Reflective Essay, Night

You will be writing a reflective essay on some of the chapters we will study during our Night/Holocaust unit in place of a quiz. You should not work collaboratively on this assignment. Papers, written by friends, which appear similar in concept or wording, will be asked to be re-written. For this reason, you will sign up for your topics. As I said before, this will be very difficult for those of you who believe you may skip reading assignments (or blatantly NOT pay attention during class—which, by the way, is very disrespectful and rude) and still receive a decent grade. No gifts will be given with these assignments.; you will receive the grade you earn.

Below, you will find an outline of how points will be distributed for this assignment.

General Requirements:

* Grammar and spelling always count.

* Choose an important/meaningful quotation from the chapter to reflect on. The quote should be no more than 3 sentences long and does not count toward your word count. You should write the quote on the top line of your paper and include the page and paragraph found. (5 points)

* Explain the quotation and its relationship/significance to: a) the rest of the chapter; b) the novel, in general; and c) Elie’s character. (5 points/each = 15 points)

* Describe your personal emotional response to the quotation. Why did you choose this quotation? What word or words demand an emotional response from its reader? (I’m looking for specifics here. Statements like “This quote is sad. This book makes me sad. It’s a sad story.” will receive 0 points. Explain, in detail, all your thoughts. Maturity also matters – disrespectful, irrelevant, or sarcastic comments will also receive 0 points.) (15 points)

* Include any literary devices which connect to the quotation. (i.e., simile, metaphor, symbolism, foreshadowing, irony, etc. P.S. If there are “no literary devices used” you should pick a different quote.) (15 points)

* ISTEP rubric (50 points)

* Neatness will count – if I can’t read it, I will not grade it.

* MLA heading

* double-spaced

* word count at the end of the paper

* typed = 5 points bonus


Total value: 100 points

Daily Agenda 8/27

Today's Agenda ~

* Secondary seating (middle seats open)
* Receive ISTEP rubrics and symbols of correction sheet
* Proofread / peer edit student papers (25 minutes)
* Announcements: bring grammar workbooks and Frederick Douglass books tomorrow; vocab lessons 3-4 are due tomorrow; tomorrow is last day to turn in lessons 1-2
*6th period received graded papers and progress reports; signed progress reports are due back by Wednesday; signed only if grade is lower than a B-average (79.4 and below)
* Discuss corrections and suggestions with partners.

* Standards met today: 10.4.1, 10.4.10, 10.4.11, 10.4.12, 10.5.1, 10.6.2, 10.6.3

Standard 4, Writing

Standard 4, Writing: Processes and Features

Students discuss ideas for writing with other writers. They write coherent and focused essays that show a well-defined point of view and tightly reasoned argument. Students progress through the stages of the writing process (prewriting, writing, editing, and revising).

Organization and Focus

10.4.1
Discuss ideas for writing with classmates, teachers, and other writers and develop drafts alone and collaboratively.

10.4.2
Establish a coherent thesis that conveys a clear perspective on the subject and maintain a consistent tone and focus throughout the piece of writing.

10.4.3
Use precise language, action verbs, sensory details, appropriate modifiers, and the active (I will always remember my first trip to the city) rather than the passive voice (My first trip to the city will always be remembered).

10.4.13
Establish coherence within and among paragraphs through effective transitions, parallel structures, and similar writing techniques.

Research Process and Technology

10.4.4
Use clear research questions and suitable research methods, including texts, electronic resources, and personal interviews, to compile and present evidence from primary and secondary print or Internet sources.

10.4.5
Develop main ideas within the body of the composition through supporting evidence, such as scenarios, commonly held beliefs, hypotheses, and definitions.

10.4.6
Synthesize information from multiple sources. Identify complexities and inconsistencies in the information and the different perspectives found in each medium, including almanacs, microfiche, news sources, in-depth field studies, speeches, journals, technical documents, and Internet sources.

10.4.7
Integrate quotations and citations into a written text while maintaining the flow of ideas.

10.4.8
Use appropriate conventions for documentation in text, notes, and bibliographies following the formats in different style manuals.

10.4.9
Use a computer to design and publish documents by using advanced publishing software and graphic programs.

Evaluation and Revision

10.4.10
Review, evaluate, revise, edit, and proofread writing using an editing checklist.

10.4.11
Apply criteria developed by self and others to evaluate the mechanics and content of writing.

10.4.12
Provide constructive criticism to other writers with suggestions for improving organization, tone, style, clarity, and focus; edit and revise in response to peer reviews of own work.

Frederick Douglass Journal, Ch. 5-9

Requirements for Frederick Douglass Journals/Reader Response Essays:

• Essays / responses MUST follow the writing prompt
• Essays / responses MUST contain an obvious introduction, body, and conclusion
• Introductory paragraph MUST include a clear thesis as last sentence
• Entries should be around 200 words
• Entries will receive no penalty for under 5 spelling / capitalization errors
• Entries should contain NO run-ons or fragments
• Entries should not contain any “fluff” — stay on topic ONLY
• Permitted to use ‘I’ ; entries should NOT have ‘you’
• Entries should use minimal ‘be’ verb usage — please underline all ‘be’ verbs
• Avoid “In this essay…” ; “in the following paragraphs” etc.

Topic Choices for Frederick Douglass Journal, Ch. 5-9
Choose only one from the list below. Do not address all topics in your response.

• Do you believe in survival of the fittest?
• What is the longest you’ve gone without contacting someone?
• What’s the most you can achieve?
• When does silence speak and when does your voice speak?
• Who decides your fate?
• Do you ever feel manipulated?
• Why do you go to school?

Rubric for Frederick Douglass Journals/Essays

Content: Addresses question/prompt & stays on topic (5 points possible)

Follows Instruction: No ‘you,’ ‘in this paper/essay…’
underline ‘be’ verbs, etc. (5 points possible)

Grammar / Mechanics: Less than 5 spell./cap.
mistakes, no frags / run-ons (5 points possible)

Paragraphing: Obvious intro/body/concl., thesis,
logical order / paragraph breaks (5 points possible)

Comments:

Total:

I-STEP Parallel Writing Rubric

Ideas and Content
6 -- completely focused & thorough ideas
5 -- primarily focused & relevant ideas
4 -- mostly focused & several relevant ideas
3 -- somewhat focused & minimally relevant ideas
2 -- less than minimal focus & few relevant ideas
1 -- little to no focus & scarce relevant ideas

Organization of Ideas
6 -- logical
5 -- mostly logical
4 -- somewhat logical
3 -- attempts at logical
2 -- rarely logical
1 -- not logical

Word Usage & Writing Style
6 -- exceptional
5 -- more than adequate
4 -- adequate
3 --minimal
2 -- less than minimal
1 -- entirely lacking

Voice: Language & Tone
6 -- effectively adjusts to task & reader
5 -- somewhat effectively adjusts to task & reader
4 -- attempts to adjust to task & reader
3 -- slightly attempts to adjust to task & reader
2 -- some inappropriate use for task & reader
1 -- inappropriate use for task & reader

Follows Instructions
6 -- completely
5 -- mostly
4 -- adequately
3 -- somewhat
2 -- minimally
1 -- scarcely

Capitalization and Punctuation
4 -- no glaring errors
3 -- mostly accurate
2 --missing or incorrect
1 -- errors obstruct meaning

Spelling
4 -- all/nearly all correct
3 -- mostly correct
2 -- some misspellings
1 -- many misspellings

Grammar/Word Usage
4 -- correct
3 -- mostly correct
2 -- some incorrect
1 -- frequently incorrect

Paragraphing
4 -- proper
3 -- adequate
2 -- some/little attempt
1 -- no paragraphing

Sentence Structure
4 -- no run-ons / fragments
3 -- a run-on and/or fragment
2 -- some run-ons/fragments
1 -- many run-ons/fragments

50 points possible Total earned points _____

Comments: