Mystery Genre

I saw this on CBS's Sunday Morning today.  I know that Tompkins doesn't focus on the the mystery genre but I thought this was a nice piece on Lee Child . It is interesting to hear him discuss how and why he chooses the first words for his books.
Here is the link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6987175n

Session 10 Agenda

Assigned Readings for Session 10

[T] = Read Chapter7

[G] = Read one P-level text and either one M- or U- level text.

Bring [G] examples to class for discussion/use during Expert Presentation

LEARNING ACTIVITY I.   Exploring the Biography Genre(4:00-4:50)  
Examining How We Teach Students to Read Biography Through Writing (Liz)
(4:50-5:00)  Evaluation of presentation
 
5:00-5:15 Break
 
LEARNING ACTIVITY II.   618 READING/WRITING WORKSHOP TIME   (5:15-6:40)
1=Prewriting   2=Drafting    3=Revising  4=Editing   5=Publishing
6=Peer Conference   7=Teacher Conference  8=Independent Reading


Writing Groups Required to Meet to Discuss /Give Feedback on Pieces Suggested activities for the evening during Independent Writing Time:
                                             
                   1.  Revising/Editing possible genre piece #1.
                   2. Drafting/Revising possible genre piece #2.
                   3. Prewriting/Drafting possible genre piece #3.
                   4.  Read more Biographies, Autobiographies, Personal Narratives 

Also, tonight I will continue Teacher Conferences with students to discuss:
1.  Points raised in individual learning (b)log posts
2.  Progress with Genre Pieces Project
3.  Expectations for/Evaluation of the Collaborative Analysis of Digital Writing Tools Assignment.
4.  Student assessment of progress meeting Course Learning Objectives

MidSemester Quote

"The mere habit of writing, 

of constantly keeping at it, 

of never giving up, 

ultimately teaches you how to write."  

                                        --Gabriel Fielding

Session 9 Agenda

Assigned Readings for Session 9
[T] = Read Chapter 11

[G] = Read one P-level text and either one M- or U- level text.

Bring [G] examples to class for discussion/use during Expert Presentation

LEARNING ACTIVITY I.   Exploring the Poetry Genre  (4:00-4:50)  
Examining How We Teach Students to Read Poetry Through Writing (Melissa G)
(4:50-5:00)  Evaluation of presentation
 
5:00-5:15 Break
 
LEARNING ACTIVITY II.   618 READING/WRITING WORKSHOP TIME   (5:15-6:40)
1=Prewriting   2=Drafting    3=Revising  4=Editing   5=Publishing
6=Peer Conference   7=Teacher Conference  8=Independent Reading


Suggested activities for the evening during Independent Writing Time:                                             
                   1.  Revising/Editing possible genre piece #1.
                   2. Drafting/Revising possible genre piece #2.
                   3. Prewriting/Drafting possible genre piece #3.
                   4.  Read more Poetry


Also, tonight I will start (7) Teacher Conferences with students to discuss:
1.  Points raised in individual learning (b)log posts
2.  Progress with Genre Pieces Project
3.  Student assessment of progress meeting Course Learning Objectives

Session 8 Agenda

Assigned Readings for Session 8
[T] = Read Chapter 9
[G] = Read one P-level text and either one M- or U- level text.

Bring [G] examples to class for discussion/use during Expert Presentation

LEARNING ACTIVITY I.   Exploring the Narrative Genre
(4:00-4:50)  Examining How We Teach Students to Read Poetry Through Writing (Melissa N)

(4:50-5:00)  Evaluation of presentation

5:00-5:15 Break
 
LEARNING ACTIVITY II.   618 READING/WRITING WORKSHOP TIME   (5:15-6:40)
1=Prewriting   2=Drafting    3=Revising  4=Editing   5=Publishing
6=Peer Conference   7=Teacher Conference  8=Independent Reading

(Required)   Peer Writing Group Meets to discuss Genre Pieces
(Optional)   Teacher Experts Meet with Dr. Jones to discuss presentation

 Suggested activities for the evening during Independent Writing Time:
                                             
                   1.  Drafting/Revising possible genre piece #1.
                   2. Prewriting/Drafting possible genre piece #2.
                   3.  Read another Narrative

 

Session 7 Agenda

Assigned Readings for Session 7

[T] = Read Chapter4

[H] = Read Chapter 4

[O]= Read AND POST RESPONSES to Melissa's Questions for Discussion 
          This can be found in the link below for Learning Activity I

[O] = Read Sommers

[O] =  http://rubistar.4teachers.org
ALSO:  Learning Log Entries 2-5 needed to be completed before the start of class



LEARNING ACTIVITY I.   Melissa G's Lead Discussion of Hicks
(4:00-5:00)  Examining Author's Craft Through Multimedia Composition
 
5:00-5:15 Break
 
LEARNING ACTIVITY II.   Additional Thoughts about Teacher Feedback and Rubrics
(5:15-5:45)  Reflecting on Rubrics, Red Pens, and Really Useful Feedback 
 
LEARNING ACTIVITY III.   618 READING/WRITING WORKSHOP TIME   (5:45-6:40)
1=Prewriting   2=Drafting    3=Revising  4=Editing   5=Publishing
6=Peer Conference   7=Teacher Conference  8=Independent Reading



(5:45-6:00)   Class Decision:  What can be considered when identifying a form (i.e.,  
                     genre and/or media) for the Genre Pieces Project?

(6:00-6:40)   Independent Writing Time 
                       Suggested activities for the evening:                         
                   1.  Drafting/Revising possible genre piece #1.
                   2. Prewriting/Drafting possible genre piece #2.
                   3.  Teacher Conference  (?Session 8 and Session 9 Presenters?)

 

Looking at Hicks Chapter 4: Examining Author's Craft Through Multimedia Composition

With so many powerful writing tools at our disposal, what elements of writing do our students need to consider and transfer over from their current understandings of print? Think about this question as you read Chapter 4, and then consider the following questions:

1.   How can the MAPS heuristic help you define the writing task for students as well as begin to think about assessment of the multimedia work that they will produce? After reading the chapter, how comfortable would you feel assessing students using multimedia compositions that may be new to us?

2.   Take some time to visit the Flickr page dedicated to visual stories (mentioned on p. 63 of Hicks). Read carefully through the instructions the site gives for those who participate. Pick 2 submissions to positively critique, and 2 submissions that you have suggestions for. What made you like/dislike the submissions you chose? What elements of author's craft helped you critique the submissions?

For your answer(s) to question #2, please include the titles of the submissions you chose to write about. We will look at them and talk about them more in class. There are a lot of titles to choose from, so feel free to explore as many as you like! Please follow the format used in our first discussion, posting "Melissa's Response to Question #1" as the title for your comments. Submit a different comment for each question to help you focus on one task at a time. Please submit your posts by MIDNIGHT on MONDAY, 10/11 so that we all have time to look at and reflect on each others' thoughts (and possibly explore some of the Flickr submissions!). Feel free to shoot me an e-mail for any kind of questions or clarifications needed. Thanks!

(Just in case the link in questions #2 doesn't work for you, the web address you should visit is www.flickr.com/groups/visualstory )