This page provides explanations for and feedback on my students' second term online assignments. They include history assignments as I teach them history. Most of the assignments include active grammar elements per individual instructions.

May 19, 2008

My 2R students to whom I teach both computer literacy and English filled in our Sichuan Earthquake wiki, with responses to a few reflective questions. (see http://mckln.pbwiki.com/earthquake) This was their assignment:

1) What did you feel during yesterday's three-minute mourning? 2) What can you do to support the earthquake victims? 3) What can you do in the future - when you are older, when you are working - to support China, to make it a better place?

For form two students, in your reflection, please include: either a "think of" or "think about" statement; a relative pronoun; a "when statement; and a "while" statement. Please underline these four grammar items.

April 30, 2008

To prepare students for their final exams, I created Web pages for them to fill in with review materials. This was their assignment:

Fill in the Dragonwings and grammar wikis. I will use the former in setting your reader paper! (see http://mckln.pbwiki.com/2Rgrammar and http://mckln.pbwiki.com/dragonwingscharacters)

While the grammar wiki became replete with grammar items and worksheets, the students unfortunately did not sufficiently build the Dragonwings wiki so their examination will not be based exclusively on the material found there.

The 1R students also established their own grammar wiki. (see http://mckln.pbwiki.com/1Rgrammar)

April 24, 2008

This was their assignment:

Please, in your blog, write the response letter to the article we read today on the reduction of class size in secondary schools in Hong Kong; then, submit the article to the South China Morning Post.

We had three students who were published in the Leaders and Letters section of the South China Morning Post.

April 18, 2008

Assignment
We will continue discussing the concepts that we developed today in class, those qualities which good inventors should possess. For homework, in your blog, review those five concepts and apply them to your life in Hong Kong; that is, does Hong Kong foster and promote those qualities that we consider paramount in order to be a good inventor? If so, where and how are they fostered; do we learn these qualities in school, in Methodist College? If you think these qualities are not fostered in Hong Kong, then do you think Hong Kong people should promote these qualities; why or why not?

8/5/08 - Samuela offered this response.
These qualities are to be imaginative, determine what society needs, breaks from the old ways and creative . I think we can learn to determine what society needs in our L.S. lesson and History lesson..We learned the mistakes from the past and we know how to avoid to do those wrong things. We also learned to be imaginative and creative in our Art lesson. We finished our art work by ourselves. There are no helpers to help us finish our work, but other lesson's work, may have. And I also learned that quality, full of imagination while I was recite something by heart. Those Chinese poem are so difficult to remember. So I use that method to help me to remember things. I think it is very useful.

April 15, 2008

Assignment
You have two assignments. The first, in your blog, is to answer the poll question: Which revolution does Hong Kong need? Choose between the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Cultural Revolution or none at all; but make sure you defend your choice; explain your answer.

We will begin an "inventive lives" project next week which will involve a jigsaw activity of various famous inventors throughout history. To prepare for this assignment, read the textbook from pages88-106 and based on that, and your own knowledge, answer this question in your blog: what are five basic qualities that a good inventor might have?

March 28, 2008

Assignment
In your blog, answer the five guiding questions that we rendered today in class.

1. How did the colonists unite America? First the 13 colonies didn’t want to be ruled by Britain with absolute power. They were discontent with the local council. Then there was The First Continental Congress. After that the war started. After the war, in 1783, Britain signed The Treaty of Paris to recognize the independence of the 13 colonies. And the United States of America was born - Carmel.

2. How did the legislature take part in the structure of the federal government? The legislature could take part in the structure of the federal government through the Continental Congress - Nicolas.

3. How did the American revolution happen? The colonists weren’t satisfied with the rules of British, the economic policy and also the political acts. The acts stipulated the colonists should pay taxes for the army for protecting the land taken from France. The colonists think that was nonsense, so, they held the Boston Tea Party to protest against the acts. But the British Government passed the Intolerable Acts to punish the ones who took part in the event. This made the colonists even not satisfied. So they called the First Continental Congress to demand that King George III of Great Britain should end the Intolerable Acts. But the British Government refused. Finally, the colonists were really very angry and broke out the American War of Independence with the British soldiers - Jessica.

4. Why did the people in the Enlightenment object to absolute power? The people in the Enlightenment objected to absolute power because they wnated to have natural rights. They wanted fair - Dicky.

5. Explain one of the British acts that created economic discontent amongst the American colonists. One of the act was the Stamp Act, in this act, the people must pay a stamp duty from 1 cent to 50 dollars for all printed documents and this act made the colonists discontent - Nathania.

March 20, 2008

AssignmentIf you haven't done so, finish reading Number the Stars; and then, in your blog, tell me something, anything about this book that you would like to share. I will collect Number the Stars when classes resume.

March 18, 2008

Assignment
Your homework is to write at least two paragraphs describing the differences and similarities in the economic and political contexts that the 13 colonies and the Hong Kong colony faced. Put this on your blog! If you want extra credit, correctly use the grammar items - units 13 through 18 - that we have gone over this term and underline them! For your reference, I've linked this page to some more resources describing colonial life. This writing counts as a composition. It will be out of, perhaps, 20 marks just like an English composition.

General Feedback
9/4/08 - I've reviewed the assignments and have noticed an obstinate misunderstanding of the concepts; there is much confusion in differentiating between a country and a colony, and the political structures each entails. Hopefully, today's lesson, along with the following questions, has helped to clarify these misunderstandings - WD.

March 7, 2008

Assignment
In your blog, write me a paragraph about your experience today at Ocean Park; make sure to share what you enjoyed the best and, more importantly, what can be improved. There may be a next time!

March 6, 2008

Assignment
Today we reviewed the Middle Ages in reading about the life of a knight; this time, however, we incorporated a language across curriculum twist when we enumerated the process to becoming a knight, utilizing procedural words and content area vocabulary that I selected. In scrutinizing the language while reading aloud students' answers, we noticed the need to use the past tense and punctuation, and to be consistent in number (whether to keep a noun singular or plural). For homework, apply this procedural orderning technique to the American revolution: list the five steps that transformed 13 colonies into the United States of America. Put this in your exercise book (and if you want, copy it onto your blog) since we'll go over it in class next week.

March 1, 2008

Assignment
We'll continue working on our research project next week.

• In your blog, list three specific questions that you didn't ask during your interviews but you want to know for your topic.
• On Tuesday, bring in a resource - a book; an article; or something else - about your topic that can provide useful information; the resource doesn't have to answer your questions; it may, however, with hope, help your group members answer their questions.

February 22, 2008

Assignment
In your blog, please share your experience in interviewing a Yau Ma Tei person for your project: what happened; what did you learn; what can you do better next time? Furthermore, for extra credit, incorporate the grammar items we've been studying - measurements; comparisons; and quantifiers - into your writing. Color each instance in which you use the grammar time so I can find it easily; you will receive one extra credit mark, up to three extra marks, for successfully using a grammar item.

February 15, 2008

Assignment
We reviewed the Middle Ages and then introduced a contrasting period of time, the Renaissance. After reviewing our concepts, we broke up into groups and created concept circles for vocabulary words and ideas that we encountered in studying these periods in history. Your homework is to travel back in time to live the life of a person who lived during the Renaissance or the Middle Ages. Below are a terrific list of resources through which you can browse to learn more about the different types of characters and professions available to you. In your blog, write at least three paragraphs that share your life in that period of history. You should include these things in your biography:

• Your name ( you can use your own name or create a new name for your Renaissance character)
• Your birthdate (and deathdate, if you wish!)
• Where you were born and where you live
• Your job
• What you do at your job and what you do in your daily life
• Your feelings

This writing counts as a composition. It will be out of, perhaps, 20 marks just like an English composition. I recommend reading the information in the Websites; focus especially on the jobs, and the locations because they lend much useful information to include in your writing.
General Feedback

• You were born; and then you will die.
  
• Use the simple past tense when writing about what has happened before.
  
• Try using spell check in Word or in Firefox when typing; also space properly!

Most students chose to be the typical combination of artist and writer; to have two time-consuming professions is a pretty tall order to fill, but at least you, like some of the most exceptional minds of that age, are ambitious! Some of the more creative students in the class chose to be knights, or most uniquely, a gate-keeper!

February 2, 2008

Assignment
Film or photograph yourself either reading Dragonwings or doing the Dragonwings homework. Post the photo or the video on your blog and tell me when and where it was taken. This is an accountability measure. I want to make sure you are actually doing this work over the break!

January 25, 2008

Assignment
In your history textbook, read pages 14-20. Pay careful attention to the qualities and achievements of the featured artists, two of which, Michaelangelo and Leonardo DaVinci, you should already be familiar with having browsed through their biographies in class today. In your blog, describe why these people are used as examples of Renaissance men; how are these Renaissance men different from the typical characters that we find in the Middle Ages?

January 18, 2008

Assignment One
In your blog, respond to the following:

• At the age of eight, Moon Shadow is sent to live in a strange land, halfway across the world, with the father he has never met. What do you think it would feel like to abandon everything familiar for the completely unknown? Can you share a similar experience?

General Feedback
I just finished reading through your blogs. A lot of you shared experiences of being lost or of moving to a new place, or of getting accustomed to something new - these are all relevant themes that our main character, Moonshadow, has to deal with in the story. Hopefully, by drawing on your own experience, you will be able to better appreciate what our protagonist encounters in his journey.

Moreover, in your reflections, some of you made choices to stay put in safe environments, while other students, possessed perhaps by the spirit of adventure, chose to engage new worlds and experiences. We'll see if any of you change your positions by the time we finish the story.

A few of you completed neither the English assignment nor the history assignment - that's bad. For this one time only, I didn't penalize anyone if they missed one of the two assignments - I honestly only wanted something to read, anything at all. If you wrote a compelling, cogent entry, I gave you extra credit.

Assignment Two
We've talked about the distribution of power in the Middle Ages, and we've drawn some parallels to modern society in Hong Kong, though nothing is conclusive. So, in your blog, be conclusive: is our power structure fundamentally different from Medieval society; or do we still have a hierarchy, except the kings, knights and peasants now have different names? Share your thoughts, and please provide some examples. We'll read a few out loud in class next Wednesday.