December 18

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Each of your received a personalized list of assignments to work on over the break. 
• If your paper was blank, you get to choose what you want to write about.  (If you’re stuck and need some ideas, let me know, and I’ll point you in a direction!) 

December 11

 

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Outline for “The Rescue of Maid Marian”
• Summarize “The Rescue of Maid Marian”
• 2nd or 3rd draft of Richard (if necessary)
• Outline and Summary of “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” (if necessary)

December 4

 

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Richard Final Draft (if it’s not already finished)
• “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” Outline and Summary (if they are not already finished)
• Place the events in “The Rescue of Maid Marian” on the plot diagram
• Freewriting

There was no new information presented in class.  Look below for examples and helps if you need them!

November 20

 

Homework

This week everyone’s homework is slightly different depending on where you are in the writing process.  If an assignment is listed that you have completed or you are waiting for it to be returned, that is not an assignment you are responsible for this week!

• Writing minutes
• Richard (2nd or 3rd draft)
• “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” Summary.  Look at the examples in previous blog entries if you need a reminder or examples.  (Remember to mark your dress-ups and openers!  Use the guide and checklist below to help you.)

 

_____ Is my name on my paper?

_____ Is the date on my paper?

_____ Is my paper double-spaced?

_____ Did I put a title on my paper?

_____ Did I underline my dress-up? (strong verb)

_____ Did I put a 1 beside my subject opener (see below) and a 2 beside my prepositional opener (see below) in each paragraph?

Paragraph I

_____ strong verb (action word)

_____ subject opener (The person or thing the sentence is about is one of the first words in the sentence.  If your sentence begins with the words A, An, The, I, We, You, He, She, It, They, or a name, then you most likely have a sentence that begins with a subject opener!)

_____  prepositional opener (The sentence begins with one of the words on your proposition list.  Sometimes you may have to rewrite a sentence to begin with a preposition.)

 

Paragraph II 

_____ strong verb (action word)

_____ subject opener (The person or thing the sentence is about is one of the first words in the sentence.  If your sentence begins with the words A, An, The, I, We, You, He, She, It, They, or a name, then you most likely have a sentence that begins with a subject opener!)

_____  prepositional opener (The sentence begins with one of the words on your proposition list.  Sometimes you may have to rewrite a sentence to begin with a preposition.)

 

Paragraph III

_____ strong verb (action word)

_____ subject opener (The person or thing the sentence is about is one of the first words in the sentence.  If your sentence begins with the words A, An, The, I, We, You, He, She, It, They, or a name, then you most likely have a sentence that begins with a subject opener!)

_____  prepositional opener (The sentence begins with one of the words on your proposition list.  Sometimes you may have to rewrite a sentence to begin with a preposition.)

 

Here’s a checklist you can save and print off for yourself!

November 13

 

Homework

• Writing minutes
• Outline “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”
• Summarize “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” using your outline (the same way you did for “Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs”. 
• Can’t remember how?  Look at the example of “The Elves and the Shoemaker” in previous blog entries.  
• Having a hard time understanding what happened?  This cartoon version is actually pretty good, and it might help!

Rikk-Tikki-Tavi

November 6

 

Evidently, the blog didn’t update last week.  So, I’ll try again

 

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Freewriting
• Richard the Lion-heart second draft.  (Most of you handed this in already, but for the few of you who didn’t I’ll post it just as a reminder!)
• Turn your “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” outline into a summary.  Here’s an example of “The Elves and the Shoemaker.”

I. 

1.  Shoemaker’s/ house/night/near/Christmas
2.  Shoemaker/poor/ not his fault
3.  wife / kind
4.  cut /last/ shoes/ night
5.  morning / shoes/ fixed / mystery

II.

1.  man / buys/ shoes / $
2.  2 / shoes/ fixed / morning
3.  sells / $/ becomes/ rich
4.  Shoemaker / wife/ curious
5.  spy/ night

III.

1.  see/ elves/ making/ shoes
2.  wife/ makes/ clothes
3.  elves/ take/ clothes/ dance/ sing
4.  elves/ never/ return
5.  Shoemaker / wife/ wealthy

One night sometime around Christmas, a shoemaker sat in his house. 1. The poor shoemaker was penniless through no fault of his own. Happily he had a kind wife to share his trials. 2.On this night he cut out his last pair of shoes and left them on the table to complete in the morning. However, when he awoke in the morning, the shoes were mysteriously fixed.

That day the shoemaker sold the pair of shoes for a good price. 2.With the money he was able to purchase enough leather to cut out two pairs of shoes, which, again, were finished for him in the morning. 1.The shoemaker sold the excellently crafted shoes for a good price, and over time he became wealthy. Eventually the shoemaker and his wife became curious about the shoes that mysteriously finished themselves overnight. They decided to stay hidden one night and spy on the shoes.

As midnight approached the shoemaker and his wife were surprised to see that elves entered their house to make the shoes. 2.To thank them, and because they were shockingly underdressed, the wife decided to make them some new clothes. The next night when the elves arrived they discovered their new clothes and began to dance and sing. After that night the elves never returned to the shoemakers home. 1. The shoemaker and his wife, though, remained happy and wealthy until the end of their days.

October 30

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Freewriting
• 2nd Draft of Richard I (You may want to type this out, or have someone type it for you.  It will make your final draft much easier!)
• Create an outline for your summary of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Remember!

Here’s what belongs in each section!
I. Setting & Characters

~ Who is in the story (internal & external

                  characteristics)?

~ When does the story happen?

~ Where does the story take place?

~ What is the problem that needs to be solved?

II. Plot & Conflict

~ What happens next?

~ What do they think?

~ What do they say and do?

III. Climax & Resolution

~ How is the problem solved?

~ What happens after?

~ What is learned?

 
So our outline for The Shoemaker and the Elves looked something like this.
I. 

1.  Shoemaker’s/ house/night/near/Christmas
2.  Shoemaker/poor/ not his fault
3.  wife / kind
4.  cut /last/ shoes/ night
5.  morning / shoes/ fixed / mystery

II.

1.  man / buys/ shoes / $
2.  2 / shoes/ fixed / morning
3.  sells / $/ becomes/ rich
4.  Shoemaker / wife/ curious
5.  spy/ night

III.

1.  see/ elves/ making/ shoes
2.  wife/ makes/ clothes
3.  elves/ take/ clothes/ dance/ sing
4.  elves/ never/ return
5.  Shoemaker / wife/ wealthy

October 23

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Freewriting (“This year the leaves did not fall from the trees….”)
• Read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (If you forgot your pages, check out http://www.scc.k12.wi.us/faculty/lskaalrud/Cloudy%20with%20a%20Chance%20of%20Meatballs.pdf.)  This week you may count the time you spend reading Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs toward your writing minutes. 
• Use the plot graph to organize the most important events in the story.  (The example we used in class for The Elves and the Shoemaker will be a helpful reference.)

A note about writing minutes: Your writing minutes are used primarily to record the time you spend on your writing assignments from class.  If you have finished your writing assignments in fewer than 100 minutes, writing assigned from other classes may be counted toward your weekly total.  However, if your writing assignments have not been finished (or attempted) writing for other classes cannot be counted toward your total.

October 16

 

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Freewriting
• Finish Richard the Lion-heart (Some of you have finished this)
• If you have finished Richard the Lion-heart, outline Sparta or/and Athens (You can do one or both depending on how much time it takes.  And remember to stop at 100 minutes!). 
• Note:  For those of you who like to plan ahead, in two weeks you are going to choose one composition (Richard, Athens, or Sparta) to bring through the writing process.  If you’ve only had time to complete Richard, that’s OK.  That will be the one you choose.  If you’ve had time to finish Athens and/or Sparta, you will have more choices! 
• Use your Sparta and/or Athens outline(s) to rewrite the paragraphs in your own words.  (Remember to use your dress-up—verb—and openers—subject & prepositional!)

You’ve all been doing great work these past few weeks.  Keep it up!

October 9

 

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Freewriting (How I escaped from Ninjas)
• Richard the Lion-heart paragraphs
• Make a keyword outline for each of the four paragraphs.  We did paragraph I together

I.

1.  3rd/son/Henry II / Eleanor of Aquitaine

2.  Mother’s/ favorite/ raised/ perfect/ knight

3.  age/ 11/ duchy/ Aquitaine

4. young/ distinguished/ tactics/knightly/ skills

5. courageous / leader/ Richard the Lion-Heart

6.  heroism/ praised/ sung/ troubadours

 

• Use your keyword outline to create four paragraphs.  Remember to mark one strong verb, one (1)subject opener, and one (2)prepositional opener (use your list!) We began the first paragraph in class.  Notice how we marked each element. 

(1)Richard I was the third son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.  He was his mother’s favorite son, raised as a perfect knight.  (2)At age 11 he was given the duchy of Aquitaine.

Note:  Many (thought not all) of you may not finish this assignment this week.  That’s ok.  Work for 100 minutes and stop.  If you are having difficulty adding or finding your dress-up and openers, do your best.  I’m planning to have quite a bit of in-class work time next week to “fill in gaps!”

October 2

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Freewriting (Glowing, crystal Florida souvenir)
• Compose two paragraphs.
  • Use the two remaining outlines (Dance Flies, Vulture Bees, Glaciers, Ice Shelf Glaciers, Effect of Music on Plants) to compose two new paragraphs just like you did last week.
  • Use and underline one strong verb (a dress-up) in each paragraph.

    Dress-ups are specific words included in each paragraph to help create vibrant writing.  In each paragraph you should intentionally choose one verb. Make sure that you pick a great word not just an ordinary word. Use a thesaurus if it would be helpful, but be careful not to choose a word that is new to you.

    Strong Verb

    A verb can show action, show being, help another verb to create shades of meaning, or link a noun to an adjective. Your strong verb will nearly always be action verb. Here’s an example of a sentence with a “boring” verb, and one with a strong verb.

    Grant ran to catch the bus.

    Vs.

    Grant sprinted to catch the bus.

    Notice that the meaning of the sentence is not drastically changed, but there is more information given with the strong verb. While sprinted does mean that Grant ran, it also suggests that he ran quickly and for only a short distance.

  • Use and mark with a (1), one subject opener in each paragraph.

    Good writing uses a variety of different sentence styles to keep a reader’s interest and create compelling prose. The easiest way to make sure that you are using an assortment of sentence styles is to start sentence differently.

    Subject Openers

    Subject openers are probably the easiest opener to use. This just means that the subject (and any modifying adjectives) comes first in the sentence. Subject openers are marked at the start of the sentence with a number 1. This helps you keep track of which openers you have used, and let’s me know as I grade what openers were intentional. Examples of subject openers are,

    David shivered under the tree.

    The six brown mice shivered under the tree

    Both of these sentences have a subject opener because the sentence begins with the subject or its modifying adjectives.

  • Use and mark with a (2), one prepositional opener

    Prepositional Openers

    Like its name, a sentence with a prepositional opener begins with a prepositional phrase. Use the accompanying list of prepositions to help you. Here are some examples of prepositional openers:

    In the late afternoon, David shivered under the tree.

    Up above the village, Peter sat and wondered how to relieve his boredom.

    

Each paragraph will be graded with the following checklist:

September 25

 

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Freewriting (the skeleton in the class)
• Choose any two keyword outlines and use them to create two paragraphs.  Your choices are:
• Vulture Bees
• Dance Flies
• Effect of Music on Plants
• Glaciers
• Ice shelf Glaciers

Take a look at the example below.  Notice how each keyword entry becomes a sentence in your paragraph.

Our Statue of Liberty Outline

1.  huge / monument

2.  located / Liberty Island / NY

3.  built / copper / 100s ft.

4.  given / US / France / 1884

5.  symbol / friendship

6.  2 million  / people / come

7.  monument / freedom / famous

becomes a paragraph that looks similar to

The Statue of Liberty is a huge monument. It was erected on Liberty Island near New York City. Made from copper, this gracious lady stands hundreds of feet high. Originally given to the U.S. by France as a symbol of friendship, the Statue of Liberty remains an American landmark. Today, over two million people visit the statue every year. The Statue of Liberty remains a world famous tribute to freedom.

 

Here’s another example.

 

Note to parents:  This time through I’m expecting some choppy sentences and little sentence variety.  Next week I’ll be addressing sentence variety.  Also, topic and concluding sentences will be addressed a bit later in the course, so they will not be assessed in this assignment.

September 18

 

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Freewriting (My day began with my spaceship crashing into….)
• Make a keyword outline of “Glaciers”, “Ice Shelf Glaciers”, and “The Effect of Music on Plants.”

September 11

 

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Freewriting:  A small box lay under a tree…. (Work on this AFTER your other writing assignments if you have time.)
• Create key word outlines for Dance Flies and Vulture Bees paragraphs. 

     We ran out of time in class today, so if you’re not feeling comfortable with creating key word outlines, never fear.  We will be going over them again next week too!  Give it a try this week.  If you’re getting frustrated, stop and work on your freewriting.  Try again the next day.  Still don’t “get it?”  We’ll work on it together next week!   

This is what we learned today:

• Our first unit focuses solely on creating a writing outline.  You do not need to choose the words or decide on sequence.  Just like an artist copies famous works of art, we will be copying a good paragraph.  And just like the student-artist copies to learn, not to take credit for another’s work, we will use this unit to learn how to take notes, understanding that we’re not creating anything of our own.
• First, we read our paragraph.
• Second, we count the sentences and create that many entries in our outline
• Third, we read each sentence and choose the key words for that sentence. 
• We should choose 3-5 words (numbers and symbols don’t count toward the count!)
• We should choose only important words.  Words like the, and, it, to, etc. should not be considered key words.
• These key words are to help remind you about the content of the sentences.  Each person may choose different key words.

Here are some examples.

First the paragraph:

The Statue of Liberty    

     The Statue of Liberty is a huge monument.  It is located on Liberty Island, New York.  It is built of copper and extends hundreds of feet into the air.  The Statue of Liberty was given to the U.S. by France in 1884.  It is a symbol of friendship.  Over two million people per year come to see the Statue of Liberty.  This large monument to freedom is world famous.

The paragraph becomes this outline:

The Statue of Liberty

1.  huge/monument

2. located/Liberty Island/NY

3. built/copper/100s/ft.

4.  given/U.S./France/1884

5. symbol/friendship

6. 2 million/people/come

7.  monument/freedom/famous

 

Here’s another example.  First the paragraph.

Infrasound and Elephants

     Infrasound refers to sounds of low frequency, too low for the human ear.  Normally humans can hear sounds in a range of ten octaves.  Although elephants make many sound which people can hear, they also use inaudible calls to communicate with each other.  Elephant infrasound is called “rumbling” and can be heard more than three miles away.  Over the last decade, scientists have designed machines to record and reproduce ultrasound and infrasound.  This has helped zoologist explain some of the more mysterious elephant behaviors.  Before 1988, we did not know that elephants could hear two octaves below humans and therefore could communicate in infrasound.

 

Then the outline:

Infrasound and Elephants

1.  low/frequency/human/ear

2.  humans/hear/ten/octaves

3.  use/inaudible/calls/communicate/other

4.  infrasound/rumbling/heard/+3 miles

5.  scientists/designed/machines/record/reproduce

6.  explain/mysterious/behavior

7.  before 1988/didn’t know/ infrasound

 

You may have chosen some different words.  That’s ok!  Outlines are for you to use and include information that you find important.

September 4

 

Homework

• Writing Minutes
• Freewriting (My day without gravity).  Do this if you need extra writing minutes, otherwise I’m not planning to collect this as we didn’t have time in class to begin.
• Write a paragraph (whatever you think a paragraph is) about your summer
  • (This can be fiction or non-fiction, serious or humorous!) 
  • This will be graded simply pass (you turned it in) or fail (you didn’t turn it in).