Following Up: The Career Fair Essay

• This is the official prompt, as written in the back of the 2013 Career Fair Workbook.
• This is the Essay Assignment sheet given out in class, with handy examples.
• Just for fun, here's the original picture I used at the bottom. Look at how happy this kid is. Incredible.
• This is the sample expository essay that accompanied the Essay Assignment Sheet.
• This is the website where the winning entry will be posted (hence the inclusion of headings, figures, charts, and pictures. How hip! How modern! How "flashy"! Thanks to Jordan Malone, 5th p, for that adjective.)
• This is the TCAP rubric used for scoring expository essays.
• Don't know how to format an essay in MLA? Here's a handy guide on how to put your essay into the proper format.

• Here is the IKWCBS Anticipation Guide. I took this up at the end of class.

HW for the 3-Day Weekend:

• Type the Career Fair Essay
• Read Ch. 1-5 of IKWCBS (that's through Ch. 5, which means stop at Ch. 6)
• Have a safe, fun, chocolate-covered Halloween.
• I mean, candy is bad for you and you shouldn't eat it. Enjoy your broccoli tonight.

Think On Your Futures

The administration of the PSAT took up the bulk of the morning. Freshmen lunched in the Auditorium to facilitate going on the Career Fair field trip.

Our 6 busses departed for the Music City Center downtown right around 12:10. Students interviewed professional representatives in a plethora of career paths, and came back to school in time for the last bell of the day.

I'd like to send out a huge thank you to the teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, and most importantly, our MLK parents, for helping today run smoothly!

Note on tomorrow: We have an Awards Assembly tomorrow, and will be running our Activity Schedule.

Oh, I almost forgot to say! Freshman Royals looked GREAT in their professional clothes! Way to dress up! Particularly the handsome representation of bowties.

New Directions; Wednesday Groundwork

Today, students handed in their responses to the Reading Guide Questions about Maya Angelou's "New Directions" (in the Lit Textbook.)

After returning some student work, and collecting a few straggling Career Fair Permission Slips (Are you reading this, Caleb P? Zach C?), we took some time in class to lay a strong foundation for tomorrow, which by all accounts, is going to be a pretty crazy day:

• Students arrive to school ON TIME (you will not be allowed to begin the PSAT late)
• Report to your 1st period class
• Take the PSAT (Everyone is taking it. Questions about this absolutist statement should be directed to the Guidance Department.)
• There are no snack/bathroom breaks during the PSAT. That means until 11:35ish. Prepare accordingly.
• After the administration of the PSAT, students have a lunch block until about 11:55
• Freshmen will gather in the Auditorium to get into their bus groups, meet their chaperones, and receive their Career Fair Workbooks.
• We'll head out to the Music City Center for a wonderful afternoon of exploring future opportunities.
• When we return (around 2:30), we'll wind down the day in the auditorium.

Reminders For Tomorrow:

• Dress For Success
• Questions about what Business Casual Means? Check this out. Or just google it yourself.
• Bring pencils/pens
• You probably won't need your whole backpack.
• Leave your electronics behind. At you house, in your locker, whatever.

Non-Fiction Group Work, Report Cards, Career Fair

Here's how today began:

• I collected students' answers to Q1-4 from the HW over the weekend ("The Washwoman")
• I also collected the Career Fair Permission Slips for this Wednesday.

Then students took out their textbooks and worked on the Literary Analysis: Personal Essay sheet concerning Singer's "The Washwoman."

Q3 was the hardest, because it dealt with the author's purpose: why did he write this? What was Singer trying to achieve? How are we, his audience, supposed to be different at the end?

If I had to give an answer to that question, here's what I'd say:

Singer wrote "The Washwoman" to extol the virtues of hard work and dedication, as demonstrated by the washwoman, who embodies a spirit of duty to responsibility that transcends her lowly station. I can tell, because of her commitment to finishing that last load of wash, and the way he describes her saintly passing in the final paragraph of the piece. 

And here's what the actual Key says:

"But Mr. Tidyman, what exactly is dignity?"

Lastly, before students left, I gave them their Q1 Report Cards (see me if you didn't get yours), my Q2 MNPS Syllabus, and gave out the HW. See below -->

• The HW for tonight was to read "New Directions" by Maya Angelou, and answer the Close Reading Guide questions that accompany that piece of non-fiction.
• You do not have to bring your textbooks to class tomorrow, but you do have to bring the questions from the bullet point above.
• And I would like to have ALL of the Freshman Career Fair Permission Slips turned in tomorrow.

The Washerwoman: Weblink for Online Textbook

Here's a generic portal to access the online textbook. Remember, your assignment is The Washerwoman, and the 4 accompanying questions on pg 32.

1. Navigate to the Pearson Login Page.
2. Enter the username TidysClass
3. Enter the password tidyman09
4. Click on "Open Book" on the lower left-hand side.
5. Get to reading!

10/22: Introduction to Non-Fiction

First, freshman classes reviewed the difference between Fiction and Non-Fiction writing using this short, simple Powerpoint.

Then we used this Non-Fiction Practice Handout to begin classifying certain scenarios as being Fictional or Non-Fictional.

After this relatively simple exercise, the whole class was invited to sort out a table full of a mixed collection of fiction and non-fiction books. We discussed reasons why books belonged in one pile or the other:

Remember, this is really a book on PHILOSOPHY,
which makes it Non Fiction.

Then, we took a look at the Venn Diagram comparing F and NonF on the back of the linked document above. Basically, the details broke down like this:

Notes on Venn Diagram

After having spent the day reviewing the NonF genre, I assigned HW, which was:

• A NF Reading Practice
• NOTE: You don't have to complete the bottom part: EXCEED. Just do 1-6.
• Bring English Textbooks (Teal) to class tomorrow
• Don't forget: we're getting ready to read Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. Get yourself a copy ASAP!

Monday, 10/21: 306 Lab Survey

As we begin the 2nd 9 weeks, please take a moment to complete this survey for our Guidance Department:


Guidance Link