Rubric frustration

I went to grade my first set of projects today and I'm now thoroughly frustated. I really hate the rubric format that I have set up, and I'm having a difficult time breaking away from it as I create the rubrics for my next projects.

I have to change the English 9 short story rubric since I decided I don't like the formatting. I also have to create the English 12 rubric for the heroes project. While I'm closer to an idea of what I want the final deliverable for tue seniors to look like, I'm not 100% there yet.

My struggle with the rubric is there's no definitive addition process for o, which I guess is how my rubrics have been in the past. (I think that's one of the main reasons it's extra frustrating.)

I think another thing that's throwing me off is the fact that the rubric I created this summer is more of a checklist where each level builds on the other using Bloom's Taxonomy. While this makes sense in practice, it's not really making sense on the rubric and end portion.

I feel like I can't break away from this template/format I adapted this summer. I hate when I get stuck in an idea that I can't seem to leave behind to start from scratch.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day I guess.

On a more positive note, I met with someone from the Warsaw Community Library and they gave us some great display space that I think is going to work very well for the senior hero project. I need to meet from the woman from BYC about the freshmen project...maybe I'll have the freshmen construct a list of questions for her this week when we do Knows/Need to Knows.

I should probably be reading some Poe and Beowulf this weekend as well, but there is only so much time in the day  right?

Project #2: Day 1 Entry event

While I again planned way more than we could get through I think the day went really well.

The kids are excited (most of them). After handing the Heroes flyer to the seniors and the Short Shory Night invite to the freshmen I heard multiple kids whispering and exclaiming that it was cool! A few are resistant but I think they'll adjust in time. Now I'll have to dig into more planning this weekend.

I'll share more about  what we went through for each entry event tomorrow. I'm exhausted, need my rest for picture day tomorrow, and I'm typing this on my phone.

Background & Excitement for Project 2

So as I sit here at my computer at 9:15pm, a time on the clock that I'm rarely awake to see, I've started to reflect on my first four weeks of school. This is my second year of teaching, and I feel totally different than I did last year. I feel in control. I feel relaxed (usually). I feel prepared. I feel excited. That last descriptor is one I would not have expected to use in the same sentence as "I feel..." twelve months ago.

At this point, although I'm slightly delirious from sitting at a desk for the past four hours, I really feel that I owe that excitement to my new way of teaching this year. I've revamped my lessons to fit what some would call the newest "fad" in teaching, Project Based Learning (PBL). While many would consider this a phase that will come and go I have to say that I'm in love.

Now, it may be too early in the year to tell but I find myself getting excited when I plan and even more excited to introduce the next topic of study to my students. I'm starting this blog to document my journey, and my students journey, into this new style of teaching and learning. Who knows maybe this will end up being the book that my husband keeps begging me to write.

I owe my late night work session tonight to preparing the "entry event" documents for my freshmen English and senior English classes. Tomorrow is the beginning of their second projects and the entry event introduces the community partner and next topic of study.

I'm only hoping that my students will be as excited about these next projects as I am!

Seniors Project #2: Celebrating Unsung Heroes

• We'll read Beowulf & Legends of King Arthur along with other stories about "heroes" throughout history
• We'll discuss the qualities of these different heroes (compare and contrast)
• We'll discuss how the authors of the various stories are able to portray the main characters as heroic
• What are different tactics they use in their writing to convince readers
• Then after much reading and discussion students will choose someone in their life or community that has these qualities
• Then they'll interview/research that person
• Take or find an environmental portrait of them
• Write a story about their life showing readers why that person is a hero
• The end products will be displayed at local libraries.

Freshmen Project #2: Becoming Authors and Illustrators

• They'll study and discuss various short stories
• Learn about characters
• Learn about plot
• Learn about visual imagery, metaphor, simile, etc.
• Learn about theme and voice
• Then they'll take everything they learned from analyzing stories and write their own!
• We'll research the world of publishing to work on editing and revision
• Eventually students will illustrate and publish (print and eBook) their stories