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Multigenre Memoir Days 7-9

11-04-08
Election day! Students are taking too long on their first and second genre pieces! They need to work faster. They are also talking TOO much. I am circulating, pointing out to students who think that they are multi-tasking that they are actually sitting and talking with pencil in mid-air. This type of intervention seems to be semi-effective, as I am timing how long some just sit and chat. I hate days like this. Glitter all over genres where it doesn't belong, students sitting in peer conferencing corners without drafts, Ah Ha! I have been giving daily participation grades. That's how I deal with these time-wasters! Those who don't complete what they said they would at the beginning of class are breaking their contracts with me. More mini-lesson on genres--newspaper articles aren't covered in glitter....Note to self---hide the glitter next year, and beg student examples to help them see finished products. HW: Begin to bring in materials to bind these pieces together.
11-05-08
Back shot. Students working with sub. Hope it goes well.
11-06-08

Good note from sub = happy teacher! Students did well with writer's workshop without me which means that they have started to get used to the routine of it. YAY! Today's mini-lesson: what unifying theme is there in your work? My Life doesn't count. This part is hard to teach. I wonder if anyone has suggestions....One of my ELL girls realized that all of her entries are about the changes coming to the US brought, so that's her theme. Another realized that his are mostly about Christmas. I talked about how my memoir is about the theme of hope and loss--my sister's illness and death and my daughter's illness. Blank faces. I'm not sure if I'll get titles that show a theme. Lots of students also at a loss about how to put these together, aside from scrapbooks. Where is the creativity today? My skateboarder got it--he cut out two skateboard-shaped pieces of cardboard from a box and decided that these would be his binding.
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