As a teacher I am always looking for ways to engage the students and make the class captivating, challenging and fun. In this chapter Professor Murray gives some great examples of activities that can be used in the classroom. One of the great thing about the activities that he give is that not only is there a great variety in them but also the skill level and diversity is quite extensive. Once again I like how he encourages collaboration between teachers, "Design your own exercises, share them with your colleagues, steal and adapt theirs. Invite your students to make up their own."(109)
Another aspect that I really appreciated is the fact that he limits the emphasis on texts. "No text should attempt to take the place of the students' won writing" In the classroom I have always felt that texts are a great resource but in today's electronic age there are so many supplemental texts available to the teacher and the student that limiting education to one resource is counter productive.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
It has been a long week.....
...... You know, no w that I am 44 years old things should be easier to deal with and life needs to stop throwing little surprises my way. Last week started out good and it though it has been incredibly hot outside I have been enjoying the opportunity to ride my bike and get a little bit of extra exercise. On Wednesday I had to drive in to school because I had been tasked to present at the New Employees Orientation at the VA hospital and between my bike and the bus it would take forever for me to get there. As I pulled into Cheney I received a phone call from my mom letting me know that my Grandmother (92 years old) had passed away. I know that she had been slipping the past 6 months or so and that for the most part she had lost what was real and what was just her mind. After getting off the phone with my mom I started to think... Wow 92 years, what an incredible life she had lived. Born in Kansas and raised in the political world of Washington DC, she had met the love of her life while he was attending the US Naval Academy. Raised three kids and was a patron of the arts. And that is just a short snippet of the life of my Grandmother. The life she led was full of adventure and mishaps. Friends and family, she was never an idle soul and was always looking for a project to be involved with.
I will always value the gifts that she gave me, my love for reading, the arts and a strong sense of individualism. It is hard to think that she will not be around, but I know that she is no longer wondering who she is and what is real and that she is back with my grandfather and those who loved her.
On the 4th, my family and I went over and rode the Hiawatha trail. It is 15 mile that runs along an old railroad line. You start out in a 1.7 mile tunnel and from there you move along some of the most beautiful landscape you will find. The trail take you through numerous railroad tunnels over tressels and winds you down to the bottom of the valley where you are picked up and taken back to the top. A wonderful little adventure located in our back yard.
I will always value the gifts that she gave me, my love for reading, the arts and a strong sense of individualism. It is hard to think that she will not be around, but I know that she is no longer wondering who she is and what is real and that she is back with my grandfather and those who loved her.
On the 4th, my family and I went over and rode the Hiawatha trail. It is 15 mile that runs along an old railroad line. You start out in a 1.7 mile tunnel and from there you move along some of the most beautiful landscape you will find. The trail take you through numerous railroad tunnels over tressels and winds you down to the bottom of the valley where you are picked up and taken back to the top. A wonderful little adventure located in our back yard.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Patricia "Teeka" Clark
So I got a phone call this morning from my mother letting me know that after 92 years on this earth my grandmother had decided she was done and passed away. I know that sounds a little crass, but what I mean by that is my grandmother was a woman who lived life by her own rules. She was a member of the Houston family and her father was a Senator from Kansas, he was an appointee by FDR as the chair to the National Labor Relations Board, my grandmother grew up in surrounded by political families and had many friends in the DC circle. She married my grandfather, a young Annapolis Midshipman, and watched as he was commissioned and sent of to serve in the Pacific as a second lieutenant in the Marines. She was widowed with three young children and fought the military when they tried to put the blame for my Grandfathers death on him rather than equipment failure. She lived her life for her children giving them a love for music and art, always carrying herself in a proper manner. She married Ken Clarke, a well know concert pianist and continued to be active in arts and culture. My grandmother was a woman who influenced me in so many ways and gave me an appreciation for reading and music that has stayed with me through out my life. I will miss her with all my heart and will always remember her with love and honor.
Monday, July 1, 2013
What are the qualities of a good narrative...
For me a good narrative must be engaging,
tell a story
paint a picture
give the reader some insight into the writer.
complete (beginning, middle end)
personal touch, believable
consistent in content and context
considers audience
has a strong tone/voice
fluid
characters
elements of plot
something must happen for narrative to evolve
tell a story
paint a picture
give the reader some insight into the writer.
complete (beginning, middle end)
personal touch, believable
consistent in content and context
considers audience
has a strong tone/voice
fluid
characters
elements of plot
something must happen for narrative to evolve
The writing process......
1. Prewriting - brainstorming, mapping, research, thinking, discussion, freewrting
2. Drafting
3. Revision /Editing
4. Repeete #2 and #3 as many times as needed
5. Publication
2. Drafting
3. Revision /Editing
4. Repeete #2 and #3 as many times as needed
5. Publication
If I could change one thing about mysel, what would ti be and why.......
.... If there were one thing that I could change about myself I would stop being a procrastinator. For some reason I seem to always wait until the last possible minute to accomplish something, perform a a task or even pay a bill. If something is due at 9am it usually gets done about 8:55. If my power bill is due by the 5th of the month then it gets paid on the 5th. I tend to thrive under pressure and it never seems to bother me to wait until the last minute but there are times when that comes and bites me in the ass. I forget an assignment , I miss making a payment on time simple little shit like that. For me if this were something that I changed it more than likely make my life a bit easier, less stressful and less complicated.
Chapter 5 and 9 Writer Teaches Writng....
.... One of the things that I am really enjoying about this book is that the author does not talk down to the reader and brings the perspective of teaching composition to students into a non threatening manner.
In chapter 5 he discusses ways of motivating students what he calls inviting writing. What I really like about this is the way that he breaks down what is necessary for the student to become a writer and within each topic why it is an important part of the writing process. From the Need to Craft each step is a poinent and important aspect of the writing process.
I really enjoyed the section on the Syllabus and how the examples he gave of ones that he used and also how he gives the students options of using his syllabus or creating their own, It made me chuckle when he gave the anecdote about giving the students this options and 19 of them wrote their own and the ones that they came up with were more demanding than the one that he gave them.
I also got a lot out of the section on writing assignments and how he stated that he prefers open assignments to closed assignments as it allows the student more control in their writing. It was interesting when he was talking about handouts and how he creates new ones for each class and at the end of the class he throws them away along with his notes.
Chapter 9 was dealing with workshops and it gave me a new perspective, actually it completely changed my perspective on how and what a workshop for students was. I like the fact the he broke down how to deal with different issues and different types of students and even the different styles of workshops that can be used.
In chapter 5 he discusses ways of motivating students what he calls inviting writing. What I really like about this is the way that he breaks down what is necessary for the student to become a writer and within each topic why it is an important part of the writing process. From the Need to Craft each step is a poinent and important aspect of the writing process.
I really enjoyed the section on the Syllabus and how the examples he gave of ones that he used and also how he gives the students options of using his syllabus or creating their own, It made me chuckle when he gave the anecdote about giving the students this options and 19 of them wrote their own and the ones that they came up with were more demanding than the one that he gave them.
I also got a lot out of the section on writing assignments and how he stated that he prefers open assignments to closed assignments as it allows the student more control in their writing. It was interesting when he was talking about handouts and how he creates new ones for each class and at the end of the class he throws them away along with his notes.
Chapter 9 was dealing with workshops and it gave me a new perspective, actually it completely changed my perspective on how and what a workshop for students was. I like the fact the he broke down how to deal with different issues and different types of students and even the different styles of workshops that can be used.
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