Happy Halloween!

Miles and Artie James wish you a safe and Happy Halloween!

Autobiography Responses to Qingdao: Read Directions Here!

This week  you will be receiving autobiographies from Qingdao University's English reading and writing students.  They carefully combed over your autobiographies and signed up to correspond with the student of their choice.   Each of your autobiographies served as a model for each of the Qingdao students to compose their own and to trade with you.

This task for them is daunting when you think of the difficulties in translating English to Mandarin.  Even more daunting might be understanding a culture vastly different from theirs.  So these students had to first translate your words, understand what you are describing in your daily lives and hopes for the future, and form an impression based on their understandings.  They will be corresponding with you via email to share their questions and connections and impressions with you.  This will be a further challenge as they translate their thoughts into English words.

It should be obvious to you how hard they must work to do this and how much they care about how their autobiographies are received.

Class time Thursday will be devoted to reading through the autobiographies from China and finding topics of interest, connections you make, and questions you have.   You will be composing an email "conferencing" letter to your student.  Today you may begin composing your thoughts, drafting your email, and showing it to Ms. Reaves and/or myself.   When you are ready to send your email (after carefully proofing and conferencing and printing out your draft)  you must be sure to copy me in your email so that you receive full credit.  Please include:

• things that surprise you or that you are curious about
• questions that you have and things you would like to know more about
• connection that you can make with the writer
• a thank you for their time and consideration
• any other information you would like for them to know about you or about us...
• PLEASE copy me in your email to my gmail address:  katie.ann.james@gmail.com

Your lives are quite different.  I'm sure you will have questions.  Please be sensitive to philosophical and religious differences.  It's perfectly alright to ask tactful questions, but this is not a forum in which to "witness" your beliefs.  Also, though your lives are different, this doesn't mean you should feel sorry for them.  They don't feel sorry for you.

Even if the autobiography you receive is short, your response must be a minimum of three paragraphs long.  More is better. Let's say, for example, you are assigned a paper that is only one paragraph with several pictures and no explanation.  That's your opportunity to read carefully and respond to the information provided, ALL of it.  If they mention family, ask questions about them.  If they say they live far away, ask about living conditions, travel to school (how), what the parents do for a living, and so forth.  As to their pictures, why did they choose the pictures they did?  I saw, for example, the same picture of a girl on two different papers, with the caption, "Beer City."  Who is the girl?  Why is the label "Beer City"?

You must be thinking questions, millions of them, as you peruse these papers.  Ask those questions politely.  Don't criticize; simply ask.  How about offering some related information about yourself?  What's the drinking age for beer in Springfield, for example?  Taking time, giving careful thought, and making this a meaningful exchange is the goal.  If your goal is to receive an "A" for the project, then give this the time and care it deserves.  How disappointing for a Chinese student to look forward to your response and only receive a slopped out, short, hurried response.  How disappointing for the American student who earns an "F"!  Let's make them happy...and YOU, too!

I am humbled by how kind and supportive these Chinese students seem to be as I sift through the voices emerging from their autobiographies.  They genuinely care about how you see them and also how you feel about their English skills.  You will have a chance to read through their autobiographies with your writing group and to discuss what you think with your group.

 Next Wednesday we will be traveling together to the Parkview library where we will have a chance to do a bit of research on topics you find in these autobiographies.  We won't be writing a "research paper" per se; rather, we will be gathering support for a blog post about the stories you read and the areas of interest you find.  Your assigned student can be your primary source to cite.  You will be blogging (and including citations) about your Chinese topic of interest.

You are looking forward to a nice four day weekend in which you can ponder your topic of research and be ready to hit the PHS library!    

Perspectives of Our World... Read and Respond!

How we view the world plays a paramount role in how we respond to our reading and to each other.  Here is a link to a Harvard University implicit bias test. I think you will find it enlightening!  Take time to test yourself and to ask yourself if the results are accurate.  Knowing how biases play a part in our own perceptions may be a key in understanding ourselves and our culture.  You do not have to post your results; however, I want you to notice any surprises.

Today we will also view and read the Face to Face project, a site dedicated to sharing stories of what it means to be an American in times of fear and confusion. 

• Please read and post your thoughts on the stories, supporting your reactions with specific details from the screen or text or your own observations.  You should be able to view or read all of the narratives, and respond with your own reaction to at least two or three of those that stood out the most to you. 
• 
  
•  Another interesting lesson taught by a third grade teacher Jane Elliott following the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. can be viewed at this website.  Her lesson, A Class Divided, may be every bit as effective today.
  
  You have a lot to watch and read today, but if there's time left, you can enjoy some silent reading time and time to read the other bloggers' posts.  Enjoy!
  
  I  notice many of you are posting on your own as you read.  Good for you!
  
   

Class Trip to MSU and Upcoming Due Dates!

On Monday, November 17th, our sixth block class will be traveling to MSU to use the research resources at the Meyer Library, tour the campus, and enjoy lunch...at MSU!  One of our upcoming projects will entail finding sources of support for research we'll be conducting (more information to follow), and the MSU librarians will be available that day to share their expertise and ideas.

Those of you who are dual enrolled will want to bring the paperwork that came by mail from MSU.
During our tour, Suzi Jordan, coordinator of English dual enrollment, will take MSU students to the union to have their id's made.  MSU dual enrolled students will also be able to log into the MSU system by using your identification numbers sent in the mail.

   One of the great perks of this trip, in addition to
getting MSU's help with research, is free lunch in one of the dining spots on campus.  We'll be boarding a bus from Parkview at 9:00 and returning to Parkview at 1:00.  You'll be missing part of your second block class and your third block class, but you'll return for your eighth.  If you attend the trip (and I hope you do), you will not be counted absent, but you'll still be responsible for the work you'll miss.

Make sure you bring back a signed permission slip next week so that I can reserve the correct number of lunch passes!

Meantime, we'll be reading letters of response to your autobiographies next week.  Please bring your autobiography folders to class with you.  You'll be looking them over one more time for possible revision and for your own clarification for any questions you may be asked in your letters.

Keep reading our class blog!  Seems like this is a step some of us skip.  If you are reading this, write down the name of our MSU coordinator (mentioned above) on a whole piece of notebook paper and put it in the "make up work" basket before class.

Bonus for the last week of October:  no writer's notebook, and no independent reading response due!
Instead, if you'd like an additional grade entered into your personal scores, you may hand in an extra writer's notebook or an additional book response and we will enter it in as an additional
score.  This isn't "extra credit" per se; it will be a chance to earn a 50 out of 50 or 40 out of 40 if you'd like a little extra "insurance" on your total grade.

Upcoming Fridays:  October 31st - Halloween - free
                                 November 7th - 5th writer's notebook
                                 November 14th - 5th reading response
                                 (topic to be posted)
                                 November 21st - 6th writer's notebook
                                 November 28th - Thanksgiving - free

Senior Shadow Day...and Junior Community Service Day...

The Parkview High School counseling department has been working hard to provide opportunities for Vikings to focus on the future.  That's why November 13th is dedicated to "Senior Job Shadow Day." This will give seniors a day out of school and on the job to observe firsthand how the skills learned in school relate to the workplace by job shadowing a local business of their choice.

Here are the expectations for all seniors:
       
          1.  Make arrangements to shadow your choice business at their location from 8 to 3 on                              November 13th.
          2.  Return the completed permission slip to me, your English teacher, no later than Thursday,
               November 6th.
          3.  Make sure you have transportation to your job shadowing site.
          4.  Be in attendance at your job shadowing site the whole school day, 8 to 3.
          5.  Complete and return the interview assignment on Monday, November 17th.  You will                          receive credit for the completed assignment.  We will blog about the activity.

If you don't participate in the job shadow activity, you must attend school and participate in a written career research assignment.

Juniors will be getting more information about service activities they can participate in on that day. As I understand it, choices might include activities like neighborhood clean up, volunteer work at a local grade school, and so forth.  More information coming from the counseling department.

.................................................BIG NEWS FOR ALL OF US!..............................................................

Sixth block classes are taking a field trip to MSU's campus and to access resources at the Meyer Library AND to eat lunch, provided by MSU!  Be sure to turn in a signed permission slip!

Friday's Book Response Option: Article Review or Book Response #4

For those of you looking for another option for Friday book responses, read both of the two articles linked in this post and respond to each. You will use the comment box for the Dave Barry piece and The New York Times article (last link) to post your reading response. Just like a book response, you will include all the same components:  short summary, your analysis with a significant passage quoted to support your opinion (don't forget to lead into the quote and to also interpret it afterward), a photograph or illustration with explanation, and careful attention to conventions (spelling, grammar, and so forth).


The first link addresses the spread of contagious diseases (like senioritis), which threatens the health of our classroom!  So it's time to lighten up, laugh at ourselves, and get the most out of the time left in the semester.   That said, this article is dedicated to all of you, juniors and seniors.  Read, enjoy, and use the comment box below to comment with your own reactions - humorous, serious, or otherwise.  As you think about your future plans, what connections can you make with Dave Barry, your own angst, your own challenges?

The second link takes us to an article about how much cheating goes on in school.  Does everyone have the same definition of what constitutes cheating?  Is it OK to look over at someone else's paper during a test, or copy someone's homework, or turn in something you've written for one class to a different class? A problem teachers and students face today is the availability of papers and information on the internet and the ease with which someone can "borrow" material.

The New York Times offers an interesting article about plagiarism.   Please create a post in response to the article.  You can comment and post about both links for full credit anytime this week up through Friday, October 24th.  Read and comment as others begin to post.  Issues of honesty touch us all and affect the morale, atmosphere, and collegiality of the class.  I know they say that cheaters are only cheating themselves, but I've seen it discourage hard working students as well when cheating goes unchecked.  What do you think?

Get Started on Your Future: Writing Personal Statements

The next couple of weeks of class are going to be spent in search of your future!  By that I mean we will research colleges or trade schools and the statements that many require, scholarship applications, and any other writing that will help you in your quest.  To start, we will review together a list of traditional topics for college essays or personal statements.  We will also read sample essays in hopes of generating some ideas.
So have fun!  You get to earn credit for taking care of your business!

A note of due dates:  a rough draft of your statement is due Monday.  We will conference (one conference) in class on Monday.  Final drafts are due on Wednesday!

An additional thought:  If your prospective college or university does not require a personal statement, or if you have already written a statement and sent it in, you can still make this assignment useful for yourself.  Look through the scholarships listed on the counseling website or listed on your college and university and write the scholarship essay for this assignment.   Otherwise, choose a sample topic from above.  It's good practice, and who knows?  You may well be able to use it in the future.

REMINDER:  Please fill out the survey on China if you have not.  The link is provided on the post below!

Prior to Setting Sail... What Do You Know?

Before we exchange autobiographies and participate in a "writing conference" (of sorts) with students from Qingdao University, please take this brief hyperlinked survey, indicating what you already may know or don't know about the students we will hear from.

This is a picture of the Qingdao Sailing Center and International Marina, where the Sailing Olympics took place in 2008.
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Reading Renders Better Readers....and Writers!

I Write Like...

Since we've been thinking about how what we read inspires or influences what we write, I thought it might be fun for you to check out a website I've seen that analyzes a bit of your own writing and tells you what published author your writing is similar to. I tried it with one of my blog posts and evidently I write like Edgar Allan Poe!. Interesting. Go to I Write Like and try it yourself. Leave a comment on this post telling us your results and what you think of the results.  Have you read any of the author's work? What are some of the titles?   If you are unfamiliar with your author, research who this person is and some of the titles he or she has written.  See what you think!  Share your findings with us!  

And Now a Word From Our Sponsor...

At this point in the quarter, I worry about a few of you who may be overwhelmed with late work and at a loss for where to begin.  This post is for you! (Everyone else should read this, too!)

Didn't write the autobiographical piece?  It's really very simple. Give your readers a glimpse of who you are, your family, friends, hobbies, talents, or describe what your day is like, what your dreams are, or what you'd like to do in the future.  Break the text into three parts, any three parts you would like to write, making each somewhere around 500 words, adding up to around four to five pages.  You may have a bit more, depending on how many pictures or illustrations you have, and some sections may be longer than the others.  Add some clever titles or subtitles to make it easier for your readers to follow.

When you come to class on Thursday, you will receive instructions on how to format and email the paper to me (bjames@spsmail.org).  That is all you will hand in at this point.  Keep your folder with the first drafts and conference notes.  Your papers will be sent to a college English class in China for final conferencing by way of email.  When your responses are mailed back to us, we will return to the folders for a final perusal before you turn it in.

This I Believe still not completed?  You also have a link to the NPR website with sample essays to read so that you can glean some ideas and tailor yours after the samples. This site provides more information.

Reading posts are impossible to create if you don't read.  What can I say?  Good writers read.  If you aren't reading independently, grab a book and start.  Your third blog reading response is due on Friday, October the 10th, the last day of the quarter. You will have completed three writer's notebook installments and three blog reading 

responses.

Every Friday something is due!  It will be either a reading response or a 5 type written, double spaced pages to add to your writer's notebook.  (Handwriting is fine as long as you keep length in mind...)

The next project is an analysis of the film Crash, which we will watch the first week of second quarter.  This academy award winning movie provides a powerful illustration of cultural perspectives.  You'll need to get a letter of permission signed since the movie contains some "colorful" language and violence.  It will give us all something to think about, write about, and a chance to utilize resources and provide attribution

Don't slack off!  Keep writing, reading, blogging, and expanding your talents and thinking!  And here's a bonus:  Jot down two book titles written by author Antony John for extra points.  He is coming to visit Parkview students, but he won't be here on a day we meet, so I can't bring our class to the library to hear him.  He'll be speaking about his writing, and he'll actually facilitate a writing workshop.

I hope Antony John can inspire students who are struggling with their writer's notebooks, which is simply an opportunity to practice writing without worrying about a scoring guide.  It's an opportunity to be rewarded for practice only, to flesh out ideas, to play with style...  I'll take notes and share what Mr. John says.