Welcome to 3rd Tri!

Hello, students!  Welcome to your second trimester of blogging.  We have a few changes this trimester in regards to blogging, which will be highlighted in class.  Again, you will  be provided you with  multiple blog post topics, so you should never say, "I don't have anything to blog about."  This trimester, we will be using a holistic rubric to assess your blogging experience.  This can be found both on Edline as well as a hard copy of a handout provided in class.

Since today is  the first day of the new tri, you have a couple of tasks with your blog:
1)  On my blog page, you need to click on "Enter your blog information here" located on the right-hand side near the top.

2) Enter your blog information.  (To do this you need to log in to google, go to blogger, and click VIEW BLOG).  Your URL is what you see in the top window.  It should NOT look like this:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1859117182435443424#editor/target=post;postID=1296302557718526434
If your URL has the word "blogger" in it, you are in edit mode.  Your URL should look something like this:
http://masonmrspalmer.blogspot.com/
Enter the information and your class period, EVEN if you had me last trimester.  I deleted the old document and started fresh so everyone must enter their blog information.

3)  Log in to goodreads.  Enter what book you are currently reading and update the page number.  Also, update your reading goal if needed.  (You may still be working on your reading goal from last trimester, and that is okay.  But if you exceeded it, please set a new one).  We should all be using a 2014 reading goal.  If you still have the 2013 reading goal listed on your blog, you need to update the widget.  Raise your hand if you need help with this.

4) Friend Mrs. Palmer in goodreads.  To do this, click on the drop-down arrow to the right of your name.  Select "Friends."  Then,  on the right-hand side go to "find by name or email."  Type in "Laura Palmer."  Last time I checked (just a couple of days ago), I was near the bottom.  My picture is next to my name, so you should recognize me.  Friend a few other people in the class as well.  I LOVE seeing your updates.

5) On Edline, look under contents.  Select "Independent Reading/Blogger."  Multiple documents will appear.  Choose blogger chart and save this document to your H drive.  You will update this each week when we are in the computer lab and will ultimately turn it in as a graded assignment at the end of the trimester.

6) Your final task: write a new post!  Your topic idea can come from the handout provided to you on Edline.  Or, you can tell me what your favorite book was from last trimester and why you liked it so much (could even make it like a book review for your peers).  Aim for a solid two-paragraphs and show me that you can do at least one of the following: insert a hyperlink to a webpage, article, etc.; insert a video; or insert a picture.  As a length requirement, I ask that every blog post be at least 2 solid paragraphs and no less than 10 sentences.  Then, use the links to other class blogs in my classes and comment on two other student blogs.  Don't forget to copy and paste these comments into your blogger chart.

Once you have accomplished all of the following, I would like you to spend the rest of the class time exploring goodreads, especially checking out your recommendations and adding books to your "Want to read" list.  If you don't have recommendations yet, spend some time going back and rating books you've read in the past so you can get recommendations.

The China Study: A Whole New Way of Thinking

It took me awhile (I'll blame the grading of creative nonfiction papers), but I finally finished reading I am Malala and began a new book called The China Study.

To wrap up the former, I did enjoy I am Malala.  As I alluded to in my last post, I preferred the beginning and the ending which were all about her personal story and experience.  That to me was so much stronger than the historical piece in the middle where she spent the majority of the book.  There was obviously need and importance in this part of the book; I just wished there was more about her growing up and her personal life, as this to me was the heart of the book.  On goodreads, I gave it three stars.  Her story itself is powerful, amazing, inspirational.  But the book, well…it just wasn't all of the above.

Next up in my reading queue was a nonfiction read I heard about from our media center specialist titled The China Study.  I have been into sports and fitness for my entire 32 years of existence.  I ran track and cross country in middle school and college, swam for a club, played select soccer, and was outside playing football with the neighborhood guys every single day.  You can call me tom boy if you want.  I never really watched what I ate until after college though, and especially after I had three children.  I want to be healthy for them and I know so many people who are fighting cancer currently or have in the past.  This book is about a researcher who basically studied plant-based diets versus diets with higher concentrations of protein and found a direct connection between the two.  Those who lived a plant-based lifestyle had a much lower chance of getting certain types of cancers, as well as heart disease.  (A plant-based lifestyle means that less than 5% of their diet comes from animal protein sources, such as meat, milk or eggs).  A protein lifestyle means that greater than 20%  of their diet comes from the aforementioned animal sources.  I am not a huge protein/meat eater and I feel like I am kind of buying into this right now.  I will update again as I find out more about the study.

I've already talked to a few other people who have read this book, so maybe it is trending?  Have any of you heard of this book or this study?  Anyone eat a plant-based diet?  If you want to read more about the study, click here.

 

I am Malala

Most of you have probably heard of Malala.  A young Pakistani girl who stood up for education in her homeland and was shot for standing up for her beliefs.  The 9th grade English team has actually done some research on Malala for our upcoming Freedom/speech unit, where our essential question is, "How do people stand up for their beliefs."  I downloaded her book from the library for free and am really enjoying it so far.  She starts off her memoir right in the action of when a man boarded the school bus she was on, asked who Malala was, and fired three shots at her.  Her writing is powerful and I felt like I could have been there in that moment.

Next, she travels back to her childhood and the changes that were happening in her homeland throughout her formative years.  Much of this information was new to me, as I don't claim to be a historian or incredibly knowledgeable about world affairs.  To be honest, I prefer the parts where she is writing about her own childhood, her father and how he developed schools, and her experiences at school in comparison to the historical sections.  I understand the need for the historical and government explanation.  I just am intrigued by her personal experience.  So far, this is a quick read.  I just started it a couple of days ago and I am already about 40% of the way through.  I would say it will be finished soon, but I know that this is not the case, as later today I will be collecting 60 creative nonfiction papers from my English 1B students and reading those will take priority.  Happy reading!

Here is an interview with Malala where she recounts some of her personal experience.  Totally worth watching!