Category Archives: Cyberjournal

BULLY Response

Posted on April 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

Learning Target: Students will complete the design thinking process by presenting their solutions and collecting feedback. Students will reflect on their inquiry into bullying, including the documentary and design.

T O D A Y

  • Reflect On Bullying: Today you are to create a blog post in response to the Bully documentary and the design thinking lab. In this blog post, consider your thoughts about the documentary. Use the notes that you maintained in your Google document to provide support and evidence for your opinion. You should also consider the discussions we had in class as well as any response you had that you didn’t share. Also consider your experiences talking to your classmates about possible solutions to bullying. Which solution was your favorite and why? What assumptions did we make or biases did we use about how people change their behavior? Comment on the challenges that individuals, families, and schools have in protecting young people from each other. Write two or more personal, detailed, and reflective paragraphs.
  • Proofread and Publish your post:
    • Title: something unique!
    • Category: cyberjournal
    • Sub-category: Bully
    • Tags: must be present.

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Introduction to Multi-Genre Research: “To This Day”

Posted on March 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

Learning Target: Students will collaboratively view, discuss, and analyze a visual argument and then engage in research that contributes supporting data,  transforming and strengthening the argument.

The work of life is asking and answering questions, identifying and solving problems…How do we do that well?

1: Can words hurt us as much as sticks and stones?
(A question/problem…)

2: What is your personal response to the video?
3: What detailed observations of narrative and visual tracks contribute to your response?
4: What are the themes of this poem?

PROMPT: Compose a Tweet that responds to this text/author/theme
(#tothisday @Koyczan @sfhs_msjohnson)

5: How do numbers support the themes and experiences in the poem? (Find reliable, numeric data that relates to the animated poem “To This Day.” Write your number and its source on a post-it note.)

6: What does obesity look like in America?
(Another question/problem…)

7: What is your personal response to the infographic?
8: What detailed observations of contribute to your response?
9: What are the themes of this infographic?

PROMPT: Share your post-it note with the class. In small groups we will use them to create an infographics (Facts + Metaphors = Argument) based on your research.

 

 

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Posted in Cyberjournal, Visual Storytelling

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Parents, Teachers, and (most importantly) you

Posted on March 11, 2013 | Leave a comment

Today is March 11, 2013. It is the last opportunity for parent teacher conferences. My list for parent visitors only has 8 names on it; I have 132 students. Guess what? Parents are an essential part of your education and it is essential to talk with them about learning. Today we are going to use our carefully honed writing and technology skills to write them an email update.

Follow the format for friendly letter:

-A salutation: Dear Mom (and/or Dad):
-The body of the message: At least two well written paragraphs.
-A closing: sign your name with Love, Your son/daughter, etc.

Consider the following honestly as you reflect upon your experiences as a student during this semester. This will be shared with your parents during parent-teacher conferences; therefore, be sure to proof read carefully so that your writing is not full of silly grammar and punctuation errors.

PARAGRAPH 1:

-Include a complete description of what you have learned so far and the best examples of your work that demonstrate your learning.

-A report of your current letter grade and your percentage grade and the reasons for that grade.

-A statement about how you feel your progress has been: excellent, satisfactory, problematic, etc. and the reasons you feel this to be the case. The reasons need to be specific: “I handed in all my work on time and did my best,” or “I don’t usually do my homework and I often don’t hand in my work.”

PARAGRAPH 2:

-Consider your ability to meet class deadlines. Do you turn work in on time? If not, how can you improve? Why is meeting deadlines important?

-Consider your ability to follow directions. Do you closely follow the directions of each assignment or do you constantly lose points because you skipped steps? Do you go back and re-read the directions to make sure you have fulfilled each step? If not, how can you improve? Why is following all the directions important?

-Consider your ability to multi-task. Since the beginning of the year you have been expected to juggle a variety of assignments at one time, what are some of the difficulties of this and how do you overcome them?

-Consider your ability to be an independent student. When you have a question on an assignment, can you find the answer on your own or are you constantly relying on your teacher? How can you find answers to your questions on your own? Why is it important to be independent and seek out the answers by yourself?

-Consider you attentiveness in class. Are you paying attention to the teacher, the assignments, other classmates? Are you constantly socializing and distracting other students?

-Consider the role you play in your own education. Do you merely do what is asked of you or do you strive to go above and beyond? How do you spend your enhancement time?

To get full credit for this assignment, you have to follow all directions carefully and write a complete report.

The report will be sent to parents’ email (if parents live separately and each has email, then send to both). A copy of this email should be sent to the teacher (cc: kajohnson@sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us). The subject line for this email is Conferences.

If your parent has no email address, the assignment should still be sent to Ms. Johnson.

This assignment is due at the end of class today.

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Photo Essay (& Book Mark): Publishing

Posted on March 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

Learning Target: Students will prepare and showcase their photo essay online. Students will review and create quality reflection on their learning.

Prompt (2/6): If you could change anything about the world, what would you change and why?
Prompt (2/7): Tell me about how you changed someone else’s life in a positive way.

PHOTO ESSAY:

  1. REFLECT~ In a Google document respond to a combination of the following questions. Your responses should be personal and include specific, detailed observations about your experiences in this unit. Blend your responses together in two or three paragraphs; do not simply list/number number them:
    >In your very own words, what is a photo essay?
    >How did writing a photo essay change your thinking about essay writing and about communicating ideas with photography?
    >What is the theme of your essay? Why is it important to you? And how did you use color, light, metaphor, text, etc to communicate your theme?
    >What did you say is the most important characteristic of a high quality photo essay and how did your peers’ work show that characteristic in different ways?
    >Overall how successful were you in the process of creating and presenting your original photo essay? How do you know? What feedback did you give/get and how did that affect final products?
  2. EDIT~ Review your photo essay and make small changes in order to prepare it for publication.
    1. Make sure your title says something. (Not “Photo Essay”)
    2. Remove all last names.
    3. Remove slides that list information (tone, theme, etc), so that you only have a title slide and slides with
    4. Revise your “informative” text to be complete sentences that describe the unique content of the images.
    5. Proofread all text.
  3. BLOG~ Publish your reflection and photo essay in a blog post. The post must have an original title, original tags, parent category: CyberJournal, sub category: photo essay.
    1. Copy/Paste your reflection into your blog post.
    2. Add any information you think the reader needs to understand the purpose of this unit and your essay.
    3. To add your photo essay to your blog post, choose the HTML tab at the top of your post. Then go to your photo essay document and choose “File” – “Publish to the web…” – “Start Publishing.” Copy the Embed Code and paste it into the HTML version of your blog post. (I suggest posting it toward the bottom.)
    4. Proofread and then submit your post.

BOOK MARK #1 

  1. Create a new blog post for your book mark. Create an original title for the post. Create original tags. Use parent category: CyberJournal  and sub category: Bookmark. Also use parent category: Independent Reading and sub category: title of your book. Use hyperlinks when appropriate.
  2. Introduce your book mark to your reader:
    1. First, introduce your book and author. (Remember titles are italicized.) Why did you choose the book initially and what is your impression of it so far? How far are you.
    2. Second, introduce your book mark. What did you create? Why did you choose to create it? How did you create it? Explain how the specific details of the book mark relate to specific details in the novel.
    3. Third, post your book mark. You can do this using HTML (as we have with Goodreads reviews), using hyperlink, using an image, using copy/paste.
    4. Finally, explain how creating the book mark helped you look at your book, reading in general, or language in general in a new way. (If you’ve done your best work here, there should be something new that you know or understand.)
    5. Submit your post.
  3. Just a note from Ms. J….This is the first time we are creating and publishing book marks for independent reading. Each of you will have a different interpretation of the marks and different books, which means there are a lot of ways to do this well. I love that! I also realize that all of the variables can be scary to those of you aiming for good grades. Here’s the thing, you know what quality is. Give the best you’ve got. Next week when we will do a critique, and you’ll have an opportunity to improve for your next book mark.

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Posted in Cyberjournal, Independent Reading, Visual Storytelling

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Checking In

Posted on February 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

Learning Targets: Students will engage in independent reading. Students will create their own criteria for quality, personal writing on a blog and publish one of their original prompt responses.

Prompt (2/11): What did you learn this weekend?
Prompt (2/12):  What color best represents your personality?

(Example of personal response and detailed observations: This weekend I learned that it’s possible to make close friends, even though I’m older now. I used to think that my closest friends in life would be the girls I grew up with, because we were so awkward together: having braces, defining ‘dating,’ and the rest of puberty. This weekend someone I recently met and have become friends with wrote “I want you to be happy.” Maybe it is wrong for me to think that most people are, in some way, doing things for themselves. This was a selfless act of friendship, showing me that close friendships can be made at different points in life.)

  1. Independent Reading (20 min)
  2. Return to your blogs with new thinking. Choose one of your prompts from the last two weeks, and develop a blog post based on it.
    1. Start by selecting a prompt and response you liked. Perhaps one that you have more to say about.
    2. Begin typing the prompt and the response into a Google Document AND THEN BUILD onto your response. Use sensory details, anecdotes, and other qualities of good writing. Develop a substantial paragraph or two (10 or more sentences in all).
    3. Have a classmate read what you wrote and offer some feedback. Revise and proofread  your own writing.
    4. Create a new blog post with your response. Remember your audience, check to see if you need to introduce your writing with “I’ve been thinking about friendship…” If the reader can understand why you wrote what you wrote, then you do not need an introduction.
    5. Create an original title and tags; use the parent category: CyberJournal.
    6. Check your collaboration settings, to make sure that emails are sent to kajohnson@sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us
  3. Turn in last week’s completed prompt sheet.
  4. Make sure you have completed your “Scarlet Ibis” Analysis Paragraph and shared your document with kajohnson@sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us
  5. Also complete your introduction to photo essay assignment from Friday. We will discuss them at the end of class.

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“Here’s to 2012″

Posted on January 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

ZEITGEIST: the general, moral, and cultural climate of an era

Over break I spent a lot of time reading Speak essays, many of which commented on how our experiences, relationships,  and thoughts make us who we are. At the same time, the global media was buzzing about the “best of” and “greatest of” and “remember when” of 2012. So now that we are at the conclusion of our novel study and the conclusion of the year, it seems most appropriate to ask ourselves Who are we because of 2012?

Step One: Make a list of the five most memorable experiences, relationships, and thoughts of 2012.

Ms. J’s: 1) A cold, snow-less winter with the worst landlord ever, 2) Mending too many of my friends’ broken hearts, 3) traveling to Machu Picchu and reconciling the native and Catholic beliefs of people there, 4) other people’s dogs, 5) local ecology of traffic and trout streams

Step Two: Consider this…

Step Three: Add global, social, and/or political events or texts that influenced you.

Step Four: Compose a piece of writing that captures Zeitgeist 2012 from your point of view.

Here’s to 2012….

I am from….

I am from….

I am from…

I am from…

I am from 2012.

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Final Edit and Publication 12/20

Posted on December 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

Prepare your essay so that it represents proper MLA and Internet format. MLA format represents the rules followed in the world of English education, which you will see again at the university level. Internet format, well, that should be self-explanatory by now.

MLA FORMAT

In-text Citation

  • Format: “Quote” (page #).
  • Speak example: “I am Outcast” (4).
    • Please note that there is not a period or a comma inside the second quotation mark.
    • The only time a punctuation mark does appear inside the second quotation mark is when the quote is a question (so a question mark) or an exclamatory remark  (so an exclamation point).

Author Recognition

The first time you refer to the author, you use her full and proper name, Laurie Halse Anderson. Every time after that you merely call her by her last name, Anderson.

The first time you refer to the main character, you use her full and proper name, Melinda Sordino. Every time after that you merely call her by her first name, Melinda.

Tenses

During an analysis essay, you refer to the writer and the actions of the characters in present tense.

  • Speak example: Anderson describes Melinda as an “Outcast” (4) who isolates herself from her peers, parents, and teachers.
  • Melinda rejects the social interactions of her peers after she is raped.

Titles

Titles must be directly related to the purpose of the paper. They must give the reader insight into the context of the writing; therefore, Speak Analysis Essay is inappropriate. It in no way indicates what the paper is actually about.

Strong MLA titles contain a verb along with the subject that is analyzed.

  • Speak example: Silence to Security: Speak Mirrors Teenage Angst

INTERNET FORMAT

Quick reminders:

  • Paragraphs should be in block format, no indents.
  • Title of book should be italicized, no quotes or underlining.
  • “I” or “you” should not be present within your analysis essay. If you feel the need to address your audience when indicating some greater truth, use the universal “we”.
  • Your essay should be hyperlinked to your essay title. DO NOT copy and paste the URL directly into your blog post.

PUBLICATION

Prepare your Google document: PDF

  1. Read and address all of the comments in your document. Once you have made all of the revisions you will make, “Resolve” all of the comments in your Google Document.
  2. Make sure the paragraphs are in block style: one space between each,  no indents.
  3. At the top of your page, create an original title for your essay. Use 12 point font and center it.
  4. Proofread.
  5. Publication
    1. File: Publish to the web…
    2. Check the box next to “Automatically Republish When Changes are Made”
    3. “Start Publishing”
    4. Copy “Document Link” and close
    5. Continue following directions at step 6.
  6. Login to your blog and create a new post. Begin the reflection. See directions below.

REFLECTION

In the post we just created, you will reflect on your experience writing the literary analysis essay and specific details of the essay itself. In at least one long paragraph, respond to the following questions in first person. (The questions do not need to be answered in order. Do not include the actual question in your post, only your response to them.)

  • What is the thesis statement in your essay? Why did you choose to analyze this topic, theme, and motif in the novel?
  • How does  your essay express your deeper understanding of the novel?
  • Describe your experience engaging in the writing process. Did feedback from other people help you? How? Did you work independently?
  • How confident are you that the final product is a success? How do you know?
  • What specific aspect of your essay is the most successful? What do you like about it?
  • What part of your essay do you think you could have done better on?

*Create a new post for this reflection, with an original title (not your essay title). Remember to introduce your Literary Analysis Essay to the reader using its original title. Categories: Speak and CyberJournal. Sub-Category: Literary Analysis Tags: you decide. Hyperlink your Google Document to the original title within the post.

How to create hyperlinks in your writing.

  • If you are making an external link, go to the site and copy the url first.
  • Then, highlight text you want to serve as the link.
  • Then, click on the hyperlink icon in the tool bar:

  • Paste (Control+V) the url into the space provided.
  • If you want the link to open in its own window, make that choice.
  • If you want the link to go to an email address, mailto: must precede the email address.
  • Don’t forget to click Insert.

 

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Personal Essay: Publication

Posted on October 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

Deadline: Friday, October 19th @ 11:59 pm

Prepare your Google document: PDF

  1. Read and address all of the comments in your document. Once you have made all of the revisions you will make, “Resolve” all of the comments in your Google Document.
  2. Make sure the paragraphs are in block style: one space between each,  no indents.
  3. Check each hyperlink to make sure the word and the linked website have a meaningful connection.
  4. At the top of your page, create an original title for your essay. Use 12 point font and center it.
  5. At the top left of the Google Doc window, change the title of your document to your first name, last initial, Personal Essay Final: Sally P Personal Essay Final
  6. Proofread.
  7. STOP AND THINK! Is this essay something that you are comfortable sharing with the world or does it share too much personal information about me or my family?
  8. If you’re sharing it:
    1. File: Publish to the web…
    2. Check the box next to “Automatically Republish When Changes are Made”
    3. “Start Publishing”
    4. Copy “Document Link” and close
    5. Continue following directions at step 10.
  9. If you’re not:
    1. Make sure the document is shared with Ms. Johnson
    2. Continue following directions at step 10.
  10. Login to your blog and create a new post. In this post you will reflect on your experience writing the personal essay and specific details of the essay itself. In at least one long paragraph, respond to the following questions in first person. (The questions do not need to be answered in order. Do not include the actual question in your post, only your response to them.)
  • What is the big idea in your essay and why is it important to you and to readers?
  • What does your essay say about who you are today? How does it say this?
  • Describe your experience engaging in the writing process. Did feedback from other people help you? How? Did you work independently?
  • How confident are you that the final product is a success? How do you know?
  • What specific aspect of your essay is the most successful? What do you like about it?

*Create a new post for this reflection, with an original title (not your essay title). Remember to introduce your Personal Essay to the reader using its original title. Hyperlink your Google Document to the title. Categories: Personal Identity & Choose your own Tags. Submit for publication and turn in your rubric to Ms. Johnson.

When you finish, begin your Reader’s Profile 

 

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Posted in Cyberjournal, Personal Essay, Reflection

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