at ground zero
• Euthanasia (doctor assisted suicide)
• Is social networking good for society?
• Felon Voting

2. Students were asked to take a stand on their chosen topic, and then locate THREE different Internet sources, one of which has to be www.procon.org, that offer information about their chosen topic. Students were asked to annotate and notate each source...5-7/page....all colors permitted. Students should have their sources with them on FRIDAY.

 3. Students were asked to complete writing the body paragraph on steroids. We discussed the pros and cons to this issue and then reviewed procon.org for some strong and authentic opinions on the subject. Then we incorporated those opinions into the paragraph that we triangled last class period.
This body paragraph is due on FRIDAY>

Tuesday, August 27th, 2012

Dear Humanities Kids,

We completed the following today in class:

1. We reviewed Journal #1 entitled "What is Art. What is beauty?" The review took place by discussing your homework assignment entitled"What is Art?" Now that you have annotated and notated your reading assignment it is valuable to return to the images you commented on concerning Journal #1. Do you have a different perspective now that you have read "What is Art?"


You may not agree with this individual's choice to pierce her face, but she is clearly content and happy with her appearance. So why make a judgement?





 Dear Humanities Students,

If you missed class on Tuesday, August 27th, we completed the following:
2. Students submitted their "What are the Humanities? Why are the humanities important?" assignment.
3. We discussed their responses to the above questions, and then I gave the "official" definition for "What are the Humanities? The Humanities is the study of what affects mankind. These disciplines include music, art, religion, philosophy, drama, and literature. We also discussed the five reasons why one should study the Humanities:

1. One develops a greater ability to think critically through studying Humanities. Often criticism is considered negative, but there is also a positive side to critical skills. It includes the ability to choose good from evil, excellent from poor, and profound from superficial.

2. Another reason for studying the Humanities concerns the fact that all human beings gain pleasure from the arts. We rejoice in the creative expressions of others. We enjoy a story well told, beautiful melodies, and pleasing sculptures.

3. Studying the Humanities gives one the ability to share knowledge with future generations. Many challenging ideas have been explored during the history of this world, and we would be impoverished if we had no knowledge of them. Sharing our understanding of the Humanities guides not only ourselves, but those we choose to enlighten.

4. Studying the Humanities guides us in understanding how past generations have dealt with human challenges, emotions, and ideas.

5. Another reason for studying the Humanities is to gain vision and experience emotion to the point that we have a greater appreciation for the artists' intent.  We must see beyond the simple story, the decorative painting, the pleasing melody or the entertaining drama, in order to fully understand what the artist is trying to say about life.

HOMEWORK:
1. Please read "What are the Arts," included below, and include 7-10 annotations on each page. Copy this to a Word document and then print it off. Please place it in the "Handout" section of your notebook.
NOTE:  You were introduced to the color coding regarding your annotating and notating last class period. Each type of notation correlates to a specific color. Please see the color key below.
 

• If you  find a section of text confusing then you would underline it using BROWN.
• If you are able to make a connection to your own life then you would underline that section of text using your PURPLE.
• Another way to annotate is by asking QUESTIONS about the text. RED is the color you will use for this annotation.
• If you come across a VOCABULARY word that you don't know use YELLOW!
• If a piece of text touches you emotionally, then BLUE is the color for that annotation.
• If a piece of writing is poetic to you, then use BLACK!
• If text gives you a different perspective then GREEN is your annotation color.
• ORANGE is the color you will use if you come across text that you find interesting.