Multi-Genre Projects - One More Idea Before We Begin!

What's the purpose in the last few blog assignments?  I hope you find topic ideas for your research project.  Up to this point, we have looked at videos and articles about service projects that give back to the community (Do Something that Matters) , be it global, national, or local.  We have perused the United Nations goals, looking for an area you may feel passionate about.  Our last post focused on sample projects from two college classrooms. Those projects focused on literature and connections to the world.  They also focused on action research, and they even included more straight-forward themes (alcoholism, eating disorders, and more). Some were no doubt more powerful than others, some more professional than others, but the purpose in this was to help you find a topic or area you'd like to research. 

Even if you think you already know what you'd like to research, you are still asked to keep an open mind on this journey.  What I ask you is challenging.  You are finding your own research topic, and you are designing your own project (while fulfilling the general requirements stated in the project outline).  Don't bore yourself with what you already know.  Don't fall back on the familiar because it feels safe.  This is a quest for the unknown, the fascinating, the riveting!  

You will be using some of our class time to find and read sources, so you will need to plan on using class time for this project.  That means you need to bring your articles and books and notes with you to class. The great news is that you will earn participation points for staying quietly on task during our class.  If the laptops deter you from getting your work done during class, plan on researching the old fashioned way:  paper, pencil, printed out articles, magazines or books. 

Today in class we will peruse one more category of research:  family history.  We will view Faces of America together as a class, and we will discuss ways this could become your research project.  This is linked on our home page. 

Just so you know, your research will spring from both primary and secondary sources!
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 Multi-Genre Research Proposal – due beginning of class on 2/2

For your Multi-genre research,  you will submit a proposal  blog post comprised of one descriptive paragraph.

A Descriptive Paragraph

In the paragraph briefly tell:

• Which type of project you are doing: Family, Neighborhood or Community, Career Interest, Cultural Interest.  What is your topic?

• The names and relationship to you of two or more people you can interview and the proposed dates when you will interview them over the next two weeks. Be sure that these dates fit with your work schedule.

• Describe what you already know about your topic.
*Tell what you want to learn about.

• Describe your plan for collecting information about your topic.  Include sources you already have and places you will look.

• Tell why you find this topic personally meaningful.

Tuesday's Class Work: Peruse Multi-Genre Projects

Our next creative project looms, and I hope you are thinking about an area of interest to research.  Choose a topic you really care about.  Be thinking about something that relates to your life, your family, your future, or the direction your life will take you.  I'll have some examples to share with you, but in the meantime you can be exploring your own ideas.

The cool thing about a multi-genre project is that it allows you to present your findings in many different ways, ways that may reflect a better understanding of your topic.  You may include a variety of texts, visual and print.  You may use music, art, video as well. 

Here is a link to an introduction to the Multi-Genre project created by a teacher at Colorado State University.  The opening quote justifies its importance:

"A multigenre paper arises from research, experience, and imagination. It is not an uninterrupted, expository monolog nor a seamless narrative nor a collection of poems. A multigenre paper is composed of many genres and subgenres, each piece self-contained, making a point of its own, yet connected by theme or topic and sometimes by language, images, and content. In addition to many genres, a multigenre paper may also contain many voices, not just the author's. The trick is to make such a paper hang together."

~~ (Romano, Blending Genre, Altering Style i-xi)

 Stay tuned.  We'll be sharing ideas first.  You'll have an opportunity to write proposals for this next adventure.http://writing.colostate.edu/gallery/multigenre/introduction.htm

Today's class should be devoted to pouring through the projects.  Go to the link listed on our home page for multi-genre projects and click on Tom Romano's menu where it lists "Multi-Genre papers."  There you will find even more project ideas.  Just so the rest of us can know, please create your own reflection post by telling us what you found interesting, why, and how that might lead you to your own project. What do you want to research?

Kids Who Give Back - For Class on January 23rd

 I recently watched a fascinating edition of 60 Minutes ( a rerun)  which focused on Amazing Kids.  It was interesting and humbling to see how a 15 year-old boy developed a test for pancreatic cancer, although the jury is still out on its effectiveness. It also included another child who developed a philanthropic organization, a chess champion, and many others. Here's a link to the episode.  It's uplifting and serves as a reminder of the goodness of the human spirit. You do not have to blog about this part of today's post, but I believe you'll find the videos interesting and thought provoking!

We will be starting our next writing project soon, and I hope you will find a topic to consider for our next project.  You may find a passion in the United Nations Millennium Goals.  Read through them and consider where your passions are.  What do you see as the most urgent issues here at home?  What does ethical citizenship mean?    Be thinking about your passions and ready to decide what you would like research and learn more about (oops...ended in a preposition...).

Write a blog post today (or due before next class) about one of the millennium goals (choose one, any one) and explain or argue how this particular goal could also apply to our own neighborhoods or city.  Summarize the problem and suggested solutions.  Tell why you are interested (beyond the fact that I've asked you to read more deeply about one of the goals).  I wonder how this goal would be thought of by your Chinese correspondent.  You don't have to, but it would be interesting to ask about the issue you are interested in... (For example, how do they address the issue of hunger, or childhood diseases, etc...).  This post does not have to follow the traditional 40 point reading response, but should reflect reasonable thinking about the topic you choose.  You don't have to include a picture, but you can.  You may simply summarize in your own words or quote something interesting to analyze.  You are simply sharing what you find of interest and why!  20 points

Reading Response Redo: A One-Time Opportunity!

Here's the rule:  no late work!  For those of you off to a bad start with deadlines this semester, here is your once-in-a-class opportunity.  Read one of the following three articles, and respond in a blog post.  We will use the same reading response score sheet, so be sure you offer us a good summary of your article, an analysis of a quoted passage or passages, an explanation of your quotations, a connection to the rules, and an image.  Be careful!  Proofread!

Your choices are:  "A Word, Please:  Better grammar means better jobs" 
                              "A Word, Please: Grammar cop makes a copular mistake" or
                              "A Word, Please: Why punctuation, grammar are important."

Good luck!  These are due before class on Wednesday, January 21st!  (No school on Monday!)

Start Something That Matters: Reading Response #2

Below you will find links for your second reading response.  As spelled out in our "Welcome 2015" post, reading responses are due at the beginning of the following class period unless otherwise noted. This means your second response is due this coming Friday before class!  I think you'll find this fun, though.  The projects are interesting, and the idea is to find YOUR own passion.

You may have already heard of the entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie, author of Start Something that Matters. This book is a compelling autobiographical account of Mycoskie's life and what led him to find his passion, the creation of TOMS.  His advice provides us direction and a place to go following our autobiographies:

            Almost everyone has a passion for something, but sometimes we have trouble saying
         what it is.  It's surprisingly easy to lose touch with our true passions--sometimes because
         we get distracted with everyday living; sometimes simply because in the usual stream of
         talk or transactable business, no one ever asks us about our dreams.  That's why it's so
         important that you first find a way to articulate your passion  to yourself.  When you

         discover what your passion is, you will have found your story as well.

         If you're not sure about your passion, here are three questions I sometimes ask people:

• If you did not have to worry about money, what would you do with your time?
• What kind of work would you want to do?
• What cause would you serve? (36).

1.  Visit Mycoskie's website and read/listen to stories of winners of the Do Good fund.

2.   Please post and analyze your favorite stories and provide us a link.  Tell
      why each winner is unique and clever. (Minimum 3.  Sky's the limit!)
3.   How are you connected or interested in the winners you choose to discuss?  (Not simply they               were the next on the list...How did this story catch your attention?)

4.  Think about Mycoskie's questions about your passions and include your answers in your
post.  You will be asked to pursue this in your next project.  Time to start thinking about yourself!

Feel lost?  You are not alone!  Time to start mapping your journey!.

Greetings from Ms. Reaves!

Hello 6th block. I'm writing you from my apartment, having just sat down after spending a long and tireless day at Spokane High School. If you can't tell, they haven't grown on me as much as you have. ;)

So, about your letters. Yes, they've been written, but I've been a bit busy since I left. You'll be getting them back this week (fingers crossed!!), if you want them, and if not, well then at least I was able to practice my typing skills.

I miss you all. The past month have been incredibly strange for me for multiple reasons, graduation and a new job being two, but the third is that I miss Parkview. It was my home for (nearly) four months and to think of my life outside of the four walls of this classroom is difficult. I hope that you know that it's not difficult because of the school or the room itself, but because of you. In your very own ways, you have given me an experience I will never forget. Helping you in Grammar and Comp. has been the greatest honor and I hope that you all respect yourselves enough to know that you are capable of great things. I have seen it in this classroom, and I know that you will continue to do so with Ms. James

Over the past few months, I have come to know Ms. James very well. To be frank, I love her and so should you. She often says that she and I are kindred spirits and I couldn't agree more. My placement at Parkview was entirely serendipitous (look it up!). Out of all the English classrooms in Springfield, I was given to her. Though I did not teach entirely in your class due to the nature of a dual-credit course, I hope that each and every one of you has learned something about yourself this semester. We've built ourselves a little community and it would be a shame to waste it. :)

Notice Doug and Kenneth...I'm not sure this picture could have
been taken any other way.

There are too many stories to tell about the time I have spent with you this semester, but suffice it to say that I will remember them all. Nearly everyone was in class when we took our class photo (left), which makes me happy. However, one good photo doesn't mean that we won't take another. I plan on returning to check in on you, so be sure that you keep yourselves looking fabulous! Picture-taking is a valuable skill, as represented in the fabricated term "selfie." We are a class that values technology, are we not?

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas break. If you have not written me a letter and still wish to do so, Ms. James knows where to find me. I will write one back to you, as I did with other students.

For those of you who did write, thank you. Your letters brought me to tears and made me seriously contemplate staying forever without pay. I will cherish them always.

And for now, goodbye. Or, let's settle on see you soon. Goodbye is too final a word. :)

Grammar Bytes and Reading Response #1

I hope you are enjoying the grammar review to start out our semester.  The website we are using -Grammar Bytes- is completely free because of their mission to "Educate Everyone"!  Friday you will create a CourseSites account by following this link.  Here you will type in a bit of information.  Don't worry; it's free!  After setting up your account, you can click on "content" to find the quizzes which correspond to our study this week.

Today we jump back into the routine of reading responses.    For the rest of the quarter we will be reading a series of interesting essays and articles for your future blog posts.  Although I hope you continue to read books on your own, your future reading response blog posts will relate to the required articles posted.

 Please read the article carefully, and respond by creating a response post similar to those you have posted all year.  

• Title your post "Article 1 Response."  You may add to this title if you wish.  (Two line title or colon...)

• Make note of how you read the article and write about it.  What connections can you make with the text?  (What grammar challenges do you have, and what have you already mastered?)  Did you find yourself stopping...struggling for clarification? 

• Summarize what you think the main points of the article are and  include your opinion or reaction. 

• Include at least one or more quotes or passages from the article that you'd like to discuss.  You will be interpreting the passage or quote and including your reaction.  Tell why it was important and make connections and discuss further implications, inferences, and predictions.
• Post a picture that illustrates your reaction or connections you make. 
•  Before you hit "publish," be sure you check for punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar!  We have a responsibility to our reading audience!  *If you want to go to the extra effort, hyperlink us to additional related information you find and explain what it means and how it relates.

Here is today's article about grammar, and it provides an interesting look at grammar rules and how they might apply to your own usage.  Read the article and respond in your own post, including your opinions.  Your response post will be due before our next class on Wednesday!

Finding Freedom!

Today's free writing topic, if you so choose, is about artist Sue Austin.  As a TED talks speaker, Sue Austin describes her journey to freedom, all while being confined to a wheelchair.  It's an amazing story of creativity and finding new perspective in the world.  As writers, we might think about what confines us, what our limitations are, and how we can make use of what we have.

We are continuing with Grammar Bytes, but today our assignment is to complete the first four activities in Exercise 2:  Fragments.

At the beginning of class Thursday, all of Exercise 1 is due.  We'll review answers and move on to fragments.  The first four activities or handouts for Exercise 2 are due at the beginning of class on Monday.  There's a quiz on Monday!  These first two exercises should give you the review you need to make an "A."

Welcome 2015!

As I often do, I am wondering where my holiday went.  One thing I did accomplish, however, was using many of the suggestions you wrote in your end of the semester letters.  I'd like to share a few things I learned from your letters.

First, a number of you expressed a desire to review rules of punctuation and grammar.  You will notice there are new links on the right of our home page, and these will take us to a web site called Grammar Bytes.  There you will find interactive exercises which will review many of the writing challenges we all face.  We will start with punctuating a sentence, and though that seems a simple place to begin, it is indeed an area of concern:  sentence fragments and run-on or fused sentences.

The exercises games are fun, and you'll get credit for completing them by recording your scores on hand-outs to go with each.  Our class will complete an exercise link each period, and then we'll quiz over the material.  This means that our first day back, which is January 6th, we will begin with the five activities in exercise 1.  On Thursday we'll complete exercise 2, handouts 1-3, and on the following Monday there will be a quiz.  We will continue with grammar during the following weeks, but this will get us started.

Next,  I'd like to address the area of late work.  In many of the end-of -the-semester letters, students voiced a concern about distractions from students who come in unprepared, or distract us with off-task behavior, or don't participate.  There will be no more credit assigned for late work.  Period.  Unless you have an excused absence due to illness, there is no late work.  If you have a school related activity and have to miss class, hand in your paper ahead of time!

I thought it went without saying, but I'll say it again:  plagiarism will result in a score of a zero, and the work cannot be made up. 

On a lighter note, we will free write at the beginning of each class, which will give you a great jump start on your writer's notebook, which should be a college rule spiral or composition notebook.  Your first installment will be due on Friday, January 23rd.  Who knows?  If you really buckle down during class, you probably won't have as much to do outside of class toward your notebook!

Reading responses will come in the form of articles posted to our blog, which you can read and respond to.  They may not necessarily be due on Fridays.  We will read and post as we go.  The dates for responding will be the beginning of the next class unless otherwise noted.  Several of you commented about the difficulty to balance the writing projects we did along with the writer's notebook and the reading responses.  This should help.  I'll post an article, and you'll have some time to read during class and post your response.  If and when you don't have time to finish, it becomes homework to complete before the next class.

So there it is, my response to your concerns!   Let's have an awesome 2015.  My word for the year is "tranquility," or at least that's my goal.  I will get there by working ahead, finding some quiet time for contemplation, and sharing a peaceful classroom setting with self-directed, motivated, and engaged students dedicated to success.  Happy 2015!

Oh, yes, want to start off with a few extra points?  Before class on Tuesday, turn in a piece of paper with your name and "Grammar Bytes" on it for a bonus!