Summary vs. Paraphrase vs. Direct Quote

Today in Blue, Purple, Red, and Platinum we discussed the differences between summarizing, paraphrasing, and direct quoting, and how each relates to the issue of plagiairism. Here are some links with further information to help you. You will be working on developing your summarizing and paraphrasing skills throughout the year, and you will be given further instruction in the course about how to incorporate direct quotes more meaningfully.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/01/ (from one of the best online writing sources around, the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Perdue: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/)

http://www.csd49.org/cms/classpages/paraphrase-vs-summarize.html

http://faculty.smu.edu/jdbradle/sumparMLA.asp (make sure you scroll down after the white space for a sample of a piece of writing that shows summarizing vs. paraphrasing)

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073126403/information_center_view0/summary_and_paraphrasing.html (this one includes an online assessment to see if you get it)

Your assignment: Review each of the above cites and write a reflection of what you can do in order to make sure you are summarizing when you need to, paraphrasing appropriately when you need to, and avoiding plaigiairism always.

DUE THURSDAY FOR ALL CLASSES (INCLUDING ZEBRA)

In-Class Writing

Tomorrow is your first in-class writing. You can use your notes that you took on the presentations. I have also posted 2 sample presentations that were both fairly comprehensive for you to review with tonight. They are at my BHS webpage, under "presentations."

Here are the questions again, in case you lost yours.

World History Overviews -- In-class, Silent Writing Assignment

Choose one or two questions below and answer them as fully as you can. Explain each response, back it up with specific evidence, and connect it to your greater understanding of the human history. (If you finish, please answer the other two. The goal here is to spend the entire period thinking and writing about what you have learned about the progression of human history.)

1. Choose three units (at least 2 from a different Pecha Kucha than yours) and explain how the information selected by the groups who created them helps us to understand what each unit is about.

2. Choose 4-5 historical people that were included in the presentations (no more than 2 from your own Pecha Kucha), and explain how they reflected the units in which they were included and impacted the future.

3. Choose 4-5 historical events that were included in the presentations (no more than 2 from your own Pecha Kucha), and explain how they reflected the units in which they were included and impacted the future.

4. Take the perspective of a poor person in two different time periods (besides the last 40 years). Referring to specific presentations, compare and contrast how daily life would have been over those time periods. How does the life a poor person today differ from that of someone who lived in those time periods? Which time period would it be better to live in as a poor person?

5. If you could go back in time to any of the time periods we have studied (besides the last 40 years), which time period would you wish to live in? Why? Use specific examples from the information provided in EACH of the Pecha Kucha’s presented in your class.

You will be assessed on: development of ideas, use of detail, depth of understanding, organization of ideas, and accuracy.

Apology....

I blew it blue, and I'm sorry. I told you I'd post to the blog when I decided about whether you had to present tomorrow. I kept starting to do it, and then having to do something else. Now it is 10 pm, and I hope all of you have stopped doing homework to relax for a bit. However, in case you DO check the blog, you can have one more day in class to prep your presentation, and we'll start a new unit on Thur/Fri. Presentations will be Mon/Tues.

Pecha Kucha!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my classroom blog. You can come here to check out information about bigger assignments, get some links to help you with various research, and find out if you missed anything significant on a day you were out. I try to update the blog a couple of times a week.

Your first big project is to create a Pecha Kucha with your group about how you would "chunk" up human history in order to make it easier to study. You can access a copy of the assignment at my BHS page. Click on the link for "files," and you will find it there. (I also posted the current events assignment/rubric, and the syllabus there.)

If you look to the left on this page, there is a list of links that might be helpful to you in your research.

Hope this helps you. Feel free to leave me a message in the comments! If you are not a "blogspot" person, sign your name in the text of the blog and click "anonymous" to post.

Are you keeping on top of the news?

There are oodles of articles related to your projects out there in the news on a daily basis. Here are a just a couple that I found within seconds of logging in to CNN.com:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/02/senate.greenhousegas/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/06/02/young.electric.car.ap/index.html?eref=ib_topstories

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/06/02/honore.preparedness/index.html (higher level connection to our discussion, the big picture)

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/homestyle/06/02/toh.byebyebambi/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/05/29/antarctica.robots.ap/index.html

News from Nepal

As some of you know, Saroj and some of his family are back in Nepal. Interestingly, Nepal today ended it's monarchy and gave the current king 15 days to leave the palace. Here's a link to the story on CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/28/nepal/index.html

argh! Try THIS!

I guess I have to INVITE you all to VIEW the docs, so unless you want to make your google apps user name now, you DON'T HAVE TO until you want to use it when you are next working a group (for some of you, that will be September!).

So, I THINK this will work. Click on the links below. (While I am not as smart as I thought I was, I AM learning!)

Save the World Rubric

Learning Journals

Save the World Assignment