Last official day of class

Good morning everyone,
Here we are at the end of our official class time for the year. I'm so glad that you have all made it through this journey with some new tools and good experiences that will inform your learning in the future.

Today in class we will do portfolio pulling for half the period and then discussing and writing of our greatest learning experiences in class.

Some of you will be coming to school for the rest of the next 2 weeks to complete assignments, others will just be preparing for regents exams and summer fun.

Keep checking in with the blog over the summer and I will post different books that may be of interest as a heads up as to what willl be coming in September.

Thank you all for a challenging and meaningful school year. I appreciate all that you have brought to the table and contributed to this class.

Have a great summer,
Ms. S

Portfolio time...

You have all been showing me what you know over the past couple of weeks, working diligently to finish standards work and complete missing assignments.

Monday is the last day of classes... I'd like us to spend time pulling portfolio pieces and reflecting as a group... where did we start? Where did we end up? What have we learned? How has this year's experience helped shape how you will work next year?

From the 3rd trimester:
You will need to select one exemplar piece... (your best work... what are you most proud of?)
One improvement piece - what shows your growth?
One informal piece - current events (1 of the 5), blog assignments, sourcebook entries, annotation exercises, etc.

For the reflection for each piece, please consider the following:
why did you choose the piece for each of the categories? what does it show you know based on the standards (you can look on teacherease and/or rubrics given out in class). How does it show it?
What would you do differently? What did you learn from actually doing it?

Class today and the rest of the week...

Hey Folks,

I left school today as the heat was not working well with my body. Make sure each of you stay hydrated and keep yourselves cool.

In class today, please continue working on your standards if you have not completed them... email them to me when you are through.

Those of you who have emailed me work, continue to do so and we will conference on Thursday.

Every student needs to email me whatever they worked on in class today by the end of the period... whether it is a lot or a little.

Thanks,
Ms. S
mssackstein@yahoo.com

Reflection and subject area pulling

Next week please come to class with a checklist... start thinking about the three pieces you'd like to put in your third trimester portfolio...

1 exemplar piece (any finished project/assignment - that you feel represents your best work)
1 improvement piece (something that shows your hard work and revision - all drafts should be included)
1 informal piece - something we've done in class that wasn't a "big" project... current events, analysis of a poem or any class research/notes

Reflections will need to be included that are based on the standards.

Standards - class today...

Please continue working through your reflection of the standards in class today... I will be there to help you if you don't understand what it is asking of you.

Remember, this is your time to really think about this year's body of work and honesty comment on your understanding of it... Even if you didn't finish assignments, that doesn't mean you didn't learn anything...

Be specific to your understanding and then try to talk about a specific assignment that helped you understand it... you may use teacherease to accomplish this task.

You should be done with 1 and possibly 2 and beginning 3 today. Make sure that by the end of class, I have your work emailed and/or printed out and turned in... I will be conferencing with everyone today about what they have done so far and where they need continued improvement and revision.

Important: if you are a person who is in danger of an NC for the school year (i.e. you are currently lined up to get an F in teacherease) it is especially important that I speak with you about what the portfolio committee has decided will happen. More on this in the future...

Standards work...

Please continue to work on your standards for the weekend... you should look at the other standards and begin thinking about where you have come...

On Monday we will be working on Standard 2
On Tuesday we will be working on Standard 3
On Friday we will be workign on Standard 4

Intereseting stuff...courtesy of NCTE

Censorship Widening, Experts Say
Journalism teacher and high school newspaper advisor Linda Kane was fired from those positions because she and her students refused to change the paper's policy on the use of profanity, an issue that arose over the inclusion in the paper of three controversial articles on marijuana, one of which was an anonymous column containing some profanity. Chicago Tribune, May 27, 2008 ...

views20 Years Post-Hazelwood, Student Freedom of Speechand Press Important As Ever In its resolution "On Students' Freedom of Speech and Press," NCTE emphasizes the importance of student journalists having the right to exercise freedom of speech and the press, as stipulated in the First Amendment of the Constitution.

The NCTE Assembly for Advisers of Student Publications/Journalism Education Association (AASP/JEA) and the Journalism Education Association provide resources on student publications. The Student Press Law Center provides help when student publications are challenged....blogStill Letting TV Work for YouNCTE INBOX blogger Traci Gardner shares a 40-year-old (and still relevant!) example of how you can let TV work for you in the classroom in this week's NCTE INBOX Blog....

ideasFree access to journal articles mentioned in this INBOX is provided for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available to journal subscribers only. Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary, M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, TE=Teacher Education, G=General).Exploring Journalism with Students On June 1, 1980, CNN debuted as the first television news network.

Take advantage of the anniversary to explore journalism activities in the classroom. Elementary students can explore and write op-ed pieces, using the resources in the Language Arts article "Exploring Inquiry as a Teaching Stance in the Writing Workshop" (E). The article includes a "snapshot" of a fifth-grade writing workshop and its study of op-ed writing to show inquiry in action. Remember that these pieces are not limited to print publications. Local television stations and radio stations offer "talk back" options.If you work with middle level students, try writing letters to the editor using ideas from the Voices from the Middle article "Going Public: Letters to the World" (M), which includes criteria for effective letters and an exploration of how student writing benefits from writing for a public audience.

Try a similar project with secondary students with the ReadWriteThink lesson Persuading an Audience: Writing Effective Letters to the Editor (S). Don't limit the letters to print publications. Check cable and network news websites for ways to submit students' letters to the news programs. Whether you're advising an extracurricular newspaper or working on a class newspaper project, the English Journal article "So You've Been Asked to Advise a Student Publication" (S) outlines the structures students can use for learning to find, research, develop, respond to, and reflect on story ideas.

The Teaching English in the Two-Year College article "Using Journalism Writing to Improve College Composition" (C) explores news gathering and news writing techniques common to feature writing and outlines a profile writing project. Students might then film YouTube videos of their news stories or post blog entries on the latest information....announcements
Exploring Journalism in Print, Online, and Video Media If you're looking for more resources on journalism in the classroom, NCTE can help.

NCTE's Applying NCTE/IRA Standards in Classroom Journalism Projects: Activities and Scenarios includes activities and vignettes that range from news to editorial writing to work with current and literary events.


Check out the book's sample chapter for a strategy that invites students to research the historical and cultural context of Elizabethan England and then write their own newspaper. Modernize students' presentations further by asking them to film news stories to share with the class or to post online.

Challenge students to look at the subjective influences on televised news programs with the chapter "Deconstructing Broadcast News" from NCTE's Lesson Plans for Creating Media-Rich Classrooms. The book shares 27 field-tested lessons, including activities on photo manipulation, video diaries, visualizing literary texts, exploring video games, analyzing the music industry through an exercise in artist promotion, and exploring the use of the video news release in local and national news broadcasts.

Class standards - where do you measure up?

We have covered a lot of ground in class this year... now is that time of year when we need to reflect on what we learned based on where we came from... what do you know now that you didn't know is September?

We will be exploring the standards in class... please go to the following link and explore the standards for 10th grade ELA. Think about what assignments we've done that shows where you fall on the spectrum of mastery of that standard... do you still need improvement (1), are you approaching (2), do you meet (3) or have you exceeded (4) the standards discussed.

On Thursday and Friday in class, you will be working on each individual standard and you will be doing a full write up and reflection of where you are... detailed directions to follow.

For now, just explore the below link:

http://www.nylearns.org/standards/standard_tree.asp?StandardID=18655&lev=gradelevel

go into each standard (there are 4 - reading, writing, speaking and listening) each link will explore specific things you should be able to do... be ready to talk about these standards on Thursday...

landmark cases for student press rights

I'm taking a journalism advisor's course online and I've been reviewing some landmark cases that all journalism students should be aware of about student press rights and student rights.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=319&invol=624

Spirit Week - 5/19- 5/23

Monday
wear WJPS Spirit week t-shirts
pep rally in the morning
Sports Night Volley Ball game - teachers vs students

Tuesday
Clash day - students wear mismatched topsy-turvy outfits that incorporate the school uniform

Wednesday
Academic Day -
Jeopardy style games in each class
Wear clothing related to a profession of their choice (astronaut, brain surgeon, reporter), incorporating the school uniform

Thursday
Old School Day- students wear clothing of a decade of their choice (60s, 70s, 80s, etc) incorporating the school uniform

Friday
Field Day
Wear your grade's color - no uniform required
We will be at the park competing in various events
Luau Dance - 6:30-9

current events reflections

make sure you address what the article makes you think of... do you have any lingering questions you wish could be answered? Does it remind you of anything else you know about?

Then address what you learned and how you could apply it to your own writing. Remember author's craft is the point of this assignment... how can you use what you learned?

Ms. Sackstein's sample Current Events

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/nyregion/06closed.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=high+school+lunch&st=nyt&oref=slogin a link to the actual article

Headline: "Fatal Accidents Erode Perk of Off-Campus Lunches"

Bi-line: Winnie Hu

Newspaper and date: New York Times, Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Section: NY/Region - The Metro Section

Structure: Feature Story - Timeless, high interest

Summary: Due to the high number of fatal car accidents in Smithtown and other long island school districts, off campus lunch privelleges are being curtailed.

Analysis:

Headline: the severity of "fatal accidents" catches my attention. I want to know what accidents are happening, how many and why - also it addresses a freedom high school students usually have - "perk" suggests it is in fact an extra.

1st picture: very effective picture of how decrease in student off campus lunches has affected local restaurants and businesses. The place is empty and the owner/worker is just standing around. The decision to not let students leave affects many people.

Lead: Good narrative lead - it paints a picture of a busy pizza place, on that is familiar, "the students used to over flow the wooden booths." Clearly shows a different picture than that of the empty restaurant shown above. efore even reading the article, I can sense that there are major consequences to the situation.

The story continues to talk about in the 2nd paragraph the consequences of the changed policy and the silence fo the kids not coming in. It is effective with the picture becasue ti si showing how people are affected by the changes.

#4 - the serious facts stated at point #4 shows why they cancelled this "perk". Both parents and officials are concerned about cutting classes and traffic accidents.

#5 - Thinking about the idea of the inverted pyramid, the facts in #5 "West Hempstead... Suspended it's open campus policy after two H.S. Students were fatally injured..." It discussed Jericho's pollicy on open lunch. This indirect quote (I know it is an indirect because it says "according to school officials and parents.") These added statistics really solidify the point the author is trying to make.

Over the next few paragraphs, the author takes the issue from very local districts to more higher levels of government, creating a policy to prohibit driving during lunch periods. More information from the state assemblyman adds authority to the matter. Moving through to more districts then across the country to Texas and Arizona.

#6: is a direct quote from a parent in Arizona. I'm not sure it helps further the argument, but it does help address the opposing view likening closed campus lunches to "incarceration" or jail time.

#7: is another indirect quote this time from a college professor which also supports the opposing view. He understands why the rules are imposed, but feels that taking away choice is a bad side effect. This quote really makes me consider the effectiveness of being "over protective," children will do what they want anyway.

The article ends with an excellent quote that leaves me thinking - 18 years old "can vote," "die in war." if they want to go out for lunch, is it for us to decide?

Reflection: It has an effective kicker to the article. I feel like both sides have been addressed even if the opposing view is much shorter. I remember having open-campus rights and it helped make my experience. I feel like the second picture doesn't work as strongly but the caption helps. Overall it works - as an educator, I can see and appreciate both sides. I feel like the author adaquately researched and explained the topic. I do wonder however how many schools have had issues. What else is being done? How do the students feel? How did Channel 1 cover the issue?

I feel like this feature article can help me in my understanding of story or narrative leads. The author really set the tone right away even if it was more about the local businesses. I also thought the variety of quotes really helped the article get its point across. Business owners, students, parents and college professors even assemblymen. The author did a good job.

Reminders:

Tomorrow, current events 9 is due. You should have 5 articles with full analysis as shown in my analysis... to be posted in the next post...

You should also have a draft of your task 3 in already... task 4's first draft is due Monday.

Task 2 is past due...

all missing work should continue to be handed in... we are looking for portfolio ready pieces for the end of the year.

Next week we will be revisiting leads - what they are and how to write them...

Due this week...

Task 2 essays are now past due...

Final drafts of task 3 essays will be due on Friday

Current events are due on Friday, 5/16

We will be working on task 4 this week... the first draft will be due on Monday, 5/19.

Keep setting goals and let's keep conferencing

Writing News: reminders!

Newspaper writing 101

These are tips for beginners on writing newspaper articles. The were written for participants in the Detroit Free Press high school apprenticeships. (Also see Interviewing 101.)
Writing the storyA story is much like a conversation. It begins with the most interesting piece of information or a summary of the highlights and works its way down to the least interesting facts. There are words or phrases that take you from one topic of conversation to another. Before you know it, you're finished.

Inverted pyramid

You should be very familiar with the inverted pyramid style of writing. You'll likely use it every day. For example, when you call a friend to tell him or her about a big date, you begin by telling the most interesting and important things first. The least important information is saved for the end of the conversation, and depending on how much time you have to talk, that information may not get into the conversation.

That concept also applies to news stories. The lead is the first paragraph of a news story. Usually, the lead is one sentence long and summarizes the facts of the news story in order of most newsworthy to least news-worthy. The reader should know at first glance what the story is about and what its emphasis is.

Here is an example:

Bargainers from General Motors and UAW Local 160 will resume talks in Warren this morning seeking to end a day-old strike over the transfer of jobs from unionized employees to less costly contract workers. Who, What, Where, When, Why and How ... The five Ws and an H Depending on the elements of news value, the summary news lead emphasizes and includes some or all of the five Ws and H. Who names the subject(s) of the story.

The who, a noun, can refer to a person, a group, a building, an institution, a concept -- anything about which a story can be written. The who in the lead above are the bargainers from General Motors and the UAW. The what is the action taking place. It is a verb that tells what the who is doing. Reporters should always use active voice and action verbs for the what because they make the wording direct and lively. What are the bargainers doing? The lead says they will resume talks. When tells the time the action is happening. It is an adverb or an adverb phrase. When will the bargainers resume talks? This morning. Where is the place the action is happening. Again, it is an adverb or adverb or adverb phrase. In our story, the where is Warren. Why, another adverb, explains the action in the lead. The bargainers are meeting to discuss the transfer of jobs. How usually describes the manner in which action occurs.

The lead

The lead sets the structure for the rest of the story. If the lead is good, the rest of the story comes together easily. Many reporters spend half their writing time on the lead alone. One guiding principle behind story organization is: The structure of the story can help the reader understand what you are writing about. The structure should lead the reader from idea to idea simply and clearly. The object is to give readers information, and wow them with convoluted style.

News lead

In one of their bloodiest raids into Lebanon in years, Israeli warplanes killed dozens of Muslim guerrillas with rockets and machine-gun fire Thursday as they pounded a training camp of the pro-Aranian party of God.

Quote lead

``I have the worst job in the Army.'' This is an example of a good quote lead because the reader asks, ``What could that possibly be?''

Description lead

Penciled sketches of an air strike, complete with renderings of F14s and Patriot missiles. And on the ground, tiny people run for cover. That's how 8-year-old Jimmy Zayas pictures war in the Middle East... Like a beauty pageant entrant, Donald Hofeditz struts his vital statistics. He curls his thumb in his waistband to show he's a size 36, down from 40. He pats his stomach where 50 pounds used to rest. And he rubs his chest about his now healthy cholesterol level of 177. Hofeditz even relishes showing his ``before'' pictures. The pot-bellied 70-year-old in the early 1980s was unable to cut his backyard grass because of the cumbersome weight.

Bad lead

A reminder to those who enjoy good new records. The library has 22 new records which it is willing to loan out! The students are invited to come and look them over! In the first place, the opening sentence isn't even a sentence. There are times when sentence fragments are acceptable, if you use them effectively, but that first sentence isn't one of them. Is it news that the library is willing to ``loan out'' materials? That's what libraries are for. The word ``out'' is unnecessary. And ``loan'' is an adjective or noun, not a verb. Make it ``lend.'' A better way to express the thoughts in this lead would be: Twenty-two new records have been placed in the school's lending library, the head librarian announced.

Transitions

With one-sentence paragraphs consisting of only one idea -- block paragraphs -- it would be easy for a story to appear as a series of statements without any smooth flow from one idea to the next. Block paragraphing makes the use of effective transitions important. Transitions are words or phrases that link two ideas, making the movement from one to the other clear and easy. Obvious transitional phrases are: thus, therefore, on the other hand, next, then, and so on.

Transitions in news stories are generally done by repeating a word or phrase or using a synonym for a key word in the preceding paragraph. Think of block graphs as islands tied together with transition bridges of repeated words or phrases.

Direct quotes

You should use direct quotes:

an obviously authoritative voice

to answer the questions ``why, how, who, or what?''

Use a direct quote after a summary statement that needs amplification, verification or example. Remember, a direct quote repeats exactly what the interviewee said. If you don't have a person's exact words, you can paraphrase, but you cannot change the meaning of a person's words. And when you paraphrase, you must never use quotation marks.

Putting it all together: News story

By RICHARD A. KNOX

Colleagues of polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk said Wednesday that they are ready to mount large-scale trials of his AIDS vaccine in thousands of people infected with the AIDS virus. The Salk group, which had been criticized for promoting the vaccine without sufficient documentation, this week published the first scientific report of its results. The group's research showed that growth of the human immuno-deficiency virus slowed substantially in infected volunteers given three injections of the vaccine.

The report, in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, comes at a time when researchers are discouraged about efforts to make an effective AIDS vaccine -- either to treat HIV-infected people, such as Salk's subjects, or to prevent infection, such as classic vaccines against polio or smallpox.

``Both approaches have their problems with this virus,'' said Dr. Thomas Merigan of Stanford University, a prominent AIDS researcher. The virus' ability to elude immune defenses ``is the most powerful tool this virus is using against us now.''

Writing leads... reminders and tips... a refresher

http://www.thegully.com/actions/journalism/writing_leads.html

http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/journalism/news.htm - for hard news

http://www.poynter.org/resource/35609/PowerofLeads.pdf

Task 3 - Unified essay

Today in class we talked about the unified essay. We went over the directions and we read the two passages and made the chart...

Write a task 3 - unified essay on parenting using the 2 pieces... the memoir and the poem.

The first draft is due on Friday.

Regents info

In your essays... remember to develop your ideas. You can't just state your ideas... explain them. Help us understand the info. Follow what the task is asking of you... 3 parts... explain the situation. Talk about why it must be controlled and then give solutions, ones the article mentions and ones you think that might help.

2nd issue of the paper

Did everyone review it? Which articles were the best? What was done well? What could we do better next time?

I would like our last issue to be 8 pages and I would like at least 1 article from everyone in class to be included in it... not just the folks who are from the club and/or other classes.

Post to this blog, your thoughts.

Make up work

Everyone has work to do in class. I expect to continue conferencing with each of you several times a week.

Task 2 essays

Drafts were due on Monday. Many are still missing.

The final drafts with corrections and varying other drafts are due on Monday, 5/5

Current Events Collection #7

5 articles are due tomorrow in class... with appropriate analysis.

The next collection will be due on May 16 - also 5

Holiday Homework

Reminder:
You will have to have a draft of your task 2 essay on Drunk Driving due when you return on Monday. You can email it to me over break or just turn it in. I prefer it to be typed.

You have a current events collection due on Fri. 5/2 - 5 articles with good analysis

Change in the on-going current events assignments

The next one will be due the Friday we return from break. (5/2)

You will only have to do 5 instead of 10. Take your time and really analyze the articles. I don't want you rushing through the assignments and not really getting the purpose of the assignment.

Current Events due tomorrow 4/11

Please come to class with your current events tomorrow... you should have 10 articles that focus on strong analysis using the text of the article to explain your information.

Reflection

Our school is very big on reflecting on work done... not just on what is done well, but what can be done differently and what has improved...

After you complete a major assignment, reflect on the job you've done in your writer's notebook. Think about how you've improved and what you will take away from the experience. What did you learn?

Homework for tonight - Yes I said, Homework for tonight due TOMORROW

http://www.lib.umich.edu/exploratory/pdfs/indesignCS2.pdf - this is a great tutorial for beginning... I suggest as you read through this, that each of you play with the program.

Read the above article and comment on this post about something you learned... how can we create a good looking newspaper? What techniques did you learn to create this page?

Looking forward to reading your posts... just click on comments... and write!

Good layout tips and design

Ten keys to good newspaper design
Tips taken from Ellen Smith’s Scholastic Newspaper Fundamentals

Graphic presentation is key to a good newspaper. Although content should always determine design, a creative and well-balanced layout of headlines, white space, body type and artwork is essential to a good newspaper. When thinking about our newspaper’s graphic presentation, we should consider the following tips:

“Give prominence to the news in relation to its importance” – Important news should always dictate how the overall format of a page will be laid out. In remembering this key, we should also remember to “focus attention on a major story, major graphic or package.” We should wow our readers with a main focal point on each page. Simple is better… too much will take away from content.

“Keep unrelated elements distinct.” We can do this by varying column widths, changing headline fonts, using borders, etc. However in keeping unrelated items distinct, we should also consider putting together some kind of coherence that will bring each page together thoughtfully. In putting together your packages though of cohesive elements together, remember that the headline must call attention to its own story and draw its own attention.

Avoid “tombstoning” (placing two or more headlines in the same type face and point size directly next to each other) and “butting heads” (two or more headlines appear next to each other.)

All pages should contain artwork of some kind. Variation is key, but a page shouldn’t contain only print. Photojournalism is an important key to newspapers and it shows a variety on a theme. Artwork and pictures can tell a story the same way a well-written article can. Make use of the break in text with expressive art.

A newspaper should stimulate its readers. You can do this by creating consistency from issue to issue. Make it is easy for the reader to find information keeping sections in the same order.

Separate sections make this easy. Using teasers is a way to attract readers to continue reading.

Only use teasers when there is special coverage though. “Other signposts include: labels for news, opinion, arts, features and sports.” Use of noticeable logos like clefs for the arts section or footballs for the sports section can work to draw the eye to a page. If you are using a picture on the front page that relates to an article within the paper, make sure to use a “refer” which is a reference for the reader. Always label clearly.

Use scaled mock-ups to help layout text when striving for “orderliness adaptability in design.”

Keep at least one section the same in each issue. The editorial page the information will always change, but the layout can stay the same. This will again help with consistency. Don’t let this idea lock you in though. Make events with unusual impacts come across as such on the page.

Let the layout help make the same impact. Use white space modestly. Too much and not enough aren’t worthwhile. Make sure to keep internal margins consistent to present a neat appearance.

Page one layouts should create interest in the issue as a whole. The front page sets a tone and the staff should always be aware of the tone they are creating with their front page. It is rare that a front page should be devoted wholly to one item. It should be rich with information, but not overwhelming. News and pictures must be those which will be most meaningful to readers.

Some things to remember with front pages:
The most important items are placed here.
It’s a good place to experiment with indexes, teaser headlines and pictures with or without color.
Vary items
Try to communicate interest among readers – not all of your audience will be readers, so use a large, sharp picture too.
Display the articles and pictures most readers care about
Create a clear path for reading the whole paper – the readers should always know where to go after they complete the attention getter.
Always remain fresh and timely
Vary horizontal and vertical shapes
Make nameplates attractive and functional (neat yet unique)
Other pages should also be given equal consideration. We need to run folio lines and keep labels small. One option can be “to use column signatures and standing headlines to set off material that runs in each issue.” Other helpful hints for these pages are:
Section labels can help set off opinion from straight news and to add impact to special coverage. Do not make these too ornate because it will end up being counterproductive.
Make sure to be clear and get your stories to stand out without drawing too much attention away from the writing.
Design facing pages as visual units- they should balance and function well while reading horizontally according to Smith.
Include an editorial page in each issue with no advertising and with the masthead.
Photography and illustrations should emphasize the students in the news with natural looking photographs. Never used a posed photo – it only creates a stagnant look. Make sure pictures are natural and active. Make sure the picture is clear, focused and cropped effectively. Don’t forget to make subjects face related copy. Other kinds of art to consider are: maps, charts, graphs, diagrams, cartoons, comic strips and illustrations.
Body type should be easy to read. Long stories should look inviting, dressed up with bold face titles. Typography should always be functional above anything else. Some tips:
Use one or two harmonious headline type faces.
Vary headlines’ point sizes, weights
Make cutlines distinctive
Use simple borders when using borders
Remember quality and consistency- quality assurance is the whole staff’s responsibility. It is a team effort and when everyone works together, time is less of a factor. A few reminders:
Is color an option?
Follow a grid
Keep copy clear and crisp
Show good tonal definition in pictures
Keep pages consistent in width and depth
Proof carefully- more than one person should check everything. Errors look unprofessional.

Technology week

This week we will be working on designing a page... we should all become comfortable using InDesign on the Macs...

To start - open a new document and set the perameters of the page to the following:
67p6 and 89p3 - save this as the default called "newspaper" to every computer... then in the future, you can just set the new page to these dimensions.

http://www.lib.umich.edu/exploratory/pdfs/indesignCS2.pdf - this is a great tutorial for beginning... I suggest as you read through this, that each of you play with the program.

As a class, we will work on how to use the text boxes, how to wrap text around pictures, how to insert pictures and how to put gridlines on the page for each page layout. You will be given an article to read about page design and how to make appealing pages.

http://www.danrodney.com/indesign/index.html - troubleshooting.

Next Current Events assignment due April 11th

You have another current events assignment due next Friday. You will need to have 10 articles that effectively analyze the lead, headline and general author's craft based on the section of the paper the article appears in...

Remember news writing is different than feature writing... know what what kind of writing you are looking at and then look at how well the author follows the conventions.

Use the article. Write on the article. Explain how the things you underline function in the article... If the author uses a quote well, how does it help give information rather than the author just giving you the facts... if the lead works, why does it work? Don't just focus on content because some content will interest you more than other content and that isn't what makes something effective.

Poetry Analysis Papers are due tomorrow - Friday, 4/4

Poetry analysis papers are due tomorrow with all drafts, bibliography and a copy of the poem.

Poetry analysis

We discussed in class about how to do your poetry analysis... here are some tips:

Writing the opening: Your opening paragraph should hook the reader's attention and identify the focus of your analysis ... it should not be a summary alone:

1. Summarize your subject very briefly. Include the title, author and type of poem.
2. Start with a quotation from the poem and then comment on its importance.
3. Begin with an explanation of the author's purpose and how well you think he or she achieves this purpose.
4. Open with a few general statements about life that relate to the focus of your analysis
5. Begin with a general statement about the type of lit. you are analyzing. Then disucss your subject within this context.

Writing the Body: Develop or support your focus in the body

1. State each main point so that it clearly relates to the focus of your analysis
2. Support each main point with specific details or direct quotations from the text you are analyzing
3. Explain how each of these specific details helps prove your point

Writing the Closing: In the final paragraph, tie all of the importatn points together and make a final statement about the main focus.

These tips brought to you by:

Sebranek, Patrick, Verne Meyer, and Dave Kemper. Writers Inc: A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning. United States: Write Source. 1996.

Portfolio assignment

Please answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper to be put into your portfolio:

1. What am I doing in class to be a productive member of our learning community? Give evidence from your sourcebook to support what you say.
2. What have I learned so far tht has helped me improve the way I approach my writing?
3. What can I continue to work on to improve my journalism writing? analysis writing? essay writing?What pieces do I want to use for portfolio? (1 exemplar, 1 improvement, 1 low stakes). Do they still need revision? How much? If yes, what kind of revision must be done before it is ready for publication? Do I understand the revision necessary?
4. When does a piece feel finished to me?
5. What have I done to improve my attitude and work ethic in class? Has it been helping?
6. How much work do I have to make up to get rid of my "n" status?
7. Am I missing work from this trimester? What am I doing to keep present with what I owe?
8. How often do I conference with Ms. Sackstein?
9. What is some of the feedback she has given me to help me improve my writing?
10. Have I implemented the advice given to me in my writing?
11. What standards do I feel I have mastered or at least show proficiency in? (Use the other blog post on these standards)
12. What standards do I still need work on? (use the rubrics given back on written assignments)

Reflect on your general attitude toward your work and what you feel you deserve as a grade based on your answers to these questions so far this third trimester.

Place your work in your folder and then place your folder in the pile going to your advisor.

Reminders and due dates

For Monday, please finish your in-depth reports... If you forgot what you are doing, come see me immediately.

For Monday, bring in a copy of your first draft on your poetry analysis to conference. Your final drafts are due on Friday, 4/4

Your next current events assignment is due on Friday, 4/11. You need to have 10 articles attached to your analyses... I want to see improvement. Consider the headlines, the leads, diction, use of primary sources (direct and indirect quoting)... don't forget to reflect.

Emily Dickinson... more poetry analysis practice

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15395 - read the poem... gather your thoughts on it. What do you think?
Post to this blog with your comments...

Now read this analysis...

Emily Dickinson “712”

How is it that Dickinson can speak of Death and Immortality as two separate entities whom can ride together seemingly hand in hand? I feel puzzled by Dickinson’s ability to use immortality in almost all of her poems especially this one when she seems to be so obsessed with death and the death that surrounds her almost her entire life. How is it that both immortality and death can be so closely linked when they are seemingly opposites? “Because I could not stop for Death-/ He kindly stopped for me-/The Carriage held but just Ourselves-/And Immortality.” I am also curious about her intimate relationship with death and immortality as she personifies them as her friends.
It seems to me that she is comfortable with the concept of death through her images of what she knows. Dickinson turns death into a Gentleman who doesn’t drive quickly or knows nothing of haste, but rather creeps along only watching where life exists. “We passed the School, where Children/strove/ At recess-in the Ring-/We passed fields of Gazing Grain-/We passed the Setting Sun-” It seems like Dickinson is illustrating all the life that is passing her buy as she sits with her Gentleman Death. They watch grain and eventually the even pass the ending of the day. This seems to me to say that she and Death are beyond the death of a day; it seems that their carriage transcends time.
Until this point the poem seems almost positive in its dark way. However, when we arrive at the stanza beginning, “We paused before a House that seemed/A Swelling of the Ground-” the tone shifts to that of grave darkness. Death almost seems life the perfect metaphor for the Gentleman that Dickinson never experienced under the care of her father. The house, which I believe may be the house that she hardly ever left is her final resting grave. And now, when I think about it, it almost seems as Immortality was merely their chaperone as the couple sort of road off into the sunset. “Since then-’tis Centuries-and yet/Feels shorter than the Day/ I first surmised the Horses’ Heads/ Were toward Eternity-” It almost seems like Death isn’t her final resting grave here, but rather her ticket to Eternity another abstract term that she personifies.
This now leads me to ask what the implications of Death really are for Dickinson. After all it seems as if, Death always leads to Immortality and Eternity which seemed contradictory to me at first, but now seem like they could fit together. If Death is so civil and gentlemanly, why did she fear it so much? And what is the “Horses’ Heads” about? I can only guess that it might be about her watching the horses who are towing the carriage, but why is that a significant image for the final stanza? I can only say that I am more confused now than I was before.

This is a thematic analysis... how does it function as such? What elements are explored? What kinds of analysis and evidence are given?
Reflect on what is different about this piece from the other analyses read.

Poetry analysis practice....

http://www.online-literature.com/yeats/781/ - Read this poem...
look at the lines... what does it mean to you? How does this poem translate in today's society?

http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~keith/poems/Innisfree.html - Read this poem... how can these two poems be compared...

http://thecriticalpoet.tripod.com/romantic.html - a bit about the romantic period of writing... it will help you understand the analysis

Read the following analysis of the poem which analyzes it from a romantic viewpoint... this assumes the understanding of the romantic period.

In the Late Romantic period, poetry was defined much by it’s supernatural or mystical content. Coleridge says, “that according to the division of labor in ‘Lyrical Ballads,’ his special function was to achieve wonder by a frank violation of natural laws and the ordinary course of events in the poems of which ‘the incidents and agents were to be, in part at least, supernatural’”(Norton 9). This is true of the poetry of Yeats. However, Yeats is categorized as a modern because of the time period in which he appears. The movement that was going on around Yeats was “the imagist movement, influenced by the philosopher-poet T.E. Hulme’s insistence on hard, clear, precise images and encouraged by the modernist American poet, Ezra Pound, who was then living in London, fought against romantic fuzziness and facile emotionalism in poetry”(Norton 1686). Yeats uses both time periods to create a distinctive style. He mixes both his modern myth and his late romantic mysticism and makes an organic whole that is different. I am going to show how Yeats’ work can be seen as late romantic as well as modern.

We can see the use of the supernatural in Yeats’ apocalyptic view of the earth. This is apparent in “Sailing to Byzantium.” To Yeats, Byzantium was the perfect place sitting right in the middle of two very different worlds, Asia and Europe. Byzantium is his ideal and he turns his journey to Byzantium into a supernatural event. Yeats speaks of Byzantium as a place for rejuvenation, a place where the old and dying cannot exist; “That is no country for old men. The young/ In one another’s arms, birds in the trees/ -- Those dying generations-- at their song” (Yeats 1883). “That” is obviously representing Byzantium and he is the old man who is seeking the place where everyone enjoys unity and nature is all around them. Byzantium is Yeats’ myth. It’s a place where people and things are valued and that is what he is in search of. Yeats is tired of the neglect of the natural world. “Whatever is begotten, born, and dies,/ Caught in that sensual music all neglect/ Monuments of unageing intellect”(Yeats 1883). Yeats is not concerned with intellect because it never changes, he wants things to be respected and when we move on to the second stanza we begin to see the supernatural separation occurring.

In the this stanza, Yeats shows that the soul is separate from the “aged man.” He calls the old man “a tattered coat upon a stick, unless/ Soul clap its hands and sing”(Yeats 1883). All the old man is an article of clothing without his soul. Yeats is pointing out a physical insignificance in Byzantium. He says that it is going “to the holy city of Byzantium”(Yeats 1883) because there the souls sing for all the tattered coats. We see the souls making history significant and valued because the souls don’t only sing, but they study “monuments of its own magnificence”(Yeats 1883) unlike where he comes from. That is why he wants to sail to Byzantium.

The spiritual and supernatural continue throughout the next verse. All the sages of the past are evoked by Yeats away from description. In Byzantium, Yeats sees the whole picture or mosaic instead of the individual. The sages are able to be purified in God’s fire; “O sages standing in God’s holy fire as in the gold mosaic of a wall”(1883). However, there is something peculiar to me about the mosaic being holy and at the same time gold. This seems to put a rift in the spirituality of the moment to me and I think that this is a perfect moment when Yeats is mixing the two ideas. He has taken an image and made it modern.

The next images is of Yeats showing fate in a spiral motion coming from the holy fire. He wants to be consumed by the spirituality, so that his soul can live on even if his body doesn’t. “Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre, and be the singing masters of my soul. Consume my heart away”(1883). Yeats wants to be captured and brought into eternity and he knows that Byzantium is a place of historical immortality.

In the final stanza, we can really see Yeats working with the late romantic ideas of nature and the supernatural; “Once out of nature I shall never take my bodily form from any natural thing”(1884). Yeats knows that if he wants his soul to move on, then he must separate his body and allow himself to be immortalized in history by “Grecian goldsmiths.” The final lines of the poem show how well Yeats mixes his own time period with the late romantic ideas because he actually states that he wants to become the object or the myth in order to transcend this world. He will truly become like an oracle, but he won’t have his own life. He feels that this is a fair trade as he hails the men and women of Byzantium; “to lords and ladies of Byzantium of what is past, or passing, or to come”(1884). Yeats knows that Byzantium is both the key to unlocking the past and to understanding the future.

As we move on to the poem of “Byzantium,” we see Yeats actually trying to get to the next plane of existence. Byzantium seems to be that stepping stone. This poem is a good representation of Yeats using the supernatural ideas of the late romantics. The poem begins, “the unpurged images of day recede”(1889). We already encounter this idea of images which he later explains to be somewhere in between shades and men. These images are the original or pure thoughts of a day which is leaving. Yeats is getting ready to depart onto his next journey to the supernatural realm.

As we explore the first stanza, we see Yeats setting up the scene that man is somewhat insignificant is scope of the universe. We see the night coming and he sets us up to see the progression of how small we really are by using the images of sky domes and cathedrals. And all that man is, is mere complexity trapped inside our mortal bodies. He states, “All that man is , all mere complexities, the fury and the mire of human veins”(1889). Yeats, like the romantics, cares for nature and the supernatural and how man fits into that picture. However, the way he goes about showing us this picture is very much in his modern time set.

In the next verse, we begin to see the complexities that Yeats was speaking of earlier. “Before me floats an image, man or shade, shade more than man, more image than a shade”(1889). Yeats sets up a hierarchy for us and really starts to mix the superhuman in with ideas now. The shade is a ghost or a shadow of how life once was floating on the earth confused. It seems to be seeking a place of refuge. It seems to want to be moving into the next dimension, a place that is even beyond the earthly reincarnation of it. Byzantium is the stepping stone to that place and that is why Yeats starts us there in the title, so we can move on to the next place.

Yeats seems to be very consumed with the idea of fate again in this poem and the image of it constantly being spun. In this poem it is shown to us via a mummy’s cloth; “For Hades’ bobbin bound in mummy-cloth may unwind the winding path:”(1889). Somehow fate will be showing us the way to death which will separate the person from the body and release the soul. He then hails the superhuman; that which doesn’t breath. The superhuman rests between the world that Yeats lives in and the world that he so desperately wants to go to. “Breathless mouths may summon; I hail to the superhuman; I call it death-in-life and life-in-death”(1889). Yeats is beginning to take his vague images of shade and starting to make them definite. There is a real sense of the living dead in this part which would call to images seen in the “Waste Land” by Eliot, a contemporary of his. However, I believe that the way Yeats uses this image presents a different issue than Eliot. Yeats seems content with this image.

As we venture to the next stanza, we see Yeats setting up another trilogy of ideas, “miracle, bird or golden handiwork”(1889). These three images hark back to the earlier hierarchy of image, shade and man. The miracles seems to be the image as it is higher up that both bird and handiwork. The miracle suggests spirituality or something beyond a human’s limitations as it is something that only God can create. However, the next line, “Planted on the star-lit golden bough”(1889) shows something that is artificial. If the miracle was planted on a golden bough instead of one that is living which would be among the heaven, it would show that there is something that isn’t real. Perhaps it places a situation for the impossibility of a rebirth through a natural method. So Yeats must find a way to get to the next place without actually dying, but rather transcending this reality and actually traveling there somehow. In this image we also see how Yeats so artfully mixes his modern influences with the past. This intellectual reference shows Yeats’ ability to be both romantic and modern.

The end of this stanza, forces us to listen to sounds of death whether they come from Hades or the moon. Yeats is demonstrating the complexities by making his lines fragmented and paradoxical; “Can like the cocks of Hades crow,/ or, by the moon embittered, scorn aloud/ in glory of changeless metal/ common bird or petal and all complexities of mire or blood”(1889). What could he mean by scorn aloud in glory of changeless metal? I can suggest that things that are unchanging are proud and that which is scorned by what is to come can’t change. He is telling us that we need to let go in order to progress.

The image of the flame comes up in this poem as well as the one the poem discussed earlier. We see these purifying flames again which help free us of the fury seen in the first stanza. Of course, all of this supernatural action occurs at the witching hour of midnight; “At midnight on the Emperor’s pavement flit/ Flames that no faggot feeds, nor steel have lit,”(1889). In this hour, the flames flair without with lit or fed and “no storm disturbs, flames begotten of flame”(1889). This is a special metaphorical flame that not even water can put out. Not to mention that it constantly refuels itself and recreates itself from itself. This is where the incantations of life happens, where the “blood-begotten spirits come and all complexities leave”(1889). This God-like flame purifies us of the all that holds us back and recreates us like the spirits. However, this flame is beyond burning. It simmers slowly as if to dance on the pavement and forces the on looker to go into a trance. The flame burns within each of us instead of physically burning us. The flame now becomes the image that helps the beginning of the process of transcendence as the fury leaves us.

The time comes at the end for us to be transported to the next dimension. Yeats suggests that a dolphin can swim us across the sea to where he desires to go. “Astraddle on the dolphin’s mire and blood, spirit after spirit”(1890). The dolphin like the soul has the ability to change into spirit and move from one plane to the next. It is a difficult ascent to the next place as the world begins to break down and fresh images are created. “Marbles of the dancing floor break bitter furies of complexity”(1890). Whatever fury of complexity is left is now going through the final break down of the supernatural to achieve the movement on to the higher place. The dolphin despite all of the obstacles still embarks on the “tormented sea.” Yeats shows us, that the soul perseveres and that the supernatural ideas bring us to the next level.

Yeats has truly shown us that he is a talented poet who has a flexibility to be both modern and late romantic. A good contrasting poem to these “Byzantium” poems, which shows his skill as a modern writer who writes in with later romantic ideas is “The Lake Isle of Innisfree.” We can see already in the title that there is a sense of wanting to be set free from the confines of life in this poem. “Innisfree” can be separated and then sounds like “in as free” within the lake isle. This poem has a real woodsy sense to it.

The speaker in this poem begins by saying that they want to escape to a small cabin on a lake isle. Much like Thoreau, this poem sounds like a person who wants to escape the reality of society and be free in nature to fully utilize what God has given to us. Yeats rejects technology and prefers to be in the all accepting world of nature; “I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, and a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made”(1867). The speaker obviously wants all of us to feel the freedom of just leaving society to be in a place of purity.

The picture drawn by this speaker is wonderful. There is a real universality of the feeling of the speaker for peace. “Innisfree” is a fantasy for the speaker as we come to the realization at the end of the poem that the speaker is trapped in modernity and longs to be in the romantic period when people could just escape to the world of nature. However, he realizes that he will only hear “lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; while [he] stands on the roadway, or on the pavements grey”(1867). Yeats shows how we are all trapped within the confines of a reality of technology and society that is not necessarily as free as it wants us to believe it is. Yeats wants us to see that each of us in our hearts long to be at one with nature and he expresses that in the last line; “I hear it in the deep heart’s core”(1867). Yeats longs to be emersed in late romantic ideals, but instead is trapped in the time that he was born in where technology and industry have taken priority.

In examining these poems, we can recognize that Yeats in deed masterfully mixes his modern influences with what he admires from the past and artfully creates a new idea for his time. The ideals presented in the late romantic period shine in Yeats’ work and we admire his innovative use of old ideas making his poetry unique among the modern writers.

Answer the following questions about the analysis:

1. What elements does the writer discuss?
2. How effectively does the writer analyze the poems?
3. What is the writer trying to prove?
4. Does the writer select good poems for the point trying to be made?
5. What kinds of quotes are used from the poems?
6. What other sources are explored?
7. How much quoting is going on?
8. How much analyzing is in fact the writers?
9. Reflect on you can learn from this piece for your own analysis.

Read your own selected poem and decide what kinds of elements your are going to analyze. (For example: voice, speaker, structure, rhyme scheme, rhythm, alliteration and other sound elements, figurative language using simile, metaphor, or personification, period elements, etc.)

Newspaper Club

There will be no meeting on Tuesday, 3/25. I will not be in school. I will see everyone on Monday. Please make sure to send me copies of whatever you have been working on.

Late and due work

Please continue to email me your missing work... with the exception of your current events, I would love to get everyone's outstanding assignments as soon as possible.

If you haven't already conferenced with me about work that is due from this or last trimester, please make a conference.

Monday, you will be setting goals for the week and we will be making sure all of the work that is due is coming in...

Reminder - Friday you have another Current Events assignment due... some of you owe me at least 3 assignments... if you are doing one to two a day, you will knock out that requirement. Remember, analysis of author's craft is the most important piece... evaluate the effectiveness of the lead, headline and direct and indirect quotes... are the paragraphs short and interesting... does the writer follow the inverted pyramid structure? How do you know? What language is being used that conveys importance? Is the writing objective and informative? What parts of the article work best in this capacity? Highlight and then write about specific phrases.

Next week - April 4th your poetry assignments are due... please make sure to conference with me about the poem you have selected and what you plan on analyzing about it. We will be spending time on this in class this week, so please have the work handy.

Completed articles

Please forward me all your completed articles via email as either a word attachment or as text inside the email. This will speed up the process of preparing a second issue...



The only articles that I don't need are the Sports ones as it was just a mock assignment teaching you how to write about Sports (the Duke one).



All other work that is completed (you got a grade on it and you are satisfied with the grade) should be emailed to mssackstein@yahoo.com

Make up week... use this class time to get missing work in

Please see me if you haven't already to know what you owe... use class time this week to close the gap on all missing work from either this trimester or last...

Come prepared to work all week (including Wednesday).

Sport Feature example

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/13/AR2008031303474.html - great sports feature article... read and see you what you think... what do you notice? Why is it good?

Missing work notification

Class work and project writing work are starting to accumulate for the 3rd trimester. Many of you owe me great quantities of work from the second. Please make a point to come see me about setting up a time line and goals to accomplish this make up work. I want to see everyone succeed over the last few months of school and completing all work is a part of that process.

Things to remember:
Your poetry analysis papers are due on April 4th.

By Monday 3/17 you should have selected the poem you plan on analyzing. I would also like to see a preliminary summary and analysis of the poem... tell me what your poem means to you and possible sources to use for analysis... You will need a works cited.

Editorials, feature articles, sports articles and indepth articles are due...

Current Events #4 due tomorrow, 3/14

10 articles with analysis, headline, biline, lead analysis and a reflection... make sure to attach the article. Don't be afraid to highlight things in the article you want to talk about... make specific references to the text.

Looking forward to getting everyone's work tomorrow.

Poetry Analysis Class Assignment - to be handed in today in class

http://www.brocku.ca/english/jlye/criticalreading.html - an excellent guide or how to analyze... breaks things down into easy bites of information... gives you an idea of what can be looked at deeply.

http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/frost-mending.html - The poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost. Please read this poem first... get an impression of it and reflect on what it makes you think about. Then read it a second time and notice things about it.

What is the meaning of the poem?
What lines in particular stand out for you and why?
What are some examples of metaphor, simile, alliteration, and/or personification, symbolism
What is the theme?
Is there a noticeable structure?

Now read the following link:
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/wall.htm - This link provides several analyses of this poem... each analysis offers a different perspective on the poem you just read. What do you think? This is to offer you different perspectives of how the same poem can be looked at from many different angles.

Write a reflection about which analysis seems to match yours most.

Poetry - questioning authority

That which rouses us to protest
Forces us to consider injustice
Not for the few, but the masses
Sometimes those brothers and sisters
unfamiliar to each of us
For every nameless, faceless person
We choose to ignore
Only becomes the world's personal loss
and each of our responsibility

We are forced as citizens
To take control of our decisions
Therefore the necessity
of our own empowerment
of Knowledge
Choices to lead the young
Inciting the anger which is deserved
Aggressively seeking answers
to the lies being digested as truth

The media spinning webs
of believable alternate realities
to the unthoughtful mind
Swallowing whole the disease
of the few -
parents, politicians and journalists?

We, the young,
Fight wars
Wars predicated on freedoms
Liberating those seemingly without
Pressing the ideals
Thinly covering old money
Deeply routed in oil
Unfortunately never asking
the right questions
All the while
Wondering why
Yet brainlessly accepting
the Sub-par explanations
Cooked up as law
in the name of Democracy...

Newspaper Club cancellation on Monday

There will be no newspaper club tomorrow... Monday, 3/10 - We will have club on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Weekend homework and reminders

For Monday please continue working on drafting process of Sports News articles... this should be your second draft.



For Thursday - select a poem that speaks to you (make sure it is appropriate for class... no foul language)... using the handouts given in class today, please try to analyze it and be ready to talk about it on Thursday.



For Friday - current events collection 4 (10 articles) - headline analysis, lead analysis, short summary, article analysis using specific quotes and references to author's craft, and a short reflection of what the article makes you think about.

Congratulations on an excellent class... a few reminders

Spoke to Ms. Schneider today... if classes continue to go well, you guys will be able to get the school a jeans Monday...so keep up the good work.

I hope that we continue to have successful classes.

Tomorrow in class your in-depth report first drafts are due.

Sports News articles were due today. If you can email me tonight and I won't mark them late.

The next current events collection is due on next Friday, March 14th... 10 articles with good analysis...

Sample poetry analysis - Walt Whitman

“Good-Bye My Fancy,” Whitman’s Farewell Address

Whitman ends the Second Annex with “Good-bye My Fancy” which shows us a dying Whitman who is no longer fighting the inevitable, but rather embracing it. In “Good-bye My Fancy,” Whitman is giving his farewell address to his audience as he knows that he will soon be dying. Throughout his poetry he has turmoil with death and the idea of his own mortality. However, in this final poem, Whitman is accepting of his fate.

Whitman begins this poem by saying that he doesn’t know how much longer he will be around or to where he will be next, but he doesn’t seem worried by this. Whitman is speaking to his reader as his love which makes this goodbye very intimate. “Fareware dear mate, dear love!/ I’m going away, I know not where,/ Or to what fortune, or whether I may ever see you again,/ So goodbye my Fancy.” It’s like Whitman is taking the reader by the hand and reassuring the reader that he will be all right. It’s like if he hears himself reassuring us, it will help him to cope with his near death.

Whitman continues his goodbye by reminiscing about old times and happy memories. “Now for my last- let me look back a moment;/ The slower fainter ticking of the clock is in me,/ Exit, nightfall, and soon the heart-thud stopping.” Whitman is getting melodramatic now. He can feel his heart slowing and he is capitalizing on that feeling. His heart, the clock, is “slower fainter ticking” while inside of him. He can feel his death coming soon. And yet he still rejoices in the past while separating himself from reality. “Long have we lived, joy’d, caress’d together;/ Delightful! - now separation - Good-by my Fancy.” He speaks to his love and reminds the reader of all the times they’ve spent with him. Whitman delights in the relationship, but he realizes that it is his time to press on. So he separates himself, making the ultimate goodbye a lot easier.

The next stanza is different from the previous three. Whitman goes back to his classical idea of being one with someone else continuing with the concept that he can’t die quickly. He doesn’t want his lover to think that he is being hasty in leaving. He drags his goodbye out, holding on to life. Whitman expresses how they have spent so much time “blending into one” and then reassures the lover that even after he passes they will still be one with him. “Then if we die we die together, (yes, we’ll remain one,)/ If we go anywhere we’ll go together to meet what happens,/ May-be we’ll be better off and blither, and learn something . . .” Whitman wants his love (or his readers) to continue to learn him even after he is no longer present.

The end of the poem is interesting. Whitman actually gives credit to his love for giving Whitman his songs to sing. “May-be it is yourself now really ushering me to the true songs, (who knows?)” He is passing the legacy on to his readers. Whitman wants us to take the baton and continue from where he left off. Walt Whitman ends this line with a question as a side thought. Whitman seems to be questioning now instead of answering each scenario with his own solutions. He finally begins to let go and give the credit to somebody else. He then calls his love the “mortal knob really undoing, turning-,” he is saying that the person is the key to his temporary immortality. It is the love that opens the door to his death, yet will carry on his memory after he is gone. He then says goodbye one last time and hails his Fancy.

In this poem, Whitman finally becomes less than Godlike. He is softer and more capable with dealing with death. He is serene and aware and yet at the same time relaxed with saying “goodbye.” This is a very likeable Whitman because he is so real. He ends his long career with identifying the reality of death as any ordinary person would. He isn’t singing to the masses or of the masses anymore, but rather to his lover in a tender, loving way. Whitman ends with dignity and pride and that is apparent in this poem.

Questions:

1. What do you notice about this paper?
2. How is it similar to the lit. analysis paper?
3. What is the focus of this analysis?
4. How well does this author prove his/her point?
5. Here is a link to the poem http://www.daypoems.net/poems/2254.html - how well does the author interpret Whitman's poem?

Poetry Analysis assignment

Poetry Analysis paper: due April 4, 2008
For your second analysis paper, you will be performing a reading of a poem, analyzing how the poem's meaning is constructed through its structure, form and use of literary devices. You are not simply summarizing the poem, but rather constructing an argument about it's meaning and how the work achieves its effects.

You may also analyze a song, in which case you will need to give attention to the music as well as the lyrics. Consider how the song works musically in relation to the words, how the music progresses, and, as with a traditional poem, the points of ambiguity and tension within the song.
Some questions to consider in analyzing your text:- how do the meter and rhyme scheme inform and structure the text?- how do the syntax and diction work within the poem?- who is speaking in the poem, and who seems to be the intended reader/listener- is the argument and meaning of the poem explicit or implicit, and how is that meaning communicated.

Format:3-4 pages, double-spacedTimes New Roman/12pt Font1 inch marginsMLA format
These are the elements that I consider important in grading a paper:

Thesis/Argument I do not mean the first sentence of your introduction. I do mean your general argument. I look for an argument that is insightful (not just a summary of the material), appropriate to the assignment, reasonable, and analytical. I do not grade on whether or not I agree with the thesis.

****Evidence and Analysis****You need to provide evidence from the text to support your assertions. You will generally need to provide some analysis of the evidence so that it is clearly related to the conclusions you want to draw.

OrganizationYour paper should have an appropriate order of ideas (so that a reader can follow your argument), and they should be well proportioned (so that you spend the most time on the most important material). Your organization will change as the writing situation changes.

Reasoning and ContentFor this assignment, you must show that you have a clear understanding of the poem and how to perform a close reading and critical analysis. Your conclusions should be valid and supported with evidence from the text. Your reasoning should be clear, well supported and in line with the assignment.

Introduction and ConclusionThere are many different kinds of introductions. Your introduction should set up the problem that your paper will discuss. Your introduction does not have to have a clear statement of your thesis, but it should have a clear statement of the questions your paper is exploring. Your conclusion should have a clear statement of your thesis.

Expression/EthosI use these terms as catch-alls for the various things that affect your credibility as an author: clarity, reliability of sources, format, grammar and usage, tone, style, etc. Your paper should be written in a way that makes it clear that you are an intelligent person who has carefully read the text/sources and thoughtfully put together an argument.

Sports assignment for 3/4/08 - draft due on Thursday, 3/6

Read the play by play of Duke Basketball against UNC. Write a sports story based on the play by play. The first draft is due on Thursday, 3/6


Play by play -

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/playbyplay?gameId=280610152

Roster and coach info:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/clubhouse?teamId=150

You may make up quotes from spectators to fill out the article - only in this exercise.

If you don't know much about basketball, here is a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball

On-going current events assignments

For the 3rd trimester you will be turning in current events assignments every 2 weeks... each collection should include 10 articles with full analysis as discussed in class this past week.

Here will be the collection dates:
#4: March 14th
#5: March 28th
#6: April 4th
#7: April 18th
#8: May 2nd
#9: May 16th
#10: May 30th (the final collection)

all articles should be attached to the analysis and should be current... in other words, now that Feb. 29th collection is over, I will be looking for articles from March 1-March 13th. The articles will be due at the beginning of the period or will be considered late.

late::2 feature story ideas

these are my 2 feature storie ideas that were due from a realllly long time ago. sorry there SOOOO late.

1. Bullying outside of school from other schools.

2. How our channel one is effecting our school.

Today's class...

Wow! I'm so impressed with the work everyone did in class today. I really felt energized when I left. I'm really proud of you all and I'm looking forward to everyone turning in their current events assignment on time tomorrow. I know that you should have at least 1 :-) You should have 10 articles. This is your first official grade of the 3rd trimester.

Remember, you do have to make up work and you should print the missing work from teacherease.

Continue to revise pieces that you may want to put into your portfolio.

Tomorrow you can be working on in depth reporting as well as your editorials...

Anyone who did feature articles from the very beginning of the term, please make sure to turn them in so that we have a second issue of the paper.

thanks again, and congratulations!

Ms. S

2nd trimester musings

Now that we are finishing the second trimester, and are coming into the home stretch a few encouraging words and observations...

We are more than half way done with the school year and this last trimester is your opportunity to show us all what you know. Make a concerted effort to get work in on time. Be consciencious.

If you don't understand something, reach out to one of us so we can help. DO NOT wait for the last minute to do things, so that difficulties arise, you have time to address them.

Each and every student has the ability to achieve success in our class... it just takes good organization and study skills and a willingness to try.

If you are receiving an N, don't forget to print out a copy of your missing work from teacherease so that you can continue to make it up.

No more excuses... take responsibility for your work and take pride in it. Come to class on time with your sourcebooks and other needed materials. Don't leave your materials in class and then use that as an excuse for not being able to do work. Visit the blog every day, so you can see if anything new has been posted.

Very importantly make sure you have pulled your 3 pieces for your portfolio from the second trimester and have written your reflections so that we can get them to your advisors by Friday. Even though parent/teacher conferences aren't until April now, you still need to have finished your pulls for your second trimester work.

In-depth Report assignment

In-Depth Reporting (Investigative Feature) Assignment – First draft due: March 7th

You are a reporter sent to investigate important school matters. Each journalist will be assigned a different school matter.

Reporters will have to:
Interview at least 5 people related to your subject
Survey the class and other members of the school
get statements from at least 5 students not in class
Write an in-depth news report with the results of all of the above (each person in the pair is responsible for writing their own article)

Here are some suggested topics
school nutritional program
sports program
curriculum/scheduling
homework
plagiarism
discipline
school electronics policy
school media
channel 1
college board
after school activities
spirit week
lunch
inappropriate student behavior
student achievement
parental involvement
relationships with teachers
testing
college
careers related to journalism
portfolio assessment
school trips

Top 3 choices
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________

Selected topic:

5 people you plan to interview:
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________

Questions you plan on asking:

more information about the N

After talking to Mrs. Poulos, I just wanted to add another important factor to the N process...



If you are missing a lot of work in the 2nd trimester, you are still responsible for making up the work... you are NOT exempt from it. The baggage gets carried with you.



So if you are missing a project, it will need to be made up. If you are missing homework, it will need to be made up.

Second Chances

Call it a second chance. If you are a student who is currently scoring a D or failing grade, here is your chance to prove that you know what you need to know... You will receive a grade of "N" or needs improvement for the 2nd trimester and then you have a clean slate for the 3rd trimester.

Prove that you can meet or exceed the standards in the 3rd trimester and the grade you achieve by the end will then replace your "N". I have complete faith that those people who either elected to take the N or have been given it out of necessity, will take this opportunity to really start doing the work that is expected of them.


Remember, do the best you can do and that is all I can ask... comparing yourself to others is futile. Good luck.

Second issue - Calling all articles (class and club)

Please email me at mssackstein@yahoo.com with what stories you are working on. I need an idea of what everyone is doing and/or has done recently.

Structure of an editorial and an opinion

Structure of an Editorial

Editorials are written according to a well-established formula.

• Introduction - state the problem
• Body - expresses an opinion
• Solution - offers a solution to the problem
• Conclusion - emphasizes the main issue
  

Here are some additional tips on structuring your opinion story.

• Lead with an Objective Explanation of the Issue/Controversy. Include the five W's and the H. Pull in facts and quotations from sources which are relevant.
• Present Your Opposition First. As the writer you disagree with these viewpoints. Identify the people (specifically who oppose you). Use facts and quotations to state objectively their opinions. Give a strong position of the opposition. You gain nothing in refuting a weak position.
• Directly Refute The Opposition's Beliefs. You can begin your article with transition. Pull in other facts and quotations from people who support your position. Concede a valid point of the opposition which will make you appear rational, one who has considered all the options.
• Give Other, Original Reasons/Analogies. In defense of your position, give reasons from strong to strongest order. Use a literary or cultural allusion that lends to your credibility and perceived intelligence.
• Conclude With Some Punch. Give solutions to the problem or challenge the reader to be informed.A quotation can be effective, especially if from a respected source. A rhetorical question can be an effective concluder as well. While it ridicules or makes fun of a subject with the intent of improving it.

How to write an opinion piece

• Think of an opinion piece as a persuasive essay: the writer has an opinion or a point of view on an issue and he or she wants to convince the reader to agree. This is not as easy as it may seem.
• You must research your topic and find out what’s happening and what went on in the past.
• You must know the facts and be able to refer to them in your argument.
• Pretend you are a lawyer and you are making a case before a jury. You will want to convince the members of the jury to believe that your client is right . Therefore you need to present as much evidence as you can that proves the point.
• You can do the same when you write a column or editorial.
• Here’s an example:
• Let’s say you want to write an editorial supporting capital punishment. You want to convince your readers that someone who commits murder should receive a death sentence.
• The first thing you have to do is start collecting the facts.
  When did Canada put an end to capital punishment? What were the arguments used to do that?
  When did people start talking about re-introducing the death penalty?
  What cases have prompted debate on this issue? What examples can they find to support their argument for capital punishment?
  You must also consider the other side of the argument.
  What would people who oppose the death penalty say?
  How would they respond to their points?
  start with a basic premise or theme.
  use facts and details to back up your opinion and help you make your case.
  Leave your readers with a lasting impression -- a strong point that will make them consider your point of view.
  Don’t need to preach to the reader. A good editorial will make readers take notice of the situation and form their own opinions on the issue.
  

Story Topics
The possible topics for editorials and columns are almost endless because everyone has an opinion on everything! They could include:
legal or political issues such as gun control or Canada’s economy, minority rights or international politics.
issues facing people in your own community — such as a decision to demolish a historic building or the controversy surrounding a new law against skateboarding.
LOOK through stories in your daily paper or in monthly editions of SNN.
Form your own opinions. Opinions are based on what you have read and what you already know or believe.
Then you can put those views down in an editorial or column of your own!

Check teacherease...

For past due work... since we are working on the next issue of the paper...

We need important breaking news stories (anything going on that everyone should know about)
for all grades...

feature stories
editorials and opinions
investigative feature
sports?
entertainment

I'd like to get the next 4 pages out by the end of March... and then maybe a an 8 pager by June. We'll see what we can do.

Thanks again,
Ms. S

Literary Analysis paper due Friday

Just a friendly reminder that your lit. analysis paper is due on Friday of this week ... 2/15. You should attach all previous drafts... your final draft should be typed, double spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman font...1 inch margins.



If I haven't seen what you are working on, please make a point of meeting with me this week.

1st Issue... congratulations

Good afternoon everyone,



Just a little congratulations for the effort everyone put forth in completing the first issue. It is currently at the printer and will be at school either Monday or Tuesday.



So we are officially working on the second issue. I apologize ahead of time for those of you whose articles got cut. Either I didn't have copies of them typed or they weren't accurate anymore.



Moving forward, I'd like to start planning for the next issue by first setting up an editorial board and a layout staff... we will be doing interviews this week...



I want at least 3 people interested in doing layout... that means taking the time to learn the software with my help and also taking the time to understand layout design.



I also need leadership roles for the paper itself... that means above everything else, you must be motivated and willing to help me motivate everyone else.



We'll talk more about this tomorrow morning and in class...



Stay warm.



Ms. S

planning a lit analysis

Many people have been having difficulty "starting" ... I say skip the intro and go right into the meet.... you can always return to the beginning once you know what you are going to say... most of the time I don't even keep the intro I start with...

Brainstorm first! - get all your ideas on the paper. Don't be afraid to be wrong or disorganized during this step. Just get it all out.

Free write around some of the ideas. Which points speak to you the most? What is the argument that has developed? What helps support that argument?

Now organize an outline... roman numerals, remember - I - first big idea and then A. supporting details - and then textual evidence - each big idea is a paragraph... remember all the big ideas should support the focus of the paper

Once you have an outline, then start writing or else, your development and organization are going to be thin.

Draft, Draft, Draft! mistakes breed understanding, so make lots of them and let me help you!

ENEWS Standards:

Good morning all:
It has dawned on me that we haven't specifically discussed the standards in a while, so I just wanted to post the ones we've been working on to help you become more familiar with them... know them, so you can know how you are doing on them:

These are the general ones:

Language for Information and Understanding - Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
Language for Literary Response and Expression Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression
Language for Social Interaction Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

Demonstrate fundamental skills in the use of the writing process for varied journalistic media.
Demonstrate awareness of the history and evolution of journalism and the responsible and ethical use of information (e.g., First Amendment, copyright, intellectual freedom).
Demonstrate awareness of ethical issues (e.g., manipulation, misrepresentation, fraud) when addressing social, cultural, and political issues through print and nonprint photojournalism.

These are more specific:

· Locate, gather, analyze, and evaluate written information for a variety of purposes, including research projects, real-world tasks, and self-improvement.
· select and use appropriate study and research skills and tools according to the type of information being gathered or organized, including almanacs, government publications, microfiche, news sources, and information services.
· analyze the validity and reliability of primary source information and use the information appropriatelyselect and use appropriate prewriting strategies, such as brainstorming, graphic organizers, and outlining

Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
Language for Social Interaction Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

Demonstrate fundamental use of production skills (e.g., layout design, ad design, storyboarding) for varied mass communication documents or electronic media.

Language for Information and Understanding - Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
Language for Literary Response and Expression Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression
Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
Language for Social Interaction Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

Demonstrate fundamental use of organization and management techniques related to production of journalistic media (e.g., team building, leadership, business skills, time management, task organization).
Demonstrate fundamental use of technology for research, production, and dissemination of journalistic media.
Analyze varied journalistic documents or electronic mediaDemonstrate awareness of varied careers in journalism.

Class and Club

Can everyone please email me their finished articles from the first trimester and those of you in the club, whatever is complete so far... looks like we will be able to add some of the stuff everyone did to this first issue as there has been an issue with layout.

Rest assured, we will have something soon if I have to stay up and get it done myself!

You have all worked very hard and I think it is time we share your hard work with the rest of the school.

Thanks again,
Ms. S

mssackstein@yahoo.com

Reflection - analysis...

Grammar B: Un-grammar breaking all the rules

Grammar. Ugh. I myself have never been a fan of teaching or learning grammar and while I was in high school I never learned grammar in my English classes. I learned it in French class and later had my comma use ripped to shreds in freshmen comp class at the University of Arizona. While reading Romano’s Writing with Passion: Life stories, multiple genres, I found myself intrigued by Romano’s discussion of “Grammar B.” Seeing as I have always been puzzled by grammar and I find it extremely difficult to teach grammar, “Grammar B” sounded like a fascinating solution. “Grammar B breaks the rules of standard written English as a means of communicating powerfully. And it does this breaking, altering, and smashing with panache”(Romano 75).
I really enjoyed that Grammar B gave the students so much freedom to express themselves outside of what can be a very stifling convention. I think that it would give students the ability to find their voice and meaningfully break the rules. I always try to teach my students to use repetition to prove their points and “in Grammar B, repetition takes on even more importance. Grammar B, Weathers tells us, uses repetition ‘to achieve a kind of momentum in composition’ (1980, 28)” (Romano 79). I think this is true; repetition builds power and easy structure for students to follow.
Sentence fragments and labyrinthine sentences I believe to be troublesome for low functioning students like the ones I teach. As discussed earlier, knowing convention first is paramount to being able to manipulate these alternative methods. I think that sentence fragments are useful for creating or breaking rhythm in a piece of writing when a student is conscious that he/she is doing it. However, when a student writes using sentence fragments naturally and doesn’t understand why it isn’t a complete sentence, then encouraging the use of fragments is not going to help them grow as writers at this point in their careers. Although on the opposite end of the spectrum as Romano states, “At the opposite end of the sentence-length continuum from the fragment is the labyrinthine sentence-not the lawless, poorly punctuated run-on sentence, but a finely crafted aggregation of words that weaves in and out, accruing information, riding rhythms of parallel sentence structure, tacking on phrases, clauses, and grammatical absolutes to form a sinuous sentence perfectly suited for some things we might describe or discuss”(Romano 81). I agree again, but my students more often then not write those loose run-on sentences that he discusses above. I feel that teaching lower functioning students these skills is extremely optimistic and difficult.
One type of writing that Romano mentions however, that I think could be of use to my students is the list writing. I find that my students can articulate their thoughts well in lists, even meaningful lists. “A list allows a writer quickly to confront readers with abundant detail, enabling them to see an untainted, holistic picture. In list making, syntax and logical connections of language are not important. Simple, unexplained, occasionally poetic, the list usually appears in a column, one item per line, much like a grocery list” (Romano 87). This is within my students’ attention span. I think that I can teach my students to make meaningful lists that can later lead to meaningful prose. We were working on a picture book in my freshmen class for last marking period and part of that assignment was to create lists that help them explain their high school experience. It was a success. The students created lists about: their schedules, their preparation and their understanding of new subject matter. It is amazing to see the power of such short work that they were able to grasp immediately.
I like the ideas about double voice and the multi-genre research, but I’m unsure of how practical this would be in my school. I think that I could teach a simplified version of both using some real world models of movies and other authors much like Romano did with Billy the Kid. My students do like using mentor pieces, so if I had a strong model to show them and I broke down the project into an entire term, I do believe that my students could create a less complicated version of what his seniors came up with. I was extremely impressed with the John Lennon project and found myself thinking that it would be amazing to read a class full of different interpretations of research as opposed to laboring over boring conventional research papers that are predominantly plagiarized. All things considered, I found Romano’s text to be somewhat liberated and hopeful for the future. I would be eager to try some of his techniques with more advanced writers and even more interested to see what kinds of questions and writings my students would grapple with.

Work Cited
Romano, Tom. Writing with Passion: Life stories, multiple genres. Portsmith, New Hampshire: Boynton/Cook Heinemann, 1995.