6: AUTOBIOGRAPHY Directions

Many of you have written blog entries already, but this is the first BIG DEAL WRITING ASSIGNMENT. This one counts. It will be graded. You must use correct grammar and punctuation. You must do a good job. This one is important...Especially important because it is about YOUR LIFE.

Your autobiography should include these paragraphs:

1. WHO are you in life? State your first name only. Explain the type of person you are, where you're from, what you like to do, what your plans are for the future.

2. WHAT does life mean to you? How do you see life? Are you happy or sad? How do you get through day to day? What inspires you to go on? What motivates you? Who is important in your life?

3. WHAT will your life be like in the future? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? in 20 years? Pick a time frame and write about your dreams. Where will you be? What will you be doing? Will you have a family? a job? What do you envision for yourself?

4. CONCLUSION: wrap up your autobiography by restating something from the introduction. Give your writing some closure.

You can write more than these four paragraphs, but to pass this assignment you must have these four topics in your writing. Remember, do not use your full name--protect yourself. Use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If you need help with anything, please ask.

If you want some pointers, check this WikiHow article on How to Write an Autobiography 
or this ExpertHow article by the same name

Click this link to see an example of a short autobiography written by a student in Sarasota, Florida


Here's a song by one of your teachers fave divas, the Mary J. Blige:  My Life

Be sure to double, triple and QUADRUPLE check your spelling, grammar and punctuation before you publish your post.

5: "In the Real World..." & "Sharing is Caring :)"

2nite SB gr8! Cant wait 2 CUL8R!
OMG! POS...GTG

What does this mean? and more importantly is this an example of a good way to communicate if you're doing something like applying for a job? Probably not...

Look at your blogs. Did you write "u" for "you"? Did you forget to capitalize something? Remember that your grammar, punctuation and spelling count in this class.

TODAY'S ASSIGNMENT: 
1.  Look at anything you've already posted to your blog and edit it. Be sure that you have spelled out all of your words (not "ur" words.) Make sure you have capitalized "I" (not "i").

2. Look at everyone else's blog so far. Help each other if you see someone who needs help. Write comments about what each blogger has done well. Let them know if there's something that they need to work on.

3. If you haven't added links, videos or pictures to your blog then do it today!

****If you have not yet emailed me your blog link, please send it to me!

4: What's Next?

In short:

WHAT DO I DO TODAY????

1. Mess with your blog if you're not happy with how it looks

2. Do grammar exercises (links below)

3. Write a blog post (topic below) IT MUST INCLUDE LINKS!!! (video about how to add links below)

In more detail:

1. If you are not happy with your blog layout, you can keep working on it. Make sure you have one post published, even if it is just a short post, by the end of class today. Once it is posted, email the link to your blog (________@blogspot.com) so that I can share it with your classmates.

2. If you are done with your layout, do the exercises/games listed below.

WAY COOL GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION EXERCISES!

What's a sentence fragment? Watch a video made by a high school English class student to find out.

 
Or, learn how to fix your comma splices!

If that didn't make much sense to you, then here's some help. Click to read about 
RULES For Fixing Comma Splices and Fused Sentences

After you figure out what a comma splice and a "fused" or "run on" sentence is, then do this practice exercise:  Exercise 1: Recognizing Comma Splices and Fused Sentences

Done with those exercises?
Then write a blog post on this topic (a variation on one from this book): 

If you were in an airplane crash over Alaska, and could survive with the help of only one book, what would that book be? What other books teach survival in the wilderness?

Your blog must include LINKS to the books you are talking about. Need help with that? Watch this video

DAY 3: Posting On Your Blog

1. Copy and paste a link to your blog in an email. Send it to me nd.alt.school@gmail.com
I will make a list of our blogs so that you can see everyone else's.

2. Keep working on your blog.
If you are still working on background images, layout, and design issues keep going. But if you like the way your blog looks, start working on a post.

Here's a video that might  help you.

If that doesn't help you, check out this Google Blogger Getting Started Guide.

If that doesn't help you, give a holler and I'll come running.


Here's what you're probably thinking: What should I blog about?  
ANSWER: Blog about yourself!

In this class, you are expected to write. Today's topic for writing is something that you are an expert on: YOU.  Lots of people use their blogs as daily journals where they write about themselves. Don't believe me? Check out this list of blogs and click on a few. 

For the rest of the hour, you will be writing something about yourself. If you post it as a blog, please protect yourself: no full names, no addresses,  phone numbers or personal information that could put you at risk. Once your blog is published, anyone can see it. Be sure to present yourself in a positive fashion. Communicate clearly by using capitalization, punctuation and complete sentences. 

To receive credit for today you must either hand in your paper, show me your blog draft, or send me a link to your completed blog. Reminder: your writing today is about YOU! Who are you? What do you like to do? What do you want to be when you graduate from high school? Where do you see yourself in ten years? Write about yourself.

Day 2: Mechanics of Writing: Nouns and Sentences

FIRST: find yesterday's post "DAY 1" and finish what you didn't do. 

a. find other people's blogs

b. find one that you like and post the link in a comment or in an email to nd.alt.school@gmail.com

c. with your link, tell me why you like it

d. find a blog you don't like and post the link in a comment or in an email to nd.alt.school@gmail.com

e. with your link, tell me why you don't like it.

NEXT: Today's Lesson

A noun is a person, place or thing.

Back in the olden days, when we only had three TV channels, kids watched cartoons every Saturday morning. It seemed like every kid in the USA learned how to set booby traps for Road Runner.

    

There were plenty of people who thought that maybe we should learn about more than setting booby traps for Road Runner, so they developed educational programming to run in between the cartoons. Anyone who watched cartoons between 1973 and 1985 probably learned a lot from Schoolhouse Rock! 

Here's an oldie but a goodie to help you remember the answer to the question, "What's a noun?"

 

ASSIGNMENT PART 1: So now you should be able to come up with some examples of what a noun is, right? So, here is assignment part 1 for today: write me a comment, send me an email, text me (ask for my Google Number) or give me an old-fashioned piece of paper with a list of 25 nouns.

ASSIGNMENT PART 2:  See if you can tell the difference between a sentence and a sentence fragment by doing the exercise here Sentence or Not? (psst....that's a link....click it!)

ASSIGNMENT PART 3: Start setting up your blog. If you set up a blog and an address yesterday--GREAT JOB!  But if you didn't get that far yet, start by watching this video that shows you how to get started in Blogger.

 

Once you have your blog named it's time for the fun stuff! Choose a template, a layout, your color scheme...the possibilities are almost endless! Watch this video to show you what I mean.

 

IF you finish messing around with your colors, layouts and template start your first post. Write about yourself.  Then email me your blog's address so that I can read it.

HAPPY BLOGGING!

Group Class Day 1: First Things First

In this class, you will do three things:

1. Review the mechanics of writing (parts of speech, punctuation and grammar)

2. Create your own blog

3. Write at least five blog posts that feature these types of writing: persuasive, comparison/contrast, evaluative, problem-solution, and research.

Details on each style will be coming later on. For now we're going to start some basics. Like this: What is a blog?  Well, you are here and you are reading on our brand new school blog. But do you know what exactly this is? Watch this video to find out:

Okay, so now you know what a blog is. But what does a blog (besides this one) look like? What does it say? Well....anything and everything! See for yourself!

Click here: Google blogsearch and locate the search bar. Type in anything you want: banana, Kanye West, poop, octagon, ANYTHING. See what blogs are out there. Go ahead....DO IT!!! Type any word in the search bar and then click a link to visit a blog. Visit as many as you want.

When you have looked at several blogs, come back to this blog and write a comment. You are going to be graded on your comment today, so don't forget to write a comment. In order to write a comment, you will need an email address.  It will be very easy to start a blog using Blogger if you have a Gmail address. So even if you have a different email address, please add a Gmail account. Set up an account here

In a nutshell HERE is your assignment for today:

1. Watch the video above

2. Use Google Blogsearch to look at examples of blogs

3. Create a Google account for Gmail and Blogger. Prove that you created this account by emailing me at nd.alt.school@gmail.com  Be sure to send your name in the email so that I know who you are.

4. Write a comment below. Paste a link to a blog you like and tell me why you like it. Paste a link to a blog you don't like and tell me why you don't like it.

5. Start thinking about your own blog. What do you want it to look like? What do you want to call it? What do you want it to be about? When you have some ideas, come talk to me and we'll get started on creating your blog!

Here we go...

Next week we'll be starting a group English class and one of the requirements of the class will be for students to create their own blogs. This blog is not only an example for them, but it will be our program's new way of communicating with students and their families. Please visit us regularly to see what's going in our classroom! When students get their blogs up and running, I will post links here for everyone to see.

Thanks for visiting our program blog!