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Essay exemplar
Essay exemplar
Jordan wants to have a nice, long summer at the end of seventh grade; her persuasive essay makes that quite evident with several points that support her opinion through the use of statistics, comparison, and expert testimony.
Summer: 15 Days or 2 1/2 Months?
The final bell rings. It’s the last day of school, and summer has finally come! Students don’t have to think about school for at least another 2 1/2 months. That is the way it should always be. Schools should continue using the traditional calendar and not a year-round schedule. There are numerous downsides to year-round schooling. It has no positive effects on education, it adds to costs, and it disrupts the long-awaited summer vacation.
Contrary to the well-accepted belief, year-round schooling has no constructive impact on education. Most year-round schedules use the 45-15 method: 45 days of school followed by 15 days off. Because of this, there are many first and last days of school. All those transitions disrupt the learning process. Also, there is no evidence of higher test scores. Due to that, many schools that change to year-round schedules end up switching back. For example, since 1980, 95 percent of schools that tried the year-round schedule changed back to a traditional calendar. It is obvious that changing to year-round schooling does not help students; therefore, why is the change necessary?
Like any other facility, keeping a school open requires a great deal of money. When a school changes to a year-round schedule, the costs skyrocket. Keeping school open in the middle of summer requires air conditioning, and that adds significantly to the school’s expenses. The usual utility bills grow because of the additional open-school time. Finally, teachers must be paid for all the weeks they are working. With all these factors, the cost of keeping schools open becomes immensely high. For example, a high school in Arizona had a cost increase of $157,000 when they switched to year-round schooling. Some schools may not be able to handle such increases, and other schools that can handle these expenses could be doing better things with the money. Is year-round school really where the money should go?
An important part of a child’s life is summertime. With year-round schedules, students would hardly have any time to relax. During the 15-day breaks, they would be thinking about their quick return to school. It would also be difficult to coordinate family vacations with parents’ work schedules. Similarly, children would not be able to go to most summer camps. One expert, Dr. Peter Scales, says, “The biggest plus of camp is that camps help young people discover and explore their talents, interests, and values. Most schools don’t satisfy all these needs. Kids who have these kinds of [camp] experiences end up being healthier and have fewer problems.” Obviously, the summer is crucial to a child’s learning and development. Why should this invaluable part of a young person’s life be taken away?
It is evident that year-round schooling is not the best option for the school calendar. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the traditional school year. Why change something that works so well? The final bell rings. Let’s make sure this bell means that the “real” summer vacation has come.
Review: Memoirs of a Secret Empire
Hi Hum 8,
I have received “3 big ideas” from some of you. This is a good to building on the assignment for today:
REVIEW AssignmentWrite a film review on Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire, which addressses the following questions:1) How did this video supplement your understanding and research on the Edo period to date?
2) Out of reading, viewing, and writing, which medium do you find enhances memory and understanding of a history the most effectively for you? |
Gr 9 Open book quiz
Please prepare short answers and an essay on the following questions, using any materials (Issues for Canadians (textbook), student presentation notes, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, (strongly recommended), examples from class materials (see gr. 9 Assignments page for links to White Paper, reactions, Francophone rights timeline), other online sources such as the Canadian Encyclopedia – must be cited).
Chapter 4 quiz – SS Rubric
We will go over the rest of the Action Doc questions and these briefly, and allow some class time to finish up.
Quiz Questions
Short Answer – provide examples for support.
- In what ways has the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms fostered recognition of collective rights in Canada?
- In what ways does the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms meet the needs of Francophones in minority settings?
- How does the Indian Act recognize the status and identity of Aboriginal peoples?
- How does legislation such as Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8 recognize the status and identity of Aboriginal peoples?
- How do governments recognize Métis cultures and rights through legislation (i.e., treaties, governance, land claims, Métis Settlements in Alberta)?
ESSAY Qs – CHOOSE ONE
- To what extent does the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms meet the needs of Francophones in Québec?
- To what extent should federal and provincial governments support and promote the rights of official language minorities in Canada?
My plan currently is to have an open-book, open-note quiz on the questions above. (MCQ or matching style may be considered).
Alternative essay questions relevant to collective rights as part of the idea of Canadian identity are welcome for consideration.
Today’s Missions
Day 4 – Thur. Feb .12
Time | Subject | Class Plan | Notes |
9:28-10:16 | HUM 7-1 | Gr 7 – 2 missions: decide on which blocks to use to1) Complete the Creative Essay Redux – we will show our work in class on Friday
2)Meet in CPR/ News groups for check-in.CPR – When is the railroad going up? What will it look like? Will it be within our classroom or outside in the halls of the school? If it will be a school exhibit. Please send me an update today.News – how many articles are ready for the first publication? Please send me an update today. EXTENSION: Balderdashers – Brant / TeeganTomorrow: Ch 6 overview / Ch 7 Lower Canada Rebellions |
NEW ASSIGNMENT – Ch 5 & 6 Timeline pointsChoose 2 timeline topics, one per chapter. One must be something you have NOT written on yet. Read your peers’ paragraph on the subject to refresh your memory, and gain insight to help your timeline point shine. You should be able to draft at least 1 timeline point today.
Due: next Thursday OTHER ASSIGNMENTS Essay drafts returned tomorrow (Friday). Corrections /REVISED ESSAY DUE: Wed. Feb. 18 Students with extensions must send an email with their expected draft/final due dates by Friday for approval. |
10:16-10:31 | Recess | ||
10:31-11:18 | HUM 8 | PBS – Finish Memoirs of a Secret EmpireTech deputy- ISHAN to scene select
REVIEW Assignment Write a film review on Memoirs of a Secret Empire, which includes an answer to the following questions :1) How did this video supplement your understanding and research on the Edo period to date? 2) Out of reading, viewing, and writing, which medium to find enhances memory and understanding of a history the most effectively for you? EXTENSIONBalderdashers: Matthew and Mikaili |
ASSIGNMENTS 5 Rings Final has been moved to Tuesday as your drafts will be returned Friday for corrections.Friday is tea ceremony during Math. (11:18-12:05) Math 9 students have already been excused to be able to attend.Scroll assembly is on Tuesday, so bring any and all of your materials to put it together. This may carry over until Wed if more assembly time is needed. On Wed I would like to have a gallery walk of our scrolls! 🙂 |
11:18-12:05 | Math 8 | Dialogue group should proceed with cupcake scenario and build in ratio/rate/percent concepts.
Storyboard group should create characters a bit more.First proposal needs to be simplified by the storyboard group and create the ideas for the concepts to come into the scenarios for the dialogue group to draft. Next report to class: Tuesday 11:30am. Design group should design 1 character draft each to report Tuesday. They do not have to be human. |
There are 3 groups:Storyboard / Organization teamDialogue / Equation groupDesign / Drawing group |
12:05-12:50 | Lunch | Garrett to put on the Princess Bride @ Machine scene | Magic Tourney starts next Thurs. We need a round robin/playoff map posted in class or outside to keep track. The winner will face Mr. Wilde. |
12:50-1:33 | Math 8A | Students will work on Ch. 10 (algebra)Each student picks 1 question per section to show to each other. After a section is done, they go onto the next and repeat.Andrew can recommend questions to others.Andrew should report to the class his rough research proposal (what it’s about).Alternatively: indy work period:Braeden may study for the volume test tomorrow and work on timeline points with a minimum of 7 sentences.Brant may choose any written work (humanities, investigations, etc) – email point form outlines / big ideas/ subpoints/evidence for both proposals by end of school day (can overlay into DiDe if platforms are evaluated & anchor platform chosen/developed).
Jett can look on Hum 7 assignments for make-up assignments & work on DiDe platform comparison. Jett should email me if he wants a package of catch up assignments put together to work on over the weekend. Jett can also ask Nick what he is writing on for True Diary and preview the draft (due Tuesday). Palak can complete timeline points and preview ch 7 article. Palak should read 1 article of news (per day, ideally) and comment on it in an email. Andrew can create an outline for his research report, which should include at least 3 key ideas/ people/ events in the history of Math or resurrect Nighthawk Math with Palak. |
1:33-2:16 | HUM 7-1 | CPR/ News or Art Essay, depends which order they voted for in the morning. | |
2:16-2:26 | Recess | ||
2:26-3:10 | Digital Design | Deputy: Evan VWebcraft cnt’dEveryone is comparing 3 platforms for their anchor/efolio website. Students should finish reviewing a rate all 3, have point form notes published by Thursday, preferably with screenshots, on a site of their choice which is to become an e-foilo, ‘anchor’ site.
The platforms are weebly, wordpress, and blogger. At 2:55pm – students should have a discussion of what they dis/liked about each site. Make a 3 column chart on the board so I can see what points were raised tomorrow (or email me a chart). NEW: They MUST password protect their chosen site. NEW: Next Thursday is show-and-tell of a digital piece. Prepare a new or old portfolio piece to share in a brief presentation, and explain a bit about the process in making your digital design.This can be linked into your efolio site for ease of access. Thursday we will look at efolio requirements and construction. |
Evan V should interview students individually on their knowledge of code to what they know so far and give me a report in an email. We’ll start with Scratch and I am looking for recommendations/projects for the next step. Right now I am considering coding in WordPress and indy coding projects. |
LA 9 – grades adjustment
HU9 folks, it has come to my attention that Chicago was incorrectly set at /36, when it should be /6. This lowered everyone’s score considerably, so please disregard the current print-out and refer to it only as a checklist. I will prepare a new update after Friday assignments are submitted in order to get an updated report to you for Tuesday.
My apologies for the error and delay.
M8 Storyboard: Report Wed. Feb. 11
CHAPTER 2 – rates, ratio, proportional reasoning
PLOT DRAFT
- Seahawks lose a game
- a fan is angry
- they go to a cafe and orders a cupcake
- cupcake tranports him to space with a better football team (Spacehawks)
- Meets “try hard” football captain on the moon, named Sherlock Holmes
- Coach from moon (who is also an astronaut) goes back to Earth & coaches the seahawks
Creative Redux
1. Take your essay and turn it into a piece of art, using any digital tools / form you wish.
2. Create a piece on the process of writing this essay, using any digital tools/form you wish. What happens after you’re done?
3. Write an allegorical story about your process in writing this essay.
4. Re-create a scene from one of the novels.
Due: end of class / day Wednesday (may be incomplete). Include in your email a short explanatory blurb (couple lines).
Ideas – erasure poem, 3-D object, modified Wordle, BRAIN, code art, flashcards, stickers, info package, travel package, flyer, hyperlinks, mspaint, collage (must have a page of links at the end), flash, slam poetry, performance art, short video, letter, card, review, portrait