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!”