Personal Anecdote Essay

Write a lesson or fact of life you learned, as does Isaac Asimov in "Intelligence," p.49, and James Lincoln Collier in "Anxiety: Challenge by Another Name," p. 82. Your essay must meet the following requirements:

1. Relate to the average person.
2. State the thesis in the conclusion (though you may allude to it in the body).
3. Include at least one well-developed personal anecdote or several short ones.
4. Feature a logical and consistent order, such as chronological or at least familiar to most people.
5. Begin with an engaging title (this time it counts) and a thoughtful introduction.
6. Italicize the thesis in the conclusion.
7. 1-2 pages, double spaced.

Due Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at the end of class. If time is used well, however, the due date may be extended to Friday, October 2, 2009 at the end of class.

2-Day Lab Quiz: Galileo's Inclined Plane

All materials are at your lab station - Use 2 yard sticks to create an inclined plane and 2 more yard sticks to create a level plane.
Use a computer stopwatch as a timer.
The purpose of this activity is to determine the effect of gravity on the acceleration of a marble rolling down the incline.

There are six (6) legs on this incline from which to gather data, each measuring 12 inches in length.

Collect ten (10) trials for each leg and record your data. Once you have completed the data collection, you are no longer working in a group - the remainder of your work must be completed individually.

You are to complete the following sections:

Hypothesis - which area of the setup do you predict to have the fastest and slowest times?

Data Analysis - Create graphs of your data to illustrate your findings. Each graph should also include a written explanation.

Possible Sources of Error - as many as encountered.

Concluding Statement - Summarize your findings. Accept/reject hypothesis and explain why. How would/could you retry the experiment to remove possible sources of error?

Due Thursday, 9/24/09.

Summer Reading Poem

In a direct address or poetic apostrophe, the poet speaks to a subject that is unable to respond, as does Robert Burns in “To a Mouse,” where he uses the mouse as a symbol of the forces beyond man’s control.

In a panegyric, or ‘anthem’ if you will, the poet commemorates or celebrates something of significance, be it a national event, figure or value.

You will be composing one of the two types of poem. First, you must decide if you want to write about your philosophy of life or if you want to pay tribute to something. If you are writing about your philosophy, you will compose an apostrophe. If you are celebrating something, you will compose a panegyric. In the case of the apostrophe, you will need to carefully consider the entity to which your poem directly speaks. Make sure that the subject you are addressing works smoothly into your theme and is not forced; it may be animate or inanimate. Both poems must be thoughtful and serious.

Requirements are as follows:

1. approximately 24 lines
2. use of elevated language
3. consistent stanza form, rhythm and rhyme
4. use of sense imagery in every stanza
5. use of at least one of the following in every stanza: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole (over-exaggeration), understatement, or onomatopoeia 
6. alliteration in every stanza

Due Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Egg Drop Project

These sections need to be completed individually:

1. Data Analysis
• Graph showing the distance traveled in meters for everyone in your group and a group average
• Graph showing the velocity at impact in m/second for everyone in your group and a group average
• Short paragraph explaining the graphs
2. Possible Sources of Error
3. Summary of Findings

Due: Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Current Event Assignment

Reading for Information

A current event in the area of science will be due two times per month. The due dates for these papers will be the 1st and 15th of each month. (If either of these days falls on a weekend or LEAP, your paper will be due the following Monday or Thursday, respectively.) Articles for review may come from newspapers, magazines, journals, and the like.

Directions:
Complete/answer each section. Each section must be completed. Once you have answered each question, use these to write 3 to 4 paragraphs about your article. Use 1.5 or double line spacing and attach the article to this essay. If you do not wish to remove the article from a magazine or journal, I will photocopy the article for you to include. Referring to the text and using specific details will help ensure that you meet all requirements for this assignment.

1. Summarize what you have read by restating specific main ideas from the text.




2. What did the author have to know prior to and during the writing of the selection?




3. What is the general topic of the article, and how useful is the reading selection for learning about the topic?




4. What additional information do you want to know about the topic?




5. What is your opinion about the article/topic? Would you recommend this article to someone else to read? Why or why not?

In-Class Summer Reading Paragraph

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
Anthem, Ayn Rand
Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand

While each of the summer reading texts is quite different in content, style, and historical period, all three concern themselves with man in conflict with himself as well as with the world in which he lives. Ironically, each work also portrays its protagonist’s conflicts in such a way that the protagonist can be considered a hero, though clearly not always a conventional one.

Select one of the three works. In your essay, explore this concept of the hero. How does the main character struggle to assert his own identity and to maintain his values in life as he also struggles to live in a world very much opposed or even antithetical to his own mindset?

Remember standard essay conventions:

1. present tense
2. third person
3. three concrete examples (quotations if possible)
4. analysis of the examples 
5. plot details provided for support
6. basic paragraph format: TS, transitions, CS
7. double-spaced, 12 pt.Times New Roman
8. engaging title

Cover Letter and Resume Directions

When you apply for a job, you frequently send a cover letter and a resume to your potential employer. The cover letter introduces you and your purpose. It summarizes your strengths and experience. Your resume is a detailed, usually reverse chronological, outline of your background and work experience. Of course, the object of both the cover letter and the resume is to stimulate interest in you. Because the employer often receives many cover letters and resumes, yours should stand out. Accordingly, the stronger cover letters and resumes not only contain no errors but are also succinct and interesting to read.

Having just read Of Mice and Men, a work that deals with each man's search for the American dream, and moving on from Mirman in just a short time, you should be thinking about your future. With that said, you will be composing your own cover letter and resume. This will require you to imagine the type of employment you might seek upon graduation from college or after. Use the models provided but follow the requirements below.

Cover Letter

1. One page
2. Single spaced
3. Standard business letter format
4. State your objective
5. Indicate why the organization appeals to you
6. State why you are right for the organization
7. Briefly summarize related experience
8. Indicate your resume is attached
9. Request an interview or follow-up

Resume (remember reverse chronological order)

1.  Name, address, phone number and email address
2. Career objective
3. Previous work experience (minimum of two), including dates, places of employment, titles, responsibilities
4. Educational background
5. Achievements
6. Relevant interests and hobbies
7. Single-spaced
8. One page

Keep in mind, your cover letter and resume are supposed to make you stand out from the crowd. Be inventive, creative, original. Use a graphic, a border, colored paper. Consider using different size type, different fonts, different effects.

The rough draft of your cover letter and resume will be due on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

For the final, you are to add graphics and anything else to make it creative. Do not staple the final copy because Mrs. Zinman may want to put it on the board side by side.

The final draft of your cover letter and resume will be due on Friday, September 25, 2009.