Lesson Idea: Situational Writing - Letter Writing

Introduction using Pop songs:
- Hello by Adele
- Dear Future Husband by Meghan Trainor

- SH

Food Network's 'Chopped' and Exams

The Food Network's 'Chopped' show depicts exam conditions very well. 

• Ted Allen's lines 'You must use the following mandatory ingredients' is like how you must meet the requirements of the exam question (not like 'Masterchef' where you can pick and choose what you want to use from the Mystery Box).

If you don't, you will very likely be chopped by the judges, ie not do very well.

• No matter how experienced the contestants are, there is always a shock factor when they open their baskets and see the ingredients. You may feel the same way when you see the exam questions. However, as the chefs think how best they can make a dish and rise to the occasion within the time limit, so you must.

• These are the boundaries. Beyond that, it is up to your creativity. The chefs use 
other ingredients at their disposal from the pantry to create a interesting and new dish. You can draw from your own creativity to do the same. 

- SH

Quote on Reading and Writing

'Nobody but a reader ever became a writer, and nobody but a very good reader ever became an editor.' - Richard Peck, author

How to make adolescents curious about content

The Curiosity Connection: Relating Content to Students' Lives

Adolescent Issue	Topic	Connection
Independence: How can I separate myself from parents and other adults?	American Revolution	When is rebellion justified?
The search for identity: Who do I want to be? What do I want to become?	Percentages	To determine your likes and dislikes, compute the percentage of your life spent in various activities.
Relationships and stature: How important are my opinions of my peers, my family?	Jane Austen'sEmma	Discuss how stature and reputation affect Emma's decisions and your own.
Responsibility: For what do I want to take responsibility? What is expected of me?	Ecology	Investigate social organizations working to improve the environment.
Adapted from Beane, J. A., and R. P. Lipka. (1986). Self-Concept, Self-Esteem, and the Curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept95/vol53/num01/Strengthening-Student-Engagement@-What-Do-Students-Want.aspx

Mentoring (CT)

Note to self: Mentoring is a reciprocal process. 

Ambrosetti (2014) emphasises that effective mentoring involves strong reciprocal relationship. This view is echoed by Hudson (2013), who believes that for mentoring to be successful, both parties should be open to give and receive constructive feedback.

Mentoring can be developmental for mentors as they reflect and deconstruct their pedagogical knowledge practices, strengthen their communication skills and develop leadership competencies (Lopez-Real, 2005). 

For mentors, engaging in a collaborative and co-constructive relationship with their mentees empowers the former to reflect on their own teaching practices, reveal their assumptions about learning and teaching, and refine their pedagogical leadership. 

Above all, adopting an open mind to give and receive feedback, and understanding the reciprocal nature of the relationship will allow the experience to be mutually beneficial.

Quote: "The heart of education" by Parker Palmer

"Tips, tricks and techniques are not at the heart of education - fire is. I mean finding light in the darkness, staying warm in the cold world, avoiding being burned if you can, and knowing what brings healing if you can cannot. That is the knowledge that our students really want, and that is the knowledge we owe them. Not merely the facts, not merely the theories, but a deep knowing of what it means to kindle the gift of life in ourselves, in others, and in the world" (Parker Palmer, p. x; Foreword to O'Reilley, 1998).

'Wild Geese' by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.