Tuesday

Class began with a vocabulary test.

Next Mr. Zartler did a lesson on reading tables; a key point in a table is that each column and each row has something in common.

The class finished reading the Mark Bittman handouts, and then wrote and discussed answers to the following questions:

What is Bittman's main point/ claim?

What does Bittman want the reader to do and not do? Or do more of and less of?

What is your reaction to what Bittman wants?

Thursday, 24 October

The class began discussing the prompt that ended the previous class:
Finally the class took note of the following:
Junk food is made primarily from corn.
The government subsidizes the production of corn.
Therefore the government uses tax dollars to make junk food cheap.

Students ended class writing about their reactions to these facts: should this be the case?; should the government be involved in our eating choices at all?; is there a positive side to this set of facts?

Next the class viewed a brief video on "chicken nuggets".

The class spent some time reading and analyzing the graph on page 12 of Bittman's Food Matters "Past and projected Food Consumption of Livestock Products.

Mr. Zartler announced a vocabulary quiz for Tuesday; it will cover the following words society, communal, hearth, prixe fixe, offal, omnivore, carnivore, herbivore, lacto-, ovo-, pesce-, cereal, savory, "salty, sour, bitter, sweet, ummami," rhetorical, and livestock.
Proficiency is 80% knowledge of these words.

Students then read and took notes on the first half of the "Rethinking Consumption" chapter.

Tuesday, 22 October, 2013

Class began with a brief review of the meal served yesterday. Then the class viewed two videos of Mark Bittman talking about savory, whole grain breakfasts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/dining/18mini.html
and
http://www.thetakeaway.org/story/7867-mark-bittman-thinking-outside-cereal-box-breakfast/

Next the class considered the claims in the first several paragraphs of the Chapter "Rethinking Consumption" in Food Matters.

Students wrote short responses to various prompts including:
How could "eating fewer animals, and less junk food and super-refined carbohydrates" be better for you and for the world?

Finally the class took note of the following:
Junk food is made primarily from corn.
The government subsidizes the production of corn.
Therefore the government uses tax dollars to make junk food cheap.

Students ended class writing about their reactions to these facts: should this be the case?; should the government be involved in our eating choices at all?; is there a positive side to this set of facts?

Monday, 21 October

Class began with free writes on the topics of:

"Breakfast" and then
"Cereal"

Next the class added the vocabulary words "cereal" and "savory" to our vocabulary list.

We then viewed the following clip:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/dining/18mini.html

Mr. Zartler then prepared the dish Wheat berries with scallions for the class.

Thursday, 17 October

Food as Symbol stories were due today.

Class began with a review of how to give positive feedback, then students formed small, random groups and shared their stories and got positive feedback from their peers. After sharing in small groups students could volunteer to share or be nominated to share their stories with the entire class.

Next the class added six vocabulary terms:
Omnivore
Carnivore
Herbivore
lacto-
pecse-
ovo-

Students with completed stories had to complete the following self evaluation activity.

Address in paragraphs with good topic sentences and evidence or examples the following requirements of the story assignment:
# It is a story: character+conflict => resolution
# Food / eating is a symbol (better) or food / eating is part of an lesson (ok)
# Dialogue is used and formatted correctly
# Blocking is used
# Setting description is used
at least two of the following four categories are represented A) objects B) atmosphere C) dimensional clues D) sensory details

# Conclusion: What do you think of your story

Next students began analyzing the first chapter of Mark Bittman's Food Matters.

Students were asked to respond (via personal experience; connections; arugment; or questions) to four passages.
1) The chart on page 6
2) The first paragraph of chapter 1 on page 9

3) The passage: "...but the bottom line here is that to eat well we must first eat moderately, and limit our eating to real food. (Organic junk food--and there is plenty of it--is still junk food). (Page 10)
4)Our instincts, as human animals, prod us to eat all the food we can lay our hands on" (page 10)

(edited/ revised) Monday, 14 October

Class began with a review of SOAPS+Claim for the introduction to Mark Bittman's Food Matters. We paid particular attention to the several claims made in the second section of the introduction.  Mr. Zartler pointed out that an introduction for a non-fiction book should mention all of the major claims presented in the book.

Next Mr. Zartler lectured on the proper punctuation and presentation of dialogue. He also gave a lesson on using blocking rather than adverbs to show not tell what is going on in a scene.

Rather than:

     “Hey, you need to check me out,” Shelly said deviously.

     Deon replied nervously, “Why?”

     “You will want to see this, I’m sure,” she teased.

This is better:

         “Hey, you need to check me out,” Shelly whispered into the phone.

         “Why?” sprang from Deon’s mouth.

         “You will want to see this…. I’m sure…”.

        

Students then had time to conference, revise, and edit their stories.

Food as Symbol stories are due in class on Thursday.

Thursday, ,10 October

The class began by writing about the food at the center of the story students are working on, but in a completely different context. Many students were able to see the food and what it could symbolize better once they considered the food in a different context.

The class then reviewed the syllabus and grading policy.

Next Mr. Zartler provided the following information about the current story project. This rubric should be used immediately for students to assess progress on their story.

Due dates:

Final Rough Draft (complete, typed, meets all requirements): Monday, 14 October

Credit Draft (as perfect as can be; meets all requirements): Thursday, 17 October

For each of the following requirements for this piece list examples or copy passages that show you have demonstrated your ability to produce the aspect of writing.

Requirements:

Be a well written and edited story.

Story has character(s); conflict; and resolution.

List the conflict and the resolution:

Uses food or eating as a symbol. (If food or eating is the source of a lesson, that is ok, but not as interesting or as challenging). Just having food or eating as a prop or activity in the story is not enough. The food should stand for something beside itself.

Explain what food is used as a symbol and what it symbolizes:

There should be dialogue and the dialogue needs to be properly formatted.

New paragraph begins (including indent) each time the speaker changes.

Exact words spoken are within quotation marks.

Examples:           

There should be setting description. Description includes at least two of the following categories:

List examples for each that you include:

Objects

Dimension

Atmosphere

Senses

           

There should be blocking (Characters moving).

Examples:

Next the class was given a packet from Mark Bittman's Food Matters. A SOAPS+Claim analysis of the introduction is due on Monday.

Tuesday, 8 October

Due to Friday being a non-school day, Food & Culture met on Tuesday not on Monday.

Mr. Zartler collected revised essays on Food and Culture from the Summer Research project.

Mr. Zartler gave a short lecture on images of food and eating as a symbol.

Mr. Zartler then presented the following procedures for having a conference. Students were put in random groups to conference on their story using food as a metaphor.

Students are to have a complete rough draft of the story by Monday, 14 October. The final copy will be submitted on Thursday, 17 October.

This is the conferencing procedure.

Your job today is to have a conference with another student about their story.  A conference is a way to help someone write their story.  It is important that the writer feel good about how the conference goes. It is also important that you attach this sheet, and your rough draft behind your final draft which is due on Monday.

Requirements for the story we are working on are:

Uses food or eating as a symbol. (If food or eating is the source of a lesson, that is ok, but not as interesting or as challenging). Just having food or eating as a prop or activity in the story is not enough. The food should stand for something beside itself.

There should be dialogue.

There should be blocking.

There should be setting description.

Follow the steps bellow in order to have a successful conference.

Rules

            “The Writer” is in charge.

            “The Conferer” can say what he/she likes.

            “The Conferer” can ask questions.

            “The Conferer” can answer questions “The Writer” asks.

            “The Conferer” will provide written answers to the questions below.

            “The Conferer” can’t do anything else.

            At the end “The Writer” thanks “The Conferer”

Highlight or check which of the following  questions or aspects of your writing you would like feedback on.

How did the conferer view food and / or eating in the story?

Is there enough dialogue to get a sense of the characters who are involved?

Do the characters move around naturally? (Blocking)

Is there enough setting description so that the characters have a space to move in, and so the reader can picture the scene?

What questions do you have after reading this piece?

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

NB (Note Bene, NOTE WELL!): EVERYONE!!!!! Is required to use proper paragraphing for dialogue in this piece. AFTER you have finished the above steps, you are to trade papers, and have your conference partner(s) look at how you have paragraphed dialogue. They should put a paragraph mark (⁋) every place where a new paragraph should start because the speaker changes.

Ways for the Conferer to respond:

ü  Share initial reactions

ü  Ask about what do you want to know more about or about what puzzles you

ü  Make connections what to your life or other literature movies etc. Share what the story reminds you of.

ü  Share what you think the story is meant to explain or mean. Or what you think the author wants a reader to think or do.

ü  Respond to interesting language.

ü  Draw conclusions.

ü  Share final thoughts.

Thursday, October 3rd.

(Please pardon the delayed post; I posted this to my US History blog by mistake.)

Class began with a brief discussion of the concept of "Last Meal" including the last meal of former French President Francois Mitterrand.

Students then wrote about what they would have for their final meal and why.

Next the class debriefed the SOAPS+Claim analysis of the "Geography of Taste" article. The class then discussed some of the implications of the claims and concepts in the article.

Students then wrote a journal entry about what kind of food they would choose if they could only choose one kind for a ten year stay on a deserted island.

Next Mr. Zartler presented a lesson on "setting" in story telling. Students identified the mood that four different eating establishments created for them. Next Mr. Zartler presented a graphic organizer that students were encouraged to think about setting in their stories. Setting should include: objects; dimension; atmosphere; and many of the senses.

Finally, students had time to work on their story drafts.

All students are reminded that the summer research writing re-drafts should be in on Monday, 7 October.

Back to School Night, 3 October

Food and Culture   Mr. Zartler    Grant High School 2013-2014

Thank you for coming to our Back to School Night, or for coming to the blog if you were unable to come to meet me tonight. I look forward to discussing your son or daughters progress during conferences in November.

THE MOST IMPORANT THING you can learn is the address of our class blog:

FoodAndCultureGHS.blogspot.com

This blog is where you son or daughter can be reminded about what happened in class (or what they missed), homework assignments, and project due dates. (It’s my way of getting past dinner conversations that go like this:)

           

            Parent/ Guardian/ Caring Adult: What did you do in school today?

            Adolescent: Nothing

            (Awkward silence.)

Food and Culture is an English Course designed to prepare students for college. The course uses the rich tradition of literature and creative non-fiction that focuses on food and eating. The course syllabus is currently online and there is a link in today’s entry on the blog.

GRADING POLICY

Work in this class will be graded based on demonstration of proficiency, exceeding proficiency, and mastery of skills taught. 

Students will be given a variety of assignments and activities to complete, however, only major assignments that are based on clearly defined skills will receive a grade. Grades assigned will be:

C for demonstrating proficiency of skills; 
B for exceeding basic proficiency and demonstrating mastery of skills and exceeding the minimum requirements for work; 
A for demonstrating mastery of skills and significantly exceeding the minimum requirements of an assignment in terms of depth, breadth, and quality of work.

Grading will be cumulative based on the completion of work. However credit will not be granted for the course if proficiency in one or more of the key skills is not demonstrated; therefore students should consider all proficiency assignments to be "exit criteria." The final course grade as well as quarterly grades and mid term reports will be based on cumulative "points." Each proficiency assignments will have a total "point value" and the total points earned and the final grade will be based on the following scale: "C" is equal to 75%; "B" is equal to 85%; "A" is equal to 95%.

Students will be expected to continue to work on the key assignments demonstrating proficiency until the assignments meets minimum standards of proficiency. Extensive use will be made of the Conference Period available on Tuesday and Wednesday from 2:25, and students should seem out the teacher during planning periods and after school for assistance.

COMMUNICATION

If you ever need to contact me email usually works best: jzartler@pps.net

But if you need to phone the number is 503.916.5160 x75-700

Thank you for coming, I look forward to working with you and your son or daughter,

                                    Jamie Zartler

Tuesday, 1 October, 2013

The main focus of class today was the study of metaphor and symbolism.

The story students are working on is meant to include the use of food or eating as a symbol or metaphor.

Today the class identified the qualities of a food (we used chicken soup, apple, and oyster) and then wrote about how someone or some thing was similar in having those qualities.

Students are to work on adding to their stories, and to try to incorporate a food metaphor or symbol in their story for homework.

Next students worked (some in small groups, some individually) to do a SOAPS+Claim analysis (see yesterday) of the following article:

Monday, 30 September 2013

Class began with a lesson on editing marks, and how to respond to these marks.

Next class took notes on the SOAPS+Claim activity for analyzing non-fiction.

SOAPS+Claim

Subject: What is the article about? (Be specific).
Occasion: What important circumstances or events surround the publishing of the piece? (Check copyright date ... identify concurrent events ... what is / was going on in the world?)
Audience & Author:
     Audience: Who was the piece written for? How can you tell?
     Author: Is the author reliable? How can you tell?
Purpose: What is the author trying to accomplish? (How does what the author is trying to accomplish affect how you view his or her words?)
Significance: To whom, and how is the information provided significant?
Claim: What does the author claim to be true or necessary? (Does he or she provide credible and substantial evidence to support this claim? Do you agree or disagree?)