Day 51: Electing to Read All Instructions

Students will be able to write a procedural email describing steps to a process.

Daylight savings time is really nice in the morning when I can watch the sunrise at 6:30 AM as I drive to school, but not so nice when I leave school at 5:30 PM and the sun is going down.  It gives a depressing, I-have-no-life-outside-of-school feeling to my days.  Sigh...

I gave my researching classes one more day in the lab to really solidify their papers before turning them in.  Many of my students are using their new school gmail accounts to type their papers in google docs.  They've never used this before, but think it's pretty darn cool.  I think it's pretty darn cool too, for the following reasons:

1. We avoid any "lost" files - Google docs saves automatically after every change, so there is never any instance of "I swear saved it, not it's gone".  Unfortuantely this is not the "computer generation" everyone thinks they are, and many of my students are still unclear on the differences between "Save", "Save As", and file locations.  I don't know how many times I have to tell them that being logged in on their account is not the same thing as saving to their account.  Using google docs avoids this completely.
2. They can "share" their files with me so I have constant access.  This means that I could read their rough drafts and make changes to them online, and they could see my comments the next morning when we went back to the computer lab.  It also avoids me having to track down students to get paper copies because when their done, I already have access to their files.  
3. They can't mess with their formatting.  Now, many of my kids don't know how to change the font, so the idea of putting 14-point periods after 12-point words to lengthen their papers has yet to occur to them, but when it does, I'll be ready.
4. I have less paper to lug home every night to grade. AND...
5. I can't lose them.  Sometimes this happens and I have to give the benefit of the doubt. They can't lose a really good paper, and I can't lose a really bad one :)

Now if I can just finish grading last week's papers so I can start grading this week's...

Some of my students finished early so I gave them this somewhat standards-oriented busy work assignment:

"Write an email to a freshman who will be taking English II next year, explaining the steps to write a research paper.  You can write to a specific person or just write "Dear freshman".  If you struggled at any point in the research process, let your reader know that.  Try to anticipate questions a freshman might have about the research process. Be sure to include transition words (First, next, etc.).  Write in complete sentences. Don't forget to sign your name at the end!"

I gave them the option to handwrite or to actually write an email and send it to me.  One of my girls fights me regularly on every single assignment I pass out.  First, she only read the line "Write an email to a freshman who will be taking English II next year."  She wrote, 

"It's really intense.  Shelly."  

When I insisted (HEAVY DRAMATIC SIGH) that she read all the instructions, she proceeded to write, 

 "Dear freshman it is very intense she will explan just ask for help.  You have to listen.  Look up whatever youre looking up write down tons of facts write your paper using those facts.  And follow instructions on teacher web page.  on writing a research paper   Shelly." 

 Typos intentional.  This is unfortunately an archetype (yay drama vocab word!) of a student every teacher has in class - one with a bad attitude who is so much smarter than their grades reflect.

My principal stopped by after the last bell rang to remind me to go vote!  I voted absentee, but I appreciated the visit.  Tomorrow in class will be interesting...