NAME:______

Ms. Swanson

English 12, Per. 1

Spring 2014

ERWC Unit 3: Plagiarism: Cheaters Never Prosper

ACTIVITY 1 Getting Ready to Read:(In class Mo 1/6)

  1. Quickwrite: Is it bad to cheat if you can get away with it? Is cheating ever “good”/justified? (½ page, IN YOUR ERWC JOURNAL (1)).
  2. Notes: After you finish writing, discuss observations with your group about successful cheaters and “good” reasons—take notes IN YOUR JOURNAL (2).

ACTIVITY 2 Introducing Key Concepts: (In class Mo 1/6)

Notes: Read the school’s policy on cheating (below).Take notes on what you didn’t already know, what

surprised you, what you disagree with IN YOUR JOURNAL (3):

ACTIVITY 3 Vocab: Review Rhetorical Terms(In class Mo 1/6)

Write down these terms and their definitions IN YOUR JOURNAL (4):

  1. warrant
  2. data
  3. claim
  4. purpose
  5. audience
  6. persuasion
  7. argument
  8. ethos
  9. pathos
  10. logos

ACTIVITY 4 HOMEWORK: Longer Reflection (one full page, proper MLA):(DUE: We 1/8___)

Write a brief reflective composition on an experience with cheating. You could either recount a time when you cheated or a time when you observed someone else cheat.

ACTIVITY 5 READING Text #1: “Cheating Themselves” by Leonard Pitts, Jr.(In Class We 1/8_)

  1. Notes: Surveying the Text: Discuss the following questions in your small groups and then write down your observations IN YOUR JOURNAL (5):

1.Based on the title of the article, do you anticipate that the author will take a persuasive stance or make observations? Why or why not?

2.What do you think the purpose of the article will be?

3.Considering where and when the essay was published, do you feel confident that the information presented is reliable? Why?

  1. Vocab: Introducing Key Vocabulary in the Text “Cheating Themselves”: Copy the list of words below IN YOUR JOURNAL (6). Write down any definitions you already know. Look up the rest, and add any words you don’t know from the reading as well.

1.integrity

2.complicit

3.besieged

4.condemnation

5.emblematic

6.amorality

7.cribbing

8.inauthentic

  1. Read: As you read “Cheating Themselves”,
  2. Annotate the text: highlight names, dates, places, numbers (stats), key words, thesis, main arguments.
  3. Review what you read: When you have finished reading the article, reassess your response in Activity 5A above. Were your predictions accurate? Which ones? How? Write your new answers in a different color IN YOUR JOURNAL (7).
  4. Re-read the article “Cheating Themselves” to search for lines that contain Pitt’s main argument. An example is: “...cheating has become not just epidemic but somehow tolerated, even at the highest levels” or “Character is about who you are when there is nobody in the room but you.” Find these two lines and annotate them; then find three more lines that contain Pitt’s main argument and annotate them.
  5. Write a one-sentence summary of Pitt’s argument in your own words (i.e., paraphrase the thesis) IN YOUR JOURNAL (8).

ACTIVITY 6 HOMEWORK: Find a published article about any kind of cheating. Print or cut it out and annotate it (highlight names, dates, places, numbers (stats), key words, thesis, main arguments). Bring it to class. (Due: Fr 1/10___)

ACTIVITY 7 READING Text #2:“Slippery Slope for Dishonest?” by Carla Rivera.(In ClassFr 1/10 )

  1. Surveying the Text: Read the title of the article “Slippery Slope for Dishonest? Teen Cheats More Likely to Repeat as Adults, Survey Says.” Define “slippery slope” as a rhetorical term IN YOUR JOURNAL (9).
  1. Quickwrite: (½ page, IN YOUR JOURNAL (10)): List 7-10 examples of slippery slope arguments that you or other people have made.
  1. Making predictions: Discuss the following questions in yoursmall groups and write them IN YOUR JOURNAL (11):

1.Based on the title of the article, do you anticipate the author will take a persuasive stance? Why or why not?

2.What do you think the purpose of the article will be?

3.Considering where and when the essay was published, do you feel confident that the information presented is reliable? Why?

DISCUSSION: Recap your findings to the class. Audience, take notes IN YOUR JOURNAL (11).

  1. Introducing Key Vocabulary: Guess at the meaning of the following key words from the context of the article and add at least four more that you don’t already knowIN YOUR JOURNAL (12).

1.proverbial

2.adage

3.cynic

4.biennial

In addition, look at the following terms. Write the definitions to those you don’t know so that you can use them in the discussions and writing activities that follow.

integrity

academic honesty

plagiarism

copying

paraphrasing

ACTIVITY 8 Summary vs. Paraphrase:(In ClassFr 1/10 )

Since the “Slippery Slope” article addresses plagiarism and its many disguises, be sure that you understand the difference between paraphrase and summaryand write them in your journal:

SUMMARY = no source citation required / PARAPHRASE = source citation required
●You read a novel like Of Mice and Men and encapsulate it in a TV Guide-Style summary:
An itinerant farm-worker, George tries to keep Lenny, a mentally-challenged man, out of trouble as they move to a new ranch.
●You read several news articles, then write:
Many college campuses have banned Indian mascots over the past five years. / ●Open acknowledgement of the source—as in a speech:
According to California-Studies expert Gerald Haslam in his book The Other California, Of Mice and Men is an imagistic portrait of migrant farm life in the 1940’s, laden with sensory detail.
●Discreet acknowledgement of the source as in an essay:
Of Mice and Men is an imagistic portrait of migrant farm life in the 1940’s, laden with sensory detail (Haslam 312).
NOTE: (Haslam 312) is a parenthetical. “Haslam” = author’s last name. “312” = page number the quote came from.
●As a result of Native American community pressure, Podunk High School changed its school mascot from the Indians to the Ostriches in the fall of 2001 (“Welcome”).
[NOTE: “Welcome” = title of the web page on a web site.

ACTIVITY 9 HOMEWORK: Read “Slippery Slope for Dishonest? Teen Cheats More Likely to Repeat as Adults, Survey Says.” (Due: _Mo 1/13)

  1. Reassess your responses above in ACTIVITY 7C IN YOUR JOURNAL (11). Were your predictions accurate? Make your changes in a different colored pen under journal entry.
  2. IN YOUR JOURNAL (13) first summarize, then paraphrase, the article “Slippery Slope for Dishonest? Teen Cheats More Likely to Repeat as Adults, Survey Says.” Clearly label one paragraph “summary” and the other “paraphrase”.

CONNECTING READING TO WRITING

ACTIVITY 10 Writing a Précis:(In ClassMo 1/13)

  1. Review how to write a précis. With the class, go over the sample précis together.

ACTIVITY 11 HOMEWORK: Write a précis on the article “Slippery Slope for Dishonest? Teen Cheats More Likely to Repeat as Adults, Survey Says” and “Cheating Themselves” by Leonard Pitts, Jr.; include a parenthetical reference and a full citation to the text. Attach it to this packet. MLA format. (Due: We 1/15)

ACTIVITY 12 READING Text #3: “Honors Track” by Molly Patterson (In ClassWe 1/15)

Surveying the Text: Before you read “Honors Track” by Molly Patterson, scan the pages to determine the piece’s genre. Write it at the top of the text. (Keep this in mind as you read).

ACTIVITY 13 Focused Reading:(In ClassWe 1/15)

A. Before you begin to read, look at the following questions you will be asked to answer after you finish the story.

  1. Find 2 places where the writer’s portrayal of high school students was realistic as well as places where it was not. Explain why they were/weren’t realistic to you and why the author may have chosen to depict them that way.
  2. What is the predicament the students are in?
  3. Is the predicament realistic?
  4. What is the final outcome of the predicament?
  5. Is the outcome realistic? Why/why not? Why do you think the author may have chosen to make it that way?
  6. How would you have felt if Dale had used a magical invisible cloak to disappear when he was caught? How would that have changed how you felt about the story?
  7. Why do we crave realism in fiction?
  8. The story is about cheating. What does it seem to be revealing about cheating?
  1. After you have scanned the questions, read and annotate the text (highlight names, dates, places, numbers (stats), key words, thesis, main arguments).
  1. Answer the questions in A above IN YOUR JOURNAL (14).

ACTIVITY 14 Check for Comprehension: Fishbowl Discussion (In ClassWe 1/15 or Fr 1/17)

Discuss the story via the above questions (earn oral pres. points!).

WRITING RHETORICALLY

ACTIVITY 15 Prewriting (Quickwrite): (½ page, IN YOUR JOURNAL (15))(In ClassFr 1/17 ) Write about one of the topics below:

  1. What are the unwritten laws of ______( choose one: your friend group, your team, dating, interacting with parents, interacting with teachers, etc.)? What do these unwritten laws reveal about your group’s values? or
  2. “Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law.” Recall times when you broke a rule or law without knowing that you were in the wrong.

ACTIVITY 16 HOMEWORK: Review, prepare to write.(Due:We 1/22)

  1. Look at ACTIVITY 17 below, the writing prompt.
  2. Pore over the three readings in this unit and all the assignments connected to them. Look for quotes and other evidence you can use to support what you want to say about the prompt.
  3. Write down a list of 10 possible quotes/evidence you could use to write about.
  4. Organize the quotes/evidence into three or four categories (i.e., three or four topics you can use to argue your opinion on the prompt. Rewrite your list of 10 possible quotes/evidence into three or four lists, one for each topic you intend to use to argue your opinion on the prompt IN YOUR JOURNAL (16).

ACTIVITY 17 Writing on Demand (45 minutes): (In ClassWe 1/22)

In the computer lab on Turnitin.com, respond to the following PROMPT:

Citing examples from your readings, personal experience, and observations, agree or disagree with the assertion that cheating is a “slippery slope”. Is it possible to cheat just a little and keep it under control? Or does cheating ultimately control you? Minimum 5 paragraphs, max. 7—intro, multiple body paragraphs, conclusion. Don’t forget clear thesis, topic sentences, ICCEE format, profound universal statement.

ACTIVITY 18 HOMEWORK: Revision (Due:Fr 1/31)

  1. Holistically score essays, then
  2. indicate where you/your group member could S-specify more, J-justify more.
  3. Complete a peer review sheet.
  4. Revise your essay in proper MLA format on Turnitin.com.
  5. Submit the final draft for a second grade.