It's been quite a while since my last post and for that I apologize. We've covered a lot since then. The students have concluded the short story unit, been given an independent novel study, and have begun learning about speech types in preparation for speech day on December 14.
Grade Wide Write: Students wrote a grade wide write in October. Across the grade, students were given the same prompt and asked to respond to the prompt. They had the option of responding in a personal narrative or expository style essay. Through this assignment the teachers were able to evaluate their students' ability in written expression, which will guide their future lessons on writing.
Short Story Unit Test: Students were also tasked with writing a short story unit test which assessed their reading comprehension abilities, and written response abilities. They were given a short story they had not yet seen/read and complete multiple choice and short answer questions that asked them to apply their understanding of short story terms and literary devices, as well as their ability to analyze the story for meaning. They were then asked to write a paragraph response in which they were to use evidence from any of the stories read in the past month to support their argument. The thesis focused around the theme of alienation.
Public Speaking Unit: Students are now learning about public speaking and speech techniques. Building from previous years, students are now given two more speech types to learn about, which they will have the option of using for their speech presentation--slam poetry and famous speeches.
We were fortunate to have poets from WordPlay a spoken word artists organization come into the school and teach us a little bit about spoken word poetry/slam poetry. They demonstrated what spoken word poetry is and gave the students a little bit of a taste of the creative process. They challenged students to turn abstract ideas into concrete images, and then turn concrete images into abstract ideas.
We followed up on the workshop by discussing the question: What is more important, what you say or how you say it?
We had a great discussion pointing out the importance of both, but students generally came to a better understanding of how TONE of voice, volume, and other speaking techniques can definitely change the way a message is received, thus making HOW YOU SAY IT, quite important, especially within the context of a public speaking competition.
Grade Wide Write: Students wrote a grade wide write in October. Across the grade, students were given the same prompt and asked to respond to the prompt. They had the option of responding in a personal narrative or expository style essay. Through this assignment the teachers were able to evaluate their students' ability in written expression, which will guide their future lessons on writing.
Short Story Unit Test: Students were also tasked with writing a short story unit test which assessed their reading comprehension abilities, and written response abilities. They were given a short story they had not yet seen/read and complete multiple choice and short answer questions that asked them to apply their understanding of short story terms and literary devices, as well as their ability to analyze the story for meaning. They were then asked to write a paragraph response in which they were to use evidence from any of the stories read in the past month to support their argument. The thesis focused around the theme of alienation.
Public Speaking Unit: Students are now learning about public speaking and speech techniques. Building from previous years, students are now given two more speech types to learn about, which they will have the option of using for their speech presentation--slam poetry and famous speeches.
We were fortunate to have poets from WordPlay a spoken word artists organization come into the school and teach us a little bit about spoken word poetry/slam poetry. They demonstrated what spoken word poetry is and gave the students a little bit of a taste of the creative process. They challenged students to turn abstract ideas into concrete images, and then turn concrete images into abstract ideas.
We followed up on the workshop by discussing the question: What is more important, what you say or how you say it?
We had a great discussion pointing out the importance of both, but students generally came to a better understanding of how TONE of voice, volume, and other speaking techniques can definitely change the way a message is received, thus making HOW YOU SAY IT, quite important, especially within the context of a public speaking competition.