All posts by Coey

News Poem

Dear students,

Writing poems about problems in our society can be a way to pay homage to those people who have been victims of violence. A poem can be a reflection of the truth, just like a painting or a song can be. Which events in our world, community, and school have left you feeling uncomfortable and uneasy? Artists often explore their thoughts and feelings as a way of understanding the issue and understanding themselves. So, today I would like for you to begin researching a current event that is worthy of your art.

Here are a few news sources that might be helpful:

https://www.democracynow.org/

http://www.npr.org/

http://www.aljazeera.com/

  1. After you find a compelling story that speaks to you, copy the text of the article into a Google Doc.
  2. Give the document a title related to the topic
  3. Provide a citation at the bottom of the page by using easybib.com
  4. Find a philosophical statement related to your poem’s topic. One resource you can use is Brainy Quotes. You’ll need this later for the allusion in your poem.
  5. Begin developing your News Poem using Hongo’s “The Legend” as a guide.
  6. Mr. Coey’s sample News Poem is Sikh Mercy.

Dream Speech, Period 6

Dear sophomores,

You’ve been working hard to inspire others to follow you, both as an expert on a specific research topic and as a speechwriter. Your dream speeches are an important contribution to our class, our community, and our world. Your thoughts and ideas can have wide-ranging implications to help ease suffering and usher in a new era of peace and prosperity. All you have to do is imagine!

  1. Review: Make sure that your dream speech is just the way you want it, free from simple spelling and grammar errors, and full of those persuasive rhetorical techniques we have studied.

2. Publish: Click on the ‘leave a comment’ link at the top of this post. Follow the directions for uploading your ‘comment,’ in this case your dream speech. If you want, you can click an option to have your classmates’ comments emailed to you. I recommend this.

3. Read and reply: Once your classmates begin to upload their dream speeches, you can reply. Identify what you like about the speech; look for good examples of rhetorical techniques. Share other questions or ideas you have about the speech. Keep it positive. If you have a concern, you might consider speaking to that person directly rather than leaving a comment. Please comment on AT LEAST TWO of your classmates’ speeches. Also, our goal is to leave comments with each student writer, so everyone feels acknowledged for their ideas and hard work.

Thank you for all of your hard work and risk taking!

Kind Regards,

Mr. Coey

Dream Speech, Period 5

Dear sophomores,

You’ve been working hard to inspire others to follow you, both as an expert on a specific research topic and as a speechwriter. Your dream speeches are an important contribution to our class, our community, and our world. Your thoughts and ideas can have wide-ranging implications to help ease suffering and usher in a new era of peace and prosperity. All you have to do is imagine!

  1. Review: Make sure that your dream speech is just the way you want it, free from simple spelling and grammar errors, and full of those persuasive rhetorical techniques we have studied.

2. Publish: Click on the ‘leave a comment’ link at the top of this post. Follow the directions for uploading your ‘comment,’ in this case your dream speech. If you want, you can click an option to have your classmates’ comments emailed to you. I recommend this.

3. Read and reply: Once your classmates begin to upload their dream speeches, you can reply. Identify what you like about the speech; look for good examples of rhetorical techniques. Share other questions or ideas you have about the speech. Keep it positive. If you have a concern, you might consider speaking to that person directly rather than leaving a comment. Please comment on AT LEAST TWO of your classmates’ speeches. Also, our goal is to leave comments with each student writer, so everyone feels acknowledged for their ideas and hard work.

Thank you for all of your hard work and risk taking!

Kind Regards,

Mr. Coey

Dream Speech, Period 2

Dear sophomores,

You’ve been working hard to inspire others to follow you, both as an expert on a specific research topic and as a speechwriter. Your dream speeches are an important contribution to our class, our community, and our world. Your thoughts and ideas can have wide-ranging implications to help ease suffering and usher in a new era of peace and prosperity. All you have to do is imagine!

  1. Review: Make sure that your dream speech is just the way you want it, free from simple spelling and grammar errors, and full of those persuasive rhetorical techniques we have studied.

2. Publish: Click on the ‘leave a comment’ link at the top of this post. Follow the directions for uploading your ‘comment,’ in this case your dream speech. If you want, you can click an option to have your classmates’ comments emailed to you. I recommend this.

3. Read and reply: Once your classmates begin to upload their dream speeches, you can reply. Identify what you like about the speech; look for good examples of rhetorical techniques. Share other questions or ideas you have about the speech. Keep it positive. If you have a concern, you might consider speaking to that person directly rather than leaving a comment. Please comment on AT LEAST TWO of your classmates’ speeches. Also, our goal is to leave comments with each student writer, so everyone feels acknowledged for their ideas and hard work.

Thank you for all of your hard work and risk taking!

Kind Regards,

Mr. Coey

English 10 Honors Final Exam Review

Greetings Sophomores!

Ms. Sherman tells me that you have been diligent in your research and that you are making inroads with your research paper.  That’s great! I would like your typed draft (the abstract, the body of the research paper, and the reference page) on Friday Jan. 27th. Also, I’ve had several requests to provide a study guide for our final exam, so you’ll find that guide below.

English 10 1st Semester Review 2017

Monday we will review for the final.

Periods 2 and 5 have their final exam on Wednesday

Period 6 has their final exam on Thursday

Friday we will work on completing the cover sheet for your problem/solution research paper.

Thank you for all of your hard work!

Kind Regards,

Mr. Coey

See a Need, Fill a Need!

Dear Sophomores,

Like our dear Mr. Bigweld once said, “See a need, fill a need,” which in other words means if you notice a something in the world that you can improve, then do it! Our theme for the second half of our semester has also been “What responsibility do I have to my community?” With those themes in mind, we are now going to begin a week long research project of your choice. This should be a topic that is important to you and would give you great personal satisfaction when researching.

Click on this link Problem Solution Research Paper for more details!

We have the entire week reserved in F8A, and I expect you to use all of that time to research and develop your research paper.

Objective 1. Learn to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources of information.

Objective 2. Properly cite reliable sources in your research.

Objective 3. Learn to use saclibrary.org and its research tools, including GALE and EBSCO.

Objective 3. Organize research using an outline

Objective 4. Publish your research with a wider audience

Objective 5. Create a works cited page in APA style

Objective 6. Reflect on the process and learn from your experience.

 

Tuesday: Identify a viable problem/solution research topic using saclibrary.org and by clicking on “RESEARCH” then “STUDENTS K-12” then “OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS IN CONTEXT.” Once you click on that link, you will be asked to input your library card number and password. This is something that you should have in advance.

Once you have access to OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS try the “BROWSE ISSUES” button at the top of the screen. You’ll find hundreds of topics. Click on one that interests you. Click on several. It’s an amazing resource for seeing different perspectives on one topic! And best of all, you can cite your sources from right there!

Once you find your topic, begin learning everything you can about it! Oh, and be sure to copy your cited sources into a Google Doc as you go along. That way, you have your sources cited as you discover them, and that’s much easier than trying to remember, “oh which website did I visit?”

Wednesday: Identify factors that contribute to the problem; identify naysayers, and develop rebuttals. Click on this link for an example.

Thursday: Use my sample outline to begin developing your research paper. The outline is meant to give you an idea about how you might organize your ideas/research, but it is not meant to be prescriptive and tell you exactly how to write your paper.

Friday 1/20: Develop your research paper. Complete your works cited page.  Entries must be properly cited using AP
A style. A sample APA style research paper can be found at Purdue University. Pay attention to the use of (dates) in the paper, the “References” page and the abstract.

  1. All cited sources should be included in APA style https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
  2. Use easybib.com to format your citation or use EBSCO

Friday 1/27: Your final draft will be due, complete with the three parts: abstract (100-200 words), research paper (600-1000 words) and “References” page with your citations.

Monday of next week will be our review day; however, if you want to start reviewing now, I suggest looking at your daily guiding questions. The final exam will take the entire two hours and you will have an opportunity to show your knowledge of all the content, approaches, and skills we have learned this semester. I’ll publish a review guide later this week!

Thank you for all of your hard work!

Kind Regards,

Mr. Coey

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Day!

Dear students,

As you know, today is a national holiday to commemorate Dr. King and his lifetime of advocacy for human rights, personal dignity, and non-violence.

Below you’ll find a few links to his videos, speeches, philosophy and much more! Our second semester we will study his “Dream Speech” in much greater detail. Until then, enjoy!

 

Dr. King’s “I have a Dream” speech from Jon Cobler on Vimeo.

Dr. King’s Philosophy on non-violence and activism

Dr. King’s speeches

Les Miserables Resources for Study

Dear Pre-IB 10th Grade Students!

Welcome to our class website, a place where we can share ideas, questions, and resources. You are welcome to peruse the resources I have on this website, especially the links along the left side of the page.

For our study of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, I have provided a study guide, complete with a plot summary, characters, themes, and the historical context. Please read this in addition to the novel, which is one of the works you can choose to write about on your final exam.

Reading Comprehension Questions

Plot summary, characters, and themes

Les-Miserables-quotes

Les Miserables Free e-book on Google Play

Les Miserables Free e-book on Project Gutenberg

Remember, our guiding question is “What responsibility do I have to my community?” How would this question relate to the themes and characters in Hugo’s Les Miserables?

Check our class website or your email each day to see if there are additional resources.

Kind Regards,

Mr. Coey

Resources for writing your Bless Me, Ultima essay

Dear Students,

Remember that excellent essays will like have the following qualities:

Introduction Paragraph (author, title, genre, summary, and thesis)
Thesis Statement–debatable opinion, perhaps starting with “Although,” supported with reasons/evidence.
Topic Sentences—topic and opinion statements
Avoiding dead words—thing, someone, get, do, many, different
Using appositive phrases to define characters and concepts
Using “verbs for literary essays
Providing relevant examples to support topic sentences and your thesis statement.
Paragraphs written in the “advanced paragraph” style–context, commentary, and integrated concrete details
Students will read their essays aloud and fix their mistakes prior to publishing their essay.

YOUR CONCLUSION:

Focus on the author, Rudolfo Anaya, and the author’s choices.
Answer the question “What is the message the author developed?”
How did the author accomplish this? (Discuss literary concepts/terms)
Why? (Try using the phrase ‘in order to’ as a way of explaining your idea.

Example Conclusion:
“Rudolfo Anaya chose the minor character, Narcisco, to oppose the evil Tenorio and to emphasize the theme of “good versus evil.” Furthermore, Narcisco brings a voice of reason during the intense conflicts between the men of the town and the Marez family. Through the imagery of Narcisco’s enchanted garden, his emotional speeches, and his final act of sacrifice, Anaya creates a character that is magical, wise, and confident despite being the town drunk.”