Today I share my most recent classroom blog – Jay's Bloggin' in the Wind.

If you are wondering about the title, well, you will have to read the first few posts. 

Each semester I try to create a new blog to represent our work in the classroom – Below you will see posts that describe writing projects my students  can expect to see this coming semester. You will also see student writing from the previous semester.  My students in Fall 2024 engaged in the same assignments my students will see on Canvas,  Spring Semester 2025.

WHY DO I DO THIS?

My goal is provide my students with a vision for where we are headed.  NO SURPRIZES.  Let's eliminate these tired questions about WHAT are we doing? or WHY are we doing it?   I encourage my students  to read a few of my past student essays published on the pages of Jay's Bloggin' in the Wind.  Maybe they will pick up some ideas and/or understanding for what they will want to write about this semester.  I'm happy with my students' writing.  They write with PURPOSE and INSIGHT.  They have all chosen to explore topics that are important to them.

Here is the link to my blog:  Jay's Bloggin' in the Wind

Just in case here is the URL:  https://www.jaysbloggininthewind.org/

Jay's Blog Layout:

• I've chosen a blog style that allows me to publish excerpts of my posts.  This means to read my blog, you  will see the first 150 words or so before you are asked to "Read more." By clicking on the "Read more" link you will be taken to the COMPLETE post you have begun to read.  Here, I mark the "Read more" link with a red arrow.

 

• I've divided the Blog into FOUR pages – To navigate from one page to the next, you will need to look for the "Next" link at the bottom of each page.
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Each semester I try something NEW.  I mean, that's how you learn stuff.  Above, I share my Table of Contents.  If you are in a hurry, you can click on a link below the table of contents to find the page you desire.

PAGE ONE: 

• On Page One, I combine my instructor posts with my student essays.  
• My first Community Profile assignment is due Jan. 31 – For the purposes of this project, I decided to model an essay about Teen Pregnancy.  I once had a friend that had to drop out of school when she became pregnant.  I was able to incorporate HER EXPERIENCES  side-by-side with ACADEMIC RESEARCH.  I'm glad to see things have changed in 50 years for young mothers. 
• Jay's Note:  If you are reading this, and you are taking an ONLINE course from me, I will not be able to assign or collect your Project Binders.  Relax.  That's one less thing you will need to do. 

Here is a student writing sample:

• I'm HAPPY with this assignment.  This time it's PERSONAL.  I ask my students to look into their communities for an important story to share.  You will be responsible for the INTERVIEW with your COMMUNITY PROFILE.  That's fun.  Your grade will be heavily influenced by the quality of your supplementary research.
• Jay's Tip for his students:  CHOOSE YOUR SUBJECTS AND TOPICS WISELY – It's on YOU – If you need help, please contact me: jlewenstein@collegeofthedesert.edu

PAGE TWO

• The COMMUNITY PROFILE project will take us FIVE WEEKS to complete.  Througout, I  teach important new skills STEP-by-STEP.
• Upon completion of our COMMUNITY PROFILE we will dive into our CLASSIFICATION ESSAY.
• I know, I know FEW of of my students  have ever been asked to write a CLASSIFICATION ESSAY, but that's what makes this assignment FUN. 
• From the beginning to the end, it will tax our CRITICAL THINKING and ORGANIZATIONAL skills.
• Here is the FUN part:  My students  CHOOSE their OWN TOPICS!

Here is a SNIP from one of my INTRODUCTORY ASSIGNMENTS – Before we GET STARTED,  we START BRAINSTORMING topics:

Here is a student sample essay from last semester: 

PAGE THREE:

• This is how this instructor ROLLS – Each week my students will see multiple announcements on Canvas that will help them SUCCEED with their assignments.
• I provide Step-by-Step Instructions, Graphs, Charts, Tables, Teacher's Models. Sample Submissions…
• Most often, it takes me longer to PREPARE a Canvas Announcement than it does for me to TEACH a class in real time.   Jaja.  TRUTH.  But it seems to WORK.  
• I try to eliminate problems before they start – I practice my own submissions to help me anticipate the challenges my students will face with each assignment.

• For example, I strive to help you format your quotations in your essays – We use a writing tool called the Quote SANDWICH
• I expect you to provide complete INTRODUCTION and ANALYSIS for your quotations – DON'T DROP YOUR QUOTES INTO YOUR ESSAYS – LIKE A BRICK.
• You will need to display PERFECT PUNCTUATION and SOLID DOCUMENTATION SKILLS – Don't Worry – Everyone does it – I mean, we will WORK TOGETHER.
• At the time I created this assignment, I was reading a memoir written by Deborah Harry, the legendary singer of the 70s group Blondie.    I found a FUN quote.  You can check me for my format and punctuation.

PAGE FOUR

• For our Final Exam, no one will  see a two-hour essay exam; instead my students will be asked to share their SEMESTER READING MVPs  and SOUNDTRACK SELECTIONS- It will require them to combine their  MUSIC and their READING PLEASURE – All I ask is for them  to display a few of the new academic skills we have developed over the semester.  QUOTE SANWICHES are GOOD.  MLA DOCUMENTATION is GREAT. 
• I'm not going to lie  – By the end of the semester we will have done our share of writing – Many of my students will be worried about your other exams – Some of them will be TIRED – I'm going to be WASTED! – This assignment provides them with the opportunity to WRITE WHAT THEY WANT TO WRITE ABOUT – Just as long as THEY  are able to DISPLAY their CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS for their  FAVORITE READING of the semester.  IT WORKS.
• Last semester, I chose a passage from Paradise Travel as my READING MVP – I searched the novel for an idea, scene, character, event that TOUCHED MY HEAD and MY HEART.  I followed up my MVP discussion with a Frank Sinatra song, "New York, New York."  You'll get it when you read it.
• Many of my students choose their music form Hip-Hop, Heavy Metal, Musica Norteña – IT'S ALL GOOD – but that's because they can JUSTIFY their selection – What makes it the PERFECT SONG to represent their MVP?

Here is my Frank Sinatra post from my previous classroom blog – Jay's Writer's Paradise.

You can find it here; https://www.jayswritersparadise.org/2024/06/jays-fall-2024-soundtrack-of-our-reading-post-frank-sinatra-the-statue-of-liberty-the-american-dream.html

Here is a sample Final Exam submission from one of my Fall students – She found her MVP in the very first story  you will read this semester – "Only Daugher" by Sandra Cisneros.

Jay's Note:  I refer to this Final Exam Project as a "CELEBRATION OF STUDENT WRITING"

I look forward to READING and WRITING with my NEW STUDENTS in SPRING 2025.

Let's All Plan to Publish our Best Writing in Jay's Next Blog – SUMMER 2025!

This is going to be great.  You will see.

Paz,

JL