Homework:
None
Today:
We took the vocab final.
I sent a grade update out by e-mail. The grades are pretty much done. A few students have to finish the final.
Monday, the students will be working on Unit 15 in the vocab book. I will be on a school trip, so I will have a sub.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
May 30, 2007
Homework:
Vocab final on units 1-14 Thursday
Today:
We took the quiz on Unit 14.
After the quiz, I had the students do the Final Master Test in the book as practice for the quiz. (It was like pulling teeth to get them to work!)
Vocab final on units 1-14 Thursday
Today:
We took the quiz on Unit 14.
After the quiz, I had the students do the Final Master Test in the book as practice for the quiz. (It was like pulling teeth to get them to work!)
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
May 29, 2007
Homework:
Quiz Unit 14 Wednesday (tomorrow)
Review for the final on Thursday
Today:
I will just be focusing on the vocab book this week. The writing assignments are wrapped up for the year. All we have left are two quizzes: unit 14 and the final. Today we reviewed unit 14. Tomorrow we will be reviewing for the final. At some point we will complete unit 15 in the vocab book. That's it.
Quiz Unit 14 Wednesday (tomorrow)
Review for the final on Thursday
Today:
I will just be focusing on the vocab book this week. The writing assignments are wrapped up for the year. All we have left are two quizzes: unit 14 and the final. Today we reviewed unit 14. Tomorrow we will be reviewing for the final. At some point we will complete unit 15 in the vocab book. That's it.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
May 24, 2007
Homework:
Be ready for the Buzzword quiz on words from 5/7 - 5/23
The students can get the missing words from the archive.
Today:
I handed out grade slips. They do not have to be signed.
We had quite the discussion today. I don't know how much your child talks about what we do in my class, but today we discussed the results of the voting for the best TV ad. The background to the story is that a student in one of the classes is Asian and very serious. As you well know, students can be cruel, and they pick on him. In his TV ad, his group was advertising the lights for a party scene. I asked him to dance a little to make the video more lively. As you can guess, the kids thought this was a scream. I did not fully comprehend the impact this recording was having on the student until he won the vote for the best TV ad. He was so embarrassed.
It was when I heard students joking about this in the hall that I realized this had gone too far. The students did not vote for him because his ad was good. It wasn't. That was obvious to the kids. What the students did by voting him as the winner was ridicule him. I explained that they had the power with their votes to recognize a group for their hard word in producing a good ad. Instead, the students wasted their vote by making this student the winner. They thought that since it was so stupid and made them laugh that that was a good thing. So they voted for him.
This reminded me of William Hung from American Idol. We read paragraphs from his entry at Wikipedia. We explored why William Hung became so famous. It was because people could make fun of him. But it wasn't just that he was a bad singer. William Hung is Chinese, and if you read the entry on him, what bothers commentators about the phenomenon is that people laughed at him because he embodied the qualities of the stereotypical Chinese person. People used him as the fool and made money.
After reading about William Hung, I asked the students again why they thought the student's video was so funny. In general, they got the point. Not every student voted for this child, and I am sure there were plenty of students who thought laughing at him was wrong. However, in the class he was in, we did have a friendly laugh. It was funny because, in that class, we care about each other and appreciate each other. It's like watching family be silly. But what I saw happening over the course of the day was not fun. I saw children being mean to a fellow classmate, and we needed to discuss it.
I did not include this student in the re-vote. I only included videos that were worthy. "With great power comes great responsibility." The students did not act responsibly. They acted like kids. Therefore, I thought it was time to teach them how they should be acting.
Be ready for the Buzzword quiz on words from 5/7 - 5/23
The students can get the missing words from the archive.
Today:
I handed out grade slips. They do not have to be signed.
We had quite the discussion today. I don't know how much your child talks about what we do in my class, but today we discussed the results of the voting for the best TV ad. The background to the story is that a student in one of the classes is Asian and very serious. As you well know, students can be cruel, and they pick on him. In his TV ad, his group was advertising the lights for a party scene. I asked him to dance a little to make the video more lively. As you can guess, the kids thought this was a scream. I did not fully comprehend the impact this recording was having on the student until he won the vote for the best TV ad. He was so embarrassed.
It was when I heard students joking about this in the hall that I realized this had gone too far. The students did not vote for him because his ad was good. It wasn't. That was obvious to the kids. What the students did by voting him as the winner was ridicule him. I explained that they had the power with their votes to recognize a group for their hard word in producing a good ad. Instead, the students wasted their vote by making this student the winner. They thought that since it was so stupid and made them laugh that that was a good thing. So they voted for him.
This reminded me of William Hung from American Idol. We read paragraphs from his entry at Wikipedia. We explored why William Hung became so famous. It was because people could make fun of him. But it wasn't just that he was a bad singer. William Hung is Chinese, and if you read the entry on him, what bothers commentators about the phenomenon is that people laughed at him because he embodied the qualities of the stereotypical Chinese person. People used him as the fool and made money.
After reading about William Hung, I asked the students again why they thought the student's video was so funny. In general, they got the point. Not every student voted for this child, and I am sure there were plenty of students who thought laughing at him was wrong. However, in the class he was in, we did have a friendly laugh. It was funny because, in that class, we care about each other and appreciate each other. It's like watching family be silly. But what I saw happening over the course of the day was not fun. I saw children being mean to a fellow classmate, and we needed to discuss it.
I did not include this student in the re-vote. I only included videos that were worthy. "With great power comes great responsibility." The students did not act responsibly. They acted like kids. Therefore, I thought it was time to teach them how they should be acting.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
May 23, 2007
Homework:
Choosing the right word unit 14
Today:
Buzzword
Reviewed vocab homework
Voted on the best TV ad from all classes
FYI: I will be handing out a grade slip Thursday.
Choosing the right word unit 14
Today:
Buzzword
Reviewed vocab homework
Voted on the best TV ad from all classes
FYI: I will be handing out a grade slip Thursday.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
May 22, 2007
Homework:
Pictionaries 11-20 and Synonyms unit 14
Today:
We began scoring their TV ads.
We will begin watching all the ads from the other classes so we can vote on the best ad from all classes.
Pictionaries 11-20 and Synonyms unit 14
Today:
We began scoring their TV ads.
We will begin watching all the ads from the other classes so we can vote on the best ad from all classes.
Monday, May 21, 2007
May 21, 2007
Homework:
Pictionaries 1-10 unit 14
Today:
Buzzword
Listened to words 1-10 unit 14
Finished up recording any remaining commercials.
Reviewed the upcoming calendar.
**This is interesting. My hard drive is dying on my laptop, which is my life in this class! So, I cannot guarantee that the website will be as up to date as I would like. I can still do grades and this blog, though. And I will be showing the students the TV ads they made so they can vote on which ad is best out of all the classes. Oh well. These things happen. Remember: back up your information! I always do, so this is no more than a delay while the new drive is put in.
Pictionaries 1-10 unit 14
Today:
Buzzword
Listened to words 1-10 unit 14
Finished up recording any remaining commercials.
Reviewed the upcoming calendar.
**This is interesting. My hard drive is dying on my laptop, which is my life in this class! So, I cannot guarantee that the website will be as up to date as I would like. I can still do grades and this blog, though. And I will be showing the students the TV ads they made so they can vote on which ad is best out of all the classes. Oh well. These things happen. Remember: back up your information! I always do, so this is no more than a delay while the new drive is put in.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Tuesday May 15, 2007
All sections:
Homework: Finish script, plan/props for commercial
Today:
Students began filming the commercials that the have written for the string of lights. They are demonstrating their use and knowledge of the 21 advertising techniques that we have learned in this unit.
The classes found that the more prepared they were before they went up to tape, the more successful their tapings were. Having lines memorized, how people stand pre-planned, and knowing where the cuts are all help make a commercial run more smoothly.
I was very impressed with some of the commercials that were taped at home. I think a lot of the groups did a nice job and were really effective.
Homework: Finish script, plan/props for commercial
Today:
Students began filming the commercials that the have written for the string of lights. They are demonstrating their use and knowledge of the 21 advertising techniques that we have learned in this unit.
The classes found that the more prepared they were before they went up to tape, the more successful their tapings were. Having lines memorized, how people stand pre-planned, and knowing where the cuts are all help make a commercial run more smoothly.
I was very impressed with some of the commercials that were taped at home. I think a lot of the groups did a nice job and were really effective.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Monday May 14, 2007
Today: All Sections
Homework: Unit 13 completing the sentence
Today:
We worked on the storyboard for our commercials. Students are asked to adapt their scripts so that they can see where the cuts will take place when we tape the final product.
Homework: Unit 13 completing the sentence
Today:
We worked on the storyboard for our commercials. Students are asked to adapt their scripts so that they can see where the cuts will take place when we tape the final product.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Friday May 11, 2007
Today:
Homework:
Come to class ready to continue with commercials and making the soundboards.
Today in Class:
The students viewed examples of 30 second commercials. We talked about how we can cut the scripts into small segmented scenes to make them more short and concise. We want to final product to look a lot like a real commercial and not so much like a skit or play that is one long scene. Students worked on planning and writing their script. They recieved credit for class participation today and completing work on their script. On Monday they will be working on storyboard and mapping out each scene of their commercial.
Homework:
Come to class ready to continue with commercials and making the soundboards.
Today in Class:
The students viewed examples of 30 second commercials. We talked about how we can cut the scripts into small segmented scenes to make them more short and concise. We want to final product to look a lot like a real commercial and not so much like a skit or play that is one long scene. Students worked on planning and writing their script. They recieved credit for class participation today and completing work on their script. On Monday they will be working on storyboard and mapping out each scene of their commercial.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Thursday May 10, 2007
Today (Section 1)
Hw
None
Today
We continued with the Media literacy presentations. Tomorrow we will finish these presentations once and for all and begin our commercial making project.
Today: ( sections 3,5,6,7)
We began our commercial making project. Students are required to work in small groups to create a commercial that demonstrates 3 advertising techniques. The commercial is for a string of decorative lights. The students must use the technique of diversion within their commercial and are required to pick two other techniques from which they have learned.
Students got to pick their small groups today. My hope is that this will allow them to develop more creative projects and have more fun working; if they are allowed to work with their friends.
The project's guidelines have been established and students received a guideline handout with the project's rules and the contest rules.
Hw
None
Today
We continued with the Media literacy presentations. Tomorrow we will finish these presentations once and for all and begin our commercial making project.
Today: ( sections 3,5,6,7)
We began our commercial making project. Students are required to work in small groups to create a commercial that demonstrates 3 advertising techniques. The commercial is for a string of decorative lights. The students must use the technique of diversion within their commercial and are required to pick two other techniques from which they have learned.
Students got to pick their small groups today. My hope is that this will allow them to develop more creative projects and have more fun working; if they are allowed to work with their friends.
The project's guidelines have been established and students received a guideline handout with the project's rules and the contest rules.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Wednesday May 9, 2007
All Sections
Homework:
choosing the right word Unit 13
Today:
We finished the presentations today in sections 3,6, and 7. We will continue to finish in sections 1 and 2 tomorrow. Tomorrow we will start the next in class project that involves applying the advertising techniques. Students will work in small groups to create a commercial that demonstrates 3 advertising techniques.
Homework:
choosing the right word Unit 13
Today:
We finished the presentations today in sections 3,6, and 7. We will continue to finish in sections 1 and 2 tomorrow. Tomorrow we will start the next in class project that involves applying the advertising techniques. Students will work in small groups to create a commercial that demonstrates 3 advertising techniques.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Tuesday May 8, 2007
All Sections:
Homework:
Pictionaries 11-20 for vocab unit 13
and Syns. for Unit 13
Today:
The students continued with presentations. I was really happy to see improvement with the presentations today. The students made a concious effort to achieve a better grade by including the second part of the presentation, developing an organizational flow, and making posters. Keep up the good work! Tomorrow we will hopefully finish these up and then begin working on our next Project.
Homework:
Pictionaries 11-20 for vocab unit 13
and Syns. for Unit 13
Today:
The students continued with presentations. I was really happy to see improvement with the presentations today. The students made a concious effort to achieve a better grade by including the second part of the presentation, developing an organizational flow, and making posters. Keep up the good work! Tomorrow we will hopefully finish these up and then begin working on our next Project.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Monday May 7, 2007
Monday
All Sections:
HW: pictionaries 1-10 for vocab Unit 13
Today:
We started with our media literacy presentations today. Students were given a rubric last week with specfic guidelines to follow. Because most of the work was already accomplished over the past 3 weeks that we have been studying, I was expecting exceptional presentations. Unfortunately, only a few students seemed to meet that standard. Many students in every period left out a portion of their presentation failing to comment about a specific ad for their target audience. They also forgot to explain why the technique in this ad is the most effective for that audience and show other ads to support their claim. I hope that by seeing some presentations today and having more time to prepare, the presentations tomorrow will be a success.
All Sections:
HW: pictionaries 1-10 for vocab Unit 13
Today:
We started with our media literacy presentations today. Students were given a rubric last week with specfic guidelines to follow. Because most of the work was already accomplished over the past 3 weeks that we have been studying, I was expecting exceptional presentations. Unfortunately, only a few students seemed to meet that standard. Many students in every period left out a portion of their presentation failing to comment about a specific ad for their target audience. They also forgot to explain why the technique in this ad is the most effective for that audience and show other ads to support their claim. I hope that by seeing some presentations today and having more time to prepare, the presentations tomorrow will be a success.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Thursday May 3, 2007
Miss Bastnagel (sections 3,6,7)
Homework:
(section 3)
Presentation Preparation
Yellow stickies on the 20 techniques in magazine
Powerful/ powerless chart in packet
(section 6&7)
Prepare for presentation
Today:
Students took the vocabulary Unit 12 quiz and the open notebook buzzword quiz. At completion of the quizzes, students reviewed any concerns about their presentation. We discussed the importance to each topic and the relevence of the whole presentation to what we have been studying in class. The students were encoraged to make a visual poster for their presentation, to help with their performance. Grade slips were passed out and work was submitted. Students will begin presenting on Monday. As each student presents, the other students will listen and collect data from the presentation on chart provided for them.
Homework:
(section 3)
Presentation Preparation
Yellow stickies on the 20 techniques in magazine
Powerful/ powerless chart in packet
(section 6&7)
Prepare for presentation
Today:
Students took the vocabulary Unit 12 quiz and the open notebook buzzword quiz. At completion of the quizzes, students reviewed any concerns about their presentation. We discussed the importance to each topic and the relevence of the whole presentation to what we have been studying in class. The students were encoraged to make a visual poster for their presentation, to help with their performance. Grade slips were passed out and work was submitted. Students will begin presenting on Monday. As each student presents, the other students will listen and collect data from the presentation on chart provided for them.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Wednesday May 2, 2007
Miss Bastnagel (sections 6 and 7)
Homework:
students need to work on
-20 stickies
-chart in their packet on techniques
-prepare for their presentations
-powerful/powerless sheet
-vocab flashcards
Unit 12 vocabulary quiz
Buzzword quiz
Today:
Students had a chance to complete all the assignments listed above. They talked about the advertising techniques found in their advertisements in preparation for tomorrow's presentation. Students were given a checklist today to help them organize what needs to be completed. Presentations will begin tomorrow after the quizzes and will continue next week. Students are encouraged to make a visual presentation for their oral report for extra points. I also believe these visuals can help aide in speeches.
Homework:
students need to work on
-20 stickies
-chart in their packet on techniques
-prepare for their presentations
-powerful/powerless sheet
-vocab flashcards
Unit 12 vocabulary quiz
Buzzword quiz
Today:
Students had a chance to complete all the assignments listed above. They talked about the advertising techniques found in their advertisements in preparation for tomorrow's presentation. Students were given a checklist today to help them organize what needs to be completed. Presentations will begin tomorrow after the quizzes and will continue next week. Students are encouraged to make a visual presentation for their oral report for extra points. I also believe these visuals can help aide in speeches.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
May 1, 2007
MrBoZ (Sections 1 and 2)
Homework: Finish all of these for tomorrow
1. First 20 ads survey
2. Define Audience of Magazine
3. Audience Sheet
4. Powerful/Powerless chart
5. Finish unit 12 vocab
Today:
I gave work time. I also assigned the presentation. I handed out a sheet that explains the requirements. I gave a lot of homework, but I want all the research wrapped up so we can move on to the magazine presentation.
Miss Bastnagel ( sections 3,6,7)
- 20 stickies in magazine for each technique
- the technique chart
-powerful/powerless chart
-prepare for presentation
-vocabulary flashcards
-Unit 12 vocabulary quiz and buzzword quiz on Thursday
Today:
Students had the opportunity to begin their powerful/powerless page within their packets. They are also preparing for their oral presenation. The presentation will serve as a summuary for all the work they have been researching since the beginning of the media literacy unit. The students will have time Wednesday to work on all these assignments during class. Things will be checked Thursday for credit.
Homework: Finish all of these for tomorrow
1. First 20 ads survey
2. Define Audience of Magazine
3. Audience Sheet
4. Powerful/Powerless chart
5. Finish unit 12 vocab
Today:
I gave work time. I also assigned the presentation. I handed out a sheet that explains the requirements. I gave a lot of homework, but I want all the research wrapped up so we can move on to the magazine presentation.
Miss Bastnagel ( sections 3,6,7)
- 20 stickies in magazine for each technique
- the technique chart
-powerful/powerless chart
-prepare for presentation
-vocabulary flashcards
-Unit 12 vocabulary quiz and buzzword quiz on Thursday
Today:
Students had the opportunity to begin their powerful/powerless page within their packets. They are also preparing for their oral presenation. The presentation will serve as a summuary for all the work they have been researching since the beginning of the media literacy unit. The students will have time Wednesday to work on all these assignments during class. Things will be checked Thursday for credit.
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