PACE: Essay Workshopping & QUACK quiz Unit 2 Part 2

On Tuesday, we have some major docket items.

One is a QUACK Quiz for Unit 2 Part 2.  That's coming up to close out the day rather than start it.

The other is an intense essay writing workshop.  With the end of the year nearing, I want to make sure folks feel like they can turn those drafts in to me that would have been even more fantastic last week.  I've got some ideas as to how we can make this an active, moving, not just sitting and writing and listening experience on Tuesday.  So let's do that.

Here are some of the ideas that came out of last week's workshop.

The idea here is that you can see how I use a bunch of different organizational methods to pre-write and help Natalie with her essay.  The content isn't what matters most in these images -- what matters most is seeing how I used some webbing and visual mapping, as well as some outlining to help determine a clear thesis statement and the points to be made regarding that thesis statement.

REMEMBER!  A key aspect of the essay assignment is using text evidence -- that is a central part of the writing standard.  

Blog: 3+ Posts

Req'd: Discuss a conflict that you either witness on a regular basis or experience for yourself on a regular basis.  How would you like to see it resolved?  What do you believe is preventing it from being resolved?

ESSAYS & NOVELS!  CHECK THE DUE DATES SHARED DOC!  All req's are there!

PACE: Noun Project, Conflict & Essential Questions

Today we took stock of the work we have to do for the rest of the year.

Here's a pic of the notes.

We used The Noun Project  to explore relating conflict through simple images.  The idea here is that our experiences with conflict informs our ability to see and relate to even a string of basic images.  We know conflict when we see it; now, how do we deal with resolving it?

On your blog for this week, you will post a story using images from The Noun Project to relate a conflict you are dealing with in your life.  You may choose to include an explanation or allow the images to speak your voice.

Then we took time to choose essential questions around conflict to guide our work.  Each person chose his or her own Q. This question should be thought about as you read and complete the graphic organizer, collecting evidence and understanding as you go of your essential question.

Next class, we dive back into vocab (QUACK 2), MUGS, share our essential Qs and what is happening in our books.  We will also start pre-writing our essays.

HOMEWORK

Blog: 3+ Posts (Q4 Wk 1 - we did not have mandatory blogs the first two weeks of the quarter bc we were on the trailer project.)

Req'd Post: Post a story using images from The Noun Project to relate a conflict you are dealing with in your life.  You may choose to include an explanation or allow the images to speak your voice.

Vocab:  Quack Unit 2 Part 1

Quiz: Thursday, May 8

MUGS: TBA.

Quiz: TBA.

Read:  2 Novels from Selections

Complete: 3 Graphic Organizers Per Selection

Due: June 1

Complete 1st Book by May 15

Write: 2 Essays over Self Selected Essential Questions

Due: June 8 

Complete 1st Working Draft of 1st by May 15

PACE: Pitches & Trailers Decided

Today we had our pitch revisions and chose to move forward with Pitches into Products.

After folks delivered Macbeth-inspired pitches, we decided that several were worthy of development into trailers.

We will be making trailers of Lindzee's, Mitch's and Kristen's.  We divided into production teams. More about this teams to be posted on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, you will receive a production schedule that must be maintained.  These trailers will go live to the public on April 11.  

HOMEWORK
Blog: 3+ Posts
Req'd Post: Req'd Post: How might we make the last quarter of PACE the most exceptional, amazing powerful and important and mind blowing learning experience you could possibly have AND make the school say, "Wow.  AND they learned the stuff they were supposed to learn?"

QUACK Vocab
Unit 1 Part 2 
Quiz: Friday

Unit 1 Parts 1 & 2
Quiz: Thur, April 3

Macbeth:
3 Graphic Organizers: Past Teacher PACE
Show Bible: Past Teacher PACE

PACE: Macbeth & Quack & Work & Due Dates & Working Smarter Not Harder

I'll be spending class saving the world from itself at a meeting in the The Chef's Table.

While I'm gone, you folks will be doing all sorts of awesome.

For one, we start vocabulary this week, using the QUACK words that are part of the sophomore year.  There will be a quiz every Thursday as well as a QUACK product due.  (The first will be on the Thursday following break, Feb 27.) That QUACK product could be the word map (found in the PACE OUT folder on Google Drive) OR may be any product you wish to make that demonstrates your understanding of the QUACK words.

• Poems
• Songs
• Comics
• Stories

Unit 1 Part 1 can be found here.

You might want to take a few minutes to complete the Commonly Confused Words #2 assignment on www.NoRedInk.com.  It's optional AND there's a quiz on Friday.

By 8 a.m., I recommend watching a large chunk of the Macbeth documentary in your Google Drive - perhaps 30 minutes? If someone would like to hook up to the dongle and audio plug at the front of the room, that's totally fine with me.

Here are some time coded notes to help you out.  These are in your Google Drive.


If you pay attention, you will see that this documentary tells the entire story of Macbeth, shows it performed in different ways, and let's you know about the major ideas and themes in the play.

It's pretty darn well done.

As you watch, you may want to take notes using your first graphic organizer.  Of course, you need to base MOST of this graphic organizer on one of the ten scenes I identified last class.   I recommend using one of the scenes from Act I or II, because we've been talking a great deal about the action early on in the play.
Link to All of the Scenes and Summary is here

1.3 

1.5 

1.7 

2.1 

3.4 

4.1 

4.3 

5.1 (out damn spot)

5.5 (out out brief candle)

5.8 (death and new king)

Finally,  open up the Due Dates form.  If you don't believe you can keep up with Teacher PACE, establish your own PACE.  

Next class will be all about the project.  It's a short class because of early release and we will focus entirely on story bibles and pitches and brainstorming ideas.  

HOMEWORK

Blogs: 3+ 
Req'd Post: Pre-Thinking Your Pitch.  Take some time to brainstorm, to mess around with ideas, to talk out loud, to sketch and design, to use whatever tools you like -- digital or not -- to come up with some ideas for your project.  Questions you could answer that might help:
Would you make a movie, TV show, video game or book series?
Where might you set your story? Think about settings that feature a lot of people, a lot of relationships, and a lot of power dynamics.
Who might be an interesting main character? What does this character want? What is keeping this character from getting it?
Due: Friday, Feb 14

Macbeth Graphic Organizers: Must Complete 3

Teacher Pace Due Dates:

Wed: Feb 12

Tue: Feb 25

Wed: Mar 5

MUGS: Commonly Confused Words #2
Quiz: Friday, Feb 14

QUACK: Unit 1 Part 1
Quiz & Product Due: Thursday Feb 27

Start Thinking & Planning: Movie/Video Game/TV Show Pitches & Bibles
Due: Early March