A Long Way Gone fishbowl #4: November 21, 2013--5th hour

Afternoon!  As you guys discuss on the outer circle today, please keep the following guidelines in mind.

1.  Each question you pose and each comment you offer in response to those questions should be grounded in textual evidence.  A big improvement in the last discussion, but some of your ideas were still vague and I was left wondering why you thought or asked what you did.  I'm guessing your classmates felt the same way.

Here are a couple more examples of good posts from last class.

Here is a comment from Eric:  

On page 122, Ishmael made a horrible comparison. He said "The idea of death did not cross my mind at all and killing had become as easy as drinking water." This thought is terrible because drinking water is a task necessary for life and now Ishmael sees killing in the same way.

And Ray posted, Like it says on page 122, "The combination of drugs gave us a lot of energy and made us feel fierce. The idea of death didn't even cross my mind at all and killing had become as easy as drinking water. It had also stopped making remorseful records." Judging by this, he may not remember killing everybody that he did.

I picked these posts because they both went beyond saying "on page 125" to actually include the quote that supported their thinking.  

Lastly, remember to stay involved throughout the course of discussion.  To offer one or 2 comments or to participate every 10 minutes is insufficient.

Happy posting!

A Long Way Gone fishbowl #4: November 21, 2013--1st hour

Morning!  As you guys discuss on the outer circle today, please keep the following guidelines in mind.

1.  Each question you pose and each comment you offer in response to those questions should be grounded in textual evidence.  A big improvement in the last discussion, but some of your ideas were stillvague and I was left wondering why you thought or asked what you did.  I'm guessing your classmates felt the same way.

Here are a couple more examples of good posts from last class.

Here is a comment from Tristan:  

"It is a very big possibility that his family is alive because when he went inside the burnt house he couldn't find them. But also I think that he will never see his brother again because on the bottom of page 43 it says, 'It was the last time I saw junior, my older brother.'"

I italicized the "because" statements in Tristan's post as these statements were those that told me Tristan why thought that.  Conversely, others brought up the possibility that Ishmael's family was still alive and I was left wondering why they thought that given that the house they lived in burned down and Ishmael was sure he'd never see them again.

And Natalie posted, "I feel like Ishmael will later regret his actions. As of right now, he is mindlessly killing people. Earlier in the book, he states that he's not very in touch with his reality. Being on the drugs he's on now is causing him to not be himself. On page 125, Ishmael says '... which I never slept in because sleep never came to me.' I think that his inability to sleep also contributes to not thinking clearly at all. Once Ishmael escapes this war, he will have remorse for all the violence he has done.

I also picked Natalie's post because she went beyond saying "on page 125" to actually include the quote that supported her thinking.  

Lastly, remember to stay involved throughout the course of discussion.  To offer one or 2 comments or to participate every 10 minutes is insufficient.

Happy posting!

Fishbowl #3: A Long Way Gone Chapters 13 and 14--November 19, 5th hour

Afternoon!

A couple of pieces of feedback from last week's fishbowl...

Much, much better job coming back to text to contextualize and support your thinking.  Keep working on this.  Be sure to provide plot point or to provide page # AND quote; it doesn't matter how many times I've read this book, I still don't remember what exactly happened on back 65, for ex., and I bet your classmates don't either.  Here are a few great examples of how to do this well:

Kyle H asked, “On page 70 Ishmael says, "Even though I am still alive, I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies. Very soon I will completely die and all that will be left is my empty body walking with you. It will be quieter than I am.  What does he mean by, "It will be quieter than I am."?

and Brendan asked, “On page 57 when they talk about the rumor of the "seven boy" it affects there progress of finding a place to seek refuge because everyone thinks they are bad. Do you think this will affect them after chapter 10?"

And Alissa commented, “I think differently than Trent, and don't think the story of the spider was told in an incredibly inappropriate time because perhaps it is just to say to them that no matter what the circumstance choose the right thing over hunger. I also don't think the boys were offended by this story because on page 75 Alhaji said 'all this food is making me hungry.' He did not say it with offence, but rather just as a joke about the details."

Remember to also stay involved throughout the course of discussion.  Some didn't post until 12-18 minutes in.    Similarly, some only commented once.  Your evaluation as well as your class participation will reflect these choices.

Lastly, be sure to proofread your work.  Remember, this is a writing assignment for class.

Happy posting!

A Long Way Gone: fishbowl #3--Tuesday, November 19--1st hour

Morning!

Please see my comments from last time about earning credit for your work.  Some of you did poorly last time because your participation was insufficient, either because it took you more than 10 minutes to get involved in the discussion or because your posts were too few.  As I've mentioned before, my suggestion is that you use the blog for your outer circle responses, but if you can't handle the multi-tasking nature of this work, please write a 1-page response that captures your thinking and supports it with textual evidence.

Also, continue to work on contextualizing and supporting your points with specific quotes and plot points from the text.  Many of you didn't earn full credit for the last discussion because you may have had many posts, but your posts were un-substantive.  I'd rather you write 5 really quality responses that use a quote from the text than 7 or 8 posts that are perfunctory.

Happy posting!

Fishbowl #2: A Long Way Gone Chapter 10--5th hour

Morning!  As you guys discuss on the outer circle today, please keep the following guidelines in mind.

1.  Each question you pose and each comment you offer in response to those questions should be grounded in textual evidence. Most people on the outer circle earned full credit in the the last discussion because your ideas were vague and I was left wondering why you think what you do.  Here is an example of what a good post looks like.

Here is a question from Katie F in my first hour: 
In the book Ishmael constantly tries to block his thoughts by taking walks or occupying himself. "But my mind continued to torment me, and every effort to clear the terrible thoughts was in vain."(page-50) So do you think that the silence would have drove him insane if he stayed in the forest?


And here is a question from Nick F. in my first hour:  I think that morals just fly out the window when you are struggling to survive because like in the book, the 6 kids stole the two ears of corn from the little boy because they were in dire need of food. Do you think that they could still live long without keeping their morals or do you have to be ruthless in order to live?

2.  Remember to stay involved throughout the course of discussion.  To offer one or 2 comments is insufficient as is having a 10 minute hiatus from discussion.  If this is a problem for people again today, I will ask you to handwrite a 1 page typed response next fishbowl as well as the last one.

3.  Thread discussion.  At many points, it was challenging to follow your thinking because your posts were disorganized.

A Long Way Gone: fishbowl #2 over ch. 10--period 1

Morning!  As you guys discuss on the outer circle today, please keep the following guidelines in mind.

1.  Each question you pose and each comment you offer in response to those questions should be grounded in textual evidence.  Most everyone didn't score as well as they could have in the last discussion because your ideas were vague and I was left wondering why you think what you do.  Here is an example of what a good post looks like.

Here is a question from Katie F:
In the book Ishmael constantly tries to block his thoughts by taking walks or occupying himself. "But my mind continued to torment me, and every effort to clear the terrible thoughts was in vain."(page-50) So do you think that the silence would have drove him insane if he stayed in the forest?


And here is a question from Nick F:  I think that morals just fly out the window when you are struggling to survive because like in the book, the 6 kids stole the two ears of corn from the little boy because they were in dire need of food. Do you think that they could still live long without keeping their morals or do you have to be ruthless in order to live?

2.  Remember to stay involved throughout the course of discussion.  To offer one or 2 comments is insufficient.  If this is a problem for people again today, I will ask you to handwrite a 1 page typed response next fishbowl as well as the last one.

3.  Rather than using the @ symbol, use the option to thread discussion.  At many points, it was challenging to follow your thinking because your posts were disorganized.

A Long Way Gone: Fishbowl #1--5th hour

If you are choosing to participate via comments on our class blog today, be sure you adhere to the same discussion expectations you would if you were in the inner circle:  respectfully challenging your classmates' thinking, basing your assertions on textual evidence, etc.

There is not a finite number of times you need to contribute; rather, I will check to see that you are thoughtfully and consistently contributing.  If you wait to post until 20 minutes into our fishbowl or you post once and are dormant for 15 minutes, that indicates that you're not using your time thoughtfully. If this is because you're a slow typist or perhaps you struggle with the multi-tasking nature of this activity, choose another way to show your understanding . If lack of focus continues to be a problem, you will be asked to hand-write a response to our next fishbowl or to verbally participate only.

A couple of things to keep in mind :

• This is an academic assignment.  It should be properly written and proofread rather than assuming the appearance of a text message.
• If addressing one person's post, respond to that discussion thread.
• Support your thinking with evidence from the text
• Contextualize question in specific passages or plot points

A Long Way Gone Fishbowl #1: 1st hour

If you are choosing to participate via comments on our class blog today, be sure you adhere to the same discussion expectations you would if you were in the inner circle:  respectfully challenging your classmates' thinking, basing your assertions on textual evidence, etc.

There is not a finite number of times you need to contribute; rather, I will check to see that you are thoughtfully and consistently contributing.  If you wait to post until 20 minutes into our fishbowl or you post once and are dormant for 15 minutes, that indicates that you're not using your time thoughtfully. If this is because you're a slow typist or perhaps you struggle with the multi-tasking nature of this activity, choose another way to show your understanding . If lack of focus continues to be a problem, you will be asked to hand-write a response to our next fishbowl or to verbally participate only.

A couple of things to keep in mind :

• This is an academic assignment.  It should be properly written and proofread rather than assuming the appearance of a text message.
• If addressing one person's post, respond to that discussion thread.
• Support your thinking with evidence from the text
• Contextualize question in specific passages or plot points