11.30

I am once again in Melbourne for a workshop. Please work diligently and quietly. After today's class, we have only five (5) class periods plus semester exam remaining, and we still have many miles to travel before breaking for Christmas. So, please, act like the studious and responsible and hard-working young men and women I know you can be!

**Bell Ringer** Take ten (10) minutes to refresh your memory on the rhetorical devices we've been studying by reviewing your notes and discussing at your tables.

Then, take the quiz.

 * Do not talk during quiz. You have to work **individually**.
 * Do not use your notes or any other resources.

=Independent Reading (35 minutes)=
 * Read quietly: be respectful of your classmates' need for quiet.
 * How are you coming on your six (6) books?
 * Have you updated your annotated reading list on your blog? Now would be a great time. Make your life less stressful: don't procrastinate, and do it now!

=Independent Writing (35 minutes)=
 * Work on your thINK #2, which is due next Friday, December 10.
 * Do some current event headline reading to find a topic and an interesting text as a starting point.
 * Several of you, for your first thINK, started with a text/topic that was too simplistic, which yielded less than stellar thINK posts. Challenge yourself to find an engaging text on an interesting/intriguing/stimulating topic/idea/issue.
 * Do some pre-writing:
 * What will the central idea of your post be?
 * What specific examples will you use (beyond the starting text) to illustrate your point?
 * Do you need to do more reading/research on the topic/issue/idea to better understand it?
 * If you're ready, write a first draft.

If you haven't yet published your 12-sentence story and pasted the link on the assignment page, do so!