Summer Readin'

Woohoo! Summer is here for Mrs. Sol's Class! My 9th and 10th grade homeroom students came up with a list of summer must-reads. For a closer look, click on the image below. For a printable, click here.

We hope you enjoy our book recommendations and... 

have a wonderful summer!

PE + Technology x Creativity = ❤

For an end of the year PE extra credit assignment, I asked students to create a project which tells a little about the course and what they learned. I thought it might be fun to incorporate cool technology sites with a PE and exercise theme. Here is the info sheet and project choices...

[click here for printable version]

Students have until Friday to submit projects, but here are a few I have received so far.

Amazing!

Vamp is Blogtastic!

Have you heard the news? Vamp has finally created her very own blog! She is so excited, that she wanted me to share it with you!

Vamp's Blog of Awesomeness

If you are in Computer Literacy, you can use Vamp's blog as an example of Assignment 6S. She has everything listed on the assignment check off sheet. She decided to add a few extras, and you can too if you want. You can see the breakdown below.

 

[click here for a printable copy]


Here is the scoring guide, assignment instructions, and blog privacy info...

[click here for printable copy]

If you would like to see student-created blogs from
first semester, click here. More to come!

Image Design Show & Tell

Here are a few samples of student work in our Image Design and Editing course.

First off, students were asked to draw fruit, adding an apple, a banana and an orange to each layer in GIMP. I was not only impressed by the drawing skills my students possess, but by the detail and creativity!

By Malena

By Angela

Next,students put everything they've learned so far to good use. They created funny comics by cutting an image from its background and adding it to a new one. Then, they were to add a speech bubble as well. These were certainly fun to grade. Check them out below!

Moon Doggie...

By Domanin

...or perhaps a karate chop moon man!

By Jeremiah 

Of course there's always the girl 
in the desert with a sweater...

By Megan

...and a little Who-mer.

By Ivy

You guys crack me up!

 Just imagine the possibilities.

More to come!

Weekly Question Hilarity

Okay, so sometimes I like to send out entertaining Weekly Questions to my homeroom students. I know this is a mandatory activity at our school and questions about goals, progress and learning are key. However, I also feel that creative thinking is also important, and in this case, pretty funny too.

For this week's question, I sent this photo to my students and asked them to come up with a title or caption to go with it.

I have received very clever responses, such as:

"Man, I love the feel of wind in my teeth just after I've brushed!"
 

"Say Cheese!"

"Wind In My Chops!!!!!!" 

"Hey look! A squirrel!"

Funny, right? I may be easily amused, but some responses just make me chuckle.

Well, then I opened this image and pretty much spit out my coffee...

 Thanks Malena! I'm glad those Image Design classes are coming in handy!

I love my job.

Cover Letters: A Review

This about sums it up.

 Just don't send a fish. 

Please don't send a fish.

Now... on to Section 3: Formatting Text!

Cover Letters

A cover letter is a type of business letter that's sent to an employer when you're applying for a job. A cover letter explains to the employer why you want a particular job and what makes you qualified for it.

Cover letters explain your experience and qualifications in detail. The ability to write a good cover letter shows employers that you have strong communication skills.

A cover letter should be less than one page long. It's also important for a cover letter to be single-spaced, clearly written, without errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation.

Click on the sample cover letter below or view the original at Internship Guides for helpful guidelines. 

___________________________________________________________________

TIPS:

Here are a few cover letter tips from Quintessential Careers:

• Whenever possible, address your cover letter to a named individual
• Grab the reader's attention by writing an appealing first paragraph
• Highlight your three to four key accomplishments/skills/experiences
• Focus on the fit between your qualifications and the job requirements
• Whenever possible, relate yourself to the company
• Never include any negative information
• End your letter by requesting an interview
• Mention that you will follow-up your letter -- and then do so
• Cover letters should be kept to under one page; electronic versions even shorter
• Avoid all types of mistakes, including typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors

___________________________________________________________________

OTHER RESOURCES:

Cover Letter Dos and Don'ts

Sample Resumes and Letters for Students

Read Write Think always comes up with fun, interactive tools, such as...

...and...

Check out this handy dandy Resume Generator!

Now, when the time comes to apply for a job, you will be set! I look forward to your cover letters. If you create a resume, I'd love to see that too!

Image Design

Now that we are finished with the first "Layers" assignment, I just have to share. My Vamp poster looks silly compared to these AWESOME images. They put mine to shame. (No offense, Vamp).

 By Michael...

 

By Jacobi...

By Ivy...

 

 Original by rooster82 // deviant art

By Maria...

Click here for the original post and a 15 minute tutorial on adding layers to your image using Gimp.

Cool, right?

GIMP: Adding Layers to an Image

In Project 2, we will learn how to add layers to an image. Layers are a great tool to use when adding text, changing the background, and creating nifty images like the one of Vamp below.

For those visual learners out there...
Here is a 15 minute tutorial on adding layers to your image using Gimp.

  Check out super awesome student projects here.   Have fun!

How to Set Up a Gmail Account

Here's is a video tutorail to help you create a Gmail account in Google. This will come in hand in Section 1 and, especially Assignment 1S.

Blogtastic!

For our last lesson in Computer Literacy, students created their own blogs. I was so impressed by their blogging abilities, that I had to share! Take a look at these student blogs by clicking on the links below. Then leave a comment to let them know what you think.

And the award goes to...

Keep On Brickin' 

Doodle Blots

Anna's Technology Blog

Hall of Rock

Thoughts on Technology

Computer Literacy

Life Updates

Sniff, sniff. I couldn't be prouder.

Well done, kids!

Reaching Your Academic Potential

Hey there students!

As the semester draws to a close, think back on the many lessons you learned in RYAP...

Learning as a Process

Effective Work Habits

Setting Goals

Reading

Math

Creativity

Research
...and many more!

For +15 extra credit, leave a 3 sentence comment on this post and share the most important, interesting or helpful lessons you learned this semester. Tell us why you chose those particular concepts to share.

You can use your "final reflection" from #10 on Assignment 15.01 The Test Case, if you want. Just copy and paste it in to comment box below. Please use your first name and last initial only when leaving a comment.

Your comment will not post until I approve it, so stay tuned.

Thanks for a great semester!

Teens + Digital Media

As a "teen between the ages of 13-17"...
What are your thoughts on the information posted above?

Wordles: A Novel Idea

The students in my Literary Analysis classes created the following Wordles to go along with our first semester novel studies.  For a larger view, click on the image.

To Kill a Mockingbird Wordle, by Austin

The Outsiders Wordle, by Billy

Lord of the Flies Wordle, by Tavin

The Outsiders Wordle, by Thomas

To Kill a Mockingbird Wordle, by Bailey

The Outsiders Wordle, by Andrew

Anne of Green Gables Wordle, by Jilly

To Kill a Mockingbird Wordle, by Mrs. Sol

(I couldn't resist)

The Wordle below was created by one of my Journalism students! Thanks Eilis!

Journalism, by Eilis

Cool, right? To create your own word cloud, visit www.wordle.net.

Nice job students!