Monday, March 19, 2018

Tuesday/Wednesday, March 20/21, 2018


Announcements and Reminders for Tuesday/Wednesday, March 20/21, 2018:
The exact time the vernal equinox is supposed to occur this year is 
at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, March 20, according to the Farmer’s Almanac.
    
Don't forget that your Nonfiction Book of the Month is due Today! Wednesday,  March 21.
Monday is College/Sports Jersey Day.
Tuesday is Tacky Tourist Tuesday. 
Wednesday is Crazy Hat/Hair Day. 
Thursday is Meme Day 
Friday is Black Out Day. 

Pick up your composition book and the pink Misplaced Modifers paper.                      

Targets for Today:
I can spot and  fix misplaced modifiers.
I can improve my essay about genetic engineering. 

Today’s  Agenda for Tuesday/Wednesday, March 20/21, 2018:

 Reminder:  Your Nonfiction Book of the Month is due Today!

 1. Misplaced Modifiers:  Pick up and complete the handout.
Misused Modifiers Worksheet.docx

Misplaced Modifiers
More:  
– Sisters Reunited After 18 Years in Checkout Counter
– Miners Refuse to Work after Death

– We saw dinosaurs on a field trip to the natural history museum.  (Dinosaurs were taking a field trip?)

– Having gathered dust in the storage room for years, I finally get to use my croquet set. (How did you survive in the storage room for that long?)


– Driving like a maniac, the deer was hit and killed by the teenager.

– Dressed in a diaper and drooling, Grandpa read a book to his granddaughter.
– Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope.
– The patient was referred to a psychologist with several emotional problems.

Alison watched her son drive off through the window.
David waited patiently behind a teenager with baggy jeans carrying a full load.
The homeowner chased the intruder wearing nothing but his underwear.



 And the moral of these sentences is 
         --- carefully revise and edit your work. 
2. Look at some poems 

Happy Spring!  
Loveliest of Trees

Poetry -- Fast Break -- Basketball (March Madness) 



3.  Back to your essays

Take notes in your composition book 
under "Notes and QuickWrites"

 Definitions:   (Find these on our Google Classroom.)
Genetic engineering --  Genetic engineering is the process of manipulating an organism’s genome using biotechnology and the products of it are either referred to as “genetically modified” or “transgenic” organisms (BioExplorer).

 Gene therapy --  Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease (Google Definition).
gene therapy definition. A promising technology that involves replacing a defective gene in the body with a healthy one. This can be done by removing cells from the body, using genetic engineering techniques to change defective sequences in the DNA, and then reinserting the cells (Dictionary.com).

 GMO -- genetically modified organism   
A GMO is an organism whose genome has been altered by the techniques of genetic engineering so that its DNA contains one or more genes not normally found there (Dictionary.com.
3A.  -- The body analogy --
Compared to your argument essay, this informational essay is genetically modified.

informational 
straight down, oddly shaped
head is smaller 
(hook) background info, thesis statement
body boxy
two abs no sixpack 
(use both articles) 
Most likely you will have a paragraph about the pros and a paragraph about the cons. 
stubby legs  (just a concluding sentence)
big beefy body paragraph with tiny head and legs
Your explanation (elaboration) should be at least twice as long as a quote or paraphrase, and for this essay should include clear examples.  


3B.  -- Preparing, Revising, Editing
Check your RAFTS, ARMS, and SMILES!
or use RADaR for Revision


 Replace
 Add
 Delete
 Reorder 
  •  A topic sentence that does not cover what I want to say in the paragraph
  • Words or phrases that are not specific 
  • Words or phrases that are overused
  • Sentences that are unclear.
  • (An optional hook)
  • Needed background information.
  • New information
  • Examples 
  • Definitions
  • Needed citations
  • Needed transitions
  •  Sentences in a paragraph that do not relate to the topic sentence
  • Anything that is incorrect or unclear (and replace as needed) 
  •  So ideas best support topic sentences
  • To make better sense or to flow better 

Example of Revision
Early draft:
2nd Body Paragraph:
           While genetic engineering can be helpful in some ways, it can cause problems in others.  For instance, those crops that have been genetically modified to resist diseases and pests may cause the diseases and pests to alter genetically.  This means that efforts to make crops stronger are making their enemies stronger too.



Sample paragraph revision:

2nd Body Paragraph:
     While genetic engineering can be helpful in some ways, it can cause problems in others.  For instance, those crops that have been genetically modified to resist diseases and pests may be self-defeating.   According to an article titled "Issue Overview: GMO's and Engineered Food,"    "Monsanto's [genetically modified] bug-killing corn is so widely used that the corn rootworm is developing a resistance" (Bloomberg).  In other words, this insect pest that has been such a problem for corn growers is responding to genetically modified crops by genetically modifying itself, requiring even more pesticides to protect the corn crops.   Efforts to make crops stronger seem to be making their enemies stronger too.  Also, as reported in a brief about "Pest and Weed Resistance," "Worldwide, over 120 species of weeds have developed resistance to the dominant herbicides [weed killers] used with HT crops [crops that are genetically modified to not be affected by herbicides]" (GreenFacts).  This means that new and perhaps stronger herbicides may be needed.  The technology that sought to reduce the use of traditional herbicides may actually increase demand for them.   Actually, many scientists admit that they do not yet know enough about how the widespread use of genetically modified crops will affect the ecosystems where they grow.
       Another problem with genetic engineering is the development of allergens in genetically modified crops.  . . .



For working on your Genetic Engineering Essays: 

Explaining your quotes does NOT mean just repeating what they said.  You need to ADD information. 
Use your quotes or paraphrasing as explanation/elaboration on the point you are making. 




Elaborating: 
Include the basics - who? what? where? when? why? how? 
 You can add -- 
Facts and Statistics,
Definitions,
Descriptions, 
EXAMPLES

Use clear, understandable sentences. 
Effective writers give enough detail for their non-expert readers to understand. 


3C.  More information available --
3D.  Lab for revising your essays.  




If You Were Absent:

Misused Modifiers Worksheet.docx

 Continue to work on your essay about Genetic Engineering. 
Timeline:
Today (March 16/19) -- Type your essay from the outline provided.
               Revise:  Add helpful information, especially elaborating.
Next time (March 20/21) -- Learn more about revising and especially about elaborating.
           BTW:  Your book project is due by the 21st.
The time after that (March 22/23) -- We will be in a lab to finish revising the essay.  It is due by the end of the period.

You may also work on this from home.

Vocabulary:

 Help and Enrichment 

Second Example for the Nonfiction Book Project

Links and Documents:
Handouts:  
Informational GE Essay.docx  This is the outline for your essay.

If you have information from your science class that you would like to use in your essay, you are more than welcome to use it!  

For citing, explaining, and showing how a quote or paraphrase relates to your topic, see examples here:
Introduce, Give, Cite, Explain, Show How It Relates

more modifiers:  https://www.proofreadnow.com/blog/the-funny-business-of-misplaced-modifiers
More Misplaced Modifiers


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