Prompts+2012+and+2013


 * Friday (4/26/13) Paraphrase this quote and comment on it:** "Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can." -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)

**Thursday (4/18/13):** Respond to this video
"Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on 'I am not too sure'." -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956)
 * Wednesday (4/17/13): Paraphrase the following quote and either defend Menken's ideas or refute them.**
 * Tuesday, April 16, 2013: NO PROMPT**

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=Quarter 4.1 prompts are due on May 13, 2013=
 * Monday, April 15, 2013:** Paraphrase the following quote, explain what the author means, connect your understanding to another quote or piece of literature: "Only mediocrity can be trusted to be always at its best. Genius must always have lapses proportionate to its triumphs." -Max Beerbohm, essayist, parodist, and caricaturist (1872-1956) =====

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No Prompts Monday and Tuesday (3/18 & 19)
 * Thursday (3/21/13) Paraphrase this quote and explain it. Do you agree or disagree and why?** "Those who cannot forgive others break the bridge over which they themselves must pass." -Confucius, philosopher and teacher (c. 551-478 BCE)=====
 * Wednesday (3/20/13)** Create a One Sentence that sums up who you are. See this video

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 * Thursday (3/14/13):** View this videoabout 3-D printing and tell a story or explain what you would do with it. Also, consider this quote when you write: "Dreams have only one owner at a time. That's why dreamers are lonely." -Erma Bombeck, author (1927-1996) =====
 * Wednesday (3/13/13):** paraphrase the following quote and explain it using examples. "Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play." -Heraclitus, philosopher (500 BCE)

**Tuesday (3/12/13):** view this TED talk and list questions you have. Check the link for the question you would like to explore and respond to it.

 * Monday (3/11/13):** view this video and respond to the following: What is luck? How, if at all, can you increase your luck? Is all of life a lucky accident?

No prompts from 2/28 to 3/8/13

 * Thursday (2/28/13)** Paraphrase the following quote, explain what you think the author means and discuss whether you agree or disagree and why: "It is impossible to live pleasurably without living prudently, honorably, and justly; or to live prudently, honorably, and justly, without living pleasurably. -Epicurus, philosopher (c. 341-270 BCE)

Quarter 3.1 prompts (16) due on Thursday, 2/21/13 (1/22,24,25,28,30 and 2/1,4,5,6,8,11,12,13,15,19,20)
"Cut these words and they would bleed; they are vascular and alive; they walk and run." -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) Monday (2/18/13) __no prompt__, no school Thursday (2/14/13): __no prompt__ Happy Valentine's Day! __Periods 3/4 and 6/7:__paraphrase the following quote, explain it, and connect your understanding to the idea of the abuse of power: **"If you wish to make an apple pie truly from scratch, you must first invent the universe."** -Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996) Wednesday: NO PROMPT
 * Wednesday 2/20/13:** Paraphrase the following quote and explain it in terms of your current reading.
 * Tuesday (2/19/13):** Paraphrase the following quote and explain what you think it means. Provide examples to illustrate your ideas. "It is more often from pride than from ignorance that we are so obstinately opposed to current opinions; we find the first places taken, and we do not want to be the last". -Francois De La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680)
 * Friday (2/15/13):** Free Write
 * Wednesday** **(2/13/13)**: Paraphrase the following quote, explain it, and then discuss any literary connections you can make to it. "Nature and books belong to the eyes that see them." -Ralph Waldo Emerson.
 * Tuesday (2/12/13)**: Paraphrase the following quote paying particular attention to word meanings. Explain the meaning of the quote and then connect it to reading you have done. (e.g. //Warriors Don't Cry//; //Anthem// and //Fahrenheit 451//; //Macbeth//**) "Human progress is furthered, not by conformity, but by aberration."- ** [|**H. L. Mencken,**]
 * Monday (2/11/13):** //UPFront// magazine response
 * Friday (2/8/13):** free write
 * Thursday (2/7/13):** no prompt
 * Wednesday (2/6/13):** Paraphrase the following quote. Then explain what you think it means and why. Connect your understanding to what we are reading in class. "Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known." -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592)
 * Tuesday (2/5/13):** Read the article related to Monday's prompt and compare.
 * Monday (2/4/13)** View this infographic and decide whether you think that texting is ruining the English language. Should our language be really flexible? Why or why not?
 * Friday (2/1/13):** Free Write
 * Wednesday/Thursday (1/30 and 31/13):** Choose one of these TED talks to view and respond to for discussion on Thursday. **How does fearlessness promote success?**
 * Tuesday (1/29/13):** no prompt
 * Monday** (1/28/13) Watch this video and then comment on any that touched you and explain why you connected with the one(s) you mentioned. Also, list the dreams you have for the world and yourself.
 * Friday (1/25/13):** Free Write
 * Thursday (1/24/13)** __Periods 1/2:__ Connect //Warriors Don't Cry// to either or both of the articles about The Voting Rights Act/Changing Face of America.
 * Tuesday (1/22/13):** View this video commercial from Samsung. Then, comment on what we gain, lose, and what might result from this new concept. Also, what seems odd in the video which promotes a futuristic concept. How might you have changed the video to better show off the bendable screen?

=**Prompt Check Quarter 2 #2 due Thursday 1/17/13: (13 total prompts)**= 11/29/12, 12/3/12, 12/6/12, 12/7/12, 12/10/12, 12/11&12/12, 12/17/12, 12/18/12, 12/19 & 20/12, 1/7/13, 1/11/13, 1/14/13, 1/15/13.
 * Friday, January 18: no prompt**
 * Thursday, January 17: no prompt but all thirteen prompts for quarter 2#2 are due today.**
 * Wednesday, January 16: no prompt**
 * Tuesday, January 15, 2013:** This excerpt is from __The Little Prince__ by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Explain what you think it means literally and figuratively. Why do you think the figurative meaning is the way you describe it? **"And the fox said to the little prince: men have forgotten this truth, but you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."**
 * Monday, January 14, 2013:** Paraphrase the following quote, explain what you think the author means by his words, make connections from the meaning to other literary pieces and explain your connections. **"There is something beautiful about all scars of whatever nature. A scar means the hurt is over, the wound is closed and healed, done with." -Harry Crews (novelist and playwright, b. 1935)**
 * Friday, January 11, 2013: Free Write**
 * Thursday, January 10, 2013: No Prompt**
 * Wednesday, January 9, 2013: No Prompt**
 * Tuesday, January 8, 2013: No Prompt**
 * Monday, January 7, 2013:** paraphrase the following quote, explain what it means and connect it to the reading you did over break**. "In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy." William Blake (poet)**

//A. Barry Fairbrother did not want to go out to dinner.// //B. I am a lawyer and I am in prison.// //C. They took Mother away today// //D. When I think of my wife, I always think of her head.// //E. Some years in Portland, Oregon, winter is a bully, spitting sleet and spewing snow in fits and starts as it violently wrestles days from spring, claiming some archaic right to remain king of the seasons—ultimately the vain attempt of another pretender.// //F. “I don’t know why we gotta sit here baking in your car in the middle of he day, in the middle of the summer, in the middle of this crummy neighborhood,” Lulu said.// //G. The light of a half-moon shimmered off the restless sea like a streak of flaming mercury.// //H. The rear door to St. Anthony’s church had been left open.// //I. The four dead men were lined up on the living room floor of the safe house// //J. He had the look of a man who was afraid that tonight would be his last on earth.//
 * Friday, 12/21/12: No Prompt**
 * Wednesday and Thursday, 12/19&20/12: watch this video at home and we will discuss it on Thursday.**
 * Tuesday, 12/18/12:**Choose an opening line and write what you think the rest of the introduction would look like. Opening Lines of Best Selling Titles 2012

Thursday (11/29/12) video: React to the video
 * Monday, 12/17/12: Free Write**
 * No Prompts: Thursday and Friday (12/ 13 and 14)**
 * Tuesday and Wednesday (12/11 and 12/12): Watch this video and discuss it in writing. What does it make you think about?**
 * Monday (12/10/12)** //**“Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner”**// -Lao Tzu
 * Friday (12/7/12) Free Write**
 * Thursday (12/6/12) "No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same.' Victor Franki (author and Holocaust survivor)**
 * Monday (12/3/12) "We acquire the strength we have overcome." Ralph Waldo Emerson (author)**


 * Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: (11/12, 13, 14, 15/12) No Prompts**

**Friday (11/9/12) ALL 12 PROMPTS DUE FROM 10/11-11/8/12 (10/11, 12, 17, 19, 22, 25, 26, 29 and 11/1, 2, 5, 8)**

 * Thursday (11/8/12)** Paraphrase the following quote and explain how you feel about it using examples to illustrate your response: **"When two opposite points of view are expressed with equal intensity, the truth does not necessarily lie exactly halfway between them. It is possible for one side to be simply wrong." -Richard Dawkins (biologist and author b. 1940)**
 * Wednesday (11/7/12)** no prompt
 * Tuesday (11/6/12)** No School and no prompt
 * Monday (11/5/12) Watch this video** and respond to it. We will discuss what you wrote on Wed. this week.


 * Free Write (11/2/12)** Free Write
 * Thursday (11/1/12)** Choose one of the prompts on this page and then paraphrase and evaluate the words.
 * Tuesday and Wednesday:** no prompts
 * Monday (10/29/12) Watch this video** and write about it. Connect the author's message to what we are reading in class.


 * Friday (10/26/12) Free Write**
 * Thursday (10/25/12)** Paraphrase the following quote, explain what you think Gibran means, make connections to your understanding, and evaluate whether you agree with the philosopher. “The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.” -Khalil Gibran
 * Tuesday and Wednesday(10/23 & 24/12): no prompt**
 * Monday (10/22/12) Paraphrase the following quote, explain what you think it means and make connections to your understanding.** "Where the light is brightest, the shadows are deepest"-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (1749-1832)
 * Friday (10/19/12) Free Write**
 * No Prompt on Thursday**
 * Wednesday (10/17/12) Paraphrase the following quote, explain it, make connections, and evaluate the quote.** "A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot. It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain." -Mildred Witte Stouven
 * Monday and Tuesday (no prompts)**


 * Friday (10/12/12) Free Write**
 * Thursday (10/11/12) paraphrase the following quote, give some examples of your understanding, and decide if you agree or disagree with Emerson and why you feel that way.**"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

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=**(Quarter 1 prompt check 1 is this Friday-10/5)**= "Whenever books are burned men also in the end are burned." -Heinrich Heine, poet, journalist, and essayist (1797-1856) "Don't try to figure out what people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer." **-Barbara Kingsolver (author)**
 * Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (10/8,9 and 10) no prompts. You may want to view this video as a follow up to the banned book presentation.**======
 * Thursday and Friday NO Prompts**
 * Wednesday 10/3/12) Write a What If ... or So What? for one of the photos**
 * Tuesday (10/2/12) Paraphrase the following quote, explain any connections you make to what you understand the author to mean and decide if you agree or disagree and why:**
 * Monday (10/1/12) Paraphrase the following quote, explain any connections you make to the meaning, and decide the worth or value of the advice.**


 * Friday (9/28/12): Free Write**
 * Thursday( 9/27/12): In your group, Choose a quotation from this site. Paraphrase it and explain why it is significant for you.**
 * Tuesday (9/25/12): Choose a quotation from this site. Paraphrase it and explain why it is significant for you.**
 * Friday and Monday (9/21/12 and 9/24/12) NO PROMPT**

"A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition." -Jose Bergamin, author (1895-1983)
 * Thursday (9/20/12) NO PROMPT**
 * Wednesday (9/19/12)** Paraphrase the following quote, explain how the words might connect to another literary work, and decide whether you agree or disagree. Explain your opinion.
 * Tuesday (9/18/12)** View this video and respond with any ideas you have about what you see and hear.
 * Monday (9/17/12) NO Prompt/No school**

“I'm not telling you to make the world better, because I don't think that progress is necessarily part of the package. I'm just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live recklessly. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it. To seize the moment. And if you ask me why you should bother to do that, I could tell you that the grave's a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace. Nor do they sing there, or write, or argue, or see the tidal bore on the Amazon, or touch their children. And that's what there is to do and get it while you can and good luck at it.” -- Joan Didion "Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted." -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)
 * Friday (9/14/12) NO PROMPT (have a joyous weekend)**
 * Thursday (9/13/12) Paraphrase this quote, explain it and connect your understanding to examples:** "The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it." -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955)
 * Wednesday (9/12/12) Explain this quote and evaluate it:**
 * Tuesday (9/11/12): paraphrase this quote, explain your connections to this quote, and evaluate whether you agree or disagree with this author:**
 * Monday (9/10/12): view this video and explain what you think it is about.**


 * Friday (9/7/12): No Prompt due to MAPs testing**
 * Thursday (9/6/12): View this video and write about what you think it means and why.**
 * Wednesday (9/5/12): NO PROMPT**
 * Tuesday (9/4/12): Paraphrase this quote, connect your understanding to a literary example or life experience. Evaluate the truth of this quote**
 * "**I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers." -Kahlil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (1883-1931)


 * Friday (8/31/12): Write freely about your own topic choice**

Thursday (8/30/12): Summarize what happened in your Pulgar group, and then evaluate and explain what you learned about collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking in groups.
8/28/12: Summarize the theme of this video Then, connect what you see to an instance of your own collaboration.
 * 8/29/12: NO PROMPT**

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8/27/12: Paraphrase the following quotation, make a connection to your understanding, agree or disagree and explain your evaluation. "There is not less wit nor less invention in applying rightly a thought one finds in a book, than in being the first author of that thought." -Pierre Bayle, philosopher and writer (1647-1706)======