I WILL ACCEPT THEM EVEN IF THEY ARE LATE UP TO AUGUST 28TH!!!!!

My Message Board has been created in order to create an online discussion between students and teachers on given readings and topics in the study of U.S. History.

Participants should review the following traits of good discussions to be used during our online discussions.  This chart will not only give suggestions but inform participants on the grading system.

Positive Discussion Behaviors	Negative Discussion Behaviors
Giving your opinion 2 pts	Repeating -2 p
Making inferences 4 pts.	Introducing unrelated topic -2 pts.
Giving examples 3 pts.	Personal Attack -5 pts
Referring to/Quoting the text 4 pts.	Never speaking 0 pts.
Making Connections 3 pts.
Recognizing contradictions 2 pts.
Asking thoughtful questions 3 pts.
Building on other’s ideas 3 pts.
Affirming other’s viewpoints 3 pts
Asking clarifying questions 3 pts.
Combining information (To come up w/ a new idea) 3 pts.
Good discussion questions . . . *do not have obvious or "right" answers. *go beyond the text and make participants in the discussion connect to the text, predict what will happen next, and/or evaluate characters and events. *are general, not specific. Questions with specific answers do not create discussion.