SONAR: PART 2
2007-08
Preparing for the Final
SONAR Lit and Comp III/IV
John Muir Assignment #4
Final Project
Read Chapters VIII—XI
Due: Week of January 14, 2008

Part I: Complete the reading of the book My First Summer in the Sierra.

Part II: Take John Muir to Lunch! Interview John Muir, pretending that he is alive today. Develop a list of questions to ask him about the state of world today in terms of the important environmental issues facing the planet in the 21st Century. Use your imagination to create answers to your own questions as if John Muir had answered them.

Part III: Present your interview with John Muir at the Final Exam.

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Video tapes, Audio Tapes, PowerPoint Presentations, and written papers will be accepted.

No late work will be graded.

This project is worth 25% of the second quarter grade.

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SONAR Lit and Comp III/IV
John Muir Assignment #3
Read Chapters V — VII
Due: Monday, December 17, 2007

Part I: After reading these chapters plan a hike in the Sierra Nevada Range that puts you in some of the places described by Muir. You don’t need to follow his route, but try to be in the same general area as he was during his first summer in the Sierra. Use topo maps (see Topozone.com) to specifically pinpoint your location, your destination, hiking sequence, miles covered in a day, direction, and geologic features of each landscape you move through on your journey.

Part II: Write a journal of events on your imaginary journey through the Sierras. Use plenty of details (like Muir does about plants, animals, events, weather patterns, et. al) to complete an accurate picture of the landscape through which you are travelling.

Part III: Present the maps and journals of your trip to the class.

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SONAR Lit and Comp III/IV
John Muir Assignment #2
Read Chapters II — IV
Due: December 4, 2007

After reading these three chapters, prepare a PowerPoint presentation about one or more of the following:

• Yosemite National Park

• John Muir’s life history

• The Sierra Nevada range

• History of wilderness preservation in California

• Plants, trees, or animals of the Sierra Nevada range

• The geology of the Sierra Nevada range

• Yosemite or Hetch Hetchy valley history

• Native American uses of plants in Western United States

• Weather or other meteorological events of the mountains of California

• A topic of your choice. See me with your ideas.


Your presentation must be at least 12 slides in length, have text, and be presented to the class. Be prepared to answer questions about what you present.

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John Muir’s
My First Summer in the Sierra
Lit and Comp III/IV
Assignment #1
Read: Introduction and Chapter 1
Mini-Project Due: Tuesday, November 13, 2007

On page x of the introduction to John Muir’s My First Summer in the Sierra, Galen Rowell states: “Muir’s amazing destiny can be directly traced to right intentions practiced during his lifetime.” By Tuesday, November 13th, reveal in a medium of your choice (words, art, music, video, audio, computer, or something else) your interpretation of what “right intentions” means in the context of one or more of the following: Muir’s life, your life, or this class.
Your three to five minute presentation of your mini-project (to the class) will include definition, meaning, importance, and at least one visual example of how you interpret the phrase. Choose any medium you wish, but be prepared to answer questions about what you present.

“The highest good is the optimally functioning ecosystem as a whole, not the immediate purposes of any one being in the ecosystem — man included.”

                            — Dolores LaChapelle
                                  in Earth Wisdom

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Silent Spring, Final Assignment & Grades:
Due Thursday, October  25, 2007

Final Silent Spring essay (Revision of essay on Chapters 12-17) is due on Thursday, October 25, 2007. Late papers will be given no credit. Please attach earlier drafts to the back the final paper. The paper will be graded Content over Mechanics. Each factor equally in the final grade.

Quarter grades are progress reports on work accomplished in the first nine weeks of the semester. Letter grades will be calculated as follows:

Final Silent Spring essay = 30%
Silent Spring chapter essays, quizzes & journals = 30%
Attendance &  Participation (A & P) = 40%

SONAR students will receive one of the following marks for Attendance and Participation: Plus (+); Zero (0); or Minus (—).
At the end of each quarter a summary is made of each mark and a percentage grade is calculated per the following example:

EXAMPLE: For 20 classroom periods a SONAR student received the following:
 
                                15:  + = 15
                                    4: 0 = 0
                                1: — = —1
                               _______
                            Total:            14 +

The final participation (40% of the final grade for the quarter) will be 14 divided by 20 = 70%

Definitions of marks:

Plus (+):  Present, pleasant, helpful, attentive, positive, and respectful.
Zero (0): Present but unresponsive; neither helps or hinders. Passive; along for the ride.
Minus (—): Cut class; negative field or classroom behavior; disrespectful; stands by while others work; hinders others from making progress; wastes time; does not return from break on time, or at all; leaves without permission; does not check back in at end of the period.

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SONAR

Reading # 5: Due Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Chapters 12—17.

As you complete the final chapters of Silent Spring, think about Carson’s ultimate goal in creating this document.  In a well-developed essay of approximately three pages, outline what you think she had in mind when she wrote the book. The following questions may be helpful to frame your answer:

Did she succeed in achieving her goals? At what point does environmental consciousness get raised by works such as this one? Does this happen at the point of introducing the idea? At a crisis point? Or later when it is too late to do anything about it? What is today’s most critical environmental issue? What is being done about it? How does Carson’s groundbreaking work help us become more aware to today’s issues? What are you doing to become more aware of problems that exist today?

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SONAR
Assignment #4:
Due Thursday, October 5, 2007

Reading # 4:

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Chapters 9—11.

In a page or less for each question, respond to the following questions or ideas:

Chapter 9: Describe in as much detail what you know about the spawning habits of coho and steelhead. What do you expect to learn about these fish in the next few months? Why is SONAR studying these fish on the Little North Fork of Big River

Chapter 10: Follow the path of an aerial application of a pesticide or herbicide up the food chain to the top.

Chapter 11: Develop an argument for the complete eradication of an invading species of plant or animal. Addresses the conditions, the need, the process, and the implications of the prescriptive attempt to rid the land, ocean, or air of “the pest.”

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Lit and Comp 3/4
SONAR
Assignment #3:
Due Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Reading # 3:

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Chapters 6—8.

In a page or less for each question, respond to the following questions or ideas:

Chapter 6: What is your connection to trees? What do they do for you and what do you do for them? Describe in as much detail as possible your favorite tree.

Chapter 7: Respond to the question that concludes this chapter.

Chapter 8: What shifts in agricultural practices that we are currently using to produce our food worldwide do you recommend. How would your proposal help plants, animals, fish, humans, and the planet survive better?


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Lit and Comp 3/4
SONAR
Assignment #2:
Due Monday, September 17, 2007

Reading # 2:

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Chapters 3 — 5.

In a page or less for each question, respond to the following questions or ideas:

Chapter 3: Use the information in Chapter 3 and the ingredients in a common junk food of your choice as a basis for a one page essay on toxic food substances.

Chapter 4: Trace the path of your drinking water from its source to consumption to reclamation. Use as much detail in your description that one page will allow.

Chapter 5: Discuss the “ecology of soil” and how it pertains to you and what you need as a primary consumer.

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Assignment #1:
Due Thursday September 6, 2007

Reading # 1: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Read the Introduction and Chapters 1 & 2.

Answer these questions in writing:

1.) What underlying assumptions are made in the introduction by Al Gore (or Linda Lear)?

2.) What stated facts are presented in the Introduction?

3.) How would you verify those facts?

4.) What is the tone of the first two chapters?

5.) Express your feeling regarding the message(s) Mr. Gore, Ms Lear, and/or Ms. Carson delivers? How are they similar? How are they different?

Please word process your responses and keep them under three pages in length.

Discussion the following Tuesday. Please be ready to explain your responses.

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SONAR Course Description Literature and Composition III/IV: Topics in Ecoliteracy Course Description:
 
 
Students enrolled in this course will use a variety of reading and writing exercises to enhance and expand awareness of the subject of natural resource management and related environmental issues. The readings will provide information and background about the environmental movement and help students gain insight into the current global, regional, and local environmental issues that pertain to life in the 21st Century. Students are expected to read one complete work each quarter, connect the reading to the projects they develop in the Environmental Science integrated course, and complete a research project related to the topic(s) covered in the semester readings on their own.
The Reading List for Lit/Comp III: Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn; Silent Spring, by Rachael Carson; Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard; My First Summer in the Sierra, by John Muir. The Reading List for Lit/Comp IV: The Story of B, by Daniel Quinn; A Natural History of Nature Writing, by Frank Stewart; In the Service of the Wild, by Stephanie Mills; Let the Mountains Talk; Let the Rivers Run, by David Bower. Honors: Students who enroll in the Honors section of the course will read one additional work during each semester. One additional research paper on the work covered will be written and read orally to the class. The student is responsible for leading a whole class discussion regarding the issue(s) presented in the scholarly paper. Overriding Question: The fundamental question to be answered in reading, discussion, and research during the course will be: "How can an awareness of environmental ethics make Earth a better place for all inhabitants?"
Students should be prepared to advance a theory on how to answer this question based on reading, writing, discussion, research and projects completed during the year, and then present information to agencies and the public on the results of their study. Research Projects: Students will undertake an in-depth study of an environmental issue(s) of interest to them. Historical data, interviews, Internet research, and literary interpretation must be included in the final product. A multi-media presentation at the end of the year will culminate the process. The project coincides with the Environmental Science Research Project. Emphasis will be given to completeness, accuracy, and delivery of the final project Requirements: Attendance is required each day. Grades are affected by attendance. Reading materials, along with pens and a spiral notebook should be brought to class each day. Grades: Grades are posted twice in a semester. Quarter grades are used to indicate progress half way through the semester. Students can opt to take a Pass/No Pass grade at the quarter but not at the semester. Semester grades are entered into a student's permanent record. These grades are based upon the student's progress for the entire semester. Attendance, grades from work completed on time, make-up work, extra credit, test scores, and citizenship will be factored into the semester grade. Work not completed within two weeks after the semester ends will be graded as no credit or fail.
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