3 Days to an A!

Have several days to prepare for a test?  Try this method to break up the study tasks:

Three Days Before the Test:  Reread the key textbook chapters and class notes.

Two Days Before the Test:  Recite key points out loud – to someone you know or even a pet/favorite toy – without looking at the notes or textbook.  Refer back to them and see how much you remembered correctly.

The Day Before the Test:  Take a practice test or complete a new study guide (online can be a great source for this) if you have one.  On the questions that you miss, reread key points.  Want some added insurance?  Look over your notes right before bed!

The Day of the Test: Skim notes over breakfast.  OR skip the last minute studying and relax with deep breaths or tension-breaking exercise.

AT THE TEST: 

~ Do a brain dump.  If you can, immediately write in the margins of the test or on a scrap paper any key events, characters, concepts, dates, etc.  That way, you won’t have to worry about forgetting the important details.  You will be able to refer back to this as you take the test.

~ Scan and skip. Look over the whole test, then start with the questions you’re sure of.  Answering familiar questions first will boost your confidence and save time for tougher questions to come.

~ Manage Multiple Choice. In general, with a four-choice question, you should be able to eliminate two possible answers right away.  Then you can choose your final answer from the remaining options.

~ Review and Regroup. After a test, review it.  Don’t just throw it away or toss it in a folder.  Look at the responses you answered incorrectly.  Why did you?

More “At-Home” Study Strategies

• Go “old school:” Flash cards are a tried-and-true way to help remember complex facts.  Write key words/concepts on the front and jot definitions on the back.  Have someone quiz you.

• Make up mnemonics: I’m a fan of acronyms (words formed by using the first letter of each word in a list) and phrases to help kids memorize long lists (formulas, sequences, groups, etc).

i. e. Taxonomic Order ~ King Phillip Came Over For Good Soup (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species)

• Get Artsy:  Draw simple diagrams of hard-to-remember relationships, concepts, plot points, etc.  Silly pictures also help recollection of challenging vocabulary words.

i.e. To remember the difference between “dominant” and “recessive,” draw a picture of a big dog barking at a tiny dog.   The name on the big dog’s collar could by “Dom” and the little one could by “Recess.”

• Embrace your inner American Idol:  Admit it . . . You still remember most of the Preamble to the Constitution or the function of conjunctions thanks to the “Schoolhouse Rock” songs from Saturday-morning cartoons.  Tunes and rhythm seem to cement new information into memory unlike anything else.  Put facts to songs!!

• Play online:  Many textbooks offer practice tests available for access from home.  As a bonus, practice tests often foreshadow the actual exam.

Improve Reading and Writing Skills at Home

• Read and circle:  Preview questions ahead of time.  Circle key words like “main character” or “make a list.”  Then, as you read the passage, circle the answers.
• Talk it out:  Don’t be afraid to read aloud in the comfort of your own home.  Reading a difficult text aloud can help the information stick in your memory more effectively.
• Play detective:  Find the “five W’s and H’ in every passage.  This may seem elementary but finding these main clues helps one make inferences and deeper analysis later on.
• Ace the essays:  Create a mind map for the answer.  OR, if you do not know what the essay question is, anticipate what the essay questions will be and write out answers to those questions that you anticipate.

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First Week of School Assignment

Top 10 Nouns That Represent Me Speech

Here is a first week of school, getting-to-know-you assignment I’ve been using off and on for 11 years now!!!  I’ve used this for my speech, reading and English literature classes; it suits almost all levels and classes.  It’s a fun, easy exercise for the students to get to know the teacher and each other at the beginning of the year.

Summary:  Students brainstorm a list of 50 nouns that represent them.  {This proves to be a terrific parts of speech review.}  Many students find this to be a daunting list .  . . one hint I offer is to go home and stand in the middle of their rooms.  What do they see?  Write down those things.  Once the list is generated, students must narrow it down to their 10 favorites, being sure that each of those 10 items can be easily represented with a tangible token (that they can bring in!).  Students will present their top 10 list along with the ten tokens in a short glorified show and tell.  I tell the students they can explain each item as much or as little as they choose:  some opt to simply read off the list and hold up each item; others unleash unique stories behind each item.  Either way, the speeches tend to run 1 – 3 minutes each.

Students find out more interesting quirks, passions and values about each other in one – three minutes than they may otherwise have the opportunity to discover if we dive directly into curriculum. This a great way to get them up in front of the class very early in a relaxed atmosphere; I don’t evaluate their presentation skills for this early speech.  As a model, I present my own noun speech on the very first day of school.  It’s the perfect context to disclose a little about myself (past items I’ve shared – movie ticket stubs from my favorite movies, health magazines I read to exemplify my fitness enthusiasm, my colored whisk to reveal my propensity for kitchen experimentation, my favorite sports team pencil, etc) As I tell my students, it’s an easy A!  By the same token, this is super easy to evaluate.  As illustrated in the rubric, if the student completes the assignment, it’s an almost guaranteed A.  The only real way to fail this one is not to complete it.  Check it out →

Worksheet:

Top Ten Nouns That Represent Me

Rubric:

Noun Speech Rubric

Come back and share your experiences with this assignment.  How did your students like it?  I’ll share my own classroom experiences with this speech as soon as school starts.  TTFN, as Tigger says!

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Book a Book Group!

Suggestions for Leading a Book Group Discussion

This is intended as a resource and a rough guide – please feel free to run with your own ideas.  I’m preparing for my summer book group that I’m holding at a local nature center to discuss  Wesley The Owl.  I hope you find this helpful . . .

A.  Before the Discussion

It’s probably a good idea to have the group prepare a little before the discussion – give them a few things to look for and jot down.  You might have them respond to a prompt or two on the inside cover of the book, on a notecard, or on the back of their bookmark.  Some possibilities:

~ Pick three key lines or passages and be ready to explain why they’re important.
~ Write three questions you’d like to discuss at our meeting.
~ Write a sentence explaining what you think is the most important idea from the book.

B.  Book Group Discussion

The actual discussion should last about an hour.  A typical discussion will have three phases:

1. Ice-breakers — Warm up with a review of names and/or introductions if necessary.  It might also help to have participants answer a general question as they say their names – this gets everyone participating immediately and helps break the ice.   Some possibilities: What’s the best movie you’ve seen this summer?  What’s your favorite thing about summertime?  What’s one thing you really are looking forward to senior year?  Where is the coolest place you’ve ever visited?  What is one of your favorite all-time books?  What character from a book you read in school would you most like to go on vacation with?  What character would you most like to “vote off the island” Survivor-style?

2. Starters –  It will probably be helpful to begin actual discussion of the book with a basic starter activity or two.  These activities help focus the group and ensure that everyone responds.  Let the participants recall and review the basic plot events of the book – help them a little if needed, but try to let them provide most of the information.  You might go around the circle and have everyone name a character until you can’t name any more.  You might also have each student give a one-word response to the book or name a moment from the book that really sticks in their mind.

3. General Questions — After the basic questions, the discussion should get a little meatier, with participants analyzing, asking questions, expressing their opinions, and talking about ideas.  As a general rule avoid asking yes/no questions and encourage students to explain single-word answers.  Be sure to allow every participant the opportunity to participate.  As for preparing points and questions to discuss, it’s definitely better to be a little over-prepared than under-prepared.  Better to be left with a few questions you don’t quite have time for than to be scrambling for something to talk about after 20 minutes.  Having 10 to 15 open-ended questions ready to go should probably be enough.

If you’ve asked participants to select key passages or jot down some questions, these should lead to some interesting conversation.

C.  More Discussion Questions

These will keep the conversation going . . .

~ Respond to the book in ten words or less.
~ Which character was your favorite/least favorite?  Why?
~ Which of the characters would you most like to spend a day or a week with? Why?
~ Imagine one of the characters were to enroll at your school – what would happen? What activities would the character be involved with?
What sort of student would the character be?
~ What important decisions did characters in the book make?  Did the make the right decisions?  What could they have done differently?
~ If you were to make a movie of this book, what actors would you pick to play the various parts?
~ What did you like or not like about the ending?  How might the book have ended differently?
~ What did you learn from this book?
~ What makes the book distinctive?
~ Did anything in the book remind you of something else you’ve read or seen?
~ What scene or image from the book will stick in your mind the longest?
~ Did any part of the book make you angry?  Explain why?
~ What part of the book was the funniest?  The saddest?
~ Did you like how the book is written?  Why or why not?
~ Was the book easy for you to understand?  Why or why not?
~ Was the book believable?  Why or why not?
~ On a scale for one to ten, how would you rate this book?  Why?
~ Do you like the title of the book?  What is its significance?  What else might you title the book?
~ Is there anything about the book you didn’t understand or aren’t sure about?
~ Who would you recommend this book to?  Why?
~ What is the author of the book trying to get you to think about?  Why did the author write this book?
~ Is the author trying to persuade you or convince you of something?  Do you agree with the author?
~ If you could meet the author and tell or ask him or her something about the book, what would it be?
~ Would you read another book by this author?  Why or why not?

One final idea:  pull up reviews from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com.  See if the group agrees with the written reviews.

Happy Reading!!

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On Your Mark, Get Set, Read

Marking Text with Post-It Notes

This is a great focus strategy for comprehension because good readers do this “marking text” automatically and invisibily while they read.  All readers need to bring unconscious “marking” to a conscious level to increase reading rate and comprehension.

Here is a handy-dandy script teachers can use to demonstrate this strategy.  Non-educators, use this strategy to help you remember and retain what you read!

Fiction:  “Have you ever been reading along in a book and wished that you could mark the line so you could help your brain remember?  Well, when you can’t use a highlighter or pen, use post-it notes to mark text.  I will give you five post-it notes.  On the first one, write Main Character, on the next two write Minor Character, on one write Setting, and on athe last one write Event.”    

(Vary what students write on their post-it notes dependng upon where you are in the novel.  For example, all the post-its could be labeled Events.)      

Nonfiction:  “Have you ever been reading along and run into facts you wish you could pull out and remember because they seem important?  Well, use post-it notes to mark text.  I’ll give you five post-it notes.  On one, write MI for Main Idea.  On the other four, write SD for Supporting Details.”

(Vary how many post-its and what students look for depending upon the nature of the nonfiction book/textbook.  For example, students can label one C for Cause.  The others could be labeled E for Effects.  For persuasive text, one post-it could be labeled A for Argument and the others R for Reasons.)

What to do:
1.  Hand out post-it notes and have students label them.
2.  Begin reading the text.
3.  As students read, have them stick post-it in the text at the exact spots where they see information.  After students read, they discuss where they marked the text and why them made their choices.  If students disagree with one another, have them explain their reasoning.  It’s much better if you let them muddle along than to say “No, it’s wrong.”

Extension:
Students could write their reasons for choosing their selections.
Students could make an outline based on their post-it notes.

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Move with a Movie Review . . . GG Style

With all the spirit of the Academy Awards upon us, this week’s blog assignment will be for the students to write a movie review. 

Move Us With a Movie Review

 

Here is what you need to include in your blog post:

Paragraph 1
Include the following: name of the film, stars of the film, basic setting ( time and place), and type of film ( comedy, adventure, drama, etc.)

Paragraph 2
Write a plot summary for the movie. Do not reveal the ending! Discuss at least 5 events and be sure to cover the entire scope of the movie except the very end.

Paragraph 3
Discuss one aspect of filmmaking. You may choose from acting, directing, editing, costume design, set design, photography, background music, or anything else you may think of. Be sure that you are specific and cite examples from the movie.

Paragraph 4
Discuss another aspect of filmmaking. You may choose from acting, direction, editing, costume design, set design, photography, background music, or anything else you may think of.  Cite examples from the movie but obviously choose something different from what you discussed in the previous paragraph.

Paragraph 5
Give your overall reaction to the film as well as your opinion on the quality of the film. Last but certainly not least, include the grade you give this film based on your previous description.

Steps to Prepare for Writing This Post:

1. Think about what you like and don’t like about a particular movie you have recently seen. Jot down your likes & dislikes in a free-write list.
2. Next, write down as much information as you can about the movie (plot, aspect of filmmaking, etc.) 
3. Begin to articulate the information into your blog.  Aim for about 600-700 words for the entire review.
4. Save your draft and proof your work.

 ***Hint:  Attempt to match the tone of your review with the style of the movie. For example, a humorous writing style would work well for a comedy, whereas a more serious tone would be good for writing a drama review.

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Bringing Blogging to the Classroom #4

This is what I shared with my students before they wrote their first comments to each other’s posts:

Follow these simple rules when writing comments on your peers’ pages!!!!  

 

Rule #1 — Determine Your Reason for Commenting

Are you trying to get the writer’s attention? Do you appreciate the writer’s work and want to say thank you? Do you disagree so strongly with what you’re reading that you simply have to rebuttal? This will help you decide what type of comment to write.

Rule #2 – Be Clear

When people come to the page later and read the comments, it isn’t always clear what you’re talking about. It’s most important to provide context when there are a lot of comments. If comments are coming in really fast, for example, yours can get separated from the comment to which you’re responding.

For example, instead of just starting out “Technique is important too!” it’s helpful if you start with some context like “TLC has a point about showmanship, but has missed one important point” and then go on to talk about technique. That way other commenters won’t be confused as to why you started talking about badly executed dance moves on a post about showmanship on American Idol.

Rule #3 — Be Respectful

I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but comments that start out “You’re an idiot” or are laced with profanity, or are just plain disrespectful are inappropriate. You shouldn’t say anything you wouldn’t say in person.   In fact, use this as a rule of thumb WHENEVER YOU ARE ONLINE ON ANY SITE!!

Rule #4 — Make a Point

Don’t just say “Wonderful!” “I love it!” or “LOL”  Why is it wonderful? Why did you love it?  Why is it funny?  It’s even more important to make a point when you disagree. It’s a waste of time to just write “You’re wrong,” Make sure you include the reason you disagree.  This is where the commenting gets fun!

Rule #5 — Keep it Brief

Remember, this is a comment . . . not an entire blog post.

Rule #6 — Proofread

I know it’s hard – those boxes in which you write comments can be tiny, and they usually don’t include spellcheck; but, proofreading is important because if you have a lot of typos or misspellings, it undermines your authority.

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Bringing Blogging to the Classroom #3

Today, students are typing their first posts!  All is quiet as they anxiously type, edit, and insert away!!! Here is the initial worksheet I used to aid in their set-up. 

 

Getting Started with Your Blog! ☺

Go to www.edublogs.org .  Click the box labeled “Sign up here”

Create a Blog Domain – this will be the url address that everyone will visit. This should be short and memorable. It should also be something that you won’t mind using for the rest of your years in high school.

DO NOT USE YOUR FULL NAME AT ALL!! YOU CAN USE YOUR FIRST NAME AND FIRST INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME!!

Create a Blog Title. This is the title that appears at the top of the home page each time someone logs on. This title should be a reflection of your personality or interests.

Privacy – You must click on NO, so that your blog cannot be searched within search engines.

You must click on NOT INTERESTED for additional information.

 Your username should be something that is short and memorable for you.  Additionally, your password should be something you will always remember.  Do not use a password that you use for other applications!!!
_____________________________________________________________________
Posts are the individual writings you add to your blog.

To add a new post:
 On your page, click on “Site Admin.”  It is on the bottom right column of your page.
 Now you will be in your “Dashboard.”  This is the back of your blog, where you can change the look of your blog, add new items and delete old items.  

Click “Posts.”
Click “Add New.”

You can now start typing or cutting/pasting a document into the post.

You will be able to upload photos, but I will need to approve them first.
   

 

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Lay Down the Lie

There are so many misused words in our crazy language.  This pair is one of the most confusing because the past tense of one is the same as the present tense of the other.  ⇒ ⇒

Lay vs. Lie

This baby's mother laid her down for her nap.

Lay means “to place something down.” It is something you do to something else.

Incorrect: Lie the coat on the chair.

Correct: Lay the coat on the chair.
(It is being done to something else.)

Lie means “to recline” or “be placed.” It does NOT act on anything or anyone else.

Incorrect: Lay down on the hammock.

Correct: Lie down on the hammock.

(It is not being done to anything else.)

But . . . the real reason lay and lie are confusing is their past tenses:

The past tense of lay is laid. (remember, to lay is to put something else down)

The past tense of lie is lay. (remember, to lie is to recline yourself)  THIS IS THE CONFUSING PART!!

Incorrect: I lay the box down here yesterday.

Correct: I laid the box down here yesterday.
(It is being done to something else.)

Incorrect: Last night I couldn’t sleep and laid awake in bed.

Correct: Last night I couldn’t sleep and lay awake in bed.
(It is not being done to anything else.)

And to add to the confusion . . . We use the past participle of verbs when we are indicating a timeline during which no specific date is given.

The past participle of lie is lain.

The past participle of lay is like the past tense, laid.

Correct: On Sunday, I could have lain in bed all day.  (indicating the action, in this case lying in bed, will be complete at some point in the future, but you don’t know when)  I KNOW THIS SOUNDS WEIRD . . . I MEAN, WHO TALKS LIKE THIS, RIGHT?!  WE SHOULD BECAUSE IT’S CORRECT!!

Correct: They have laid an average of 500 feet of sandbags a day.  (indicating the action, in this case laying sandbags, was finished at some point each day)

BTW . . . Layed is a misspelling and does not exist. Use laid!!

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Bringing Blogging to the Classroom #2

Last week, my students signed up for their blogs!  They are excited to write their first post later this week. Here is the deets on this new blogging project we’ve embarked upon ~

WHO:        3 classes of sophomore Reading Strategies (students reading scores below grade level)

WHAT:  
a.  Two introductory activities (click here for GG’s activities)
b.  Blogging etiquette discussion (see below)
c.   Initial sign up & theme choice
d.  This week = first post!!!!

WHERE:  Edublogs by WordPress

WHEN: ongoing throughout this semester

WHY:       to facilitate motivation and fluidity with students’ reading and writing skills.

HOW:      Students will be blogging once a week.

Guidelines

When you write anything in the blog, please use the following guidelines. There are some questions so you may want to reflect on your posts.

1. Only post things that you would want everyone (in school, at home, in other countries) to know.
Ask yourself: Is this something I want everyone to see?

2. Do not share personal information.
Ask yourself: Could someone find me (in real life) based on this information?

3. Think before you post.
Ask yourself: What could be the consequences of this post?

4. Know who you’re communicating with.
Ask yourself: Who is going to look at this, and how are they going to interpret my words?

5. Consider your audience and that you’re representing Palatine High School.
Ask yourself: Do I have a good reason/purpose to do this?

6. Know how to give constructive feedback.
Ask yourself: What will I cause by writing this post?

7. Treat other people the way you want to be treated.
Ask yourself: Would I want someone to say this to me?

8. Use appropriate language and proper grammar and spelling.
Ask yourself: Would I want this post to be graded for proper grammar and spelling?

9. Only post information that you can verify is true (no gossiping).
Ask yourself: Is this inappropriate, immature or bullying?

10. Anytime you use media from another source, be sure to properly cite the creator of the original work. Otherwise, this is considered plagiarism and is reason to fail the class.
Ask yourself: Who is the original creator of this work?

Commenting Guidelines

As a blogger, you will be commenting on other people’s work regularly. Good comments:

• are constructive, but not hurtful;
• consider the author and the purpose of the post;
• are always related to the content of the post;
• include personal connections to what the author wrote;
• answer a question, or add meaningful information to the content topic;
• follow the writing process. Comments are a published piece of writing.

Blogging Terms and Conditions

1. Students using blogs are expected to act safely by keeping personal information out of their posts. You agree to not post or give out your family name, password, user name, email address, home address, school name, city, country or other information that could help someone locate or contact you in person. You may share your interests, ideas and preferences.
2. Students using blogs agree not to share their user name or password with anyone besides their teachers and parents. You agree to never log in as another student.
3. Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for your blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.
4. Student blogs are to be a forum for student expression. However, they are first and foremost a tool for learning, and as such will sometimes be constrained by the various requirements and rules of classroom teachers. Students are welcome to post on any school-appropriate subject.
5. Students blogs are to be a vehicle for sharing student writing with real audiences. Most visitors to your blog who leave comments will leave respectful, helpful messages. If you receive a comment that makes you feel uncomfortable or is not respectful, tell your teacher right away. Do not respond to the comment.
6. Students using blogs take good care of the computers by not downloading or installing any software without permission, and not clicking on ads or competitions.
7. Students who do not abide by these terms and conditions may lose their opportunity to take part in this project.

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Bringing Blogging to The Classroom #1

As I embark on a new semester, I’m planning a unit in which my reading students create and utilize their own blogs.  I’m hoping this facilitates motivation and fluidity with students’ reading and writing skills.  The blogs will provide a place for students to publish their work and feel a sense of an audience other than me.  I’m piloting this with WordPress.com and will incorporate this into other class curriculums if it proves somewhat successful with this group.

**I will update with more activities as I administer them along with the successes and tribulations as they come!***

Activity #1:  This will spark the initial discussion on blogging.  →  →  →

TECHNOLOGY ANTICIPATION GUIDE

Directions: Next to each statement, please put an A if you agree with the statement or a D if you disagree with the statement.  We will discuss these issues together!

_____1. Computers are necessary.

_____2. Email is better than the telephone.

_____3. Text is better than email.

_____4. IM is better than text.

_____5. We would be nowhere without advancements in science and technology.

______6. We need weapons of mass destruction.

______7. The only people who are responsible for weapons of mass destruction are the people who use them.

_____8. I would like to have a clone.

_____9. To cook = to microwave.

____10. When I was little, playing with my friends meant playing outside.

____11.. When I was little, playing with my friends meant playing video games together.

____12. Friends and family are more important than anything money can buy.

____13. Man has power over technology.

____14. Technology is more powerful than man.

____15. My social life would not be as fulfilling if it wasn’t for social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace.

____16. Blogging is a productive way to read and/or share information.

Activity #2:  To provide a baseline for writing skills at the opening of the semester, the course requires students write a five-paragraph opinion paper.  I’ve slanted the requirement to the blogging project.  →  →  →

Technology = Friend or Enemy?

Believe it or not, when your incredibly young, hip, stylish teacher was your age, the Internet or World Wide Web was just getting off the ground; we certainly did not have it available in school.  There were no cell phones.  Oh, there were those lovely, large car phones that could not be removed from the car and that only worked when the car was on.  So, at least, if one had an emergency while the car running, it was all good.  One of my favorite video games was Kaboom, which was an Atari game – I’ll be shocked if any of you remember that awesomely addicting game!  You know, I thought that in the year 2010 we’d be living like the Jetsons by now. (wait . . . that cartoon is way before your time too!)

Aside from the few prehistoric items I mentioned above, think about the many technological innovations we have today:  the vast array of communication tools, medical advances, entertainment breakthroughs, space exploration and other transportation, weapons technology, and more.  We have come a long way in the short time since I was in your position — sitting in my freshman English class wondering, “What are we doing today, and why do I even care?”  Well, today you should care.  This assignment is a chance for you to finally voice your views.  All I want you to do is think about one question:  Is technology our friend or our enemy?

I’m not talking about just you or just the people in this class.  I am talking about the entire human race.  Based on what you do or don’t know about the colossal world in which you play a significant role, write a five-paragraph essay on why you think technology is or is not the enemy.  In this age of IPod and IPhone and portable DVD and Flip movie camera, etc. . . this question is more important than ever!

YOU MUST CHOOSE A SIDE!  EITHER IT IS FRIEND OR IT IS FOE, AND YOU MUST BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHY!  EITHER YOU FEAR IT OR YOU EMBRACE IT.  NO RIDING THE FENCE HERE!!!

Yes, this is an opinion paper, but you must use support.  Your support can be from your own life experiences, experiences of others, what you have seen on the news, what you read about in the papers, etc.  The point is that you must make your reader understand why you feel the way you do, and you must try to make the reader agree with you based on your support.

Paragraph 1—Introduction, which contains a thesis statement.  This statement is your main opinion statement; it is the basis for the whole paper.  It is your statement about whether technology is our friend or our enemy.

Paragraph 2—First body paragraph, first reason why technology is friend or foe and why (support).

Paragraph 3-Second body paragraph, second reason why technology is friend or foe and why (support).

Paragraph 4-Third body paragraph, third reason why technology is friend or foe and why.

Paragraph 5—Conclusion, which restates the thesis in different words, and summarizes the whole paper.

This paper is worth 45 Points.  Due end of hour!!!  Cannot be completed for homework!

-  BLUE/BLACK INK ONLY

-  ONE SIDE OF THE PAGE

-   LOOSELEAF NOTEBOOK PAPER/NO RAGGEDY EDGES

Focus and Organization (15 Points)              Content/Support (15 Points)

*Thesis is clearly stated.                                *Concrete Details

*Thesis is maintained throughout.              *Specific Examples for Support/Persuasion

*No tangential issues.                                    *Each paragraph supports thesis

*Style requirements are met.

*Appropriate Paragraphing                       Grammar/Usage (15 Points) *spelling, punctuation, diction,

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