Journal #2

Journal entry #2: First, make a list of at least ten societal problems or issues that surface in Of Mice and Men, Julius Caesar, Our Town, The House on Mango Street, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Pick one problem or issue from your list. Write two paragraphs about the issue you choose, responding to questions 2, 3, and 4 from the expectations post. (To clarify, this entry will consist of your list and two paragraphs.)

Journal #1

Journal entry #1: Write two paragraphs in response to your reading of To Kill a Mockingbird. See the journal entry topic ideas listed in the Journal Expectations post.

Your initial response is due by class time on Thursday. Comment on at least three of your classmates' responses to Journals #1 and #2 by Monday (three responses total, not three on each post). Remember that you are also responsible for replying to any comments classmates make to your journal responses.

Journal Expectations

As an honors student, you will be required to post in response to two journal questions a week and to respond to at least three other students' posts. You must also respond to any and all comments you receive regarding your own post. Check back frequently! Use the guidelines below to assist you in writing your responses.

In your blog posts:

Remember, this is a graded piece of formal, academic writing. Every post you make should be of high quality and represent everything you know about communicating clearly and effectively.

Think about content.

• Engage with the material in a substantive way: attempt to dig deep and answer questions thoroughly. Avoid stating the obvious. Write at least eight sentences per paragraph.
• Use textual evidence whenever possible: refer to the text to make points that extend beyond it. Apply what you are reading to the real world.
• Make connections: draw course material into connections with issues of the day by attempting to integrate references to blogs, websites, online articles, etc.
• Answer the question being asked: keep your responses focused around a central point or argument without straying from what is assigned.
• Keep your response formal: avoid using made-up words like gonna or kinda and never use texting shortcuts like u for you, lol, etc.
• Move the conversation forward: avoid responses to others where you simply say “I agree.” What else can you add to the thread? What new insight do you have about the original writer’s response? What questions do you have? Does your post bring the conversation to a screeching halt or does it extend it?

Think about conventions.

• Try to fix your spelling mistakes: use Google Drive for drafting your posts.
• Use capitals in the right places: people’s names, places, the beginning of a sentence, and on “I.” Using all capitals is like yelling.
• Punctuate properly: period at the end of a sentence, space after a period, comma, or end bracket. One “!” will do; you don’t need a string of exclamation marks.

As we 
read 
the 
novel 
To 
Kill
 a 
Mockingbird
 by
 Harper 
Lee,
 one of your journal entries each week will focus on your response to the novel and supplemental texts. (Some weeks you will be assigned supplemental texts to read or view.) In these entries, you are to describe what comes to mind as you read To Kill a Mockingbird and the supplemental texts. While these entries can and should be your opinion, please do not write about whether or not you like the book. Dig deeper! Although you will not simply summarize the novel, you should include or refer to specific passages in the book to make your points. Here is a list of possible ideas for entries: 


• Note interesting words, images, phrases, or details. Ask questions and speculate about why Harper Lee might have chosen them. Describe how they make you feel.
• Write about literary aspects of the novel such as setting, characterization, dialogue (and dialect), plot, point of view, theme, and symbolism. What do you notice about these elements of the novel?
• Make connections between the text and your own experiences. What does the reading make you think of? Does it remind you of anyone or any event in your own life?
• Make connections between the text and other texts or events. Does the novel bring to mind any other related issues from the past or present?
• Ask yourself questions about the text. What don’t you understand about the novel or a particular passage within the novel?

Each of these reader response journal entries should be at least two paragraphs in length (each paragraph should be at least eight sentences in length).

The other journal entry each week will focus on the Problem / Solution Project. For this project, you will choose a societal problem or issue to research, considering these questions:

1. What societal problems or issues come up in the works we have read in English 2A and 2B?
2. How do these problems or issues affect contemporary society?
3. What aspects of them are of particular interest to you?
4. How might one aspect of a problem or issue be solved or improved at the local, state, national, or global level? 

You will research your chosen topic as well as possible ways to solve or improve the problem or issue. You will write a paper (deadline to be determined) about the problem and solution as well as taking part in the poster session on March 24.