Challenge Points

Each quarter students are asked to accrue points from responses to various online texts. Texts can include articles, pictures/images, movies, animations, and blog postings. Responses are completed electronically through the site and submitted to Mrs. Good for a grade.

• Accelerated students are asked to accrue 150 points each nine-weeks.
• Regular students are asked to accrue 100 points each nine-weeks.

* Students must earn the complete point value, or they will receive a failing grade for the Challenge Points. This assignment accounts for the majority of the homework assignments for my course.

Requirements for Responses to Receive Points:

1. Meets word length specified
2. Respond to ONLY one of the texts at a time
3. Include an original title for your response
4. Include a MLA citation for the text you are responding to at the end of the response
5. Spell and grammar check your response BEFORE submitting
6. Responses are to be thoughtful and/or insightful
7. Make sure to respond to enough to accrue enough points before the nine-weeks are up

COMPUTER ACCESS…

Students who do not have computer/internet access at home can use the Media Center before and/or after school Monday through Friday to complete these assignments; however, students must have their school ID to use the computers. If a student forgets their ID and wants/needs to complete an assignment online for my course, they may see me for a pass which will be honored for one visit in the media center, or they may use the student computer in my classroom. All online assignments are designed to allow extended periods of time for students to find access to the internet to complete the assignment if they do not have access at home

Junior year requires students to analyze and respond to literature/text. When some students are asked to analyze literature, they end up talking about plot, simply retelling the story, instead of taking one or two details and then giving a deeper interpretation of what those events meant to the characters or the overall story. The deeper interpretation is the result of commentary from the writer (student).

However, it is hard to teach a skill like commentary because it is what you think about the reading, not something the teacher tells you to think or feel, not a fill-in-the-blank worksheet. Commentary is a personal opinion, response, reaction, or reflection about a specific point the writer (student) makes in the essay. It is simply “commenting on” the factual examples. Most students find commentary extremely challenging especially when asked to write it. Many things they studied thus far in their educational career have only one right answer (i.e. math, science, factual reports…). However, since commentary is a unique interpretation of something, multiple answers can be correct.

This assignment is a means for students to build the skills of commentary, finding something to important to say about text in writing, without facing the high-stakes situations of essays or tests. This assignment functions a means for student to practice without having a huge negative impact on their grade. Furthermore, by incorporating the use of technology for this assignment, students are further developing skills needed to successful navigate the future business and education world.

Thank you Mr. Bob Barsanti (Pittsfield, MA) and Jim Burke (Burlingame, CA) .

Your ideas and suggestions have culminated in this assignment for my students.

Thanks!!