Hey Everyone!
Wow that term went fast!
Good luck on you finals and enjoy your Christmas holidays!
I hope you take advantage of the time off to spend time with your family and friends!
I really enjoyed this course, and appreciated the atmosphere!
It's inspiring to know that colleagues such as yourselves will soon be out teaching!
Best Wishes in your future teaching careers,
Take Care,
Jasmin
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Hi everyone!
Hope you are all staying warm as winter seems to have arrived.
I really enjoyed the fan fiction presentations the other class. I was impressed to see how creative everyone was. It was neat that everyone interpreted and looked at fan fiction a little different. I also appreciated the ideas that were given on how to use fan fiction in our future classrooms. There are many ways we can meet ICT outcomes through fan fiction.
Personally I think the ICT curriculum will pose a little bit of a challenge for me. I am not very technologically-literate and to tell you the truth I am easily intimidated by it. The truth is that I will have to become more comfortable with it as children nowadays have greater knowledge and abilities in this area. The challenge is for me to be able to challenge my students and increase their knowledge and the proper use of the technology that is now available. It is comforting to know that there are a number of available resources out there. (I just checked out a book form the library 500 ICT Tips: for Primary Teachers, I think it is geared towards those who have limited experience in areas such as trouble shooting, internet abbreviations, special educational needs etc. - I’ll let you know if it is useful)
While teaching this I think it would be important to know as much as possible about the students and their understanding of the technology. There will most likely be a great variety between students who deal with technology all the time and are quite knowledgeable compared to those who may not even own a computer. Some students may have basic knowledge, others unlimited experiences. Consider accessibility as well. Do all students have a computer? Is there enough school access to computers?
In the Illustrative ICT examples that Jill gave us at the end of class it had an example from the grade two curriculum and the grade four curriculum. What is neat is that the basic task is the same but there is an increase in details and complexity that builds on the previous knowledge.
The good thing about the ICT curriculum goals is that they are meant to be (and are easy to) integrate with other subject areas. I think that considering the outcomes as well as the amount of teaching time, it would be vital to tie them in cross-curricular. Another major component of ICT outcomes is to be respectful and to engage in critical thinking. Many people can put their own personal thoughts and ideas on the internet, and students need to gain the knowledge of how to respect others privacy and products while examining the information with a critical and meaningful manner. As teachers we need to be mindful and aware that students are using technology appropriately and also see others using it appropriately. As Jill mentioned in class, children will be using technology anyways, it is important for us to give them the knowledge of how to use it carefully and safely.
I think we all had to take an EDIT course. I was fortunate in that the course that I took at Grant MacEwan involved created a technological lesson plan that included many ICT components and outcomes. I saved the plan on a disk and even lent it to a colleague of my mothers who used it in her Grade 5 classroom!
Maybe I shouldn’t be as nervous about the ICT as I thought!
Hope you are all staying warm as winter seems to have arrived.
I really enjoyed the fan fiction presentations the other class. I was impressed to see how creative everyone was. It was neat that everyone interpreted and looked at fan fiction a little different. I also appreciated the ideas that were given on how to use fan fiction in our future classrooms. There are many ways we can meet ICT outcomes through fan fiction.
Personally I think the ICT curriculum will pose a little bit of a challenge for me. I am not very technologically-literate and to tell you the truth I am easily intimidated by it. The truth is that I will have to become more comfortable with it as children nowadays have greater knowledge and abilities in this area. The challenge is for me to be able to challenge my students and increase their knowledge and the proper use of the technology that is now available. It is comforting to know that there are a number of available resources out there. (I just checked out a book form the library 500 ICT Tips: for Primary Teachers, I think it is geared towards those who have limited experience in areas such as trouble shooting, internet abbreviations, special educational needs etc. - I’ll let you know if it is useful)
While teaching this I think it would be important to know as much as possible about the students and their understanding of the technology. There will most likely be a great variety between students who deal with technology all the time and are quite knowledgeable compared to those who may not even own a computer. Some students may have basic knowledge, others unlimited experiences. Consider accessibility as well. Do all students have a computer? Is there enough school access to computers?
In the Illustrative ICT examples that Jill gave us at the end of class it had an example from the grade two curriculum and the grade four curriculum. What is neat is that the basic task is the same but there is an increase in details and complexity that builds on the previous knowledge.
The good thing about the ICT curriculum goals is that they are meant to be (and are easy to) integrate with other subject areas. I think that considering the outcomes as well as the amount of teaching time, it would be vital to tie them in cross-curricular. Another major component of ICT outcomes is to be respectful and to engage in critical thinking. Many people can put their own personal thoughts and ideas on the internet, and students need to gain the knowledge of how to respect others privacy and products while examining the information with a critical and meaningful manner. As teachers we need to be mindful and aware that students are using technology appropriately and also see others using it appropriately. As Jill mentioned in class, children will be using technology anyways, it is important for us to give them the knowledge of how to use it carefully and safely.
I think we all had to take an EDIT course. I was fortunate in that the course that I took at Grant MacEwan involved created a technological lesson plan that included many ICT components and outcomes. I saved the plan on a disk and even lent it to a colleague of my mothers who used it in her Grade 5 classroom!
Maybe I shouldn’t be as nervous about the ICT as I thought!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
My Fan Fiction Presentation
So I realize I blogged already on my fan fiction but it was more of a reflection, here is what I said (or tried to say) in class:
Harry Potter Background:
Harry Potter is a boy who discovers he is a wizard. Not only that but he is a famous wizard, The Boy Who Lived the only person to ever have survived a killing curse. Unfortunately for Harry the Dark wizard who cast the curse (Lord Voldemort) and who also killed his parents, comes back to life and Harry goes through some adventures as he tries to defeat Voldemort. The Harry Potter universe is very detailed; it has its own language and wizarding community. My fan fiction takes place before Harry Potter, in the life of his father James Potter who also attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In my story James is going to his third year at Hogwarts.
My Fan Fiction Development
I personally really enjoyed this writing assignment; it was refreshing to write a narrative rather than the formal essays and reports that I have been writing recently. Once I started writing it, it was hard to put it down and do my other homework. My plan for the story became so involved that I think I could write a ‘book’ if I wanted/had time to. I want the story to develop farther, my plan was that James and his friends would be at Hogwarts when the Chamber of Secrets was first opened. It would be opened by Tom Riddle/Voldemort who uses Lucius as his pawn. In the end Hagrid is blamed and then expelled. It is different than in the book because it hints that James was not there when it opened, though it is opened by Tom Riddle it is when he is a student. It is also true that Hagrid was blamed and expelled.
I used constant reference to the book because I wanted to keep it as close as possible. There are some words/sentences/scenes that are taken somewhat or full form the novels.
There are so many different Fan Fictions on Harry Potter, it was hard to not look through them all.
Here are the titles of some good and poor fan fictions on Harry Potter:
Good:
The Way It Was Meant to Be
By 17ginny17
19 years after Harry Potter's defeat of Lord Voldemort, the next generation of children are entering Hogwarts. There are still things to be repaired there, things that must change. House rivalry,quiddich,and a mysterious object found deep in the forest...
Chp1 Rosie’s PoV
Hogwarts! I'm finally going to Hogwarts! Albus and I, old enough at last to go to Hogwarts with James and Teddy and Victiore! I am so excited I can barely contain myself. I have already put on my new school robes and gotten all my trunks ready. Over the summer, I even learned a few spells with my new wand, just to be prepared. When I told this to Daddy last night, he told me I was just like Mother when she was my age. That made me really proud because Mother is the smartest witch I know. All there is left for me to do now is wait for the train to come, hear Hugo whining about how he has to wait another two years to go to Hogwarts, and listen to Mother and Daddy's advice and reminders. "...Oh, and Rosie, you have tea with Hagrid on Wednesday at 3:00, make sure you're there, and don't forget to study and to do your homework on time, and give Neville our love, won't you?...", Mother is saying. Love, to a professor? Who is she kidding? People don't do that. I roll my eyes at Mother, and then give her half a smile to tell her that I really do appreciate her advice. At least, I did the first 500 times around. Meanwhile, Daddy is also talking to me, most of his comments half-joking and half-not. It is sort of hard to tell which is which, so I just listen quietly. "See over there, Scorpius Malfoy? Make sure you beat him in all your exams. And get into Gryffindor, or we'll disown you..."Honestly, you'd think that Mother and Daddy are the ones going to their first day of school, not me. Mother rushes over and shushes Daddy, telling him not to make jokes like that, he'll just make me nervous. I don't mind, really. I know I'll be in Gryffindor anyway. Everyone in my family has been, even James, who, despite what he pretends, is deathly afraid of spiders and thestrals.
Reviews of The Way It Was Meant to Be
Nice... I do think that the most surprising place you can sort any of the descendants of the main characters is hufflepuff, which i imagine is why you did it... it'll be interesting to see how that develops... I loved Rose's reaction to being sorted there, though "Holy penguins and applesauce!"... Rose just gained, like, 5 points in my book So... good chapter (I hope the fact that i'm reviewing multiple times in a day isn't tiresome, but I think this story deserves more reviews than it has... so... I'm doing what I can to remedy that.) :)
Good story so far... I like how you have the different characters' point of view... I really appreciate your style when writing Scorpius... suitably cynical and sarcastic and rather amusing. Albus' point of view was good too (Rose's was all right... my favorite part of hers was when she said about how James was afraid of spiders and thestrals...). Oh, and I really liked how you've got a daughter of Luna in the story, and also how you've carried on in Rowling's tradition of giving characters names that reflect their personalities. Good stuff so far, I'll read on now, just wanted to get those comments out before I forget.
Bad:
SECRET DIARIES OF HOGWARTS: BOOK TWO!
By Sarah Noble
THE VERY SECRET DIARY OF PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE AND OTHER CHARACTERSExerpt from Chapter 1 PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPEDay 1Back at school again and hating it more than ever. Got idiot Potter boy in trouble (along with redheaded boyfriend) but that interfering git Dumbledore let them off the hook! Kicked the leg of my desk for a while til I felt better. WORSE LUCK, Dark Arts job gone to some featherbrained idiot named Lockhart. Horrible fashion sense and no talent at all. Not bad-looking, though.DAY 3Lockhart still not fired, God only knows why. Want to push him down a flight of stairs and get his job. Want to kick desk leg til feel better. Want to kick Lockhart til feel better. Mad about Potter boy not being expelled, mad about Malfoy brat not returning my owls, mad about Lockhart being generally stupid, especially his habit of hoarding all the lemon pepper crackers to himself during dinner.Day 8Lucius got his son on our House Team with bribery, as usual. Not that I care, even if I was never a Seeker myself. Not at all. Accidentally kicked desk leg off today.Still not on speaking terms with Malfoy boy. Little fuzzyheaded girlfriend of Potter's looking kind of cute these days.DAY 9Gave permission letter to Malfoy boy to use Quidditch field, just to spite Gryffindor Team. Back on speaking terms with Malfoy now, but unfortunately out of chocolate syrup. Will run to the store for more next week.Day 14Very upset with Lockhart nonsense. Wish Dumbledore would sort out his ass from his hat and just give me the job. Obviously overqualified for it. Lockhart incapable of running a daycare for squirrels by himself. Also ponces around in silly outfits. Doesn't even have the sense to realize that purple is a winter color and it's not even November.Maybe excessive nancing about in lavender and aquamarine will get me the Dark Arts job...Day 13Having hard time deciding what colors flatter me besides black. Considering getting palette done. Starting to regret getting hair layered.
What I have noticed:
-There is certain lingo to Fan Fiction – slash, PoV, abandoned
- Different styles of writing - I think it was Cayley who said to be mindful of the quality of writing that we will get from our students. I saw many piece that I didn’t like because of the quality compared to the original and also because I didn’t really like their changes or interpretations. When assessing students fan fiction it will be important to remember to be as objective as possible. As I past my own narrow, personal preferences I began to see the value in other’s interpretations. There were fan fictions written from other characters point of views or as diaries, while they didn’t coincide with Rowling’s writing style they could show knowledge about the story and characters.
- pretty positive comments, not very many that give constructive criticisms, most ask writers to keep on writing.
Ideas for Fan Fiction writing in Classes:
This made me think of projects that I have done and that are being done now that are fan fiction-ish. Writing different story endings, letters to characters in stories or a character’s dairy can all be done as fan fiction.
Grade 3
–start reading a piece of literature to class and stop after the main problem, ask the students to
write how they think/want the story to end. Post the story endings on the class/school web page.
-after listening to a chapter in a story book students write a diary entry from a character’s perspective, imagining what his/her life is like.
-students take sections from a familiar story (ie Mary had a little lamb) and in groups expand on that section, the class will discuss the story sections together and the expansions that students made, how the details add to it.
Before a writing assignment the class will discuss the details/elements of the story, the universe. We will talk about what changes are appropriate and which ones are inappropriate. We will also talk about the intended audience. The students will be given an opportunity to publish and display their writing.
Excerpt from my Fanfiction
Fan Fiction – Harry Potter: The First Chamber of Secrets
It was a cool and quiet morning in Godric Hollow. The sun was rising and the birds were showing life as they flitted from branch to branch. BANG. The birds startled and took flight as a noisy disturbance erupted from the upper window in the ivy covered house at the edge of the hollow.
“Ow,” said James Potter, grimacing as he rubbed his stinging toes. He had tripped over a trunk in his excitement of greeting the morning. The trunk was open and overflowing; books, robes, papers, and an assortment of other objects were strewn about the room. James hurriedly threw all he could into the trunk and heaved it shut. As he rushed about, the aroma of bacon and eggs came wafting up the stairs.
James quickly grabbed his jumper and stomped down the steps, pulling it on as he went. As James rounded the corner William Potter, his father, looked over the top of the newspaper with a bemused expression on his face. “Could you be any louder James? I think half of the hollow is still sleeping.” Standing over at the stove James’ mother turned. “William,” said Rose smirking at her husband, eyebrow raised, “I seem to recall you were just as loud the other day when you boys got up early to go fishing.” She swatted lightly at his hand as reached for another piece of bacon.
James grinned as he sat down to his favourite breakfast. Today was going to be great; it was the first day of his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and in a couple of hours he would be able to meet up with his friends again. As he inhaled his bacon and eggs, James noticed the newspaper The Daily Prophet. The front cover had a picture of the Minister of Magic Walter Burrows waving his arms in a defensive and angry manner. The picture moved of course, not like the Muggle newspapers that Lily Evans had told him about where the non-magical pictures were stationary; no, the reader could see clearly the Minister’s waving arms, pointing fingers, and red, disgruntled face. The Headline was what drew James’ attention, it read: The Minister of Magic Unsuccessful Intervention at Hogwarts. “Whuf’s Wfrongf?” murmured James before he washed his mouthful down with a gulp of orange juice. “Nothing much,” said William hurriedly.” The minister was just expressing how there is no possible reason for Dumbledore to ignore his recommendations and requests since he claims it concerns the safety and education of the students.” William quickly snatched the paper away and stuffed it into his work bag, “and the lack of one member of the staff …but that’s nothing for you to bother about.” He ruffled James’ hair and gave Rose a peck on as he headed out the door on his way to work.
James looked at his mom, and could tell by the glint in her eye that she would not reveal any more information. He chewed thoughtfully on his food and decided he would bring the matter up with Remus on the train.
Outside a storm raged and brewed, inside He moved silently through the passageways of the castle, which was dark and foreboding as the storm beat against the outside walls. Yet he strode on purposefully, he had things to accomplish tonight; before the noisy and ignorant children would swamp the castle the next evening.
He paused contemplating and revelling in the fact of the power and mystery surrounding the castle, of which he was confident that only he fully understood. But that could wait, and abruptly he glided on, shivering in delight of what was to come.
“Who’s there?” a soft, gravely voice called out in the darkness. The speaker, Dumbledore stepped forward, his bright blue eyes twinkling with suspicion. “Tom Riddle… what a pleasant surprise?”
Tom sighed, time to get the plan into action; he controlled himself to remain impassive as Dumbledore searched his face. Dumbledore sighed, “Perhaps we should talk in my office.” while motioning to Tom to follow.
The whistle blast was shrill over top of the dense murmur of the crowd gathered at the platform nine and three-quarters at Kings Cross Station. James stood on his tiptoes and craned his neck to look for his friends. His eyes roved over the platform, over the cats mewing in their owners’ arms, over the owls fluttering and hooting at each other in cages, over the students, some already in their long black robes, loading their trunks on to the scarlet, steam engine or else greeting one another with glad cries after a summer apart.
“James, oh, oh James.” Hearing a squeaky voice behind him James turned. Looking down he saw Peter Pettigrew, a plump watery-eyed boy who was flushed with pleasure upon finding a companion. “Oh. Hi Peter,” said James peering over his head into the thick, white steam of Hogwarts Express.
“Oy Potter! Time to get a move on!” hearing a shout behind him James turned again. This time he saw a carelessly handsome boy smoothly jumping from the carriage one over. “Remus and I’ve already got a compartment, mate, what took you so long?” said his best friend Sirius grinning as he strolled up. “Someone forgot to pack until this morning,” Rose came forwards after finishing her conversation with the Prewetts, “Hi Peter, Sirius. Have a good year James… and try to not get into too much trouble.” She lovingly tried to flatten his untidy hair and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Bye Mom!” James said quickly picking up his trunk and followed Sirius, Pettigrew trailing behind them.
Harry Potter Background:
Harry Potter is a boy who discovers he is a wizard. Not only that but he is a famous wizard, The Boy Who Lived the only person to ever have survived a killing curse. Unfortunately for Harry the Dark wizard who cast the curse (Lord Voldemort) and who also killed his parents, comes back to life and Harry goes through some adventures as he tries to defeat Voldemort. The Harry Potter universe is very detailed; it has its own language and wizarding community. My fan fiction takes place before Harry Potter, in the life of his father James Potter who also attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In my story James is going to his third year at Hogwarts.
My Fan Fiction Development
I personally really enjoyed this writing assignment; it was refreshing to write a narrative rather than the formal essays and reports that I have been writing recently. Once I started writing it, it was hard to put it down and do my other homework. My plan for the story became so involved that I think I could write a ‘book’ if I wanted/had time to. I want the story to develop farther, my plan was that James and his friends would be at Hogwarts when the Chamber of Secrets was first opened. It would be opened by Tom Riddle/Voldemort who uses Lucius as his pawn. In the end Hagrid is blamed and then expelled. It is different than in the book because it hints that James was not there when it opened, though it is opened by Tom Riddle it is when he is a student. It is also true that Hagrid was blamed and expelled.
I used constant reference to the book because I wanted to keep it as close as possible. There are some words/sentences/scenes that are taken somewhat or full form the novels.
There are so many different Fan Fictions on Harry Potter, it was hard to not look through them all.
Here are the titles of some good and poor fan fictions on Harry Potter:
Good:
The Way It Was Meant to Be
By 17ginny17
19 years after Harry Potter's defeat of Lord Voldemort, the next generation of children are entering Hogwarts. There are still things to be repaired there, things that must change. House rivalry,quiddich,and a mysterious object found deep in the forest...
Chp1 Rosie’s PoV
Hogwarts! I'm finally going to Hogwarts! Albus and I, old enough at last to go to Hogwarts with James and Teddy and Victiore! I am so excited I can barely contain myself. I have already put on my new school robes and gotten all my trunks ready. Over the summer, I even learned a few spells with my new wand, just to be prepared. When I told this to Daddy last night, he told me I was just like Mother when she was my age. That made me really proud because Mother is the smartest witch I know. All there is left for me to do now is wait for the train to come, hear Hugo whining about how he has to wait another two years to go to Hogwarts, and listen to Mother and Daddy's advice and reminders. "...Oh, and Rosie, you have tea with Hagrid on Wednesday at 3:00, make sure you're there, and don't forget to study and to do your homework on time, and give Neville our love, won't you?...", Mother is saying. Love, to a professor? Who is she kidding? People don't do that. I roll my eyes at Mother, and then give her half a smile to tell her that I really do appreciate her advice. At least, I did the first 500 times around. Meanwhile, Daddy is also talking to me, most of his comments half-joking and half-not. It is sort of hard to tell which is which, so I just listen quietly. "See over there, Scorpius Malfoy? Make sure you beat him in all your exams. And get into Gryffindor, or we'll disown you..."Honestly, you'd think that Mother and Daddy are the ones going to their first day of school, not me. Mother rushes over and shushes Daddy, telling him not to make jokes like that, he'll just make me nervous. I don't mind, really. I know I'll be in Gryffindor anyway. Everyone in my family has been, even James, who, despite what he pretends, is deathly afraid of spiders and thestrals.
Reviews of The Way It Was Meant to Be
Nice... I do think that the most surprising place you can sort any of the descendants of the main characters is hufflepuff, which i imagine is why you did it... it'll be interesting to see how that develops... I loved Rose's reaction to being sorted there, though "Holy penguins and applesauce!"... Rose just gained, like, 5 points in my book So... good chapter (I hope the fact that i'm reviewing multiple times in a day isn't tiresome, but I think this story deserves more reviews than it has... so... I'm doing what I can to remedy that.) :)
Good story so far... I like how you have the different characters' point of view... I really appreciate your style when writing Scorpius... suitably cynical and sarcastic and rather amusing. Albus' point of view was good too (Rose's was all right... my favorite part of hers was when she said about how James was afraid of spiders and thestrals...). Oh, and I really liked how you've got a daughter of Luna in the story, and also how you've carried on in Rowling's tradition of giving characters names that reflect their personalities. Good stuff so far, I'll read on now, just wanted to get those comments out before I forget.
Bad:
SECRET DIARIES OF HOGWARTS: BOOK TWO!
By Sarah Noble
THE VERY SECRET DIARY OF PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE AND OTHER CHARACTERSExerpt from Chapter 1 PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPEDay 1Back at school again and hating it more than ever. Got idiot Potter boy in trouble (along with redheaded boyfriend) but that interfering git Dumbledore let them off the hook! Kicked the leg of my desk for a while til I felt better. WORSE LUCK, Dark Arts job gone to some featherbrained idiot named Lockhart. Horrible fashion sense and no talent at all. Not bad-looking, though.DAY 3Lockhart still not fired, God only knows why. Want to push him down a flight of stairs and get his job. Want to kick desk leg til feel better. Want to kick Lockhart til feel better. Mad about Potter boy not being expelled, mad about Malfoy brat not returning my owls, mad about Lockhart being generally stupid, especially his habit of hoarding all the lemon pepper crackers to himself during dinner.Day 8Lucius got his son on our House Team with bribery, as usual. Not that I care, even if I was never a Seeker myself. Not at all. Accidentally kicked desk leg off today.Still not on speaking terms with Malfoy boy. Little fuzzyheaded girlfriend of Potter's looking kind of cute these days.DAY 9Gave permission letter to Malfoy boy to use Quidditch field, just to spite Gryffindor Team. Back on speaking terms with Malfoy now, but unfortunately out of chocolate syrup. Will run to the store for more next week.Day 14Very upset with Lockhart nonsense. Wish Dumbledore would sort out his ass from his hat and just give me the job. Obviously overqualified for it. Lockhart incapable of running a daycare for squirrels by himself. Also ponces around in silly outfits. Doesn't even have the sense to realize that purple is a winter color and it's not even November.Maybe excessive nancing about in lavender and aquamarine will get me the Dark Arts job...Day 13Having hard time deciding what colors flatter me besides black. Considering getting palette done. Starting to regret getting hair layered.
What I have noticed:
-There is certain lingo to Fan Fiction – slash, PoV, abandoned
- Different styles of writing - I think it was Cayley who said to be mindful of the quality of writing that we will get from our students. I saw many piece that I didn’t like because of the quality compared to the original and also because I didn’t really like their changes or interpretations. When assessing students fan fiction it will be important to remember to be as objective as possible. As I past my own narrow, personal preferences I began to see the value in other’s interpretations. There were fan fictions written from other characters point of views or as diaries, while they didn’t coincide with Rowling’s writing style they could show knowledge about the story and characters.
- pretty positive comments, not very many that give constructive criticisms, most ask writers to keep on writing.
Ideas for Fan Fiction writing in Classes:
This made me think of projects that I have done and that are being done now that are fan fiction-ish. Writing different story endings, letters to characters in stories or a character’s dairy can all be done as fan fiction.
Grade 3
–start reading a piece of literature to class and stop after the main problem, ask the students to
write how they think/want the story to end. Post the story endings on the class/school web page.
-after listening to a chapter in a story book students write a diary entry from a character’s perspective, imagining what his/her life is like.
-students take sections from a familiar story (ie Mary had a little lamb) and in groups expand on that section, the class will discuss the story sections together and the expansions that students made, how the details add to it.
Before a writing assignment the class will discuss the details/elements of the story, the universe. We will talk about what changes are appropriate and which ones are inappropriate. We will also talk about the intended audience. The students will be given an opportunity to publish and display their writing.
Excerpt from my Fanfiction
Fan Fiction – Harry Potter: The First Chamber of Secrets
It was a cool and quiet morning in Godric Hollow. The sun was rising and the birds were showing life as they flitted from branch to branch. BANG. The birds startled and took flight as a noisy disturbance erupted from the upper window in the ivy covered house at the edge of the hollow.
“Ow,” said James Potter, grimacing as he rubbed his stinging toes. He had tripped over a trunk in his excitement of greeting the morning. The trunk was open and overflowing; books, robes, papers, and an assortment of other objects were strewn about the room. James hurriedly threw all he could into the trunk and heaved it shut. As he rushed about, the aroma of bacon and eggs came wafting up the stairs.
James quickly grabbed his jumper and stomped down the steps, pulling it on as he went. As James rounded the corner William Potter, his father, looked over the top of the newspaper with a bemused expression on his face. “Could you be any louder James? I think half of the hollow is still sleeping.” Standing over at the stove James’ mother turned. “William,” said Rose smirking at her husband, eyebrow raised, “I seem to recall you were just as loud the other day when you boys got up early to go fishing.” She swatted lightly at his hand as reached for another piece of bacon.
James grinned as he sat down to his favourite breakfast. Today was going to be great; it was the first day of his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and in a couple of hours he would be able to meet up with his friends again. As he inhaled his bacon and eggs, James noticed the newspaper The Daily Prophet. The front cover had a picture of the Minister of Magic Walter Burrows waving his arms in a defensive and angry manner. The picture moved of course, not like the Muggle newspapers that Lily Evans had told him about where the non-magical pictures were stationary; no, the reader could see clearly the Minister’s waving arms, pointing fingers, and red, disgruntled face. The Headline was what drew James’ attention, it read: The Minister of Magic Unsuccessful Intervention at Hogwarts. “Whuf’s Wfrongf?” murmured James before he washed his mouthful down with a gulp of orange juice. “Nothing much,” said William hurriedly.” The minister was just expressing how there is no possible reason for Dumbledore to ignore his recommendations and requests since he claims it concerns the safety and education of the students.” William quickly snatched the paper away and stuffed it into his work bag, “and the lack of one member of the staff …but that’s nothing for you to bother about.” He ruffled James’ hair and gave Rose a peck on as he headed out the door on his way to work.
James looked at his mom, and could tell by the glint in her eye that she would not reveal any more information. He chewed thoughtfully on his food and decided he would bring the matter up with Remus on the train.
Outside a storm raged and brewed, inside He moved silently through the passageways of the castle, which was dark and foreboding as the storm beat against the outside walls. Yet he strode on purposefully, he had things to accomplish tonight; before the noisy and ignorant children would swamp the castle the next evening.
He paused contemplating and revelling in the fact of the power and mystery surrounding the castle, of which he was confident that only he fully understood. But that could wait, and abruptly he glided on, shivering in delight of what was to come.
“Who’s there?” a soft, gravely voice called out in the darkness. The speaker, Dumbledore stepped forward, his bright blue eyes twinkling with suspicion. “Tom Riddle… what a pleasant surprise?”
Tom sighed, time to get the plan into action; he controlled himself to remain impassive as Dumbledore searched his face. Dumbledore sighed, “Perhaps we should talk in my office.” while motioning to Tom to follow.
The whistle blast was shrill over top of the dense murmur of the crowd gathered at the platform nine and three-quarters at Kings Cross Station. James stood on his tiptoes and craned his neck to look for his friends. His eyes roved over the platform, over the cats mewing in their owners’ arms, over the owls fluttering and hooting at each other in cages, over the students, some already in their long black robes, loading their trunks on to the scarlet, steam engine or else greeting one another with glad cries after a summer apart.
“James, oh, oh James.” Hearing a squeaky voice behind him James turned. Looking down he saw Peter Pettigrew, a plump watery-eyed boy who was flushed with pleasure upon finding a companion. “Oh. Hi Peter,” said James peering over his head into the thick, white steam of Hogwarts Express.
“Oy Potter! Time to get a move on!” hearing a shout behind him James turned again. This time he saw a carelessly handsome boy smoothly jumping from the carriage one over. “Remus and I’ve already got a compartment, mate, what took you so long?” said his best friend Sirius grinning as he strolled up. “Someone forgot to pack until this morning,” Rose came forwards after finishing her conversation with the Prewetts, “Hi Peter, Sirius. Have a good year James… and try to not get into too much trouble.” She lovingly tried to flatten his untidy hair and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Bye Mom!” James said quickly picking up his trunk and followed Sirius, Pettigrew trailing behind them.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Fan Fiction
My real blog for this week is the prevoius one, so scroll down!
This is my Fan Fiction Blog:
My Fan Fiction is on Harry Potter, not the only one in the class. I had some trouble in thinking of what to write and say that was not said about Harry Potter or Fan Fiction already.
Instead of giving background into Harry Potter I guess I will write/tell about the experience itself. I personally really enjoyed this writing assignment; it was refreshing to write a narrative rather than the formal essays and reports that I have been writing recently. Once I started writing it, it was hard to put it down and do my other homework. I found myself thinking about what I was going to write next at odd times, on bus rides, lying in bed at night, and when I should have been listening in some of my other classes :) . It was great to experience an assignment that I was interested in. While doing my background research I found out more about the Harry Potter universe that I had ever known, I guess I had to if I wanted to write a passable story. It was like what Rosanne was talking about, how she researched so much information. Think about how student s could learn so much through the research/background info on this project.
While I was exploring Fan Fiction I remembered what was mentioned in our class. I think it was Cayley who said to be mindful of the quality of writing that we will get from our students. I saw many pieces that I didn’t like because of the quality compared to the original books and also because I didn’t really like their changes or interpretations. When assessing students fan fiction it will be important to remember to be as objective as possible. As I got past my own narrow, personal preferences I began to see the value in other’s interpretations. There were fan fictions written from other character's point of views or as diaries, and while they didn’t coincide with Rowling’s writing style some showed good knowledge about the story and characters. This made me think of projects that I have done, and that are being done now that are fan fiction-ish. Writing different story endings, letters to characters in stories or a character’s dairy can all be done as fan fiction.
While my own fan fiction is quite long (as I said I couldn’t put it down) and I don’t know if I’ll get it done (my ideas grew so much that I think I could write a whole book if I do it properly) I could definitely see my students doing something similar in the future (though I would probably help them have a better plan for the length :) ).
Here are the titles of some good and poor fan fictions that I found on Harry Potter:
Good:
From First to Last
Kiara Avalon
This story is from literally the first bit of magic to the last bit of magic that Lily and James Potter ever do. I really think it's going to be a good one. Following their life and relationship at Hogwarts, and afterwards, all leading up to their death..Fiction Rated: T - English - General/Romance - Chapters: 36 - Words: 54,950 - Reviews: 160 - Updated: 11-13-07 - Published: 8-2-07
The Way It Was Meant to Be
By 17ginny17
19 years after Harry Potter's defeat of Lord Voldemort, the next generation of children are entering Hogwarts. There are still things to be repaired there, things that must change. House rivalry,quiddich,and a mysterious object found deep in the forest...Harry Potter - Fiction Rated: K+ - English - General/Friendship - Chapters: 7 - Words: 7,546 - Reviews: 14 - Updated: 11-13-07 - Published: 10-18-07
Bad:
Differences Aside by Spazzer Monkey
When Harry and Ron get involved in a Dark plan, Hermione teams up with a likely ally...but they become more than friends. REVIEW! ABANDONED This fic is up for adoption...if you would like to adopt and continue it, email me!Fiction Rated: T - English - Romance - Chapters: 6 - Words: 88 - Reviews: 54 - Updated: 8-16-02 - Published: 4-7-01
SECRET DIARIES OF HOGWARTS: BOOK TWO!
By Sarah Noble
THE VERY SECRET DIARY OF PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE AND OTHER CHARACTERS
This is my Fan Fiction Blog:
My Fan Fiction is on Harry Potter, not the only one in the class. I had some trouble in thinking of what to write and say that was not said about Harry Potter or Fan Fiction already.
Instead of giving background into Harry Potter I guess I will write/tell about the experience itself. I personally really enjoyed this writing assignment; it was refreshing to write a narrative rather than the formal essays and reports that I have been writing recently. Once I started writing it, it was hard to put it down and do my other homework. I found myself thinking about what I was going to write next at odd times, on bus rides, lying in bed at night, and when I should have been listening in some of my other classes :) . It was great to experience an assignment that I was interested in. While doing my background research I found out more about the Harry Potter universe that I had ever known, I guess I had to if I wanted to write a passable story. It was like what Rosanne was talking about, how she researched so much information. Think about how student s could learn so much through the research/background info on this project.
While I was exploring Fan Fiction I remembered what was mentioned in our class. I think it was Cayley who said to be mindful of the quality of writing that we will get from our students. I saw many pieces that I didn’t like because of the quality compared to the original books and also because I didn’t really like their changes or interpretations. When assessing students fan fiction it will be important to remember to be as objective as possible. As I got past my own narrow, personal preferences I began to see the value in other’s interpretations. There were fan fictions written from other character's point of views or as diaries, and while they didn’t coincide with Rowling’s writing style some showed good knowledge about the story and characters. This made me think of projects that I have done, and that are being done now that are fan fiction-ish. Writing different story endings, letters to characters in stories or a character’s dairy can all be done as fan fiction.
While my own fan fiction is quite long (as I said I couldn’t put it down) and I don’t know if I’ll get it done (my ideas grew so much that I think I could write a whole book if I do it properly) I could definitely see my students doing something similar in the future (though I would probably help them have a better plan for the length :) ).
Here are the titles of some good and poor fan fictions that I found on Harry Potter:
Good:
From First to Last
Kiara Avalon
This story is from literally the first bit of magic to the last bit of magic that Lily and James Potter ever do. I really think it's going to be a good one. Following their life and relationship at Hogwarts, and afterwards, all leading up to their death..Fiction Rated: T - English - General/Romance - Chapters: 36 - Words: 54,950 - Reviews: 160 - Updated: 11-13-07 - Published: 8-2-07
The Way It Was Meant to Be
By 17ginny17
19 years after Harry Potter's defeat of Lord Voldemort, the next generation of children are entering Hogwarts. There are still things to be repaired there, things that must change. House rivalry,quiddich,and a mysterious object found deep in the forest...Harry Potter - Fiction Rated: K+ - English - General/Friendship - Chapters: 7 - Words: 7,546 - Reviews: 14 - Updated: 11-13-07 - Published: 10-18-07
Bad:
Differences Aside by Spazzer Monkey
When Harry and Ron get involved in a Dark plan, Hermione teams up with a likely ally...but they become more than friends. REVIEW! ABANDONED This fic is up for adoption...if you would like to adopt and continue it, email me!Fiction Rated: T - English - Romance - Chapters: 6 - Words: 88 - Reviews: 54 - Updated: 8-16-02 - Published: 4-7-01
SECRET DIARIES OF HOGWARTS: BOOK TWO!
By Sarah Noble
THE VERY SECRET DIARY OF PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE AND OTHER CHARACTERS
Sorry everyone if you checked my blog for last class, I forgot that I had to blog that week. I emailed Jill and I am going to make up for it after the next class.
There is not much for me to write because we didn’t have a class last week. I hope you all had a great long weekend! I just wanted to say that I was very impressed with the fan fictions that were presented last week; everyone did such a great job. It’s great how the same assignment can produce such different results form each person according to their own interests and viewpoints. Kudos to those who have posted theirs, I’m still trying to decide if I’m brave enough :).
During the break I had the opportunity to help out in my Mom’s grade 1 class, while I was there a student very proudly took me aside to show me the story he had written about his favourite Hockey team. It was great how he took his own time to write so much about something that he was so passionate about, and this was in grade 1!
I also saw first hand how sight words and phonological sounds can help students as they are writing in that they could be creative and their writing could have flow as they worked to put their ideas down.
I was talking to a student teacher who is taking some after-degree courses at a University in Ontario. She was telling me how she wasn’t sure how to properly teach things like reading and writing because she didn’t have the opportunity to learn much about it in her courses. While I was in my Mom’s classroom (and during my IPT) I was able to see how much time LA took up and the amount reading and writing in the day. Even in university their importance is obvious as we need to be proficient readers and writers to be successful students (although sometimes I wish I was even more proficient at writing papers and reading boring texts :) ahem- psychology). The world would not be the same if I were unable to read or write, think about how as a teacher you can help open up the world to children.
I know we mentioned it in class, but it’s important to think of the many different kinds of reading and writing we do and expose children to them. Different writing forms such as lists, how to lists, recipes, diaries, letters, and even signs, resumes or essays. A good way to introduce these writing forms is through good literature.
Another aspect that we talked about before is celebrating and promoting children’s interest in writing. Personally I can look at my writing of the fan fiction. As I was interested in the topic and could be more creative I was more willing to work on it and found myself writing more than I ever thought I would.
I hope I didn’t repeat anything that was said before, these were just my thoughts on writing this week, and I guess I was reminded of things we have talked about before.
See you all on Tuesday!
There is not much for me to write because we didn’t have a class last week. I hope you all had a great long weekend! I just wanted to say that I was very impressed with the fan fictions that were presented last week; everyone did such a great job. It’s great how the same assignment can produce such different results form each person according to their own interests and viewpoints. Kudos to those who have posted theirs, I’m still trying to decide if I’m brave enough :).
During the break I had the opportunity to help out in my Mom’s grade 1 class, while I was there a student very proudly took me aside to show me the story he had written about his favourite Hockey team. It was great how he took his own time to write so much about something that he was so passionate about, and this was in grade 1!
I also saw first hand how sight words and phonological sounds can help students as they are writing in that they could be creative and their writing could have flow as they worked to put their ideas down.
I was talking to a student teacher who is taking some after-degree courses at a University in Ontario. She was telling me how she wasn’t sure how to properly teach things like reading and writing because she didn’t have the opportunity to learn much about it in her courses. While I was in my Mom’s classroom (and during my IPT) I was able to see how much time LA took up and the amount reading and writing in the day. Even in university their importance is obvious as we need to be proficient readers and writers to be successful students (although sometimes I wish I was even more proficient at writing papers and reading boring texts :) ahem- psychology). The world would not be the same if I were unable to read or write, think about how as a teacher you can help open up the world to children.
I know we mentioned it in class, but it’s important to think of the many different kinds of reading and writing we do and expose children to them. Different writing forms such as lists, how to lists, recipes, diaries, letters, and even signs, resumes or essays. A good way to introduce these writing forms is through good literature.
Another aspect that we talked about before is celebrating and promoting children’s interest in writing. Personally I can look at my writing of the fan fiction. As I was interested in the topic and could be more creative I was more willing to work on it and found myself writing more than I ever thought I would.
I hope I didn’t repeat anything that was said before, these were just my thoughts on writing this week, and I guess I was reminded of things we have talked about before.
See you all on Tuesday!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Hi Everyone, hope you all did well on the midterm and hope you are all doing well handling the term this far in!
I'm not sure exactly what to write about since we had our midterm last class and we are talking about the assessment chapter next class. (Oops I accidentally posted my comments on assessment on this blog before the class blog :)
The production of Hana's Suitcase will be at the Citadel from Nov3-15 the evening shows start at 7:30 and matinees at 1:30, and the show is 90minutes long. I believe students are half price (if not then there is for sure a student rate) The info is on the website:
http://www.citadeltheatre.com/index.php
What a great way to interest students, that would be my favourite field trip by far. I remember going to the production of Hamlet, and To Kill A Mockingbird in High school and that is something I'll never forget.
I've been delving a little deeper into fan fiction, and while I 'm sure I could explore further I am beginning to see the potential for it's use in the classroom. I confess when I first heard of fan fiction I was wary and nervous. The truth is that there are a number of great writers on the site and what a great way to get children to write, on something that interests them. I'm looking forward to the discussions and sharing in class. it reminds me of something that Rosanne brought up with her journals entries in how students wrote in their own style or on a topic that interested them. As a teacher you need to ensure that you have enough background knowledge while assessing these. There are some Fan Fictions that I have no idea if they are true/consistent or not since I do not know the real story it is based on.
The mini unit we have to prepare is going to be a useful project I think. there are so many different and fun writing activities that you can do in a class if you just think about it. for example Cayley's IPT teacher's idea with the wrapped present.
Writing can be pretty powerful. While I was at my school for my IPT there was a new student who came to the classroom I was in. It was neat to see his excitement at reading the welcoming letters/stories that the class had written for him. Another one of the writing activities that we were working on throughout the year was that we would make a "Hug Book" for each of the students in the class. A student would be chosen for the day that we would be writing (usually the special helper, and every student had a turn) and the class would write whatever positive comment they wanted about that student. suggestions were given such as, What I like to play with..., He/She is a good friend because..., and so on. the class would also illustrate the page and the pages would be complied into a Hugbook for each child.
In another case there was a story read that was "If I was a Dinosaur" and the children wrote their own stories of what they would do as a Dinosaur. The stories were super creative and fun to read.
That's all I can think of for now, I'll try to write more and more constructive comments next time.
I'm not sure exactly what to write about since we had our midterm last class and we are talking about the assessment chapter next class. (Oops I accidentally posted my comments on assessment on this blog before the class blog :)
The production of Hana's Suitcase will be at the Citadel from Nov3-15 the evening shows start at 7:30 and matinees at 1:30, and the show is 90minutes long. I believe students are half price (if not then there is for sure a student rate) The info is on the website:
http://www.citadeltheatre.com/index.php
What a great way to interest students, that would be my favourite field trip by far. I remember going to the production of Hamlet, and To Kill A Mockingbird in High school and that is something I'll never forget.
I've been delving a little deeper into fan fiction, and while I 'm sure I could explore further I am beginning to see the potential for it's use in the classroom. I confess when I first heard of fan fiction I was wary and nervous. The truth is that there are a number of great writers on the site and what a great way to get children to write, on something that interests them. I'm looking forward to the discussions and sharing in class. it reminds me of something that Rosanne brought up with her journals entries in how students wrote in their own style or on a topic that interested them. As a teacher you need to ensure that you have enough background knowledge while assessing these. There are some Fan Fictions that I have no idea if they are true/consistent or not since I do not know the real story it is based on.
The mini unit we have to prepare is going to be a useful project I think. there are so many different and fun writing activities that you can do in a class if you just think about it. for example Cayley's IPT teacher's idea with the wrapped present.
Writing can be pretty powerful. While I was at my school for my IPT there was a new student who came to the classroom I was in. It was neat to see his excitement at reading the welcoming letters/stories that the class had written for him. Another one of the writing activities that we were working on throughout the year was that we would make a "Hug Book" for each of the students in the class. A student would be chosen for the day that we would be writing (usually the special helper, and every student had a turn) and the class would write whatever positive comment they wanted about that student. suggestions were given such as, What I like to play with..., He/She is a good friend because..., and so on. the class would also illustrate the page and the pages would be complied into a Hugbook for each child.
In another case there was a story read that was "If I was a Dinosaur" and the children wrote their own stories of what they would do as a Dinosaur. The stories were super creative and fun to read.
That's all I can think of for now, I'll try to write more and more constructive comments next time.
Some questions on assessment of writing:
I was confused that Routman was very much against using rubrics to assess writing through our assessment course I thought that rubrics were a valuable evaluation tool. How can you ensure you are not objective when you are assessing?
Routman also talks about not teaching to the test, yet test preparation is important, how much is enough? Where do you draw the line?
Jill- could you show us an example of assessing a piece of writing, or a writing portfolio?
I was confused that Routman was very much against using rubrics to assess writing through our assessment course I thought that rubrics were a valuable evaluation tool. How can you ensure you are not objective when you are assessing?
Routman also talks about not teaching to the test, yet test preparation is important, how much is enough? Where do you draw the line?
Jill- could you show us an example of assessing a piece of writing, or a writing portfolio?
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