Wednesday, January 6th, 2016

At the beginning of class:
-Get your notes and folders ready
-Be ready to answer this question: What are we doing and why are we doing it?

Circle:
If you could have witnessed anything personally what would you want to have seen?

Unit: Should we go to war with ISIS? [Parts of this unit will be put into the daily agenda]
Unit Learning Target: By the end of the unit, you will be to able use various print and media sources to form an opinion on a complex issue in order to make a reasoned decision.
Today, you have 80 minutes to review your notes and find new information to determine where you stand on the issue of going to war with ISIS.
1) Spend time reviewing your notes.  Identify what you consider to be the most important pieces of evidence.
2) Review new information and news stories online about the situation with ISIS.
3) Use this form to enter your position.
4) Present your position with the most compelling piece of evidence you have found.

Silent Reading
1) Enter your current book and page in the Reading Log link to the right.
2) Read for the purpose of being able to write about your book.  In about a month, you will be using on of the lenses below to talk about your book's theme:
1 CONTRASTS & CONTRADICTIONS
When a character does something that contrasts with what you’d expect or contradicts his earlier acts or statements, STOP and ask, “Why is the character doing that?” The answer will help you make predictions and draw inferences about the plot and conflict.
2 WORDS OF THE WISER
When a character (probably older and wiser) takes the main character aside and offers serious advice, STOP and ask, “What’s the life lesson and how might if affect the character?” This lesson is probably the theme of the story.
3 AHA MOMENT
When a character realizes, understands, or finally figures out something, STOP and ask yourself, “How might this change things?”
If it is about a problem, it tells you something about the conflict; if it is a life lesson, it tells you something about the theme.
4 AGAIN & AGAIN
When you notice a word, phrase, or situation mentioned over and over, STOP and ask your- self, “Why does this keep happening again and again?” The answer will tell you about the theme and conflict, or will foreshadow what might happen later in the story.
5 MEMORY MOMENT
When the author interrupts the action to tell you about a memory, STOP and ask yourself, “Why might this memory be important?” The answer will tell you about the theme and con- flict, or will foreshadow what might happen later in the story.
6 TOUGH QUESTIONS
When a character asks himself a very difficult question, STOP and ask yourself, “What does this question make me wonder about?” The answer will tell you about the conflict, and help you think about what might happen later in the story.
3) Enter your new page number in the Reading Log link to the right.