Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Last Lecture- Culminating Assignment

Your “Last Lecture”
1. ASK YOURSELF:
What wisdom would I choose to impart to the world if it was my last chance? What are thelessons of my own life?
2. DEVELOP A LECTURE:
*Be creative
*Utilize props, slides, photographs, music, etc…
*Practice, Practice, Practice
3. HOW DO I GET STARTED?
If you need help coming up with material consider the following:
*What “brick walls” have you faced? What have they taught you?
*Have there been key bits of wisdom that you have garnered from people?
*Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to a student in elementary school?
What makes your life story different than those around you?
*Do you have advice on the following?
-relationships
-school
-parenting
-friendships
-sports
-activities
4. GRADING
We will develop a rubric together in class. Let us consider…
Organization
Audience Engagement
Title
Speech length (5 minutes???)
What else???

Grade11-The Last Lecture

Links to "The Last Lecture"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
http://www.cmu.edu/uls/journeys/randy-pausch/index.html
Transcript
http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/Randy/pauschlastlecturetranscript.pdf

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Grade 10- This I Believe...

Monday:
Group Assignment: What beliefs did you and your group agree on? (handout)
Homework: In your notebooks, tell a story showing the personal belief in action or explain why you believe this way.

Tuesday:
Group Assignment: Each member will tell his/her story & the group will choose the best story to share w/ the entire class. The class will discuss why these particular stories were chosen to be most effective.
Listen to NPR podcasts: "The Power of Hello"- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93536198
"The Choice To Do It Over Again"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92676216
Class Discussion: What makes these essays effective?
Homework:
Think about your core beliefs as we will use these to compose a poem tomorrow.

Wednesday:
Poetry Workshop
"I Believe..." Poems
"I've Learned..."Poems
Brainstorming Essay Topics
Homework:
Settle on a topic/ belief
Compse a two page freewwrite


Monday:
Looking at Models:
What is the difference between a Personal Narrative, Personal Memoir, and a Personal Essay?
Read the following:
Sample Personal Narrative: http://www.thisibelieve.org/documents/ThisIBelieveCurriculum.pdf (Page 5)
Sample Personal Memoir: http://www.thisibelieve.org/documents/ThisIBelieveCurriculum.pdf (Page 7)
Sample Personal Essays:
http://www.thisibelieve.org/
Homework:
bring in a catchy "hook" or first line from one of the "This I Believe" essays you have read. Be prepared to share why this "hook" is effective.


Tuesday:
Share homework
Today's Lesson: Developing Powerful Hooks:
http://www.thisibelieve.org/documents/ThisIBelieveCurriculum.pdf (24)
Review "Tips for Writing" (appendix)
*Tell a Story
*Be Brief
*Name your belief
*Be positive
*Be personal
Homework:
First Draft of Essay due Tomorrow

Wednesday
Class Critique
Homework:
Revise Essay

Thursday:
Final Draft Due
Group Share

Friday:
Group Share