Make a claim

Formatting reminders

Argument essay outline

Rockhurst drug test: Extreme or spot-on?

Use the video source above for the "Writing to Sources" assessment on October 15th and 16th.

Bravery is the first step towards Brilliance...

Twinning at SDMS

Witch "Trials"

To prepare for our field trip today, I thought I'd share one of my favorite witch trial videos... courtesy of Monty Python.



In your journals, write a paragraph to answer the following questions and be sure to use evidence from the video.

1. Describe the tests Sir Bedivere and the townsfolk used to determine whether or not the woman was a witch.

2. Do you think they were reasonable or valid?

3. Believe it or not, Puritans living in New England actually used tests that were almost as absurd as the ones in the video. For example, real witch trials often included tossing a potential witch out into a lake... if she drowned they declared that she wasn't a witch....if she was able to swim to shore, they found her guilty of witchcraft and killed her anyway. What are your thoughts about this type of "justice?"

Using the "breakdown" to make our writing more detailed...

Break it Down!

Breaking down our writable moments to dig for details... Try to think of each memory as a progression of: emotions, actions, thoughts (reflection), dialogue. Charting these details on simultaneous timelines can help turn a simple description into an opportunity for a meaningful memoir. 

Some student samples...

Focusing our writing on small moments...