CE9: Independent Reading Wrap-up

The time has come to reflect upon the reading you encountered during your first year of high school. To do so, consider the various types of reading you experienced over the past semester. As always, there are some questions below to help inspire your writing; however, you are not required to answer any or all of the questions listed. Instead, write with insight and intent about who you are as reader. Write about your weaknesses and strengths. Write about your failures and achievements. Write about your future goals.

The only thing you are required to address in your reflection is the year-long goal created in your Reader’s Profile. Consider how you have worked to satisfy this goal. Consider what you need to do to continue working towards the completion of the goal.

After you have completed your reflection, you need to submit your reflection as a comment to your My Freshman Reader’s Profile sub-page.

Questions

  1. What was your favorite book to read this semester? What did you like about it?
  2. What was your favorite types of reading? Why?
  3. What readings did you find more challenging or difficult? Why?
  4. Did you try reading new genres this semester? What or who encouraged you to try something new? What did you think of this new reading?
  5. Looking back, if you could change some aspect of who you are as a reader what would it be and why?
  6. Did you spend more time reading during class or outside of school? Why? Do you anticipate this to change during second semester?
  7. Did your passion (or lack thereof) for reading change throughout the semester? Why?
  8. How did Book Club go for your group? Why?
  9. Define reading as a social interaction. How do these interactions differ between the physical and the digital world?

READER’S PROFILE RUBRIC

AL: Sport Speeches

Form groups of three. Please no bigger unless absolutely necessary. As a class, decided which groups will analyze which speeches. There should be roughly two groups analyzing each speech.

Overview

Sports contain the capacity to produce some of the most memorable and emotionally speeches in history; but why? Over the next two days, you will study a speech from the world of sports within groups of three and teach the make-up of the speech to your peers. For each of the studied speeches, we will also watch the original speech on YouTube, or when needed, a reproduction of the speech, in order to visually understand the enormity of emotions (appeals) involved in the speech.

Speeches

Procedures

What are the elements of rhetoric present in the speech? With your group, answer the following questions citing direct evidence from your assigned speech. Present your answers to the following questions during your informal presentation of analysis:

Context: rhetoric is always situational, reliant on the time, place, and occasion with which it takes place.

  • Where is this speech taking place?

Purpose: all rhetoric must have a specific purpose or goal the speaker wishes to achieve.

  • Why is this speech taking place?

Main idea: thesis, claim, assertion, or theme of subject, it must have a clear subject.

  • What is the argument?
  • What is the means through which the argument is constructed?

Speaker: rhetoric is only relevant based on how it is presented.

  • How does the speaker present their self?

AP: The real TED-Ed video!

Assignment (due on Friday, on your blog) Construct an art review using the topics and questions below as a foundation for your writing.

How can art provide a space bigger than one we can imagine in our daily lives?

Visual: In her speech, Thelma Golden frequently references the beauty and power of visuals images.

  • Consider the rhetorical aspects of the image: tone/color, symbolism, design, argument, juxtaposition, audience, etc.
  • What ideas does the image portray?
  • What problems does the painting contain or reference?

Dialogue/Culture: Golden said that art can be a catalyst for change. Consider the lessons young adults in modern times should understand from art that might have been create centuries ago. 

  • What does the art mean? What should students learn from this art?
  • What conversations should students be having about the art?
  • What are the implications of the art?
  • Define the art’s creative spirit in terms of today’s society?