Virtual Learning

"The Pike County School Corporation has designated the use of virtual learning opportunities for one of our snow make-up days.  On Friday, April 4th, teachers will be sending home assignments with their students.  The assignments are due the following week on Friday, April 11th."

Here are Mrs. Smith's virtual learning assignments for Language Arts and Language Arts Applications classes.

Language Arts (Periods 1, 2, and 6)

Internal Monologue—a technique for presenting the stream of consciousness of a character; in other words, his or her personal, private thoughts. It can be direct (first person) or indirect (third person).

Here is an example, based on the above photograph:

IT’S OVER. Those two, simple words echoed in my brain. They were like the incessant gonging of a bell. IT’S OVER. IT’S OVER. As I watched my feet swinging through thin air, I couldn’t ignore the fact that I had become a cliché-dumped at the altar, well, practically, the night before my wedding. Despite the beautiful vista of my hometown in front of me, all I could see were Anna’s vivid blue eyes, darkening in a way that was foreign to me, as she stepped back from our vows. At the memory, fresh pain ripped through my body, leaving me feeling weak and empty. A brisk wind would likely topple me over the edge, into the fathomless depths below me. IT’S OVER. But it’s not over. Even here, at the edge of reason, I know that I must go on. I must find a new path. I just wish it didn’t seem so daunting, so overwhelming.

Your assignment: Using the provided example as a guide, write your own internal monologue based on the above photograph or another photograph you select online. Ask yourself some questions about the character in the photograph: Who? What? Where? When? Why?  Your internal monologue should be at least ten sentences long.  It may be hand-written or typed.  Please remember all the writing strategies we have discussed in class (sensory details, challenging vocabulary, varied punctuation, etc.).  If you use your own photograph, please attach a copy of it to your written assignment.

Language Arts Applications (Periods 7 and 8)

 

Cereal Advertising—In class, we have been studying the three main tenets of advertising: pathos, ethos, and logos.  Since we have focused particularly on cereal advertisements, you will be selecting a cereal commercial to critique.  You may find one on television to watch, or you may view a commercial online via YouTube or another video-sharing website.  After viewing your selected cereal commercial, please complete the following:

1.       A summary of the commercial you selected, including the type of cereal advertised, the type of consumer it would appeal, and the basic content of the commercial. (One paragraph minimum)

2.      A breakdown of specific examples of pathos, ethos, and logos.  If any one of those is missing from the commercial, simply explain that it was not included. (One paragraph minimum)

3.      A conclusion that explains whether you think this commercial effectively advertised for the cereal, with specific details from the commercial. (One paragraph minimum)

4.      You may hand-write or type this assignment.  It must be at least three paragraphs in length.

For questions or concerns on either of these virtual learning assignments, please contact Mrs. Smith at lsmith@pcsc.k12.in.us.  Thanks!

Focus on Writing

As we've finally settled into a routine this semester (despite all the issues with the weather!), we  have been focusing on writing these first few weeks.  I have been very impressed with some of the writers in my classes, but with ISTEP coming up I also wanted to really hone those particular skills with everyone.  We've been writing with challenging vocabulary words, descriptive sensory details, and a variety of punctuation.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share the following information.  It's always important to see how writing relates to the "real world" and not just school situations.  (Thanks, Mrs. Hedge, for sharing this!)

  An infographic by GrammarCheck

 

Happy Writing!
Mrs. Smith

The Martian Chronicles

Since we've been reading a short story from Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles," I thought it might be interesting to get a glimpse of the actual surface of this enigmatic planet. 

A Conversation with Ray Bradbury

Next up: "The Naming of Names" by Ray Bradbury

Interview With Julia Alvarez

We've been reading "Names/Nombres" by Julia Alvarez. 

Student Essay Winners

Earlier in the semester, our technology department shared this video (entitled "A Day Made of Glass") with our school corporation.  In this intriguing video, students witnessed a plethora of innovative ways technology was changing the face of the future.  We watched it together in my language arts classes, and I was amazed not only by the material presented, but by the insights students then shared.  Because the technology department had also challenged students to write an essay for a competition, I encouraged them to put their ideas and opinions into writing.

Boy, did they ever!

I selected a handful of my favorites to submit to the contest, and three of my students ultimately tied for the win!  In addition, several more earned honorable mentions.  As a reward, I am publishing the three winning essays on my blog, along with sharing the names of the runners-up from my classes.  I appreciate the technology department for being willing to inspire our students, and I applaud my students for generating such unique essays.

Winners:

Becca, Period 6

Maggie, Period 6

Rebekah, Period 6

Honorable Mentions:

Madison, Period 6

Kelsey, Period 6

Hallee, Period 1

Hailey, Period 2

Becca's Essay
These inventions seem amazing!  Everyday life would be much more sufficient and easier.  The ideas are incredible!  The flexible display glass really caught my attention.  To be able to carry around something so minute, but for it to hold so much data is remarkable.  I would love to have one.  I could do my homework, display pictures, and many other things, with just a microscopic, portable device.

These inventions would work terrifically in a classroom.  The portable display glass could replace all of our books and anything we do online.  Even the LCD television glass would work.  You could replace the chalk and white boards with them.  It would also make the class much more interactive.  The work surface display glass would make grading papers and looking up grades easier for teachers as well.

I can see these devices being very useful in the future.  Life will be so much easier.  I can't wait for the near future and hope to see these inventions in it!

Maggie's Essay
This idea of glass is very intriguing, and most people probably had no idea anything like this even existed.  I had no idea that something as simple and basic as glass could hold so much use.  People wouldn't even remember what it was like before glass electronics.

What intrigued me most was the flexible display glass.  You could design your own home that way.  There could be electronic blueprints, and you could view them at different angles.  When I saw it, I had to do a double-take.  Did I really just see that?  I had to do that with about everything in this video, though.  Just about all of these things could have some use in a lot of situations.

In school, people could build computers made of glass into the desks.  That would save space and time.  The boards might also be made of glass some day.   I could believe that eventually, they may have glass electronic music stands, in which the music is programmed in for you.  These are just a few examples.  There are many ways that this could become our future in school, and in life.

Rebekah's Essay
The whole idea is pretty unique.  To think that less than twenty years ago cell phones were just coming out to the general population and now people are making glass technology.  Thomas Edison would be astonished by what we have accomplished!

My favorite part about "A Day Made of Glass" was the portable display glass.  It would be handy, so you didn't have to lug around five textbooks.  Also, you could carry around a  year's worth of A.R. books in it.  The flexible display glass was also an intriguing idea.  It would be cool to have something like that when you do group projects.

Photogenic glass would be more reliable than the wall clocks because all classrooms would have the same time, unlike the clocks that are always off a couple of minutes or, in Mrs. Smith's case, an hour.  I cannot wait for this day in age to come around and help humanity take another leap into the future.

Technology in Advertising

Whew!  That first nine-weeks grading period really flew by us.  It's hard to believe I haven't updated this blog since that initial week of school.  Then again, I've been busy adjusting to the many wonderful aspects of middle school, as well as planning ways to integrate technology throughout the rest of the school year.

Of course, I wanted to share my major technology project from this past grading period.  In my Language Arts Applications classes, we just completed a unit on advertising.  Thanks to ReadWriteThink (a fantastic educational website), I was able to jump-start my unit by focusing on pathos, ethos, and logos within advertising.  Students then used this newly acquired knowledge to create their own cereals.  In addition to designing cereal boxes, they ultimately produced their own cereal commercials using Animoto (a video-based website that is very user-friendly and innovative).  As a teacher, it was so rewarding to watch these products come alive through the imagination, creativity, and ingenuity of the students.  Everyone generated such unique cereals!

Since advertising is--by its very nature--quite competitive, I couldn't conclude this unit without a little contest.  Not only did we display the cereal boxes prominently in my room, but we also viewed all the commercials together in class.  We found ample examples of pathos, ethos, and logos.  We discussed the various attributes of each cereal.  Lastly, we voted on which boxes and commercials the students felt best persuaded them to buy the cereal product. 

Here are the winners from my two participating classes:

Cereal Box Winners

Mackinzee, Period 7

 

 

Bridget, Period 8

 

Cereal Commercial Winners

Natalie, Period 7

Jonathan, Period 7

 

 

Mandy, Period 8

 

Congrats to these students on their success and to all my students for their hard work during this unit.  I truly wish I could share them all, and I hope the students enjoyed this unit as much as I did.

Mrs. Smith