Hums for April 1st

So... Really impressed with how successful the google meet was yesterday.  A little chaotic, that's for sure but it was a good test as to how the tech worked at least.  Sorry this is a long post, but hopefully, it will help provide a bit of clarity going forward.

Anyhow, I wanted to outline THE PLAN going forward.  Keeping in mind the expectation that you are spending about 5 hours a week on humanities I am going to kick things off with some creative writing for ELA.  Social Studies might take a bit longer to get rolling, probably by next week since I need to organize some more materials for it.

As a rough idea I wanted to share what my goals are as far as continued teaching.

First of all, everything is subject to change.  No doubt over the next few weeks we'll find things that work well, try things that work terribly, new stuff will get rolled out by the CBE, Alberta Education, the government, Alberta Health Services and everything in between.  No matter what though we'll all figure out a way to muddle through this together.

I'll try to regularly post different videos related to the curriculum for you to watch.  Sometimes it will be me putting my mediocre video editing skills to use, other times I might link something a bit more professional on the YouTubes.

I'm going to set up a Google Meet video conference once a day for at least an hour.  For today at least I will be on from 1pm until 2pm.  Ms. C and I are just working out a routine schedule that works for us but we'll get that rolling in the next couple days.  Regular attendance is not required, though you should probably try to check in at least once or twice a week even if it is just to say hi and that everything is going well.  The idea behind this is that I'll be available to answer questions as they come up, and offer feedback on stuff we are working on.  That said, just because those are the times I am setting aside for this it does not mean I'm unavailable otherwise. If you ever need to talk with me outside of those normal hours, just send me an email with a time that works for you and we'll figure it out.

One thing I am probably not going to do is any attempt to simply move the class into a virtual setting where you are expected to be online between X and Y-o'clock and I sit and try to lecture to a computer monitor.  I don't think it would be terribly effective, and given that a lot of you are sharing computers, webcams and other technology with other people in your house it just strikes me as being a nightmare for a lot of families to try and organize.  With the pre-recorded video I can at least prepare a script, add some pictures, diagrams, maps ect. and then respond to any questions that come up during my 'office hours.

One EXTREMELY IMPORTANT POINT! to remember is that this will only work if you reach out.  I can't wander around the classroom, look over your shoulders and see how you are doing.  You NEED to take advantage of the office hours if you have questions, however minor.  One advantage is that they will likely be fairly low key with only a few kids in at any given time so in some ways it should be easier to get help when you need it. If you aren't comfortable asking questions in front of the group, then PLEASE email me and we'll set up an 1:1 appointment.

I have not yet completely decided if I'm going to use Brightspace by D2L or Google Classroom. More to follow in the next couple days.

So.  That's what I'm doing.  What should you be doing?

I'm so glad you asked.  Seriously, I can tell you guys must be getting bored given how many of you have been asking what you should be working on now.

Like I said earlier, I figured it might be nice to kick things off with a bit of creative writing.  Generally speaking, you guys enjoy writing stories. I enjoy reading stories you write, and it is something that can be done pretty much independently so I think it will be a good way to get the ball rolling with this.  I'd like to kick things off by diving into descriptive writing.

First up, I'd like you to watch this video:

With that in mind, let's play around with the following scenario:
It is the late 15th century, you are a sailor on a ship called the Santa Maria.  Your captain, a man named Christopher Columbus has set off on a voyage to try and reach the Indies by sailing west.  You've been at sea for weeks now, the conditions are cramped, food and water are running low, and there is still no sign of land.  In your shared folder, write a short descriptive paragraph or diary entry about what your experience has been like.

You don't need to do a whole lot of research on this.  Under the 'important links' on the right hand side of the page, you'll see Chapter 5 of the textbook.  That is the chapter where they talk about the Age of Exploration and what it was like. I might suggest reading up to page 113 to get a feel for the motivation of the early explorers.  The real key thing I want to see you focusing on is descriptive language! I want to feel like I'm on that ship, smelling the sea air, hearing the creak of ropes and the snap of sails.  I want to stand up from my chair after I finish reading it and fall over because I'm expecting the floor to move under my feet.

So to summarize:
1) Watch the video on writing fiction with descriptive language.
2) Read up to pp. 113 in the chapter 5 link found on the right hand side of the blog.
3) Write a descriptive paragraph about what it would have been like to be a sailor on Christoper Columbus' ship.
4) My 'office hours' today are going to be 1-2PM.  I'll email you a nickname for the room once I get it set up.
5) This is not intended to be work for "Today".  Get started on it, but realistically I expect it will probably take about 3 hours to do a good job of everything.  With 3 days left in the week, that means you should be aiming to finish everything up by Friday.