march 29

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Whoa.  Our last day of March together.  How did you spend the month?  Did your habits and actions get you where you wanted to go over the last four weeks?  If you could do it over again, would you do it the same way or would you change things?

-OR-

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness (this is up to you today; you can do it together, at the beginning of the period or whenever someone suggests it, or you can do it by yourself, anytime)
2. Journal
3. Spend time with your lit circle and add to your doc
4. Answer the question below in a post on your blog

POST:
Why does Hugo begin so many sections with a detailed description of the setting?  He obviously has a strong sense that place and history are important to who we are... Do you agree?  Can you think of places in your life that are important to you?  Did being in those places somehow shape the person you have become?  Think about this for a moment and describe in a post on your blog. (title: A SENSE OF PLACE)

march 28

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What kind of hat suits you best?  Think of all the hats you've ever seen.  Look up "hats" on the internet if you like.  Which hat suits your personality, or the shape of your head, or a group, culture, or lifestyle that you admire?  Please describe your hat in detail and explain why you chose it.

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
3. Read to p.446 (in hard copy; beginning of Book Five)
4. Discuss the title of Book Five and Hugo's pattern of description (*this is a preview of what's coming tomorrow, so please make sure to take notes)

march 27

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Jean Valjean brings Cosette to an apartment in Paris that he's rented in the half-abandoned outskirts of town.  The apartment itself is rundown.  Many people would look around the neighborhood and the apartment and think, "No thanks."  But Cosette feels like it's paradise.  Why?  Describe a place that you've loved even though it may appear in need of improvement to others.

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
3. Lit circle work (continued from yesterday)
4. Your digital identity
5. About your Big Questions

POSTS:
1. What did you find when you searched for yourself online?  Is it accurate?  Does it reflect your best self?  (title: MY ONLINE ME)

2. What have you done recently about your Big Question?  Do you think of it and/or pursue it when we don't talk about it in class?  Why/why not?  (title: BQ THOUGHTS)

please remember our agreement

march 26

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today's topic comes with a story.  Last Friday Ms. Anderson (my former student and favorite SMJUHSD substitute teacher) dropped by just before class with some food she thought I might like.  I turned it down and asked if I could re-gift it to students.  You should have seen the smile on Ms. Anderson's face when I told her why.  Later we exchanged texts.  Mine's in blue, hers is in gray:

This is a fairly recent thing for me.  For most of my life I put away more than my fair share of burgers, steaks, chicken, ribs, eggs, fish, cheese, butter, etc.  I used to gleefully defend my way of life to my vegan and vegetarian friends.  But over time things have changed.  I've learned a lot more about the subject.  Animals grown for food are often sickly and stuffed with antibiotics.  The way they're raised has a powerfully negative impact on the environment.  They are not the best sources of nutrition, even for protein.  When my cousin had a major heart attack in December, he started eating vegan, and when he told his doctors -- the best cardiologists in San Diego -- they said, "Yup.  Us too."  That was the tipping point for me.

I watch students eat Hot Cheetos and processed meat and drink chocolate milk all day, and I wonder: Why do any of us eat what we eat?  Because it tastes good?  Because we're used to it?  Because it's cheap?  Because of our relationships with the people who make food for us?  Because we don't have enough money or enough freedom to make different choices?  Because it's the best fuel for energy or the healthiest nutrition?

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
3. Les Mis: begin Book 4

POST:
How do we manage the choices in our lives that we can control?  Think back on the last few days: you're in charge of your mind, of how you wake up in the morning, and what you put in your face.  How do your decisions about these things help make you more powerful and successful?  (title: IT'S MY LIFE)

march 25

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe your morning routine.  How do you set yourself up for success each day?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Thoughts on our morning routine
3. Check in with Cosette & continue reading

POST:
Describe something you learned about morning routines and how you will start/stop/continue a habit that supports your well-being and success.  (title: GOOD MORNING)

march 22

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Yesterday" by The Beatles; "Tomorrow" by Charles Strouse & Martin Charnin)

According to Lao Tzu,  

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”

What can we do in this very moment to forget about the past and future, and focus on this very moment?

AGENDA:
1.  Journal/discussion
2. Reflect: pp. 417-421
3. Read on

POST:
How can you carry this morning's sense of mindfulness into the rest of your life?  (title: RE/MIND ME)

march 21

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Look up sympathy and empathy and explain the difference.  Then, regard Cosette from each perspective.  Spend at least two sentences in sympathy with her, and in empathy with her.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Lit circles (public) audit and feedback
3. Continue reading

POST:
Reflect on today's class.  What did you learn?  (title: TODAY'S TAKEAWAYS)

march 20

***MEETUS INTERRUPTUS***

Unfortunately, the education gods have decreed that I must attend another meeting today.

Please use the journal time to write about your impressions of Cosette and the "Thernardiess." 

Please use the rest of the period to update your lit circle Google Doc and add reading notes, posts, and design elements to your blog. 

Tomorrow we will be reviewing your Google Docs together on the big screen.

march 19

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe how something you learned this week changed your thinking. If nothing did, ask yourself whether this represents a strength or a weakness.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Read to the end of the next Cosette segment
3. Discuss in lit circles and update your docs (public celebrating/shaming tomorrow :)

POST:
Do you read when you're not in school?  What do you read?  Why?  If you don't read, why not?  Please enlighten your readers.  (title: READING ME)

college admissions scandal

Some of you asked me for more information on this.  You can read about it HERE.

march 18

JOURNAL TOPIC:
This morning as I walked onto campus, I talked with a security guard about the book he was reading: Jurassic Park.  He got curious about it years after watching the movie (which was in theaters in 1993).  When I asked him how it compared, he lit up with a huge smile and said, "Man, it's awesome!"  Of all the movies you've seen, which one would you like to read so that you can imagine it for yourself?  Why?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Check in on status from last week
3. [Quiz?]
4. Continue reading Les Mis

march 14-15

JOURNAL:
Are you caught up?  Describe your independent working experience yesterday: How far did you read?  Did you post to your blog?  Did you work with your lit circle?  How did you take advantage of the freedom to choice how you used your time?  What did you learn -- from the book, from your colleagues, and/or from your decisions (that is, what will you continue today and what will you change to achieve your goals)?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Please make sure you've read to p.400 in Les Mis

POST:
Use your journal as a draft to post on your blog.  Please make sure to proofread-- you can also ask a friend to help double-check your mechanics)-- document your work for yesterday and today. (title: WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY THE MICE GO TO WORK)

march 13

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today is my sister's birthday.  Whose birthday(s) do you remember?  Why is this important?  Who remembers your birthday?  How does it make you feel when people remember... or forget?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Read to p. 400 in Les Mis 

POST: 
You've just read 400 pages in a book.  How does it feel?  (title: I READ 400)

march 12

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Imagine: in the next few minutes you will be summoned to the principal's office, where you will be ambushed by a roomful of officials who falsely accuse you of wrongdoing. How do you feel? How will you respond? Explain in detail.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Today we read (while Cosette suffers)
3. Lit circle discussions

POST:
What do you think of Cosette's experiences?  (title: LIFE WITH COSETTE)

march 11

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Cosette, Fantine, Jean Valjean and others in Les Mis had hard beginnings.  Their childhoods weren't easy.  We don't yet know how Cosette will turn out, but Fantine and Jean Valjean both seemed to be decent people -- they drew lessons from their experiences and built their characters into the people they wanted to be.  This raises an interesting question: do you think it's better for children to have everything easy, handed to them even, or should they have to deal with some adversity in order to build their characters?  Please explain your answer.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Les Mis: reading & discussion

march 8

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Write about whatever is on your mind.  Or, imagine what is on Jean Valjean's mind now that he's back in prison.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reading
3. Lit circles/ evaluation
4. Prepare for next week

march 7

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Napoleon once said, "It takes more courage to suffer than to die."  Do you agree or disagree with this idea?  How does it apply to the characters in Les Mis?  How does it apply to people in real life?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reading/discussion
3. Continued: evaluate and contribute to others' lit circle docs by commenting to their blogs

evaluating lit circle docs

Here's how:

1.  Create a post on your blog (title: REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK) in which you write, "Hi and thanks for visiting.  If you've read my Lit Circle Doc, can you please leave a comment?  I'm interested in your feedback, questions, and suggestions.  Thank you.")
2. Go to the list of Lit Circle Docs.
3. Choose a link and click to read it.
4. Ask yourself the following questions and take notes on your answers:

• How many vocabulary words do they have?
• How many connections do they make between Les Mis and other books/movies/plays/real life/etc.?
• How many allusions did they research and explain?  Did they just define them, or did they connect them with the book?
• Can you tell from their notes whether they've discussed meaningful questions?

5. Visit the blogs for the members of the group.
6. Find their REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK post and use your notes to comment.
7. *Save your notes -- you will be using them tomorrow with your own lit circle to improve your Doc.

march 6

JOURNAL TOPIC:
The section on Waterloo is actually the first "Book" of Cosette.  Why?  What do we learn about the prowler at the end of the section (on p.358)?  Who is he, and what is his connection to Cosette?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reading/discussion
3. Lit circles: how to evaluate and contribute to others' docs

march 5

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Over the past few days the reading in Les Mis has focused on the Battle of Waterloo.  Describe at least two interesting facts or ideas you have taken away from this section.  Then, make a prediction; based on what you know of the book so far, why does Hugo leave Jean Valjean, Javert, and Cosette for so long to dwell on this?  How do you think he will tie this back in with the main story?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Focus: lit circles

• In your lit circle, read pp. 333 - 358 
• As you read, edit your Google Doc (with vocab words, connections, etc.)
• Be ready for a reading quiz tomorrow just before we begin BOOK 2 on p. 359

march 4

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you.  Then think about Les Mis -- describe the nicest thing a character has done so far, and describe the effect this has (on other characters, and even the character who does it). 

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reading

POST:
We often think about kind actions in terms of how they affect other people -- but what do these moments offer the people who DO the kind things?  Can you become a nicer person by acting nice?  Please explain.  (title: MR. NICE GUY)

how the CIA approaches problem-solving

The "Phoenix Checklist" is a set of questions developed by the CIA to define and think about a problem, and how to develop a solution.  Here it is:

THE PROBLEM
Why is it necessary to solve the problem?
What benefits will you receive by solving the problem?
What is the unknown?
What is it you don’t yet understand?
What is the information you have?
What isn’t the problem?
Is the information sufficient? Or is it insufficient? Or redundant? Or contradictory?
Should you draw a diagram of the problem? A figure?
Where are the boundaries of the problem?
Can you separate the various parts of the problem? Can you write them down? What are the relationships of the parts of the problem? What are the constants of the problem?
Have you seen this problem before?
Have you seen this problem in a slightly different form? Do you know a related problem?
Try to think of a familiar problem having the same or a similar unknown
Suppose you find a problem related to yours that has already been solved. Can you use it? Can you use its method?
Can you restate your problem? How many different ways can you restate it? More general? More specific? Can the rules be changed?
What are the best, worst and most probable cases you can imagine?
=====
THE PLAN
Can you solve the whole problem? Part of the problem?
What would you like the resolution to be? Can you picture it?
How much of the unknown can you determine?
Can you derive something useful from the information you have?
Have you used all the information?
Have you taken into account all essential notions in the problem?
Can you separate the steps in the problem-solving process? Can you determine the correctness of each step?
What creative thinking techniques can you use to generate ideas? How many different techniques?
Can you see the result? How many different kinds of results can you see?
How many different ways have you tried to solve the problem?
What have others done?
Can you intuit the solution? Can you check the result?
What should be done? How should it be done?
Where should it be done?
When should it be done?
Who should do it?
What do you need to do at this time?
Who will be responsible for what?
Can you use this problem to solve some other problem?
What is the unique set of qualities that makes this problem what it is and none other?
What milestones can best mark your progress?
How will you know when you are successful?

march 1

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Think of a person who is important in your life.  What if you realized this afternoon that you would never get to see or communicate with that person again?  What would you want s/he to know?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reading quiz
3. Continue reading in Les Mis
4. (if time) Revlon work (*if you know what literary technique I'm using here, comment to this post*)