Set a Goal for Today

On a 1/4 sheet of paper I'd like you to do the following:

1. Write down your goal for today.

Make it specific*, realistic, and with an eye on your overall weekly goals.


_________________________________________
* i.e. read two chapters OR write 1st draft OR write a response/read

Personal Essay

Hey chums. I've been asked to write a personal essay for the Buffalo Public Schools English website that is being unveiled Friday (coincidentally, that's my birthday too). I had a number of questions to choose from, but I chose this one:

Did you always want to be a teacher when you grew up? What did you want to be instead?

If you'd like to take another look at a personal essay (we read the two My Turn essays from Newsweek), you can take a look at my essay here. Note that it is still a work in progress. I'd love to hear your comments if you have any feedback or constructive criticism. Use the comments section of this post to share your thoughts.

Lastly, Teen Ink has many personal essays/narratives/memoirs written by students. Check them out.

"I don't know what happened to it, unless my cat took it, and it's just a kitten so I don't know if it can pick up a book."

Uploaded with Skitch!

John G.
1st Period
- Attempting to come to terms with how his copy
of The Things They Carried disappeared after
he fell asleep reading earlier this week.

Adding Links to the Sidebar

Today we're going to try to accomplish three extra things. I'd like you to grant all members of your blog (myself included) full administrative privileges.

Secondly, I'd like you to add two links to your blog's sidebar.

Element Title: Important Links
URL #1: http://rm305.blogspot.com
Link Title #1: Mr. Malley's Class Blog:

URL #2: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhtdpk4z_214f67mfm
Link Title #2: Response Questions

Today's Tasks

Hello folks. Today we are going to be entering THE WORKSHOP ZONE! I expect you to be working arduously to complete the assigned tasks, well.

1. Essay introduced yesterday.
2. Blog Responses
3. Reading Novel
4. Adding Links to the Sidebar

We Probably Need a Welcome Mat

I was just looking over the data that Google analytics churns out for me (something I'll show you how to do soon) and I was surprised at the following map. Since October 1st we've received over 1000 visits from 34 countries.

Recently we've added visitors from Taiwan, Kenya, the Phillipines, Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Serbia/Montenegro and Singapore. Interesting stuff, although I'm not sure why.

Tech! Huh! What is it good for!

Open your notebook to the next blank page. Skip a line. Then, copy and answer the following question.


How do you see yourself/rate yourself in the current landscape of technology? Please explain.

Essay Assignment: Due Friday, 12/21

Oops. The assignment should read "In what ways have recent advances in social and communication technology technological innovations affected your life?" I'll fix that typo later.

2nd Response

For your second response...I'd like you to think back on the parts of the book you've read already. Then, look over the list of prompts I gave you in class yesterday. Choose one, and answer the question in 175-250 words.

Homework Schedule

The homework schedule in the sidebar has been updated.

Also, regarding those of you who have finished your novel, you have a choice.

Choice One: Choose another book. Read it. Finish it by break and I'll give you 25 extra credit points. This will be 1.75-2 points on your second quarter average. Read another one and I'll double it. Write your responses to the new book, the old book, or a pleasant mix.

Choice Two: Be a bum. Write your responses to the book you've finished and go back and mine for responses.

What Am I Supposed to Write About?

You're going to have to change the way that you do responses, as you now have a real audience beyond me. Essentially, you are writing for the following:

• your blogmates
• your peers - I will be asking your peers to comment on your responses
• your teacher
• your parents, your community members
• the world

Just keep it in mind. What do you have to consider when writing for your group mates as an audience? Do you need to tailor your information in a certain way? Include contextual information they'd need to know? How can you make sure your writing is interesting to read?

To help you get started, I've collected a list of questions and prompts that might get you started on a response.

Lastly, the question of length. As we move throughout the year I am going to expect that your responses grow in development and sophistication. For blog reponses, I'm looking for responses in the 175-250 word range. In layman's terms, 3/4 to 1 full page if typed and double spaced.

Your 1st Post!

Today in class we will be posting to our blogs. To keep things simple, this first post will be a kind of introductory thing. Here's what I'd like each of you to write (make sure it is under your own display name):

1. In 2-3 sentences, give us a taste of the book. What is the title? Who is the author? What is the "gist"? (It's about a girl who...)
2. In a separate paragraph of 2-3 sentences, finish this sentence: One thing I like (or don't like) about the book so far is...