Asian students support AEC students’ truism writing

Students at Dapitan City National High School, Dapitan City, Philippines supported students at Alternative Education Center, Odessa, TX to create truisms for the alternative students' essay writing activities. Asian students provided drawings from their editorial cartooning lesson in Social Studies under the mentorship of Mrs. Arcita Melendrez. AEC students used the drawings to create truisms to write their expository and persuasive essays as practice exercises for their first semester test in English. Using a truism to write an essay is inspired by Gretchen Bernabei’s kernel essay structure.

AEC students edit Spanish writing samples

As their revising and editing practice for their final test in English, students at the Alternative Education Center, Odessa, TX revised and edited writing samples of students from IES Prado Mayor in Totana, Spain under the advisorship of Ms. Trini Serrano. The writing samples were from 12-year-old students who are in their first year of Secondary Compulsory Education. Titled "Now and Then," the writing samples allowed Spanish students to practice using present and past tenses of the verb in the English language. Alternative education students focused their revising and editing task on the usage of the past and present tenses to help improve their narrative writing skills.

Spanish students revise and edit AEC writing samples

Students from Spain revised and edited writing samples of alternative students from Odessa, TX. Students of the course 2ºESO of Ms. Africa Puerta, Arts teacher at IES Prado Mayor in Totana, Spain, chose a writing sample from the American writing samples given to them. They corrected and improved the writing sample chosen according to their current English grammar skills. The teacher reported that her students were delighted with the experience as they have been learning English as their second language.

AEC students join Doodle 4 Google 2018

Alternative Education Center students participated in the Doodle 4 Google 2018. This year's theme was "What Inspires Me?" Using Google Drawings and geometric figures, students drew anything school-appropriate that inspires them. Winners will be announced on the week of April 9, 2018. Additionally, students wrote an essay describing their entry. Their writing outputs were sent to their international partners for revising and editing activities.

AEC students complete Odessa Recreational Park PBL

At the conclusion of their lesson on area/volume of 2D/3D figures, AEC students completed a project-based learning activity called, Odessa Recreational Park. The PBL scenario acknowledged the rapid growth of the population in Odessa, TX due to the latest oil boom in West Texas. Because of a number of families requesting for more parks for their kids, the City Council of Odessa decided to build more family-oriented recreational parks. The City Council was inviting bidders for the project. AEC students acted as engineers who designed their prototypes of a recreational park to apply for the bidding. Their international partners acted as the City Council who judged and chose the best prototype. Additionally, as their AVID Quick Write and Reflection activity, AEC students described why their prototype should be chosen and sent their writing outputs to their international partners for revising and editing.

2D vs 3D Figures

After Alternative Education Center students engaged in a prism AVID philosophical chairs (debate) activity and explored various prisms with different dimensions but the same volume, they wrote an essay as to whether in real life they wanted more two-dimensional (2D) figures or three-dimensional (3D) figures. Some students chose only 2D or 3D figures; others chose a combination of these figures. The objective of this writing activity in math was not really to check who made sense, but to see how aware students were of 2D and 3D figures around them. Students' writing outputs were sent to their international learning partners for revising and editing.

 

IJWC speaks at 2017 Global Education Conference

International Junior Writers Club (IJWC) adviser spoke at the 2017 Global Education Conference held on November 13-16, 2017. IJWC was proud to have been invited to speak at this school year's Global Education Conference being a winner of the 2017 Great Global Project Challenge. The Global Education Conference Network officially recognized the speakers on December 1, 2018 by presenting them their speakership certificates.

IJWC, during its session, shared some barriers to global learning collaboration such as technology, language, funding, and curriculum, which were the club's personal initial struggles. It also discussed ways to initiate and maintain a successful global learning collaboration such as focusing on general theme/skill/interest, keeping long-term partnership, hosting a website or social media to showcase activities, doing a variety of activities, and giving partners recognition, which the club personally tried and was successful. At the conclusion of the session, participants were asked to share additional ideas for global learning collaboration.