Lara Hill, English Teacher
Well, here is the space where I can make some comments from the other side of the desk...
I originally created this site in 1998. But although technology has changed and advanced so much since then, I still find this site has relevance. First, it shows the ways that the Internet can be used to reflect a "real world" assessment. Also, it shares some of the process that a very tired, over-worked, and dedicated student teacher went through with her class to create a product that is still being used as a resource today. Enjoy! - October 2002
December 1998 - First of all, I would like to give some thanks before I go any further. A warm hearted thank you to Kelley McGhee, my mentor teacher and to all of the wonderful English teachers at Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly -- if it wasn't for all of you... I think I would have lost my mind. Kelley, thanks for listening to me brainstorm, rant, rave, cry, and laugh! I miss you all - especially my lunch crew: Donna, Sue, Sue, Alex, and Kelley! Keep up the great work, you guys are the best.
The other group of people that I am very thankful for at Rancocas would be... of course... my Freshman English 1 Honors Class -- without all of your diligent hard work, your excellent teamwork and your overall good natured spirits about the whole project, this web site would have been a mess. But each of you carried through (even when you had to type up a text twice because the floppy drives ate the disk {grin}) and yet look what you did... I am very proud of you. Thank you for making my intern teaching experience such a joy! I miss you all. Good luck in all that you do...
Okay, now that the thank yous are completed, I feel ready to get into the nitty gritty...
This project was soooooooo much more involved than what I thought it would be! Even though I have been making web pages for companies for over a year and working with computers for over 10 years, I discovered some differences with working in the education sector as opposed to working in the business sector. Technology, although it is becoming ever present in schools, is still not quite where it needs to be in order to make this kind of project common. I found that all of my technical skills were required in order to accomplish the task (click here to take a glance at my resume). Yet, I believe that with some tweaking and some training... this kind of in-depth web site project could become an excellent vehicle for providing relevancy to writing tasks. The Internet is an excellent way to provide a place for students to publish their work. And because many more people could see their work, editing becomes that more relevant and vital. Overall, I am so glad that this web site turned out as well as it did... and most of the credit must go to the students who really pulled together and worked very hard as a team to make this possible. Even if this site was not published, I would still believe that the project was effective in achieving my objectives, which included: building teamwork (including peer editing and collaborative writing), providing relevancy for using the writing process, using technology, fostering creativity, and building life skills such as positive communication. The fact that the web site has come to fruition just goes to show that those skills can make such an intense project possible. I highly recommend taking the plunge and hope that some of my lesson plans and comments help. Also, if you have any specific questions, feel free to email me at lgchill@yahoo.com.
Lesson Plans for My Entire Unit on The
House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Click the above for my raw lesson plans - quite lengthy - feel free to use what you can,
but I ask that you email me if you do actually use any of my lesson plans in your
classroom. Also, if you could let me know of any changes, suggestions,
modifications, successes, that of course would be wonderful too!!! lgchill@yahoo.com
Lesson Plans for the web site
This is my unit summary for creating a class web site on a major text or theme. It
has specific objectives, activities, and assessments. I have also included a first
day's lesson. Enjoy!
A Web Quest for reviewing information about The House on Mango Street before a test.
Cisneros' Bio information / Interview links
Lara's Education and Technology Home Page
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who have come to our home. Thanks for stopping by!
Last updated: Tuesday, October 01, 2002
©1998-2002 - Hill, Lara and her English 1 Honors Class