Rebecca Black, Who?

I felt like things were clicking on Friday.  My 9th grade classes spent the day writing a literary analysis essay either on their own or with a partner.  We used Billy Collins' "Marginalia" as our text.  Students had already done a close reading of the poem on Thursday, so they were ready to go.

I was freed up to move around the room and read what students were writing and answer any questions they had.

Anabasis

This is a bit of an experiment. We had the idea last year to start a blog and it never materialized.

But, this school year, Newman and I had our rhetoric students start a blog. They are in the process of learning the genre and are growing as writers because of this assignment.  We are seeing some cool stuff. Students are making design decisions and beginning to see some of the complexities that go along with writing to an authentic audience.