It was a blast listening to the first rounds of Ideal School presentations today. In each class, I felt as though I was on a school board listening to proposals for a brand new school--and so many of your schools are imbued with creativity, hands-on learning, and fascinating field trips!
I am looking forward to continuing to hear and see more of your schools in the upcoming days!
Our word of the day today is RESILIENCE, which means the ability to keep going in the face of obstacles or failure. We used the example of J.K. Rowling and her 13 rejections from the book Harry Potter as an example of resilience!
Peace!
Mr. R
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Monday, November 2, 2015
Is Failure Essential to Success?
Today, we are exploring the theme of failure in life and in our novel, The Absolute Value of Mike. We are watching a speech given by famed writer J.K. Rowling, author of the widely popular and mesmerizing Harry Potter novels. (Here is the link in case you want to watch it again or are out from school today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHGqp8lz36c).
In Mike, we see that failure seems to be a part of his life, too. He isn't quite able to master math, to have a good relationship with his dad, or to feel intrinsically valued for anything about himself--until Do(n)over. Then, things begin to change.
Today, we are chatting about failure as J.K. Rowling defines it, and tomorrow we will explore Mike Frost's experiences with failure in closer detail.
Our word of the day today is INTRINSIC, an adjective which means of or relating to an inner value or inner ability or goal.
Our homework for tonight is to read Chapter 19 in Mike, pp. 154 - 161.
Peace!
Mr. R
In Mike, we see that failure seems to be a part of his life, too. He isn't quite able to master math, to have a good relationship with his dad, or to feel intrinsically valued for anything about himself--until Do(n)over. Then, things begin to change.
Today, we are chatting about failure as J.K. Rowling defines it, and tomorrow we will explore Mike Frost's experiences with failure in closer detail.
Our word of the day today is INTRINSIC, an adjective which means of or relating to an inner value or inner ability or goal.
Our homework for tonight is to read Chapter 19 in Mike, pp. 154 - 161.
Peace!
Mr. R
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Giving Our Characters Quandaries...
Yesterday and today we dove into our first big writing mission of the year: your own, creative, original short stories. I am so thrilled about this project, and I can't wait to see what each of you comes up with.
Today we explored various possibilities, and I shared how ideas come to me when I try and craft stories. We also shared with each other, and then you each began to journey through some questions to get you thinking about the kind of characters, settings, and problems you want to give your characters. We accentuated the idea that our characters must face many struggles in order to build suspense and action, and to engage the reader. Think of what Harry Potter would have been like if his parents had not died, there were no bullies at school, and no grand evil forces with which to reckon!
Our word of the day was Quandary, which means: to be in a state of doubt or confusion. And remember, we want out characters to be in a state of confusion or doubt at times within our stories!
Here is the short story mission, in case you need an extra copy, or want to read through it online, or have forgotten it at school, or you rolled it up into a sword-like creation in order to fend off a garlic-shooting dragon who threaten to steal your shoelaces...
The homework for tonight is to write the first page of your short story. This can be typed or handwritten. And it does not have to be in final draft format! We are trying to get the engines inside our heads and hearts turning, so even if you think your idea is not (yet) a great one, just get that first page down, and I promise it's going to get stronger. Remember: all good writing is rewriting!
Today we explored various possibilities, and I shared how ideas come to me when I try and craft stories. We also shared with each other, and then you each began to journey through some questions to get you thinking about the kind of characters, settings, and problems you want to give your characters. We accentuated the idea that our characters must face many struggles in order to build suspense and action, and to engage the reader. Think of what Harry Potter would have been like if his parents had not died, there were no bullies at school, and no grand evil forces with which to reckon!
Our word of the day was Quandary, which means: to be in a state of doubt or confusion. And remember, we want out characters to be in a state of confusion or doubt at times within our stories!
Here is the short story mission, in case you need an extra copy, or want to read through it online, or have forgotten it at school, or you rolled it up into a sword-like creation in order to fend off a garlic-shooting dragon who threaten to steal your shoelaces...
The homework for tonight is to write the first page of your short story. This can be typed or handwritten. And it does not have to be in final draft format! We are trying to get the engines inside our heads and hearts turning, so even if you think your idea is not (yet) a great one, just get that first page down, and I promise it's going to get stronger. Remember: all good writing is rewriting!
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