Tuesday, 9/22: Thesis Paper Discussion

Announcements:

• No SVEN this week!
• Please read and annotate the Howard Zinn essay by the start of class Thursday.  Meaningful and worthwhile discussion depends on you being prepared!
• Bring the hard copies of the packet of readings I handed out last Friday. We'll head OUTSIDE to read and discuss!
• At the end of class, please help me play around with the new google meet breakout room function and see if it'll work for us

STARTER: Utilitarianism Pop Quiz!
* Go to the google classroom quiz assignment under "Coursework"

Senior Thesis Examples: Breakout Rooms
We'll get into breakout rooms of 5-6 students.   Have the thesis you read yesterday pulled up in front of you.  
​FIRST, just check in with each other. On a scale of 1-5, how are you each doing? If someone isn't doing so well, spend some time checking in with them and providing support.

NEXT, turn your attention to the thesis papers you read last night. Discuss the following:

1. What was the research question and thesis statement (main argument) of the thesis you chose?
2. What stood out to you about the thesis you read?  
3. How well prepared do you feel for this task right now?  What do we need to focus on this semester to make you feel more prepared?
4. What did you learn from this example that you would like to apply to your own writing?
5. What questions do you have about the senior thesis now that you have read an example?  Write them down and we’ll go over your questions as a class.
6. Elect a spokesperson to ask Ashley questions upon return from breakout rooms

Debrief discussions; Ashley answers questions when possible.

Let's experiment with google meet breakout rooms:

• Go to this google meet link please!

EXIT TICKET-- Please write this as STARTER 11 in your starter docs:
Based on what you read last night, how prepared do you think you are as a writer to tackle your senior thesis?  What areas are you confident in? Where will you need to grow as a writer this semester to find success in the spring with your thesis?

NOTE: If you need help check out my basic Writing Rubric for ideas of skills you’ll be assessed on this semester in your writing or think about what you struggled with while writing your college essay.. 

HOMEWORK REMINDER
Read Howard  Zinn’s “Law and Justice”  (~27 pages total, REQUIRED pages include 397-414, 419-427, 434-435). Annotate and make sure you're able to answer the discussion questions so you're prepared for class on Thursday.

Today, we'll do the following to orient you to the reading: 

1. Read the first page of Discussion questions for Howard Zinn  as a whole class to understand who Zinn was
2. Read through all of the questions first so you know what to look for
3. Read the bold titles for each section heading.  Read the first sentence of each paragraph closely. Make sure you understand the main idea of each section!