Monday, February 23, 2009

Unit: I Hate Writing

My students literally hate to write. Whenever I ask them to write for anything in class the usual response is "I hate writing". Some of them physically have difficulty making their letters. There is so much thought and effort in forming the letters that the content gets lost. I have some exceptionally smart students who cannot put their thoughts on paper. They are motivated to work on the computer so I am hoping to merge this desire with the writing process to get them comfortable with content writing. The keyboard will become their pencil and the monitor their paper.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
Why is writing important?

UNIT QUESTIONS:
Who is my target audience?
What am I trying to communicate?

CONTENT QUESTIONS:
What do I need to make a complete sentence?
What are four types of sentences?
How do I use correct punctuation in a sentence?
How do I develop a complex sentence?
How do I develop a paragraph with a beginning, middle and end?
How do I utilize graphic organizers?
How can I check for errors in my own writing?
What are the five types of writing?



Sunday, February 22, 2009

Relfections on Class

I finally have the opportunity to write my first blog! I hope this works because this in itself has been way too stressful. Technology is great when it flows and works but when it doesn't and you're like me I just want to scream and shout and give up! That said I use technology every day in my classroom. My students who are working towards high school credit must complete lessons using the Nova Net website. There have been several times when the system is down and shuts off in the middle of the lessons where the students loose everything they've done and I have to work hard to calm them down because these are special needs students who have very little patience or motivation to work. I have been on both sides of the fence now. There is no turning back and no escaping the future and it is all about the technology.

I like how the class is structured allowing us to utilize the class time to actually complete required work. I also like the hands-on experience, learn by doing in the class with the teacher present. I for the first time used publisher and look forward to using it in the classroom.

I am fortunate to have computers in my classroom and seek to learn ways to utilize them for learning besides the required Nova Net work. My students are very clever and wise in the ways of technology, far ahead of their teacher, Ms. Tuten. I am seeking to learn valuable information to share with my students to help them progress educationally in all areas of academics.