CURRENT EVENT WINTER BREAK 1 This DOCUMENT CONTAINS THREE PAGES – READ THEM ALL CAREFULLYp. 1 – Overview and Topic Choices p. 2 – Directions/Explanation for EACH ENTRY p. 3 – SAMPLE ENTRY (what each should look like!) Current Event Assignment:In the upcoming semester, we will be assigning groups of four to research current events for a presentation/peer teaching exercise that will NOT ONLY aid all of you in your writing and responses on the AP Exam, but in your intelligent/cogent discussion and writing in a variety of academic and social contexts (in other words, knowing about what is happening in the world around you is an important skill set and will make you a more interesting and well-rounded person – ultimately, a more successful scholar, as well.)
Please choose 5-7 topics from the list below that interest you. During winter break, you will find 3 articles per week (a total of 9) that relate to the topics you have chosen that are of interest to YOU. Political: Terrorism, Global Warming, Freedom (Human Rights), Competition (Free Market), Use of Torture, Capital Punishment, Education/Standardized testing, Gun Laws, Privacy, Social Security, Lobbying (all types), Corporate Greed, Economics, Investments/Wall Street, Governmental surveillance of citizens, “Stand your ground” laws, Bill of Rights violations, others? Social: Affirmative Action, Cloning, Prejudice, Family, Immigration, Computers/Technology, Reality Television, Advertising/Body Image, Gender Issues, Homelessness, Animal Rights/Testing, Driving/Cell phones, Art, Illiteracy, Prison Reform, Advertising, Police Safety/Misconduct, and ??? Religious: Euthanasia, Abortion/Family Planning, Marriage/Divorce, Stem Cell Research, Living Will/Do Not Resuscitate, Prayer in School, Marriage of Priests, Sexual Orientation in the Clergy, etc… Health: Aging, National Healthcare, Obesity, Smoking, decriminalization of drugs, alcoholism, Access to Mental Health services, Stem Cell Research, Healthcare profits for private insurance, Smoking bans in the workplace or public, and so on… **Obviously, many of these topics overlap or intersect, just be sure to have a variety of topics (while still focusing and maybe have a few that are of real interest to you be related!) Requirements: Articles must be from a reputable news source and no more than 12 months old. (The more contemporary the better!) Articles should not be from the opinion pages or other sources that do not require any “fact finding” – in other words, it can’t be a blog your Uncle Bob wrote that he believes that global warming is caused by the prolific use of washing machines in America and that women should be washing clothes by hand in the streams to combat this phenom.
Articles should be of adequate length to be informative and have enough information for you to write about it (2-3 paragraphs is probably NOT adequate.)
You will write a summary of the pertinent information from the article. Next, you should write a reaction or series of questions or even your evaluation of the information. Each entry needs to include a correctly documented MLA entry (as it would be seen in a Works Cited page – for help with that see the OWL link on my website.)
These entries can be made in your Learning Log. When we return from break, I will check logs and will then assign topics and groups based on the depth of ideas and research you have made. (Someone who has done very in-depth reflections and looked at serious articles will be first to choose their topics over people who hand me logs that contain 2-3 sentence reactions to their articles.) CURRENT EVENT WINTER BREAK 2 For each entry, please follow the example on the next page in both FORMAT and CONTENT.
This will be collected the day we return from break. CURRENT EVENT WINTER BREAK 3
Directions for each CURRENT EVENT entry. . .
1st: You must find at least nine articles from 5-7 (this means choose the topics that interest you and do one or two articles from those topics 5-7 topics) of the above categories and make a learning log entry for those 9 articles. Please find a variety of international, national, regional, and local articles on issues of academic merit.
2nd: Write a response to each article, and include the following: 1. Identify the category the article fulfills then, in two sentences or less, identify the purpose (or main idea) of the article. 2. Write a paragraph detailing your argument on the article’s topic. In other words, what do you believe about the topic discussed? Make sure to support your argument with details and examples.
3rd: Create a works cited entry for each article (put this at the top of the article just below the title).
4th: Make sure to include a copy of the following scoring rubric at the end of the nine entries.
Scoring Rubric . . . 50 pts. Total Elements 20 pts. 18 pts. 16 pts. 14 pts. 0 pts. Works Cited entries: Flawless 1 – 2 errors 3 – 4 errors 5 or more errors Missing Written Responses: All categories met All categories All categories met Missing 1 or 2 Missing more with thoughtful and met with with some categories of articles than two thorough adequate argumentative categories of argumentative argumentative responses lacking articles responses responses Appearance: 10 pts. for appropriately organizing your responses and works cited documentation.
MLA Directions Please note that citing an article and citing an on-line periodical have changed slightly. Please see my model below. EXAMPLES OF MLA ARTICLE IN A MAGAZINE (Like Time or Newsweek)
McEnvoy, Dermot. “Little Books, Big Success.” Publisher’s Weekly 30 Oct. 2006:
26-28. Print.
ON-LINE PERIODICAL (Like Time or Newsweek)
Lubell, Sam. “Of the Sea and Air and Sky.” New York Times. New York Times,
26 Nov. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2008.
Note: Online periodicals include both the name of the website in italics and the website publisher. If no publisher is listed, use N.p. Follow with the date of publication, the medium (Web.), and date of access. CURRENT EVENT WINTER BREAK 4
ENTRY EXAMPLE LOOKS LIKE THIS and includes:
Title Topic MLA – Works Cited Entry – Correct Format Purpose/Summary of Article Student Argument Copy of the article
Learning Log Article #1 Topic: Economy
Gross, Daniel. “The Recession Is Over! Now What We Need Is A New Kind Of Recovery.” Newsweek 3 Aug. 2009: 32-37. Print.
Summary/Purpose of Article: Renewable energy is key to improving our economy. Our unemployment rate can be lowered with projects funded through stimulus.
My Argument/Reaction/Viewpoint: I believe the author of this article is way off base. First of all, his point that the recession is over does not make sense, because in the last few months, according to a report on CNN last week …..
Be sure to attach a copy of the article inside your Learning Log, so that I (or other students) will be able to evaluate your summary AND your argument.