Atchison Alternative School
Standard 3 Indicator 3.3
Indicator 3.3
English IV
Students in English IV are invited to tour and talk with business leaders in between eight and ten businesses each year. These businesses are in Atchison and Leavenworth. The businesses volunteer to partner with us through communication with the Atchison Chamber of Commerce. It was well received by students and local businesses. We have not had any students who have taken the option of internships mainly because these students have jobs after school. Students also make presentations to others.
Student Presentation
My House presentation to a staff member
Seniors at Humane Society
Student Presentation wax museum activity
Seniors at Atchison Child Care
Seniors at Harley Davidson factory.
Grammar practice - remediation
No Red Ink
Students in all English classes use a remediation tool for grammar practice called No Red Ink. It is a program that allows students to work at their own pace, yet it pushes them forward in skill level by allowing the teacher to set the difficulty level. Most students complete three-four units per semester
Writing
Students in all English classes write from a prompt each week, then submit the essay online. The scoring process gives six areas very much like the Six Trait writing plan. The prompts are in categories of narrative, persuasive, cause and effect, writing about literature, non-fiction, and how-to writing. The choice of topic is rotated by the teacher and students can score on a four to six-point scale. We have the majority of students in level two-three, but most try to better their last score. This program is the Holt Reinhart Winston.
Example:
Autumn
By Matthew Carpentr
Our English classes write three times per week. Recently Matthew received a 5 on this essay (the points possible is 4).
I would have to say, my favorite season would have to be autumn. In autumn, everywhere a person goes, so long as there are trees of course, it's always colorful. When someone steps outside in the warm, orange, early-morning sunlight, and just gaze at all the life around us, it can truly make someone feel appreciative of the world we live in. Autumn draws out the natural inner beauty of the living things around us, exposing various colors that spent the whole year preparing for this very moment. Looking at the beauty around us can show us just how limitless joy and art can be; and just how little work is really needed to show it. Everyone has this ability, and we just need to find it in ourselves to be as beautiful and creative as autumn its self.
All while being colorful, autumn tends to be a time of festivals, carnivals, parties, and a lot more. Whether we go out in nature and have s'mores with our families, or go to a carnival with all of our friends, it's the perfect weather to bring everyone closer together. Autumn is also host to many traditional and historical holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Halloween, and day of the dead. With Thanksgiving, many families come together for a while to catch up on each others lives and share love over dinner. Like Thanksgiving, Halloween brings families together from afar, for a spooky night of spreading love -- or fear -- to all the neighborhoods cheerful children. Halloween often serves as a bonding time for our towns, bringing us all closer together as one big family.
The beginning of autumn, represents the snow to come; and the neighborhood children will be ready to play. Lots of resorts start to open around autumn, so everyone -- even us -- can have fun in the snow. Anywhere from snowboarding, to simple classic sledding, they'll be ready. Youth come together in a series of snowball fights, sledding and many other games to be played in the snow. And of course, they'll be happy when they get a few days off of school -- the teachers included. Everything about autumn brings happiness to us and our world.
In my eyes, autumn represents who we are, and what we have yet to become. It shows the beauty inside the life around us, as we slowly bring out the beauty in ourselves. When the color around us is shown, it's at its peak in life, spreading joy and comfort to those around it; This is how I feel people should be in life. People should spread joy to everyone, and who knows -- maybe that's the start of world peace -- the goal we've strived to achieve for so right. Bringing out our inner beauty, spreading love and caring for others is really all e really need in life. " No one can help everyone, but everyone can help someone." This is one quote I feel everyone should follow, in the pursuit of happiness.
MakerSpace
At the end of the first quarter, students participated in a MakerSpace activity. MakerSpace is designed to teach students in an alternative way by making and doing. That day students made homemade bread and butter, knit scarfs and hats, designed t-shirts, made story boxes and experimented with a rocket launcher. During this time, students printed their TinkerCad designs.