Blog Post #4: 5th 6 Weeks

Our focus for this six weeks centers around informational texts. We've talked a lot about informational texts this year. An informational text is always fact-based. The eBooks we've been reading in class provide readers with information about certain topics. That information can always be proved by looking it up in some other source, such as a text book, online article, dictionary, or encyclopedia.

The prompt for this week is going to ask you to think about an informational text you think should be taught in schools. You can base your answers off of a text that has already been written or one that you think should be written.

The initial question: What is the topic of the informational text? To answer this question, consider the following sub-questions: 1) Why do you think this topic should be taught? 2) Who is the audience for this type of book (i.e. kids your age, kids younger than you, high school students)? 3) Why is this topic important to education? 4) What is the result of this topic not being taught in class? 5) Who would teach this text?

Answer the initial and sub-questions in four complete, thoughtful sentences. Be specific. Happy writing!

Blog Post #5: 5th 6 Weeks

I can't believe it is already April! What a breeze this year has been so far! Here it is, April, only two months until school lets out for summer break. I am sure you all have been thinking about the end of school as well. It will be here before we know it! Life gets faster and faster these days!

As we approach the sixth six weeks, I would like to give you an idea of what our new focus (aside from STAAR, of course, which will occur on April 23rd and 24th) will be. The sixth six weeks is my personal favorite because I get to teach something I am extremely good at doing, know a lot about, and really love. What is it, you ask? The answer is an eight-letter word. Let's see if you can guess with a few more hints.

Hint #1: It is something that will definitely involve computers. Hint #2: It is something I've had to do a lot of in my graduate classes this year. Hint #3: It is something you will have to do every year from here on out until you finish school, whether that be high school, college, or graduate school. (I'm hoping that will be graduate school for many of you!) Do you give up? Alright . . . RESEARCH!

You're probably wondering why you are supposed to be excited about doing research. Many times research has a negative connotation. My theory is that those of you rolling your eyes at the answer to my game just haven't been exposed to the more interesting, engaging, and fun aspects of research. Well, Mrs. Jackson and I have already been hard at work cooking up an excellent project for sixth six weeks. No, I am not going to tell you what it is. I will tell you, though, that it is something you will enjoy and something that will teach you a lot about a wide array of topics.

So here is this week's initial question: Why is research important? To answer this question, consider the following sub-questions: 1) What can you learn when you do research on a specific topic? 2) What are the good things about research? Bad things? 3) How do you do research? 4) What is the end goal of any research project? (i.e. What are you going to accomplish when you do good research?) 5) What types of research have you done? If you haven't done any real research, tell me what type of research you would like to do instead.

We have a busy but grand rest of the school year to look forward to. I know it will be a year we'll look back on and say, "Wow, it was a good year!" Answer the initial and sub-questions in four complete, thoughtful questions. Happy writing, guys and gals!

Blog Post #2: 5th 6 Weeks

You did a self-assessment last time. I asked you to analyze where you are academically. Doing this type of activity on a regular basis helps to remind you of your goals and chart progress. It also helps you to know what areas need extra work. You are your own best advocate, so do whatever you can to help yourself grow this year and always.

This week we will take a different turn. I would like you to think of an activity that you particularly enjoy and one you do well. While thinking about this activity, ask yourself how you would explain to someone who has never tried or even seen someone else try to do this activity. The initial question: How can you explain to this person how to do the activity? To answer the initial question, consider the following sub-questions: 1) What equipment, if any, is needed to do the activity? 2) Where do you do the activity? 3) What type of activity is it?

Answer the initial and sub-questions in a single paragraph. Remember you are explaining this activity to someone who has never experienced or seen someone do this activity. Happy writing!