We have our last chance to revise our short stories this week - we have the laptops Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (if needed) to type, share (via GoogleDocs), revise and edit. Students edited each others', I helped edit as well, and students practiced reading them aloud slowly before they let me know they were finished. Everyone had a rubric from which to double-check their work, of course.

Homework
* Read 20 min. / Blog
* Bring reading materials WEDNESDAY!

We revised a bit more today - we added sensory details (effectively!). Students then shared one piece of writing with a friend and they helped each other with the sensory details in the lesson of choice.

For reading, we read "The Noble Experiment" in the Literature book, finishing Close Read questions A, C, E, F, G, I and questions 7 & 8 on pg. 820 for homework if need be.

Homework:
* Finish Close Read questions A, C, E, F, G, I, and pg. 820 #7 & 8.
* Read 60 min. / Blog by Sunday PM

MAP testing today - Our goal was to take our time and try our best!!

Homework:
* Read 20 min. / Blog by Sunday PM

Today was a revision day - we revised sentence length and sentence beginnings. We also added what we felt we needed for parts of our stories that may have been missing.

For reading, we went through more of our independent reading process - we had a few presentations, one-on-one conferences, and time to read what we'd like to read!

Homework:
* Read 20 min. / Blog
* Bring something to read for after MAP testing tomorrow!

The day we've been waiting for - the day we write our climax/turning point has come! Our prompt today: Choose the turning point from your list that you think is most believable. Use details and description to write your character's turning point moment. Remember to keep the turning point consistent with your character's personality. Also remember to add those sensory details to make the moment shine.

For nonfiction reading, we read "Names/Nombres" in the Literature book. Students worked on Close Read questions A, C, and E, and Comprehension questions (pg. 787) 1, 2, & 3.

Homework:
* Finish Close Read questions A, C, E, and pg. 787 - 1, 2, & 3.
* Read 20 min. / Blog
* Bring reading material to class tomorrow!

This week, we're doing a mix of writing our short stories, and starting our short nonfiction unit from the Literature book. We started with Lesson 13 - Playing with Voice in Dialogue. This was a tough prompt, because many students will probably not want to add dialogue to their story, so it was solely a "write to write better" lesson for some. The writing prompt: Go back to your second rising action event. Write a scene of dialogue between your main character and a disagreeing supporting character in that event.

For reading, we completed the Reader's Workshop on pages 754-759 in the Literature book, finishing the 12 Close Read questions on pages 757-759 for homework if need be.

Homework:
* Finish Close Read questions, pg. 757-759.
* Read 20 min. / Blog
* Bring reading material to class Wednesday.

This is what happens when students can choose their own independent reading... Here's Thomas, during lunch, asking, "Are we allowed to read?" See his reaction to my answer!

Today we worked on Lesson 11 - Revising a Character's Voice, and Lesson 12 - Playing with Perspective. First we thought of a phrase that our characters might use frequently, and we played with putting it in various places in our stories. Then we went back and revised dialogue in previous journal entries to make sure it's consistent with our character's personality. Afterwards, we had some fun with a "funky" object in the middle of the room. We looked at it from different perspectives, and applied this lesson to our writing. We then wrote our prompt: Reread the events in your rising action. Describe one of the events of rising action from a different character's (bystander, relative, friend) perspective.

What a week - full of writing and revising our short stories!!!

Homework:
* Read 20 min./blog by Sunday night.

Lesson 9 was all about Varying Sentence Structure - Sentence Beginnings, and Sentence Length! We began by drawing a blank chart titled "Sentence Beginnings." We practiced with a sample paragraph, then students looked through their own writing and completed the chart on their own. (Left column = first word, right column = check marks for how many times s/he used that word...) We then revised our own writing - we changed the beginnings of any sentences that had a first word that was unnecessarily repeated. Next, we went on to sentence length. Again, students drew a chart (left column = how many words, right column = how many sentences have that many words). We practiced with a sample paragraph, then students looked at their own writing and revised as needed. After all this work, we completed another lesson - Lesson 10, Playing with Voice in Dialogue. First we brainstormed questions, then wrote a short dialogue between two characters in our stories for practice. We then wrote our third rising action event: Write your story's third rising action event. Remember to vary sentence lengths and beginnings as you are writing, or go back and add variety when you are done.

Homework:
* Read 20 min./blog by Sunday night.

Today we experimented a little more with point of view. First we heard Lily's Purple Plastic Purse from the point of view of her teacher. We discussed what changed about the story, what was missing, and what was added. We voted on our favorite version. We then completed a revision assignment for Lesson 8 - Experimenting with Points of View. We completed the revision assignment seen here. For the second period, we had 40 min. of independent reading & research, and one-on-one conferences.

Homework:
* Read 20 min./blog by Sunday night.

Today we went back to writing our short stories. We completed two WEX lessons - Lesson 6a (Using Sensory Details Effectively), and Lesson 6b (Analyzing Points of View). First we described the classroom in 5-10 sentences, using only one sense. Then we re-wrote that description, from the point of view of a person who is feeling either annoyed, curious, angry, creative, bored, or lonely. Next, we looked at point of view. Reading two different excerpts (third person p.o.v. and 1st person p.o.v.), we rated how close we felt to the characters on a scale of 1-10. We discussed which one made students feel closest to the characters, which made them care about the story the most, and why. Then we wrote our prompt: Now that you have decided on the best point of view for your story, write your next rising action event using your chosen point of view. This prompt will be graded for sensory details.

Homework:
* BRING READING MATERIALS to class tomorrow!
* Read 20 min./blog by Sunday night.

Tonight is the Crosstown Classic Showdown to help Shea Anderluh's family with costs for her treatments. To commemorate this, students today had a "free write" day, with parameters... Students could write for a real purpose (i.e. complaint letter, praise letter, thank you letter, suggestion letter, editorial, opinion paper, etc.), or for poetry month. Whatever they decided to do, it must be written in their best handwriting or typing, with no errors. If students wanted to make it colorful, we had markers and construction paper. If students wanted to mail the letter, we found the address. Etc., etc., etc. Hopefully students wrote something meaningful to them!

Homework:
* Read 20 min./blog by Sunday night.
* Come to the Crosstown Classic if you can!

After a few days of no writing prompts, it was time to write more of our short story. Lesson 5 - Developing the Rising Action - led us to this event. We first completed a skill drill (see image), and then wrote to the prompt: Write the first event of your rising action. Use details to show what your character does and says as his or her problem begins to get worse. If we had time afterwards, students were allowed time to conducted a tiny bit of research on the fear of Friday the 13th!

Homework:
* Independent reading process (20 min/night; blog by Sunday night)
* Bring materials for ind. reading next Wednesday

Back to our short stories...

For today's lesson, we read a children's book - Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. This helped us to review the shape of a story (Lesson 4). Students then completed the following skill drill (see image):

Homework:
* Complete a story chart for two of the following: The Outsiders, Out of the Dust, or Freak the Mighty. (See Edline if you need the story chart format.)
* Independent reading process (read 20 min, blog by SUNDAY PM)

Today was a full block of independent reading discussion, clarifications, presentations, one-on-one conferences, and reading! Mrs. Smith and Mr. Goldstein joined us, and we were able to take advantage of this time, as we'd had none last week.

Homework:

* Read 20 min / blog by Friday PM
(* Read through some blogs and comment some time this week.)

Four more days off? Woah! Back to work, it is!

Today we worked more with characters and theme, before we went on to another writing lesson to develop our short stories. Lesson 3 - Creating a Believable Personality. In this lesson (after all of our other mini lessons today), we asked students to write how their character would think, do, and or say to the following situations (see image). We then came up with five adjectives to describe our main character. Students were encouraged to use their character trait sheet from the beginning of the year.

Homework:

* Independent Reading Process (20 min of reading, blog by Friday PM)

* BRING IND. RDG. MATERIALS tomorrow!

In our groups today, we discussed topic vs. theme again, and transposed our ideas of theme to a Taxedo on the laptops. Students then shared their stories and the themes. Hopefully this will help us create believable stories in our writing for this unit. If there was time, students had time to read or research for their independent reading. Enjoy your long weekend!

Homework:

* Get prepared for Wed. by bringing reading material!!
* Read some fiction, and think of the characters and theme
* Independent Reading Process (blog by Friday PM)

We got into groups today to read four stories from the Literature book. Each group member had a different role, and all completed the "close read" questions from the story. This ties into our talk about character and theme this week. Hopefully this will help us create believable stories in our writing.

Homework:
* Finish the story and your job for the group classwork today.
* Independent Reading Process (blog by Friday PM)

Today we looked at themes from various children's books - and figured out how "theme" differs from "topic." We then continued with our short story creations, by composing a believable problem (WEX Lesson 2). First we brainstormed three possible problems for our character in his/her setting. We included a brief justification for each problem. What makes it believable for your character in this setting? The prompt: Choose one of the problems you imagined for your character. Write out a scene, showing the moment that the problem occurs. Show exactly what is taking place around your character.

Homework:
* Independent Reading Process (blog by Friday PM)

Welcome back! To ease back into school, we read children's books today! This is in preparation for writing our own short stories. We compared the characters in the books, and then for writing, created a believable character of our own (WEX Book 4, Lesson 1). First we brainstormed ways the person in the photograph (of students' choosing) could be connected to the setting he/she chose. What's the justification for each? We then answered the prompt: Choose one of the connections you wrote down. Write a fictional moment showing your character in the setting. Show what he or she is thinking or doing. If helpful, ask yourself these questions - 1. What activity is about to start, or has just ended? 2. Is this a new place for your character to visit? 3. Is it familiar? We will be creating our own short story this unit!!!

Homework:
* Write down the name of your favorite children's (picture) book.
* Independent reading process (blog once a week by Friday PM)