Presentations That DON'T Suck! (SMALL)

This assignment/lesson is open to anyone taking ENG3C or ENG4C. When you get to college, and when you get into the real world, from time to time, you will likely have to make presentations. 

You might want to take a look at the Skills/Resources tab on the BLOG, there's a whole section dedicated to presentations. It's pretty good (thanks to slideshare, I didn't make it, I just found it) - so take a look. 

HERE'S THE ASSIGNMENT

As for this assignment...

Here's what I want. Click through this slideshare presentation (it's like a powerpoint - and it's 50 slides, I'm sorry - it really goes quikly). It's a little dated (two years) - but it's effective. 

2014 and We're Still Using PowerPoint Wrong 

OK. What do you think? Now it's your turn. I would like you to choose a topic. I would like you to make a powerpoint that presents this topic. 

Here is site with a long list of topics you might like to choose if you're stumped.

Potential Topics for a Presentation

The PowerPoint should be no more than 15 slides, should have no font smaller than 32 pt., and should be nice looking and not be too busy. 

Finally, be sure to take a look at the slide show rubric before you submit your presentation so that you know what I'm looking for. 

NOTE: If you're doing all that the slideshare presentation says (i.e. using lots of pictures to tell your story) you may need/want to supply a 'script' that gives me the speaking points (stories) you would say during the presentation. Since you're not actually delivering the presentation this may be necessary to ensure your slides make sense. Get it? Good. 

HOW TO Write a Summary (SMALL)

OK. So if you're keeping track, in addition to essay writing and slide show creation, writing a summary is one of the more important skills for Grade 12 English. You need them for good research, you need to do one for your skills passport, and you need to do one as part of your Timed Writing assignment (part of the culminating) - so it's a good idea to figure them out.

So here is a short 'lesson' on how to do one - for the assignment part I'd like you to find at least two articles on a topic of your choice. These can be from your favourite newspaper

And if you're doing one for marks - you might as well take a look at the summary rubric here.

Wikipedia is Wonderful! ...isn't it? (MEDIUM)

OK. So in this assignment we're going to discuss a controversial research tool that we've ALL likely used. Wikipedia is world-renowned for it's ability to answer questions quickly and (relatively) painlessly. However, does that mean it's a good tool for research?

This assignment will walk you through one of the most used knowledge databases in the world - wikipedia. More specifically, we'll discuss how you can use wikipedia effectively, and what to avoid and why.

You will work on three specific skills with this assignment - Research, Summaries and Slide Shows.

You can find the assignment itself here.
Also, you might want to take a look at the slide show rubric before you create one for me.

Vocabulary Can Be Fun...Honest (SMALL)

OK, so right up front I have to admit something. This assignment has nothing to do with Astronauts, Sloths, or memes. I sneakily used a funny image to get your attention. And now that I have your attention I want to tell you about this assignment.

In this assignment I want you to do two things: 1, read some magazine articles on subjects you like (you'll have to use one of our iPads or download the free app Zite to your own tech); and 2, play a computer game.

HERE'S THE ASSIGNMENT SHEET

Part 1 

Let's start with part 2 - the computer game.

Yes. The computer game is called Vocabulary.com. Yes. It is BARELY fair to call it a game - but I swear it is. I want you to visit the site here - http://www.vocabulary.com/  Try it out. Play it for a while, this isn't hard stuff, you can do it. So do it. The results will come with regular, consistent practice. As for scoring:

Get through Level 4 with 5 or fewer errors = Level 4 (A)
Get through Level 3 with 5 or fewer errors = Level 3 (B)
Get through Level 2 with 3 or fewer errors = Level 2 (C)
Get through Level 2 with 4 or more essays = Level 1 (D, a pass)

Keep working until get at least that far, you can do it.

To prove you have earned it, take a screen shot and send it to me. Questions?                                                                                                                                                 10 marks)

Part 2

Next, and this will take you a little longer, I want you to read some articles, and don't worry - you can feel free to read articles of interest to you. Two (2) articles in fact. You can use Zite on our iPads (or on your mobile device - it's a free app), you can use a paper magazine/newspaper, or any web based publication.

Both of your articles should be a minimum of 3/4 page in length, and I want you to do the following:

1) Read it.
2) Read it again.
3) Complete the Article Summary Sheet (twice).
                                                                                                                                  (10 marks ea)

That's it. You're done. Good work.

                                                                                                                                  (30 marks tot)

Ghost in the Shell (MEDIUM)

Wow. A new assignment - it's been a while I know. But I wanted this one to be good (if you believe that excuse I have some swamp land in Florida you may be interested in).

Anyway, here we are. Ghost in the Shell has been a favourite film of mine since I was a teenager - it's cool, it's different, and when it came out at least it looked great. It's about cyborgs, and the internet (the Matrix creators claim it as a MAJOR influence) and espionage and lots of fun stuff. It is dense, and it may take you a few viewings to understand completely (or talk to me, I love to talk about this film).

You SHOULD know that the film does have some nudity and some violence. The nudity is innocent (no sexy time) and the violence is cartoon-style - but it's there, so make your own decision.

Without further ado, here is the assignment.
And here is the rubric for the essay.

Oh yeah, you can find this film on our iPads - #11 and #12.

The Re-Essay (SMALL)

HERE IS THIS ASSIGNMENT


Alright!!!! This is probably the most exciting moment in your entire high school life! In fact, this may be the most exciting moment in your life altogether! Are you ready for it? I want to talk to you about...(wait for it) PROPER ESSAY FORMATTING. Right?!

Whatever. I can't make this exciting, but I don't have to make it important - college and university professors everywhere have already done that for me.

The bottom line is that in addition to the way your essay READS/ARGUES (very important) - the way your essay LOOKS can have a large impact on your final mark. So let's spend some time on this assignment.

Essentially, I want you to learn how to properly format a paper for your college classes. This won't earn you many marks at college, but having a paper that is not properly formatted will often cost you marks.

So, first off, we're going to be talking about "style guides" for this assignment. A style guide is simply a set of rules you must use when formatting your paper. Basically, Universities and Colleges want papers to look the same - no flashy title pages on some, no fluctuating margins on others, no fancy fonts...it should all look the same. That way the content of the paper is the only thing being judged. Make sense?

You may or may not already know that there are multiple "style guides" used by different disciplines at post-secondary school. The two main ones are the Modern Languages Association (MLA), and the American Psychology Association (APA).

I want you to take your already written essay, and format it to fit these two different ways.

All you need for this assignment is:

- an essay you've already written for me - from any grade, on any topic. But it should be relatively recent, and imperfect (don't worry about the last part, they all are imperfect).

 - these links - Proper APA Style Guide and Citation
                     - Proper MLA Style Guide and Citation