8/28/08

Today was a journal day. If you were absent today, you should make up your journal by writing a half page about a topic of your choice.

After journals we talked more about the writing process. So far, we have explored prewriting, drafting, and we just started doing some revising. Today we revised some more. You assignment was to choose a sentence in your paragraph to rework. I asked you to change your verb in your sentence to an active verb. An active verb is a verb that has a built in adverb (a word that modifies a verb). For example, jump is a verb that covers a broad range of activities. We can use a more specific word than jump--hop, leap, pounce, bound, vault, bolt, spring, hurdle . . . Each of these words show us how someone jumped. A hop is a different kind of jump than a hurdle. There is a built-in description of how the jump was performed. So find a great active verb, and replace your boring old verb.

Next, add an adjective. An adjective is a word that describes a noun. So, you should find the main noun in your sentence. Once you've found it, think about words you could use to describe that noun--color, shape, size, mood, state of being . . . Insert that word before your noun.

Next, add an adverb. Now that we have a great verb, we should say how that verb is being performed. Adverbs often end in "ly". Did your horse hop lazily? Or did he madly bound? Add the adverb before or after the verb.

Now we're going to add a prepositional phrase. A preposition is a word that relates another word to a noun or a pronoun in the sentence. A phrase is a group of words in a sentence that adds meaning or clarifies something. Our prepositional phrase is going to tell us either where or when the action happened. In the field, around the corner, after his midnight snack, behind his left ear . . . Choose a great preposition phrase to clarify the action.

After you have reworked your sentence, it is time to proofread your paper. This is the editing step in the writing process. You want to make sure you've spelled all your words correctly, that you have correct punctuation and capitalization, that you have good grammar.

Now we're ready to pull it all together for the final draft. Rewrite your paragraph. It should be 5-7 sentences long. Your sentences should be anywhere from 8-20 words long. I want your very best writing. I want it to be neat. I want an indent on the first line. I want periods at the ends of sentences. I want descriptive language. Give me a good, polished paragraph.

I would like you to staple all your papers in this order, from top to bottom: colored picture, interview notes, 1st draft, final draft. Make sure your name is clearly displayed on your paper.

Congratulations! You've finished your first writing assignment in Mrs. Cheney's language arts class! You're well on your way to learning the writing process. This is a tool that can help you throughout your life. Way to go!

8/27/08

Today we are taking a reading inventory. Click here and follow the directions. After you have finished your inventory, click on your reading grade level to find books written on your level.

After completing the inventory, we are heading to the library for a chat with Mrs. Wouden and a chance to check out a book.

8/26/08

Here's what we did today:

Journals
There is a specific format I would like to you follow when making journal entries. I would like to you write the date at the top of the entry. On the very next line you should respond to the prompt on the white board. To receive full credit, you should write from margin to margin (the red lines on the sides of the paper) from the first hole to the second hole. This is one half of the page. I require a half page entry for all prompts. You may start the next entry at the half-way mark (the second hole) of the paper. If you have written more than a half page on the previous entry, turn the page and start your next entry at the top of the paper. You may write on the fronts and backs of your paper. If a journal entry I require is shorter than a half page (DLAs), you should skip to the half-way mark to start your next entry. I only want entries to start at the tops and middles of your paper.

If you are absent on a journal day (Tuesdays and Thursdays), you should make up the journal entry by writing a half page about any topic you choose. Journal entries will be worth five points each. That means 24 entries will be worth 120 by the time we finish the trimester. Please keep up with your journal entries. It is far easier to keep up than to catch up.

Tuesday Teaser
I read a Tuesday Teaser from No More Dead Dogs by Gordan Korman today. I will be reading a few pages from books of different genres most Tuesdays. Your job is to listen and consider whether you'd enjoy trying a book from that genre.

The Writing Process
We continued our work with our writing assignment, following the steps of The Writing Process. We finished our prewriting yesterday, so today we progressed to the second step--drafting. Drafting is organizing your ideas into sentences and paragraphs. The first draft is not supposed to be perfect. It is supposed to be something you will rework to make better. We we draft, the best thing to do is to write as many of your ideas as you can into sentences as quickly as you can. When all your sentences are written, it is time to move on to the next step--revising.

To revise, you should look closely at what you have written and make changes to your draft to make it better. Look at the ideas. Do they flow, one to another? Do your sentences make sense? Do you need to add details to clarify your ideas? To you need to take out some unnecessary details? These are the questions you should ask yourself during the revision step of The Writing Process.

Today we traded our paragraphs with our partners, and we helped each other revise. The job of the partner was to write some notes on the paragraph to help the writer improve his/her work. We had enough time to read each others' paragraphs, but we didn't have enough time to finish the revision step of The Writing Process. We will continue with this project on Thursday.

Coming Attraction
Tomorrow we will be in the computer lab doing reading inventories. We will also have some time in the library for checking out a good reading book. We will probably have some time to read tomorrow. Our regular reading time will begin the first fifteen minutes of class on Friday.

Thanks for another great day!

First day of school!!!

Welcome to language arts with Mrs. Cheney. Today we discussed rules and the disclosure document. If you were not here, you will need to get a disclosure document from me to take home to your parents to sign. Bring it back tomorrow for 5 points.

We also started a writing activity. We interviewed partners to find interesting experiences they have had. We will be writing a paragraph about our partners in class tomorrow. We will follow the writing process for all writing activities. Today we finished the prewriting step of the writing process.

I'm excited to get to know all of you. I love teaching and I'm happy to be your teacher.

For bonus points: The first student from each class period to tell me the first step of the writing process will earn 5 extra credit points.