Wednesday, September 23, 2015

September 22- Independent Homework

Today we read chapters 6 and 7 in class.

We also began thinking about our independent homework. Here is the outline for the homework.

Why I’m offering self-directed learning as homework:
Two reasons:
ONE: The best way to learn is to choose a topic that interests you. 
TWO: The quickest way to kill an interest in learning is to be forced to learn about things that have no interest to you.

What I’m expecting from you:
  • I’m expecting you to figure out what things you want to learn about (with optional help from me)
  • I’m expecting you to develop a plan for learning about these things that you can present to me (with optional help from me). 
  • I’m expecting you to start working on this immediately, continue working on it throughout the quarter, and finish one week before the quarter ends.


  1. What are you interested in?  Focus on things you CHOOSE to do outside the classroom. 






  1. What would you like to learn/read/write about?







  1. Are you already in a group that discusses any topic?


  1. What do you see yourself doing after high school? 


  1. What Language Arts skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening) will you need to be successful in whatever you choose to do after high school?

Already know what you’re doing? Great! Come see me before school, after school, or during lunch, and we’ll get you going.

Don’t know what you’re doing? No problem. I’ve got lots of ideas. Bring this worksheet in to me before school, after school, during lunch, or during lunch and we’ll figure it out together.
Some ideas of what to do for the Independent Homework


Generally speaking, you will have to pick two of these- I figure you’ll spend anywhere from two to three hours PER WEEK on your project.


Projects that have been done in the past by other students:

  • Journaling
  • Build a Little Library
  • Read a book
  • Read a magazine
  • Develop a website
  • Act/participate in a play or musical
  • Go to a play or musical
  • Write a letter to the newspaper
  • Participate in a club
  • Write an article about:
    • A sporting event
    • A restaurant
    • A movie
    • A topic of your choice
  • Research a hero and write a paper on it
  • Research any topic of your choice
  • Present information that has been researched to the class
  • Present information that has been researched to the rest of the student body
  • Start a petition and get students to sign it
  • Write the script for a short film
  • Act and shoot a short film
  • Do a music video
  • Pen pal
  • WRITE
o   Write poetry
o   Write fiction
o   Write non-fiction


No matter what you choose, make sure to clear it with Schachter within two weeks of the start of each quarter.


*I also have some worksheets that you can choose to do if you are having a hard time figuring out what you want to work on.

No comments:

Post a Comment