Thursday, 29 November, 2012

Writers were given this video prompt to begin class.

We reviewed the audience for personal essays.

Some writers who had not yet had a chance to so so, shared their morbid fiction.

In pairs, students read and evaluated a variety of personal essays according to whether or not they met the criteria for college admissions audiences.

Students reported on their findings.

Homework:
One art teacher I know judges self-portraits by asking whether he would like to have dinner with the artist.

Read three (3) more of the essays. Then write one to two (1-2) pages explaining which author your would rather have dinner (or be friends) with. Due Monday.

Tuesday, 26 November, 2012

To create the prompt for class today writers began by listing things that change, and how they are different before and after. Then writers used these examples of change as a writing prompt.

We then reviewed the criteria for a well written essay.
Clear purpose
Well organized (including thesis and related topic sentences)
Specific, vivid word choice
concrete imagery
figurative language
carefully chosen and developed ideas
well edited
strong lede or hook
good balance of scene and summary


Homework was checked.

Then writers were asked to see which items in their list of experiences could be entered under more than one heading. Writers identified those experiences that involved the most categories. 

Next the class looked at the questions asked for the OSAC Scholarships and the Common Application:

OSAC

Requires writing on each of the following four topics, each essay to be no more than 150 words.

1.    Explain your career aspirations an your educational plan to meet these goals.

2.    Describe a challenge or obstacle you faced in the last ten years. What did you learn about yourself from this experience.

3.    Describe a personal accomplishment and the strengths and skills you used to achieve it.

4.    Explain how you have helped your family or made your community a better place to live. Provide specific examples.

Common App

The length for the common app essays is 250-500 words.

1.    Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

2.    Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.

3.    Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.

4.    Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.

5.    A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

6.    Topic of your choice.

The next step in class was for writers to identify an experience that seemed to match with one of the questions, and to write about that experience.

The last thing we did in class was to consider what the audience for the essays might be looking for. Ideas included:

Who are you?

Why do you deserve it?

Are you a learner?

Will you take advantage of the opportunity? Do you have aspirations?

What do you bring?

How are you unique?

Sincerity / honesty

Can you overcome adversity

are you committed / dedicated?

are you likable?

Are you passionate or interested in something?

independence

Do you provide service to others? Are you pro-social?

HOMEWORK: Bring a rough draft of an essay to class on Thursday.

Monday, 26 November

The opening prompt for today was to write either about your Thanksgiving or previous Thanksgivings OR to write about a Thanksgiving or Thanksgivings you would like to have.

Writers made up their toasts as needed.

The class reviewed the qualities of a good essay:
Clear purpose
Well organized (including thesis and related topic sentences)
Specific, vivid word choice
concrete imagery
figurative language
carefully chosen and developed ideas
well edited
strong lede or hook
good balance of scene and summary

Next writers developed a chart of seven categories of experiences:

Exciting    Boring    Satisfying    Unusual     Family    Learning    Failure
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

For homework, students are to have at least seven (7) and preferably ten (10) experiences for each category.

12-15 November and Homework for Break

Monday was a holiday to celebrate Veteran's Day!

Tuesday, 13 November, writers gave their toasts in class.

Thursday, 15 November

The prompt for the day was: "As rare as sun in November...."

Writer's who could not toast on Tuesday, toasted today.

We heard several pieces of Morbid fiction that have not perviously been shared.

Writers began by making a list that described who they are.

Mr. Zartler began the next unit with the following notes:

College Essays a form of the Personal Essay

A personal essay is a kind of a self-portrait. By telling a story, and also sharing objective facts the author shows what kind of person he or she is, and attempts to engage the reader in thinking about an event, issue, or thing in a new way. By examining some aspect of the world that anyone might experience, but showing that examination from a personal point of view, the author tries to help the reader connect the idea being examined to the rest of the world. Also the author may reveal him or herself to the reader – particularly in an college application personal essay.

The college essay is a special case. In a college essay you want to “put your best foot forward.” However you want to avoid the clichés and common pitfalls that the situation invites  (see reverse). An art professor, who I hate, but who is pretty smart used to say, “One way I judge a self portrait is by whether or not I would want to have dinner with the artist.”  He meant that when he looked at a self-portrait he was looking to see if it revealed something interesting about the artist. You HAVE HAD interesting experiences and thoughts: babysitting you little brother; talking with you grandma; sitting on a swing…. You probably have not devised an elegant solution to the problem of world hunger. Yet you have good friends, people who have known you and seen you do dumb things and learn from them. Take a risk: show yourself!

A Personal Essay Should:

ü  Essay reveals something about the author

ü  Essay prompts the reader to think through asking questions; challenging assumptions; and introducing and examining multiple perspectives

ü  Essay grabs the reader’s interest

ü  Essay contains interesting language including imagery, vivid descriptions, specific (rather than general) words; Essay employs the elements of story telling

ü  Essay is passionate with evidence of author’s knowledge of the subject

ü  Essay is presented in a careful, complete, and mechanically polished way.

ü  Essay avoids repetition

Think about SOAPS + Claim when considering your essay. Your essay should have a Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Speaker, and a Claim.

HOMEWORK: Writers are to write two pages on one of the following topics, or one page on two of the following topics:

Describe any personal hardships or barriers you’ve had to overcome and explain how they affected your education.

In the context of your life experience describe your understanding of differences, how this awareness was acquired, and how it has affected you.

What motivates you?

Who is your role model?

What is your favorite book and why?

What is significant either negative or positive that has happened to you and why was it significant?

Who do you consider to be a role model and why?

Are there things that humans should not know?

What makes you feel alive?

What character in a book that you have read can you relate to best?  How do you see yourself in this character?

Discuss some issue of local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you’ve taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and it’s impact on you.

Describe your room and relate it to you personality, interests, and dreams.

How have you taken advantage of the education opportunities you have had to prepare for college?

Tell us a talent, experience, contribution, a personal quality you have to bring to the school.

What is the point of a high school education?

Tuesday/ Thursday 6-8 November

Sorry for the late blog entry.
This week we've been working on developing Toasts that are due in class on Tuesday, 13 November. On Tuesday students received a handout with instructions and a variety of advice about toast style and structure.

We established the the ritual format for a toast is:
State the purpose of the toast
Thanks the hosts
Tell an anecdote (story) that illustrates the reason for the toast
Make (state) the toast.

On Thursday students were to bring a rough draft of their toast. The toast should be between one and two minutes long.

On Thursday we reviewed the state scoring guide for speaking, and then reviewed videos of toasts that were done well (or not) and analyzed what was done well and what not done well.

Finally students worked in groups to get feedback on their own toasts, and to begin revising these toasts for Tuesday.

Here are links to some of the toasts we reviewed:
Gets some of it just right

Many things NOT to do.

Bad job.

Strengths and weaknesses

Well done.

One more we didn't get to.

REMEMBER: Toasts due on Tuesday!

Tuesday, 30 October, 2012

Class began and ended with writer's sharing their morbid fiction and receiving positive feedback from their peers.

Writers made a list of things that they are grateful for. Writers shared their lists, and wrote down items they heard others share that they also were grateful for.

Writers wrote about how and why they are grateful for one of these things.

The list and writing done from the list is the beginning of the next two units. This month writers will be creating a toast, a short speech of gratitude or thanks, and will begin working on a personal essay (the kind written for college applications).

Monday, 29 October, 2012

Class began with the prompt, "It was a dark and stormy night...."

Next writers worked on a self-evaluation of their morbid fiction. Topics addressed in the self-evaluation are:
What I liked about my story:
Writing techniques that I used well:
The story needs improvement in:
The grade I deserve for this piece of writing:

All writing to the above prompts should include the question stem, and a detailed explanation of "why" including evidence from the story.

While writers share their stories other writers take notes on aspects of the story or lines of the story that they like. These may be borrowed in future writing assignments, and are being used to provide positve feedback to the authors.