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