Article of the Week
Below is the link to your first "Article of the Week." This is your homework assignment and is due by 11:59 on Thursday, January 16, 2014. You will have one of these most weeks, and the goal is to improve your analytic reading and writing. We will focus on skills, read some interesting articles, write some responses, and, eventually, we will discuss the articles in class, which will help us all improve our listening and speaking abilities.
Each week we will provide you with a brief introduction, if the article needs one, and a link to the reading, and the answer form. You should plan to spend about 3-4 hours a week reading, re-reading, and writing your responses. My suggestion for planning is as follows.
- Monday- print article in MMLC and/or save a copy on your phone, tablet, or computer (Let's save some trees, yo). Read article for the first time. Take note of words you are not sure of.
- Tuesday- work with others on your class (make a study group) and see if anyone else has the same questions. Re-read article together, if possible.
- Wednesday- click through the form and see what the questions are, you don't have to hit 'submit' at the end this time, just get an idea of what we are asking you to do. Re-read the article with this in mind and answer the questions (You can type them out in a word.doc if you want and paste them into the answer document later).
- Thursday, re-read your answers and submit your COMPLETED form. Get ready to discuss tomorrow (which you can practice with your study group).
- Friday, we discuss in class.
- Ps. I'm in the MMLC most Tuesday's, Wednesday's, and Thursday's as a tutor... that's a good time to get help from me on this... no matter who your teacher is.
Below is the introduction to this week's article. Take a look, then read the article itself. Remember, you can print your own, or you can read it online. Whatever is easiest for you. HOWEVER, all responses must be submitted online. No 'paper' answers will be accepted.
WHY STUDY HISTORY?
That is a legitimate question. One that I asked as teenager, and it's one of the most commonly asked questions among kids in my class. Along with "Why do we have to learn this?" or "Is history even important?" Sometimes students say "history is so boring, and it's not going to help me get a job."
In a sense, I can't blame them, (or you) for asking those questions. They are real questions, that, in my opinion, MUST be addressed by a teacher before students (no matter their age) can truly attempt to benefit from studying history. Take a minute to think about the cartoon above... what does it really mean? Does it mean you have to memorize everything about history, so you don't make the same mistakes? I don't think so. If that were the case, we (as humans) wouldn't turn out like our parents, or older brothers, or cousins, or whoever. We'd be making all the right choices about eating right, dating people, exercising, what career we choose, and no one would ever find themselves living in Kansas or S. Dakota. No one would ever make a bad stock choice, or get pregnant when they don't want to be...BUT, we don't seem to learn very well from OTHERS' mistakes. We seem to want to make those mistakes ourselves... "that's cool Markstone, but does that mean we don't have to study history? Can I just spit game during class, then?" <--- dear student who wants to "come at me like this," Need I remind you that Wu-Tang and I have only ONE thing in common... reassess your life, homes. In other-words, yes, I think you should study history. Luckily, I'm not the only one. Let's see what someone else has to say, because I'm a history teacher, so my words probably don't mean much.
Click here to visit the form, where you will find the questions and a link to the reading for "Why Study History."
Happy reading, thinking, discussing, and writing.Love,
Markstone
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