Today's Goal: Assess the last two "texts" you are provided for your synthesis essay, and begin to plan out your essay in advance. Use models for thesis statements to write your own thesis statement.
The Plan:
- Book Love
- Political Cartoons - A Discussion
- Synthesis Essay Organizer
- Model Thesis Statements
Model Thesis Statements
As I read through your responses on Google Classroom, I noticed a bit of struggle in answering the question about what moral courage is.
SO. Here are some examples. Yay! I've chosen other concepts like "moral courage" to model with.
Empathy:
Empathy is having the ability to understand and share someone else's feelings. A person who is empathetic would challenge prejudices against disadvantaged people, find commonalities with people different from themselves, and always try to put themselves in others' "shoes."
Optimism:
Optimism is when one has hope and confidence that the future is bright, or that there will be successful outcomes of plans, projects, or ideas. Characteristics of optimistic people include: expressing gratitude for all aspects of life no matter how small, donating free time and extra money to causes that work to help the future, and having the will to keep trying even with a possibility of failure.
Prejudice:
Prejudice is the act of harboring an unreasonable and unjust opinion or attitude towards a person or group of people based on race, culture, beliefs, appearance, or other identity. To act with prejudice is to laugh at or make jokes about any of these identities, to fear that a group of people different from oneself will become too successful or more successful, and to believe or assume that stereotypes generalizing a group of people are true for all people.
Confidence: (Bonus: I wrote a whole opening paragraph for this one. The thesis is bolded.)
Speaking in front of crowds is never easy. Neither is telling your crush you like them, or being a starter in your first-ever Varsity game, or simply having a difficult conversation with someone you respect, or admitting your bad choices. Everyone experiences those scary moments, and everyone gets through them the best they can. It's no secret that it's easier for some than for others though, and the key to why might be in their confidence levels. As Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right." Having confidence means that a person has the feeling of self-assurance due to their appreciation and belief in his or her own abilities or qualities. Someone who exhibits great confidence in their everyday life would be unafraid to be wrong and/or ask for help when they need it, would seek out reasons to celebrate even small victories and the victories of other people, and would speak with certainty (avoiding "um" and "I'm not sure" and "I think).
Homework/Important Dates:
- TONIGHT: Write your thesis statement. I will be reading and assessing them tomorrow.
- Friday, May 20
- On-Demand Written Essay. You can find lots of information about this on School Loop.
- Friday, May 27
- This is the LAST day I will accept any revisions for anything related to TKAM that you feel like you could improve on
- This may include P4R questions and any other classwork we have done since the beginning of the trimester
- I will not look at anything if you do not send me the appropriate email about it, on or before this day.
- Wednesday, June 8
Today's Goal: Meet Crooks, the man of color on the farm George and Lennie work on. Evaluate the many characters, their motivations, and their conflicts. 
Today's Goal: Assess the last two "texts" you are provided for your synthesis essay, and begin to plan out your essay in advance. Use models for thesis statements to write your own thesis statement.
Today's Goal: Read about two people who exhibit aspects of moral courage.
Today's Goal: Define "moral courage." (and not, like, with the dictionary definition... with your own words.)
