Back to the Future - Sixties Research Project - Cause and Effect Support - Use Jay's Double-Sided Journal

Let's call this an INTERACTIVE approach to writing. 

Our goal is  to avoid making our paper an "information dump."

This means you want to go beyond the act of simply recording and collecting information.

You want to do something with it.  Put yourself into your work.

Jay’s Double-Sided  Journal Writing

Here is what you do:

1. Find an interesting CAUSE and EFFECT article
2. Summarize it (like we learned in class)
3. Journalize it ( like I have done mine below)
4. Combine your boxes – left to right, left to right, left to right
5. Write your complete paragraph below.

Like This:

* What’s the topic?

Out of Control Parents at youth sporting events.

* What’s the Thesis?

Helterbrand suggests that parental behavior may eventually destroy important opportunities for children to play organized sports.

* What are the main points?

a. When watching their kids play games, many parents take things too seriously.

b. They become too emotional; they take the fun out of the game.

c. If they don’t stop, they just may ruin it for everyone.

* What is a great example:

Helterbrand volunteers his time as a youth league referee. He mentioned that his life has been threatened by parents angry with his calls.

Here is my paragraph:

The article “Let Kids Have Fun” describes the problem of out-of-control parents at youth sporting events.  Author Gabe Helterbrand suggests that parental behavior may eventually destroy important opportunities for children to play organized sports. When watching their kids play games, many parents take things too seriously. They become too emotional; they take the fun out of the game.  If they don’t stop, they just may ruin it for everyone.  It’s true. Sometimes I can’t believe what I see in the stands.  Everything a parent tells his kid not to do, he/she is doing, right in front of everybody. It’s like they can’t control themselves.   Helterbrand believes that if the parents keep abusing referees, no one will want to volunteer their time officiate youth games.   How are the kids going to play without referees. The kids may lose interest in playing. I suppose when too much emphasis is put on winning, everybody loses. I mean, I can imagine how kids would dread going to their own games if they know their loud-mouth parents are going to be there.  It would be better to stay at home and play video games in your room with the door shut.   Helterbrand closes with probably the most important statistic of all youth sports: “The number-one reason kids play is to have fun…”  The title says it all.  Come on parents.  Stop trying to live your lives through your own kids.  Let Kids Have Fun.

 This is going to be great.  You will see.

* Don't forget to insert an image at the top of your post

* Don't forget to read and replay to two of your classmates.

Paz,

JL