1. Reading Survey: Please complete the reading survey found at this link.
2. Blogs: Make sure you can get into your blog, and write your first post! If you don't have a blog, we'll get one set up for you first thing. Call your first post "New School Year: 2018-2019." Your first post for the year should include the following:
- What you're looking forward to this school year
- What skills you have that will make you successful this school year
- What challenges you have that might hinder your success this school year
- What your goals are for this school year... How do you want to improve yourself and change for the better?
3. Check the right-hand margin of Mrs. Edlin's blog. If you don't see yours there, please e-mail the url (web address) of your blog to her at tena.edlin@fairfieldsfuture.org.
4. Goodreads Accounts:
If you DO NOT have a Goodreads account yet, we'll get you set up with one.
If you DO have a Goodreads account, you need to edit your bookshelves.
If you DO NOT have a Goodreads account yet, we'll get you set up with one.
If you DO have a Goodreads account, you need to edit your bookshelves.
- You will need the following shelves to keep track of your books for this year:
- Science Fiction
- Realistic Fiction
- Poetry/Novels in Verse
- Mystery
- Historical Fiction
- Graphic Novels
- Fantasy
- Classics
- Action/Adventure
- Biography/Autobiography/Memoir
- Informational Nonfiction
- Add a shelf for "2018-2019 School Year."
- Make sure you're a part of the FMS GOAL group, and if you're not, request to join.
- Add friends from the FMS GOAL group, if you'd like to (the more friends you have, the more informative/helpful/interesting your news feed will be).
- Accept all friend requests from GOAL students in any grade.
- Adjust your notification preferences to whatever works best for you.
- Read through your updates, looking for books you might want to add to your "Want to read" shelf.
5. UNIT INTRODUCTION
When your Goodreads account is ready to go and you've finished your blog post watch the following film to give you an introduction to our new unit to start the year. This unit will be on Differences in Learning. This unit is to give you an awareness of all the ways people learn. You will develop understanding for people who learn differently from you, and you will better understand your own ways of learning. When you know how you learn best, you can begin to advocate for yourself and take charge of your own learning and academic success.
Start by watching this video: Temple Grandin TED Talk: The World Needs All Kinds of Minds
Then, write a blog post describing what you saw, what you learned, and what it made you think about and/or wonder about.
6. TIME TO COMMENT!
Read and respond to the blog posts of others. But first, you need to know HOW to write good comments. Yes, this seems obvious. But with student blogging, it's the area which always disappoints me the most. Even first graders seem to know how to do this better than middle school students. Case in point: Watch the first grade video on commenting, and PAY ATTENTION to what these kids are talking about. I know this is geared for elementary kids, but have fun with the Panda and learn from the younger generation about how to write a good blog post.
YES, I KNOW THIS MOVIE IS LAME, BUT THERE ARE NO BETTER ONES. REALLY! Let's MAKE a better one. Comment to this post with at least one suggestion about how we can update this in a way that's useful and more relevant to middle schoolers than a 2-dimensional panda!
6. TIME TO COMMENT!
Read and respond to the blog posts of others. But first, you need to know HOW to write good comments. Yes, this seems obvious. But with student blogging, it's the area which always disappoints me the most. Even first graders seem to know how to do this better than middle school students. Case in point: Watch the first grade video on commenting, and PAY ATTENTION to what these kids are talking about. I know this is geared for elementary kids, but have fun with the Panda and learn from the younger generation about how to write a good blog post.
YES, I KNOW THIS MOVIE IS LAME, BUT THERE ARE NO BETTER ONES. REALLY! Let's MAKE a better one. Comment to this post with at least one suggestion about how we can update this in a way that's useful and more relevant to middle schoolers than a 2-dimensional panda!
7. Now actually read and respond to other blog posts. Look at the righthand margin of this blog to find all the GOAL student blogs. Read and respond to at least 3 posts about goals for the new year and at least 3 posts about the Temple Grandin video. Try to find blogs that don't have any comments yet. Read and edit before you post to avoid silly errors. You may comment on GOAL blogs from any grade.
8. Go back to your blog and see what others have said. Respond to their comments if/when necessary.
9. Think you're done with everything? Make sure by submitting the checklist found here.
10. If there are any design modifications you'd like to make to your blog (background colors, margin widths, etc.), you may do it now.
11. When you're done with everything, you may check out books from my library and read and/or go to any of the sites on my blog along the lefthand margin under the category: Idleness Prevention Society.
10. If there are any design modifications you'd like to make to your blog (background colors, margin widths, etc.), you may do it now.
11. When you're done with everything, you may check out books from my library and read and/or go to any of the sites on my blog along the lefthand margin under the category: Idleness Prevention Society.
