Hello ladies - What would you say was your most successful assignment/project you gave your students this last year? Take some time to think about it, and then post a description so that we can get some great ideas for the upcoming year :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
That's a toughie...here's a few that worked well (some new and some old)
1. Irony discussion--I played "Ironic" by Alantis Morisette and provide students with the lyrics and in groups they must decide what's actually ironic and what's just bad luck; then we apply our understanding of irony to a short story.
2. The Mandala Project--Andrea you showed me this. I find it can work with almost any book and is a great, thoughtful project.
3. For the research paper, if you have to do a literary paper, I gave them just the paper first, then after I graded the initial paper, they had to find research to insert. It broke down the whole paper process much more.
One suggestion: Next year I'm going to try to improve student writing by assigning more shorter papers. Usually I just assign one long essay per quarter and we go through the entire process. This year I'm going to assign more shorter papers (1 page or so) to work on the basics and then build up to the longer papers. Not sure how it will work, but I think it will help toward the SAT essay. Any writing suggestions from you gals?
I've trying to give this some thought today as I've been lying in my drugged-up and ice cream stupor :)
1. Independent Book Project: I did this with my freshmen and it was really exciting for them. Basically, I worked with the librarian a few days before they went down to pull out just tons of books that the kids would actually want to read. We put them on one large table and had the kids sit around the table when they came down during class. Then, I had the kids take 1 minute or so per book and then said "switch". After maybe 10-20 switches, they usually found a book they wanted to read. Also, while looking at a book, they were allowed to have one keeper book right in front of them that didn't have to be returned to the pile. They could switch it out if they found a better book.
This book then was something I had them to bring to class with them, and on some days when I had some extra time, I would have them read for a little while. Also, at home each week they needed to keep a bookmark that kept track of questions they had while they read & page #s read.
This could be a cool assignment to do even during an honors class while you're studying something else like Shakespeare or grammar that is different than novel reading.
At the end of their reading, they were given a selection of creative projects to show their reading & get other kids excited about the book.
I'll write more later -- I have a few other useful ideas :)
I also like that idea, Jenn, of doing shorter papers throughout the quarter. You could even have them, at the end of the quarter, choose one and develop it into a longer piece.
Other projects that worked for me:
2. Hero I-Search Paper: I got this idea from an NCTE article (and even talked to its author through email as I was doing it!). This was how I handled the research paper for my seniors this year. It basically involves students doing a lot of exploration with me of what a hero is, through film, readings, etc. before choosing a well-known figure to research as to whether he/she is a hero. They have to do library research on his/her life as well as interview someone who may have specialized information into this person's field or life. At the end they write a well-informed paper and gave a PowerPoint presentation on their hero's life.
3. Dramatic Presentation: This was one I gained from KP, but I tried it again this year with my freshmen during their reading of Romeo & Juliet. I still think there's a lot of good that comes from kids memorizing Shakespeare & performing it for the class.
4. Letter Activity: This is just a fun one, but I've been doing it every since I started teaching. I have students, near the end of the year, write a letter to themselves, seal it in an envelope, address it to themselves, and then I mail it to them 4 years later! I tell them to write whatever they want, maybe talk to their future selves about what they hope their life is like and/or what life has been like in high school. I've already mailed some of these out and have heard from former students who were psyched to get it in the mail :)
These all sound like great ideas ladies!
Andrea - can you send me your hero materials - I'm teaching a heroes course this fall and would love to use that!
Jenn- I now do something with essays that you might like (you too Andrea!)
Over the course of a few weeks I assign three essay topics. Students create an outline and rough draft of each one (can be one a week). Since I have freshmen, we do the outlines in class, but they don't have to be. Once they have three rough drafts written, we do peer-editing for all of them. Students then pick their strongest paper and revise it for the final grade. All three outlines and drafts are turned in for a major chunk of the grade. This gives them the opportunity to do a lot of formal writing practice without the pressure of so many final essays and gives you the opportunity to grade one, well-developed essay while instructing on more than one paper. With each paper I have students focus on a new aspect of the writing process so that they continue to build upon prior knowledge and there aren't months in between their writing instruction/practice.
I also have a great media assignment that I do with students. I use it to introduce Fahrenheit 451, but because it is an introductory homework and class activity, it can be used for general discussion and to expose students to a variety of media sources. Because I've had a senior elective the past few years, I've made Monday newspaper reading and sharing a weekly activity for 20 minutes to expose them to more media materials and the big crazy world! Here's the assignment:
Lesson Plan:
1.Briefly review the major themes from F451 that were addressed yesterday. Tell the class how these societal issues are addressed in the media and what role the media has in reporting on these issues.
2.Ask them to form small groups of 3-4. Give each group copies of a different newspaper (or allow them online access to newspapers). Make sure the papers vary from local, national and international sources.
3.Instruct each group to through the papers, coping down what major stories they find. Students should note what kinds of stories they find, where stories take place, what types on information and additional materials (pictures, stats) are included in a story.
4.Have each group share their findings with the class and compile their notes for all to see. Ask students what similarities and differences they notice from these different newspapers.
5.Ask students to take out their completed “news worksheet.” Ask students to share their findings with the class. Go through each topic.
News Homework
Where can a person find news? Why is it important to get “quality” news? What makes “quality” news? What is the purpose of news? What is the responsibility of the news media? How do you think our society respond if the government started burning newspapers and magazines on a regular basis? What if they started seizing or smashing radios, televisions, and computers? Watch 1 hour of news (preferably ½ hour of national, ½ hour of international. 5-6:30 is prime news time)
List each news story and its main points. Do the news anchors change their mood or tone for different stories? Is there bias in any story? Where? What was the overall focus of the news? How do you feel after watching it? Other than the announcer just telling you the details, how else do they engage you in the story? What did they add?
(These questions are on a worsheet with space for answers of course)
Wow ladies, those are all great ideas! You girls are a wealth of knowledge.
One more idea I thought of that worked well this year and left a big impression on one class was our introduction to Native American literature. Here are the steps
1. I closed off most of the room leaving only enough seats for half of the class to sit down. As the students entered, those students whose seats were available sat down while the others had to stand. I told the kids there was some kind of leak from last night and the janitors won't let anyone into the "contaminated area."
2. I gave the kids some notes on Western Expansion and they had to take notes, some in their seats and others standing. Then, I made those people who were in their own seats get up and let the standers have their seats.
3. I treated the newly seated well and the standers poorly. Then, I made the standers go to the back of the room and they had to stand in a very small area and still take notes. I rewarded the sitters by praising them and giving them food, while I gave only one cupcake for the others in the back to share.
4. Eventually the students realized that this was not a real experience and we got back together as a group. I explained that this is basically what happened to the Native Americans and then we talked more about how unfair and cruel it was. That lead us into our reading of several Native American stories, poems, and speeches. It was really fun and I think it really made them think. Mrs. A helped me with this lesson as she was a previous History teacher.
Cool idea, Jennie!
Who's Mrs. A, by the way?
Mrs. A is Anne-Marie Adelesburger! She was my aid this past year.
Post a Comment