Week of 10-14 November

Monday: Today we will be discussing the origins and history of Veteran's Day, which will be tomorrow, 11 November. We'll also spend some class time discussing our own connections with veterans, as well as all of those individuals from Plymouth and other local towns who have served their country and how we can honor and remember them.

While Veteran's Day is a day set aside to remember everyone who has served, it's especially important to remember those who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice.



 Tuesday there will be no class due to Veteran's Day.


Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we will do some critical reading on Energy and the Environment in South America. We'll read some articles about the use of ethanol, the technology behind hydroelectricity, and the rapid spread of solar power as a reliable source of energy. The cool part: all of this applies to you guys! Your generation will certainly see a greater importance in alternative energy, and this stuff will only get more and more commonplace as the years go by, so learn about it now!

We will be conducting "close reading", where we read, summarize the main idea of the article, and then take a look at the Guiding Question and read the article more closely, this time annotating as we read.It's a great skill set to learn because it helps us "devour" the stuff the read!!! (Not with peanut butter and jelly.)

For homework, over the weekend you will have to complete Step 5, where you will write a neat, complete paragraph answering the Guiding Question for your article. Remember, rough drafts should be written and edited on a separate piece of paper, and then copied neatly onto your worksheet as a final draft. However, I will only be collecting the worksheet for your homework grade. Be sure that your paragraph consists of: 1 topic sentence (what is your argument or the reason you are writing?), 2-3 detail sentences (evidence to back up your claim), and 1 conclusion sentence (to wrap things up). Due on Monday!

The Itaipu Hydroelectric Dam in Brazil.