Timed Writing Today:  (Postponed until the week of Monday, December 2nd)

Write a well-developed paragraph in which you discuss how Miller demonstrates in the opening dialogue of Act Two that Elizabeth is the antithesis of the “cold, sniveling woman” described by Abigail in Act One.

Your textual evidence should include the following:

Elizabeth's discussion about the rabbit.
Elizabeth's initial plea to Proctor to go to Salem.
Elizabeth's plea to Proctor to talk to Abigail.

We reviewed the opening pages of Act II and discussed a potential response to the question. Be prepared to complete a thorough analysis of the scene.

Here are the flashcards for Vocabulary List 17 and List 18.  The quizzes will be the week after Thanksgiving.

Enjoy your time off.  Eat plenty of turkey and all the fixings.  But don't forget to READ!

READ! READ! READ!    

For those of you who would like to get ahead, instructions for the final, formal IR Check will be forthcoming.                                        

Vocabulary Lists 15 and 16 Test Today.  If you missed it, is your responsibility to take it when you return to class.

Today I distributed a handout that you can work on independently or in a small group to use for future reference or as a study guide.  Based on some of your responses to yesterday's analysis question, I can see that you are either not reading or not keeping up with class discussions and notes.  You have access to the online textbook, so you should review pages of text that you don't understand.

Don't forget to keep up with your Independent Reading.  Also, based on your responses to yesterday's IR Check, I can see that some of you are not reading.  The only way to fix this problem is to actually READ!

Schedule some time over the break to read.  Take your book with you everywhere you go so that you can read.  READ! READ! READ!

IR Check Today.  You should have read at least a 1/3 of your book by now.  By the time we come back from the Thanksgiving break you should have read more than half of your book or have finished it.  You will have an IR check on Wednesday, December 4th.

Act One Analytical Paragraph Test.

If you missed either of these, it is your responsibility to make them up when you return to class.

Vocabulary Test Lists 15 and 16 tomorrow.  Here are the flashcards.

Vocabulary Quiz List 16 Today.

Vocabulary List 15 and 16 Test Thursday.  Here are the flashcards.

Act One AP style multiple choice quiz.

If you missed either of today's quizzes, you are responsible for making them up when you return to class or for making arrangements to take them after school.

Don't forget to be reading your book.  IR Check tomorrow.

Today we reviewed paragraph structure.  Your paragraphs should initially be organized in the following way.

1st sentence:  Topic sentence (sometimes called a body thesis).  It should contain the subject of your paragraph.  It is the answer to the question.  It is the statement that clarifies what you will provide textual support for in the sentences that follow.

2nd sentence:  Embedded textual evidence that supports your topic sentence.  It is also called concrete detail.  It is an example, an illustration, or proof to validate the claim you've made in your topic sentence.

3rd sentence:  Elaborate or explain how your textual evidence supports your topic sentence.  It is also called commentary because you should be commenting about the preceding detail.

4th sentence:  Embedded textual evidence.

5th sentence:  Elaboration.

6th sentence:  Embedded textual evidence.

7th sentence:  Elaboration.

This type of paragraph structure is very basic and should be used every time you plan your paragraph.  As you get better at including each of the components, then you can work on refining your syntax so that you seamlessly weave your details with your commentary.  Getting to that point requires work.

We went through pages 1048-49 of Act One and reviewed the ensuing argument among the dominant players:  Putnam, Proctor, and Parris.

Vocabulary Quiz List 16 tomorrow.  Here are the flashcards.

Timed Writing today.  If you were absent, it is your responsibility to complete it on Monday.

Reminders:

Vocabulary Quiz List 16 on Tuesday.  Here are the flashcards. Vocabulary Test 15 & 16 on Thursday.  Study!

Independent Reading check on Wednesday.  You should have read through at least 1/3 of your book.  Read!  

We were on pep-rally schedule today.

Vocabulary List 15 Quiz today.  You should have picked up List 16.  That quiz will be next Tuesday.

Today was the last day to retest last week's vocabulary test. 

Review pages 1048-1049 in your textbook for tomorrow's Timed Writing.

Group 5 and 6 Presentations today.

Presentation Evaluation:

Write down the two most memorable things you remember from any of the presentations.
Write a well-developed sentence in which you evaluate the connection among all six of the presentation topics.  Yes, The Crucible connects them all, but what else?  Hint: a systemic problem in society that is at the root of all the hysteria over so many centuries.

Vocabulary List 15 Quiz tomorrow.  Here are the flashcards.

11-12-13

Vocabulary Lists 13 and 14 Test Today

Group 5 and 6 Presentations are tomorrow.

Vocabulary List 15 Quiz is Thursday.  Here are the flashcards.

Be prepared to evaluate claims made by characters throughout The Crucible and to analyze the validity of their reasoning. Today we did a quick review of the contrasting arguments made by Mrs. Putnam and Mrs. Nurse.  Here are the syllogisms:

Mrs. Putnam
Major Premise: Afflictions are caused by either God or the devil/witchcraft.
Minor Premise: The girls (Betty and Ruth Ann) are afflicted.
Inevitable Conclusion:  Therefore, the girls' affliction is caused by the devil/witchcraft.

Analysis:  Though Mrs. Putnam chooses one of two tenets held by Puritans about the causes of afflictions, Mrs. Putnam reasons erroneously because she has based her major premise on her personal experience (the traumatic loss of losing seven unbaptized babies and her daughter going to Tituba to conjure the spirits of the dead babies).  Her judgment is, therefore, biased. 

Mrs. Nurse
Major Premise:  Afflictions are caused by God or the devil; however, children often go through phrases in which they mischievously act out afflictions.
Minor Premises:  The girls (Betty and Ruth Ann) seem afflicted.
Inevitable Conclusion:  Their afflictions are not real; they are simply going through a "silly season."

Analysis:  Though Mrs. Nurse's claim seems valid, it is flawed because she doesn't have all the facts.  She basis her conclusion on wisdom gained from raising eleven children and twenty-six grandchildren. Though having "seen them all through their silly seasons," she makes a hasty generalization in which she applies her experience with children to the specific case of Betty and Ruth Ann without knowing all the facts.  When she learns some of the facts, she changes her mind.

Mrs. Nurse (new line of reasoning)
Major Premise:  Afflictions are caused by God punishing sinners.
Minor Premise:  Mrs. Putnam sinned by sending her daughter to Tituba to conjure.
Inevitable Conclusion:  The girls are afflicted by God as punishment for practicing witchcraft (conjuring).

Analysis:  Now Mrs. Nurse's reasoning is directly contrasted with Mrs. Putnam's, which provokes Mr. and Mrs. Putnam's ire.  They insist that the afflictions are the work of the devil and look for someone to blame. Mr. Putnam reacts to Mrs. Nurse's statement with hostility and resentment; Mrs. Putnam refuses to accept that personal sin could be the cause of her past experiences and ignores her role in the current affliction of the two girls.

Congratulations Rivera choir members for earning a chair in the TMEA Region Choir.  Good luck as you audition for the All-State Choir!

Today we reviewed the 2nd half of Act I and began our hunt for logical and rhetorical fallacies.  By now everyone should have online access to the textbook and should have a logical and rhetorical fallacies handbook.  Here are the flashcards. The direct link to the textbook is at the top of this blog.  If you fall behind during class or if you are absent, it is your responsibility to get caught up.

Don't forget about tomorrow's Vocabulary Lists 13 and 14 Test.  Here are the flashcards.

Congratulations to the Lady Raiders Volleyball Team and the Raider Football Team for their wins yesterday evening.  Good luck!

Rhetorical Precis are due for each of the two Scientific American articles.

Timed Writing today.  Respond to the following:

Write two well developed paragraphs in which you evaluate the way the claims made in the psychology articles apply to characters in The Crucible.  Use evidence from the articles and from The Crucible to support your assertion.

Important Calendar Changes:

Tuesday, November 12th:  Vocabulary Test 13 & 14  Here are the combined flashcards.
Wednesday, November 13th:  Group 5 and Group 6

Vocabulary List 14 Quiz Today.

Today I distributed the Logical and Rhetorical Fallacies Handbook.  It is your responsibility to read it, review it, and bring it to class everyday.  Next week we will be searching for fallacies in the arguments made by characters in The Crucible.  Be ready.  I have included the terms in Quizlet for you to review.  Here are the flashcards.

We discussed the SOAPS tones for the two Scientific American articles.  Be sure to have your rhetorical precis ready to turn in tomorrow.  Timed Writing will be based on the connection to The Crucible characters.

Group 4 Presentations today on McCarthyism and The Crucible.

Today you had some class time to review yesterday's Scientific American articles.  You can find the links on yesterday's post.  You should have started and/or completed a SOAPStone for each article as a way to prepare for the rhetorical precis due Friday.  Also, you should have discussed the connection to the characters in the play to prepare for Friday's timed writing.

Vocabulary List 14 Quiz tomorrow.  Here are the flashcards.  Study please.

Vocabulary List 13 Quiz today.  Here are the flashcards for Vocabulary List 14.  That quiz will be Thursday.

Today I distributed a copy of two different articles published recently in Scientific American.  The links to both can be found below.  You are expected to read and annotate the two articles and write a rhetorical precis for each.  Be prepared to write about the application of these modern concepts to the characters of The Crucible for Friday's Timed Writing.

"A 'Blame Bias' Distorts Our Judgment" by MelindaWeinner Moyer

"The Psychological Power of Satan" by Piercarlo Valdesolo 

Picture Day.  :)

Don't forget about tomorrow's vocabulary quiz.  Here are the List 13 flashcards.

Also, you should already be reading your book selection.  Read!

Today we reviewed fallacies in Act One.  

Prepare a list of Logical and Rhetorical Fallacies as found in your literature book online on p. R 76 in the Logic and Persuasion Handbook.

Add the following four fallacies to your list:

Slippery Slope
Red Herring
Either/Or  (Black or White)
Straw Man