Showing posts with label Synthesis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Synthesis. Show all posts

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Examples of Synthesis...Yes!

Hello Class!

Yesterday, we dove into our Synthesis essays, but we did so backwards. Instead of beginning at the, well, beginning,, we began with our second and third paragraphs. Even though it seems crazy, the easiest way to write a synthesis essay is to figure out each part first, and THEN combine them together to make the whole.

So, yesterday we write our theme paragraphs about Emmanuel's Gift and then about The Breadwinner.

Here is a snapshot of one example from our board on how to craft the paragraph about Emmanuel's Gift:


And today, we are building our Introductions--complete with our actual synthesis statements! Here is a link to the examples we'll discuss in class today on how to find your synthesis statement. 

And finally (finally!) here is a video that explains how to get your synthesis statement in case you need a refresher, or you love synthesis SO much that you just can't wait until school tomorrow to hear all about it again!



Our word of the day yesterday was PERPETUAL, which means continuing on forever. And our word of the day today is ARDUOUS, which means incredibly hard!

Have an awesome day and evening!

Peace,

Mr. R


Friday, February 26, 2016

Emmanuel's Gift: HOPE

We are getting towards the denouement of our remarkable documentary Emmanuel's Gift. In watching, we are preparing for our SYNTHESIS ESSAY for the upcoming week, as we combine the theme of Emmanuel's Gift with the theme from The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis to create a BRAND NEW IDEAS about what matters most in life.

Here is the link to our synthesis essay assignment.

Our word of the day from Wednesday was NEFARIOUS which means having a desire to hurt; wicked; evil. And our word of the day for today is RUMINATE which means to think deeply.

Today in class, we also crafted some possible thematic statements fro Emmanuel's Gift, and you came up with great examples such as: The theme in Emmanuel's Gift is that one must always keep pushing forward even when it seems or feels impossible. 

Another example from class is: The theme in Emmanuel's Gift is that because society calls one 'disabled' does not make a verdict that one is unable.

Thanks for your thoughtfulness and excitement today.

Have an awesome weekend!

Peace,

Mr. Reynolds

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Synthesis Essay!

We're digging deeper into SYNTHESIS today! Yesterday, we created fascinating, powerful, and sometimes silly tales about how two random objects could be synthesized to create a new narrative.

Today, we took the leap from our objects into the realm of ideas. Here is the SYNTHESIS ESSAY assignment which we explored in class today. 

After reviewing the new project, we then began screening our documentary entitled Emmannuel's Gift

Our word of the day for today is ASTUTE, which means wise; having the ability to make good choices.

Have an awesome day!

Peace,

Mr. R

Monday, February 22, 2016

It's All About Synthesis!

Today in class we are jumping in to the realm of SYNTHESIS! This is an awesome skill that involves combining two or more ideas to make a brand new idea! Instead of comparing and contrasting, synthesis uses both ideas (or objects, or events, or...anything!) to create something new that did exist before.

One great way to think about synthesis is the following:

A + B = C

Instead of comparing A and B, we are combining them together to make something brand new: C! 

Today you each received two strange objects from the mystery bag and had to combine the objects together to create a story that is dependent on both of them--a new C! I loved hearing your stories!

For tonight, be sure to share in the comments below an example of SYNTHESIS in the natural world or in your daily life.

Peace!

Mr. R

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Creatively Seeing Our Synthesis Statements in A World We Imagine...

Our final paragraph of our Synthesis Essay! Alright! You've all worked very hard to craft your synthesis statements, see their parts within Habibi and Emman uel's Gift, and to agree or disagree with how this synthesis plays out in other books, films, or in your own life.

Now, in our final synthesis paragraph, we're going bigger.

We're going bolder.

We're going bolder!

We're going into the land of imagination. As you work on your fifth paragraph of the synthesis essay tonight, the key question to ask is this: HOW COULD MY SYNTHESIS STATEMENT CHANGE THE WORLD? 

In other words, if your synthesis statement were true, how would the world be different? We want to try and include three sentences that discuss your response as a way to close our essays.

Here is our back board from today, where we discussed how to begin this final paragraph, and also viewed the assignment sheet:


Remember that the rough draft of paragraph five is due tomorrow. It doesn't have to be perfect! IN fact, it shouldn't be perfect! Because all good writing is rewriting. We will revise and workshop these paragraphs tomorrow, but give it your best shot to try and envision how your synthesis might play out in the world around you.

Here is an example of how I might think about this question:

When I was a freshman in high school, my high school cafeteria was completely segregated. The school I attended, Windsor High School, was about half black and half white, and during lunch, students separated based on their races. As a timid freshmen, seeing this self-segregation saddened and shocked me. I wondered why. If my synthesis statement were true in this high school world, my cafeteria would have looked very different. Students of all races would have sat with one another. Students' internal interests and ideas would have been elicited as far more important than their outward appearance. 

Like I am asking all of us to attempt, this would be my own first-attempt at a final paragraph. I would revise.

Yes! Revision!

Tonight, give it your best shot to write creatively about how your synthesis could or would change the world around you. 

And here is a picture of our front board, which we used to help guide our peer edit of paragraph four today:


And finally: our word of the day was EXACERBATE, which means to make worse. This verb can be used, for example, like this: If we get any more snow, it will exacerbate the driving conditions.

Have an awesome evening my amazing students!

Peace,

Mr. R.


Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Synthesis Alive in the World at Large!

Today, we peer-reviewed paragraph three of our synthesis essay and then created some possibilities for how to create paragraph four.

Here is the checklist we used to revise paragraph three of our essays:


As you continue to think about your third paragraphs, check to see if you've revised according to the above questions. And then: use our vocab words within your essay this week!

As we dove into paragraph four, here are some of the possibilities we explored for how to begin the paragraph:


And the work of paragraph four gets us back into the realm of creativity. (Score!) Since we are no longer working with our class novel or the documentary for this paragraph, we need to state whether we agree or disagree with this synthesis statement using the world at large as our support!

You can use examples from your own life, from other books you have read, movies you have seen, events you have learned about in Mrs. Dyer's History class, or Mr. Holt's Science class, or Mr. Desarro's Math class. You can even create a hypothetical situation that shows why you agree or disagree.

After all, that's what Socrates did to prove his point in "Plato's Allegory of the Cave." Imagine Socrates saying to his listeners, So, let's say there's this cave, see, and everyone inside is...

Our word of the day today is CORROBORATE, which simply means to support with evidence. Be sure you corroborate your ideas in paragraph four of our synthesis essay. 

For tomorrow, be sure to have a rough draft of paragraph four ready for a peer review. 


Exciting stuff!

Peace,

Mr. Reynolds