Apparently, "Your outline is due Monday" means something else to the students!

Too many students did not turn in the completed outline.  I will accept them tomorrow for two grades down.  Please check HAC to see if your child was one of those who "misunderstood" what I meant.

The rough draft of the essay is due on Wednesday.  It needs to be legible so we can see what needs improvement.

Today, we watched a practice debate so the students know what to expect.  Below is the sheet I discussed.  I will probably give them a copy tomorrow.  (Maybe I will make it available for those who care.)  I guess I am frustrated because I am leading horses to water, but they are refusing to drink.  I don't want to see students earn low grades.  I work so hard to get them prepared.

Ant Debate Scoring

This is the tally sheet the audience uses while listening to the debate.  See the suggestions below for assigning points.  Every point counts.  To win, you should have a strategy.  Try to get all the points you can.  Even if you don’t have lots of strong facts, a smooth presentation with visuals could get you a win!

Squisher:			You determine the winner.  I am teaching you how to be critical.  Don’t just sit there!	Nonsquisher:
Introduction (1-5) _____			They must have a handshake and thesis. 2 if not prepared and uses the one provided 3 if uses mine 4 if modified mine 5 uses own	Introduction (1-5) _____
Good points (plus 1)		False or lame (minus 1)	Use tally marks.  After each statement made, decide where a mark belongs.	Good points (plus 1)		False or lame (minus 1)
			Main Argument I give them a tally mark for the statement and one each for every support they give for the statement. Ex. 1. Reason one     support     support     support                    = 4 points
Good rebuttal points (plus 1)	False or lame (minus 1)		Rebuttal The main focus of this section should be to comment on the other side, but they can bring in  new supports. One point for repeating a point the opponent made. One point for  each worthy supporting rebuttal statement.	Good rebuttal points (plus 1)	False or lame (minus 1)
Good rebuttal points (plus 1)	False or lame (minus 1)		Rebut the rebuttals & Sum up No tally marks during the summary part.  They already said these reasons.	Good rebuttal points (plus 1)	False or lame (minus 1)
Conclusion (1-5) _____	There should be a review of the main points they had. 5- sums up and has a clear, powerful conclusion AND mentions opponent’s points from debate.		4- sums up and has a clear, powerful conclusion 3- sums up the three main points only. 2- just ends	Conclusion (1-5) _____
Eye contact (1-5) _____	Did you feel like they were talking to you?		Most are 4’s and 3’s.  Save the 5 for someone who looks at you and addresses you.	Eye contact (1-5) _____
Visuals (0-3) _____	Any cheesy visual gets at least 1 point.		For more points they must have two other good visuals and refer to them	Visuals 0-3) _____
Total:	Mentioned Book            yes/ no (-1) Movie          yes/ no (-1) Article title   yes/ no (-1)		The class determines the winner as long as it is close to mine– even if we disagree!	Total:	Mentioned Book            yes/ no (-1) Movie          yes/ no (-1) Article title   yes/ no (-1)

Suggestions for points

Introduction:

2 if not prepared with the one provided

3 if uses mine

4 if modified mine

5 uses own (and is good)

Intro:

 
       The boy in the story has a decision to make: should he squish the ant or not? After researching ants and exploring the topic,  I am going to prove to you that the boy in the story should (not) squish the ant. He should (not) squish because reason 1, reason 2, reason 3.

Supports

            I put one tally mark for each good support I hear that is not repeated.

            I give tally marks for supports backed up by a reference to a source

Rebuttal

            Each person should refer to each other as “my opponent” and talk to the audience

Conclusion

            3 if just uses my conclusion

            4 if my conclusion and a little more

            5 if does 1,2,3 and states a few points he/she has discussed from opponent

               and gives the listeners a directive, something to do now that they have heard the

               debate (I.E., we should vote for you because you had the better argument.)

Conclusion:

  I have proven to you that the boy in the story should (not) squish the ant. He should (not) squish because reason 1, reason 2, reason 3. I have also discussed how… (list some of the points you covered in the part where you refuted the other side.)

Relevant Details

-You are to stick to the story Hey, Little Ant.  Remember, you must have three

  main points.  You may not just list any detail you can think about regarding ants! 

-You must mention the book “Hey, Little Ant” by name. 

-You must mention the title of an article as a source for at least one detail.

Visuals

            1 tally mark up to three for using the visual to explain a support

Grades

A+  = 40

A    = 30 (must earn)

B    = 25

C    = 20

D    = 15

Only the winner of the debate can receive the A if both students earn an A!

There are a lot of points in the next two weeks!

Monday: Outline due (25 points)
Wednesday: Rough draft due(25 points)
Thursday: Debates begin (100 points- only the winner can earn an A)
Dec. 21: Final draft of the ant essay (at least 125 points)


All of the work we have done over the last three weeks will be put together into these projects.  Vacation starts AFTER all of these are complete.

-MrBoZ

December 8th

Somehow this did not get sent.

 Students MUST have their outlines on Monday.  However, too many students keep saying they do not know what they should be doing.  There is no way they do not know what is expected of them at this time.  There are a lot of points coming up next week.  I hope they are ready.

If you would like to help your child do a good job, ask him/her to explain how he/she will convince us that the boy in the story should or should not squish the ant in the story.  If your child cannot do this without any notes, then he/she is not ready to go!

Please see this website if you need more information about the assignment. 

-MrBoZ

Can I Keep Him? - a lesson on the importance of knowing your opponent

(I moved the outline due date to Monday.  We could use a little more time.)

Today I taught the students how to think ahead in persuasion.  A good persuasive essay is not just a collection of all the reasons you have for your position.  That would make you appear as if you are not aware of all the positions of a topic.  I taught them that it is best to show why your reasons are right AND why the opponent's reasons are wrong.  


I had them brainstorm this chart for one of the animals:

		What would your mom’s reasons be for NOT keeping the following found animals as pets?	How would you rebut your mother’s objections to keeping the animal?	What objections might she have against what you just said?
1	Dog?
2	Kitten?
3	Baby deer?
4	Bear cub?
5	Tiger cub?
6	Large python?
7	Thawed dinosaur?

Then I had them fill in this script:

Mom,

         I found this animal on the way home, and I think we should keep it for the following reasons:

1.

2.

3.

Now, I know you are going to have a few objections:

1.

2.

But, I can convince you that your objections are wrong.

1.

2.

Then I weighed all the reasons presented and decided who won.  


Then we I read them this book.  The boy keeps trying to get better at anticipating what objections his mother will have.  His best question was, "He just moved down the street.  He doesn't bark, he has no fur, he has no hoofs, he smells like us, he doesn't eat much, he doesn't shed, his name is Ralph, and he says he'll be my friend.  Can I keep him?"  


That is a pretty good question.  He is trying to take care of every objection right off the bat.  

This is the outline which is due Thursday.

Today I discussed points in the debate.  These will be posted here later.  The students should be sure to take advantage of these opportunities.  One is to make a visual and refer to it in three different ways.

 

Paragraph 1

The boy in the story has a decision to make: should he squish the ant or not? After researching ants and exploring the topic, I am going to prove to you that the boy in the story should squish the ant. He should squish because reason 1, reason 2, reason 3.

Paragraph 2

(The results of your research.)

1. The first reason he should squish the ant is because …. ANTS ARE RUDE!

            - what do you mean?

            - how does this relate to our story?

            - what research have you found?

2. The second reason he should squish the ant is because….. ANTS SCREAM.

            - what do you mean?

            - how does this relate to our story?

            - what research have you found?

3. The third reason he should squish the ant is because…. ANTS VOTE.

            - what do you mean?

            - how does this relate to our story?

            - what research have you found?

Paragraph 3

Explain how you fully understand the other position.

Reason for not squishing the ant. 

            Why do they feel this is the correct thing to do?

Reason for not squishing the ant.

            Why do they feel this is the correct thing to do?

Reason for not squishing the ant.

            Why do they feel this is the correct thing to do?

Paragraph 4

Explain how their argument is wrong.

They said that …, but they are wrong because …

They said that …, but they are wrong because …

They said that …, but they are wrong because …

Add any strong arguments that you feel are needed.

Maybe you want to end with a bang!

P5: Conclusion

I have proven to you that the boy in the story should (not) squish the ant. He should (not) squish because reason 1, reason 2, reason 3. I have also discussed how… (list some of the points you covered in the part where you refuted the other side.)

Research in the library is finished

Here is what I collected today:
(I am "grading" the notes and bibliography to provide feedback on the quality of the research completed. I have entered sections 4 and 5 into HAC.  The others will be in soon.)

Monday, December 5: Let’s wrap up the research.

1. Print out the following documents:

        Document 1:  Describe_the_ant_in_Hey_Little_Ant.doc

         Document 2:  Facts_about_ants_worksheet_2011.doc

         Document 3:  determining_the_truthfulness_of_statements_in_Hey_little_ant.doc

2. Create your bibliography using www.easybib.com

        I have created a started document for you: Starter_Bibliography_Ant_Essay_2011.doc

        Only include the ones you have used for your research.

        Print out your bibliography

3. Start filling in your outline: short version of ant essay outline.doc   (Due Thursday!)

        P1 - Intro

        P2- Your three main reasons

        P3- What your opponent would say

        P4- How your opponent is wrong.

        P5- Conclusion

4. Ant Simulator- The chemistry of communication

We are almost finished our time in the library.

Parents,
For the past three days, I was teaching students how to get started and how to read articles for supports.  Today, I told them to spend their time researching and collecting information that will support their position.  Near the end of the class, I asked them to put one of their best facts into a Google form I created.  When they hit submit, the data was put into a spreadsheet that we viewed together on the projector.  Tomorrow, I want to explain what they will need for the debates and give them one last day to gather material.  They will also print out all their sheets and make their bibliography.

I would expect the better students to continue their research over the weekend, and the next week for that matter!  The more prepared the better!

We continued to research in the library.

What we did is listed on this page.

Students are encouraged to research on their own.

Grades are updated on HAC

I entered two participation grades and the notebook check from the sentence structure test a little while ago.  There are a few students that did not turn theirs in to be checked.   I was pretty liberal with the grading of the notebooks.  I wanted to see that students labeled lessons and kept everything basically neat.  As organized as I was in presenting the notes, the students are not as organized.  It is a skill they develop over time... just as I did.  The grade represents how I think they are progressing in the skill of note taking.

Ant Research Continues

          Today's goal was to establish which ant the students think is worthy to be squished or not squished (If there is such a thing that deserves to be squished will be debated later!)  After the chart was finished, I lead the students through the first twp paragraphs of the article.  I showed them how they are to read every article through the eyes of BOTH positions.  I also showed them how to not plagiarize.  They should not have two windows open side by side.  They should read the article on one window and then switch to the other window to write the notes from their memory.  I will be discussing bibliography on Friday. 

Tuesday, November 29: How do you take notes?

1. Be sure to finish the chart from yesterday.

                    15 minutes

                    ***Print out and hand in.***

      2.   Facts about ants worksheet

                    Open and save this document: Facts_about_ants_worksheet_2011.doc

                    Go to this web page: Facts about ants

                  

                    Gather details that both sides will use in the debate.

Research week is important for the ant debate!

In two of my classes, the opponents sat across from each other.

Here are the links we used today:

Calendar

Ant Debate

Today in the Library

Should the ant in the story get squished by the boy in the story?

More than likely, your argument for either position is going depend on knowing a few important details about ants and their behaviors.  Furthermore, since this is a debate and you need to be prepared, you need to be aware of what your opponent might say.

Goals for this week in the library:

1. Figure out what type of ant we are dealing with.  (Just do Terminix to start.)

            Find details about that ant that support your position.

            Find details about the ant that your opponent might use against you.

    Figure out other types of ants it COULD be. 

Be aware of the behaviors of other types of ants.

2. Determine the truthfulness of the arguments the boy and the ant use.

3. Examine the motivations of the boy and the ant for their behaviors.

4. Compile notes from trusted sources.

5. List those sources to show that you did not just make up these facts.

            We will make a bibliography. (www.easybib.com)

If you take one note, write down the title of the article, author, and the site address!

Remember, for maximum points in your debate, you must mention book, movie, and articles by title!

Have a nice Thanksgiving break.

Students should come back ready to research for the ant debate.
-MrBoZ

The web page for the ant debate is up.

We have begun the ant debate.  All the information you will need is on this page.

We will begin research in the library after the break.  This week we are watching The Ant Bully.

If you want to see who your child is debating, go to the link above and scroll to the bottom. 

Due Dates: (each of these is a grade)

Dec. 2: All research in library done

Dec. 5: Note check, and bibliography

Dec. 8: Outline due

Dec. 15: First debates begin

Dec. 14: Rough draft of essay due;

Dec. 21: Ant essay due!

                Typed

                     Times New Roman 12 font

                     single spaced,

                     normal margins

                     Bibliography

                     No pictures in the essay

I told the students that they need to trust me.  I will get them prepared for the debate, but they need to do the footwork.  

Here are the State Standards that I will be covering in this unit.

Grades are updated on HAC

Today we took the sentence structure quiz.  ( I also handed back the essays now for sections 4 and 5).  If you go on HAC, you will see a few grades for this MP.  It is early, though. 

We are beginning a big unit now that will last until the holiday break.  There will be lots of grades in December.  The second MP is my hardest.  I hope the students can stay focused!

Have a nice weekend.

Sentence Structure Quiz Friday

Homework:
Quiz on Sentence Structure
Be sure to have the notes we have taken.  They will be collected.
They can be used on the test.  They can be copied from my web page.

Today:
We took the quiz on Unit 5 vocabulary.
I reviewed some of the key terms that the students need for the sentence quiz tomorrow.
Then I began the next unit: the ant debate.

When I get time, I will put up the web page for the ant debate.  I have done this for years.  In a nutshell, the students are going to argue whether the boy in the story Hey, Little Ant should or should not step on the ant in the story.  By the Thanksgiving break, the students will be paired up to compete against each other.  After the break, we will start researching for the debates.  However, before the break, we will watch the movie The Ant Bully.  Over the next few weeks, I will be teaching them how to create a strong argument.  I will also be teaching them how to defeat their opponent's arguments.  Trust me, this is a challenging but fun unit.  I have students that come to me years after having me and they still remember how they did in the debate!

More details will follow. 

Quiz on Vocab 5 tomorrow

Homework:
Sections 3, HB, and 6 should make flashcards to study for the quiz

Today:
We discussed the following notes on finding subjects and verbs in unusual order.  Most times, the subject is followed by a verb which describes the subject or tells what it does.  In these sentence, the verb is before the subject, which can trip students up.

Lesson 7: Subjects in Unusual Order

In a question, the subject usually comes AFTER the verb or between parts of the verb phrase.

            Is she ready? (Yes, she is ready.)

            Does the weather look good for the game?

                                          (Yes, the weather does look good for the game.)

To find the subject, turn the question into a statement.

            Are you staying home? (Yes, you are staying home.)

The subject of a command, or imperative sentence, is usually “you.”

            (You) Meet us at the concession stand.

            (You) Bring money for snacks.

To find the subject in a sentence with “here” or “there,” look for the verb and ask the question who or what.

            Here comes your all state championship team. (Your all state team comes here.)

            There goes our best rebounder. (Our best rebounder goes there.)  (Go to page 20.)

Just another grammar day.

Homework:
Section 6 should finish flashcards for unit 5.
All classes should be done unit 5 vocab unit.

Quiz Unit 5 on Thursday
Quiz on Sentence Structure on Friday

Today:
We just pressed on studying the four types of sentences.
We also identified if a sentence is a fragment, run-on, or a complete sentence. 
We still have two more days to get ready for Friday.

Two quizzes this week.

Homework:
Completing the Sentence Unit 5 Vocab
Vocab quiz Thursday
Sentence Structure test Friday

Over the next few days, I will be plowing through the sentence structure lessons.  It will not be exciting, and students will need to pay attention.  Here are the items that students must be able to identify on Friday.  I will be giving them a paragraph with underlined sections.  They will have to say what the underlined section is.

Sentence Structure test Friday

Simple subject

Simple predicate or verb

Complete subject-

Complete predicate-

Verb phrase      Verb and its helping verbs, creates the verb tense

Action verb        run, jump, play

Helping verbs   (notes)

Linking verbs     the state of “being”    I am happy.  I am the teacher.

Compound subjects             S and SV.  My brother and my sister jumped.

Compound verbs                 S V and V.  My brother jumped and played.

Compound sentence                      SV, and SV My brother cried, and my sister laughed.

Fragment                               S missing V

Run-on                              SV SV missing proper punctuation to join

                                                        My brother cried and my sister laughed.

Sentence types:

Declarative               SV.

Interrogative            SV?

Exclamatory             SV!

Imperative               SV.     SV!

If you can find the subjects and verbs, everything else follows.

That slimy little hairy alien waddled across the purple bridge because she was blue.

Homework:
None

Today:
I took the students to the computer lab to practice the idea that sentences are made of words, and each word has a purpose.  If you go to this page, you will see a refrigerator with magnets on it.  I first had the students divide the words by color.  Then we discussed the purpose of each group of words.  Then I had them build five sentences using words from each group.  I plan to use the magnets in class this week to reinforce the lessons from today.  Check it out.  (Some of the sentences the students created were crazy!)

November 9, 2011

Homework: 

Choosing the Right Word Unit 5

That is all.

-MrBoZ

Sentence unit is rolling along.

Homework:
Synonyms unit 5

Today:
We finished discussing complete subject and complete predicate.  We are almost done lesson two of eight. 

The grades have been entered.  Done.

We begin two weeks of sentence structure study.

The 1st MP grades are done on HAC.  What is there is the grade.  I round up at .8, not below.  There is no extra credit. 

Homework:
Pictionaries Unit 5
(You can check the calendar on www.mrboz.com to see other due dates.)

Today:
We began our sentence structure unit.  You can find the notes for the unit on my web page.
Today we only got done the notes for lesson 1. 

I posted the narrative recordings for downloading

http://www.mrboz.com/MrBoZ/Narratives_2011_Download_Page.html

If you are interested in hearing your child read his/her narrative piece, go to the link above.  You might be able to just click your child's link and listen.  However, if you want to keep the recording, you should right-click and save the file on your computer. 

I wanted to put all the recordings up, so I just used initials as identifiers.  Please note that it is Last Initial then First Initial.  It took a lot of effort to make and post all of these, but it is worth it. 

FYI- I still have to enter three participation grades into HAC.  Other than that, almost all the grades are done.

The marking period is over.

The grades are updated on the HAC.  I still have to enter a few participation grades and a few make-up assignments for a few students.  I plan to do this Friday.  But I have entered the quizzes from Thursday and the scores from the oral presentations.

I will not be able to grade the narratives from sections 4 and 5 for this marking period.  That grade will have to be the first grade for the second marking period.

Next week we will start a short two week unit on sentence structure.  Students will be expected to bring a notebook each day to take notes.  We will also be starting vocab unit 5. 

The students will have a sub on Friday.  Shhhh.  (My daughter needs to go to the doctor.)

Still recording.

Homework:
Finish the vocab unit
Study for Thursday's quiz.

Section HB recording grades are on HAC. 

I am currently half way through grading the section 3 essays.  Those grades should be up before tomorrow.

Recording and Vocab

Homework:
Completing the Sentence Unit 4

My plan for the week is to finish unit 4 vocabulary and the recordings.  By the end of the week, I hope to start the students on the next quick unit, the PTA reflections contest.

HB section parents, I updated the grades on HAC.  I was able to grade the narrative essays.  Please know that I am taking off one letter grade for each day late.  At least eight students are two grades down as of today!

Recording is underway!

Homework:
Practice for narrative recording.

Today:
I collected the good draft of the narratives. (I hope I can get them graded by the end of the marking period.)
We started recording the narratives.

To receive an A, I needed to hear variations in voice level, variations in pace, and emotions that match the story.  It's hard to say exactly what an A+ is accept you know it when you hear it!  :)
A nice, clear reading is not an A! 


Here are some samples of some excellent readers.
Baseball Moment: 
Sample 1
Crazy time in a theater:
Sample 2
Reading buddy who wasn't!
Sample 3

The narratives are due tomorrow!

Homework:
Good Draft of Narrative Due!  Late = 1 grade down a day!
Be ready to read and record the narrative for a presentation grade.

Parents, if you can proofread your child's paper, that would be great!

Maybe you could also listen to your child read his/her paper.  This would give him/her practice before getting up in front of the class.


Today:
We discussed the purpose of an introduction.  The first section of the intro is the handshake.  It greets the reader and draws him in.  The handshake then transitions into the thesis, which is the statement that tells the reader what the paper is about.  


In most classes, we discussed how the intro reflects the structure of the paper.  The intro also leads to the conclusion.  I gave them a sheet with five examples of just introductions and the conclusions.  I cut out the body of the narrative to show that you should be able to read the two parts by themselves.


Here are the four types of handshakes I discussed in class today.

Question- A question provokes thought and helps the reader become involved in your subject matter. Your job in the paper is to provide the answer to this question.

             Do you believe that all dogs go to heaven?  Do dogs have souls like people?  The night my dog was hit by a car in front of my house, I wanted to hide in my room and cry.  I wanted to run away from the pain.  Instead, my dad told me to help him.  When I buried my dog, I learned an important lesson about death.

Quote- Your quote should tie into your subject matter and come from a recognized authority in the field. (Try this site for quotes.) Using a quote will give your writing believability and help convince your reader to read on.

Joseph Addison, an American writer, once mused, “Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass.” The night my dog got hit by a car, I wanted to hide in my room and cry.  I wanted to run away from the pain.  Instead, my dad told me to help him, and I am glad he did. That night, my dying dog taught me some wisdom I would never forget.

Amazing fact or statistic- Either one of these hooks is intended to disquiet the reader with its bluntness or frankness.

Every year 10,000 family pets are hit on the road in front of their houses.  While not all accidents can be prevented, people should be more careful, for both the safety of their pet and for the safety of motorists. The night my dog got hit by a car, I wanted to hide in my room and cry.  I wanted to run away from the pain.  Instead, my dad told me to help him, and I am glad he did.

In the middle- Your handshake puts the reader right in the middle of the action.  It’s like you suck them from their world into yours.

We were all standing around the animal in the middle of the road.  The sun was going down, as were our hopes for our family’s pet surviving the night.  We knew we had to do something, but we were afraid that anything we would do would put the poor thing in even more pain.  The night my dog got hit by a car, I wanted to hide in my room and cry.  I wanted to run away from the pain.  Instead, my dad told me to help him, and I am glad he did.

Today we discussed revision

(Have you check HAC lately?)

Homework:
Choosing the Right Word Unit 4
Good Draft of the essay is due Friday
We begin recording Friday, so students should practice reading their pieces.

Today:
We discussed revision.  I had students read two models.  One was a B paper with paragraphs.  The other was a C- paper with only one paragraph and a major flaw in content.  Then I had students put their paper between the two.  Which piece did theirs look like?  What needed to be improved?  Another student also read their piece because we cannot always see our own work honestly.  The goal for today was not to find grammar errors.  What is the use of finding little errors if the whole paper needs to be rewritten?

I reviewed the rubric I posted the other day.  May students were surprised to see what I expect for a B.  I have high expectations.  Even though I covered many of these ideas before, now that they are done writing their pieces, many students saw that they have a long way to go!  They have until Friday to fix their pieces.

The picture shows what is important to focus on for revising the narrative.  The things near the top are more important during revising.  Grammar comes at the end, when the content and organization are finalized.

Tomorrow we will write introductions and conclusions for their papers.  Many students need help with paragraphing.

We practiced recording today!

Homework:
Synonyms Unit 4
Practice for Friday's recording

Today:
I collected the good-rough draft.
I reviewed the vocab words and checked the pictionaries.
Then we practiced recording.

I gave the students a poem.  Each student had a stanza.  I reviewed the rubric for an oral presentation and had each one read their piece.  Then we discussed the results. 

You can listen to the recordings at MrBoZ.com

I told the students that no one will get lower than a C unless they really mess it up.  However, to get an A, I have to hear emotion added to the words being read.  Simply reading well is not enough for an A.  Sections 4 and 5 struggled with that.  While they read clearly, only a few achieved an A.  I hope they realize that they must go above and beyond for the A on Friday.  They will receive a grade for the reading!


Here is the rubric:

	A	B	C	D
Audio	Voice quality is clear and consistently audible throughout the presentation.	Voice quality is clear and consistently audible throughout the most of the presentation.	Voice quality is clear and consistently audible through some of the presentation.	Voice could not be heard.
Pacing	The pace (rhythm and voice punctuation) fits the story line and helps the audience really "get into" the story.	Tries to use pacing but it is often noticeable that the pacing does not fit the story line. Audience is somewhat engaged.	No attempt to match the pace of the storytelling to the story line or the audience. Audience is not consistently engaged.	Just read the piece in a monotone.
Emotion	Emotional dimension of the piece matches the story line well. Listeners are encouraged to care about the person and his/her story.	Emotional dimension of the piece somewhat matches the story line.	Emotional dimension of the piece is distracting or is absent.	No emotion.  Read it to get it over with.

Adapted from Digital Storytelling Tips and Resources

By Gail Matthews-DeNatale, Ph.D.

Associate Director of Academic Technology

Simmons College Boston, MA Copyright 2008