Example HSPE Persuasive Prompt

Example Persuasive Essay Structure for the HSPE - you'll do FIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!!!!

Prompt: Should the Driving Age Be Increased to 18? Yes/No...

Many teens anxiously await their 16^th birthday because of one significant turning point in their young lives: they earn the ability to possess and drive a motor vehicle. This issue has caused some controversy as of late, however, because of the increase in auto-accidents among beginner drivers. However, it is at this age that many teens also increase the amount of personal responsibilities that they encounter on a daily basis, in addition to their schooling, and thus increasing the dependency teens have on transportation. Although some argue that the key to dropping the amount of auto-accidents among beginner drivers is to increase the driving age to 18, the driving age should stay 16 because it is at this age when students increase the amount of extra-curricular activities they participate in, and it is important to allow beginner drivers to start as early as possible to perfect their driving skills before they become adults.

                Although many 16 year olds eagerly anticipate driving, like their brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents did before them at the same age, there are many people who believe the driving age should be increased to 18. Especially because of the amount of vehicular accidents that result in death, it is logical to assume that the people who wish to increase the driving age wish for nothing but the safety of young drivers. Take, for instance, the fact that just last year there were 3,000 teenage auto-related deaths in the state of Washington. These deaths certainly seem unwarranted because of the young age of the drivers involve, and it is arguable that many of these deaths could have simply been prevented by not allowing the 16 and 17 year olds to drive. However, it is not the fact that they were 16 or 17 that got them killed – it’s the fact that they either had not had proper distraction-free driving instruction, or that they were sincerely involved in legitimate accidents. Therefore, it is not their age that is the issue – it’s their knowledge about, and comfort with, driving.

                The driving age should stay 16 because it’s crucial that students have the freedom to be able to pursue extra-curricular interests, many of which necessitate transportation (go on about this)

                Additionally, the driving age should stay 16 because these fatal collisions are more often caused by inexperienced drivers, young and old alike, and thus it is important for teens to learn how to drive as early as possible. (go on about this)

10th Grade - Macbeth

Hey folks!

Good job acting today; had a blast acting out Scenes 1-3 of Act 1.

We simply discussed (well, not that it's SIMPLE) iambic pentameter - 5 stressed syllables per line of writing. Rhythm: ta-TUM, ta-TUM, ta-TUM, ta-TUM, ta-TUM - remember, mastering the rhythm will help you master how the lines are read. It's not an easy read, but it is definitely WORTH the effort to understand the beautiful prose.

We also talked about Macbeth's character - what is racing through his mind at the end of Act 3?
We discussed the Witches' prophecies: 3 to Macbeth, 3 to Banquo.
Macbeth's prophecies:
1) Hail, thane of Glamis (he already IS Thane of Glamis)
2) Hail, thane of Cawdor (Duncan pronounced him Cawdor many miles away in scene 2, but Macbeth was not there, and thus had no idea he was getting the title, Cawdor)
3) Hail, king hereafter (we'll see about this one... =)

Banquo's prophecies:
1) Lesser than Macbeth, but more... (maybe lesser in TITLE, but more in MORALITY??)
2) Not so happy, and much happier... (maybe something bad happens, but it's for the best???)
3) Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none... (Your kiddos will be king, but they won't inherit that title from YOU)


HW: Read scenes 4 and 5 (IV and V), and practice writing lines in iambic pentameter.

ttfn,
Snow

9th Grade Cohort A & B - Themes We've Covered

Going into the last quarter of the year, it's important to reflect on some of the major ideas we have covered so far in the literature. Here's a list:

1) Patriarchy - "Father-chief" - Men run society.
- What drives patriarchal men? Status. The "top dog"/"alpha male" mentality.
- Examples: Ancient Greek society (namely the male Gods), George Hadley (from "The Veldt" - though he was a failed patriarch because he WANTED to be "top dog," but he lost power of his house to The Nursery), Equality/Prometheus (from Anthem, which some of you are reading/read), Harrison Bergeron (from the story by Kurt Vonnegut), and Mr. Fox (from The Fantastic Mr. Fox).

2) Environments - "natural" / "human-made" / "techno-vironments"
- Most dystopian stories focus on a conflict between two (or all) of these types of environments. Most often, the natural environment is conflicted with some human-made device or leadership, but sometimes these human-made conflicts turn into fully functional environments of their own (like the Nursery in "The Veldt"), which is an example of a "techno-vironment."
- Examples: The "natural" vs. human-made environment in the Veldt - natural African Veldtland (where humans once thrived at the beginning of humanity) was seen as a "problem" by a family that had gotten hooked on their human-made Happylife Home, which cooked, cleaned, bathed, and did everything for the family (obviously, not natural).

3) Objectivism - Ayn Rand's philosophy of anarchic moral selfishness.
- Concern for "the Collective" is a sin - people should just worry about themselves
- The government should not have a big role in people's lives, as people should be able to pursue their own happiness by their own means.
- Individualism is prized
- Notes from class: "being independent; making 'your own'; not being a follower - 'lead, don't follow'; self-interest; don't worry about others' problems"

4) Collectivism - "The Collective" / "One big happy family"
- "Shared living spaces, shared resources, shared expectations, shared problems, shared goals"
- Positive aspects: workload lightens - "many hands make light work"; everyone is supposed to care aobut others
- Negative aspects: No concern for the individual, only the group; the "whole" matters most; there is inherent exclusion of those who are not "in the whole"; no individual success/fame -- GROUPTHINK: people think the same way even they think it's bad or wrong (ex: The "Asch Experiment")

9th Grade Cohort B - Vonnegut "College Essay about Harrison Bergeron"

Notes from "Socialism, Communism & Harrison Bergeron" by Zainab Khawaja:

*These are YOUR notes from the Jigsaw we did last week*

Group 1:
Part 1 of the article will focus on themes/allusions in the story
Part 2 of the article will focus on 2 responses to the story: 1) The common view, that "HB" is a satire on the basic principles of communism, and 2) Vonnegut is a leftist, therefore his story is a satire on the fears of the American public.

Group 2:
HG Men - a satire on the FBI (G-men) during the Cold War, who "hunted" suspected commies
"Diana Moon" is an allusion to the Greek Goddess "Diana" (the goddess of the hunt), who was notably ruthless
Harrison = Thor (Norse god of Thunder, really powerful)

Group 3:
Vonnegut's view: noone should be "handicapped" just because they are talented
Freedom can be taken away easily by changes to the law
"Normal" = "sub-normal" in the story
People took "equality" literally in the story

Group 4:
The story is a perverted view on the "American Dream"; in the story, competition to succeed has been taken out of society.
Harrison represents a threat to "equality" - he is talented and competitive
Harrison tries to overthrow a totalitarian government by CREATING a totalitarian government, which represents inherent flaw with human power and corruption

Group 5:
TV has a big influence on society
Many fear(ed) that TV causes attention deficit issues (Hazel's character)
TV makes us desensitized and emotionless
Common view: "This is a satire on the Soviets!"

Group 6:
2 views - Vonnegut makes fun of "commies" OR Vonnegut is making fun of OUR misconception of what true "equality" looks like

Group 7:
Vonnegut was a Leftist (Democrat); he frequently satirizes the Right wing
Vonnegut believed in a "plentiful living for all"
Believing that Vonnegut is making fun of "commies" and "Soviets" is a belief that goes against his political beliefs.

Group 8:
Vonnegut was making a satire on how the US thought communism would destroy all things American
He wasn't directly pointing at Americans; he was masking the irony
He uses the "floating kiss" scene to highlight the impossibilities present in his story - to show he was writing satirically


Granted, there are many things we didn't cover in our notes, these are some good ones that y'all created from your Jigsaw groups. Good job =)
-J

10th Grade English HSPE Prep - Persuasive Essays

Here's the notes for the persuasive thesis:

Also, here's a rough outline of the essay structure (we'll study more in-depth soon):
I. Intro + Thesis
II. X argument paragraph (include why X arg has validity, but why it is ultimately not your position)
III. Z1 Argument
IV. Z2 Argument
V. Conclusion (re-state thesis and cover main general points)

Good luck on the HSPE tomorrow!

Best,
J

To Everyone

It's been a really impressive semester so far! First semester was definitely not without its worries and stresses (*coughGRADEBOOKcough*), but I'm glad to see we're all pulling it together and moving right along.

I apologize if it has taken me longer than usual to return work. Wrapping my head around all these new changes has required some extra eyes and ears on our parts as teachers, and my turnaround time for assignments has been sluggish. While it's no excuse, I wanted you all to know I'm aware of the issue =).

Lastly, at the very bottom of the blog (right above the lovely picture of the ruptured dock) you will find links to all the Prezis we've been doing as a class. This should save you some hunting time =)

Peace, y'all. Happy Sunday!
-J

9th Grade English - Cohort B - Harrison Bergeron

Hey Gang!

Above you'll see a snapshot of the notes we took on Friday - we studied how "Harrison Bergeron" impacts the 3 different types of environments we've been discussing (Natural, Human-Made, and Techno-vironments).

At this point, you all should have enough information in your memory banks to get started on that "Letter to Ms. Young," which we will have work-time for this week!

HW: Keep writing!!