Thanksgiving Break

So much for keeping up with this every day!

I have been caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and of being a teacher, but I have had the past four days off from school, and it has provided me with some much needed time for reflecting.  I am excited for the things to come during the next month!  I have some new writing activities planned, one of which will be a creative descriptive writing assignment, which will be a cross-class contest!  Students will write descriptions of the people that they imagine would wear particular articles of clothing that I will hang in my classroom, and the students who write the best essays for each particular garment will be rewarded with...the garment!  A bit quirky, but that's how I roll.  I think my students will get a kick out of it.

Whether they like it or not, I have found that writing--creative and fun writing in particular--needs to occur more often in school.  I get the feeling that many students today find little purpose in writing, probably because they have grown to loath it and associate it with drudging school work.  I think having this time off has allowed my creative juices to flow (when we are busy, our creativity is sometimes strangled, and we need a break to remember it is there).

Writing serves a purpose; to express ourselves and to communicate.  I have been reading many dry essays during this extended weekend.  I must give props where props are due--some students have magnificent writing--but in general I realize that one thing is lacking in high school writing curriculums:  style.  This is my mission for the next few weeks.  I want students to bring to life their writing.  Now that I have had my rest, I can't wait for the month to come!

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On a side note, I am a huge music fan, and I have purchased a couple albums this weekend that I cannot stop listening to.  One of my favorite groups, Daft Punk, produced the new Tron Legacy soundtrack.  What a great CD to listen to while grading papers!  Reading has never been so EPIC!  I also picked up the new Black Eyed Peas album The Beginning; it has been hard not to spring up and flail around, dancing to their house/trance inspired album.  I now have some good music to energize me during these winter months.  Nice!