Module One:
Taking the Pulse

This task is completed as students finish the voice lesson. It is a simple reflective piece completed at the end of the lesson on voice. The student articulates the current status of his or her writing skill, and selects a potential way of presenting information in the second phase of "My Way", Picking up the Pace. This project is recommended for students who are ready to actively focus on improving the craft of writing. If you have students who are not ready for this assignment, omitting it or starting it later might be necessary. View the student page for this lesson for instructions to students

Resources:

Taking the Pulse writing activity (.rtf) or (.doc) and the proposal (.rtf) or (.doc) and proposal form (.rtf) and (.doc)

Picking up the Pace assignment (.rtf) or (.doc) and process of creating an evaluation plan (.rtf) or (.doc)

Streching Out literary article and drafting assignment (.rtf) or (.doc) and reflective questions (.rtf) or (.doc)

Task Two:
Picking up the Pace

Task Two has several steps. All steps must be completed by the deadlines the student negotiates with the teacher.

• Students pitch projects and have them approved by you.
• You collectively create a negotiated evaluation plan.
• The student plans, creates and revises the project.
• The class decides how to publish everyone's work.

View the assignment specifications for Picking up the Pace (.rtf), and view the process of creating an evaluation plan (.rtf).

Task Three:
Stretching Out

In this section students complete reflective questions, create a literary journalism piece on their experiences, and make a digital portfolio of their work to show what they have learned. Read the student page for this lesson for additional details. View the specifications for the literary article and drafting assignment (.rtf) or (.doc).

Assessment and Evaluation:

The focus of Task One is for students to self-assess their current writing skill. The assignment handout for the writing activity creates a breakdown of the categories for evaluation. You may wish to develop a formal rubric for it, or use examples of other student work to help students become familiar with the expectations. By its nature, this assignment occurs prior to the teaching of specific style, and as such, includes categories for things like organization and content, but does not include a style category. As in most larger assignments in English Language Arts, the process is a key element of the mark, and this is particularly true when process forms a major part of the assignment instructions.

Because the second part of Task One is the pre-planning of a proposal, it does not require evaluation, but assessment is key. When reviewing proposals, stress diversity of potential methods and review the three questions carefully to ensure there is the scope for further investigation.

In Task Two, the student and teacher prepare a method of evaluation together. At this point you should focus on helping the student create an effective evaluation tool and focus on how to demonstrate that the standards are met.

In Task Three, the teacher assesses the students' learning through portfolio, reflective writing and questions. One sample evaluation sheet is used to assess all three.