前学期の期末作文/1st semester final writing assignment

Hello!

How are you? Today, I'll tell you about our final writing assignment (期末作文) for the 1st semester (前学期).

Project
You have two (2) choices about your final writing project. Choose one (1) of them:

1. Write about a unique, interesting, or special person. 

In this topic, write about a unique, interesting, or special person you know, like a teacher, best friend, coach, or even a family member like a mother, father, brother or sister - or a famous person you think is unique, interesting, or special, like a singer, musician, actor, athlete, or a writer or artist.

I am gathering writing on this topic into a book called The Small Book of Big People. I started this last year with my students then, and I put examples of their work onto this blog. You can check them out at this link, and also at this link too.

2. Write about a unique, interesting, or special place. 

In this topic, write about a unique, interesting, or special place. It can be a place you have been to and that has had a big impact on you - or it can be a place you have never been to, but want to go to. 

I am gathering writing on this topic into a book called Places and Traces. This is a new book I have never done before. For this project, you can:

Use the pictures from this blog that I posted about places, or find your own picture and write about it.

You can use the place that you wrote about when writing about places, and make your writing about it bigger and longer.

How much to write
How much do you write? I would like you to write as much as you can, because your work may be published (出版した) on both this blog and in The Small Book of Big People and Places and Traces books I talked about in class. 

I would like to see maybe one long paragraph with 9-12 sentences in it, or two (2) paragraphs with 6 to 9 sentences in them. 

Deadline (締め切り)
You do not have much time! Our final day is July 20th (7/20), so I want you to bring in a first draft (下書き) on that day in your notebooks in pencil. You will then peer review each other's work, change things about the draft as you need to, then write to the finish and turn in your work. 

Important note!
I want your work correctly peer-checked!

Good luck with this! I hope you can have fun with this, and enjoy writing about a person or a place.

Images: Top - "Blank Document Area Shows Copyspace White Background For Note" (courtesy of Stuart Miles)/Old man: "Old African Man" (courtesy of africa)/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

作文3/3rd writing assignment

Hello! 

How are you? Today I will show you our third writing assignment - expressing an opinion on something you feel about to your classmates.  This will be due next week (7/13).

Guidelines

We will do this assignment in a unique way - we will have different groups in our class, like this: 

例えば：

Each group will think of some topic ideas for another group to write about. Each group will be writers - and readers - of other groups' ideas.  

例えば：Group 1 thinks of some topics - Group 2 has to write about those topics to Group 1.

例えば：Group 2 thinks of some topics - Group 3 has to write about those topics to Group 2.

例えば：Group 3 thinks of some topics - Group 4 has to write about those topics to Group 3.

例えば：Group 4 thinks of some topics - Group 5 has to write about those topics to Group 4.

例えば：Group 5 thinks of some topics - Group 6 has to write about those topics to Group 5.

例えば：Group 6 thinks of some topics - Group 7 has to write about those topics to Group 6.

例えば：Group 7 thinks of some topics - Group 8 has to write about those topics to Group 7.

例えば：Group 8 thinks of some topics - Group 9 has to write about those topics to Group 8.

So then we come to a full circle:

So then we come to a full circle:

例えば：Group 9 thinks of some topics - Group 1 has to write about those topics to Group 9.

Important note: All groups will also peer review their partner groups' writing!  

Topics 

What topics can you choose from? What can you write about? Anything is okay! Here are some ideas - but you can think of other ideas of your own: 

Things that can be improved about Daito Bunka (classes, buildings, lunches, programs, etc.)

The latest fashions and what you think are good - or bad

The latest music and what you think is good - or bad

News or political topics (Britain's vote to leave the EU, the refugee situation in the Middle East or Europe, the future of Japan, etc.)

Social issues (ethnic minorities in Japan, LGBTQ people, hikikomori, etc.) 

Important note: I will collect the best of this writing into a blog collection to be published - so write to the best you can! 

So good luck! See you next time!

Image: unattributed image from the Internet. All rights reserved.