A Fictional Viral Outbreak

FICTION ALERT! FICTION ALERT! FICTION ALERT! FICTION ALERT!FICTION ALERT! FICTION ALERT! FICTION ALERT! FICTION ALERT!

This week, our school has embarked on an educational collaboration utilizing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition. We are operating under the fictional guise that an unidentified viral epidemic has broken out in our area. As a result, it is up to our students to work together to identify, quantify, and attack this particular virus. Many classes are working together to create a truly unified learning experience.

Remember: this is not for real! Our intent is purely educational, with a little fun thrown in as well. It is our hope that this program will be embraced in the manner it is intended.

In my class, students will be blogging about their experiences (again, completely fictional ones!) as they attempt to help others overcome and survive this viral outbreak. Each student will maintain a survival log on his/her own blog, which will then be linked to my blog. Readers will be able to track this outbreak as it spreads, as well as keep up with each student's progress and survival.

Who will uncover the secrets to survival? Who will find their bravery, knowledge, and very survival skills put to the test? Keep up with our blogs to find out!

Today, it begins (but not for real, only for educational fun!). Watch for Period 1 and Period 5 blogs coming very, very soon. Let the adventures begin!

P.S. For more information on this exciting learning opportunity, please visit our school's wiki page: http://viraloutbreak.wikispaces.com/

It's GOOD to be Back!

Welcome, 2011-2012, to a new and improved year of blogging!

While my computer may not be my home (!), it certainly does house my love of blogging. This year, as I continue to share the wonderful world of blogging with my classes, I hope to incorporate many exciting ways to utilize online communication. In addition to our usual emphasis on written texts and visual cues, we will join other PCHS classes and even the entire school for an upcoming October unit that involves "the walking dead!" (More information to come on that particular venture.)

In the meantime, I have sent home parent permission slips and am eager to begin creating our student blogs. Within a few weeks, we should have all new blogs up and running. Look for those coming soon!

New Bloggers Alert!

Remember me? It's been awhile since I've updated this blog, but hopefully that will soon change. I am back, and I've brought a group of new and rather talented student bloggers with me. :)

Almost all of my Period 7 creative writers are now online, and the others should be uploaded within the week. Please take some time to browse their blogs and read some of their poems and stories. They have strong voices with myriad ideas to share. Enjoy!

Welcome Back!

Wow! Where did the time go? It seems like I blinked and 1st semester was over. Suddenly, I'm facing 2nd semester, 2011, and a new roster of classes (and bloggers!) all at once. Whew! You know what they say; time flies when you're having fun!

At any rate, I am excited to begin a new blogging adventure with my incoming students. Although I am not always able to utilize these classroom blogs to their full potential, I truly believe they are worth the time and effort to create and maintain them. It is my hope that all students will walk away with positive learning experiences from blogging. Thank you to all of my bloggers from last semester, as well, for I hope you enjoyed yourselves and walked away with value.

Please be patient with me as I switch over blogs from last semester to the current one. I hope to soon be up and running with new blogs for Periods 5 and 7. I am also going to allow my freshman honors class to blog this semestser as well, so look for those Period 3 links coming soon!

October Posts of the Month

Although I was slow this year getting our blogs up and running, I am nevertheless extremely pleased with how well my students are utilizing these online communication tools. As usual, many of them have surpassed my own ability to blog! Thus, again this year, I hope to highlight some of my favorite posts each month by bestowing a "Post of the Month" award to one blogger from each class. To be eligible, a post must be posted within the appropriate month, be an independent free write not completed for a class assignment, and be appealing to an audience in some way. Often I have my students vote on their favorites, but for October I wanted to first share my own.

So here they are! Congratulations to the following students for their winning posts:

Breanna, from Period 5, wins for her series of photography posts. I particularly enjoy viewing her photos, not only because they're wonderful, but because they remind readers that even images can be used to tell a story.

Kayla, from Period 7, wins for her post entitled "Autumn Spirit," in which she beautifully writes about the beauty of this season. In fact, every post on her blog radiates a combination of strong writing skills and surpassing imagination.

Well done to both bloggers! Please visit their blogs, as well as those of their classmates, to continue to experience positive blogging at its best.

Advertising Winners

Last week, as my creative writing classes wrapped up a unit on word choice, the students created advertisements for cereals they designed themselves. They focused on using persuasive word choice to sway their audience. Requirements included a catchy title, a carefully worded slogan, and a related graphic of some sort. All students then posted their ads on their blogs, and both of my classes voted on their favorites. Please visit Period 5 & 7 blogs to view a wide variety of cereals that include some clever, entertaining, and downright interesting words!

Congraulations to the following winners!

Amy, Period 5

Cady, Period 7

Six Word Summaries

Disclaimer: We had such success with this assignment last year, that I'm bringing it back for this year's creative writing classes. Enjoy!

After reading a recent Reader's Digest article entitled, "Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak," I decided this concept would make an excellent word choice activity for my creative writing class. Indeed, we have been focusing on using a small amount of precise words to make a large impact. How perfect!

Of course, I adapted our assignment so that the students were able to choose any theme: love, heartbreak, faith, friendship, success, etc. They created some truly moving tributes using only six words. Please check out the comments section below to see their impressive work!

Here's the link to the Reader's Digest article, if anyone's interested in the inspiration for this assignment, along with some additional entertaining six word summaries: http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/sixword-memoirs-on-love-and-relationships/article116695.html.Feeling inspired?? Feel free to add your own six word summaries in the comments section below!!