Ferguson, Mo.

Last night, Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch announced that the grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting death of an unarmed African American teenager, Michael Brown.  Fires and protests erupted in Ferguson and elsewhere around the country as a result. Today, your task is to read about the grand jury's decision (what was the evidence that they considered? what did they find?), the violence and protests in response to the verdict, President Obama's message to the nation, and analysis and editorial opinion.  Look at a number of different sites.  Take note of how the story is being reported.  Consider whether there are different emphases from different news organizations.  After reading several articles, do a blog post reflecting on what you're reading.  Be specific about the elements of the story that are provoking your response (in other words, give some reasoning for what you're saying).  Discuss what it's like to see this story as a student growing up in Deerfield, Illinois (in that regard, you may want to check out this article from The Atlantic, this article may be interesting as well).  When finished with your post, read what others have to say on their blogs and respond.
Some sites to look at:
CNN
Fox News
Huffington Post
The Atlantic
NPR
The New York Times
Chicago Tribune

Abortion Contd.

Instead of beginning the mini-debates today, we watched the first part of the documentary, The Last Abortion Clinic which we will finish tomorrow. The mini-debates will take place when we return after Thanksgiving.
The film is available online HERE.
There is no blog post due for Thanksgiving week.

Abortion Debates

Today we will begin to consider questions that the nation continues to debate in regard to the issue of abortion.  Period 1-use this document to gather your information.  Period 8 use this document to gather your information. You should finish and print this document for class on Monday 11/24.

Intro to Roe v. Wade

1st Period: Today we read the articles and documents found HERE and answered the incorporated questions in order to be grounded in the law as it relates to abortion.
8th period will do this tomorrow in class.

Abortion

We've been watching clips from the film, Unborn in the USA: Inside the War on Abortion and discussing the methods shown as well as trying to determine the intent/thesis of the filmmakers.

Upworthy

For 8th period today, we'll be exploring the site, upworthy.com to see what kinds of issues are raised for discussion.  As you browse, please paste a link to any discussion worthy topics/videos from the site in the comments to this post.

Outside Reading Partners

Below are your partners for the outside reading assignment.  Remember the requirements for this assignment:

• At least 3 posts (These are IN ADDITION to your regular weekly blog posts).  You should consider doing one soon after you start reading; one while you’re engaged in the main body of the book; and a final one after you’ve finished reading.
• Posts should contain enough detail and information to show a thorough reading of the book.
• At least 3 comments on your partner’s posts. (You can make more than one to a single post or a comment on each of their posst)
• A responding comment to every comment made on your blog

The idea behind these requirements is for you to discuss the ideas that you are exploring in your books.

I've tried to give you a partner (or partners) who either have read the same book or have a related topic. In a few instances the topics may only be tangentially related (in some they may hardly be related at all)-if that's the case, please do your best to still engage in discussion about the topics that are raised in your partner's posts.  Some of you may be partnered with someone from a different period and some of you may be in a group of three. If you are a group of three, make sure you determine who is going to comment on which posts so that everyone receives comments.  

If your name is not on this list, that means you have not signed up for a book yet. Please do so on the form in the Course Info link above and email me your choice ASAP.

Gun Control/School Shootings Josh G. (1st) Seamus (1st) Dani (1st)	War Johnny (1st) Dustin (1st) Lily (8th)	Technology (or lack thereof) Jack B. (1st) Zach (1st) Jack G. (8th)	Body Image Madison (1st) Eva (1st) Claire (1st)	Abuse... Robin (1st) Natalie (1st) Gloria (8th)
Tracking and College Admissions Matt B. (1st) Brendan (8th)	Internet Privacy, Global Warming, Pharmaceuticals Seth (1st) Dylan (8th) Jacob L. (1st)	Corruption and 2008 Recession Marc (8th) Evan (8th)	Racial Discrimination Marty (8th) Colton (8th)	Racial Discrimination Joe G. (8th) Yael (8th)
Kidnapping, Rape Madeleine (8th) Charlie (8th)	Kidnapping, Rape Allegra (8th) Carolyn (8th)	Kidnapping, Trafficking Tim (1st) Erica (8th)	Concussions, Hazing, Winning at all costs Jake O. (1st) Andrew (8th) Alex P. (8th)	Portrayal of girls and women in the media Liz (1st) Lizzy (8th) Sara (8th)
Racial Discrimination Jacob B. (1st) Adam (8th)	Criminal Justice System and the Death Penalty Mike (1st) Josh S. (8th)

Gun Control Mini Essay

While we finish up our debates on gun control, we will be putting our information to use in a short essay that is described HERE

Gun Control Debates

In class today, you will be divided into teams and posed a randomly chosen question about gun violence, gun control, and/or Bowling for Columbine.  With your team you will use the facts on the charts linked below to craft an argument to support your side.

Per. 1 Facts Chart

Per. 8 Facts Chart