English Newsletter Fall 08 Issue

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E ng lish Newsletter CONTENTS 1.1THE WRITING PROCESS

3.1- 4.1 OUR FAVORITE AUTHORS! F Scott Fitzgerald & Charles Dickens 4.2 WEBSITES OF GENERAL INTEREST

4.3 MOVIES FROM BOOKS A list of movies, old and new, that have been made based on novels & classic literature. 5.1 BULLETIN BOARD IDEAS 5.2 YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY 6.1FAMOUS AUTHOR BIRTHDAYS 6.2 IDEAS FOR THE CLASSROOM Headline starters Writing stations 6.4 EVERYTHING ELSE Pun-ishment 7.1 Writer’s Peer Editing Checklist &Evaluation 8.1-10 Writing Lesson: A lesson created as part of a science fiction unit “The Price of Progress” . This is a technical writing exercise. Includes a sample essay and drawing. Additional resources listed. ENGLISH NEWSLETTER

The Writing Process 1.1 Writing is at the heart of teaching English, and yet I think it is the most difficult to teach and evaluate effectively. It takes a lot of time to teach good writing because students have to have a lot of time to think, write, and rewrite. The demands of national, state, and local curriculum do not allow much time for the kind of writing experiences that most of us want our students to have. How can we provide quality writing instruction in the time available to us? First, students should write everyday, even if it is a short paragraph, taking notes, or a journal or log. These need not be graded or collected immediately. A good rule of thumb is to have students select one thing they have written within the last 8-10 days and revise that and turn it in. Second, you should not collect anything you cannot grade, evaluate or comment on in a timely manner. Nothing is more frustrating to a student than handing in an assignment and then not seeing it for days or weeks on end. Moreover, a student cannot improve effectively if too much time passes between the writing and the evaluation. VOLUME I ISSUE IV

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Third, writing should be considered a published product. “Publishing” can be done in a variety of ways: posting work in the classroom, oral sharing in small groups, creating of a class newsletter or booklet. This encourages students to see writing as a valuable product that reaches a wider audience. Fourth, a clear rubric or evaluation standard should be used by the teacher, and students should practice using it to check their own and other’s writing. Fifth, use literature study as a way to teach good writing. Good readers tend to be better writers. Use literature as a way of helping students see the style, format, structure, and techniques of good writing. You can encourage them to try their hand at similar techniques. For example, show them a paragraph written by Charles Dickens compared to one written by Ernest Hemingway. What do they notice about word choice, sentence length, use of figurative language etc. The key: literature should not be seen or taught as separate from good writing and vice versa. As much as possible, BELINDA BAIR

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students should be assigned and /or encouraged to write for contests that are geared to their grade level. Below are a list of some of the writing contests open to students. None of these require a reading fee:

The Writing Conference, Inc.http:/ www.writingconference.com/ writing.htm

Writing Contests for students and places that publish student writing:

National Peace Essay Contest – 2008-2009 Topic: Confronting Crimes Against Humanity – Deadline Feb. 1, 2009. Open to all students. Full details at: http://www.usip.org/ed/npec/ guidelines.html

http://www.ncte.org/parents/students/ 108196.htm Scholastic Art and Writing Awards: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/scott.rice/ blfc2008.htm Scholastic publications sponsors this contest for students grades 7-12. Full submission requirements will be available by Oct. 1 so check this website for full information. The 13th Annual Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay ContestFive high school juniors or seniors can each win a $1,000 scholarship award to be used toward their higher education plus a Signet Classics library for their school! Students enter by writing an essay on one of four topics posed for this year's competition book, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. The topics and rules for submission are posted on this website: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/ html/services-academic/ essayhome.html EPIC New Voices 2008 Writing CompetitionEPIC established the annual New Voices writing competition to encourage reading and writing among middle school and high school students and to promote e-book literacy in public and private schools.The contest is open to students attending public, private, or home schools, and each entrant is permitted to submit one entry in each category. Website for more info: http://homeworktips.about.com/gi/ dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/ XJ&sdn=homeworktips&cdn=educatio n&tm=10&f=00&tt=3&bt=0&bts=1& zu=http%3A//www.epicauthors.com/ newvoices.html

ENGLISH NEWSLETTER

Alliance for Science essay contest. Theme: 2009 Contest Theme: "In Darwin’s Footsteps.”http:// www.allianceforscience.org/essay

website: http://www.elks.org/ grandlodge/americanism/files/ EssayContest20082009.pdf? CFID=36136190&CFTOKEN=668004 79 Holocaust Remembrance Project essay contest rules and information will be posted at the website Oct. 1, 2008. Check there for details: http:// holocaust.hklaw.com/2008/index.asp Creative Writing Contests: a variety of genres and requirements http:// writingcontests.wordpress.com/ category/poetry-contests/

Optimist International Essay ContestTopic: “The Power of Youth” Organized through local Optimists clubs. Deadline dates in Feb. Contact your local Optimist club for details and check this website:http:// www.optimist.org/default.cfm? content=Members/mbrcdpa5.htm

Winning Writers War Poetry contest: http:// www.winningwriters.com/contests/ war/wa_guidelines.php

UNA-USA 2009 National High School Essay Contest: "What can the US do to help ensure environmental sustainability?"All information and rules: http:// unausanationalhighschoolessaycontest. com/

Scholarships and contest: Girls Write Now - http:// www.girlswritenow.org/gwn/?q=node/ 191

Jane Austen society of North America : sponsors an essay contest. The topics and all rules will be posted in September for the 2009 contest. http://www.jasna.org/essaycontest/ index.html Sons of the American Revolution: The George S. & Stella M. Knight Essay Contest- Open to students in the U.S. grades 10-12. Topics: an event, person, philosophy, or ideal associated with the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, or the framing of the United States Constitution.Full rules are available at: http://www.sar.org/youth/ knightrules.html Elks Lodge Essay Contest – What freedom means to me. For students grades 5-8. Essays are sponsored by local Elks Lodge first. Check local Elks for information as well as this

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Writing our Hope Poetry contest: http://www.writingourhope.org/ poetry_contest.HTML

OWLS - No, not the flying or Harry Potter kind. Many colleges offer online writing labs with detailed guides for all kinds of non-fiction writing - essay, research papers etc. Students who may need additional help when preparing essays for various classes - not just English, may find these OWLs useful. They also can provide resources for teachers who need additional material. Some of the best I’ve found are listed below: Purdue Online Writing Lab: http:// owl.english.purdue.edu/ University of Florida Online Writing Lab: http://web.cwoc.ufl.edu/owl/ Colorado State U. OWL: http:// writing.colostate.edu/ Temple Univ. OWL: Handouts, tipsheets & guides: http:// www.temple.edu/writingctr/handouts/ index.html

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Utah Valley State College OWL handouts, practices, lots of great info on grammar and usage and various style guides: http://www.uvsc.edu/owl/ info/handouts.html Hamilton College OWL: http:// www.hamilton.edu/writing/index.html University of Victoria’s Writing Guide: http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/ Pages/StartHere.html Univ.of Wisconsin OWL Writing Center Handbook: http:// www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/ index.html One contest that occurs every year is the “Bulwer-Lytton ‘Prize” for the worst opening sentence. This year’s winning sentence and runner-up are listed below. These can be a great starting point on what makes good writing and why these are so bad: Theirs was a New York love, a checkered taxi ride burning rubber, and like the city their passion was open 24/7, steam rising from their bodies like slick streets exhaling warm, moist, white breath through manhole covers stamped "Forged by DeLaney Bros., Piscataway, N.J." Runner up: "Hmm . . ." thought Abigail as she gazed languidly from the veranda past the bright white patio to the cerulean sea beyond, where dolphins played and seagulls sang, where splashing surf sounded like the tintinnabulation of a thousand tiny bells, where great gray whales bellowed and the sunlight sparkled off the myriad of sequins on the flyfish's bow ties, "time to get my meds checked." Resource books for the writing teacher: Creating Space for Teaching Writing and for Test Preparation http:// www.ncte.org/library/files/Free/Inbox/ bonus/LA0822Creating.pdf Also available in the Language Arts 82.2 (Nov. 2004): 120-128. Available online ENGLISH NEWSLETTER

Teaching Conventions in a StateMandated Testing Context. English Journal 95.5 (May 2006): 22-27. Available at http://www.ncte.org/ library/files/Free/Inbox/bonus/ EJ0955Teaching.pdf until Sept. 15. Thereafter the article is available to subscribers of English Journal. Strategic Writing: The Writing Process and Beyond in the Secondary English Classroom by Deborah Dean 203 pp. 2006. Grades 9–12. ISBN 0-8141-4754-2. Teaching Writing: Craft, Art, Genre Fran Claggett. 192 pp. 2005. Grades 7–12. ISBN 0-8141-5250-3. Writing Reminders: Tools, Tips, and Techniques Jim Burke Boynton Cook ISBN 978-0-86709-521-0 / 0-86709-521-0 / 2003 / 416pp / Grade level 6-12 $29.50 ======= Websites for Teaching Writing (those with a * are especially rich in resources) *Teaching that Makes Sense: http:// www.ttms.org/ This website contains several full version .pdf files of detailed info on writing strategies, samples, writer’s workshop, assessment, good writing, writing organizers, etc. This is a great site. Scholastic Writing Workshop: http://teacher.scholastic.com/ activities/writing/index.asp? topic=women *National Writing Project - 30 Ideas for Writing http://www.nwp.org/cs/ public/print/resource/922 Writing Workshop Lesson: http:// www.atozteacherstuff.com/pages/ 520.shtml NWREL - Writing Assessment: http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/ Classroom Publishing Kits: http:// www.classroompublishing.com/ (these are purchased kits) Creating a Publishing Center in your classroom: http:// content.scholastic.com/browse/ article.jsp?id=4385

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Lessons for Desktop Publishing: http://desktoppub.about.com/od/ lessonplans/ ===========================

3.1 Our Favorite Authors! F. Scott Fitzgerald is probably known to just about every American literature student. The Great Gatsby is one of the most widely taught novels in high school . Widely regarded as a masterpiece that confronts the conflict between the American dream and the reality of life in a world where traditional values are under attack, the novel has long been a staple of 11th grade reading. Movies have been made of this and other Fitzgerald works and he, himself, served some time as a Hollywood script writer. Despite the fact that the novel is set during the 1920’s Jazz Age, it still resonates with readers today as we also deal with many of the same issues.. We see people like Gatsby in our society today : those who remake their identities to fit their own purposes. We see the conflicts between the moral values of different parts of our social structure, the cult of celebrity, the materialism and the loss of innocence. There are parallels in our culture today that can lead to interesting discussions in our classes as we study this novel. Some websites that will help with your teaching of this author: Movie – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button based on a Fitzgerald short story. Starring Brad Pitt & Cate Blanchett. Due out Christmas 2008 F. Scott Fitzgerald website: http:// freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.co m/~tdlarson/fsf/links.htm The Great Gatsby Comprehension and Literary Analysis Blog: http:// honorsenglish.learnerblogs.org/ The Great Gatsby Homework online resources: http://www.homeworkonline.com/tgg/index.asp The Great Gatsby literary criticism: http://www.enotes.com/twentiethcentury-criticism/great-gatsby-f-scottfitzgerald BELINDA BAIR

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From Wonderland to Wasteland…… http://www.accessmylibrary.com/ coms2/summary_0286-15890113_ITM F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Evolving American Dream…..http:// findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0403/ is_n3_v42/ai_19416370 Questia: various critical essays of Fitzgerald’s works: http:// www.questia.com/read/98116386? title=Gatsby Deconstruction Literary Theory and … the Great Gatsby: http://eric.ed.gov:80/ ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/ recordDetails/detailmini.jsp? _nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_Searc hValue_0=ED351684&ERICExtSearc h_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED35168 4 ============ 4.1 Charles Dickens Although rarely taught as often as he once was, Dickens remains one of the most important English writers in the canon. The most popular novel still studied regularly in schools is Great Expectations, but other works such as The Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, and David Copperfield still can speak to modern readers. Their length and density of language are a challenge to contemporary students who want shorter. less complex texts, but few writers have ever dealt more effectively with issues of injustice, child abuse, or class differences, Many movies, plays and TV shows have been made from Dicken’s novels including multiple versions of A Christmas Carol (the best is one with George C. Scott); David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Tale of Two Cities, and most recently a magnificent Masterpiece Theatre Bleak House with Gillian Anderson in the starring role. Musicals have been made of several of his works including Oliver and the unfinished Mystery of Edwin Drood. Despite the fact that his prose style is no longer as popular among modern readers, his characters and plots remain among the most memorable and well-developed in literature. ENGLISH NEWSLETTER

The Charles Dickens Murders: A Beth Austin Mystery (Beth Austin Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)by Edith Skom Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold. Tells the story of C.D. unhappy wife,Catherine, from her point of view. Marley's Ghost by Mark Hazard Osmun – a prequel to A Christmas Carol. 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon The Last Christmas of Ebenezer Scrooge: The Sequel to A Christmas Carol by Marvin Kaye. 4/5 stars Charles Dickens website: http:// charlesdickenspage.com/index.html Charles Dickens resources: http:// www.helsinki.fi/kasv/nokol/ dickens.html Three part Dickens biography on PBS planned for December 2008 Dickens works online: http:// www.classicauthors.net/Dickens/ full text of many Dickens works Discovering Charles Dickens – teachers Cyberguide with lesson plans: http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/ dickens/dickenstg.html Check out NetFlix for many DVD movies. ============================ 4.2 Websites of General Interest English Literature: Early 17th Century: http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/ 16th Century English Literature: http:// www.luminarium.org/renlit/ English Literature on the Web: http:// www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/ EngLit.html Links to English authors: http:// www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/ treasures/english/engl.html

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Labyrinth Library: Old English: http:// www8.georgetown.edu/departments/ medieval/labyrinth/library/oe/oe.html Women and 18th Century English literature: http://www.wright.edu/ ~martin.maner/18cwom99.html Renaissance and 17th Century: http:// vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=2749 19th Century Literature: http:// www.literaryhistory.com/19thC/ Outline.htm Middle English literature collection: http://etext.virginia.edu/collections/ languages/english/mideng.browse.html English and American Literature : http://www.anglik.net/ anglikliterature.htm Victorian Literature Overview: http:// www.victorianweb.org/vn/litov.html Voice of the Shuttle – Literary Research: http://vos.ucsb.edu/ Romanticism: http://users.lycaeum.org/ ~maverick/romantic.htm Romantic Literature Resources: http:// www.academicinfo.net/ englitromatic.html Gothic Literature: http:// members.aol.com/iamudolpho/ basic.html =========================== 4.3 Movies from Books etc. The Day the Earth Stood Still – remake of the classic movie based on Harry Bates sci-fi story “Farewell to the Master” . Keanu Reeves stars. Due out 12/12 Frost/Nixon – based on the interviews. Stars Frank Langella. Due out 12/5 Secret Life of Bees based on the Sue Kidd bestseller. Dakota Fanning and Jennifer Hudson. 10/17

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Twilight based on the popular teen series by Stephanie Meyers. This tells the story of the tempestuous love affair between Bella and Edward, a vampire. Popular series with teens. In case you hadn’t heard: the next Harry Potter movie The Half-Blood Prince release date has been changed to July 2009. Johnny Got His Gun The classic anti-was novel by Dalton Trumbo gets the theatre release in Sept. PBS – Mystery - SEP 21 – 28 Sally Lockhart Billie Piper stars as Sally Lockhart in two adaptations of Philip Pullman’s popular novels about the feisty young female sleuth. Sep 21 The Ruby in the Smoke Sep 28 The Shadow in the North --------------------F.Scott Fitzgerald Movie – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button based on a Fitzgerald short story. Starring Brad Pitt & Cate Blanchett. Due out Christmas 2008 F. Scott Fitzgerald website: http:// freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.co m/~tdlarson/fsf/links.htm The Great Gatsby Comprehension and Literary Analysis Blog: http:// honorsenglish.learnerblogs.org/ The Great Gatsby Homework online resources: http://www.homeworkonline.com/tgg/index.asp ============================ 5.1 Bulletin Board Ideas.

SEPTEMBER: Read a New Book Month Native American Day – 4th Friday – OCTOBER: Teen Read Week Oct. 12-18 http:// www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/trw/ trw2008/index.cfm

ENGLISH NEWSLETTER

Family History Month – a good time for students to do an autobiography National Hispanic History Month – Read House on Mango Street or another Hispanic novel or short story. Celebrate Banned Books Week - 1st week in Oct. NOVEMBER: Nov. 1 - National Author’s Day http:// childrensbooks.about.com/od/ authorsillustrato/ Authors_and_Illustrators_of_Childrens _Books.htm National Education Week 11/16-22 http://www.nea.org/aew/index.html Themes: Kick off a Great Year BB with footballs flying through the air and over a goal post. On the footballs write key concepts, themes, units, etc. that you want students to focus on. Football players, footballs and other graphics may be printed on a computer or may be found at paper goods stores or craft stores.

Elect to Read: Focus on political novels, nonfiction books about past elections, biographies of Presidents etc. Trim, graphics and colors would be appropriate for election time. You could conduct a contest and have students vote on their favorite author, story, or character. Graphics could include the flag, a ballot box, podium with a character, etc. You could incorporate a debate by having students defend a point such as: Which book did you read that you would /or would not,recommend to others. If reading biographies of past Presidents, students could debate which past President was the best. ============================ 5.2 Your Professional Library

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Below is a list of recommended books and resources about teaching writing. These are materials that I have either used or read that I found useful when I taught or have since found useful.

School can be a ‘bushel of fun’ . Have a picture/graphic of a bushel basket with leaves, apples etc. filling the basket and in and around the basket you would put student names, names of books or stories you will read, snippets of poetry, etc.

Teaching Terrific Writing by Gary Robert Muschla McGraw Hill. c. 2007 ISBN 13: 978-0-07-146317-1 $19.95 This book has many reproducible exercises for finding and developing ideas, writing effective sentences, revising & proofreading.

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Writing Skills Problem Solver by Carol H. Behrman Jossey-Bass c. 2000. ISBN 0-13-060039-3 $29.95

Webs of Knowledge - Create a spider web on a BB and scatter Halloween spiders around it as well as small cards with website URL’s that students can use for a unit or for general research in your class. -----------Who done it? A mystery BB celebrating Edgar Allan Poe who invented the detective story. Focus on Poe’s stories as well as other classic mystery writers. Include book covers, and mysterious clues to books. Mysterynet.com This website contains daily mysteries and lots of fun things to use for class. http:// www.mysterynet.com/ -----------------

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This book has 101 reproducible activities for correcting the most common writing errors. Good for warm-ups, spot lessons, review.. Webster’s New World High School Writer’s Handbook Sharon Sornson Prentice Hall c. 1988 ISBN 0-13-949777-3 Although difficult to come by ( check Amazon .com for new and used copies from various sources), this book is a real asset to the writing teacher. It has clear directions and several examples of each type of writing from writing advertising to character sketches, to notes, opinion pieces, short stories, technical reports and many others. There are samples for writing across the curriculum in English, social studies, science,

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business and vocational ed. I give it 5 out of 5 stars! Sentence Combining Workbook Pam Altman, Mari Caro et.al. c. 2001 Thomson Heinle ISBN 0-15-507507-1 Exercises in reproducible worksheets for learning how to effective combine sentences. Writing Reminders: Tools, tips, and techniques Jim Burke c. 2003. Heinemann ISBN 0-86709-521-0 This excellent resource is like a file cabinet in a book. This is designed specifically for the teacher to help guide and support your teaching of the writing class. ============================ 6.1 Famous Authors Birthdays 9/1 – Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan) 9/4 – Richard Wright 9/11 – O.Henry 9/13 – Roald Dahl 9/15 – Agatha Christie 9/20 – Upton Sinclair 9/21 – H.G. Wells 9/22 – Stephen King 9/24 – F.Scott Fitzgerald 9/25 –Shel Silvestein, William Faulkner 9/26 – T.S. Eliot 9/30 – Truman Capote 10/3 – James Herriot 10/8 – R.L. Stine 10/11 – Elmore Leonard 10/14 – e.e. cummings 10/16 – Eugene O’Neill, Oscar Wilde 10/17 – Arthur Miller 10/19 – Phillip Pullman 10/21 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge 10/30 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky 10/31 – John Keats 11/1 – Stephen Crane 11/8 – Margaret Mitchell 11/13 – Robert Louis Stevenson 11/26 – Eugene Ionesco 11/29 – C.S. Lewis, Louisa May Alcott 11/30 – Mark Twain, Jonathan Swift ENGLISH NEWSLETTER

=========================== 6.2 Ideas for the Classroom A. Headline starters: Collect a series of headlines from various local newspapers. Tape each one to a piece of chart paper and have students go around the room and add details to flesh out a possible story that the headline might imply. Then give each chart paper to a small group who has to create a written product based on the headline and the additional details that have been added. The product may be a news article, poem, rap song, short story, play, or other of their choice. Encourage creativity by allowing the result to be serious or comic, satire, or technical. B. Writing Stations: Stations can be very effective for individual practice work. Create a series of folders with activities, exercises or worksheets focusing on key writing issues. Some suggestions: Developing Ideas Writing the Interesting Sentence Type of Paragraphs Using Transtions During class you could refer a student to a specific writing station for review work, or you could provide some open time for students to work on issues they have identified as problem areas for themselves. Material for the stations may come from various workbooks (see writing books I recommended ) or from sample workbooks sent to the school. =========================== 6.3 Political Novels Tis the season for politics. If you tire of the drone of the news shows, you might want to delve into classic and modern political novels for different insights. Below is a list that is by no means exhaustive of political novels past and present that you might want to try out Advise and Consent – Allan Drury All the King’s Men – Robert Penn Warren

Brave New World – Aldus Huxley Darkness at Noon – Arthur Koestler Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury Catch -22 - Joseph Heller Manchurian Candidate – Richard Condon The Ugly American –Eugene Burdick & Wiliam Lederer Primary Colors – Joe Klein Bonfire of the Vanities – Tom Wolfe Fatherland – Robert Harris Animal Farm and 1984– George Orwell The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz (2007) The Plot Against America: A Novel – Philip Roth (2004) The Handmaid’s Tale: A Novel – Margaret Atwood Our Man in Havana – Graham Greene The Book of Daniel – E.L. Doctorow Heart Mountain – Gretel Ehrlich The Unquiet Earth – Denise Giardina ============================ 6.4 Pun - ishment 1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The steward looks at him and says, “I’m sorry sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger. 2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says, “Dam!” 3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisngly, it sank, proving once again that you can’t have your kayak

and heat it too.

4. Two hydrogen atoms meet . One says, “I’ve lost my electron.” The other says,’Are you sure?”The first replies, “Yes, I’m positive.” 5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocaine during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.

Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand

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Writer’s checklist & Peer Evaluation Writer’s code name or # __________________________________________ Date: ___________________ Title of work: ____________________________________________ Audience: ______________________________ First draft _____________ Final draft ______________ (check one) 1 - needs significant revision

Column 1 - Peer Reader 1 Column 3 - Writer’s self evaluation 2 - okay - some improvement needed 3 - very good - little or no revision Column 2 - Peer Reader 2 Column 4 - Teacher evaluation needed Column 5 - Comments

Content

1

2

3

4

Comments

1. Interest - Is the writing interesting? Does it hold your attention. 2. Development - Is there enough information, detail, Support? 3. Unity - Are all ideas related to the topic? 4. Organization - Are ideas arranged in logical order for this topic? 5. Diction - Does word choice help convey the idea effectively? 6. Figurative language - Did the writer use metaphor, simile etc? 7. Imagery - Did the writer create a picture in your mind with words? 8. Editing- If this is a final draft, did the writer correct spelling, punctuation, form, grammar, & usage? ENGLISH NEWSLETTER

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Permission is given to copy this. FALL 2008 BELINDA BAIR

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Personal Response: The Price of Progess Machines in our Lives

Background: Machines have been created many times to take over jobs that were once done by only human labor. Some advantages of these machines include: • no wages, benefits, sick days, or vacation time has to be given or accounted for • no worry about lost time due to absence or lateness • no worry about lose of equipment, supplies etc. due to untrained or dishonest employees • the machine can be easily repaired or replaced if damaged • one machine can work many hours w/o a break, shift change, or time off • no union problems or disputes • no training costs- machine is programmed or built to do a particular job • no “morale” or attitude problems to contend with • no concerns about on-the-job accidents or injuries, or unemployment insurance etc.

Brainstorm Box: Brainstorm a list of jobs that you know of that are currently done primarily or only by human beings.

Choose 1 (one) of the jobs you listed above and write it in the box below:

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ASSIGNMENT: You work for a company that develops labor-saving devices for other companies. You have been hired to create a machine that will replace the human worker for the job you have listed above. You may include a drawing to help illustrate your explanation, but the written explanation is required. Any and all details that will help us understand the working of the machine should be included. • Briefly describe the job currently done by human beings. Include what they do, how they do it and what the end result is. • Describe the machine your company will create to replace the human worker. Include any and all necessary detail such as: *size, shape, color of the machine * method of power or energy used to operate the machine * method of control or programming for the job * how the machine will function as it does the job * any special safety features that will be needed to prevent accidents or misuse ( automatic cut off, alarms, etc.)

You do NOT have to worry about cost, practicality, or reality. Assume that the machine can and will be built if you design it.

My Machine The job my machine will replace is the road control person. This is the person who works with road construction crews to control the traffic flow around and through a road construction site. Currently a person stands at either end of the construction zone and controls traffic with a sign that either STOPS traffic or allows it to proceed (SLOW). Human workers at either end communicate through hand-held radios. My machine will be a free-standing post or stanchion with the SLOW and STOP signals with either electronic signs or interchanging flags. The intervals between signals will be preset by the construction crew based on distance between the posts, time needed for traffic movement, and other relevant factors. The construction chief will have a remote master control to change both signals to STOP in case of emergency or construction needs. An alarm signal will be activated by an electric eye in the post if a car attempts to pass the post while the STOP signal is activated. The alarm may be a siren, alarm bell, recorded verbal command or flashing red light. A camera mounted on the base will take a picture of the license plate of an offending car and a photo record forwarded to law enforcement. The signals on the post will be set to operate with each other through automated radio signals. The machine will be powered by battery- either conventional or solar powered. Weights in the base can be added stabilize the post in windy conditions. The entire assembly will be sealed for protection from rain and snow. The base and pole will be painted with alternating yellow and black stripes for maximum visibility and 3 flashing yellow signal lights will alert oncoming traffic at a distance.

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Drawing of my machine

radio antenna

solar battery panels

signal/sign

STOP flashing warning lights

alarm siren

electric eye

camera

control box

base area to add weights as needed Additional Writing Lessons:

Creating Writing from Freewiting to Formalizing: http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/ lesson_view.asp?id=1071 Modeling Academic Writing Through Scholarly Article Presentations: http:// www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1133 Persuading Readers with Endorsement Letters: http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/ lesson_view.asp?id=1112 The Chilren’s Picture Book Projecthttp://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp? id=1022 Read Write think - NCTE Lessons http://www.readwritethink.org/index.asp

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