6th Hour 1984/Manzanar Scribe

Konbanwa! Today your scribe is the amazing Ra-sama!

First off, Moritz-sensei showed the class some of the tee-shirts our classes had done on 1984 propaganda. These was an especially impressive one done by 1st hour.

After the glorious tee-shirt display, the class turned in their 1984 books and final assesments.

Then, the class spent most of the rest of the hour discussing Japanese Internment camps (the subject of our next book, Farewell to Manzanar ) The Japanese were moved from the west coast to the middle of nowhere because of their descent during the second World War. They were interned because the Americans were fearful that they had contacts with the Japanese government and were spies.

This brought up the discussion about how the American government didn't do the same thing to Middle Easterners after the 9/11 attacks. The students argued America is more conceredn about rights in the present day, and even though they weren't interned, Middle Easterners were still discriminated against in other ways.

For the final portion of class, we discussed a powerpoint Moritz-sensei had put together containing questions about rights:
What rights should be protected?
When is it Justifiable to violate these rights?
If the government, or anyone violates your rights, what should you do?

We start Farewell to Manzanar tomorrow!

Also, we hope for the best for Moritz-sensei's son!

1st Hour 1984/ManzanarScribe

4/30 Scribe Dan Eigner

We started class by turning in our 1984 final assessment papers. Then we looked at our final T-Shirt designs after Mrs. Moritz printed them. Unfortunately the iron on didn’t work front and back so all designs were on the front. After that we talked about our live blog on Friday. Then we discussed time for our semester long projects. Then we handed in our copies of 1984, but Mrs. Moritz was unhappy about us not writing our names in the books. This was because she can’t hold people responsible for damage. Mrs. Moritz asked for any more graded quizzes.

Then we got into our new unit. She started by asking about what we knew about internment camps and why the Japanese were put there. This is for our next novel Farewell to Manzanar. Mrs. Moritz then asked a controversial question: Why didn’t we put middle eastern people into camps after 9/11?

Then we got into human rights and their protection by law.
Which of the people’s rights should be protected? Under what conditions, if any, might it be justifiable to violate citizen’s legal rights? What should people do if they feel the government is violating their rights? What about the rights of others? What are examples of current legal decisions that you might consider unjust in which the government mistreats people?

Then Mrs. Moritz gave us the night off of blogging and homework.

6th Hour Friday's Blog

Hey Everybody!
I am sorry that I can't be with you there today. I am home with 2 sick kids and they both have Dr.'s appointments this morning. Hopefully everyone will be feeling better soon.
I think I had Caitlin and Kaytlin backwards in my planning calendar. So I am expecting Kaytlin to blog today. Is this right? Please don't forget to do the survey and remember...your papers are due on Monday.
I am hoping to be live blogging tomorrow during your class period. As soon as I log in, I will post. If you have any questions regarding your semester projects, or your papers due on Monday, we can blog during class tomorrow. Talk to you tomorrow.

1st Hour Friday's Blog

Hey Everybody!
I am sorry that I can't be with you there today. I am home with 2 sick kids and they both have Dr.'s appointments this morning. Hopefully everyone will be feeling better soon.
Blair--I thought you were scribing yesterday. Am I mistaken? I also have Laine down to scribe today. Please don't forget to do the survey and remember...your papers are due on Monday.
I am hoping to be live blogging tomorrow during your class period. As soon as I log in, I will post. If you have any questions regarding your semester projects, or your papers due on Monday, we can blog during class tomorrow. Talk to you tomorrow morning.

Laine's Scribe:

Hello everybody:
Today we met in the computer lab and were greeted by our substitute, Mrs. Mason. We then turned in any grade sheets with corrections and were told to read Mrs. Moritz’s blog page. Because Mrs. Moritz was actively bloging at home we could ask her any questions we had on the blog. For the rest of class we then worked on our final, semester long projects in the computer lab. Remember, our 1984 essays are due Monday and our student surveys need to be done today.

6th Hour Thursday's Class Scribe

Hey everybody! How are we? Glad the weather’s looking nicer?

Well, today, we had class in the computer lab, because we were going to work on our end of the semester project. Mrs. Moritz was not here today, but we had a substitute, Ms. Morrell. In the lab we worked on our Photo Stories. Our Photo Stories are our projects which include the books we have read as a class second semester and our own personally books that we wrote that huge paper on (ugh!). Then we got into groups with people who had similar book topics. We were supposed to find a similar topic and relate it to all the books. For example, in my group, with Sally and Emma, our topic is isolation due to personal change. This works with all the books we have read so far this semester, which are Romeo and Juliet, 1984, and a new book we are getting, which I don’t know the name of (he he). I’m sure we got a lot done today, right?

We also have our final assessment paper for 1984 due on Monday. To see the different topics we can choose from, look on Shane’s scribe from yesterday. Also, don’t forget to turn in our books on Monday!

Everybody have a good rest of the day!

Caitlin

1st Hour Thursday's Class Scribe

Blair's Scribe will go here.

6th Hour 1984 Final Assessment Scribe

Class was only 23 minutes long today, so we didn't
have a chance to do a lot. Mrs. Moritz started class
asking for registration cards that needed to be
signed, since she's not going to be at school
tomorrow. She then told us that our grades
were
updated and to check them as part of our homework. If
there is a mistake in your grade, print it out,
highlight it, and show it to Mrs. Moritz when she
comes back on Friday so that she can correct it. After
this, Mrs. Moritz introduced the final assessment
for
1984, which is a 3-5 pg, double spaced formal essay on
one of the following topics:

Chose one of the following options for your final assessment for 1984:
-1984 is a warning that Orwell wrote in the 1940's. What was he
warning us about? (2 specifics with explanations) How has it come true in
our society today? (2 specifics with explanations)
Typed, double spaced, formal essay format
-Write a new chapter in the novel 1984. Do Winston and Julia revolt?
Do they become proles? Is there a completely different ending? Does
Winston somehow become the new O'Brien? (stay true to the tone/form of
the original work)
Typed, double spaced, creative piece format
-In your life, who can you state "controls" you? Do they control
with
fear? Opportunity?
We would all like to say that we control ourselves, our actions, but is
this true? (use specific examples from your personal life)
Typed, double spaced, personal essay format






All essays are due Monday.

Next, Mrs. Moritz told us that tomorrow and Friday we
will be working on our semester projects in the lab.
Sometime
during the hour on either Thursday or Friday
everyone has to complete a survey about Mrs. Moritz's
class. The survey can be found on her webpage on the
Arapahoe website, in the 1984 unit calendar. At the
end of class, students gave Mrs. Moritz their t-shirt
designs if they had them ready.

The homework for tonight is:
Check grades online
Begin 1984 final assessment essay

1st Hour Final Assessment 1984 Scribe

Even though today was only a 23 minute long period, our class went over some very important details regarding our final 1984 project and semester project.

We will be in the lab tomorrow and Friday to work on our semester long projects. Finals are approaching rapidly!!

FOR FRIDAY Mrs. Moritz would like us to take a look at our grade sheet and print out our current grade report. If we find anything wrong or mysterious on the report, we need to have it with us on Friday to make any changes. If there are no changes to be made to your grade, then you don't need to worry about bringing it in.

Also for tonight she would like us to complete a survey about her class that is located on her web page via the AHS homepage. At the beginning of the survey you will be prompted to enter a class code. Ours is 210, I repeat 210.

Next we have our most interesting topic of the day...our final 1984 project! You may choose one of the following projects to complete, and you only need to do one.

Choose one of the following options for your final assessment for 1984:
-1984 is a warning that Orwell wrote in the 1940's. What was he warning us about? (2 specifics with explanations) How has it come true in our society today? (2 specifics with explanations)
Typed, double spaced, formal essay format

-Write a new chapter in the novel 1984. Do Winston and Julia revolt? Do they become proles? Is there a completely different ending? Does Winston somehow become the new O'Brien? (stay true to the tone/form of the original work)
Typed, double spaced, creative piece format

-In your life, who can you state "controls" you? Do they control with fear? Opportunity?
We would all like to say that we control ourselves, our actions, but is this true? (use specific examples from your personal life)
Typed, double spaced, personal essay format

The one you choose is to be typed 3-5 pages and double spaced. THIS PROJECT IS DUE MONDAY!

Perhaps the most exciting discussion of the day though was the topic of grammar packets. Mrs. Moritz has the new mindset that states "anyone who would LIKE to work on their grammar by completing the packet is MORE THAN WELCOME to do so." Although she is not taking a grade for it.

Have a nice rest of this shortened, wonderful Wednesday friends!

6th Hour 1984 Scribe

Today we were very on topic and to the point. We started out the day by taking the reading quiz first thing. Then we circled up into our inner and outer circles. Then, Ms. Moritz reminded those of us who were scribing this week. Today's presenters were Natali, Kayla, and Liz. The inner circle was Shane, Henry, Kaytie, Rachel, Chelsea, and Chelley.

The questions:
1. How long do you think Winston was in the Ministry of Love?
Winston may have been there a long time because he got fatter and fit as time he was there, so he must have been fed a lot of meals.

2. How has Oceania changed since Winston has been released?
From Winston's point of view it is completely different because he himself is completely different. Things are really the same though.

3. What caused Julia's scar?
When Winston was pleading "Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia!" the party may have actually hurt Julia. She also may have rebelled as she was being held.

4. What do you think Julia's Room 101 was?
It would be her not being desired by men or being disfigured in someway. She has always had an under lying fear of being alone, so if they got her confidence low enough it would be equal to Winston's rats.

5.Do you think Julia's abuse was worse than Winston's?
It may have been worse mentally or emotionally, but Winston's physical abuse was worse.

6.How does the party know the party members biggest fears?
Usually the more you think about something scary, the more you dread it, so members could have shown that they dreaded something. The party could also brainwash you to be afraid of one thing that they would use against you.

7.Do children realize/comprehend what consequences there are for turning their parents in?
The children don't have as good of a relationship with their parents as children do today. They probably don't care what happens to their parents, they see them as just another criminal.

8. Why does the victory finally make Winston love Big Brother?
It makes Winston realize that Big Brother will always be there to protect him in a weird kind of way.

9.Does the party suppress thought, or does it just redirect it?
The party teaches the members to repress their own thoughts, like Winston does.

10. What happens to prisoners, are they released back into the society as proles or as party members?
If they show constant improvement, they are probably released as normal party members. They also might be released as ex-party members.

That was the end of the discussion. Then we rearranged the desks. Ms Moritz then gave us an important reminder about our t-shirt designs.

REMINDER: When you put your designs into the drop box, make sure that the picture is reversed. This way when it is Xeroxed and transferred to the shirt, it will be facing the same way.

Have a great night everyone!
~Sarah



Question from Natalie, Kayla, and Liz:

What does love mean in the society of 1984?

1st Hour 1984 Scribe

Hello everyone!

It’s Meghan Callahan, your loyal scribe! I am not Kylie, who was supposed to scribe today. Please excuse the confusion; the lovely swimmer girl will post her brilliant observations here tomorrow!

The day was bleak and rainy, the sort of day when no one expects anything special to happen. I didn’t expect there to be a mystery package on my front doorstep containing an item which was to change my life forever…hahahahahahahaha, JUST KIDDING! On with the post.

Mrs. Moritz was wearing a straighter cut of khaki pants, a white shirt, and a brown belt and shoes accompanied by a brown jacket. She says that we don’t blog about her clothing choices. Haha. Mrs. Moritz would like everyone to know that their T-shirt designs for 1984 must be properly reversed so that the copy machine can print the correct image. Does everyone get that? The words need to be backwards as does the image so that it will appear correctly when ironed on to a T-shirt. Leonardo da Vinci wrote all his notes backwards so that they could only be read when held up to a mirror. Weird, eh? He was a clever clever man.

We took our quiz from Damien and Barry…I didn’t find it that challenging and the class seemed to agree. Big shout out of thanks to Damien and Barry! Yay! We briefly discussed Laine’s new haircut (smashing, by the way) and caffeinated soap (yes, it IS real) before moving into our fishbowl, where Kevin, Alyse, Damien, and Barry facilitated our discussion. This is what occurred; to the best of my recollection and notes…I chose to include ALL aspects of what was discussed instead of summarizing. If there are any questions/mistakes, please let me know!

Question: Do you believe Winston was really sane before he was interrogated, or insane, as O’Brien believes?
• Everyone in the book is insane, Winston is one of the few TRUE sane people in our perspective
• Opposite of our sane is Party sane…ie insanity is the norm
• Hard to be sane in that society

Question: Do you think other people are seen as sane (such as Mr. Parsons who is proud of his children turning him in?
• People are proud of their kids for doing bad things in our society (ex. Terrorists are proud of their children
• Kids do what they are supposed to/taught to
• Directly reflects our society; Party wants to break links of kids and parents
• The normal thing to do in their society
• Do the children even understand what they are doing?
• Going along with the crowd, want to fit in and conform especially in that society
• Don’t understand repercussions of action (don’t see torture, etc for their parents)
• Disappear, cannot know what actually happens, not seen as big of a deal
• Is this like our society? Jonestown: religious cult, even people who escaped wanted back in because it was what they were used to
• Change scares people
• Parsons’ kids don’t think of the consequences
• Winston (post-Ministry of Love) can’t think straight; no one can think about the past or future so can’t process actions
• Kids in our society want to leave home for college but many come back from abroad after their freshman year; seek what they are used to
• Stepping too much out of your comfort zone: harmful or good?

Question: In the end was Winston better off believing what the Party told him or not?
• Easier with the Party’s way, not noticed by the society, not necessarily better off
• Spent time trying NOT to be discovered when against the Party; now will have an easier life
• Not the same person, but in a lot less pain
• Can’t change everything by himself, better off in rebellion
• In rebellion Winston was a person but now he is a clone
• Knew he was going to get caught but was at least actually living
• His personal life will be easier now; but if he had kept fighting the Party would have at least been surprised and he might have given people other than Julia ideas of rebellion too
• Does the Party control its own rebellion?
• They wait to move in on Winston and Julia until the right time, hand out Goldstein’s book, etc
• Hard to find any hope for change in this society/can anyone see hope there?
• Ignorance is bliss; don’t understand concepts of hope or freedom
• They are used to things the way they are
• Winston’s past ties him to these ideas
• Torture/continued teaching convince Winston to lose hope
• When Winston said he hated Big Brother, did he really?
• At “that stage” of the torture program they are supposed to hate Big Brother and are then made to love him
• When you have to confront your fears, are your beliefs forced to change?
• Your beliefs can change based on your life experiences
• Winston betrayed Julia; changed his relationship with her
• At the breaking point, does everything about you change?
• Room 101 doubles your fears: death AND rats (or other worst fear)
• Martyrs don’t change their beliefs: why is that?
• Examples of martyrs: Santa Lucia, Joan of Arc, Peter, etc
• Jonestown: cult in Brazil, can’t escape society, similar to 1984 society, attention from Congress and news, eventual mass suicide
• Could the 1984 society reach that point (of mass suicide)?
• Wouldn’t get to that point; people are used to the society and would not rebel
• Already IS that way: purges, unpersons, etc
• Ministry of Love makes martyrdom impossible; memory of person is gone from records so no one can recognize their sacrifice
• Room 101 shows human nature
• Does the Party want people to commit thoughtcrimes so they can change them into brainwashed people in Room 101?
• Make it so that the only thing that post-Ministry of Love people care for/physically think about is Big Brother
• Winston emptied of all emotions but basic fear, hatred, and triumph

Question: Winston loses intellectual effort when the pain of torture is gone. Does this play into the Party’s plan of complete control?
• Once you have experience complete pain, it is impossible to rebel
• Exactly what the Party wants
• System of consequences and rewards, like how they train animals
• Do the ends of rebellion justify the means?
• What would Winston do if he saw someone else rebelling as he and Julia did?
• Emotions of compassion and caring gone; he wouldn’t react
• Impossible to have relationships in this society
• Party does want to stop relationships, but having relationships is extremely difficult in their society anyway
• Nothing to unite people in a relationship; love Big Brother or treason
• Would Winston be threatened with the same thing in Room 101 if he were to return?
• Yes, fear still there
• Take the fear even farther this time; possible even kill Winston
• What was in Julia’s Room 101?: change, being apart from Winston, being hurt by Winston, etc

That was the end of our discussion and class! Loads of love to everyone…hope this all made sense!
~Me.



Question from Alyse, Kevin, Damian and Barry:

Towards the end of the book, Winston has a recollection of a time of happiness and togetherness he had with his mother. What might this symbolize in regards to the way he has changed? Could this play into what Winston said "How could the immortal, collective brain be mistaken"?

6th Hour 1984 Scribe

FROM MORITZ: Don't forget to drop your t-shirt designs into our class dropbox by Wednesday!!!

Today we started class off by talking a little about prom, and what goes on there.
Then Ms. Moritz mentioned that if you would like to be a student assistant, to see her for details.
The presenters today were Shane and Henry. The inner circle members were Emma, Laura, Natalie, Kayla, Rachel, Eric, and Kyle.

The first question was: Do you think Winston is insane, or sane?
Most people said that if you looked at it from the party’s perspective, rebellion looked like insanity. From the reader, and Winston’s perspective, he looked sane and completely logical.

Why did O’Brien have a meeting with Winston and Julia, if he was just going to arrest them?
Some people said that O’Brien’s goal in this meeting was to give Winston and Julia the book explaining the government system so that they could change and end up liking the party. Other thoughts were that O’Brien was trying to gain their trust, or trying to find out how loyal they were to the brotherhood or each other.

Do you think O’Brien is really with the party, and if so is he Big Brother?
In class, most people agreed that both Big Brother and the Brotherhood do not exist. They thought that Big Brother was a symbol that never died, but was controlled by the Inner Party. People also said that the brotherhood was designed so people would have something to hate.

Why are prisoners tortured if they are going to be shot anyways?
Most members of the inner circle said that it was used as a threat, and to make their civilization “perfect”, even if they were to kill one of its members. Ms. Moritz then came into the circle and asked if you respond better to fear or reward. Some people said that once you get a reward you are always left wanting more, while if you are scared your reward is no punishment. Some others said that if you are threatened, you tend to tell the person what they want to hear, and not what is honest.

Then we started talking about Julia and Winston’s relationship.
Do you think Julia really confessed and what was O’Brien’s reasoning for telling Winston?
Most people said that O’Brien told Winston so he would betray Julia, like she did him, and to get any other information.

What happened to the other men that Julia had affairs with?
A few members of the inner circle said that some of them simply committed suicide, or were “vaporized”. Others thought that she could be trying to find her one love, and some people questioned whether she was a member of the thought police. As a majority, people said that she would not be intelligent enough to do this.

Well I hope you guys have a good night,
Natalie J

Question from Shane and Henry:

Since Winston just showed up at Charrington's shop, do you think that it was by chance or just unlucky that he, Charrington, was a member of the thought police? Could the inner party have switched him out with a member of the thought police?

1st Hour 1984 Scribe

FROM MORITZ: Don't forget to drop your t-shirt designs into our class dropbox by Wednesday!!!

Today’s Scribe!

We started out this morning sharing a little bit about our weekend. Mrs. Moritz issued a warning for life for all girls regarding men when they are sick. They are big babies so just be prepared with your future husbands, sons, etc.

Mrs. Moritz would love to have more student assistants next year, so if you need a couple extra credit hours but can’t find a class to fill them or you just can’t bear to leave Mrs. Moritz, then please talk to her. You can do this for 1, 2, or 3 credit hours.

Sander, Tony, and Sean presented today and we took their quiz. Kylie, Alyse, Martha, Rachel P., Kevin, Alison, Damian, and Kristen were in the Inner Circle.

The opening question was, “When Winston was talking to O’Brien he says that hate is a more exhausting emotion than love, but O’Brien disagrees. What do you think?” People’s responses generally were unsure. A lot of it tends to depend on the situation and there is a very fine line between love and hate. They are both extremely strong feelings, and sometimes another factor is necessary to allow you to decipher whether you are feeling love or hate. Also, depending on the accepted feeling, it can be more exhausting to love if you’re supposed to hate something and vice versa. An example of this emotional confusion is O’Brien and his dial of pain. Winston hates him when he turns it up, but feels relief and love when he turns it off.

The next topic of discussion involved Goldstein and the question of whether or not he is a real person. We decided that maybe he is just used for manipulative propaganda and the Party may not be able to survive without the idea of his existence. This is because of the hate he represents, the necessity the Party has for opposition to crush, and the possibility for people to ask more questions if he did not exist. We also noted that the Party would almost become its own opposition without the hate of Goldstein to unite all of the people. A lot of this depends on point of view. For example, we talked about 9/11 and the freedom fighter vs. terrorist aspect.

Next we talked about the best way to assert power over someone else. In 1984, O’Brien used fear and pain to assert power over Winston, but was this the most effective way? Most of us agreed that it wasn’t. Better solutions would be to build the people up and gain their trust so that they are more willing to do what you want. Someone also brought up that it doesn’t really matter because no matter what you do you will eventually get the same result anyway. To sum it all up, we ended with the question of whether Winston was on a cliff of insanity or whether he had already jumped off and the Party was trying to make him think that they were saving him from himself. We didn’t really have time to discuss this, though.

Tonight you need to finish the book and be ready for the final fishbowl and quiz tomorrow.


Question from Tony, Sander and Sean:

O'Brien explains to Winston how they will create a society based on hate and triumph, without love, except for the love of Big Brother. Do you think a society like this could ever be created? Also, if one were to be created, how long could it endure?

6th Hour 1984 Scribe

Mrs. Moritz began class by telling us she had a hard day yesterday. When we asked her why she told us the truth that yesterday, for the first time in 10 years she questioned whether or not she wanted to stay in her profession. She explained that both the 5th hour and our hour were talking over her constantly. After this little discussion concluded, we took our quiz made by Natalie, Chelly, and Sally, which were the presenters for today's discussion.

There were many good questions asked today that spurred discussion. The first question was: Oceanis is comprised of all North America and South America and England. Is there anything today that shows that we could become like Oceania? A few examples of how we could were how the government is telling everyone that the war in Iraq is going well and the troops will come home soon, but really that might not be the truth of the situation;the government's propoganda. Another is how the government can tap into people's phones and even watch them.

Another question was what does the singing represents by the Prole woman? Some classmates thought that it showed the Party's power, how even though they don't always watch the Proles and make sure they are obeying, the Proles are supporting the Party by their own choice. Another person thought that it represented hope, just like how the bird's song in the forest. It didn't sing for anyone except to please itself.

A question on the same subject line was, What is the importance of the lyrics that the woman sings? One good thought was how it could represent Winston's own life. The lyrics read: " It was only an 'opeless fancy,
It passed like an Ipril dye,
But a look an'a word an' the dreams they stirred
They 'ave stolen my 'eart awye!"

Question: Whey does the book by Goldstein only tell the brotherhood what they already know, rather than how to overthrow the Party? Lots of thoughts were generated by this question. One was that Winston didn't finish the book so we don't know fully that it didn't. Another was that it is just a way to organize the thoughts that lots of people have but are never allowed to discuss. In a different view someone thought that the book was planted by the Party. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Question: How is it possible for Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia to coexist when they all have the same form of government? One classmate thought that it could be paralled to how we follow laws that are set up by the national government and by the state government. They are two governments but follow that same doctrines and can coexist. Someone else thought that they can coexist because they support each other, one couldn't exist without the others.

Question:If you were faced against O'Brian, would you tell him you wanted to rebel against the Party? Some thought no because you don't know who to trust. Someone else thought that if you felf strongly enough about it you would be willing to take the risk.

Question: In the novel, when O'Brian was asking Winston and Julia the different measures they would go to for the brotherhood he asked them if they would kill children and drop bombs on innocent people. How would it benefit the brotherhood to hurt the people they were trying to help and free? It was discussed that it would be to maybe to overprepare Winston and Julia mentally or to make sure that their loyalty to the brotherhood is genuine.

Then, Mrs. Moritz entered the circle and asked the question, What has changed in Winston to make him willing to trust people, like Julia and O'Brian? One person thought that because he took a chance in trusting Julia and it turned out better than he expected he was confident to trust more people, because his instinct right and he had nothing else to go off of, he trusted it. Someone else brought up that it is easier to trust someone when it is reciprocated. Julia had to trust Winston enough to give him the note, so it was easier fot him to trust her. The second part to the question was what makes you trust people when you first see them? Most of the class agreed it was based on the tone, facial expression, words, and actions of the other person.

Question: Does Julia actually love Winston or simply the idea of a man in her life or the idea of being rebellious? Some people thought it was to try to replace the position that her grandfather filled in her earlier life. Others, that she just wanted to be rebellious.

Question: If the Party doesn't control the Proles, then why was there a thought police person in their community? The ideas were, to catch disloyal Party members or as a comfort blanket for the Party to thnk they are still in control.

Question: Could Goldstein be walking around just looking different? Some thought yes because of his involvement with the Inner Party he would've been able to change his apearance. Also, maybe O'Brian is Goldstein.

Question: When O'Brian says to Winston that he might not see him again because he will be dead, does he mean physically dead, internally dead, or just changed? People thought both ways on this one.

The last question that was thrown out there but we didn't have a chance to discuss was, if the object of war is to keep people from being too comfortable or to stay busy, how does that work? Also, Why not use other methods that are different than constant war and suffering?

Well, those were the main topics we discussed. Good job to Natalie, Chelly, and Sally, they did an amazing job presenting! Have a great night everyone, enjoy the great weather!


Question from Natalie, Chelly and Sally:

How is war a sure safeguard for sanity?

1st Hour 1984 Scribe

Mrs. Moritz started out today's class by telling us that our 1st hour class is the reason that she continues to teach.

Then, we began taking the quiz, provided by Megan, Annika, Kelly, and Rachel (today's presenters). In the middle of the quiz, we started talking about Enchanted Grounds, yet again. Mrs. Moritz reminded us that they have the BEST coffee there (for about the hundredth time...literally) and we discussed for a couple minutes the weirdos that go into that store. We finally got on with the quiz and finished it. Then we got into two circles, in preparation for seminaring.
Annika began with the question, "With so many Inner Party members, how can they turn off the telescreens? How does this relate to our world?" Classmates responded by saying that perhaps when they turned the telescreens "off", there was a camera behind it or they could still hear them.
Then we discussed why the Inner Party members were allowed to turn off their telescreens. People said that the Inner Party members might be trusted enough to do so. Also, in Golstein's book, he states that the higher the class one is in 1984's society (Inner Party), the more insane they are, because they are so brainwashed and devoted to the Party. Therefore, they are not a big threat. On the other hand, people said that the ability of the Inner Party members to turn off the telescreens could be a form of security. It could determine whether some Inner Party members are against the Party, if they turn the telescreens off too much or for too long.

Then we discussed how their telescreens are like our video surveillance cameras. In large corporations today, many of the "small" hard-working people are stuffed in small cubicles and have surveillance cameras watching them. The "big" executives have luxurious offices and do not have cameras, just like the Inner Party has luxuries the lower class does not have.

Next, we discussed how too much freedom in a society can lead to people conspiring and hurting others. We related this to the Virginia Tech massacre. The gunman might not have been watched closely enough before the shooting, and the result was the horrific. Then we realized that no matter how much you watch people and no matter how tight security gets, some people will always want to rebel. If some people want to hurt or kill people bad enough, they will. In order to prevent this, we decided as a class that it was necessary to treat everyone kindly and nicely, to avoid bitter feelings, that may lead to a bloodbath, like the one at VA Tech. We also discussed how many students protected each other while the shooting happened. This lead to a discussion about who we trust and who we don't. We decided that charismatic people are easy to trust, while quiet, loner-type of people are not.

Next, we talked about why Julia and Winston trust O'Brien. Many people voiced their opinions that Julia is a blind-follower of Winston, because she needs some one to "cling" to. This could be because she sees something in Winston that reminds her of her late grandfather, and she misses him. Winston trusts O'Brien because he sees O'Brien as his last resort in rebelling against the Party. We finally discussed the question of "Would Julia be better off with or without Winston?" Some said that she would be better off w/o him because he is getting into some very dangerous things. However, some said that Julia needs him to survive because she rely's so heavily on him.

The bell rang for the end of class, so Barry finished talking and we left. Mrs. Moritz reminded us to blog as we left.

~Melissa Querry ;)


Question from Annika, Megan, Kelly and Rachel:

Do you agree that "equality is the unalterable law of human life" (concept of High, Middle and Low)? What events in the real world and in the novel support or refute this statement?

6th Hour American Lit. Honors Scribe

To start the day we looked at a picture of the bedroom Mrs. Moritz painted over spring break. More specifically, we noted the face in one of the airplanes. It's almost a perfect likeness of her deceased brother-in-law, who was a pilot that died in a car crash.

Next, we talked about honors placement for next year. You can take English 10 if you don't want to be in honors anymore. Moritz suggested this if you struggled this year, if you took honors for your parents, or if you don't love literature and writing. If you enjoy literature and writing, or if you plan to go to an "Ivy League" college, such as Harvard, then you should definitely stay in honors. The honors option for next year is American Lit Honors.

If you choose to take honors next year, you will take AP courses Junior and Senior year. Remember, these courses, as well as the AP classes, are A LOT harder than English was this year, so keep that in mind when you sign up for classes.

We received grammar packets and worked on those for most of the rest of the period. We may or may not turn these in to Moritz. She's not sure yet if we will.

We decided to move the Fishbowl on pages 167-224 (scheduled for tomorrow). It will take place on THURSDAY. Likewise, the Fishbowl on pages 225-274 has been bumped to Monday. However, the Fishbowl on Tuesday will remain on Tuesday. That is over pages 275-297 and is the last Fishbowl over 1984.

Moritz handed back lots of papers today, so if you missed you will need to collect those.

While we were working on our grammar packets, Mrs. Moritz met with us individually in the hall in regards to our plans for next year. We discussed with her whether or not she thought we should stay in honors for next year.

At the end of class, we talked a little about our political T-shirts. We will divide into six groups of four (with one group of three) to do these shirts. A political cartoon and a caption or relative slogan will go on the front of each group's T-shirt.
If you have missed any quizzes, such as the one from yesterday, you need to see Moritz on an off hour to make them up.

See you all tomorrow!

Joanne

1st Hour American Lit. Honors Scribe

In the frenzy of handing back all those papers during class today, I handed back quizzes for 1984 that have yet to be recorded. PLEASE BRING ALL OF YOUR 1984 QUIZZES TO CLASS TOMORROW. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Tina Lynch

Today started out sadly, to be honest. Yesterday there was a mass shooting at Virginia Tech, so Principal Booth made an announcement about it this morning at the beginning of class. He said that today we are safer but we are not totally safe, and that as usual if we see anything odd then we should report it to someone, because the target could be anyone.

After the announcement, Mrs. Moritz talked about the day Columbine happened and some of the day September 11th happened. She said that events like this always stir up the same emotions that people felt those days. At the time when Columbine happened, they had no way of knowing what was happening so it was a very bad day to be in high school.

After these slightly depressing conversations, we got a lot of papers back, the Romeo and Juliet test, and the 1984 summary/reaction. Jordan Krantz also handed out peanut butter rice kripies with fudge on the top. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jordan, and they were delicious. And Sander was sad because he couldn’t have one. 

There were some important changes made to the Lit Circle Discussion dates. The fishbowl tomorrow was moved to Thurday, Thursday’s was moved to Monday, and the final fishbowl is still on Tuesday.

Next we talked about 10th grade honors American Literature, the class that would make sense for a lot of us to take next. It is taught by Kakos, Ackerman, and Robinson. The honors classes next year are going to be much harder. Mrs. Moritz advised that if you don’t love English and digging deep into literature you should not continue with honors. However, if your goal is to get into an Ivy League school, then go fight win and keep doing honors.

For the rest of the class we worked on Grammar Packets while everyone had a one-on-one conversation with Mrs. Moritz in the hall about next year and honors. It took about three seconds for each person. Oh and Moritz is not sure on a due date for the grammar packets, or if they’ll be due.

Finally, the only homework is to read not for tomorrow but for Thursday, and to bring in t-shirt slogan ideas. They have to be 1984 related, but the slogan can be taken from something else. The example she gave today was that Wendy’s commercial that goes “where’s the beef?” So we could put that on a t-shirt with a bunch of Party members and their slop on their lunch trays. So think about it.

6th Hour 1984 Scribe

6th Hour,

Today in class, we began as usual, setting up the desks in two circles so we could begin our fishbowl. The presenters of the fishbowl were Emily, Laura, and Emma. The discussers today were Henry, Shane, Eric, Kayla, and Natalie H.

There was some really great discussion today. Some questions that got a lot of discussion were:

Could the Party be making up the war?
The majority of you agreed and some great points that were brought up were that the Party could be making it up to impose fear on the people of Oceania. A lot of you discovered evidence to prove the war was false, such as the comrades never seem to get bombed, but the proles do. If the war were real, the comrades would be the targets. Also, if the country were it war, it would take more time to switch allies then the time it takes for Oceania to switch.

Do you think the Party invented Goldstein?
Most of you agreed that the party could have invented Emmanuel Goldstein because it could create someone to hate so Oceania would not turn on Big Brother and that it would unite the country through their hatred towards Goldstein.

What do you think happened to Winston’s sister and mother?
Vaporization and hiding were both brought up, but most of the discussers agreed that because of Winston’s selfishness, his mother and sister fled so they could survive. Also, it was discussed that Goldstein could be Winston’s father.

What do you think will happen between Winston and Julia?
Many of the inner circle thought that they would become careless with their actions and end up getting caught. It was also brought up that Winston would end up not liking Julia and her personality.

Would we be able to stop/change history like the Part does in 1984?
Some of the discussers said that, since it is easier to rebel, no one would let it get to such an extreme. Though others brought up the happenings in China, where the government would prevent websites to show up when searched for on Google.

Great discussion today and remember to read to page 225 for the next fishbowl and to blog by 8:00 tonight!

Haley



Question from Emma, Laura and Emily:

How does the fact that the Proles have remained human both justify and negate the fact that they will probably never revolt against the party?

1st Hour 1984 Scribe

The first thing Mrs. Moritz asked was “how was your weekend?” After we discussed what we did over the weekend, she handed out black and gold water bottles and explained that Mackenzie, her daughter, had her birthday party over the weekend. It was held at the House of Bounce. After the short discussion we took our quiz. Then we got into our fishbowl group. The presenters were Tina Lynch, Julia Brennan, and Alison Bailey.

The first topic discussed was why Mr. Charrington had not been captured by the thought police. The most basic response was that he was a prole and so they did not really care about what he did as long as it wasn’t blatantly insulting the party. Another response was that because he had no business so he had no influence so they did not care. Another question that arised was why did Winston had such easy access to the shop house. Many people answered but some of the main ones were that he as lonely, he needed money, or that he was just interested in Julia and Winston (not in a sick way).

The next topic that was discussed was the proletarians. The first question that aroused was whether the statement “the proles are human, we are not” was accurate or inaccurate. There was a mixed response. Most of the inner circle and presenters agreed that the statement was accurate because even though they were in poverty, they had some freedoms, the most important freedom being thought. But there were a few who thought that it was not a good statement because they were just as caught up in the party as the party members but they were just poorer.

The follow up was a question that asked people whether they would be a prole or a party member. Overwhelmingly the group chose to be a prole because they believed that being able to sing and sleep in peace was worth being poor. The final question was about the proletarian lifestyle. We discussed how it was almost like the future had skipped back in type. It kind of reminded people of late 19th century New York. It was two totally different societies that just happened to co-exist with one another.

The final topic discussed was just comparing Julia’s way of life to Winston’s. The first question was why Julia, if she can truly read peoples faces, couldn’t read O’Brien’s mind. No one really had an answer to this question. The only solution was that Julia was just really, really lucky. The next question was whether Julia needed Winston or Winston needed Julia more. They decided that Winston needed Julia more because he had never had anyone to cling onto. Julia had done this “scores” of times so she knew how to get away from it all.

The final question was if Winston or Julia would survive longer under the current circumstances. It was a split-decision. Some people said Winston because he thought through everything. He would never make a careless decision because he knew how to think. The other half said Julia because she had experience, and other qualities. She volunteers and knows how to not be suspicious. Also she knows how to put on a good face. She also is not as connected with Winston so if anything were to happen to him she would be able to carry on unlike Winston.

We finished with Mrs. Moritz reminding us that we have to read through 224 by Wednesday.

-Sean Bull


Question from Alison, Tina and Julia:

When Julia and Winston are up in the room above Mr. Charrington's shop, how can they feel a sense of both a "damned soul grasping for his last morsel of pleasure when the clock is within five minutes of striking," and permanent security?

6th Hour 1984 Scribe

Hi Everyone,

Today we had a sub, Ms. Johnson. We quickly took attendance and our quizes and hopped into our discussion led by Joanne, Kyle, and Eric. The inner circle consisted of Devon, Sally, Caitlin Lewis, Emma, Laura, Emily, and myself.

The first question that was asked was whether the group thought Julia and Winston were being careless by being in a dangerous relationship. Overall, the inner circle felt that both Julia and Winston were going to live how they wanted anyways, and seemed oblivious to the chance that they could get caught and be vaporized.

Next, we discussed whether or not there would always be a chance for a revolution, or would the idea of rebelling just fade away? Some inner circle members felt that Julia had grown up in a government that was totalitarian and still had wanted to rebel, proving that even if someone grows in that type of society, there was still a chance for a revolution. This quickly made the circle wonder what made Julia change to be so rebellious. Some people thought it was that she was so limited as a child, that she got tired of it and wanted to possibly live free like the proles. Caitlin said it was like the old saying that, "rules are meant to be broken."

The next question asked was, why was the revolution successful in the first place? What ideas were the revolutionaries pushing at the time?

Next we discussed the importance of the poem with the churches that keeps recurring throughout the book. This made the inner circle wonder if Winston learned the rest of the poem, would he remember some of his childhood? Or would her just feel empty inside?

The next question had to do with when Winston compares the coral to his life. Do you think they are trapped in the glass? Or are they suspended and can't really get out of it? Emily thought that Winston and Julia were suspended in the glass coral, in their own little world, feeling like nothing can touch them.

Joanne then asked the inner circle why the whole Winston and Julia in the woods thing was a "political statement"? The group felts that it is rebellion and just making htem feel like they are going against the governemnt and they feel like they accomplished something. Then we wondered why it would be damaging to the party to suppress pleasure. Some thought that if you are happy, you don't care about the party, and if you are not passionate about the party, you cannot be passionate about someone else.

The last question we barely touched on was if Winston knows what a church is, do they know religion too? Do the people of the party really know the meaning of a church? Or do they just connect it to a name of an old building?

Ok so moving on from today's discussion, our homework is to read through page 167. Also, try to come up with ideas for your political cartoon T-shirts!

Have a good weekend everyone!
Jordan

Question from Erik, Kyle and Joanne:

At the end of class we touched on the topic of religion. Would you consider Big Brother a God-like figure to the people of 1984? Would you consider the blind following of Big Brother a type of religion? Does the lack of religion, as we know it, influence other parts of life in 1984?
OR
On page 138, Winston listens to a prole woman singing a song while she hangs out the laundry. This is just after he has rented to room from Mr. Charrington. The words of the song go:
"It was only a 'opeless fancy,
It passed like an Ipril dye,
But a look an' a word an' the dreams they stirred,
They 'ave stolen my 'eart awye!"
Is there any symbolism in how these words appear at this moment, right after Winston has rented the room? If so, what is it and what is the significance of these words?

1st Hour 1984 Scribe

Hello All!
This morning we were greeted by our substitute, Ms. Johnson. She told us that they made a mistake on the yellow registration worksheet. Don’t worry, it isn’t huge, they just misspelled “sophomore” at the top. She then passed out a new, gold, copy. She took attendance, and told us to begin with the fishbowl.

Martha came up to the front of the class and took Mrs. Moritz’s spot in reading the quiz. We handed them in, and then circled up.

Fishbowl Presenters: Martha, Kristen, Blair, Whitney
Fishbowl Inner Circle: Tina, Alyse, Melissa, Sander, Meghan, Rachel K., and Kaley

Discussion: What role does religion play to the party? Why isn’t it beneficial? The discussion began with a comment that religion would take priority away from Big Brother and would make people think they had a lot more power over their lives. But how can you take something like religion, which is so big in our society today, and completely wipe it out? There is evidence that it used to be there, because of the churches, so maybe the Great Purges wiped it out. If so many people were being killed, maybe others who weren’t killed denied their faith in order to stay alive.
We then talked a lot about Julia, comparing her to a child. She has an innate quality not to conform, and is a very bold person (hence the “I love you” note) and is not scared to say what is on her mind. Her hatred for the party could have been caused by her Grandpa’s vaporization. In some ways, she embodies a childlike innocence, because she likes to do what makes her happy and doesn’t really care about the consequences. She is an optimist, while Winston is a pessimist. She plays her life like a game, and being a party member is just an imagining game. She has to be clever so that she wouldn’t give her true feelings away.
Are Julia and Winston really in love? Why do they trust each other? Everyone seemed to think that they were just in love with the idea of being against the party. The two also seem to be only “in lust.” Julia trusts him because as she once said, she could see it in his eyes. She has probably been observing him a lot, so she seems to have a feeling. Winston seems to trust her because he needs her. Also, someone brought up the point that if you were an older man, and a beautiful young girl fell in love with you, you probably wouldn’t turn her down.
We closed on the idea of extremes and opposites. Love and hate run on such a thin line. Maybe the “I love you” note was really an “I hate the party” note, for this reason. Everyone in society is so focused on hating, that it becomes so easy just to hate anyone. We also agreed that emotions seem to be the color in their gray society.

We wrapped it up and pushed our desks back.
OUR HOMEWORK IS:- read through page 167
- think about potential t-shirt ideas

Thanks!
Annika

Question from Kristin, Martha, Blair and Whitney:
How has Winston's attitude towards life changed since the beginning of the book? How much of this is part of Julia's influence?

6th Hour Counselor Visits Scribe

Today we greeted Mrs. Moritz with a smile and took our seats. Mrs. Moritz then introduced Mrs. Thurnau to show us how to do arena scheduling. We first received a registration card with a white sticker and graduation sheet to mark the classes we will take through out high school. The only sheet that needs to be turned in is the registration card with the white sticker on top. Both first and second semester classes that students want to take next year needs to be filled out before the registration card is turned in. To graduate from high school students need to take 35 hours of English classes, and at least four semesters of math and four semesters of Science. However, Mrs. Thurnau recommends that you take more because four semesters because four semesters is not enough. To graduate students also need to have six credits of Practical Arts that include Business classes, Technology classes, and consumer and family studies. Students also need six credits of fine arts that include music, drama and art classes. Finally students need to have 12 credits of Physical Education with at least one class of swimming. Also during junior year students are required to take a personal survival class that also counts as Physical Education credits. If students want to take the swimming class in the summer it is worth five credits and there are packets at the guidance center. If students have not taken a Drivers Ed class it is worth three credits.


Mrs. Thurnau then passed out a worksheet that was just for sophomores. Sophomores are required to take either American Lit Honors, or regular English 10. In history you have to take one semester of cultural geography and then one semester of world civilizations that are three credits. In science if students are in ERE now, then they will go into Biology next year. If students are in Biology now then they will go into Chemistry next year. The labs that are required for both Biology and Chemistry count as credits. For example Chemistry is a three-day a week class, however, the lab is two hours making the class worth five credits. Also if you are in a foreign language course you will move up one level. For example if a student is in Spanish one now, then they can move up to Spanish two next year. If a student is in Spanish two then they can move to Spanish three next year. All foreign language, honor, AP, Math, photo, and journalism classes require a teacher signature for the student to move on to next year courses. Next year there is also no zero hour Physical Education Class.


The registration card is due April 24. Arena scheduling will take place on May 25th. The schedule is arranges by last name. People with the last names off A and B will go to their scheduling from 11:50 – 12:15. People with the last names of E, F, and G will go to arena scheduling from 12:15 – 12:40. People with last names that start with L and M will go from 12:40 – 1:05. People who have a last name that starts with S will go from 1:05 – 1:35. People with last names of C and D will go from 1:35 – 2:10. People with last names that start will H, I, J, K will go from 2:10 – 2:45. People with the last names that start with N, O, P. Q, and R will go from 2:45 – 3:25. Finally, people with the last names that start with T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z will go from 3:25 – 4:10 or until everyone is finished.


When students arrive for arena scheduling they will look at their schedule and go up to the teacher they signed up for. Students need to ask the teacher if they have any room in their class at whatever hour. If they do then the student gets a sticker to put on their registration card. Once students have all their classes they go over to one of the computers and register. If the teacher that they want has a full class then they need to erase that class on their registration card and pick another. We then received the master schedule with all of the courses that Arapahoe offers. Half way through the packet it switches to second semester classes. Mrs. Thurnau recommends that students separate the first and second semester classes in the packet. This way it is easier for students to decide what classes they want to take first and second semester. All sophomore students need to have at least 24 credits per semester. There are boxes in the middle of the registration packet to write down you schedule. In each box you put the name of the coarse that you want to take and the section number of the coarse. Also at the top of the registration card it says Course Title and to the right has many empty boxes. Students need to fill out the classes they are taking for that semester, the hours, and get a teacher initial in the correct areas.


All students should bring everything that they received to for sophomore registration to arena scheduling. This includes the master schedule, the worksheet, and the locker partner request form. Students will not have the registration card because they will already have turned it in and will get it back at arena scheduling. We then got a worksheet on the new classes that are now offered by the business department. The new courses are Web Design one and two, Sports and Entertainment Marketing, and Entrepreneurship. If students have any questions about these new courses they can contact the business department.


We then received the locker partner form to share a locker with someone. Only one form needs to be turned in for two people wanting to share a locker. If students don’t turn in the form they will still get a locker but will not have the choice of a locker partner.


Mrs. Thurnau recommends that students start looking at the classes they want to take immediately. There is no guarantee that students will get the teacher they want or the hour. She also said to make sure that students turn in the registration form on time and are at arena scheduling.


Mrs. Moritz then came back into the room explained to us that just because students are in honors classes now does not mean that they will be in them next year. Next week we will set up appointments with Mrs. Moritz to talk about if she will recommend us for next year honors English. If you want to continue in any honors class students need to have at least a B in the class.


Mrs. Moritz reminded us that tomorrow, Friday the 13, Kyle, Joanne, and Eric will be presenting for the fishbowl. The reading for tomorrow is to page 147. Tomorrow Mrs. Moritz will not be there and so there will be a sub. We are supposed to continue with our routine as if she were there. Mrs. Moritz has assigned a person in the class to grade the people in the inner circle. If tomorrow, by some miracle, happens to be a snow day the fish bowl will be rescheduled for Monday the 16.


Mrs. Moritz then brought up a conversation about political cartoons and what they are used for. We came up with that they use political cartoons to inform people about the world, mock the government, make fun of something to prove a point, and are used in propaganda. We then looked at many political cartoons online. These cartoons were all about governmental issues. The cartoons all expressed what the author thinks of certain issues that are happening today. For example, one of the very last cartoons we looked at had a card tower with soldiers trying to keep it up. This shows how the author of the cartoon thinks about the war in Iraq and the US being there. Mrs. Moritz then told us that we were going to split into groups on Monday and are going to make a political cartoon. These have to be about the novel 1894 and we are going to put them on tee shirts. We are supposed to think about what we might want in our political cartoon over the weekend.


The bell rang and we all left class after a very productive day.

-Devon

1st Hour Counselor Visits Scribe

Hello all.
I am scribing today, April 12, 2007. Today was not a fishbowl day, but it was an important day nonetheless. Mrs. Moritz opened class by collecting any graded quizzes from those who have presented so far. She has asked the presenters to get those finished as soon as possible. Next, she introduced a special guest teacher, Mr. Wadsworth, who would be speaking to our class about sophomore registration. A reminder from Mrs. Moritz, being in honors this year does not automatically place anyone in honors next year, one needs to consult their teachers on this subject. Thus, Mrs. Moritz announced that next Tuesday, April 17, she will hold meetings with individuals to discuss their placement next year. This is a vital occasion!

Mr. Wadsworth then took over class and Mrs. Moritz left the room. A couple of handouts were passed around the room including a yellow registration card/grad status report (labeled with one’s name), a master schedule, a yellow “practice” registration card, and a locker request form. These sheets were generally self explanatory. However, to clarify their purpose, the grad status report simply listed the areas in which a student needed credits, which classes were taken 1st and 2nd semester, and the amount of credits one earned and needed. Mr. Wadsworth stressed the importance of staying ahead now, not waiting to take classes needed to graduate one’s junior or senior year. He then launched into a description of the required classes a student will need to take while at AHS. These are listed below:

1. U.S. History- U.S. History 1 & 2 (cultural geography & world civilizations) take sophomore year
2. English Honors- Sophomore year sign up for either American Literature: Honors or English 10 (you may want to take an elective English class for credits)
3. Math- 4 semesters of math needed, but usually more classes are needed to meet college standards (take more classes in order)
4. Science- 4 semesters of science needed, but usually more classes are needed to meet college standards (take more classes in order)
5. Practical Arts- 6 credits needed including one computer applications class (if you have not yet taken a computer applications class, you should sign up for a class your sophomore year)
6. Fine Arts- 6 credits needed
7. Physical Education- 12 credits needed including both swimming and personally survival (unless one tested out of swimming, if you have not yet taken a swimming class this year, you should sign up for one next year)
8. Electives: Mainly foreign language (if you take 3 years of foreign language, you may transfer credits to something else I think )

After explaining the above in detail, Mr. Wadsworth described the process of filling out the registration form. A BIG reminder, you need a minimum of 24 credits your sophomore year. Below is how you will register.

1. Fill out the separate yellow “practice” registration card first! Don’t fill out the card attached to the grad status report.
2. Using the master schedule packet look up the classes you need/want to take your sophomore year and copy down their sec# and course name to the sheet. Be sure to differentiate between semester 1 classes and semester classes (packet labeled).
3. When you have finished filling out the practice card (be sure you have at least 24 credits), copy these down onto the official yellow registration card. One side of this card is semester 1 and the other semester 2.
4. Do not forget to read the registration card directions on the backside of the “practice” sheet while you are filling out the card!
5. Turn in the completed registration card to the guidance office by 2:30 PM on Monday April 23, 2007. Do not turn this in late or you will be registered last!
6. On Friday May 25, 2007 the will be arena scheduling. It is vital that you are there, but if you can not make it, ask a friend to schedule your classes for you and consult your guidance counselor. Read the directions on the back of the “practice” registration card for the procedure of arena scheduling.

It may be helpful to have your Pathfinder booklet while completing the above. If you are taking chemistry next year, be sure to sign up for the 2hour lab!! Mr. Wadsworth clarified that the lab hours took place during 1st-2nd, 3rd-4th, and 5th-6th. However, he was not completely sure. You must have a minimum of three classes every day and you may not have 3 consecutive off hours. Remember, there are no guarantees that you will get the exact class or teacher that you want.

Mrs. Moritz returned and Mr. Wadsworth answered a couple of questions. After our guest left, Mrs. Moritz briefly discussed English honors next year with the class. Mainly she said that the English teachers Ackerman and Kakos did not differ extremely in their teaching styles or content. However, Kakos has a laptop class while Ackerman does not. Then, when Mrs. Moritz discovered she had forgotten the grammar packets again (which was terribly sad), she moved onto the next activity. We examined political cartoons (discussed purpose & effectiveness) on the computer and found that next week the class will form groups and make political cartoon t-shirts in relation to 1984.

Homework:
~pg. 118-167: quiz tomorrow and fishbowl discussion (presenters be prepared!)
~registration

6th Hour 1984 Scribe

Hello Everyone!
Today, pages 69-117 were the subject of the discussion. After the bell rang, everyone was sitting ready at their desks in the fishbowl set up with a piece of paper for the quiz. The quiz was created by the presenters: Tessa, Chelsea, and Jordan. Members of the inner circle were Liz, Sarah, Natalie, Chelley, and Sally. After we finished the 10 question quiz, Tessa, Chelsea, and Jordan led the discussion bringing up the following questions as well as some others:

1) Winston remarks about how the hope lies with the Proles. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

2) When talking to Mr. Charrington, Winston hears of the Church Rhyme beginning with "Oranges and Lemons say the bells of St. Clements," and takes great interest. Why do you think he's so interested in the childhood rhyme?

3) After mentioning that the rhyme could remind him of his childhood, what exactly is childhood a symbol of in 1984? Does it represent the past, the present, or simply not exist at all?

4) Going back to the Proles, why are they not monitered as the Party members are?

5) Why are the classes split so that only 15% of the population lies within the Party and the remaining 85% lie within the Proles?

6) Do you think it's an economically smart move by the Inner Party to split the classes in such a manner? Wouldn't you think that it would be harder to control the non-monitered Proles coming to a total of 85% of the population?

7) Are the Proles considered brainwashed or is it merely members of the Party?

After the discussion we put the desks back and waited for the bell to ring.

Don't forget to blog tonight by 8:00 if you were on the outer circle and turn in your notes from the discussion to Mrs. Moritz tomorrow!!
Also remember to read pages 118 - 148 for Friday!

See you all at school tomorrow!
~Chelley~




Question from Tessa, Jordan and Chelsea:

What provokes Winston to start taking the risks of going into the pub and junk shop after years of not taking risks at all and just living in the regimental lifestyle of The Party?

1st Hour 1984 Scribe

Hey Everyone!
I'm scribing for April 11, 2007. This morning bright and early we greeted Mrs. Moritz with a smile.. We had much to accomplish today so we jumped into the quiz for the day. Our four presenters for the day, Dan E., Laine G., Matt F., and Tim C., provided us with the quiz. We then proceeded in "circling up" the desks for discussion.

Discussion:

Presenter Laine provided the inner circle with the first question up for discussion. He asked what the true meaning of honesty is in the society that Winston lives in. A connection was immedately made to a real life event of one of the inner circle members. The honesty in Oceania is similar to getting a homework check once a month in class. If you're not doing your homework for the first part of the month, you can fake it for that little amount of time. Paralleling to Winston's society, the homework check could represent the two minutes of hate. Or it could represent the constant lying that Winston feels he must oblige to. Another point was brought up the Party has no laws. In theory, there are no laws, so honesty techincally doesn't exist. Unwritten law sparked a new direction with the question at hand.


What is unwritten law? Is it in our society today? What are examples of them in Winston's culture? Our inner circle took a second to contemplate examples of this in the book. However, it made a strong connection to Mrs. Moritz who then proceeded to sit in the open chair and share her thoughts. She expanded on the question to some extent. What about things that we do not speak about in our society? It seems that teenagers are more willing to speak about drugs and alocohol to their friends rather than parents. Teens live in two lives, the one they lead at home and the one they lead around peers. A member of the inner circle added on to that thought. It seems like older siblings strike a nice middle ground. They are older and have been through more, yet are still trustworthy. This paralleled to "Big Brother" and the possible symbolizm of the name itself.


As the pervious question was in a way illuding to, the subject of teenagers emerged. Where have all the teenagers gone in the book? It was a mutual feeling that teens aren't talked about much, if at all, in the book. In the society of the book, there's really no room for a "rebellious" stage. There's no time to not agree with the Party. You are either a child and a "spy in training", or you are an actual party member. As the book portrays, the Parson children are accusing Winston of being the enemy. A connection was then made to the Cold War. Children would run around playing USSR and US, the equivilant of Cops and Robbers. 1984 as a book in general is reminding many students of the whole Cold War era. We are studing the 50s in history currently, so we are seeing many connections. The Red Scare and McCarthyism was mentioned in that the gov. is trying to make anyone appear guilty. It doesn't matter if they're innocent or have real convictions, the Party will find a way to make them guilty. This same priciple was present in the McCarthy hearings in the 50s. We then continued with the actaul concept of being a teenager. Is it an age group? Or is a teenager a person who is going through an awkward/rebellious phase? We ended this question by referring to the teenagers as the next generation of society. No matter what happens. the teenagers will be the future leaders in the communities. The older generation must keep that in mind when deciding how to treat the "spys in training."


Our discussion today focused a great deal on the Proles in Oceania. At first, there was a bit of confusion as to who the Proles truly are. They are 80% of the population who are so far below the rest of the society that the Party doesn't concern themselves with them. They are not educated enough to be a threat. The question that came up was if members of the Party can decide to leave and go live a life of a Prole. The answer that was concluded was no. If a member decided to leave, that would look all too suspicious. Techincally, they wouldn't be breaking any laws, since there aren't any. However, they would be accused of thought and there for prosecuted for it. The proles are not smart enough to know what their life truly is like. They party makes sure that they know enough to remain alive, that's it. So why doesn't the Party just kill them off if they are of no importance? Well, for one, they do make up 80% of the society. Even with all the great purges that have occured, it would be very hard to wipe out that many people at once. But also, they do serve a purpose. They are there to make everyone else above them feel better. They're a moral booster to those who may doubt in the Inner Party. After all, Proles and Animals are Free. Winston, however, feels that if a revolution will occur, it will occur in the Proles. He does know that they need a direction, an example. Our Inner Circle agreed that all fingers point to Winston.Then what would happen to Winston? he may become the next Goldstein. However, if he is vaporized, the revolution will not exist. They can't follow him if is dead. So many questions and so little answers!


The next question and rhelm of discussion surrounded Newspeak. What exactly is the purpose? It was fairly obvious to the discussors that Newspeak would eliminate all meaning of thought. Words will not exist, so there will means of expressing what they may feel. It, therefore, will not exist...sort of. This then related back to the Proles, would they speak it too? Or would they continue in their everyday lives? A connection was made that it would much like a scene in Finding Nemo. When all of the fish are trapped inside the fisherman net, one fish has the idea for everyone to swim down. If everyone participates, it will work. This is similar to the Proles. If they all resist this langauge, a revolution just might occur.


The final topic dissuced was Nature vs. Nuture. We discussed the ways of connection between people throughout the book. Is it better to be constantly loved and cared for? Or does being brought up in a harsh society create stronger people? The general concensis was that the children on Oceania are treated as animals rather than individuals who are loved. The nature that they are being brought up in will only be reflected when they grow up.


In general, our class did a great job today! I think I summed most of it up. There was a great deal of material covered today. It was tough to get back into the swing of things since we haven't had a fish bowl since last Friday. I am looking forward to reading further in the book and discussing more!

Peace, Martha

PS. It is Mrs. Moritz's daughter's birthday today! Happy Birthday Mackenzie!!



Question from Laine, Dan, Tim and Matt:
Why would Winston switch from hating the girl with the dark hair so passionately, to loving her instantly and changing his life outlooks right after receiving her note?

6th Hour 1984 Scribe

Hello everyone! Today we came into class and the desks were already set up for discussion. In the inner circle, there were the presenters, the discussers, and two open seats. The presenters today were Devon, Sarah, and Kaytlin. The discussers were Tessa, Jordan, Liz, Haley, and Natalie J. The rest of the class was seated in the outer circle. The presenters made a quiz for the class to make sure everyone had read up to the part they were supposed to. After the quiz Mrs. Moritz was reading her 5th block's letters to the substitute. Then we were ready to discuss. Natalie, Joann, Emily, and I all went into the circle to talk.

Some of the questions today were:

~Why is gin available to the people of Oceania, but goods like razors and shoelaces are not?
~What happens to people who are vaporized?
~How will Winston progress through this story and what could possibly lead to his possible downfall?
~What do those people working in the Ministries not paying any attention to the government and Big Brother?
~If Winston took his thoughts and made them actions, do you think others would follow?
~Why do the people of Oceania disregard or even pay attention to the different statistics in the paper each day?
~Why do the people have no memory about the history and people that have been vaporized?

There were other questions similar to these questions that also required deep thought. After the discussion, Mrs. Moritz asked the class if we thought Big Brother was an actual person or not. This question all depends on how you interpret the story. Think of all the possibilities.

Outside circle, don't forget to turn in your notes and to blog by 8:00 p.m. tonight!

Have a great weekend and confront Mrs. Moritz if you have any questions.

Kayla "]

Question from Kaytlin, Devon and Sarah:
Do you think that people are vaporized because they have bigger ideas than the party? Does the party dispose of them because they can't handle their bigger ideas?

1st Hour 1984 Scribe

The class started off with a few question on the blog. It is a good idea to respond to the blog as quick as possible. Mrs. Moritz didn't read the blog until 8:00 p.m. last night so use your time as you would like in responding to the blog.

Next, we talked about Damien and Allison's blogs. They did a great job so you can refrence off of their blog if you're still confused on scribing.

Once we were ready, we took the quiz over pages 37 through 69 in 1984. There were ten questions.

The presenters today were Erika, Melissa, Katie, and Jordan. Their opening question was: What is the reason that newspeak is used? Many people had responses. Someone pointed out that like Syme said, with less words there is less room for thought. Because if we don't have words that are used to express ourselves in our language, then there it is impossible. Another person said that many people don't even use it. Winston just used it to change the past. Once kids get older and have grown up with the Newspeak language, then it will be more common to hear it. But it will be hard in changing the present generation because they haven't grown up with it.
Prollies also came up in discussion because someone was confused on what they were. They are commoner who aren't really members of any party. They are the lowest level in the social status. It is refering to the proletariat working class. Someone made a very good connection in the way we teenagers sometimes speak to each other. We say JK and LOL and our grandparents don't really understand the meaning of those words. So it is kind of like newseak.
Even through socialsim there is racism and different statuses that occur naturally. The socialism in this book is kind of backwards because the proletariat class is they favored class. In this book some people thing that it doesn't appear that way. Some say its totalitarianism instead of communism. This book was written in 1949 so we do need to keep in mind that, that was the beginning of the red scare and there might be some connections to that. Another question that was raised was: Will book be gotten rid of if their content keeps changing? MAny people said no because it is roof that the government needs to keep their status true. Maybe the books will become just a chain of events without any details. Movie's sometimes ruin books by leaving alot of details out of it. That was a connection that was reltated to today's world. Previous generations without technology have relied on books to entertain and now we have destroyed that. Some say Syme might get caught because of his intelligence. People also brought up the fact that we don't know that there are other people besides Winston who is writing in a journal. But then again we don't know. Katherine and Winston weren't right for each other and so maybe that's why they split. The odd thing about Syme is that he likes the details of hangings yet he wants to get rid of the adjectives in Newspeak. The Parson's are an intresting family and many people think they will be a good family to follow through out the book. Big brother was the end of the discussion and that we weren't really sure on whether it was just one person or a group of people. Some say it would be imposible because their ads say he will live for a thousand years and one person can't live for a thousand years. So many people think its a group of people.

This was the end of the discussion and class.



-Kaley


Question to blog:

What do you think of Winston's dream? What does it say about him? Do you think this could foreshadow something?

6th Hour 1984 Scribe

Hi 6th hour! Today we started out with greening Mrs. Moritz as usual. The desks were already set up and ready to go for our first fishbowl presentation. The first presenters that went today were Haley, Caitlin, and Rachel. All of the people on the inside circle sat in their places and the rest sat on the outside circle. A few minutes after class started two representatives from journalism came in to talk to our class about journalism classes for next year. If you would like more information on journalism, please go to the meeting tonight at 7:00PM in E9.
The next thing on the agenda was to take the quiz prepared by the presenters. If you were absent today, you will need to see Mrs. Moritz or one of the presenters for a copy of the quiz.
The inside circle discussers for today were Sarah, JoAnn, Tessa, Devon, Chelsea, myself, and, of course, the presenters. Many people also volunteered for the two open seats. Among those were Natalie J., Natalie H., Liz, and Kaytie. All offered some great points to the discussion. Following are some of the questions that were discussed.
• Why did Winston decide to write the diary? Who was he trying to communicate with?
• Orwell discusses the few cubic centimeters inside a person’s head that are only their own. Are these cubic centimeters just space or is it possible to actually have thoughts?
• Can the Party truly watch every single person at one time via the telescreens? Or are the telescreens more of part of a threat?
• What drove the society in the book to such a state of life? How could the situation possibly have gotten to be this bad?
The homework for tonight is to read up to page 69 in the novel. If you are presenting tomorrow, please come prepared with a blog question, quiz, discussion questions, and whatever else you may need.
All people on the outside circle don’t forget to blog tonight in response to the presenters’ question. Also, your notes are due tomorrow to Mrs. Moritz if you didn’t already turn them in today. Have a great night, everybody!
If you have any questions, please ask Mrs. Moritz or the presenters if it relates to today’s discussion. Thanks, everybody, and have a great day!

~Emily


Question from Rachel, Haley and Caitlin:
Discuss, in detail, the ironys of each ministry...Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Love, Ministry of Peace, Ministry of Plenty.

1st Hour 1984 Scribe

Hey everybody!

So today we started out class by organizing our chairs in 2 circles, an inner and outer. Two girls from journalism visited our class right before we began our discussion (to inform us of a meeting at 7:00 tonight). After a few instructions from Mrs. Moritz, our first fishbowl began.

Here are my notes from the fishbowl (with questions through page 37 of 1984). I just wrote down some good points made; I hope it doesn't get too confusing. The questions are written down first, followed by a paragraph including most of the statements made by the Inner Circle. I think they show the majority of thoughts and comments made...

How are some ideas in government used to suprise people? Provide a connection to the real world.

In the Soviet Union, Stalin had Secret Police to seek out those who voiced their opinions against him. In North Korea, people have radios in their home they are forbidden to turn off. In the US, there is a TON of commercial propoganda. And even though it is not government-related, PEER PRESSURE intimidates a person to think a certain way.

How can things change so fast? (How could people become so corrupt so quickly?)

In other countries, people feel resentment for the US, which often is caused by or causes jealousy. Also, too much government control can cause the brainwashing and weakening of the people and strengthening in the government's power over them. People become brainwashed because they are told not to think or question, just to follow along with the 'norm' and strongly support their government. And it all just pretty much goes downhill from there. They are also given certain events (the government's re-writing of history) to focus on to prevent 'thoughcrime.' A connection was made to American Idol in the way that it is the same every season (many singers trying to win and avoid getting voted off), but people just keep coming back (like to their government). And, like the Goldstein Hate Session, the media has control over the people's minds. A little bit was said of how in 1984, like 9/11, people are constantly bombarded with the same story to ensure they do not forget.


Why does no one else (besides Winston) seem to care?

Other citizens of Oceania probably do and question the past, but then the fear of being punished drives them away from their thoughts. They also could be afraid of discovering that Big Brother isn't actually real, a part of why Winston feels guilty about journaling. They are just afraid to question what life would be like without Big Brother (history was erased, so they have no knowledge of a better society).

Is Big Brother real? Or is he just a sort of 'representation'?

It is possible Big Brother isn't real and is just a 'puppet', someone for the people of Oceania to focus on. Connections were made to The Wizard of Oz and The Matrix.

Do you think they could have brainwashed us, too?

YES. A connection was made to the IPod. When it first came out, everyone had to have it. Then a better version, VIDEO, was released, and then everyone felt the need to have that, too. And then....the list goes on. The fact that the people of Oceania have no idea what is going on (like the IPod craze) gives the Party extreme power. The Party is comparable to Hitler: I will give you better. Feeding them a "blind hate" (in 1984 at Goldstein, in Germany at Jews)allows the Party to easily influence them. Both also killed off the 'imperfect'. And yet another comparison made was to that of the novel we read earlier this year: Fahrenheit 451. In both books, the way the people are filled up with so much information leaves them with no ability to think for themselves. And a final comparison was then made to Leader Camp: rivalry brings groups closer together.

A few other comparisons were then made between the 1984 government and LOTF/ice cream trucks.

What do you think of the slogan? And how do you think it represents society?

The slogan is more of a government motto that the people's. The people probably don't even understand it, anyway.

In his diary, Winston writes about the children he saw at the movies watching a gory movie. What does this say about the culture of his society?

It somewhat relates to ours!

How did you feel when you read about the children who were begging to go see a hanging?

The children see it as a type of "game", and still retain their innocence. The older ones, however, are buying into the brainwashing, much like the Hitler Youth. A good point brought up was that in medieval times, it was common for children to view hangings...a reoccurence in history.

Is the government really beneficial to the people at all?

Yes...sort of. If workout sessions and small rations of food count.

Why would starving people still have such strong support for Big Brother?

As long as the people do not know Big Brother is the cause of their starvation, they have no reason to dislike him! Big Brother can then make false promises.

An interesting fact was brought up: the Ministries in 1984 (like Love) are the opposite of what they should be! And the slogan is a formula to control the people...

In this book, everyone calls everyone else "comrade" - what does it do to morale?

Well, for one, it takes away identity and individualism. It is somewhat communistic, but no one thinks everyone is equal. And there are some social classes even though there aren't supposed to be. Someone said that's just natural, that there are born leaders and followers.

Is the Inner Party distinguishable?

Yes. Members of the Inner Party wear black overalls.

The final comment made was that so far, the government is just a weird twist on communism and socialism.

Hope that wasn't too confusing!

-Alison :)



Questions to blog on from Kylie, Kaley, Shannon and Rachel:
Why do you think Winston is having these thoughts and writing these diary entries when he knows he could easily be punished for them?
What do you think about Winston's connected feeling to O'Brien? Do you think it is headed toward an ugly road, or will this friendship end up being useful?

6th Hour 1984 Scribe

This afternoon in class Ms. Smith was our teacher. To start off class we signed a Wish Week t-shirt that we will give to Cayle.
After we had all signed the shirt we signed up for the dates we wanted to discuss in the inner circle for 1984.
Next, we watched the Big Brother Macintosh and Hilliary Clinton videos. We discussed the parallels and the differences between the two movies. We also talked about symbolism in the movies, as well as the motives behind the ads.
After discussing, we were given time to read 1984, and the group that is presenting tomorrow got time to work.
Haley, Rachel, and Catlin, are presenting tomorrow!
The homework is to read to page 37 in the book.
Anyone that is discussing in the inner circle, don't forget to prepare!
Good Luck.

1st Hour 1984 Scribe

Damian L. said...
Our day started out with the usual standing outside the classroom waiting for Mrs. Moritz to open the door. When she arrived the day got funky awesome.
She started by answering our questions about bloging and the fishbowl entirely. Like how many times you have to blog and to explain more about the inner and outer circle. Then she pulled off a totally awesome trick, by showing us her WISH WEEK T-SHIRT!!!! Then for some reason she started to rambubble (hehe) ramble about how hard it was to get, and I quote, "The stupid reading assignments on to her stupid webpage." (Wow, I am so cruel). As the webpage was loading she told us some stories about her little-uns (children). Once the webpage was up and she showed it to us, we again discussed the Fishbowl and scribing during it. This led into us being able to sign up for when we want to be in the INNER CIRCLE!
Finally, we began talking about 1984 and how it can apply to every day life. She also asked us questions like can government control us? Can they control our thoughts? Can people direct our thoughts? Then we watched two commericals both based on 1984, one about Apple computers and the other about todays political race. We finished the day by signing the INNER CIRCLE sheets and just reading pages 1-37 for tomorrows FISHBOWL!!! DUN-DUN-DUNNNNNNN

Tip for Parents

Parents, please identify yourself by stating whose mom/dad/etc. you are. For example, after I post, I would identify myself as Mackenzie's Mom or David's Mom. I think this will be helpful for all of us. Thanks.

6th Hour 1984 Scribe

.hardcore.love. said...
hey!
mmk scribe for 04-03-07

Today Mrs. Moritz started class by checking to see if our 1984 books were covered, which was our homework from last night. If you have your own copy of 1984, you do not need to cover it. Then, Mrs. Moritz also picked up the signed sheets from the parents who did not wish to participate in blogging for this unit.
After this, Mrs. Moritz gave us a green sheet explaining our new project for our 1984 unit! There is a plethora of different aspects involved in the project, so be sure to get a copy of the sheet from Mrs. Moritz if you were gone.

For the project, we all got into groups of 3 people, with one group of 2. Within this group you will facilitate a fish bowl discussion based on a specific section of pages from the book (which we also chose in class). Along with this, you will also need to find critical analysis of the section you were given, prepare a quiz for the students to take, prepare a discussion outline (which will be turned in the day your group presents) and lead an open dialogue with the inner circle members of the fishbowl discussioon. The group members will be graded on preparation, participation, analysis, facilitation, and leadership.

Along with all of this, on the days the different discussions take place, the students who are not a part of the presenting group, or who are not part of the inner circle in the discussion (in other words, the people sitting in the outer circle) will need to comment on a blog the presenting group will have posted by the end of the day.

If you miss class on a particular day, you are responsible for coming to make-up the discussion points within two days of your absence.

Following this, Mrs. Moritz explained scribes to us. Throughout reading this novel, every day a different student will blog and scribe about the day's activities and happenings during the class period. It is very important to be thurough and give details so that anyone who was absent can read the scribes and know what happened. Everyone signed up for days on which to scribe in Mrs. Moritz AHS planner.

After going over the project guidelines, choosing our groups and when we would present, and signing up for the days when we wanted to scribe, we tried to discuss different aspects of 1984 and what it was about, but no one really participated, or had anything to say. After this, we watched two videos relating to 1984. One of them was a commercial about Apple and when the Macintosh computer came out. The other one had to do with Hilary Clinton running for president. Both of these were somewhat odd and after watching them, Mrs. Moritz tried to open a discussion about how they both made us feel, but again, there wasn't a lot of participation.

All of this took us till the end of class and the homework is to read to page 37 in 1984 by Thursday.

If you have any questions about the project, guidelines, or due dates, please see Mrs. Moritz and let her know.

1st Hour 1984 Scribe

Welcome back, Period 1! Scribing for 4-3-07

Today, we all greeted Mrs. Moritz with a smile and sat down in our desks. It’s hard coming back from a too short spring break, but we are starting to get back in the swing of things, especially with all of the projects being assigned!

First, we held up our 1984 novels to check if our books were covered and we were ready to read! Also, we discussed if our parents were willing to blog and read to novel along with us to enhance our learning process. Hopefully this experience will help us understand the novel at a deeper level!

After our meet and greet session, we discussed the details of the fishbowl activity. There are four jobs that each person must fulfill; Presenters, Discussers, Outer Circle Members, and the Scribe.

The Presenter’s job is to get in groups of 3 or 4 and decide what section of the novel 1984 that you want to read. You are the people responsible for leading the discussion. You and your group need to find a critical analysis of these chapters, prepare a quiz, make a discussion outline to turn into Mrs. Moritz, create a blog question to post on the web, and be prepared to lead a discussion with the entire class on the assigned reading. Remember, this information needs to be useful and interesting, so do not hover on one subject so long that it becomes boring!

The Discusser’s job is to be in the inner circle with the presenters. There are 6 permanent members of the Inner Circle and 2 open chairs that are for anyone who wants to contribute to the conversation. Remember, you need to have positive contributions to the discussion, and points will be taken off if they are repetitive and do not add to the conversation. Refer to the green sheet we received in class to see the point tallies for the Comments.

The last job to do on the day of the discussion is to listen to the discussion and take notes. If you want to step into the inner circle, you must tap out someone in the 2 open chairs only. Try to take good notes on what is going on during the class, because right after class you must post a blog comment about the discussion, and this blog must be posted during school hours, so it is graded and you can get your 20 participation points for the day. ( If you are absent on a discussion day, you need to come into class and make it up within 2 days)

The final job for the project is to scribe one day. On this day, you will record everything that happens in class, and post it on the blog for your parents to see what happened during the class discussion.

Today we signed up for the groups and the dates we will be presenting on, and also the scribes. Talk to Mrs. Moritz to Sign up.

Tomorrow in class, we will be watching 2 videos on 1984 and responding to them and how they compare to the real world, so be ready for it!

At the end of class, we asked some clarifying questions about the test you need to prepare for the presentation. You need to have 10 questions that are either Objective, like multiple choice or true/false, Descriptive, like explain this or describe that, or analytical, like analyze feelings or emotions.

Remember, you need to have pg. 1-37 read by Thursday! Good luck and prepare for the fish bowl!

Shannon Hea