Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Current Events Presentations Week 25-26

Below are the groups for presentations for this week. You need to be prepared to present any day starting on Wednesday, February 26.

Please note that you will not be allowed to work on a presentation (or present) until your written analysis is completed.

802 Groups / 801 Groups
  • Michael Dunn: Nathaniel, Malik T. // Naya, Kelvin, Joseph, Rashel
  • American "Cool": Malik S.
  • School Uniforms: Adrian, Anthony S., Thomas, Carmen // Elicia, Tim
  • Sochi's Stray Dogs: Donte, Malik J. // Dayhana, Katy
  • Sausage / Pigs: Brittney, Steven // Oneil, Dante, Elijah
  • Emily / Sex Trafficking: Jada, Trinity, Sarah, Ashley // Anthony L, Brianna, Melanie

Monday, February 24, 2014

Current Events Week 25-26

This week we will be recording our responses on a paper form, which I will give you, and which is linked to here. We will put more focus on the presentation aspect this week.

Below are the article options:

Law

Another case of self-defense and race in Florida



Denise Hunt tears up as she finds out the jury is deadlocked on the first-degree murder charge for Michael Dunn in the shooting death of a black teenager. She was standing outside of the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla., Feb. 15, 2014. Photo: AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Kelly Jordan


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Arts

Putting together a who's who of American cool



Jazz singer Billie Holiday photographed in 1951. Curators at the National Portrait Gallery want to know what it means to be cool. They studied the uniquely American concept of cool, and how it became a global export. The museum brought together 100 photographs of people who helped create the idea of cool as a name for rebellion, self-expression, charisma, edge and mystery. Photo: AP Photo/Bob Willoughby, National Portrait Gallery


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Kids

Nevada public school's uniform policy ruled unconstitutional


Phoenix Anderson, 6, of Chicago shops for school uniforms with her mother Dana at Kmart on Addison Avenue in Chicago, Ill. Kmart expanded uniform offerings in response to the growing number of public schools that will require students to wear uniforms. Photo: John Konstantaras /AP Images for Kmart
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War & Peace

U.S. Olympians want to help Sochi's stray dogs


Animal activist Igor Airapetian carries a stray dog, brought out of Sochi by fellow activist, to his car at a rendezvous point 120 kilometers away from the Olympic area in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, in Tuapse, Russia.Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman
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The New York Times
New York Times Articles: Please note that you may only choose these articles if you have mastered the "Max" level of the NewsEla articles.
OP-ED COLUMNIST

When Even the Starting Line Is Out of Reach

One little boy’s story illuminates how we can build opportunity for all.
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OP-ED COLUMNIST

Is That Sausage Worth This?

Most sows live, give birth and then die in cages hardly bigger than their bodies. Now, that’s changing.

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OP-ED COLUMNIST

When Emily Was Sold for Sex

When this 15-year-old girl went missing, her parents never stopped searching for her. There are thousands more kids like her in danger right now.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Current Events Presentations Week 23-24

Below are the groups for presentations for this week. You need to be prepared to present any day starting on Wednesday, February 12.

Please note that you will not be allowed to work on a presentation (or present) until your written analysis is completed.

802 Groups / 801 Groups
  • CVS: Donte, Carmen, Jada, Daniel // Hunter, Trinity, Nathaniel* // Kelvin, Joseph, Victor, Tim
  • YA Dystopia: Brittney, Ashley // Elijah, Dante, Oneil
  • Edward Snowden: Steven, Anthony S., Malik T.* // Anthony L., Malik S., Brianna
  • 4th Graders: Malik J., Adrian // Jose Luis, Yaneiry
  • Mixed-Race Americans: Peter
  • Toilets for the Developing World: Sarah // Dayhana, Katy, Rashel, Melanie
  • Single Motherhood and Poverty: Naya, Elicia

Current Events Week 23-24

This week we will be recording our responses on a paper form, which I will give you, and which is linked to here. We will put more focus on the presentation aspect this week.

Below are the article options:

Health

Reinventing the toilet to help the world's poor






Indian children returning from school walk back to their homes in Dharavi, Asia's largest slum, in Mumbai, India. Most residents are squatting illegally and many have little access to basic sanitation. Photo: AP Photo/Gautam Singh, File
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Law

PRO/CON: Is Snowden a hero or traitor?






Demonstrators rally at the U.S. Capitol to protest spying on Americans by the National Security Agency, as revealed in leaked information by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, in Washington, D.C., Oct. 26, 2013. Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
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Health

CVS becomes first national drugstore to stop selling cigarettes






One of the nation's biggest pharmacy chains, CVS Caremark, announced Wednesday that it will clear its shelves of cigarettes and other tobacco products this year, giving up almost $2 billion in order to brand itself as a health care company rather than a convenience store. Photo: Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT
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Kids

4th-graders’ reading skills improve, still low






Fourth-grade students Zack DiAmore, 10, (left) and Jose Berrios, 10, (right) read to kindergarten student Vinny DeFrancesco, 6, at Cooper Elementary School in Cherry Hill, N.J. Photo: David M. Warren/Philadelphia Inquirer/KRT
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The New York Times
New York Times Articles: Please note that you may only choose these articles if you have mastered the "Max" level of the NewsEla articles.
OPINIONATOR | THE GREAT DIVIDE

How Single Motherhood Hurts Kids

The link between poverty and absent dads in the U.S. can’t be denied.
[1,029 words / 35% difficult words / 10.2 Dale-Chall Readability]

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DISPATCH

Where Is My Family on TV?

Mixed-race families are absent from our screens.
[769 words / 34% difficult words / 10.1 Dale-Chall Readability]

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RIFF

Our Young-Adult Dystopia

In the bleak wasteland of 21st-century publishing, there is only one hope: The young-adult novel. That’s a problem.
[1,876 words / 32% difficult words / 9.5 Dale-Chall Readability]

Monday, January 27, 2014

Current Events - Week 21

We're switching things up a little as we begin our first current events assignment of the 3rd marking period. You will have a choice of any of the articles below and will complete the same form you did last week.

The change is that this week we will be presenting our article to the class.

Each  member of the class will need to present their learning to the class in an engaging and informative way. The goal of the presentation is to inform your classmates of something new and interesting that you have learned. The goal is also to spark a discussion about issues and ideas the article raises.

You will get more details about your presentation shortly.

For now, let's start reading:

Step One: Log in to either Current Events 801 Q3 or Current Events 802 Q3.
Step Two: Click on the tab with your name.
Step Three: Click "Duplicate"
Step Four: Rename your  new tab with the same five letter code followed by "21" (e.g. Locke21)
Step Five: Choose one article from the list below and begin reading and analyzing.

In the U.S., an obesity gap between rich and poor




Kevin Huerta (left) and Lang Thao follow the moves of Gloria Lozaro as she leads a fitness class for students at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, Calif., on March 29, 2012. Photo: Paul Kitagaki Jr./ Sacramento Bee/MCT

World's 85 richest have wealth equal to half the world population




A homeless man begs for food and money on an underground ramp to Tiananmen Square. Wealth in China is exploding, but the disparities between rich and poor are widening dangerously, and pockets of wretched poverty remain deeply entrenched. Photo: David Leeson/KRT

U.S. court: Gays can't be excluded from juries just because they're gay




Ken Pierce of Equality Action Now waves a rainbow flag outside the James R. Browning Courthouse where the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Calif., is located.Photo: Robert Gauthier/ Los Angeles Times/MCT
The articles below are from The New York Times. You will not have the ability to adjust the Lexile Number. 
The Lexile of most New York Times articles is very high (1380L minus or plus depending on the article), so just write "New York Times" in the "Lexile" cell on your Google Spreadsheet.


City Unveils Campaign to Improve Girls’ Self-Esteem


New York City officials and experts in adolescent health said it was the first campaign aimed at female body image that they knew of to be carried out by a major city. (743 words / 10.3 Readability Score / 36% Difficult Words)




OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

A Kind of Racism We’re Not Used To


I promised my children that America would feel different because, for the first time in their lives, they would not feel they were different. (794 words / 8.6 Readability Score / 26% Difficult Words)




CONTRIBUTING OP-ED WRITER

In the N.B.A., ZIP Code Matters


On average, black players are born in nicer neighborhoods than other black men. (1313 words / 9.7 Readability Score / 36% Difficult Words


Friday, January 17, 2014

Reading Ladders for First Semester

Please complete your reading ladder by making a Google Doc modeled after this one that Mr. Locker made. Below are guidelines to keep in mind.

  • You may format / design your doc in any way you would like so that it is visually appealing. We will be hanging these up! However, I do have some rules:
    • Keep your reading ladder to one page.
    • Keep the title modeled after the one on Mr. Locker's example.
    • Keep your "Why This Order?" also to one page. It should be on a separate page from the ladder, unless it fits on one page and you want it this way.
    • Keep your "Top Five" Annotated List also to one page. This page must be separate from the Reading Ladder and "Why This Order?"
  • You will have a maximum of three pages for this document and a minimum of two pages.
  • This is due no later than Tuesday, January 21.

8th Grade (Senior) Trip Survey

Dear 8th graders,

Please take this survey regarding our senior trip this year. Student Council and the PTA are working hard to make sure we have a great end to our time at UNMS. Thanks!

-Mr. Locker and the Student Council