Year-Long Project: Ducks Galore ~ English 11


Goal:  Publish a book*...about ducks*!DSCF6116 by you.

 

Essential Question:  Shouldn't we all be "quacky"...different, unique? 

 

Theme Songs: 

 

Steps to Accomplish this Project:

  1. May I introduce you to my rubber ducky?  She is a little different from every other yellow rubber ducky...her name is Olivia Noel!   Click here (Notes on Olivia Noel.odt) to read the notes I have made about her so far.

     

  2. Meet Your Yellow Rubber Duck!   (Your duck is yours...take him/her/it with you...or leave him/her/it in the classroom...or both!)

     

  3. Personalize your duck...yes, develop your duck's character.

       Characterization:

       *Worksheet Introduce Your Duck.docx

       *Include Those Details, Please! ~"Writing's Physick Purpose

       *Direct and Indirect from Read Write Think.pdf

       *Dynamic vs. Static From Read Write Think.pdf

       *Graphic Organizers for Characterization.pdf

              www.region15.org/curriculum/CHARACTERIZATION-Portrait.pdf

      
  4.   Introduce your duck to our world!

       *Introductory Paragraph.dot ~ introduce to the teacher

       *Voice Thread Script Organizer.doc ~ introduce to your classmates

       *Record your Voice Thread comment here at Cafe Pre-AP.


     

  5. Invite your duck into your other writings. Throughout the year, we will write...and write...and at your discretion, you may include your duck character in some...or all...of your writings.  Sometimes the duck may be the main character, sometimes just a minor character.  Maybe even just a flitting thought.
    1. A cinquain about Hollywood. 
  6. From all of the writing assignments in which you included your duck, choose a selection to publish in the class book.  Deadline:  end of third nine weeks.
  7. Enter the contest (optional) to create the cover for this book.  More guidelines to be posted about this contest! One of your cover entries will be chosen...that means, yes! you will be featured twice within our book!
  8. Enter the contest (optional) to select the title of this book.
  9. Choose any pictures or graphics to include with your selection.
  10. Once your choices are made, link them here at CAFE English 11.
  11. Between now and then?  Let's decide how to publish these:  Word?  InDesign? 

 

*Inspiration for the project came from two sources:

  1. Anna Love, Fort Smith School, who shared the duck idea at a workshop I attended in June 2009.  Her students adopted a duck and included it in various Spanish assignments.  She presented some pics of her students with their ducks....my brain began to click with the possibilities of such an adventure within my classroom!
  2. Heather Mason, a teacher in Florida and whose blog I now follow via Google Reader, shared in one post her excitement about the newly published book of student writings.  I had pondered about a magazine before...but a book.  That idea I liked even more.
  3. This project is a merging of the two ideas...this is going to be fun!