Week 17 2A: HSA and Research Essay Prep

This week's HSA INDICATORS: December 12-18: Do the online exercise for indicators 1.3.5 and 2.2.2. DUE BY SUNDAY MIDNIGHT, December 18.

This week you only have to send me your results.  Don't worry about answering the three questions below related to the HSA indicators.  Instead, after reading over the handout for your second quarter narrative research essay (under Forms and Docs on class website), answer the following questions in the comments section below:

1. List your topic for your narrative research essay about a theme related to something we've studied second quarter and briefly discuss how you are going to integrate research into your essay.  What story are you going to tell?  How will you connect your research to this?

Example: For my second quarter narrative research essay I'm going to tell the story of how my mom got arrested at a non-violent protest a few months ago.  She was protesting the Tar Sands pipeline from Alberta Canada all the way to Texas.  In my paper I'll tell the story of the day she was arrested and how I brought my boys downtown to watch their grandmother get arrested in front of the White House with hundreds of other individuals peacefully demonstrating against a project that could harm the environment seriously.  I'll then relate this story to events in Animal Farm (i.e. how the animals are afraid to protest against Napoleon even when they feel he is breaking the law) and selections from the blindness unit (how leaders can be blinded by money and funding from big business instead of protecting the environment).  I'll also try relating this paper to the Occupy Wall Street movement somehow.  For my research, I'm going to find two books and two Internet sources that deal with global warming, big oil, the environmental movement, and civil disobedience/protest so I can relate this information to my specific topic.

2. Discuss the books/Internet sources you've found so far, if any.  If you've found them, please try put them in the correct MLA citation format below in the comments section (examples below to use as references).  If you don't get this done by Sunday night, that's okay.  But you'll need to have it done by midnight on Wednesday, December 21 before you go away on Christmas break.

Example: I have not had a chance to research my sources yet.  I know this is due next week before Christmas break, so I'll get cracking on this.

For each book, list the citation:

      Citing a book. Author. Title of Book (underlined). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. For example: Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code. New York: Random House, 2003.

Example:

Depastino, Todd. Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003.

For each Internet site, list the full citation:

      For citing an individual work on the Internet: Author. Title. Date on page (if given). Name of  Associated Institution (if given; underlined). Date of access < web address>. For example: Downer, Jillian. In Her Shoes. 18 May 2008. The Shoe Dish. 24 May 2008 <http://theshoedish.com>.

Example:

Homelessness and Poverty in America. National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. 11 October 2011. < http://www.nlchp.org/hapia.cfm>

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DON'T FORGET TO SEND YOUR RESULTS TO ME VIA EMAIL WITH YOUR NAME AND CLASS PERIOD IN SUBJECT LINE, OR BRING A PRINT OUT OF YOUR RESULTS TO CLASS ON MONDAY/TUESDAY.  DON'T FORGET TO RESPOND TO THE THREE BLOG QUESTIONS BELOW!!!

THIS QUARTER YOUR ONLINE HOMEWORK WILL COUNT AS A TEST GRADE RATHER THAN A HOMEWORK GRADE, SO IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU COMPLETE THESE EXERCISES ONLINE!

Online HSA Practice Schedule:

This week you'll CONTINUE your online HSA review course for the second quarter. The instructions for completing this are REPEATED below.  They are the same steps from the first quarter.  If you already know how to do this, you can ignore them!  If you still need the instructions, follow the steps and you'll get your weekly homework credit. It's that simple! It will take you about fifteen minutes or so to complete each indicator.

For this homework assignment you'll get to practice answering HSA-style questions. The system will tell you what you get right and wrong, and you'll have a chance to correct yourself and learn from your mistakes. We'll go over all of this material in class, but this give you an opportunity to get more practice in at home!

Each week leading up to the Second Quarter HSA Benchmark in mid January (window is open from January 9-19, and you'll probably take your test on the 16th or 17th) you'll have to complete test questions for two separate indicators. The schedule is spelled out below. Additionally, your blog response for the next five weeks will be centered around your work on this HSA review website.

Homework Schedule for Second Quarter indicators:

November 28 - December 4: Do the online exercises for indicators 1.1.3 and 1.2.1

December 5-11: Do the online exercises for indicators 1.2.4 and 1.2.5

December 12 –18: Do the online exercises for indicators 1.3.5 and 2.2.2

December 19– 21 (or the 25th if you want to stretch it out): Do the online exercises for indicators 2.2.3 and 2.2.5

December  26- January 1: Christmas Break/Catch Up on Indicators you Didn't Complete!

January 2– 8: Do the online exercise for indicators 3.1.6 and 3.1.8

January 9-15: Review all 10 indicators in preparation for FAST Benchmark on Monday, January 16th or Tuesday, January 17th.  Complete any exercises for indicators that you didn't complete online for partial credit.

Online HSA Practice Directions:

High School Assessment Online Practice

Step 1: Go to http://apps.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/hsaprep/

Step 2: Enter your email address and name. Use this every time because the system will keep track of your progress.

Step 3: Pull down the subject tab to English. Choose the“By Indicator” test type that you are working on for the week.

Step 4: For each indicator, print out your results and return this data to class to get your homework grade for each week. Optionally, you can copy and paste your results into an email and send them from your PGCPS Gmail account to peter.sabath@pgcps.org. IF YOU DO THIS, PLEASE LIST YOUR NAME AND CLASS PERIOD IN THE SUBJECT LINE (eg. 2A, 2B, 3A, or 3B). If you don’t have a printer, bring in a letter from a parent stating this and use the charts attached (or create your own charts) to keep track of the questions you get right and wrong.Write down the indicator at the top of each chart and for each question put a check (or X) in the correct column if you get it right or in the incorrect column if you get it wrong.

As it is the first quarter, now you only have to focus on the first quarter indicators below as you prepare for your first quarter HSA Benchmark Exam during the last week of this quarter (October 17-26).

Overview of indicators for each quarter:

First Quarter Indicators: 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.4, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 2.1.1, 2.1.4, 2.2.1, 3.1.3, 3.1.4

Second Quarter Indicators: 1.1.3, 1.2.1, 1.2.4, 1.2.5, 1.3.5, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.2.5, 3.1.6, 3.1.8

Third and Fourth Quarter Indicators: 1.3.3, 2.3.1, 2.3.3, 3.1.1, 3.2.2, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 4.1.1, 4.2.1, 4.3.1