Presentations & Homework
I'm still working on grading the rough drafts. with a few left.
If you have had a conference, your paper is due 10/12
If you have not had a conference, your paper is due 10/14
10/10/18 - 9th grade field trip
10/8/18
Writer's Workshop - Writer's Conferences
Creative Writing 2.0 due Friday 10/12/18*
10/4/18
|
MRS. ARMSTRONG'S WRITING PHILOSOPHY
My goal with the 4 writing stages, is to teach students that the writing process is practice for their 100 pt papers. What matters to their grade is the 100 pt paper. I began to understand this way of grading (competency based grading) through coaching. I do not punish my swimmers for showing up to practice and working hard. Instead, I support them, show them how to correct their strokes and give workouts that allow them to build their skills. This hard work at practice pays off at the swim meets and their improvements in their time, stroke, distance, etc. I want my students to look at the writing process as practice. I do not want them to be afraid of writing. Giving them practice, and coaching them, allows me to support and help students. I do not have to fail a paper because the ideas were not fully developed, or other learning errors were made. Instead I can coach them, give them suggestions, help them to review their work, and find tricks that work for them. The writing practice is apparent through their last draft, allowing students to understand that the practice is directly related to success, and ALL students can succeed in writing. |
(Today was a great day. The majority of students turned in their Beta Draft and now they are working on their rough drafts.
ROUGH DRAFTS ARE DUE OCTOBER 5, 2018 BY MIDNIGHT. CLICK FOR THE ROUGH DRAFT CHECK OFF PAGE There are at least 4 stages to our writing, 1) The outline - the purpose of the outline is to organize your thoughts and ideas. For the creative writing this was developed in the Creative Writing Play Book. 2) The Beta Draft - According to Urban Dictionary, A beta is a version of a program, game etc... that is an unfinished version released to either the public a select few or whoever signs up to beta test it for bugs or glitches. With this in mind students develop their Beta Draft. This is the first version of their paper. The ideas are usually there, but the paper is raw and needs some work. There is where it is tested by our peers. 3) The Rough Draft - This is where students revise their Beta Drafts according to their peer's suggestion and the check off page. When they turn in this draft, I read the paper and give feed back and support. 4) The Draft - Students take my suggestions and feed back and revise their work and turn it in. I grade these papers looking at three sections, ideas, structure, and use of language, the papers are worth 100 points. This stage is called The Draft because, although I grade it, the draft can be revised. Students can keep revising their work until they are happy with the grade. If students concentrate on each stage of the process (the little details), by the end of the process students will usually end with an A or B on the paper. If they are not happy with their grade on the Draft, they can revise it, as long as they have completed stages 1-3. If they have not completed the stages, they must go back and complete each stage. However, if a student can earn an A or B on their draft without completing the stages, and they are happy with that grade, they do not have to go back. |
10/2/18
|
|
Today was an unsure day. The Beta Drafts for the creative short story was due at least 30 minutes before each class. This way, I was able to pint the stories and have them ready for the students to peer edit the Beta Drafts.
To my delight, students were turning in wonderful stories and I could tell that they were working hard. To my sadness, many students missed the deadline and were unable to participate in this important process. Writing is a process, we must practice, revise, and allow ourselves to grow and develop these stories. The purpose of the Beta Draft is for the students to test out their stories. See if there is a character, conflict, plot, and solution. The Beta Draft is developed to allow students to put their first ideas and thoughts down on paper. As we learned, once our ideas our down, it is easier to change them and make them grow. In order to learn this process, we played with shape blocks. We started with 9 blocks, created a design and were able to pick up 3 more block to enhance our designs. Here is what some of the students came up with. |
9/28/18
Friday - Test Day.
Students discovered The District's new online reading assessment. Results will be available to the students during reading conferences the first week of October.
Students discovered The District's new online reading assessment. Results will be available to the students during reading conferences the first week of October.
9/26/18
|
|
Students participated in Writer's Workshop - Dialogue.
Dialogue is very important in writing. A conversation between characters helps to develop the character, the tone, and the mood of a piece. DUE - October 2 - The Beta Draft for the creative short story. The beta draft is a very first draft of a story and is still in the testing phase of writing. The Beta Draft is meant to share with a friend or someone who can help give you direction for your story. This is a great way to get advice and re-work your story. Please note that the Beta Drafts are due before class. 1B - 7:00am 3B - 9:30am 4B - 11:30 This allows me time to print and have work ready for students to participate in the Beta Drafting process. When students are done reading each other's Beta Drafts, they give the papers back to the author, and the author begins to revise their stories. The Rough Draft is due October 5 for all classes. |
9/24/18
|
|
Students continued to work on their Creative Writing Playbooks.
To work on: 1) Creative Writing Play Book (due by the end of class) 2) Complete all Slides for the Short Stories 3) Begin reading "The House on Maple Street" by Stephen King The due dates are as follows: September 24, 2018 - Creative Writing Play Book - Google Classroom - End of class October 2, 2018 - Creative Writing Beta Draft - Google Classroom - Before class 1B - 7:00am 3B - 10:00am 4B - 12:30 October 5, 2018 - Rough Draft - Google Classroom - End of class October 12, 2018 - Draft* - Google Classroom - End of class * The Draft is worth 100 points. If students earn below an 80% they can revise their stories as long as they have completed, and turned in on time, The Play Book, The Beta Draft, and the Rough Draft. If a student wishes to revise their drafts and the work is not done, they must go back and complete all of the work before I will accept a revised draft. |
| ||
9/20/18
|
|
Today we officially started our creative writing projects.
The due dates are as follows: September 24, 2018 - Creative Writing Play Book - Google Classroom - End of class October 2, 2018 - Creative Writing Beta Draft - Google Classroom - Before class 1B - 7:00am 3B - 10:00am 4B - 12:30 October 5, 2018 - Rough Draft - Google Classroom - End of class October 12, 2018 - Draft* - Google Classroom - End of class * The Draft is worth 100 points. If students earn below an 80% they can revise their stories as long as they have completed, and turned in on time, The Play Book, The Beta Draft, and the Rough Draft. If a student wishes to revise their drafts and the work is not done, they must go back and complete all of the work before I will accept a revised draft. To work on: 1) Creative Writing Play Book 2) Make sure The Harp is read and slide 23 is filled out 3) Read the 3rd Floor Window |
9/18/18
|
|
9/18/18
- Remember to read the stories before you come to class. When you do this, you are prepared to do the work in class. This will get you ahead and help to de-stress you because you will not have catch up work in the evening, and you can focus on the story. Things to complete: Slide 23 - The Harp Read "Third Floor Bedroom Window" by Kate DiCamillo |
| ||
9/14/18
|
|
Today was Test Day. Students took a test on voice. The goal was to write a paragraph about pizza in three different voices; their own, a 5 year-old, and a mystery voice.
Homework - make sure you have read "The Harp" on Tuesday we will discuss both stories and the slides that go with them. Stay Awesome and have a great weekend. |
9/12/18 - I'm out for the day. All work is on google classroom - Remember this is a test on Friday!
|
1) Warm UP - slide 14 (Interactive Notebook)
2) Read "Under the Rug" (google classroom / learnstrong.co) 3) Complete slide 22 that goes along with "Under the Rug" (Interactive Notebook) 4) Read "The Harp" (google classroom / learnstrong.co) 5) Complete slide 23 that goes along with "The Harp" (Interactive Notebook) 6) If you complete the above, begin working on the short story notes. (Google Classroom - Short Story) |
|
| ||
9/10/18
|
|
9/10/18
Today students were introduced to their text books, tone and mood. They unpacked their writing assignment, practiced writing, and began to discover who Harris Burdick is. The Writing Assignment is as follows: Your assignment is to write an original narrative from real or imagined experiences or events. Your story must include a variety of narrative techniques*—such as foreshadowing, point of view, figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and/or irony—as well as effective details and a well- structured sequence of events. * instead of focusing on narrative techniques (later in the year) the 9th grade team is focusing on literary elements - such as plot, setting, characters, conflict, diction, syntax, tone, mood, etc. - to develop their short stories. - Students are brainstorming and participating in daily writing to help them develop ideas. - Students will begin working on developing their stories the week of the 17th and turn them in the first week in October. |
9/6/18
|
|
9/6/18
Today students were introduced to their interactive notebook, we discussed style, and learned about style elements. Homework: Read "Under the Rug" by Jon Scieszka (found on google classroom of just below) this should take you 5-10 minutes. Just read to enjoy Scieszka's style. Do not take notes, annotate, or highlight.
| ||||
9/4/18
|
9/4/18
Excellent first week! Please make sure that you have completed the following by next class: 1) Turned in your syllabus signature page 2) Complete the 9th Grade Survey (google classroom) 3) Read "The Stolen Party" (google classroom) 4) Compete the reading assessment for "The Stolen Party" (google classroom) 5) Join Quizlet (google classroom & learnstrong.co) 6) Complete the General Writing Terms Test (quizlet) 7) Complete the Defining Style Terms Test (quizlet) 8) Join Remind (learnstrong.co) |
8/29/18
|
|
Today was pre-assessment day. It's very important for me to get an understanding of the knowledge the students bring with them to class. The pre-assessments are created to give myself and the students a base line of what they know and what they need to know.
The pre-assessments include: 1) A style and literary element questions based upon "The Stolen Party" 2) A writing vocabulary pre-assessment 3) A style vocabulary pre-assessment 4) A general ELA knowledge pre-assessment, base line for the year. REMEMBER TO COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING BY TUESDAY: 1) Turn in signed syllabus form 2) Complete the 9th Grade Questionnaire (Form) 3) Join Remind NEW Join Quizlet class. |
Presentation from 8/28/18
|
|
8/27/18Welcome to school. Today we went over the basic information for the class.
- www.learnstrong.co = my website where you will find information - The Class Syllabus = Students, remember to show your parents/guardians the syllabus, have them fill out the form, and bring it back to class on Wednesday. The syllabus can be found on the home page or on the google classroom. - Remind = an amazing communication tool. If you didn't have your phone, be sure to sign up. Codes are on the home page. - Google Classroom = The majority of our assignments will be posted on the google classroom. If you didn't get the chance to join, remember to join (codes are on the home page) and take the questionnaire. TO COMPLETE BY Tuesday 9/5/18 1) Turn in signed syllabus form 2) Complete the 9th Grade Questionnaire (Form) 3) Join Remind |