Thursday, March 9, 2017

Where I am from


Take a look:
http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html

Then rewrite it on a google doc, and upload to your blog:

http://www.sausd.us/cms/lib5/CA01000471/Centricity/Domain/3043/I%20Am%20From%20Poem.pdf


I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.
I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,
          from Imogene and Alafair.
I'm from the know-it-alls
          and the pass-it-ons,
from Perk up! and Pipe down!
I'm from He restoreth my soul
          with a cottonball lamb
          and ten verses I can say myself.
I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
          to the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.
Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments--
snapped before I budded --
leaf-fall from the family tree.

George Ella 


Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Language Tool


ADD THIS!

Language Tool


MORE IN CLASS! 

Personality test:
https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

Friday, February 24, 2017

Growth Mindset Recap and Grand Finale!


We read and discussed fiveThis I Believe articles relating to having a Growth Mindset:
Stepping out of Fear
Courage Comes with Practice
Failure is a Good Thing
Disrupting my Comfort Zone
Every Person Deserves Respect 

We watched the Ted Talk, How to get Better at Things you Care About
We took the Growth Mindset quiz.
We reflected on our activities.
We created a collaborative slideshow based on 25 Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset. 

Our grand finale activity: We made a bulletin board display for the classroom.







Tuesday, February 14, 2017

How to get Better at Doing the Things you Care about..

Monday, February 13, 2017

My first storybird story

We tried out storybird last week.
Here is my first practice story - instructions for how to embed your stories are on the homepage of Canvas!

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

The Writing Mindset

Each day is full of things to write about.  Your conversations, your work, your thoughts and your challenges,  Why is it so often difficult to think of something to write about when you face your blog?

In order to write, you need three important things. First, you need to believe that your own life is worth writing about. In order to do that, it sometimes helps to think of your life as a movie.  Your family, friends and co-workers? Those are the main characters. Your goals? That's the main plot. Your challenges? Those are the dramatic scenes.Your ideas and thoughts? Those are the narration that tie it all together. Remember the Mr. Putter approach: Everyday life is worth writing about.

Second, you need to set aside time to develop the habit of thinking about transferring concepts onto paper - in this case, your blog. That requires some discipline and actually sitting and feeling a bit stuck. It also requires some patience and re-writing, because after you write something down, you will probably find ways to improve it.  Write it, then read it aloud. Is that what you wanted to say?

Third, you have to have a desire to communicate with others.  Your blog is about you, for others to read. Your speaking style says a lot about who you are; you can rely on your tone of voice your smile and body language to convey your meaning and portray who you are.  With writing, you are much more alone with your thoughts. Writing is just you and the words. Playing with words, finding the right word or phrase, and struggling with ideas. That is part of the process.  Computers make it easy to edit. But first, you have to write.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Thoughts on Introducing Mr Putter...

When I introduced the Mr. Putter books last night, I felt like I was introducing an old friend.  I have used these stories in the past, and they still warm my heart.  They speak to community, neighbors and families, caring,  and everyday living.

Also, the author Cynthia Rylant uses English in a very amusing way; sometimes almost poetically.  I enjoy the rhyming and word play. Writing in a clear and engaging style such as the one Rylant uses is harder than it seems, and we will be exploring that in our course.


I just discovered that some of these books are read aloud on YouTube by a group called RP, Reading Pioneers.  Here is an example:

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Community!

Thursday Jan. 19 Theme: Citizenship and Community

Homework is in Canvas. Optional Assignment for your blogs: 

You can make a word cloud at world.net.  Make sure you are in Firefox!

Video:



Here is a word cloud of his speech:


Last night we brainstormed some things affecting our writing.  Can you think of others? Use the comment box to reply.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Compare and Contrast....

Essay number one of three for this class.
We have gone over a lot of materials relating to Activism and Dreams:

Information on Martin Luther King:
Five-Part Bio of Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Martin Luther King's I have a Dream Speech

Songs:
Common's Dream Lyrics 
Stevie Wonder's Hold on to your Dream 

Poems:
Three Poems

There are also YouTubes and further information online about all of these.

Your mission:
You will write a draft paper on your blog by Tuesday's class. (Click "new post" on the upper right of YOUR blog.)

Compare and contrast some aspect of these things.  For example:
The two songs:  What different aspects do you like about them?
MLK and Stevie:  Very different people, but both activists.  How is their activism the same/different?
The two poets:  Compare two of the poems, or compare a poem with MLK's speech.  What things do you find similar? Different?

Remember:

  • You can use your handout to help you think about the language they all used, if you want to.
  • You can easily edit your blog post as many times as you want.
  • You can use visuals and videos.
  • This is a draft. You will be making changes and improvements next week.
  • You can go rogue and write about how one of these topics compares/contrasts to YOU.



Tools to help you:
Five Paragraph Essay Outline
Writing a Comparison and Contrast Essay

Higher level students who will be getting high school credit for this class: Please write a 5-paragraph essay.
Mid-level students: Please write 3 paragraphs
Developing writers: Please write a paragraph about one of the things from the list above (MLK, or a poem, or a song, etc.)

This weekend, you can also work on your blog design and write other posts, too!! We are only using blogs for this because we don't have access to Canvas yet.
I look forward to reading your essays!






I have a dream...

Tuesday, January 10, 2017


















Please watch the I Have a Dream speech again, and pay particular attention to how Dr. King speaks with conviction. That is the way you should be reading your "Dream" part tomorrow!
Here it is:
I have a Dream

Here is the speech itself:
I Have A Dream

Here is a youtube video of the whole speech (17 min.) It shows more of the March on Washington, the people, and what was happening:
Complete Speeck


Homework:
1. Go Over this text and speech so you are familiar with it. Tomorrow you will be reading a small portion for our first video.

2. Use this file, and type in your own text (using what you wrote in class) to Safety Pin Solidarity.
Two ways to do this:
Copy and paste it into your own google doc or word document, or Click "File" on the upper left, and "Download as - Word document" on your computer.

3.  Read the recent comments from other students and reply to at lease one of them with your related ideas or feedback.
NOTE: You can subscribe to the posts or comments on the upper right, to see when others have written.....


Monday, January 9, 2017

What does Martin Luther King's Life make you think of?


Good job collaborating on Martin Luther King's life in class tonight. Write your response about what his life makes you think of - personally or regarding current events -  in the comment box below.
Here is his complete bio.


Monday, January 2, 2017

Welcome to Winter Quarter: #digicomgrc

Welcome, students! This blog will be our jumping-off point for our exploration of digital communities. Thus, #digicomgrc!

We will start by responding to the image below.  Respond below with one complete paragraph.  The paragraph should have a topic sentence and 3-4 examples or related ideas, and a conclusion.  What does it make you think about?  Due Date: By Noon on Sunday, Jan. 8th