One of my favorite magazines and online journals is Good.
They run a regular series called People Are Awesome and it's one of my favorites. Feel free to read any of these stories and respond to them on your blog.
You're welcome.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Social Action Wrap Up/Nonfiction worth checking out
I have read and been inspired by a number of social action stories this week. Here are links to read and discover on your own. If you are moved by one, please write your next blog post in response.
Anonymous Donors Pay Off Kmart Layaways
Time Magazine names "The Protester" their Person of the Year. Click HERE for a photo essay of 35 different protesters. Click HERE to read the stories behind this choice.
Google just donated millions of dollars to help fight human trafficking. Read the story HERE.
Google's marketing campaign to raise awareness also includes a Slavery Footprint interactive tool for individuals to become educated on how people are contributing to modern day slavery. Visit Slavery Footprint and check it out for yourself.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
A Letter to 811
Dear 811,
Overall, I am impressed with the close-reading work you are doing--that means that you are looking at micro details and responding to them!
As you move forward, I want you to focus on trying to string some of those micro details together to come up with an overall theory. Your theory can be your focus for the post and the micro details become the support for your theory. This will also cause your writing to be a bit more formally organized.
Also remember to consider the "extension" aspect of reading: what is the author trying to say to you as a person? What is the story truly about (beyond the plot)?
Here are some All Star Mentors to visit this week for inspiration:
Eleni writes about big, interesting ideas in a super organized, focused way. You should definitely read her posts if you need an example on how to have a theory and how to elaborate on it using both mico and macro details!
Delia's most recent post on Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld is a great example of writing around a theory or big idea. Her title helps introduce what she is focused on. (That is one way you can tell if you have ONE theory...does a clear title come to mind to introduce your work?)
I'm looking forward to reading your work in the coming weeks! Remember that as you challenge yourself with more sophisticated books, chances are you will have more interesting things to discuss. This is a point in the year when some of you will want to consider weaning yourself off of Young Adult Literature and moving into some "bridge" or adult fiction! We'll talk more about that in January.
Sincerely,
Ms. Robbins
Overall, I am impressed with the close-reading work you are doing--that means that you are looking at micro details and responding to them!
As you move forward, I want you to focus on trying to string some of those micro details together to come up with an overall theory. Your theory can be your focus for the post and the micro details become the support for your theory. This will also cause your writing to be a bit more formally organized.
Also remember to consider the "extension" aspect of reading: what is the author trying to say to you as a person? What is the story truly about (beyond the plot)?
Here are some All Star Mentors to visit this week for inspiration:
Eleni writes about big, interesting ideas in a super organized, focused way. You should definitely read her posts if you need an example on how to have a theory and how to elaborate on it using both mico and macro details!
Delia's most recent post on Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld is a great example of writing around a theory or big idea. Her title helps introduce what she is focused on. (That is one way you can tell if you have ONE theory...does a clear title come to mind to introduce your work?)
I'm looking forward to reading your work in the coming weeks! Remember that as you challenge yourself with more sophisticated books, chances are you will have more interesting things to discuss. This is a point in the year when some of you will want to consider weaning yourself off of Young Adult Literature and moving into some "bridge" or adult fiction! We'll talk more about that in January.
Sincerely,
Ms. Robbins
A Letter to 806
Dear 806,
I feel like I need to write this letter to different halves of the class: the half who is actively writing thought provoking posts on their blogs and the half who has missed either one or both of the last two posts (or more). You are such a smart class and it is disappointing to see students blowing off not only homework credit, but an opportunity to really think through your independent reading book.
Overall, for the people who *are* updating their blogs regularly, I am noticing readers picking out micro details and making inferences about them, which is great. The next step is either writing LONG about those micro details or stringing a few together to come up with a theory.
Beyond writing long, I want you to focus on EXTENSION. Remember our the "Process of Critical Thinking in Literature" display in our room. This is the last part of the critical reading process. Ask questions like: Does this relate to me? people my age? What is the author trying to tell me about this? I will be looking for smart extension work for your next post.
Here are some All Star Mentors to inspire you to write. I encourage you to read these posts and see what they are doing not only as writers, but what does it seem they are doing as active readers while in their books?
Nathan is reading Linchpin by Seth Godin, a nonfiction book about creativity and wrote some seriously thought-provoking posts about it. It inspired me to want to pick up the book!
Talyah wrote about the book Something Like Fate and had some really interesting thoughts about friendship.
Adam came up with some great theories about the character Jack in The Lord of the Flies. I would love to now hear a bit of extension...what do his thoughts and these characters teach us about people? Life? Leave him a comment with your opinion when you visit.
I'm looking forward to being inspired by your next round of posts!
Ms. Robbins
I feel like I need to write this letter to different halves of the class: the half who is actively writing thought provoking posts on their blogs and the half who has missed either one or both of the last two posts (or more). You are such a smart class and it is disappointing to see students blowing off not only homework credit, but an opportunity to really think through your independent reading book.
Overall, for the people who *are* updating their blogs regularly, I am noticing readers picking out micro details and making inferences about them, which is great. The next step is either writing LONG about those micro details or stringing a few together to come up with a theory.
Beyond writing long, I want you to focus on EXTENSION. Remember our the "Process of Critical Thinking in Literature" display in our room. This is the last part of the critical reading process. Ask questions like: Does this relate to me? people my age? What is the author trying to tell me about this? I will be looking for smart extension work for your next post.
Here are some All Star Mentors to inspire you to write. I encourage you to read these posts and see what they are doing not only as writers, but what does it seem they are doing as active readers while in their books?
Nathan is reading Linchpin by Seth Godin, a nonfiction book about creativity and wrote some seriously thought-provoking posts about it. It inspired me to want to pick up the book!
Talyah wrote about the book Something Like Fate and had some really interesting thoughts about friendship.
Adam came up with some great theories about the character Jack in The Lord of the Flies. I would love to now hear a bit of extension...what do his thoughts and these characters teach us about people? Life? Leave him a comment with your opinion when you visit.
I'm looking forward to being inspired by your next round of posts!
Ms. Robbins
A Letter to 804
Dear 804,
As I've been reviewing your blogs, I've noticed some improvements. Most of you are trying to write in paragraph form, many are including interesting titles and I noticed some interesting comments. I want you to continue to grow as writers, though, so here are some updates for you and some examples of All-Star-Mentors...people in your class who are doing their reading response/blog work really well.
As I've been reviewing your blogs, I've noticed some improvements. Most of you are trying to write in paragraph form, many are including interesting titles and I noticed some interesting comments. I want you to continue to grow as writers, though, so here are some updates for you and some examples of All-Star-Mentors...people in your class who are doing their reading response/blog work really well.
- Most importantly, your blog needs to be about a theory you have about your book. This is designed to build on what we covered in our very first unit. I would now like for you to check back at this post every week and choose one of the 9 options to try out for you post. Include the option you are trying out as a label to your post.
- Remember, retell should only be used to give context for your ideas. I do actually read your posts:) I can tell if you just wrote three paragraphs of retell!
- Please, please write with an academic tone. It can still be personal, but the work you post should represent your best self: capitalization, underlining or italicizing titles, etc.
All Star Mentors from 804:
Anouk did a great job about writing a post about Tina Fey's Bossypants that encourages conversation! She pulled out something that made her think deeply and wrote about it in an engaging way.
I challenged Mark to write a blog post explaining why so many 8th graders still love the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, even though it's below your reading level. He did a great job explaining and if you read all of his posts you can tell that he takes time to think of a thought-provoking topic.
I am looking forward to reading posts that challenge me to look at the world in a different way or open my eyes to new insight!
Sincerely,
Ms. Robbins
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