Mr. Leckrone's English Classes

Call of the Wild WebQuest

2011-05-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

Introduction
In August 1896, Skookum Jim Mason, Dawson Charlie and George Washington Carmack found gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory. Their discovery set off one of the greatest gold rushes in history.

All kinds of men (and women too), sold or gave up everything they had, and tried to strike it rich. A few actually did (mostly the early arrivals), some decided to profit from the gold fever of others. Some had to move back to wherever they came from, broke and broken, and many didn't make it at all. The Canadian Mounties (their organization began during this tumultuous time) tried to keep order, but there were scams and hoodlums and all kinds of unsavory characters. You had to watch your back, as well as the weather.

Jack London wrote vividly about life during that time, and the effects the harsh environment and circumstances had on the men and animals who lived through it. Now it's your turn.
(Pic from: University of Washington Libraries)

Task
Before reading the novel Call of the Wild, by Jack London, you will create a character from the Yukon gold rush, and research what his/her experience might have been like. You will create a diary with images of your experience (this can take many forms including a scrapbook, a Power Point presentation, or a web page), and predict where your character might be in three years.

By the end, you should have a good understanding and knowledge of the historical/cultural context of the Yukon gold rush. You should be able to use information you find on the 'net to formulate knowledgeable, supportable opinions of what your character's chances would have been, what hardships he/she might have faced, and what their reasons for being there were. You will work together with the members of your team to decide what information to use and how to present it.
(Pic from: Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park)

Process
The class will be divided into groups of four. Each group will be nominally based in Dyea, Skagway, or Dawson. Before you decide who's who, do some group research about the time (1898) and place.

Then decide which role each person will research and create a journal for:

Dawson Group:
Canadian Mountie
Dawson Merchant
Scam Artist in Dawson
Dogsled Mail Carrier

Skagway Group:
Male stampeder
Female Stampeder
Skagway Merchant
Sled Dog

Dyea Group:
Male Stampeder
Female Stampeder
Dyea Merchant
Sled Dog

Use the links in the Resources section to research and create a character.
You should also use the suggested keywords to search for more links.
To begin with, create a "sketch" of your character:

A name and a Klondike nickname.

A physical description. (150+ words)

A hometown and brief biography up to the decision to leave for the Yukon. (150+ words)

An explanation of why he/she is here.

The pre-research and the choosing of characters and names should be done collaboratively. You may either create a realistic fictional character, use a real person you find in your research.

As you research, take notes about the experiences you would have had, and the hardships you would have faced. Were you prepared? What was the day-to-day experience like? What kinds of people did you deal with? What equipment did you need? Were you able to get it? What problems did you have? Was it what you expected? Did you succeed? Did you survive?

Your job will be to create a journal of your character's experience. It should include:

At least 5 150+ word entries, covering a representative period of time during the rush. (Remember, it was over quickly, and even more quickly for most, so don't space your entries too far.)

At least two appropriate graphics or maps, appropriately cited per entry. You can get your graphics from the sites you visit, or use image search engines to find what you need. Be sure they match the content of the journal, and are integral to it. Clip art, and images that do not add meaning will not be counted.

At least three actual (appropriate) quotes from your research sources.

An Epilogue that explains where your character is in 1900, and what he/she is doing.

A list of which sites you used for your information and your images.

Your group should collaborate on the eventual fates of your group's characters. What seems most plausible, and in keeping with history?

Your journals may take almost any form, including a scrapbook, Power Point, or web page. Presentation and mechanics both count, as well as content. Extra credit for especially authentic presentations. Your group will present your journals together.
(Pic from: University of Washington Libraries)

Resources
Remember; it will be up to you and your group to keep track of the titles and URLs of the sites you use for your information and images.

General Resources for all Characters and Background.

Brief Overview from the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park. Also be sure to follow the link for a year's worth of gear.

A wealth of background info from the same place.

Stories from the Gold Rush from the Smithsonian Postal Museum. A good place to help you decide on a (human) character. Make sure you follow all the links appropriate to your character.

The Perilous Journey North from University of Washington Special Collections. A great source for pics and background info on the experiences your character would face.

Gold Rush Stories from the Alaskan State Library. Short "stories" that are good for making your character come to life. Be sure to check out all the links.

Resources for Specific Characters.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "Origins of the RCMP - Klondike Gold Rush"

Women of the Yukon

Dogsled Mail Delivery

The Growth of Skagway Business

Dogs: Hard Drive to the Klondike (Scroll down to "Animals for the Yukon." You can use the same site for info about the transportation of all the goods necessary.)

The Klondike Fever: The Life and Death of the Last Great Gold Rush This one's a book, but it's easy to search for the sections you need for your character. (Control F - Find)

Gold Fever from PBS. This is the companion site to the TV program. It's a great place to find some quotes for your journal and other information.

The University of Washington Digital Collections. Do a keyword search for Yukon, or Dawson, or something else related to your character. This is a great place to get graphics for your journal.

Search Strings You Might Try to Find More Resources.
Of course, as you research, you'll come up with more.

yukon gold rush prospector survival

dogsled mail

yukon gold rush economy

yukon gold rush settler

yukon gold rush women

yukon gold rush dogs

yukon gold rush children

dawson history gold rush

dyea history

skagway history

rcmp yukon gold rush

Evaluation (200 points)

Scoring for Character Sketch (50)

Completeness

name and nickname (2)

150 word physical description (10)

150 bio/background (10)

reason for being here (3)

Mechanics (10)

Authenticity (5)

Style (5)

Documentation (5)

Bonus of up to 10% for above and beyond.

Scoring for Journal (150)

Completeness

5 entries @ 150 words each (50)

2 graphics per entry (20)

3 quotes from research (10)

epilogue (5)

Mechanics (20)

Authenticity/Evidence of Research (25)

Style/Presentation (15)

Documentation (5)

Bonus of up to 10% for above and beyond.

(Pic from: Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park.)

Conclusion

Now you and your group will present your journals to the class.
Please be prepared to take questions about your character and your research.
Bonus credit for appearing in costume or answering questions in character.

Now that you are fairly knowledgeable about the life and times of people during the Yukon gold rush, we can compare our perceptions with Jack London's descriptions. Is he realistic? Is he over-sensationalising? Is The Call of the Wild true to the time?

Let's find out.

(Pic of street in Dyea from: The Smithsonian Postal Museum.)

Credits:
All images taken from the site listed in the Resources section, and credited where they are used.
Credit goes to Bernie Dodge for creating the first webquest, and defining the main ideas and rubrics.
Thanks to George Smith for the WebQuest class which this quest is a result of.

Now with tasty new pages!

2010-09-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

Over the next few days I will be attempting something new and different- and probably a bit frightening (as new and different things almost always are.) In an effort to drag myself kicking and screaming into the 20th century- and, yes, I realize that still leaves this Luddite about a hundred years in arrears- I'm going to experiment with making pages for all of my classes. Check back occasionally to see the progress and maybe check on current projects and class activities.

Telesis is a Character First school.

The character trait for November is INITIATIVE. Initiative means recognizing and doing what needs to be done before you are asked to do it.

A good activity to incorporate initiative into your daily life might be select a daily or weekly chore and attempt to get it done before it becomes critical. Chores might include dishwashing, vacuuming or mopping, preparing a meal, or straightening a communal area such as the living room or dining room. Each time a student completes a task without needing to be asked, parents should take note of it and be sure to recognize the achievement. If there are multiple students in the household, this could even become a competition with a weekly prize awarded at the end of the week for best anticipating family needs.

The City of Emerald Free Press

2009-10-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

As we read the Wizard of Oz, the Academy 1 class will be writing a newspaper detailing the events and items of interest to the citizens of Oz. Students have been split into groups responsible for different types of articles. The first article (referencing chapters 1-3 where possible) is due Monday, October 12.

Students should pay attention to the following information when writing their articles:

In journalism, local news refers to news coverage of events in a local context which would not normally be of interest to those of other localities, or otherwise be of national or international scope.

World News refers to news that has a wide impact and may occur locally or at a distance. The thing that determines whether it is local or world news is how far away the news’s effects will be felt.

Sports news describes the results and significant or interesting events that occurred during a competitive match. It may also talk about changes in rules or rulings that have wide-reaching or universal effects on the way the sport is played or perceived.

Entertainment news may be local or not, but deals specifically with information about events and personalities of interest to the entertainment industry- actors, dancers, singer, plays, concerts, and releases.

Human Interest news is intended to produce an emotional response; it is generally local and includes articles about local people, events, or anything else that that can be expected to make people happy, angry, or sad.

Comics generally provide quick jokes about things that local people would find amusing; they may be political in nature, or they may be about topics that regular people would worry about. They may be single panel cartoons or up to four panels long.

The Classified section of the newspaper lists advertisements for things people are selling, personal ads, and help-needed ads.

Grading Information for Students and Parents

2009-09-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Students in Academy English are required to perform in several areas of instruction- namely, Accelerated Reading, Daily Participations and Preparation, Projects and Portfolio, and Tests and Quizzes. Students must receive adequate markings in all areas in order to succeed in English, and they must do so in a timely fashion as I do not accept late work except in very specifically defined circumstances.

Accelerated Reading requires that students read books that are at an academic level that challenges their abilities without overwhelming them. They should read for at least twenty minutes every night and, upon finishing a book, they need to take a multiple choice test based on the book they’ve just completed. Accelerated Reading is a pass/fail grade worth 20% of the final grade in English.

Participation and preparation is marked daily- students must come to class with all of their class materials, including writing utensils, paper, class texts, and project materials for anything they are currently working on. They must also always have an AR book, and this may be subject to periodic spot checking. Students are expected to engage in class discussions constructively and to limit their disruptive behavior. Most daily assignments and homework assignments fall under the auspices of this category and are graded on a completed/not completed/not attempted basis.

Projects and Portfolio consists of two major sections- the weekly Criterion essays and the group projects that students are expected to complete based on class texts. Criterion essays are completed online and may be worked on as homework if necessary. Students are expected to complete two essays per week and to get a grade of four out of six or better on each of them. Due to a variety of technical difficulties, some of the early essays were difficult to complete; as a result, I am allowing students to work on them and hand them in as late as September 25. Projects are creative tasks designed to demonstrate and clarify student understanding of the themes and events of the texts they’ve read in class.

Tests and quizzes make up the final segment of the grade. Tests may be given in a variety of ways, including but not limited to essay tests, multiple choice tests, fill-in-the-blank exams, and even puzzles.

English blogging 2009

2009-09-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

Obviously, I am not as diligent in maintaining this blog as I might like...

Here are some things that students and parents of my students ought to be aware of:

1) Widgets on the left- some are just for fun (Word of the day, thought of the day), but some are actually valuable tools (search wiki and search dictionary.com). Check periodically to see if I've updated them and use them as you see fit.

2) The links- Also on the left. Students should pay special attention to the links to My Skills Tutor and Criterion writing software. If at all possible, students should spend at least 1/2 hour per day working in each program outside of school- this is homework and will be graded as such.

3) AR Reading- Once again, we are attempting to impress upon students the value of continuously reading, both for pleasure and to meet goals. AR goals have been set and students should be aware of their ZPDs. A student who fails to meet his AR goal by the end of a semester will have his first block grade reduced by 10%. Additionally, students who fail to meet their goal during the semester that they have English will lose 20% off of their English grade.

Welcome back (heh)

2009-01-30T06:17:00.000-08:00

Once again, a new semester and new students; we strive to do better than we did the previous semester...

I'm grading my classes a little bit differently this semester compared to previous semesters; In my core subjects, all activities are broken down into one of three types of assignments- participation, tests & quizzes, and projects. The bulk of the activities performed in class will fall under the Participation category- homework, classroom activities, AIMS prep- and will be worth 40% of the final grade. Tests & Quizzes, while rare, will account for 20% of the final grade. Finally, Projects will generally account for one or two major activities per unit and will also account for 40% of the final grade. I will not be giving extra credit this semester, so it is imperative that students complete all of their work to the best of their abilities and in a timely fashion.

The Creative Writing class will be graded according to only two areas- Participation (worth 50% of the final grade) and Portfolio (also worth 50%). Participation, once again, will take up the bulk of points given in class until the end of the semester, and most of the points will be given purely on a pass/fail basis. While projects will be examined and feedback will be provided, this is a workshop class and students need to be able to turn in work that is less-than-perfect without being penalized in order to learn how to improve. From all of the work that they hand in, students will select 10 assignments to put in their portfolio and then write a defense of their work which will recieve the final grade. Because of the nature of this class, it is possible that students may appear to have very high grades until the end of the semester. The portfolio, ultimately, is what will tend to decide the actual grades. I encourage parents to always look at their child's work and to offer constructive criticism to help their child improve.

This semester my classes will be focusing on AIMS preparation- although none of the 7th or 9th grade students take AIMS this year, it was the general feeling that a coordinated- and early!- approach to the test might help put students in a better position when the test rolled around next year. To that end, both of my core subjects will be practicing from the Buckle Down AIMS 3rd Edition texts in addition to regular coursework.

In terms of what students can expect to see and do, it varies a little from class to class. The Academy English class (traditional 9th grade English) is reading a novella by Lois McMaster Bujold called The Mountains of Mourning. As we read it, we are also examining issues of difference and acceptance, coming of age, and justice and mercy. There will be several short quizzes and a project to round out the unit.

Junior Academy English (tradional 7th grade) has begun reading Tangerine by Edward Bloor. Thus far, I have had nothing but good results from teaching this book as the main character is about the same age as my students and they can relate well to him. The story lends itself well to discussions about struggling to overcome obstacles, finding a place for yourself in the world, and facing the world with integrity. We will complete several short quizzes, a short dramatization, and a comic book project before we complete this unit.

My Creative Writing class has been working on a unit on poetry and found language. As the week draws to a close, we have nearly completed this unit- students have written shaped poems formed from encyclopedia entries, made poems based on the signs we see in everyday life, and copied down the nonsensical phrases that we speak each day without thinking about them. In addition, we've worked on cinquains and started to explore the different forms and terms used in poetry. On Monday, the second homework assignment is due- a poem based on overheard phrases and expressions.

This semester promises to be exciting. We've lots to do, but as long as we keep moving forward, the task should not be insurmountable. I encourage anyone who has questions about the course material, work, or schedule to contact me via the Telesis Academy website.

Reading Responses

2008-10-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

We've recently started focusing on reading responses in all of my classes. A question I am frequently asked is, "Mr. Leckrone, why do we have to do this? How does this help us?" This is often connected to the belief that the book (or the method) has no relationship to the student's actual life and, therefor, cannot possibly teach the student anything.

The purpose of reading responses is to get students into the habit of thinking about anything and everything they read. Some students, of course, do this already; many students, however, do not.

According to Wolfgang Iser, "The significance of the work...does not lie in the meaning sealed within the text, but in the fact that the meaning brings out what had been previously sealed within us....Through gestalt-forming, we actually participate in the text, and this means that we are caught up in the very thing we are producing. This is why we often have the impression, as we read, that we are living another life." (Iser, The Act of Reading, pp. 157, 132)

In other words, while texts may have meaning in and of themselves, the more profound meaning is the one that is created when the reader actively considers what the text could possibly mean in relation to his or her own knowledge, life and context.

A great deal of information is available on this subject, from wikipedia pages to individual school and teacher web sites. I found several sites particularly useful when investigating this technique:

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/home/theory.html
http://www.centralischool.ca/~bestpractice/response/index.html
http://www.teachersnetwork.org/ntol/howto/adjust/improvereading.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reader-response_criticism

The methods I am currently using for reading responses are very simple- low-tech, if you will. Students read from their text and, as they read, they write down sections of the text that they have questions about or that they find interesting. Ideally, students could use sticky notes to mark the place in their text, thus limiting the interruption of their reading processes. After marking the places, they go back and write a single sentence about each section they've marked. Responses should demonstrate a variety of different kinds of thinking- musing, prediction, analysis, comparison.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

2008-09-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

Once again I would like to strongly encourage any and all parents to send me a quick email- even if it's just to make sure the links work- through the Telesis website. In order to do this, follow these simple (I hope) directions:

1. Go to http://www.telesis-academy.org/

2. Hover your mouse over the menu that reads "About Telesis"- this should bring up a list of options.

3. Select the link that says "Contact Us"

4. Click on my name on the page that comes up (I'm the fifteenth name from the top.)

Thank you for your support- this will allow me to send you up to date information regarding assignments and potential problems so you don't get blindsided.

Descriptive Writing

2008-09-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

Students are working on descriptive papers in all of Mr. Leckrone's English classes. What characterizes descriptive writing, you ask? Simply put, it is used to describe a person, place or thing in vivid detail.

From The Writing Site.org (www.thewritingsite.org):

Goal: Descriptive writing vividly portrays a person, place, or thing in such a way that the reader can visualize the topic and enter into the writer’s experience.

Uses: Descriptive writing appears almost everywhere and is often included in other genre, such as in a descriptive introduction of a character in a narrative.

Characteristics:

elaborate use of sensory language
rich, vivid, and lively detail
figurative language such as simile, hyperbole, metaphor, symbolism and personification
showing, rather than telling through the use of active verbs and precise modifiers

MyGradebook Login

2008-08-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

Students and parents can log in to My Gradebook at any time to see how they are doing in Mr. Leckrone's English Classes. To do so, you need first to visit the website, then to type in the Classword and the student's password.

Website: http://www.mygradebook.com/

Classwords:
American Novels: TEL_NOVELS
Academy English: TEL_SR_ENG
Junior Academy English: TEL_JA7_ENG

Passwords will be provided to students during classtime and may be adjusted through the website.

Class Blogs

2008-08-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Where to go and how to get there...

American Novels: http://amnovels.blogspot.com/

Academy English: http://acadenglish.blogspot.com/

Junior-Academy English: http://jaenglish.blogspot.com/