1. English 3
Wk 32

2. Mon. 4/7
State a claim and counterclaim related to this prompt. Educators debate extending high school to five years because of increasing demands on students from employers and colleges to participate in extracurricular activities and community service in addition to having high grades. Some educators support extending high school to five years because they think students need more time to achieve all that is expected of them. Other educators do not support extending high school to five years because they think students would lose interest in school and attendance would drop in the fifth year. In your opinion, should high school be extended to five years?

3. Part One: Write a counterclaim to these claims.
What students do outside of school is their personal business.
School’s role is to educate, not to discipline.
Part Two: Refute the counterclaims.

4. Wed. 4/8
Write a thesis statement related to this prompt. Educators debate extending high school to five years because of increasing demands on students from employers and colleges to participate in extracurricular activities and community service in addition to having high grades. Some educators support extending high school to five years because they think students need more time to achieve all that is expected of them. Other educators do not support extending high school to five years because they think students would lose interest in school and attendance would drop in the fifth year. In your opinion, should high school be extended to five years?

5. What is the difference between a claim and a thesis?
Claim=statement of the author’s opinion about a specific topic or theme Thesis=brief statement of claim plus support which previews the content and organization of an essay

6. Sentence Frame for ACT Thesis
CLAIM + because + SUPPORT your opinion reasons to back up your opinion

7. CLAIM + because + SUPPORT
List 3 pieces of support in the order in which they will appear in the body paragraph. OR
If all of your support fits into one general category summarize it with a brief phrase. Each body paragraph will then be a specific example from the same general category.

8. CLAIM + because + SUPPORT
High school should not be extended to five years because the longer time is unnecessary, the dropout rate would increase, and schools are already underfunded.
What will the following body paragraphs be about ?

9. CLAIM + because + SUPPORT
High school should not be extended to five years because the extra time in school would delay the necessary transition for students to become independent young adults.
What could the following body paragraphs be about ?

10. State a thesis related to your claim about the Malanga Junior High School prompt which you wrote about last week.

11. The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires all school libraries receiving certain
Federal funds to install and use blocking software to prevent students from viewing material
considered “harmful to minors.” However, some studies conclude that blocking software in
schools damages educational opportunities for students, both by blocking access to Web pages
that are directly related to the state-mandated curriculums and by restricting broader inquiries
of both students and teachers. In your view, should the schools block access to certain
Internet Web sites?

12. Thurs. 4/9
What areas of the ACT are your strengths? What areas are more challenging for you?

13. Fri. 4/10 Answer the following questions about the ACT Reading test
What types of reading passages are on the test?
What types of questions are on the Reading test?
What strategies should you use for success on the Reading test?