April 16
If you didn’t give me your essay today, you MUST give it to me next time!
Then, look at the boring sentences, below. Rewrite each one so that it includes specific details.
- My grandma is nice.
- Garbage covered the kitchen floor.
- Our yard is a mess.
- Dinner is delicious tonight.
- She bought new clothes at the mall.
- Grandma looks wealthy.
April 9
Write the final draft of your essay. You are welcome to turn it in next week; if you do, I will be able to get it back to you on the last day of class.
But, if you need more time, you may turn it in on the last day of class, which is April 23. If you do that, though, I won’t be able to get it back to you.
Here is the checksheet:
April 2
You have JUST ONE MORE writing assignment for this year! Yay!
You are writing a 5-paragraph essay about anything. On the handout I gave you today are lots of ideas, and you’re welcome to use one of them. Otherwise, you must think of your own topic.
Remember that after you think of your topic, you must think of THREE THEMES to go with it. (Each of your paragraphs will explain one of the themes.)
This week, use the “outline form” I gave you to write an outline for your essay. I am particularly interested in your “three themes”; you can save the introduction and conclusion for later.
To get a jump on the assignment, you can write drafts of your three theme paragraphs also.
March 26
So, your one and only job this week is to fix your book critique final draft! Take the check sheet you used today and make your draft stupendous.
You’re finished with the most difficult part – now it’s just getting those itty-bitty details lined up and ready to impress me.
March 19
Did you write Haiku for Mrs. Mealey? I’m looking forward to reading those!
Now it’s time to put all of your paragraphs together in a book critique. Miss Abby was supposed to hand out my “The Cat in the Hat” critique with boxes in the left margin for each paragraph. Those boxes contain the very important components of each paragraph, so follow directions!
If you follow directions and write a “perfect” book critique, you’ll be done!
If you don’t, you’ll be doing it all over until it is.
So, do your best the first time, K?
March 12
Sorry for the late post, everybody!
Please do Exercises 19b and 19c.
Write rough drafts of your three body paragraphs —
- Setting and character
- Plot and conflict
- Climax and resolution
These are drafts!
March 5
Practice [5] and [6] openers by completing these exercises 15b and 16c on your own paper.
We’ve begun writing your book critique with a “rough draft” of your first paragraph today. (You turned this in, so don’t worry about writing another one.)
One paragraph of your book critique is a paragraph describing the setting of your story. Another paragraph describes the characters. This week, make 2 KWO’s, one for setting and one for characters.
If I were writing a book critique on Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, this is what my KWO’s would look like:
Setting
- Imaginary, world, Seuss
- Simple, drawings, Seuss, style
- Red, blue, green, orange
- Unreal, plants, train, defy, gravity
- Big, red, box, lock
- Boat, water, overloaded
Characters
(I’ll have this one posted soon, so check back!)
February 27
IT’S TIME. Please revise your rough draft into a final draft. I gave you a Check Sheet today, which listed the grading criteria I am looking for. Look it over carefully!
Staple everything together in this order from bottom to top:
- Your big, working KWO.
- Your report rough draft.
- Your report final draft.
- The Check Sheet.
Ta da!
Next week we shall begin talking about writing a book critique. Bring the book you’ve been reading for this assignment to class!
February 20
- Today you chose THREE themes for your tennis shoes report. (Your themes came from the KWO’s you’ve written on the four articles I gave you). They were —
- Names, tennis, shoes
- History, tennis, shoes
- Development, tennis, shoes
- Use, tennis, shoes
- Popular, brands, creators
- Then, you learned how to smoosh the KWOs from your four articles together to make one, big KWO. Our rules were –
- Only write unique information. This means that you cannot duplicate information which is repeated in more than one article. (That would be a big waste of time!)
- If you realize you didn’t have enough information, that’s too bad.
- Then, I took the articles away. You will never see them again!
- You are NOT allowed to take any more notes. You are not allowed to use any information you think you already know about tennis shoes. You are ESPECIALLY NOT allowed to use the internet. I promise that I will know if you’ve used the internet.
- Using your one, big KWO, write a rough draft paragraph on each theme. You will have a total of three paragraphs.
February 13
- If you finish writing your parody of Robert Burns’s “A Red, Red Rose” and recite it aloud to your mom ON VALENTINES DAY, I shall reward you next week. Have your mom write a note or send me an email to confirm that you’ve done this.
- Read the next two articles I gave you today about tennis shoes and make KWO’s for each of them. Remember that you are gathering important information to use in your future report…so make wise decisions
- Please do Exercises 14a and 14b on your own paper for next time.
- Thank you!
February 6
First, please read pages 78-79 in your exercise book, and complete Exercise 13a. Do this on your own paper, so that you can turn it in next time. Also, if you need more “ly” examples, turn to page 131, where I’ve given you a list.
Then, read the two articles I gave you about tennis shoes. For each one, use the KWO form to take notes on the topics there. You might not have any information on a particular topic, but that’s okay. Do your best and gather as much information as you can.
DO NOT write your paragraphs yet. DO NOT do any research on your own. You must use only the information I give you!
January 30
Today was “writing stations” day. You participated by writing for a length of time on three prompts –
- I am a …
- Write about green.
- Mystery story ending.
This week please choose one of those and turn it into a published paper. (A “published paper” is a final draft, worthy of a grade). Turn it in, along with your other two prompts.
Then, we learned about [2] Sentence Opener. See pages 71-74. Do Exercise 12c on your own paper to turn in next time.
January 23
Let’s wrap up our Space Needle report this week. Do these –
- Write the final draft of your report, including a two-sentence introduction and a one-sentence conclusion. More information about that below.
- Do Exercise 11c on page 67, but with a couple of changes in directions —
- Choose JUST ONE of the example sentences at the bottom of page 67.
- Use it to incorporate ALL SEVEN www.asia dress-up words, just like my example with “Benjamin shivered under the tree.”
- Write your answers on notebook paper. You will turn them in for a grade.
- Okay, about the report!
- You must use all six dress-ups! I will be looking for ly, who/which, because, strong verb, quality adjective, and www.asia. I want to see at least two in each paragraph.
- Underline each dress-up.
- Write a two-sentence introduction paragraph. My example in class was this one:
The Seattle Space Needle is a unique landmark. Its history, structure, and special events make the Needle a famous attraction for visitors and locals alike.
Notice that the first sentence is a “hook” to get your readers’ attention. The second sentence states the three themes of your paper.
D. You must write a one-sentence concluding paragraph which restates your three themes. It also clinches to the first sentence in your introduction. Whew! This was my example:
The Space Needle’s history, structure, and special events make it an attraction for out-of-town tourists and people who make their homes in the Northwest.
E. Your middle paragraphs (the three-theme ones) must have a topic-clincher relationship.
F. Write a title for your report.
Whoa. Report structure looked complicated at first, don’t you think? If this is your first try at writing a report with such persnickety directions, you may feel overwhelmed.
However, after you’ve written a few, you’ll have them down. Let me know if you’re confused!
January 16
Any time you have a big writing project, such as the Space Needle report we are working on right now, you must follow three steps in order.
- Make a KWO.
- Write a rough draft.
- Write a final draft, including dress-ups.
You have written a KWO.
Now it is time to write a rough draft of your three KWO paragraphs.
Also, please do Exercise 11b in your book.
January 9
Welcome back! For the next few weeks you will be learning how to write a report on the Space Needle. Today I gave you a handout with Space Needle information, which you will use to write your report. This is important: YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE ANY OTHER SOURCE except for mine. Got it? Great!
When you write a report, your first task is to “think three themes.” We did that in class today; these are the themes we listed —
- history
- events
- dimensions/structure
- tourist activities
- restaurant
- symbolism as a landmark
We wrote a KWO for “history” —
I. history, space, needle
- talles, west, Mississippi, River
- built, just, 407 days
- cost, 4,500,000, dollars
- World’s Fair, 1962, “Century 21”
- Edward Carlson, designer, napkin
- John Graham, UFO, top, balloon
- painted, theme, colors
For this report you will write three paragraphs, one “theme” for each paragraph. Choose two more themes and write a KWO for them, just like we did for “history.” You are welcome to choose another theme if you like, and you don’t have to use our history theme.
Lastly, think about a novel you could read for a Book Critique in March. I’ll ask you to let me know your choice in a couple of weeks.
Then, complete exercises 10b on page 62 and 9a on page 55. Write in your book.
November 14
Please do Exercise 8d in your workbook.
You’re a trapper in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. You set your trap lines over many miles of snowy terrain, hoping to get enough beaver pelts to make lots of money. Because the forest is so wild and you don’t’ want to lug your stuff around for three months, you cache it.
A cache is a hiding place for stuff. It needs to be hidden from animals (coyotes are good diggers!) from other trappers (not everybody is as nice as you are!) and safe from water. Stealthily and sneakily, you find a good spot and dig a hole. Then you draw yourself a map so you can find it again, and off you go.
Caches are good hiding places. Word caches are terrific tools for writing. We made two caches today.
Below are Thanksgiving Word Cache and Christmas Word Cache. Open yours and print it. Using the words from your cache (and adding lots more if you can!) write anything you want with them.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Poem
- Paragraph
- Letter to Mrs. B or your grandma
- Description about your family’s traditions
- Short story
- Instructions on how to fix a holiday meal.
Make sure your writing is 1-2 pages long. Include as many Word Cache words as you can.
November 7
Finish your picture writing draft this week. Follow these important directions:
- Double-space your paper.
- Write a cool title and center it at the top of your paper.
- Skip a line and write your “by line” beneath the title. (A by line looks like this: by Sam Smith.)
- Make sure you have three paragraphs, one for each picture.
- Each paragraph must start with the Central Fact and end with the Central Fact restated. (This is the same as our “topic-clincher rule”.
- In each paragraph, include “ly”, “because”, and “who/which” dress-ups.
In your exercise book, read about the “who/which” dress-up on page 48 and do Exercise 8a on page 49. You may write in your book this time.
October 31
We’re working with the “because” dress-up still, because it’s a good one!
Please do Exercise 7c and 7d. You may first do them in your book, but then copy them ON TO YOUR OWN NOTEBOOK PAPER so that you can turn them in!
Today we worked on Writing from Pictures. You have a KWO handout and a new set of pictures. Use the KWO handout to outline the story, being careful to state the “central fact” of the picture at the beginning and at the end of each paragraph.
Fill the rest of the lines with details – think about naming the character, thinking about any “backstory” you can add about her life, etc.
When you’re finished with the KWO, write a draft of your story. This is just a rough draft, so it doesn’t need to be perfect!
I finished my draft of the one we worked on in class. See it below –
On a warm sunny day, a ball suddenly came flying through the air. It was a beach ball, colored orange, blue and green. A brother and his friends had inflated the ball to play Monkey in the Middle. He had chucked the ball viciously into the air, straight at his little sister. Samantha, who was walking in the park, had been daydreaming about the candy shop. She was oblivious to the skyrocketing orb that was zooming straight towards her.
Samantha was petrified when she looked up to see the ball careening towards her face! Although she was a cute, blonde 7-year-old girl, she was also troublesome. As a tomboy, she liked to play in the mud and sass her brother. Samantha frequently fought with Jimmy, and their parents were always telling them to treat each other kindly. Just yesterday, Samantha purposefully spilled her milk all over Jimmy’s cookies, making him furious! The moment she saw the ball heading straight towards her face, she knew Jimmy was getting revenge.
Falling to the ground as the ball slammed her face, Samantha lay there for a second. Then, she jumped to her feet and ran to her mother. She complained, tearfully, that Jimmy had hit her on purpose! “Well,” replied her mom, “you were mean to him yesterday, weren’t you? Samantha, you need to do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Samantha, sore from the ball and the fall, walked to Jimmy and apologized.
October 24
We’ll focus on some grammar and dress-ups exercises this week, and then begin your last writing project for 2023 next time. Woo hoo1
In your exercise book —
- Read pages 27-31 and do Exercises 4a, 4b, and 4c.
- Continue practicing “ly” dress-ups by doing Exercise 6c.
- Read pages 43-45 and do Exercise 71 and 7b.
October 17
You and your partners are working on writing an original fable, and this week one of you should be writing the draft. Remember that all of you are responsible for the new fable, so you should have participated in the revision. Whoever is writing the next draft must bring it to class next week.
Then, do these —
- Subjects Quiz, page 26.
- I will give you a TEST on subjects in class next time, so practice!
- Read in your exercise book Chapter Two, pages 37-41. Do Exercise 6a and 6b.
October 10
We’ve read a couple of fables in the past weeks, and we’ve written narrative summaries about them. Now, it’s time to write some fables of our own!
You and your group decided on characters, setting, a problem, and a “moral” for a fable today. I would like each one of you to work by yourself and write a rough draft of your fable. Will it be the same as the rest of your group? I HOPE NOT. If yours is the same, it means you didn’t work by yourself.
When you come to class next week, I’ll let you get back in your groups and compare your stories!
So, do these –
- Write a rough draft of your fable. Make sure it is your own!
- Do Exercise 3b in your exercise book. First line out the prepositional phrases, then find the verb, and lastly circle that subject!
October 3
Narrative summary writing is confusing! We are used to telling a story from beginning to middle to end, so it’s weird to not do that.
But, you’re learning that a paragraph has a specific job to do. The job of the first paragraph in narrative summary is to only describe characters and setting…NO PLOT. That’s tough.
This week –
- Rewrite your narrative summary of “The Salt Merchant and the Donkey.” Remember the rules for formatting? If not, look back at the previous assignment!
- Write a three-paragraph rough draft of the KWO you made with your buddies today. You’re either using “Belling the Cat” or “The Dog and the Wolf.” Yep, you can change your mind if you like, but you’ll have to write a new KWO!
- In your Exercise Book, please do Exercise 2g and 2h on pages 20-21.
September 26
Uh oh. Some of you need more practice on prepositions! We’ll work on those in class next time, but until then, please read pages 16-19 and do Exercise 2e and 2f.
Today we began to learn a new type of writing called “narrative summary.” We read a fable, “The Salt Merchant and His Donkey” and talked about the characters and the moral of the story. Below is the KWO we made in class:
I. Salt, merchant, patient, wise
- Seashore, stream, rocky
- Donkey, stubborn, foolish, lazy
- Daytime, possibly, Morocco, Africa
II. Donkey, tripped, stream
- salt, dissolved, load, lighter
- merchant, donkey, disobedient
- return, salt, donkey, purposefully
III. Merchant, solved, problem
- Back, seashore, sponges
- Donkey, tried, trick, again
- Sponges, soaked, water
- Load, heavier, donkey, shocked!
- Write 3-4 words stating the moral here.
Your job this week is to take the KWO and write a 3-paragraph rough draft.
September 19
Today we discussed what it means to “edit.” Editing is the process of looking over a draft, finding all the boo-boos, and fixing them. I would like you to learn how to spot boo-boos in your own writing, but you are also welcome to ask your mom or dad to look at your drafts, too.
When you edit, or when you ask another person to edit your draft, you should use “edit marks.” I gave you a handout on those today, and we practiced editing in class.
This week please rewrite your “Sunburn” draft. First, edit it (or ask someone else to help you do that). Then, write a final draft using FINAL DRAFT RULES we talked about today. I’ll list them below.
Now, some of you think you’ve written a “perfect” draft, and you’re wondering why you must write another one. Well, because all writing can be improved. Look over your paragraph and ask yourself how you can make your sentences more appealing to your reader – more clear, more descriptive, more strong verbs – and change it somehow.
FINAL DRAFT RULES
- Write a title for your paragraph on the top line, centered.
- Skip a line, and then write your by-line beneath the title, also centered.
- Most important rule of all – DOUBLE SPACE YOUR PAPER.
- This means that if you are writing your paragraph by hand, skip lines as you go.
- If you are typing your paper, set the paragraph spacing to “2.0”
- Do NOT write in the margins. If you are writing by hand, look for the red lines going down the page on each side. (By the way, the holes belong on the LEFT.)
- If you are writing by hand, please write neatly.
Hand in your KWO again, your “rough paragraph” again, and your final draft which is somehow better than your first one.
Lastly, do Exercise 2d on page 14 of your Exercise Book. Cross out those prepositional phrases first, and the verbs will be more noticeable!
Thank you!
September 12, 2023
After a rousing game of “Preposition Monkey” this morning, we learned about boogers. Sheesh.
You all appeared to enjoy both of those activities, which made your English teacher happy. Now, let’s talk about homework.
Linked here is a paragraph about “Sunburn”. Print the paragraph. Read it. Write a Key Word Outline for it. Wait a day or two, and then write your own paragraph from you KWO. Don’t look back at the original!
Due are your KWO and your paragraph. I’ll be looking for a topic-clincher relationship, of course.
Then, please read pages 9-12 in your Exercise book. Do Exercise 2b on page 9. Remember to watch for those helping verbs.
September 5, 2023
Today we talked about good writing, and that you will write better in April than you do now! For homework this week, I would like you to write a paragraph and to complete an exercise in your textbook.
- Write a paragraph about one adventure you had last summer. Your paragraph must be at least 5 sentences long; it can be as long as 10 sentences, but not longer. Begin with an outline, and then write the paragraph from it. I want to see your outline AND your final draft.
Do your very best! Although this paragraph doesn’t count much toward your final grade, it will give me an idea of your writing skills.
- Read pages 1-6 in your Exercise Book. Do Exercise 1b, page 6. You are welcome to write in your book, unless your parent doesn’t want you to; in that case, you may copy the page OR rewrite the sentences on notebook paper.
Both assignments are due next week, September 12, for a grade.
August 28, 2023
Hello Middle School WRITERS!
This is your “homework blog” page. You will look here to see your assignments for the week, so get used to checking it regularly. Since our class meets on Tuesdays from 10 – 10:50 a.m., you can expect to see your assignment here Wednesday mornings, by 8 a.m. (Maybe sooner. But maybe not.)
Your first assignment is to bring me your MIRACLE RANCH WAIVER FORM. If you’ve already turned that in, maybe in science class, great. It counts for both classes! Yay!
Besides that, please bring a binder with plenty of notebook paper, a pen/pencil, and your textbook.
I’ll see you soon!
Mrs. B