To view the screencast on APA-Style formatting that was shown in class, please click here. (I had to post the video on my personal blog, as the video-file was too large to post on this free site.)
October 18, 2009
Please choose ONE OPTION from the list below and fashion a 3-4 paragraph response (under 500 words). Don’t forget to title your response, and please use a line-space to designate paragraph breaks. Please indicate which option you chose by putting the option # in the title. See the comment link for an example.
Option #1:
What do you make of the “Multiple Worlds Typology” in the Phelan piece? Do you think Phelan accurately represents the various borders students face when moving back and forth from their home to their school environments? Can you think of an example—either from your life, the life of a family member or a friend, or the life of a current student—where border crossings have been difficult?
Option #2:
Using what you’ve learned from the Phelan and Rose excerpts—and capitalizing on what you already know—what advice would you give literacy teachers in terms of setting up their classroom environment for diverse learners?
Option #3:
Mike Rose describes the pernicious effect the deficiency/remedial school model has had on literacy instruction and creativity. Do you agree with his assessments? Have we made progress over the last 20 years? Any advice for English/Language Arts teachers today?
Note: Please don’t use last names anywhere in your piece. And kindly read everyone’s responses before class on Wednesday, Oct. 21st.
Sincerely,
Mark Franek
September 7, 2009
I’m glad you found this place!
I created this blog for the School Leadership Masters Program at the University of Pennsylvania. It will serve as a collecting place for a few writing assignments we will do together over the next few weeks. Since I can’t assume that all (any) of you have had experience with blogs—specifically, leaving comments on blogs—I need to explain your first assignment in a very detailed fashion. I apologize to the blogging veterans. For the rookies, don’t fret. What I’m asking you to do here is fairly straightforward. If you get confused, or make a mistake, you can always email me at franekm@therockschool.net.
Here’s the first assignment, which is due before class on Saturday, Oct. 17th:
After reading Mike Schmoker’s piece, called “Results Now: How Can We Achieve Unprecedented Improvements in Teaching and Learning,” please do the following tasks:
(1) Open up a word-processing document and write about your earliest memories of a person—in or out of school—who had a positive influence on your literacy development (reading, writing, talking/analyzing). Using 3-4 paragraphs (and staying under 500 words), describe a few memories of this person, and how that person influenced you. If you’d like to read samples from two former students, click on the red “comment” link (above). Please do not use last names anywhere in your story, as this blog is currently open to anyone in the world with a computer and an Internet connection.
(2) After you are finished writing and editing your piece, give it a title. Make sure your document is single-spaced and avoid paragraph indents. Instead, use a line-space to designate a paragraph break. See the former students’ examples, if you need clarity.
(3) Once you are totally satisfied with your piece, come back to this website, click on the red comment link (above), and scroll down to the “Leave a Reply” section. There will be a series of small boxes (for your name, for your email address, and for a website address). DON’T PUT YOUR LAST NAME IN THE BOX FOR YOUR NAME. Instead, just use your FIRST name. In the second box, insert your email address, but rest assured that your email address WILL NOT BE POSTED TO THE INTERNET. You can leave the last box—the one for a website address—blank. Finally, paste your story/piece (see number 1) into the comment box and press the “submit comment” button. Be careful. Once you press this button, your story will be posted to the Internet, and you won’t be able to edit it.
(4) Click away from this website to another place on the Internet, then come back here and see if your comment appears under the red comment link. If you encounter any problems—or notice errors in your comment that you’d like me to fix—email me at franekm@therockschool.net.
(5) The night before class, kindly read everyone’s comments/stories.
I look forward to meeting you in class on Saturday, October 17th!
Sincerely,
Mark Franek
