Feb 26 and 27

Yesterday we worked on speeches. Today we finished them. Good job everyone! Today, you all self-evaluated your speeches based on the rubric I used. We also talked briefly about the Rotary Club Speech Contest. You can go to the web site linked to your home page to get more information. Monday, you need to come with your idea written down. Finally, check out this fun toy that has an explanation of the communication model!

Feb 25

We witnessed some awesome speeches! Continuation tomorrow!

Feb 24

The bell ringer asked the students to discuss various meanings of nonverbals. We then looked at the chapter on nonverbals to discuss them...and learned that more than 90% of a message's impact comes from nonverbal communication! Wow! Then, we practiced the speeches that will begin TOMORROW!!!

Feb 20

Both manuscript and note cards for hobby speech were completed today. The note cards should have five total - one for intro, one for each main point, and one for the conclusion. Three gestures should be indicated some where on the note cards. Speeches begin on Wednesday.

Feb 19

SUB - The class worked on manuscript for hobby speech.

Feb 17

We began class with the bell ringer to talk about kinds of voices and what they sound like. Then we related it to the text book and the chapter on voice. We then discussed our first speech, which is on your favorite Hobby. Remember that it should have all the pieces of an essay - intro, body, conclusion, etc. You have the assignment of writing out the transcript, but you can only have a note card during the speech. After working on the speech...we played dinner party!

See you tomorrow...

Feb 13

Today, we did a bell ringer on communication on Valentine's Day. We then read the blog and talked about articulating certain words. After reading the section on impromptu delivery, students picked topics and gave a one-minute speech on that topic. Have a nice weekend!

Feb 12

Today, tongue twisters totally tied our tongues! After our bell ringer, we met in groups to first practice tongue twisters and then CREATE some! Then, we looked at the beginning of Chapter Five because it is SO cool how our mouths, throats, teeth, tongue, etc all work together to produce sounds. Tonight you have a blogger-bogger! See you tomorrow in the A.M.

Feb 11

After we ventured to the auditorium to listen to Philsey break it down, we came back to the room to demonstrate our knowledge of Unit One by taking the test. Don't forget about the POL bonus response due on Friday!

Feb 10

Today, we performed our skits and everyone analyzed the various parts of the communication model. Afterwards, we finished discussing Ch 4, which was about improving listening skills. Tomorrow is the TEST covering Unit One. Don't forget that you many use a one-page front only HAND-WRITTEN study sheet for the test. Also, the POL competition is tomorrow (Wednesday). For ten bonus points, you many attend AND write a one-page response that analyzes the situation...specifically any interference. Later...

Feb 9

With the start of a new and exciting week, we enthusiastically wrote on our bell ringer topic - examples of how not listening negatively affects us! (Many of this demonstrated examples of this throughout the class!) We then used the clickers to answer questions and discuss levels of listening. We talked briefly about physical and mental barriers to listening and how even good listeners only remember 50% of the information they hear! WOW! Near the end of class, groups worked on skits which will be performed tomorrow. The class will analyze the skits to discover sender, receiver, message, channel, context, and interference! Don't forget the test of Chapters 1-4 will be WEDNESDAY. (I am sure some of you did not LISTEN to that announcement in class!)

;-)

Feb 6

We had fun writing our bell ringer because we were able to share stories where interference caused a "flubber" in communication...hee, hee. We then looked at Chapters Three and Four. Chapter Three discusses SPAM - situation, purpose, audience, and method, which is MUCH like the communication model we discussed in Chapter Two. In Chapter Four, we started discussing the levels of listening, starting with listening for ENJOYMENT...until we were distracted by Danny's acute observation that the light on the ceiling seems to have a random pattern of flickering. Thanks for the interference, Danno! Have a great weekend...

Feb 5

Guess what we did first today? Yep - you guessed it! We started with our famous BELL RINGER! Yea! We also witnessed some more beautifully recited poetry. We looked at Chapter Two in the book and discussed the different levels of communication, which we then practiced using the fun clicker gadgets. Okay...now can anyone guess which level of communication this blog posting is????

Rock out...

Feb 4

Whoo Hoo - way to go Phil, who is our class winner, and Matt, who is our class runner-up. And congratulations to all of you who put on brave faces and recited to your peers! And, YES, I really did work for 40 minutes to memorize my poem...which I hacked...but which I "slam-dunked" during second block. Yea me! Oh...by the way...the school competition is WEDNESDAY next week...my bad!

Feb 3

I'm BACK! Today, we did a bell ringer which helped us further prepare for our performances that are TOMORROW! We watched the Poetry Out Loud video, and then we worked with our partners. At the end, each poet recited at least a portion of his or her poem in front of class. Donuts and poetry tomorrow! Practice in front of the mirror...

Ta-ta!

Feb 2

Fellow Speakers...
After completing your bell ringer, you inserted THREE gestures into your poetry performances and worked with a partner on them. You also missed Mrs. Stallman...

Peace