Mind, Body, and Soul
Course Guidelines
Quarter 1 – 2012-13
Students in this course will explore and enjoy English
language ideas while meeting a variety of learning style challenges, be they
kinesthetic, auditory, visual, or some combination thereof. The course is also an attempt to allow
students safe ways to try out different activities with which they might
struggle in the traditional English classroom. Please note: This course is not intended to significantly prepare
one for post-secondary work although some elements of the DPI Language Arts
standards will be explored.
Earning credit in this course depends almost entirely on
positive participation. Students and
instructor will determine what positive participation looks like during the
first week of the quarter.
To earn ¼ English credit in the course, students must:
1. spend the first two weeks of the
course positively participating in a whole-class creative project, supplemented
by other instructor-chosen activities.
2. After the first two weeks of class,
students must spend every entire class period working on individual projects &
assignments FOR THIS CLASS, according to the work task.
Students will adhere to a regular weekly
schedule to include:
·
TUESDAYS
-- 1 Language Arts day participating as a class in language exploration
activities (chosen, designed, and implemented by the teaching staff).
·
WEDNESDAYS
-- 1 Reading day – independently and silently reading texts of choice;
·
THURSDAYS
-- 1 Body day – exploring components of the physical and emotional self, which
might be simply walking in the neighborhood together and silently meditating on
our lives (in rain, snow, wind, or sunshine); listening to guest speakers on
body topics; researching information on health; actively playing a physical
game; etc.
·
FRIDAYS
-- 1 Creativity day – designing and developing creative projects of individual
choice (limited supplies and space available);
[Note: You must be able to work on your project in the classroom.]
Only guest speaker schedules, the
weather, or your instructor will dictate any changes to the task schedule.
3. write a final reflection paper in the
last week of the course to focusing on your learning process. This paper will be based on your daily journal
entries and projects undertaken
throughout the quarter.
4. return all text
materials checked out for this or any
other English Department class. Many
books in this classroom are irreplaceable.
In order for this and other original courses to continue, we must
respect all of our resources.
Expectations for
Individual Work Tasks:
Language Arts
Exploration Day (TUESDAY):
Students will proactively participate in these
activities. The work will range from
word games to grammar mini-lessons to creative writing prompts to vocabulary
work to library skills, etc. Some of
the activities will be group oriented, while others will be individual tasks.
Reading Day
(WEDNESDAY):
Students will spend the entire class period reading a text of their choice. They can choose to read the newspaper, comic
books, a favorite novel, a book for another class, a magazine, a zine, graphic
novels, the dictionary, etc.
Discussions about their text or of exterior concerns are not permitted
once attendance has been taken.
Students must have their texts in their hands and ready for reading at
the start of the class period. Sorry, on-line reading is not permissible
for this class. It is just too hard
to monitor progress.
Body Day (THURSDAY):
The class will complete a variety of activities that focus
on the body. We might walk together
(leisurely) in the local neighborhood.
On those walk days, we will conduct the excursion in all types of
weather, so please pay attention to the forecast and wear appropriate
shoes. These walks will be undertaken
in silent meditation. Students are asked to respect that
requirement. Other body activities may
include guest speakers talking about health issues, short research projects on
body topics, organized play outside or inside, meditation discovery, reflective
analysis of personal body issues, cooking for health, etc.
Creativity Day
(FRIDAY):
Students will work on creative projects of choice during
this day. Limited supplies are
available. Please ask and arrange for
those supplies prior to the start of each class period. Projects need to be developed and
constructed in our classroom space. Students
are strongly encouraged to discuss issues and ideas during their work
time. Teaching staff only will choose
the background music to be played during this day. Students are welcome to wear headphones and
listen to personal music selections on Ipods or MP3 players. No cell phone music sources allowed.
Final Reflection
Paper:
The final process reflection paper will be due on Wednesday,
October 31. Students who do not submit
a final paper on or before that date will not be eligible for credit in the
course. Papers will not be returned to
students.
Other:
All work will be
completed during each class period. There
will NEVER be required homework.
NO COMPUTERS /
NETBOOKS ALLOWED IN THIS CLASS (EXCEPT FOR THE FINAL REFLECTION PAPER. PLEASE RESPECT THIS REQUEST.
