Welcome Back

      I hope you all had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving and enjoyed spending time with your family, as well as some good food.  The extra credit recipes were great, and I shared them with my family over the vacation.  Thanks to all who participated in that activity, it was wonderful to see the different aspects of culture in my classes.  We had a variety of items from King Cake to Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread and about everything in between.  

     Your quizzes on the Irish immigrants will be handed back on Tuesday.  The grades were excellent with all my classes.  Great job starting the second quarter off really strong. 

You can clean out your binders and get ready for the new unit.

Extra Credit assignment.  Read and write a reaction to the following article  that was in the Boston Globe.  Explain to me what your opinion is on the topic.  The reaction needs to be typed, and handed in by Friday, December 4th. 

"Give me your tired, your poor..."

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

     Those words can be found on a plaque at the Statue of Liberty, but they were not on the Statue originally.  The poem was placed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty until 1930, almost 20 years after she was dedicated in New York Harbor.

   The Statue was a gift from the people and government of France in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the United States.  The size of the statue brought to mine the mythical Colossus of Rhodes, and other statues of the Ancient World.  On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland unveiled the Statue of Liberty to the world.  

   With its proximity to New York City and Ellis Island, the meaning of the Statue changed for millions of people.  The Statue became a symbol for America, a symbol for a new life and new opportunities.   In some ways it became a symbol for freedom itself.  

   As stated in Emma Lazarus's poem, those that came to this country tended be the people who were "homeless" or the "wretched".  So while the poem implies that are all welcome to the United States, we know that this is not always the realty.  For many people, coming to the U.S. to seek a new life meant being faced with opposition and prejudice from the very people who were descendants of immigrants. 

   As a case study to these anti-immigrant feelings, we will be taking a brief look at what happened when the U.S. faced a large influx of immigrants from a particular ethnic group for the first time...the Irish.    We will be discussing why the Irish left Ireland, and what type of welcome they were given by the American people.    Looking at what the Irish faced, we can see some of the arguments that people have used and still use, in saying why immigration is wrong.

Support Your Local Thesis

I know that making these tree maps is not the most exciting thing in the world but I promise you that they do pay off.  The more organized you are before you write the paper, the less work the paper will be.  You wont just show up to run a marathon after doing nothing but hang out for the past year.  No, you spent months training your body for that type of challenge. The Tree Map and outlines are apart of your prep.

Every great paper has a strong thesis.  This allows the reader to know what you are writing about and what your opinion is.  It is your opening statement, your headline, that lets the audience know what your paper is about.  Without the thesis then the paper doesn't have a direction and the reader becomes lost.

        Your paper can not stand on the thesis along though.  That is where your claims come in.  These statements are the main arguments or reasons that you are giving to support the thesis.  These claims will help you prove your point and win your argument.  If the claim contradicts the thesis then you will not win your argument.  (Lets say you are writing a paper on why your friend should break up with his g/f.  You would not mention that she volunteers at a homeless shelter would you?  No, that makes her look good, and thats not your goal.)

The claim is made up of evidence and details.  This helps you prove that your claims are accurate and that your thesis is correct.  The evidence makes up your body paragraphs and should come from a variety of sources.  The more sources that support your claim, the stronger the claim is.  Think, if you want mom or dad to allow you to go to the movies and you say, "well Jean is going", that might not be to convincing.  However, if you say Jean, Mary, Judi, Merrissa, Emily, Betty Lou, and Mrs. Vanderberg are going...well you got a stronger case.

        Your sources for these facts are your L.P.S., L.M.G., your textbook, and the notes.  Up in the library there are some books put on reserve that I encourage you to use for your paper.  The more sources you have, the more well rounded the paper will be.  This also shows that you applied yourself and took that extra effort on your assignment. No hurt in that.

     

When I think of a paper or an essay, I think of the Greek or Roman Temples.  The thesis is the roof of the temple and the columns are the claims (body paragraphs).  If the claims are weak and do not support the thesis then the whole temple will collapse.  And you dont want to be responsible for a bunch of dead Romans now do you.

Make sure you have your Rough Draft completed for class tomorrow. 

Advice on Introductions

    So now that you have the topic that you are writing about, it is time to formulate your introduction paragraph.  The Intro is going to set the tone of your essay.  In one way it is a type of road map, a guide for your reader.  So, for example lets say the essay I need to write about is the following:

Explain why Vanilla is the best flavor ice cream.

My Introduction might look like this:

     Each year millions of Americans head to their freezer to indulge on one of the most popular desserts in the country, ice cream. There are many flavors of ice cream in the market today, a person can choose from Raspberry/Walnut or a scoop of Snickers Fudge.   However, each year the most popular flavor of ice cream that is bought and sold, is vanilla. Vanilla ice cream outsells any other flavor that is offered.  Vanilla is also used as the base for many other flavors such as Snickers Fudge and Oreo.  Vanilla ice cream is, the best flavor of ice cream.

    Ok, now facts and opinion aside on the topic, the Introduction is pretty good and here is why:

1. The last sentence is the thesis sentence. So when it is time to write the first body paragraph there will be a natural flow to the essay.

2. It is short and to the point, no "fluff" or filler in this intro.

3. I had a strong opening sentence, or a hook to it.

4. I presented my reasons, "most popular" and "base for other flavors" that support my thesis in the Intro. 

Now I would be ready to write my body paragraphs.  

Tonight for homework you are to type up your introduction for the Lowell Essay.