All About...You!

Hello ICS and ANS students!

Thank you to those of you who have joined our conversations on the blog!  Here at ICS we've really enjoyed getting to know a few of you through your posts.  We hope this week to keep the conversation going.

This week, we wanted to share more about ourselves in an effort to learn more about one another.  ICS students, you may post this week as often as you like, and respond to one another, but please make sure to respond to at least one blog prompt below to receive full credit.  This week you may post using the VoiceThread above, or in the comments below.  ICS: we'd love to see more of you posting in Spanish and trying out the voice recorder using the microphone.  It can be absolutely horrible to hear your own voice recorded, I know, but it's great practice for oral presentations!

Successful comments (written or recorded) have been outlined and reviewed before publishing.  And, as a reminder, they are evidence of our best work as writers (no texting talk, please).

Prompts:

• What cultural, religious, or family traditions are important to you?  When do these traditions occur and what do you do to mark the occasion?  Spring has sprung, it seems; do you mark this time of year with Easter egg dying, or maybe a Jewish Seder?  Please use details and be specific!
• Do you have a favorite childhood memory that reveals something about who you are today?  Do you have any frightening, funny, surprising, sad, or any other stories in between, you'd like to share? Feel free to use this prompt to write a poem, or a letter to your childhood self -- be creative.
• What are your hobbies?  Do you play sports, make art, dance, or collect unusual objects?  What pastimes keep you happy and inspired?
• What musical bands and artists do you love?  Do you have a favorite genre, or album?  Are you a musician?  What kind of music do you play?  Have you ever seen any live performances that you have enjoyed?
• What book do you think belongs on a 7th grade "must read" list?  What is your favorite book and why?  Do you have any all-time favorite characters?
• What is your favorite movie, play, or musical?  What do you like about it?  What did it make you feel or think? 
• Who is your personal hero?  Is there someone (perhaps outside of your family) whom you admire?  What do you admire about him or her and why?

Connecting Communities Through VoiceThread

Hello Students,

This week marks the start of our partnership with 7th grade students at the American Nicaraguan School (who our ICS Take Flight student ambassadors will be visiting in just a few weeks!). We welcome our ANS partners to join in our discussion.  Feel free to respond to any of the questions in the comments section below (click on our "How To Post Comments" tab for detailed instructions) or use the VoiceThread above to record your messages!

Part I: Using VoiceThread

This week you may comment using our class VoiceThread, or comment as usual using the comment section below. In order to comment on the VoiceThread, 7Speaks students will need to log in using the account information provided in class. Other visitors will be able to comment by registering for a free account (you will need an email address).

To comment, please click on the “comment” button on any of the slides. There you will have the choice of either recording your voice (microphone icon), typing your words (Letter A icon), or using a webcam (camera icon). There are four pages to this Voicethread, and you can comment on any or all four pages accessed by the bottom right hand arrow. If you are happy with your recording or what you have typed, be sure to save. If not, hit cancel and you may re-record or re-type as often as you like. Click on the camera icon to use your webcam. You may NOT use the doodle function, nor the telephone option (it costs money). Try to find a quiet corner to record your voice - laptop microphones are extremely sensitive!  As usual, all comments will be moderated, and any inappropriate comments will not be published.  Keep in mind proper web etiquette as you choose an avatar and, as always, please use correct spelling and grammar.  This week you may include posts in English OR Spanish.

Here are the questions I would like you to respond to using the VoiceThread:

• What is your name (first names only)?
• What is the best thing about where you live? What is the worst thing about where you live?
• Are there any regional foods that you enjoy, or are particularly proud of?
• Of all the places you have traveled to outside of where you live, where is your favorite?
• Where would you like to go that you haven’t been yet?

Part II:  

Read this week's assigned article on TeenBiz, "Leaders Promise to Help the World's Poor," (ICS students only), complete the activity, and answer these questions in the comments below.  ANS, please feel free to comment on these questions regarding service as well!

• What does it mean to be of service?  
• What experiences have you had volunteering or providing service in or outside your community?  
• What do you think are the best ways to help fight poverty in our communities and abroad?
• Students at ANS: Describe your partnership with Chacente - What service projects have you been involved in and how have you helped?

**Special thanks to the 7th grade blog Write Out Loud for inspiring this week's post and VoiceThread project: http://writeoutloud.edublogs.org/2009/04/04/voicethread-video-week-in-rap-oh-my/ 

Oil for the Taking?

Students,

For this week's blog post read the TeenBiz article, "Oil For The Taking?" and, after completing the activity, weigh in with your response in the comments below. "Fracking" is a controversial issue in our state. Do you think that "fracking" should be allowed? Discuss both sides of the issue and share your opinion in the comments below. Check out the above clip, and the movie "Gasland" for more information.

When you are finished, share your opinion on our poll in the sidebar to the right.

As always, make sure to proofread for CUPS and save your work in a google document before posting.

Due: Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Wouldn't It Be Cool If...?

Students,

What do you think are the most important inventions of all time? How have these inventions changed the way we live?  If you could invent anything (and pitch it to a panel of judges and artist will.i.am) what would it be?

For this week's Achieve3000 and blog assignment:

1) Watch the above video and use the "wallwisher" below to reflect on what you think have been the most important inventions of all time.

2) Log in to Achieve3000 and use the "search" feature to search for articles about inventions and choose one to read, complete the activity, and summarize the article for your fellow students in the comments below (one paragraph).  Record your article title and your multiple choice activity score on your Achieve3000 graphic organizer.  As always, your multiple choice activity score will be graded as a "quiz" grade.

3) Write a paragraph about any invention ideas you would like to develop or see happen.  What would you like to invent to improve your home life, school, community, or the world?

Your blog post this week should consist of two well-developed and proofread paragraphs.  One paragraph that summarizes an article about an invention, and a second paragraph that describes an invention you think might be worth pitching to artist, will.i.am.  "Wouldn't It Be Cool If" contest details will be available on February 21st.  Who knows, maybe this is something you could develop and eventually pitch to the judges? 

**Make sure to proofread for CUPS and compose in a google doc before submitting!

The Saddest Sea Monster

Respond to the prompt above with 2-3 descriptive paragraphs.  This week, I'm grading on ideas and word choice (just how did this sea monster get to be so sad? Poor thing!) as well as conventions, specifically: Capitalization, Punctuation, and Spelling.  Check your work (try rereading aloud) before posting.


Due: Tuesday, January 31st 4 PM

Picture This: Our School In Words and Images

The Brooklyn Bridge

 

Photo credit:
AP/Kathy Willens 

Students,

This week's blog post is inspired by a post from the Edublog Student Blogging Challenge. Using the skills we've been working on in writing our This I Believe Essays (word choice, including juicy details, using vivid modifiers and verbs) I'd like you to describe the five most important images you think best represent ICS.  Use this week's Achieve3000 article: "Here's My City: A Walking Tour" as a model.  The images you describe could be specific places, people, or objects: pretend you are holding a camera and take a picture for the reader.

We won't be including the actual snapshots you describe in your post, so try your best to include details to help your reader picture each of these scenes.  Think about what images would help someone outside of our school get to know our community and what we're all about.

**Remember to compose in a google document to back up your work and proofread for CUPS (Capitalization, Usage, Punctuation, and Spelling before posting**