Please Write!

Aim: How do we write about ourselves?

Quick Write: Write three wishes. Then, write three goals.

Today, I am requesting you write me a letter. I promise to write back. To see the assignment and my letter to you, click here.

Please submit all letters to msbecker4@gmail.com. You will be graded this time merely on learning outcomes and effort.

Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

Wrapping it up

Aim: How do we evaluate our collective learning this semester?

Quick Write: What did you learn about yourself as a student this semester? What did you learn about yourself as a person?

What's due by Monday, June 16, 2014*

• Memoirs!
• Developed and completed mind maps.
• Independent reading projects
• Daily blog posts (Email me the links to the two posts you think are your best. The ideas and writing components of your grade will be based on the two you choose.)
• Returned books....................... -50 participation points if unreturned

Please complete the course evaluation. There are copies in the classroom and a link below. This will help me improve my teaching for my next crop of students.

I hope you learned at least half as much from me as I learned from all of you this semester.
I will miss you.

Carry on,

Ms. Becker

Click here for the course evaluation.

* If for some reason you need an extended deadline on something, please email me or speak to me privately.

Development

Aim: How do we develop our memoirs?     

Quick Write: Write a six-word memoir. Not four words. Not five words. Not seven words. SIX. Exactly. For example: "Fixed mindset is a bad habit."

Check out this Web site for other examples.


Bookmark the post on the final challenge because that should be your BIBLE until the end of this course.

Today we will think about how to develop our memoirs. There is an outline available in class.

Independent reading projects are due.  

What's Due

• Memoirs!
• Developed and completed mind maps
• Independent reading projects
• Completed lesson plan on assigned reading regardless of whether you taught the class or not. (Completed lesson plan template plus blog post of the lesson.)
• Art & Cultural Exhibition blog post
• Cartoons
• Argument essays (or critical lens for those taking the ELA Regents)
• Daily Blog Postings

*****Always check Engrade for your up-to-the-minute progress in this class.*****

Where to Begin?

Aim: How do we begin our memoirs?     

Quick Write: Write a six-word memoir. Not four words. Not five words. Not seven words. SIX. Exactly. For example: "Brain Science. Best. English. Class. Ever."
Check out this Web site for other examples.

First of all, bookmark the previous post on the final challenge
because that should be your B I B L E until the end of this course.

Today we will think about how to begin our memoirs. Introductions are usually both the first and last step for savvy writers. There is a worksheet available in class that identifies several different types of introductions. Check them out to help you determine what kind of "lead" you want to use. However, as a cautionary note, make sure you know where you are taking your memoir (your purpose or lesson) before you begin writing. As Lewis Carroll said, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there," and taking any road is the fastest way to get lost.

Independent reading projects are due.  

What's Due

• Memoirs!
• Developed and completed mind maps
• Independent reading projects
• Completed lesson plan on assigned reading regardless of whether you taught the class or not. (Completed lesson plan template plus blog post of the lesson.)
• Art & Cultural Exhibition blog post
• Cartoons
• Argument essays (or critical lens for those taking the ELA Regents)
• Daily Blog Postings

*****Always check Engrade for your up-to-the-minute progress in this class.*****

Final Challenge: Memoir through the Lens of Mindset

After reading The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, you should be well aware that a memoir is an account of a personal experience of the author. Unlike an autobiography, which is about an author’s entire life, a memoir is focused. It can be focused on a particular person, place, period, or event in the author’s life.

Your final challenge for this course is to create your own personal memoir through the psychological lens of mindset or habits.

Consider the enduring understandings of this course:

• Change is always possible as long as you believe you can change.
• It’s all about effort.

Choose your format:

• Narrative (with photos, infographics or illustrations) at least 750 words in length. (12 pt. font, double-spaced, Times New Roman.)
• Graphic memoir (novel) like Persepolis at least two (4 x 4-paneled) pages in length. 
• Podcast at least five minutes in length. 
• Video at least five minutes in length. 
• Other formats can be negotiated in private conference.

Guidelines:

• Tell your own personal story, relating it to what you have learned about mindset and or habit from the readings and Diving Bell. 
• Establish a compelling theme or storyline, with a well-developed purpose carried through the narrative through skillful use of narrative techniques. (Controlling idea) 
• Accurately and seamlessly integrate reading material, interviews and or visual material to support the narrative. 
• Elaborate on experiences, individuals, and/or events with comprehensive detail to add depth and complexity to the sense of time, place, or character. (Development) 
• Organize your memoir with a structure that is appropriate to your purpose, task and audience so that it enhances communication of your theme or purpose and keeps the reader engaged. (Organization) 
• Demonstrate a well-developed command of standard English conventions. Provide a bibliography or works cited page if appropriate. (Conventions) 
• Integrate relevant and accurate content with thorough explanations that demonstrate in-depth understanding of the readings and information from this course. (Content understanding) 

This project is worth 100 project/test points. Projects, including peer editing, must be completed by Friday, June 13. Memoirs should be written in Word or Google Drive and emailed to msbecker4@gmail.com. Share the link on your blog. Do NOT simply write them as a blog post.

Click here to see the memoir rubric.

Unlocking the Science of Habits

Aim: How do we create habits?     

Quick Write: Write about a habit you would like to create for yourself. Quickly. (Again, make this a habit.)

Today we will analyze how to create habits. Good ones of course. You will have to conduct your own experiments and critically think about it, but here are a video and an article to get your started.

Step 1: Watch the video below. If you are on campus, you will see a blank space, but if you are off campus, it should appear. (Apologies in advance to the females among us, including myself, for the focus on "manliness." Seems like habits are gender-neutral, don't you think?)

Step 2: Read this article for further detail on "Unlocking the Science of Habits." Note: some information on creating habits is toward the end of the article.

Step 3: Based on what you have learned, make an action plan for creating the habit you identified in your quick write. Post it on your blog. Say it out loud. Then, follow it.

Reminder: Guest teaching has ended! However, all students regardless of whether they actually taught a class or not are responsible for turning in a completed lesson plan based on their assigned readings. In addition, post your lesson on your blog. You will get partial credit for this. Who knows? If it's really good maybe you'll get a chance to actually teach it.

Independent reading projects are due.  You should get started on this because there will be at least one other final challenge (project) for this course in addition to that. The assignment is TBA.

What's Due

• Completed lesson plan on assigned reading regardless of whether you taught the class or not. (Completed lesson plan template plus blog post of the lesson.)
• Developed and completed mind maps
• Independent reading projects
• Art & Cultural Exhibition blog post
• Cartoons
• Argument essays (or critical lens for those taking the ELA Regents)
• Daily Blog Postings

Remember independent reading books? Here's a list of suggestions. However, other ideas are encouraged. Just run them past me.

*****Always check Engrade for your up-to-the-minute progress in this class.*****

Deconstructing Habits

Aim: How do we identify the three parts of habits?     

Quick Write: Check out the flow chart on Amy Ortiz's blog. Identify simply the cue for one of your bad habits using the flow chart. Write about it. Quickly. (Make this a habit.)

Today we will begin deconstructing our habits. What triggers them and what rewards do we expect from them?

Step 1: Read the short article. The Power of Habit.

Step 2: Listen to the podcast.

Step 3: Write about a habit you want to change and why. Be sure to identify the three parts of this habit (cue, reward, routine) when you describe it.

Reminder: Guest teaching has ended! However, all students regardless of whether they actually taught a class or not are responsible for turning in a completed lesson plan based on their assigned readings. In addition, post your lesson on your blog. You will get partial credit for this. Who knows? If it's really good maybe you'll get a chance to actually teach it.

Independent reading projects are due.  You should get started on this because there will be at least one other final challenge (project) for this course in addition to that. The assignment is TBA.

What's Due

• Completed lesson plan on assigned reading regardless of whether you taught the class or not. (Completed lesson plan template plus blog post of the lesson.)
• Developed and completed mind maps
• Independent reading projects
• Art & Cultural Exhibition blog post
• Cartoons
• Argument essays (or critical lens for those taking the ELA Regents)
• Daily Blog Postings

Remember independent reading books? Here's a list of suggestions. However, other ideas are encouraged. Just run them past me.

*****Always check Engrade for your up-to-the-minute progress in this class.*****