Monday

• Students will begin class with a look at the objectives for the week and the expectations for independent reading work.

• Students experience the Eastern fable "The Wise Men and the Elephant" and attempt to determine the message it may reflect relating to creating a strong argument.  Results will be discussed and student teams will collaborate on several related questions.

• Once those questions are discussed, students will read Ed Young's version of the fable, titled "Seven Blind Mice."  Students will then attempt to answer the 5th question and consider which of the versions of the fable do the best job of reflecting the intended message.

• Tonight's homework will then be discussed, which will involve any completion of the Persuasive Argument that students did not finish before the break.

• Intervention time will enable students to continue their work on their unfinished persuasive plans and drafts or work on their independent reading work.

Homework:  Students should be reading at least 30 minutes per night and documenting their reading daily on their reading logs.  They should also complete a dialectical response for their independent reading by Friday.  Students who did not finish their Persuasive Essay plans and 1st Draft before the break should be working on that tonight as we begin Peer Evaluation on Wednesday.

Tuesday

• Students will begin class discussing their observations about the two versions of the fable that was read yesterday.

• Students will then examine an argumentative essay making the case that the Ed Young version of the fable is a more effective teacher than the original.  We will break this essay down into its component parts, discuss how these parts are related and how they should be represented in the essays students are currently writing.

• Intervention time will be committed to independent reading work or to finishing the drafts that were due the 18th of February.

Wednesday

• Students will begin class with a brief lesson addressing the Counter Claim that should be a part of their own essay.  We will look at role of this paragraph and examine the example from yesterdays reading.  Students will identify significant elements and discuss their observations.

• The Peer Evaluation process will then be discussed and students who are prepared will share a copy of their 1st draft with a partner to take their paper through the process.  Results will be discussed before students complete their own self assessment comentary giving themselves some direction for tomorrow's revision process.  Self assessments that are not completed in class should be completed for homework.

• Intervention time will be committed to  Book Club time.

Thursday

• Students will begin class another look at the thesis statment.  They will examine several sample thesis statements for the "Pitchforking" sentence structure that should be applied to this sentence.  Results will be discussed.

• Students will then begin their 2nd Draft revisions.  This will be due at the end of class tomorrow, so students should make progress on at least the 1st half of their papers.

• Intervention time will be committed to to  Book Club time.

Friday

• Students will begin class with some additional considerations to keep in mind as they continue their 2nd Draft and then be given time to work on their papers.

• Once students have finished, they should reflect on what they learned during the week and complete their Week in Review.