I’m over from Turbo Tanski and I was asked by Mister McIntosh to share my thoughts on the interview project. I think overall the interview was pretty fun! From my perspective, I loved it! I always liked blogging, but never really got into it until Mister McIntosh gave us this assignment.

Mitch Edds says, “I think its a good way to put ourselves ‘out there,’ to maybe talk to someone we don’t know very well and learn about how they do things. All together, I thought it was pretty cool to learn about the person I interviewed. I think it should have been a little more open-choiced though for the person we interviewed. For example, someone our own age.”

Karl Van Ness had this to say about the project, “I didn’t really like the project because I feel like I’m not very good at blogging and since I’m not good at blogging, I got a B+, which ruined my all A streak. I think the project could have been better if he (Mister McIntosh) graded a little bit less strictly because it may have been some people’s first time using a blog and he may have graded a little bit more harshly because he has frequently used a blog before. I think he could grade easier on the amount of blogging required and the quality–it may be someone’s first time and they didn’t do very well because of it.”

I personally liked the whole aspect of blogging but maybe I say this because I have used one before. I think I have to agree with Karl in the matter of Mister McIntosh’s grading. Mister McIntosh has a large amount of posts and a fair amount of experience. I think this qualifies him as a senior blogger which may mean he has higher expectations of himself which possibly, without knowing it, means he may grade a little harsher because he has higher expectations of others.

I do think he gave enough time on the interview and enough pre-warning for people to complete theirs so there is no reason for people not to finish on time. I think that this is a very smart idea for Mister McIntosh to give students a chance to experiment with blogs and blogging. Good job to Mister McIntosh!

By: Turbo Tanski

Writing is hard work and a lot of fun (witheyes)

The interview project in reading class is well underway. A lot of the blogs are looking good. Here are the requirements for the interviews:

• Interviewee cannot be a family member
• Interviewee cannot be a Challenger staff member
• Interviewee must be an adult
• Interview questions must be open-ended (no yes or no answers)
• Interviews may be conducted by phone, email or in person
• Parent or guardian must accompany you to the interview if it is done in person
• Interview will be published at your blog
• 400-800 words in length
• May be written in “question and answer” format or in “paragraph with embedded quotes” style
• You must ask at least five questions
• The questions must be approved by me before the interview

I figured it would be a good idea to write some example interviews myself so you could see the ways in can be done.

For an example of an interview written up in question and answer format see Jeff Brady, NPR Reporter.

For some examples of the embedded quote format see:

Writer and Teacher, James Van Pelt

Dwight D. Jones Leads Colorado Education

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Still Working Hard

Fantasy Writer, T. A. Barron

Some possible candidates for interviews are:

• Police officer
• government official
• business owner
• veteran
• doctor
• lawyer
• veterinarian
• athlete
• pastor
• actor
• musician
• bus driver
• the queen of England
• mail carrier

Good luck. I look forward to reading your work!