“Beyond the blue horizon:” The Next Writing Assessment

Upon our return from Thanksgiving Recess, we will engage the concepts in chapter 6 and then begin the process of writing about said ideas. The Writing Tasks for Chapter 6 will run the range of difficulty and intellectual capacity. I felt that students were pushed and motivated to produce quality work for the Chapter 5 Writing Tasks. I equally feel that students will be driven to display even stronger quality work for the Chapter 6 Writing Tasks. The horizons already set will be expanded into a terrain full of more blue skies and broader frontiers. I have enclosed the letter on the writing tasks that students will receive the week they return that explains the nature of these writing assessments. As always, happy hunting and all best.
Mr. Kannan

Dear Parents/ Guardians of _________________:
The purpose of this letter is to inform you of our upcoming Writing Assessment for Chapter 6- The American Revolution. Students will have six choices from which to choose. All options are rooted in the writing process. This particular task will serve as an excellent opportunity for students to display their talents as they focus on writing about the American Revolution. As with our previous assessments, this assessment will yet again force all 7-1 scholars to raise their capabilities in meeting and triumphing over yet one more challenge.
The writing options featured range from the traditional to the unconventional. One option is for students to write formalized essays on topics pertaining to the Revolution. Other tasks ask students to assume different historical personas and construct meaning as to how they see themselves and the time period, while another option asks students to explain the relevance of particular concepts and construct drawings of specific events in the Revolution. Another one is a hodgepodge of thought. In all choices, students must use the connection between reading and writing to compose works that display a challenging combination of student reflection and analysis of history. The primary learning style of each task has also been detailed at the outset of each task, so that students can select with this element in mind. In addition to a completed writing sample, students will be asked to submit two completed sets of Check Your Progress Questions from chapter 6 (previously assigned).
Students will have to assess which option is best for them. I have encouraged them to share these ideas with you, as well. After this, students will have to commit to a particular task and compose their work. Students will be allowed to work on this assessment in class and at home. In all honesty, I believe that success on such a daunting assessment can only be achieved if there is consistent and incremental completion of it in both domains. Students are free to bring materials from home with which to work on this task, but must bear responsibility for storing them in their lockers. They may seek counsel from outside sources in completing this assessment, but must shoulder the burden of completing the tasks on their own. This means that while they may seek advice and input from others, the responsibility for completing quality work in a timely fashion rests solely with their autonomy. During in class work time, I will be conferencing with students, by learning style/ task, monitoring their progress and allowing them an opportunity to ask questions of clarification. I will also have a collection point set up in the classroom for rough drafts to be submitted for review. There will be a cut off for this and students have been made aware of this.
I invite you to discuss which writing task best suits your scholar at this point on their educational journey. On the reverse side of this letter is the timetable of due dates and progress benchmarks. Each student’s specific “chunking” of this task will be contingent on the choices made. The timetable offered is a general plan of attack. Students have been reminded that throughout the course of this task rotation assessment, they may contact me outside of class via district email or at my home, ________________________. Should you have any questions or concerns, I welcome you to do the same.
Wishing you all the best,
________________________ ________________________
Student Signature Parent/ Guardian Signature
Timetable of work on the reverse side! Does not include weekend time. Students are encouraged to use the weekend as part of their calculus in planning and configuring work schedules. Student budgeting of time should be determined based on student choice of task.
Mr. Kannan

Day and Date
Benchmark to be Reached
Day 1: _____________________
Question: Have you asked your questions? Did you enter class with an idea of which tasks you find interesting or the one(s) that you know you would never do?
Selection of writing task declared by the end of the class period.
HW: Start brainstorming on how to complete your task, along with a schedule of how each portion of the task will be completed on a nightly and consistent basis.

Day 2:_____________________
Question: Do you take this writing task to be your writing task? Are you comfortable with it?
In class time devoted to working on writing tasks.
HW: Continue your work on your writing task. Conferences start on day 3.

Day 3:_____________________
Question: Have you addressed all parts of the question/ topic/ task description? Nothing should be left behind. Have you paced yourself out? There might be multiple parts that need to be completed piece by piece.
In class time devoted to working on writing tasks. At this point, a rough draft should be evident, or envisioned.
HW: Continue your work on your writing task. Conferences start tomorrow.

Day 4:_____________________
Question: Is the history in the writing? If not, get it in there in an abundant manner. Make sure you have your Completed Check Your Progress Questions.
Group Conferencing begins while In class time is devoted to working on writing tasks.
HW: Continue your work on your writing task. Conferences continue tomorrow. Rough drafts should be continuing.

Day 5:_____________________
Question: Is your writing clear? If it’s scrambled and unfocused, I am not sure it’s going to be efficient. This would not be good… Eggs can be scrambled, not your writing.
Group Conferencing continues while In class time is devoted to working on writing tasks.
HW: Continue your work on your writing task. Conferences continue tomorrow. Rough drafts should be continuing.

Day 6: ______________________
Question: In the words of Al Pacino, “What do we got?!” Take stock in what is there and what needs to be there because work is due by day 10.
Group Conferencing continues while In class time is devoted to working on writing tasks.
HW: Continue your work on your writing task. Conferences continue tomorrow. Rough drafts should be continuing/ completed

Day 7: _________________ and _____________
Question: Looking at what is there, can the final product be envisioned? What needs to be done to bring the vision into reality? Do it… now! Make sure you have your Completed Check Your Progress Questions.
Conferences concluding. In class time devoted to writing tasks, and perhaps conferencing with colleagues could be in order.
HW: Continue your writing task. Editing should be happening. Final drafts due at the end of Day 10.

Day 8: _______________________
Question: Do you address everything that is in the rubric? If not, how can you do so?
In class time devoted to writing tasks. Editing process, review of work, streamlining work to rubric standards should all be in play at this point.
HW: Final Drafts are due at end of Day 10.

Day 9:_______________________
Question: “It’s showtime, folks!” The due date is near. Is your work ready for showtime?
Final Drafts due at the end of tomorrow’s class. Students should be working towards this.

Day 10:_______________
The end of all things… or these assessments.
Final Drafts due at the end of class.
All Final Drafts are due by the end of class on Friday, December 19, 2008. If you are going to be absent, your Final Drafts are due before your departure.

Another bar crossed, another awaits: Life after the Chapter 5 Writing Assessment and before the Chapter 6 Writing Assessment

This will be a truncated blog entry. After grading and inputting 116 papers, I think I need some distance, if only for an evening. I close my eyes and see rubrics, NT, SF, the words “Colonists” and “because.”

It makes for a terrible dinner date, to say the least.

Indeed, the chapter 5 writing assessments are inputted online and will be distributed back to students tomorrow. The intensity present in writing was evidenced in their assessing. With two papers absent, a total of 116 were assessed. The results speak for themselves: 99 of the assessed papers tallied an 80% or better. When 85% of the papers are such a caliber, much is evident. Of the remaining 17 papers, all but one can be revised to an “A” if all areas of improvement are heeded. Even the lone paper can be revised to a “B” if all is rectified. We had a handful of “perfect” writing samples, ones that scored the elusive 200 out of 200. Students handled the challenge of merging history and metacognition very well.

Students have until next Monday, 12/ 1 to revise their writing tasks. In order to revise their work, they must rewrite it with specified corrections added. They will staple their revised copy to their original copy and receive half of what was lost if all needed areas of improvement are heeded. In addition to this, if students wanted to compose any of the remaining writing tasks, they would be welcome to do so for extra credit, which would also be due on the 1st of December. Students will receive progress reports on Monday, 11/24 and if these are returned with parent/ guardian signature, they can earn 10 extra credit points in Social Studies. Finally, I was very impressed with much of the work submitted. I am offering 3 points extra credit if students can produce an additional, clean copy of their work by Tuesday, 11/25. This could amount to 12 extra credit points, if all writing samples are reproduced.

Our focus now turns to Chapter 6. We will spend the next couple of days analyzing Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Then, we will analyze themes arising from chapter 6 before the chapter 6 writing tasks are given to students. Hopefully, students have completed their work from the textbooks on chapter 6, sections 2, 3, and 4. These will be collected with the chapter 6 writing tasks.

As always, if I can be of any further assistance or help, please do not hesitate to contact me at home or at school. I hope students examine what is returned back to them and examine where positive steps were taken and areas where more progressive steps can be undertaken.

All best and happy hunting.
Mr. Kannan

P.S. As of Monday night, 5:54 PM, the last two projects were assessed. The total stands at 101 out of 118 papers scored at an 80% or above.

Looking at what is and what will be: The Life of a 7-1 Social Studies Student

The chapter 5 writing tasks are reaching their natural conclusion. Final Drafts will be collected on Thursday. Students have been and will be continually reminded to ensure that their best work is on display and focus is harnessed all the way through the deadline for submission of work. I believe that this experience has been useful introducing students to different modes of thought and being able to explain how they approached a particular task in the manner that they did. Yet, while I appreciate the work and focus that has been lavished upon this writing task, I am looking beyond into what lies ahead.

Once submission of chapter 5 writing assessments is complete, students will be then directed to chapter 6. Students will be exposed to the actual mechanics of the war with direct analysis of the textbook on Thursday and Friday of next week. Building into this, students will engage in an inductive learning task on Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. This will take us to Thanksgiving Break. Upon our return, we will wrap up Inductive Learning in studying how political writings can, to quote our President Elect, be more than “just words.” We will conclude our work with the chapter 6 writing tasks. This assessment will be in the same configuration of the chapter 5 writing assessments. Students will have to use more of the history presented in the actual execution of the American Revolution in order to better understand the synthesis between creative thought and intellectual frameworks. Our potential date based timeline for this should look like the following (Please understand that all dates are tentative: )
* November 20- November 23- Reading of Chapter 6, sections 2, 3, and 4.
* November 24 and November 25- Inductive Learning Work on chapter 6, section 1.
* December 1- 4- Finish Inductive Learning task, assess Inductive Learning task. Report out on findings from the Revolution with Chalk Talk/ Station Rotation/ Direct Discussion.
* December 5- Distribute Chapter 6 Writing Assessments. All Final Drafts due on December 18.
The most striking element of the projected sequence is the idea that we are making progress and the expectations placed upon the broad shoulders of students are rising and becoming heavier. Simply put, the time for immaturity seems to have long passed. Students are being asked to do more with less time and in a more comprehensive manner. I believe that this is developmentally appropriate in our journey because students have learned (or have been instructed) as to the importance of handling the taskmaster known as time. In addition to this, a lesson such as this helps students understand that the train must keep moving towards its inevitable destination. While this timeline might seem daunting, when placed in comparison to what lies ahead, it will assume a smaller proportion. I recall when students first examined their Trace Fossil Writing Task. I remember the looks on their faces of abject frustration, and in some cases, horror. I think it is safe to say that if we asked students now about that moment in time, they would have said that it pales in comparison to what stands in front of them now. Perhaps, there is a larger lesson here about maturation and growth… or maybe Social Studies has simply become tougher.

I believe that like all challenges placed in front of these students, your children and our emerging scholars, they will be able to assume the persona of Aeneas for they, too, “will be able to look back on this and smile.”

Happy Hunting and even happier writing.
All best.
Mr. Kannan

P.S. Please do not be surprised if next week’s blog entry is abbreviated. I will be grading student work throughout the weekend in the hopes of returning it by Monday, 11/24. I will make some comments, but they will be in the truncated form. I apologize for this and thank you for your (hopeful) understanding.

Fascinating Questions, Unique Results, Enhancing Dialogue: Learning Styles, the Road to the Revolution, and 7-1 Students

As we close a week of monumental change, equally powerful strides were taken in the realm of our writing assessments. The pullout sessions were extremely compelling. A small group of learners met in the team area, and a discussion about their specific learning style emerged. More interestingly, I conducted each pull out session as a teacher of that learning style. At one moment, I was “The Captain” and at the next moment, “Socrates” ran a forum. While “Charity” led a talk and “Picasso” strove to establish voice and find meaning. Students were able to ask questions, seek clarification, and note subtle differences between learning styles, teaching demeanors, and assignment expectations. To have concluded the week with a rousing scene from the film Pleasantville, and hearing the sounds of dialogue, dissonance, and discourse emerge from the 7.1 Team Area was a moment that represented the idyll to which all teachers aspire.
In a larger scope, I must stress how powerfully compelling this lesson on learning styles has been. I think it has been a gamble that has paid very substantial dividends. I sense that it has reached students who have normally remained forgotten, and allowed more students to have a greater understanding of how they learn and how their minds work. This has been a powerful experiment in what can happen when we, as educators, seek to broaden the paradigm of schoolwork to incorporate the role of metacognition within our teaching. The inversion of a product based setting to one that focuses on process can be quite rewarding. In the final analysis, taking a risk in teaching and learning can prove to be an experience worth repeating as often as possible.
At this point, we are in the process of assembling drafts. I implore all stakeholders to encourage students to submit multiple rough drafts in order to gain a better understanding of how writing can be enhanced. I do hope that students take advantage of the rough draft process in order to help writing skills improve. When we create better writers, we invariably create better thinkers and emerging scholars.
All final drafts are due on November 20. We are heading into the final ten days. In addition to this, students will be given Social Studies and Language Arts Progress Reports this Thursday, 10/13. Signed cover letters will be due back to Mr. Kannan or Ms. Hill by Tuesday, 11/18. As always, if students require personalized meetings to discuss their writings, they are free to seek me out during lunches, advisory times (pending permission), during Core Extension (pending permission), and through notes, email or phone call (pending permission on the last two.)
Happy hunting.
Mr. Kannan

Charting the Course of Academic and Political Futures: 7-1 Students and the Chapter 5 Writing Assessment

On the eve of when Americans will make a critical choice in their political destinies, 7-1 students are in the process of making their own essential decisions about their academic futures. The Chapter 5 Writing Assessments have begun. Monday and Tuesday will mark the first days of in class work on the composition process of these writing tasks. Students will have some important decisions to make. Questions such as “What is my dominant learning style?” will be matched with, “Do I want to take a risk or play it safe?” We, as onlookers, will examine if students pivot towards what seems so very safe to them or if they move towards something different in their work process and product. Just as there are only a couple of days left in a rigorous political campaign, where every little detail is magnified, we, as onlookers, will be doing the same to our students, our emerging scholars, in sensing where our students will “break” in the days leading to the due date for all final assessments, November 20, 2008.
Students have been given a timeline in order to complete the chapter 5 Writing Assessments. The timelines for this week can be found on this week’s syllabus, under the headline “Homework for the week of 11/3- 11/7”, and under the hyperlink of “Calendar of Events.” We will be starting our breakout sessions this week, where small group instruction will be given to specific learning styles. It will be interesting to see students converge as “Intuitive Thinkers” or “Sensory Feelers.” Following this will be individual conferences with students to ensure that progress is being made, and that the writing process is focused and meaningful. Rough drafts can be submitted at the Day IV stage, and this is yet another avenue where students can receive feedback on their work. The underlying hope is that students work at a steady pace and refrain from procrastination. One of our goals is for students to earn as many “A’s” and “B’s” as possible. Yet, the overarching principle that guides us is that students create quality writing samples that reflect thought, reflection, and in depth analysis.
Students have to compose a writing sample based on a specific learning style and a corresponding defense piece that justifies how that sample represents the specific learning style. This means that on November 20, students will have to submit four work samples. I have advised students to complete one learning style work sample and then complete the defense piece. This will make for a consistent and thorough completion of the writing task. I believe that stakeholders can help this strong process by asking leading questions to students as they are working. Attempting to remain consistent with the learning style methodology, I believe that the following could yield fruitful discussion:
* Sensory Thinking Style: “What are your four specific acts of colonial protest?” “Why are these acts colonial acts of protest?” “How did each act come about?” “What was the British response to each act?” “Did you find detail and support from the textbook or the notes to help explain your position?”
* Intuitive Thinking Style: “What is the meaning of the quotation?” “How can it be supported and how can it be negated?” “Have you explained the statement’s validity?” “Have you explained if something can actually begin before it truly ‘begins’?”
* Sensory Feeling Style: “How have you assumed the persona of a columnist during the time period?” “How have you convinced the reader that you are feeling the sentiments of the time period?” “How have you done this through language, sentence composition, and general mood?” “Have you explained the case for going to war with England?” “Have you explained the case for making peace with England?” “Have you concluded the editorial with a clear call to action?”
* Intuitive Feeling Style: “What is your statement about the events that led to the Revolution?” “How have you amplified or explained your statement through the collage medium?” “What images help to support your statement?” “How can your statement be seen in different ways?” “How is your statement like art, something that starts discussion and conversation?”

We have spent the last week listening to the stories of Duke and Celestine. We have immersed ourselves in the lessons of Carl Jung and Dr. Hansen. We have been engrossed with the lessons of Charity and Socrates. While we chuckle at the trials of the Captain and Buddy, we have started the process of looking inwards at who we are, how we learn, and the manner in which we understand the world in which we live. As we take our lessons and apply them to Chapter 5, we begin the process of taking what we have learned and place it on the stage of scholarship and understanding. Our political candidates for the nation’s highest office are doing much of the same thing. Both our students and our candidates strive for the highest notion of the good within their own frames of references. As stakeholders, we watch and study how this narrative will unfold and conclude in the small window that is left.

Wishing our students and candidates the best of luck with the hunting that lies ahead,

Mr. Kannan