Final Post

Please take a little time to reflect upon this blog.  What are two things that you liked about the process and the product of the blog?  How could this assignment be changed for the better?  How could we better use the blog to make better use of the technology (web, computers, etc)?  What other thoughts do you have that may be helpful for your teacher to consider for the next time a blog is used as an assignment?

Please carefully consider this prompt and write a well crafted paragraph or two in response.  Please do not reply to your peers this week: your thoughtful response to the above prompt is greatly appreciated. 

Week Four

This week you will be trolling the wonderful world of the internet in search of a non-fiction article that helps your understanding of your chosen 1984 topic.  To that end, I would think that you could do better than simply using the words “torture” or “Feminism” or “Propaganda” as search terms; narrow your focus!  What, specifically, do you need to know about your topic in order to write an engaging and informative paper when we return from spring break?  Your final paper for this novel will require the inclusion of at least one quote from a reputable non-fiction source . . . this may be a good starting place.

The nuts and bolts:

·         Find a good article online that helps further your understanding of your chosen topic (hopefully in context of how you view your topic’s relationship to the novel)

·         Evaluate the Web Site according to the “CAPOW” criteria we learned yesterday in the media center

·         Read the entire article very carefully

·         What you post:

o   A link to the article

o   A summary of the article in your own words (do not use another person’s abstract . . . that is plagiarism)

o   How this article helps you further understand some portion of the novel 1984  (at least 100 words here)

o   Reply to two other people after you have read the  entire article they referenced in their post

§  Please think of this as a way for you to either find an additional article to use in your own paper or to help a peer clarify their thinking about the novel and/or the article

·         By the end of this assignment you will have read at least three more non-fiction articles concerned with your topic!

·         Your “comment” with the article link must be posted Friday at 12:00 pm and you must complete the “Evaluating Web Sites: Checklist” and submit when we return from spring break

·         You must reply to at least two of your peers prior to 11:59 pm on Wednesday evening, April 4^th.

Week Three

The post this week will hopefully help you with next week’s post as well.  I would like you to think about all that we have read from 1984 so far and think about connections that you can make to our times . . . 2012 (or so) concerning your topic.  What are the ideas from your  topic that show up in 1984 that you see showing up today, this week, or in the past five years?  Was Orwell effectively warning us about dangers that have occurred in your lifetime?  Have we heeded his warning or ignored it?  And at what cost?  This post is intended as a sort of “brainstorming” and idea collection as we work into next week’s post, so feel free to explore your thoughts as long as you stay connected to 1984.

The nuts and bolts:

• use at least one quote from the novel (don’t forget to give Orwell credit in parenthesis with a page number)
 
• give NO MORE than two connections so that there are plenty for all group members to use;
 
• be specific in your connections (simply saying censorship or sexism or torture still happens today, without giving specific examples, will fall well short of the mark)
 
• think creatively . . . find a connection not everyone else has made.    

Week Two

For this post I would like you to go back through your annotations of 1984 and find one that connects to the theme that you have chosen to study.  You must copy the passage directly into your post and cite it with the author’s last name and page number in parenthesis i.e. (Orwell 16).  You must then explain the context of the passage and finally what that passage says about your chosen topic.  This is a chance for you to really show off and share the passages that you think are important and share your thoughts in a way that we sometimes don’t have time to do in class.  Enjoy!

Week One Post

This week, I want you to find a passage from the non-fiction article that you read and explain the significance of that quote in light of your chosen topic.  This post does not have to have any direct connection to 1984; however, if you wish to make a connection, by all means dos so.  You must copy the passage (from the non-fiction article) directly into your post, cite the passage by using the author’s last name and page number in parenthesis, and be sure to explain what you find significant about that passage.  The portion of your post in your own words must be at least 100 words (the total post must be at least 150 words) to be considered worthy of credit (picking a long passage to simply take up space is not acceptable).  My suggestion is that you compose your post in Word and then copy and paste it into the blog . . . save it while you are at it.  FYI: this post is 170 words.

The Rubric

You are required to post one response to my question each week.  In addition you must respond to two of your other peers' posts throughout the week - a total of three posts/responses each week (Sunday at midnight to Sunday at Midnight) for those of you keeping track.

Your response to my question

• at least 150 words in length
• responds to the question asked (stay focused)
• uses a quote from either the non-fiction reading or the novel (with appropriate citation)
• shows an understanding of the connection between the novel and the theme

Your response to your peers

• Must "move the conversation forward"
• not be simply agreement
• respond to at least two separate people each week
• promote thoughtful and considerate written dialogue

This blog is, of course, an academic endeavor; as such I expect your very best thoughts, manners and writing.