Treasure Chest of Thoughts

Oh. My. Gosh.  My project for my curriculum internship is finished!  Completed.  Just now.  An experience that I would equate to working on my National Board Certification.  While extremely rewarding, also very stressful!

Time for Twilight.  Now, I finally have the time to finish the novel before going to see the move!

According to the reviews I am hearing from friends and people at the movie theater (I took my daughter and her friend to see Madagascar…a cute kid flick), the movie is not as good as the novel. 

What do you think?  Go ahead you can tell me, for by the time I read your comments, I will have finished the novel.  (That’s right!  Did I mention I am finished with my four-inch three-ring bound curriculum project?)

Book Dads:  Fathers That Read is doing what great fathers do…or at least what mine always did…they give unselfishly.

Please check out their site for an opportunity to win The Magician’s Book: A Skeptic’s Adventures in Narnia by Laura Miller.

My dad passed away fourteen years ago this past November 17.  The dad who always told me I was the best daughter he had (he had three!)…then he would add, “…named Tammy.”  Shhh…don’t tell my sisters…but I still like to think I was the best!

Thanks to Book Dads for this opportunity to remember my dad and for hosting this contest!

Can’t let this week go by without expressing my thoughts…my truest, deepest, most inner thoughts on being…not a teacher…but a student.

I am tired of being a student!

Within the last week, I have spent well over forty hours on this project!  Probably more like sixty…okay, so it feels like sixty!  (How big is this fish story going to get?!)

Next week, when I have been emancipated (yes, this four-inch three-ring bound project will be handed over to the professor on Monday afternoon!), I will reflect and write about how this has truly been a rewarding experience.

Right now, though?  I am tired.  Very tired of being a student.

As I am reading teacher blogs, I cannot help but be a little envious of those who are attending the National Council of Teachers of English National Convention this weekend. 

Writing myself a note here:  make plans to attend this convention.

I have been a member of this organization for several years.  Need to become more active!

I do wish they had these conventions in the summer.  Maybe, though, by attending in the school year, one goes back to school, renewed, and ready to incorporate the new ideas, the gentle reminders.

This year?  This year I will attend this convention through the blog postings.  Nice to be in the 21st Century when one cannot be in San Antonio!

This past week as we began to design and layout out the “hard copy” newspaper, I allowed the newspaper staff to determine how they, as a group of reporters, would capitalize the stories’ headlines.

Using our local newspaper as an example, we noted that the trend has been to not capitalize words unless it is the first word in the headline or unless the word is proper. 

They were all in agreement, though.  Surprised me.

The newspaper staff of The Spirit of the Pioneer agreed that their headlines should abide by the proper grammar rules for capitalization. 

Now that is enough to almost bring a tear to a true-blue, hard-core English teacher.  Yes, they made me so proud!

Thus, in our newspaper and as reiterated by Writers.Com, the following Associated Press capitalization rules will rule:

1. Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters.
2. Capitalize an article (”the”, “a” and “an”) or a word of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word of the title. (In other words, the first and last words of a title are always capitalized.)

Nice to work with rule-abiding students!

This week, my English 11 began the research process…with a cross-curricular connection:  this paper is both for our class and their US History class, as well as for possible entry into the National History Day competition.  Ah, the possibility of a trip to Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, DC!

The topic:  The Individual in History.  What person has had a significant impact on society, on history?

The assignment:  Gather four sources, create the bibliographical information, annotate the article, and determine whether each article is a primary or a secondary source. (This resource can be found at the above link.) Could be sources on four different individuals; could four sources on just one individual.  The student determines the variety as he/she finalizes the selection of the person who is to be the focus of the research paper….or documentary or exhibit or performance or website, for the student also chooses the format in which to present.

The reaction:  Everybody likes a good deal, right?  A two-for-one deal.  A grade for English, as well as for history class.  The light bulbs began to go off when I mentioned that!

I was really proud of their reactions.  For while I struggle with how to fit all aspects of the Language Arts curriculum within my allotted timeframe, I also realize that these are some very important skills that my students must learn to utilize:  to learn how to learn.

In a recent post, I discussed the Ladder of Questioning method.  Since then, I have presented a PowerPoint and short story “Marigolds” explaining this to my Pre-AP English 10 students.

Today during Writer’s Notebook time, each student developed sample questions for each level of questioning using John Keat’s poem “A Song About Myself” as a the source.

Now for the fun!  Within each lit circle group, I appointed a discussion director to whom I extended an invitation through Google Docs to share and collaborate on a graphic organizer these three levels of questions.

Not a single moan and groan!

The heavy is now on the discussion director (who had to obtain each club member’s gmail) to quickly invite the other clubbers so that the whole group can go to work.  The discussion director may either invite/share with me or email me this document when the group’s work is completed.

The assignment?  Each club member is to add two questions to each level…and, of course, no question may be repeated.  As soon as the student hits the “save” button, all the other club members will be able to view his/her question selections.  Instantaneous interaction!

Yes, we now have online lit circles…at the convenience of each club member, just as long as each student inputs his/her questions by Monday morning!

I really, really (yes, to be redundant!) like this tool!  Very much, I like this technology!

This past weekend, I spent several hours working on an internship that will conclude my journey to obtain my hours in curriculum leadership.  One of the requirements of this internship is to include “program artifacts” from all of my previous curriculum courses. 

What a trip…both down memory lane (all those hours spent working for that “A”) and also over the super highway of technology…oh, the growth a few years can make!  Okay, maybe I was not on the super highway several years ago, and I may not be there yet, but I have certainly taken a detour for the better!

These hours spent (and unfortunately the hours still to be spent) on this internship/portfolio has reawakened the desire to help my students create a portfolio, one that will reflect their own growth as writers and as users of technology.

Here is where I started this summer.  Here is where I still am.  For this to become a reality, I have to begin.

Dr. Helen Barrett, also a blogger, is the geru in this area.  So here’s wishing:  I would love to attend one of her workshops.  Imagine having the time to just sit and absorb.  That is what I call exciting:  even if that does equate to my being a nerd!

So what is the holdup?  Time.  Just not enough time in a class period to do all that I would love to achieve.  Maybe by the time I retire, I will have determined how to fit in everything.  Maybe?

Thanks to Mr. Kevin at  NCS-Tech for the tip that Bullying Awareness Week is Nov. 16-22. 

How timely!  My English 11 is right in the middle of The Bullying Mentality thematic unit.  Next week we begin The Crucible.

Next year, I would like for my students to create Podcasts/videos that we could show during Channel 1.  Just do not think I can pull this together in a week.  Maybe we could colloborate with our broadcasting class…brainstorming!

We can script announcements for the daily announcements.  We can study cyberbulling (a topic on which I want to discuss more).  We can wear blue one day to symbolize peace.

The beauty of creating units?  A unit is never complete.  New sources.  New contacts.  Evolving.  Learning.  Sharing.

Not bullying.

Diggin’ deeper?  Thinkin’ more critically?  Climbin’ the ladder?

Let’s dig, let’s think, let’s climb to a greater understanding of the texts we are about to read.

First, let’s give credit where credit is due.  The source for this concept is The AP Vertical Teams Guide for English.  For the past two summers, I have attended Pre-AP English training, first a two-day workshop and then a five-day workshop this past summer on the campus of ASU, at which this book served as our mentor text.

How will we utilize this within the classroom?  First,  we will develop questions for each step on the below three-rung ladder about a text that we will read together entitled “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier. 

Three-Rung Ladder of Questioning

1. Literal Level
   * Factual
   * Address key elements
   Answers found directly in text.
2. Interpretive Level
   * Inferential
   * Motive of author or a character
   * Answers found by following patterns and seeing relationships amongst parts of the text.
3. Experienced-Based Level
   * Connecting
   * Link text to prior knowledge, other texts, or experiences
   * Answers found by testing the ideas of a text against readers’ schema.

Next, we will analyze John Keats’ poem “A Song about Myself.”  You may also find a copy of this poem on our class wiki at Mrs G Info.  Using this poem as our mentor text, your lit circle group will meet online via Google Docs as you share collaboration on a form that I will email the discussion director within your group.

Why are we studying this poem?  Yes, to continue our study of our thematic unit Who Am I?

Then what?  As we read Julius Caesar, each of you will be required to develop questions for each level for each act of the play.  Why?  The development of these skills are not intended to just fill sheets of paper and “kill another tree.”  The reality is this:  these skills will greatly enhance your success in your AP courses, your score on your AP exams, which ultimately will result in your being a step-up on the college ladder of success!

This post may also be found at Writing Right, my Pre-AP English 10 class blog.