Sunteți pe pagina 1din 7

White 1

Jonathan White

Dr. Hartman

English 683

7 October 2017

Dear Dr. Hartman,

This has been a really rewarding exercise so far. However, Im conflicted I spend more time
and energy on planning the teaching posts and the WAD-type assignments than I usually do
preparing for actual classes. Im happy with what Ive produced in these assignments, but I guess
its frustrating to see what I could do if I put this much time and energy into every class, every
assignment. I teach four preps (some years Ive taught five and they vary extensively year to
year) in addition to coordinating chapel services, prepping debate teams, managing the schools
FB and webpage, and being the Beta Club sponsor. So, even 8 years into teaching, I still feel like
Im just surviving, not thriving and innovating. I know that sounds like complaining, but when I
saw in one of your videos the flowchart of everything you have your hands in, I was thankful for
my limited load! All that said, this class and these exercises are inspiring me not to settle, but
to keep trying to find time to innovate in my classes. So, thank you for that.

Ill appreciate any feedback you have for me, especially on the rubric.

Thank you,

J. Carl White
White 2

WAD Design Stage

Overview

My high school students often complain about the perceived lack of connection between some of
their classes and the real world. Part of it is just griping about work because it is work, but
even if the work is good, their perceptions can drive them away from engaging in a constructive
way with some content or skill that will benefit them in the future. So, by having rsum creation
as a part of this assignment, I hope that students will buy in to the real-world applicability.

Driven by a desire to teach practical, real world skills, I am having students prepare a rsum for
Beowulf to deliver to Hrothgar to try to get the job of handling Grendel that may not sound
practical or real world, but they will have to understand a complex text, discover and infer details
about characters from explicit and implicit information, use prior knowledge of the historical era
and social context, and most importantly, use all of that information to make rhetorical choices
about how to craft a rsum that will appeal to a specific audience. Having students create a
personal website as a part of this assignment will help them prepare for a new media rsum, one
that some companies are now preferring over the traditional paper rsum.

Context

This assignment will be assigned to 11th and 12th grade British Literature students. When this
project is assigned, students will already have read Beowulf, discussed the epic and its
conventions, and read and discussed background information on the historical context of the text.

This assignment will be completed over a period of five school days during 50 minute class
periods meeting every day. This class is in a Bring Your Own Device environment, and each
student has access to a personal laptop. We have a computer lab. and a mobile laptop lab. to
facilitate any problems with the BYOD setup. This assignment will cap our study of the Old
English Era before we move into the Medieval Era.

Objectives 1) Demonstrate reading comprehension of a complex text and ability to gather not
only explicit information, but also to make inferences about what the text says
implicitly. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.10; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1
2) Demonstrate the ability to produce clear and coherent writing in which the
development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience (with an emphasis on rhetorical choices geared toward a specific
audience). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.4
White 3

3) Demonstrate ability to develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning,


revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing
what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. CCSS.ELA-
Literacy.W.11-12.5
4) Develop ability to use technology, including the Internet, to produce,
publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing
feedback, including new arguments or information. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-
12.6
White 4

Get a Job, Beowulf!


Student Handout

Overview We all know why Beowulf really went sailing across that
freezing northern sea from Geatland to Denmark, right? To get a job! But
youre going to have to help him. Dont tell him I said this (because, you
know, the whole Grendels arm thing) but hes not very good with the
written word. So, over the next week, youll be helping to prepare a
rsum and a personal webpage/portfolio to help him get in good with Mr.
Hrothgar, who weve heard is not an easy customer.

Process here are some suggested steps to walk through this week; however, this is ultimately
your project, so work through it in a way that makes sense for you.
1) Review this handout and ask your questions dont hold back
2) Use the Getting to Know You graphic organizers (or another method that you like)
to record direct and indirect characterization of both Hrothgar and Beowulf keep
track of the specific textual support by writing line numbers next to your
characterizations
3) Consult with classmates in small groups to ensure an accurate characterization for each
man; sharpen each others critical eyes by helping each other to read between the
lines and look for motivations, desires, fears, goals, etc.
4) Using a template in MS Word, Pages, Google Docs, etc., craft a rsum for Beowulf
that accurately recounts his skills and abilities, and use your knowledge of
Hrothgar to make sure Beowulf is seen as the best man for the job
5) Regularly check in with your classmates and teacher; share insights and troubleshoot
the process of rsum creation together
6) Use your rsum to craft a personal webpage that conveys the same information to the
same audience, just in a digital format. Use images, videos, etc. to convey the
information that is only in print on the rsum. Use Weebly, Wix, WordPress,
Google Sites, or another approved medium for web page creation

Due Dates this project will be our work in class every day this week, and youll have the
weekend to polish the products. You should email your rsum as a Word Document, .PDF, or
Google Doc to jonathanwhite@coastalchristian.org by 11:59 pm on Sunday, 10/15 and include
the link to your personal webpage in the message body.

Grading you will earn high grades in your process work throughout the week by engaging
with your classmates and being on task while in the classroom. The final rsum and webpage
will be graded according the rubric attached in this packet.
White 5
Getting to Know You - Hrothgar
Characteristics, motivation, desires, fears, Specific Textual Support (including ln. #s)
relevant past/deeds/relationships, etc.
Getting to Know You - Beowulf White 6

Characteristics, motivation, desires, fears, Specific Textual Support (including ln. #s)
relevant past/deeds/relationships, etc.
White 7

Category Exceeds Meets Expectations Below Expectations


Expectations
(20 pts) (17 pts) (12 pts)
Comprehension of
Text/Inference and
Support: demonstrates a
high level of
comprehension through
characterization process
work and a final product
that contains accurate
characterization of both
characters (rsum)
Tailored Rhetorical
Choices based on
Audience: demonstrates
rhetorical choices specific
to understanding of
audience-Hrothgar
(rsum)
Neatness/Professionalism:
demonstrates mastery of
medium chosen by
producing a clean, neat,
professionally respectable
product (rsum)
Basic Usage/Grammar:
demonstrates grade-level-
appropriate usage and
grammar; readability is
enhanced by word choice,
punctuation, and spelling
(rsum)
Webpage: demonstrates
characteristics listed
above while adapting
content to a digital
medium attractive
layout, colors, video
elements, etc.

/100

S-ar putea să vă placă și