goode learning

Gooch!

As you know, a student named Jonathan Gooch, or Gooch, wrote to us from Tuscumbia, Alabama. Write him back to tell him a little bit about yourselves, DHS and our community. His email address is bsgooch@bellsouth.net. When you email him, copy me on the email by putting my email address in the box following the cc: so I can give you a bit of extra credit. Make sure your letters are school appropriate!

Warning

These blogs are class blogs to be used for school purposes only. Let me repeat. Your blog is for a grade. Each time you use inappropriate language or  make discriminatory remarks, I will react the same way I would if you made the same remarks in my classroom. Consider yourselves warned. Remove, at once, all offensive comments from your blogs.

Sample Citation

Sample Citation

Notes: These facts from the CDC suggest that the flu hasn't spread to humans in any great quantity, so why is everyone so worried? They are watching it for the outbreak of a pandemic, but why is the potential seem so great. How does it differ from other diseases that maybe aren't watched so carefully? In the meantime, can we get the disease by eating chicken?

Citation:

" Key Facts About Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) and Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus." Influenza (Flu): Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones. 10 2005. Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 25 Oct. 2005 <http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/gen-info/facts.htm>.

Parenthetical Within Text
( Key Facts About Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) and Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus)

The H5N1 virus does not usually infect humans. In 1997. However, the first case of spread from a bird to a human was seen during an outbreak of bird flu in poultry in Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region. The virus caused severe respiratory illness in 18 people, 6 of whom died. Since that time, there have been other cases of H5N1 infection among humans. Recent human cases of H5N1 infection that have occurred in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam have coincided with large H5N1 outbreaks in poultry. The World Health Organization (WHO) also has reported human cases in Indonesia. Most of these cases have occurred from contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces; however, it is thought that a few cases of human-to-human spread of H5N1 have occurred.

So far, spread of H5N1 virus from person to person has been rare and has not continued beyond one person. However, because all influenza viruses have the ability to change, scientists are concerned that the H5N1 virus one day could be able to infect humans and spread easily from one person to another. Because these viruses do not commonly infect humans, there is little or no immune protection against them in the human population. If the H5N1 virus were able to infect people and spread easily from person to person, an influenza pandemic (worldwide outbreak of disease) could begin. No one can predict when a pandemic might occur. However, experts from around the world are watching the H5N1 situation in Asia very closely and are preparing for the possibility that the virus may begin to spread more easily and widely from person to person.”

10.26.2005 Today's Assignment

I want to make sure that you all have the chance to really understand making citations, so I am changing several of the deadlines for citations.

For today, I want my 2nd and 4th period to have two citations and 3rd to have one citation. Follow the instructions and model of my citation post to create your own.

Then, 2nd and 4th period should comment on two other blogs, and 3rd period should comment on one other blog. Give feedback about your classmate's citation. Is it done correctly? Does it follow the form of my model? Do you have any suggestions for how to make it more helpful?

How to make a citation with notes

1. Find a website, magazine article or book that contains interesting information about your topic. If you think you might be able to use it, or you have gotten a new idea from reading it, you should create a citation with notes.
2. Open a new window and go to the Citation Machine. On the left-hand side of the page, in bright yellow, find the type of source you have found. For example, if it is a regular webpage, click on Web Page. If you found your page using one of the Galileo databases, you must choose “Online Subscription Database.”
3. Look at the form provided. Fill in the blanks using the information from your resource. Leaving both windows open and toggling between them is an easy way to do this. If you cannot find information, such as a web page author or date of publication, leave that blank empty.
4. Highlight and copy the MLA citation. Paste into a new blog entry. Below the citation, paste in the quote you want to use, the information you want to paraphrase, or the idea you learned from the source. (Hint-Copy and paste the “parenthetical within text” part too. You might need to use it if you quote this source in your paper.)
5. Finally, write one or two sentences commenting on why this information or source is interesting to you and how it relates to your research topic.
6. Save and Publish your blog entry.

Sample Feedback Comments

Some of you might feel a little lost when you sit down at to write feedback comments. Try to remember that even the best writers can use constructive criticism. These blogs are a safe place for us to read each other's work and help each other become better, stronger, and more interesting writers. So, read what your classmates are posting, and then let them know how it's going. Remember to give specific feedback. Don't just say, "I liked it" or "I didn't like it." Tell them what exactly worked for you and what didn't. Also, give specific suggestions for ways the writing can be improved.

Look at the following links to get an idea of what I am looking for:
Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3
Sample 4

What do you think makes a good comment?

Get Organized

Here are links to calendars to help you plan:
Honors Advanced Comp
Advanced Comp
Bookmark them and check back frequently for updates!

Changed Deadlines 10.24.05

The due date for your Blue Vinyl reader responses is on Thursday, October 27, 2005. Click the following link for the rubric: Download 9a_blue_vinyl_rubric.doc

The due date for your Romeo and Juliet field trip reviews are due on Monday, October 31, 2005. Click the following for the rubric: Download 9a_romeo_and_juliet_review.doc

Sample: Wonder Paragraph

I wonder about the avian flu. I've been hearing people talk about it on talk radio and TV news for about a year, but I don't know if I understand what it is yet. The flu started in Asia somewhere, perhaps transferred to people from animals. Was the avian flu the same flu that made everyone in Asia wear those white masks around town a couple of years ago? If there are cases on each continent, then it officially becomes a "pandemic." I'm not really sure what that means, but it sounds scary. Last week, I heard a scientist talking on NPR who said that they can't make an immunization for the avian flu until it is a pandemic because, if they made it now, it would be too weak to fight the pandemic. They have to wait until it is a pandemic and then make the immunization. It takes about six months to develop the immunization. So what happens to everyone during those six months? I think Details magazine said that the avian flu killed about half of the people who caught it. So will we just die off like flies?

The fragments of information I have learned about the avian flu makes me feel pulled in two directions. On one hand, I want take what I hear to heart and be really scared, but, on the other hand, I wonder if the whole avian flu is being blown way out of proportion. Remember Y2K? I had family members that stocked years of bottled water and canned foods in the basement that they are probably still eating. Then, after 9/11, when folks were worried about chemical attacks, local news recommended that we all run out and purchase reams of duck tape to put up on our windows, even though that would help very little in case of an actual attack. I want to know about what is going on with the avian flu, but I want to gather information from a variety of sources so that I know I can base my decisions on how I choose to react in a thoughtful, informed and balanced manner.

So the big question is, "Should I freak out about the avian flu or not?"

Test on Thursday

We will take a test on Thursday that will be a cumulative review of Weeks 1-10 vocabulary and roots, library and research skills, identifying and correcting run-on and fragment sentences and persuasive writing techniques.

This Week:
Monday- 2nd and 3rd period in the computer lab
Set up Bloglines account
Discuss Wonder Unit

Tuesday- 2nd and 3rd in the computer lab, 4th in the library
Take Vocab Weeks 1-5 Practice Quiz
HW: Citation review sheet, sentence review sheet

Wednesday- 3rd in the lab, 2nd and 4th in the library
Take Vocab 6-10 Practice Quiz

Thursday-test