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Spring 2020 Update

The current six weeks is really 7 weeks, and my classes need every minute possible.

Literary Genres & The Literature Circle

The reading circles have gone well.  The mystery novel has been a big hit–filled with unexpected surprises. I’ve enjoyed ease dropping on the circle discussions–what students expected or didn’t, who they liked, or who they really disliked. I’m looking forward to the student final presentations–talk shows, Jeopardy, skits, etc..  All presentations must appeal to varying learning styles, so students have been challenged to create a presentation that overviews their novel while getting the entire class involved.  While I’ve been pleased with the unit, one modification has been most successful.  As daily bell-ringers, students respond to one of 25 reading prompts.  Students select any prompt of interest but a prompt may be used only once–requiring students to explore varying fictional elements, make connections to the text, and offering predictions.

Reading II & III–The Power of Authentic Writing

When seniors compose texts that truly respond to their immediate needs, the power of learning significantly improves.  Their questions, their attention to the rhetorical situation, and their genuine contemplation of the value of writing and the process is priceless.

Here’s just a few statements I’ve heard during the career/college portfolio unit:  “I thought this was just another class assignment; I did not expect to use what I wrote.”  “I can really use this since schools are looking at me; I placed in my last meet, so now I’ll have to start completing college applications.”  “Employers are really going to look at me now.”

I’ve been fortunate in the past to work for a superintendent who required every senior to prepare a resume, college application essay, and scholarship essays in their senior English course.  Though I modified the unit to accommodate my Reading classes to include informational reading, additional research, writing supported by graphic organizers, and speaking; my students will approach our spring STAAR prep with a refreshed perspective.  This is what happened in the past with success, and I expect no less this school year.

Dual Credit English–One Theme Two Perspectives

Last semester, my dual credit courses explored The Shaping of Identity as a theme.  This semester, students are exploring the College’s theme–Social Justice and Equity.  We began the semester reading a report created by Stanford University which explored 20 inequities Americans face daily.  From this, students selected a population of interest and began their library research.  While English 1301 and English 1302 are writing about the same theme, they are writing different types of essays.  My goal is to select a few essays from each class and use them as reading materials for the other class. Students not only writing for students, but students informing each of needs and a call for engagement.

 

 

 

By Avis Winifred Rupert, Ph.D.

Dr. Rupert has a 20-year teaching/leadership track-record in education. She is a native of Texas but has relocated to the East Coast where she is the Associate Dean of Arts & Humanities at Bristol Community College. Her background includes both teaching and administrative positions in the university and community college, international contexts, and secondary and dual credit experience in both the rural and urban high school setting. Rupert has traveled to 21 countries to-date, partnered with populations from diverse ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds; and achieved an 8-year management career complemented by four levels of management with the largest retailer in the world. Dr. Rupert’s education is complementary to her professional and personal growth and interests. She has a BBA in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing, an MA in Composition Studies, an MA in Organizational Management with an International Focus, a PhD in Rhetoric and Writing, and she is presently working on an MA in Biblical Studies and Theology. Rupert’s profile gives her a unique way of at looking at opportunities in education and beyond that often escape others. She contributes her success to self-awareness, an unparalleled drive to grow and develop in varying ways, and a tenacity for leadership. Finally, her dissertation which required the exploration of ethnography requires mention, for it too has added to her unique perspectives and accomplishments.

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