I'm Off to Nashville; Mr. Duncombe's Back!

First of all, I hope you all dazzle Mr. Duncombe with your work ethic and polite manners. I've scheduled in reading workshop for Thursday, so you'll have a chance to read at length and get into your new book, either Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry or The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. We have fewer of the Thunder books, and even though most of you have already checked one of them out from me, those of you who are left may not have a choice. Both books are great, really, but you may also find both of them at the library. They are easy to read, and you may choose to read both. Why not? After all, they count toward your goal of 100 pages a week.

That brings me to one of the questions on your blog, I think from Dubbie. Anyway, formal book responses are not required this quarter. You have the blog up and running, and it is a wonderful place to discuss and share opinions about the books you are reading. That's what it's for, but some of you worked ahead on artwork for a second quarter book response, and I think it would be great to upload it onto our blog. We can check out a digital camera from the library for this purpose. If you are interested, let me know. Please keep track of your reading, the titles, authors, and pages you've read. I'll pass out a form to help you with this when I return.

So...Thursday you'll be reading, and I hope it's helpful toward getting into your books. On Friday I signed us up to go to the lab, but I hear it's dissembled while new desktops are being installed. That's why the large mobile lab is still in our room. As you know, some of these computers don't work, although I had technicians up in the room Wednesday, and they were able to get most of them running. As it turns out, the Internet cable outlet behind my desktop computer is defective (We've had bad luck, haven't we?) and there is only one good Internet outlet instead of two - one for my desktop and one for the lab. Anyway, Mr. Duncombe can make sure that the long, black lab cable chord is plugged in, and you'll be ready to go. You have an assignment of exploring a list of sites I think you'll find interesting. Some of you may need to work in pairs, but everyone must keep track of your findings on an analysis sheet Mr. Duncombe will provide you with. Have fun!

I'll be thinking of you guys. I don't know that I'll be able to post on Friday, but now you've got a handle on the events coming up. I understand that Friday is the cutoff for the first grade check. Be sure you get your blog self assessments turned into the homework bin if you have not already. I wanted to include these on the grade check, but since so many of you were having trouble printing out your posts, I'll have to add them in next week. (Be sure that you staple a print out of the post you've chosen to evaluate behind your assessment.)

Be good. Some of you need to get a grip on the talking! Happy reading!

Great Books: Time to Choose

First, I'd like to tell you about your choices for continued in class reading. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman sounds and reads like nonfiction, but is, in fact, beautifully written fiction. It follows the life of a woman born into slavery and spans a powerful period of history. You may find this story of particular interest since it eventually crosses into the time period of To Kill A Mockingbird. In all her years, Miss Jane never experiences racial or gender equality. You may remember some of the narratives we heard on the Library of Congress site. The author actually reviewed a number of former slave narratives to gather Jane's story.

Our other choice, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, introduces us to a struggling black family in approximately the same time period as To Kill A Mockingbird. Like Mockingbird, our narrator is a young girl who faces many of the same challenges. It, too, is beautifully written and easy to read. Look them over in class, and if you have not yet chosen, be sure you get signed up for one of them tomorrow.

I'll hand out a reading schedule so that when you blog, you won't give away any unread details! Good Luck!

Self Assessment and the Blog: Due Wednesday!

Many of you will be looking over the blog tonight, searching for your best post to evaluate. Please know that these will be due on Wednesday. (Many of you expressed a concern about having time to search tonight.) I hope this extension helps you give the process enough thought. In the third block class, someone asked if a new post could be offered as the post to be used for this assessment, and I offer this suggestion. You must choose and print out a favorite post that you have already created before today, but you may edit the original post on the paper. The assessment is intended to evaluate your performance up until now. Therefore, I'd like for you to choose something that has already been posted to date.

The October 26th blog post here will take you to the Social Networking vs. Educational Blogging wiki. Some of you may need to reread before you answer question 10. Also, the next question (11) should read, "Where does your post fit in terms of question 10?"

Good luck! I'm anxious to see what you have learned! Tomorrow we will have an objective review of To Kill A Mockingbird.

Monday: A Celebration of Reading!

Just as promised, today we will share more reading responses - power points, book talks, web pages, posters, scripts, music and more. It should help build your reading territories list, so we will sit back and take notes.

Monday also holds an opportunity to review our work on the blog. Be thinking about the best blog post you have created yet, and we'll be using that for your assessment. We'll look at the guidelines set by each class, your creative efforts, your persona, your purpose, and even comments from your peers. This is a valuable opportunity for you to check your own progress, assess your strengths and/or weaknesses, and even to set goals.