Any soldier

Christmas Card a Day - Torn Paper Tree,
originally uploaded by redhange.

Quick extra credit opportunity!

If you bring blank Christmas/holiday cards to donate to our school's "Any Soldier" project, I'll give you extra credit.

1-2 cards = 5 points
3-7 cards = 10 points
8 or more cards = 20 points

Handmade cards are worth 10 points each, but there's a limit of two.

We will write cards in class next week, but if you just want to donate them for credit, they need to be in on Monday.

To learn more about the Any Soldier project, visit http://www.anysoldier.com

Some CAS blogs to check out.

PS-Orig_11343,
originally uploaded by christian fessel :media.

Good morning IB students,

Here are a few blogs for you to check out (and perhaps model your own after) on the subject of CAS.

http://www.isdweblogs.org/wasi/cas

http://www.geocities.com/tunasmudacas/blogs.html (All student blogs are on blogspot, thus not visible from school.)

http://www.bloggingcas.blogspot.com

I hope these give you some ideas.

Week of 9/24

Freckled with rain,
originally uploaded by redmeg8.

Good afternoon, everyone.

EE class -- you have a due date of 10/17 to have ten good sources, a mentor, and a specific research question.

IB English 11 -- We are about halfway through the Wind Up Bird Chronicle. We should be finished with it by October 15th, when we'll have our final quiz. That same week, we will do our 5-minute practice IOPs. Please be planning that well in advance.

10th grade English -- We are beginning the Tupac unit. Please have a binder that you can devote to this class by Friday.

11th grade English -- We are finishing the "Bring a Text" unit today. After that, we will start a new unit, but I want to keep it a secret until we've begun.

A few other notes for everyone -- Picture day is Wednesday for periods 2, 4 and 5, and Thursday for period 6. Miss. Noma will be visiting all the classes over the next few weeks to talk about college entrance requirements. And finally, grades are BACK on the web. You can go directly there by clicking this link: http://www.geocities.com/karasynhorst@sbcglobal.net/classes

Or you can go to www.geocities.com/karasynhorst@sbcglobal.net and use the link on the left.

Enter your student ID number and your grades should come up. 5th period is above 4th period for some reason, so make sure you use the correct box to enter your ID number.

Take care, all.
--Ms. Synhorst

September 20

Green apple wet from rain,
originally uploaded by marysloft.

Hello all! Just to let you know, the grades are NOT up online. I had a problem with Geocities, and need to buy some more storage space. I'm planning to do so, but there will be a little delay until that happens. In the meantime, I'll give you grade printouts on Friday 9/21.

1st period: Don't forget our trip to CSUS on Saturday morning. Please don't be late. It begins at 9, and you should be IN the library, IN the room at that time.

2nd period: You should be at page 255 in The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Tuesday, when we'll have our next quiz. It is probably too early to begin thinking seriously about your world lit papers, but as you read, keep in mind themes, symbols, relationships, etc. that intrigue you.

4th and 5th period: This week we are writing a 2 page minimum autobiography. Next week we are changing focus quite a bit, so please make sure you are caught up. For instructions, see pages 56-62 in your Holt book.

6th period: You are rocking the "Bring a Text to Class" unit. I don't know about you, but I have been especially enjoying the excerpt from "Bamboo Among the Oaks" that Shoua brought in. I tihnk that we will probably wrap up this unit tomorrow and begin the next on Monday.

Grades now available on the web

Rainbow Web,
originally uploaded by todaysaddiction.

As of this moment, they are available for 2nd period IB English only, but as I catch up on grading*, I will make all classes available.

Here is the web site. You must have your Student ID number to get your grade.

http://www.geocities.com/synhorst@sbcglobal.net

*Give me a break -- I just got a working computer Monday!

Community service opportunity!

Welcome to the first week of school. I'll post more about our assigments later, but I have an important announcement:

The Sacramento Valley AIDS Run/Walk needs student volunteers to stand in groups along the route of the run/walk and encourage the participants. More or less, all you have to do is stand there and go "Whoo! You're doing great!" You'll get community service for the hours that you're there (normally from 7:30 to 11 or so).

The walk begins at the State Capitol at 11th and J. It is easily accessible by light rail. You should be there on Sunday morning, September 9th, at 7:30 am so that you can get into position before the run begins.

If you would like to receive a certificate, t-shirt, and letter for your efforts, sign up ahead of time at http://www.sacvalleyaidsrunwalk.org and click on the big green "Volunteer" button on the left side of the page. You do not HAVE to sign up in advance, though -- you can just show up that day.

I'm volunteering there myself, so if you see me, say hi!

IB class of '09, this is the IB book list

I've gotten SO many requests for the IB book list that I'm posting it again.

The Things They Carried -- Tim O'Brien
The Handmaid's Tale -- Margaret Atwood
Woman Warrior -- Maxine Hong Kingston
The Name of the Rose -- Umberto Eco

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle -- Haruki Murakami
Like Water for Chocolate -- Laura Esquivel
Kitchen - Banana Yoshimoto

There is a chance (I need to talk to Mr. Coey and Mr. Taylor, but it's a strong chance) that I may switch the order of the semesters, and the second group of books will be the ones we study in the fall. I'll update you as soon as I know for sure.

Dead Words

Rest in peace, overused and abused words
(Try to avoid these in your writing)

amazing destroy hide popular
guy difference hurry predicament
tell do hurt pretty
a lot dull idea put
also dumb important quiet
anger eager interesting rad
angry end keep really
answer enjoy kid right
ask explain kill run
awesome fair kind of sad
awful fall lazy said
bad famous like say/tell
beautiful fast little scared
begin fat look sent
big fear lots show
brave fly loud slow
break fun love so
bright funny mad stop
but get make story
calm go mark strange
come good mischievous stupid
cool got moody take
crooked get move then
cry great neat think
cut gross new told
dangerous guy nice trouble
dark had ok ugly
decline happy old unhappy
definite hate part use
delicious have place very
describe have to plan walk
help went.
wrong

Benefits of IB

I've been getting a lot of questions lately about the benefits of the IB program and diploma. Here are some links you might be interested in.

Sac State's IB policies.

Cal Poly's policies

UC Santa Cruz

UCLA

UC Berkeley

ANd for the heck of it, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and MIT.

If I didn't list a school you're interested in, search for it yourself here.

And here is some more general information for students.

If I messed up any links, let me know. Also, you should browse the IBO website yourself. Any questions? Ask me, Mr. Coey, or another teacher you trust. You can e-mail me or Myspace message me if you like, too.

World Lit

Hi class,

This is all the information on World Lit papers. This will always be available for you here online. Please read it thoroughly -- it contains important information.

World Literature Assignments 20%

Two assignments (Assignments 1 and 2) Higher Level

??Each candidate is required to study independently, under the supervision of a teacher, and to submit written work for external assessment.

??The candidate should choose the type and title of the assignment, although the choice may be discussed with the teacher. The candidate may select any aspect of the World Literature works studied in the school.s programme for the assignment(s).

*Where the same aspect is chosen by more than one candidate, since the candidates must work independently of one another, the content of the assignments must be different.

*Each assignment must be written in the Language A1 concerned.

*Each assignment must be 1000.1500 words in length and the number of words used must be stated at the end of each assignment. Quotations from works must be included in the word count, but footnotes and bibliographies are not to be included.

Higher Level (HL) only
ASSESSMENT DETAILS EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT

*Each World Literature work may be used in one assignment only.

*The nature of the Assignment 2 attempted must be clearly defined (e.g. comparative
study, imaginative or creative piece, detailed study of one work).

*It is preferable that each candidate should write about a different aspect in each of the assignments. It would not be in keeping with the spirit of the programme for a candidate to devote both assignments to studies on the same aspect, for example, characterization, portrayal of society, use of symbolism.

World Literature Assignment 1 HL 10% SL 20%
Assignment 1 must be a comparative study, based on at least two of the three World
Literature works studied in Part 1 of the programme. It must be between 1000.1500 words in length.

Aspects
Each candidate must select an aspect of the Part 1 World Literature works for the assignment.
The aspect selected must focus on some pertinent link between the two or three works used for the assignment, and may reflect the interests of the candidate. However, the link does not need to demonstrate the rationale by which the works have been studied as a group.
Candidates may choose, for their assignments, topics which focus on aspects such as:

*narrative technique
*characterization
*portrayal of society in the literature studied
*international perspectives on common human problems
*cross-cultural perspectives on the artist.s role in society.

Approach
The assignment must be a cogent piece of writing and should include some introductory
and concluding remarks consistent with the conventions of writing in the Language A1
studied. Although the main body need not consist of a formal exposition and development of ideas, it should constitute a reasoned argument.

Structure
The introduction could be, for example, a brief statement of the aims of the assignment.
The main body should reveal the candidate.s insight into the works and appreciation of
the chosen link between the works. A variety of methods is acceptable including, for
example, Socratic Dialogue, interview, or a formal development of ideas as in an essay.
The conclusion could be, for example, a brief summary and personal evaluation of the
discussion or the particular achievement of the writing.

ASSESSMENT DETAILS EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT

World Literature Assignment 2 (HL only) 10%
WL Assignment 2a: Comparative Study
(Works: 1 WL & 1 Language A1)
Assignment 2a is a comparative study based on an aspect of one World Literature work
and one Language A1 work, chosen from any part of the school.s syllabus. The
assignment must focus on some pertinent link between the two works.

Candidates may choose to explore, where appropriate, any cultural similarities and
differences represented by the works. However, making generalizations about cultures is
not the purpose of this exercise.

Approach
The assignment must be a cogent piece of writing. It should include some introductory
and concluding remarks consistent with the conventions of writing in the Language A1
studied.
Although the main body need not be a formal exposition and development of ideas, it
should constitute a reasoned argument.

Structure
*The introduction could be, for example, a brief statement of the aims of the assignment.
*The main body should reveal the candidate.s insight into the works and the candidate’s appreciation of the chosen link between the works. A variety of methods is acceptable including, for example, Socratic Dialogue, interview, or a formal development of ideas as in an essay.
*The conclusion could be, for example, a brief summary and personal evaluation of the discussion.

WL Assignment 2b: Imaginative or Creative Assignment
(Works: 1 WL or 1 WL & 1 Language A1)
.
Assignment 2b is an imaginative or creative piece of writing based on one World
Literature work or a combination of a World Literature work and a Language A1 work,
chosen from any part of the syllabus.

An imaginative or creative assignment is defined as an assignment, other than a
conventional critical essay or commentary, which allows the candidate to apply the
principles or techniques of literary criticism or appreciation in an informed, imaginative
manner.

ASSESSMENT DETAILS EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT

Candidates may choose one of the three alternatives, 2a, 2b, 2c.

WL Assignment 2b: The Statement of Intent
A statement of intent must immediately precede the body of this type of assignment and must include a brief explanation of all of the following:

*the work(s) on which the assignment will be based

*the nature of the task to be engaged in, including considerations such as audience, register, form

*the aspects or elements of the work(s) on which the candidate intends to focus

*how the candidate intends to explore these aspects or elements.

The statement of intent must be included in the word count. The length of the statement will depend on the nature of the piece attempted and should, normally, not exceed 500 words.

However, where the assignment takes the form of a single piece of writing, such as a short poem, the statement may be longer than the body of the assignment and longer than 500 words. Whatever the length of the assignment itself, the total number of words must be between 1000 and 1500.

WL Assignment 2b: Suggestions
There are many possibilities for creative approaches to World Literature assignments which, while giving the candidates an opportunity to exercise imagination and ingenuity, bring them to a deeper understanding of the work(s) being explored and to an increased appreciation of the writer. The following list of suggestions, while not exhaustive, provides some ideas for assignments.

*The diary of a character accompanied by critical comment by the candidate.

*A director's letter to the actor playing a particular role or scene.

*An exercise in which the candidate turns the story or a portion of it into another form such as dramatic monologue, biblical parable, folk tale or myth.

*A critic’s review of a dramatic interpretation/performance.

*An editorial objecting to censorship or exclusion of a work from a school syllabus.

*A letter to a publisher outlining the merits of a work to be published and reasons for
publication.

*The creation of dramatic monologues that play the self-perception of the characters
against the view of other characters or the author.

*A transcription either of an imaginary interview with the author about the work in
question or of a conversation between two authors about their respective works.

*A postscript to a novel, or an extra chapter.

*An additional scene for a play.

*A pastiche (an imitation or re-creation of an already published work). In this assignment, candidates are encouraged to demonstrate their sensitivity to, and understanding of, a work by providing an original composition after the manner of that work.

ASSESSMENT DETAILS EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT

WL Assignment 2c: Detailed Study (1 WL work)
Assignment 2c is a detailed study based on an aspect of one of the World Literature works studied in Part 1, Part 3 or Part 4 of the syllabus.

If extracts are chosen for analysis or commentary they should not be included in the word count, but copies must be attached to the assignment when submitted for assessment.

Approaches

There are a number of possible approaches to this type of assignment.
*A formal essay A formal piece of writing which follows a logical sequence.

*Analysis of a key passage The most important word here is .key.. The passage for study, whether a paragraph, a page, a chapter, or an extract from a poem, should have major significance for any of a variety of explorations that the candidate might choose to make, for example, prose or poetic style, character study, plot development or theme. The reason why the candidate has chosen the passage should be briefly explained and the body of the assignment should explain the significance of the passage to the larger work from which it has been taken.

*Analysis of two key passages Two significant passages from the same work could be selected in order to explore, for example, contrasting prose styles, descriptive method, character presentation and a range of other aspects. The candidate needs to justify briefly the pivotal nature of the passages chosen, and to demonstrate their particular similarities and differences which the candidate considers interesting.

*Commentary on an extract In this exercise an extract, of approximately 30 lines of prose or the equivalent in drama or verse, is taken from a work for an in-depth analysis.

Candidates should justify briefly their selection of the particular extract; the body of the
assignment should explore how language, imagery, organization of ideas, and stylistic
and thematic aspects work in the passage.