Day 23: Last Day to Workshop Your Essay

Today is the last day to add the finishing touches to your essay.

The biggest area of concern is sensory details usage.
In a group of three: each person will read the anecdote portion of their essay...that's the "five minute movie" to the other two listeners.  Leave out the intro and conclusion.  The two listeners need to then brainstorm a list of additional ideas of details that the writer could incorporate, using the worksheet Mr. Stowell handed out.  Switch roles until every person winds up with four worksheets of suggestions.

The second area of concern is to check your draft for spelling and capitalization.  Any word that you see and are unsure of the spelling, double-check.  That's why you have the iPads...use the dictionary.

Homework:  Final draft is due Sunday night, by passing it into Edmodo.

Specific Details Brainstorm List

While the reader reads their anecdote to you, brainstorm a list of details that they could add to create a more vivid picture.  You must come up with a minimum of two details under each category.

Proper Nouns (What things needed a name to help create a clearer picture?)

1.

2.

Smell (What smells could be described in the scene?)

1.

2.

Taste (What taste sensations could be described in the scene...remember, they aren’t just food tastes, think outside the box like smokey, gritty, metallic, bitter, chalky)

1.

2.

Touch (What physical feelings/sensations could be described in the scene?)

1.

2.

Sound (This includes dialog.  Suggest some phrases or sentences that might have been said by one of the characters/people in the scene)

1.

2.

Sight (What visual descriptions did you want more of from the scene?)

1.

2.

Day 22: Adverbs, Specific details, and Transitions

We are going to begin the day by discussing adverbs, and why we need to limit them in our writing.

Adverbs:  most of them end in -ly, but not all of them.  Here is the list of some of the most common, which you should rid from your writing:

extremely, entirely, unusually, dangerously, definitely, surprisingly, entirely, especially, quite, terribly, unusually, rather, completely, dreadfully, awfully, totally, really...


Secondly, we will check our dialog punctuation rules with one partner.  Some of you still need work.  If your partner can't figure it out, check with Stowell.


Thirdly,  we will partner up with three new partners...sitting side by side to listen to each other read our narratives.  When we are listeners, will be listening for the following three things:

A)  What do you think the thesis is?

B)  Where could there be more specific detail?

C)  Where could there be a better transition (where did it not flow, or where was it confusing, or jumped from one spot to the next too quickly)?


Homework:  Incorporate any new changes.  Final draft must be submitted to Edmodo by Sunday evening, or if you're having problems doing that, bring in a final print draft by class time on Monday.

Remember:  if you print it during or after class on Monday, I'll take off half a letter grade.  If you are a day late, it goes down a letter grade each day.

Ropes Course

Hi Folks,

We haven't met in English for the past two days, so check the last post for the homework!

Tomorrow we will pick back up with our drafts!  Two more days of improving, then the final draft needs to be uploaded to Edmodo by Sunday night!  (If you have problems, I'll accept a printed copy on Monday)

Day 19: Workshopping the Narrative: Strong Verbs and To Be or Not to Be.

Today we are specifically looking for strong verb usage.

You are only allowed to have a maximum of 5 "to be" verbs per page.   Dialog is not included in this count.  Be verbs are boring and they should be replaced whenever possible.  Finding other verbs to replace them, forces your writing to be more active and interesting.  This method is based off of a movement calle "English Prime" or "E-Prime," and if you're a nerd and want to read up on it, check it out here.

Below is the list of all the forms of the BE verb.  The biggest offenders are...

 "am, is, are, was, were, being, have been, will be"

Limiting these verbs from your writing does two things: 1) it forces you to come up with stronger, more descriptive verbs, and 2) it makes your writing more active, and less passive, which we'll learn more about later!

Excellent job!  After

Homework:  Print out a new draft with all stronger verbs (you are allowed to have only 3 "be" verbs), limited adverbs, and any other corrections you care to make for tomorrow's workshop.

Benchmark Essays, Book Fair, and Rough Drafts

So today we have the opportunity to go to the book fair.  It will take about 15 minutes of our class time.

Aside from that, you have time to finish typing the rough draft of your essay and upload it to Edmodo.

If you have already done that, which I see that some of you have, please get in groups of two, or by yourself, and read at least one of the example essays.  These are the kids who got A's the last time I did the narrative essay, it would be beneficial to discuss what they did right with your partner.

Homework:  Bring a printed copy of your draft to class, ready to be workshopped on Monday.

Continuing to Write the Narrative

Hi class,

Today we talked about what goes in the intro and concluding paragraphs of the narrative essay.

Intro:

1)  Hook: (a thought-provoking question, a preview of the anecdote's action, some interesting dialog, a bold statement, a famous quote, etc.)

2)  Background/Set up the story.  Tell the who, what, when, where of your anecdote and lead into it.

3) *optional* a Thesis statement.  Some people prefer to save the thesis for later in the anecdote, or even the conclusion.

Conclusion:

1) Tie up most loose ends.  It's okay to have a little bit of a cliffhanger, but your reader is going to want to feel like they have heard the complete story.  We are not writing novels here, or sequels.

2) Thesis.  If you haven't stated the main point of your essay earlier, you need to spell it out here.

3) Leave the reader with something to think about.  Make to make connections from your story to something else, or have another hook.  Many writers find it effective to leave with a thought-provoking question, statement, or even a quote.

Homework:  We will be spending 15 minutes of class time going to the book fair, but other than that, you have until the end of class to have a typed, rough draft of your essay in MLA format.

Dialog Rules (Re-posted)

A) Cap. Quote Rule - A direct quote usually begins with a capital letter.

Right: Mr. Stowell exclaimed, "Grammar rocks!"
Wrong: Mr. Stowell exclaimed, "grammar rocks!"

B) Change-up Rule - Every time you change a speaker, you start a new paragraph...but only do so when you CHANGE the speaker!

Right: 
      Once upon a time there was a teacher who loved grammar.  "I love grammar," the teacher said.  He tried to convince his class grammar was cool.  "Isn't this so much fun?" he asked.
      "No, it is not fun at all!" the class replied in unison.
      "Oh."  Mr. Stowell walked away, dejected.

C) Tag Rule - speaker tags are the typical "he said" or "she said" phrases.  Note the punctuation in the examples.

Right:  "I never know what to say," said Mr. Stowell.
Wrong: "I never know what to say" said Mr. Stowell.
Right:  Mr. Stowell asked, "How do I convince them?"
Wrong: Mr. Stowell asked "How do I convince them?"

D) Continue Quote Rule - When a quoted sentence is interrupted by a speech tag, follow the example on properly punctuating.

Right: "I think I'll have some ice cream," ordered Mr. Stowell, "with my pepperoni pizza!"
Wrong:  "I think I'll have some ice cream," ordered Mr. Stowell, "With my pepperoni pizza!"

E) Inception Quote Rule - When you have a quote inside of a quote, the inside quote gets single quotation marks.

Right:  "I can't believe Mr. Stowell said, 'No more homework ever again!' at the end of class today," Mary exclaimed.
Wrong:  "I can't believe Mr. Stowell said, "No more homework ever again!" at the end of class today," Mary exclaimed.
Right: Mary said, "It was so funny when Mr. Stowell screamed, 'Don't hurt me!'"
Wrong:  Mary said, "It was so funny when Mr. Stowell screamed, "Don't hurt me!""

F) Long Quote Rule - When a quotation goes on for several uninterrupted sentences, you only put the quotation marks at the beginning of the first sentence, and the end of the last sentence - NOT on every sentence.

Right:  Mr. Stowell said, "Teaching grammar doesn't have to be boring.  It can be fun, but it's harder to make it fun.  However, I only teach it because I have to for NECAPs.  I'd rather spend my time teaching other things."
Wrong:    Mr. Stowell said, "Teaching grammar doesn't have to be boring." "It can be fun, but it's harder to make it fun." "However, I only teach it because I have to for NECAPs." "I'd rather spend my time teaching other things."

G) Super-long Quote Rule - If a quotation goes on for several uninterrupted PARAGRAPHS, but the open quotation mark at the beginning of every paragraph, but only put a close quotation mark at the end of the last paragraph.  This is too long to give you an example!

H) Inside Punc. Rule - Periods and commas at the end of quotations ALWAYS go inside the quotation marks.  Put a question mark (?) or exclamation mark (!) inside the quotation marks only if they apply to the quotation itself.  If the ? or ! apply to the WHOLE sentence, place them outside of the quotation marks.

Right: It was funny when the lady yelled, "Where's the beef?"
Wrong:  It was funny when the lady yelled, "Where's the beef"?
Right: Did Mr. Stowell really just say, "OMG"?
Wrong: Did Mr. Stowell really just say, "OMG?"

Anecdote and Sensory Details

The anecdote is a single, most important scene.  Think of it as the main scene of the "mini-movie" of the story you are trying to tell.  It's the moment where the important, meaningful action is taking place.  It can be one paragraph, or several paragraphs long, but it is only one moment....and time-wise, shouldn't be more than an hour of life...if it spans more than that in time...your audience will get bored.

Today we will start by going over the dialog punctuation quizzes.

The rest of the day will be spent typing the body of your narrative essay.  Work especially on exploding the moment, and adding as many sensory details as possible.

Homework:  finish typing your anecdote.  Email or transport your files from home.

Video on setting up the format of your essay

Check it out!

Day 15: M.L.A. format and essay choices

First we will go over what you plan to write for your narrative.  Yes, it was homework.  No, I don't have time to let you brainstorm even more ideas.

So, we'll do a once-around and see what you have for topics.  If you don't have one, you are in for lunch.

Two, you are going to meet up with two partners and take five minutes to share your story.  Share everything you can about it.  It is then their job to try and determine what your thesis, or the point of your story is.

Finally, I'm going to give you brief notes on what M.L.A. format is, and how I expect your essays to look.

Homework:  Exit card #7 (Edmodo)  Due tomorrow by the time you come to class.
Typed, rough draft is due on Friday, 250 - 500 words.

Day 14: Today's Class 9/17

Today we went over the answers to the dialog punctuation exercises.  Tonight is the quiz, due by 11:59pm.

Homework:  Quiz tonight!  Also, you need to have chosen your personal narrative topic for tomorrow - I will be checking!

Day 13: Ordeal By Check

We will share the 100 word narratives, and take a dialog rules quiz on Monday.

Next, we shall break into groups and "read" "Ordeal By Check."  Like "Girl," it is a non-traditional narrative.  You can find the link to it here.  It is the group's job to find out the narrative story behind this story.  After discussion, as a group, write a 20-line summary of the "narrative."

Finally, we will begin talking about the personal narrative essay.

Homework:  Dialog quiz on Monday ... be prepared.  

English Class Prezi

You can view it here!

http://prezi.com/n40jilhgdo6n/welcome-to-tsunami-english/

Welcome to Tsunami English on Prezi

Day 12: More Dialog

Today we'll go over more dialog rules.  Yes, there will be a quiz on these on Monday.  See the last post for examples and the rules.

After going over the rules, we will work in class on exercises 1, 2, 3, and 4.  If you don't finish them, they will be due for homework.

We will share your 100 word narratives with the class on Friday, and that is when you will get the large narrative writing assignment to start as well!

Homework:  finish exercises 1, 2, 3, and 4, if you have not done so in class.  They are also on Edmodo if you lose your copies.

Dialog Rules

It is time to have a dialog about rules...dialog rules.

Today we will start off by revisiting "Girl" and talk about how it is a narrative, and what it means to be a narrative.

Then, we will record our own version of "Girl."

Finally for today, we will be taking some notes on the rules of dialog.  See the upcoming post for notes.

Homework:  See yesterday's post.  ExCard 5 due Thursday....on EDMODO!

Day 10: Sensory Detail Contest and "Girl"

Today we will take a few minutes to see who has found the most sensory details from the narrative, "Captain Hardcastle" from Boy.  Points are awarded if you noticed the same sensory details that Mr. Stowell found.

Secondly, I'm going to have you fill out a short summary of the narrative.  In it, you must mention the point, and give supporting details to back up that point.

Thirdly, we will quickly take a look at a shorter narrative, "Girl," by Jamaica Kincaid.  (It has been edited for your young minds)  This is a non-traditional narrative (and quite famous) and is presented as a list of commands.  It is entirely in dialog (without quotation marks) and is mostly commands and statements from a Jamaican mother to her daughter.

Homework:  write a 90-100 word short narrative story, either in the style of "Captain Hardcastle" or "Girl."  Be sure to include dialog and other sensory details.  Post it on Edmodo for Exit Card #5, due Thursday.

Day 9: Captain Hardcastle

Today we will be sharing the Tagxedo pictures.  Let me know if you do NOT want me to put them on the Pod TV.

Secondly, we will begin reading "Captain Hardcastle" by Roald Dahl's Boy.  You will be expected to answer the same five questions I asked you in class on Friday.

Your job: notice all the sensory details that you find.  Be prepared for a competition on Tuesday.

Homework:  finish reading "Captain Hardcastle," on Edmodo:  Pages 55-62.  You will find this on Exit Card #4: which is due tomorrow by class time.

I'm VERY impressed!

As of the time of this posting, I've just checked and graded the Tagxedo pictures that have been posted...and I must say, they are looking awesome!

I'll be putting them up on the pod TV unless you do not wish me to do so!  They are soooo cool!  Well done!

Update:  It is now the morning after, and I see some of you saved this for the VERY last minute!  What happens when computers know we are procrastinating and need to get things done?  They stop working!  So, some of you learned a lesson on the cruel nature of computers.

If it didn't work for you, please email the picture to me.  Thanks!

Day 8: StoryCorps

Today we watched some really cool StoryCorps, and discussed them as narratives.  See the previous post.

Tonight, I'll grade your 100 words.

Homework:  your Tagxedo picture is due by tonight, 11:59 pm.

Day 7: Narrative Introduction

We are officially starting our Narrative unit today!  Everyone has a story to tell, it's just asking the right questions.  We are going to listen and talk about several animated narratives from an organization called StoryCorps.  They record interviews that are then played on the radio.

http://storycorps.org/

Over the the next two days, we'll be listening and discussing these stories.  For each one, we'll be asking four questions:

1)  What one thing did you like/dislike about this story?

2)  How did it make you feel?

3)  What is the point, the message, or lesson of this story; what is it trying to show us?  (Thesis)

4)  What are some details that illustrated that point?

In addition, if needed, we will go over how to post your Tagxedo picture to Edmodo (see last post).

Homework:  No NEW homework, but see the last post.

Day 6: Tagxedo and CCW quiz

Hello folks!

Today we have the computers to do two things:

1) work on the Commonly Confused Words quiz, and
2) I'll show you how to use Tagxedo.com (see the link below for a video that I've created)

http://screencast.com/t/SpXYsl7p

And this link shows how a student would turn in their video to Edmodo.

http://screencast.com/t/6yKXxlMng

Homework:

Exit Card #3 due Thursday night
Upload your Tagxedo picture to Edmodo by Friday night

Day 5: Review and Narrative Intro

Today we will do some brief reviewing of the commonly confused words in preparation for tomorrow's quiz.

Afterwards, we will begin creating a list of 100 words that describe us.  These words will be used tomorrow for a website called Tagxedo, which creates a picture mosaic made from those words.  Below is a picture of me using words from our blog, for example:

Homework:  ON EDMODO: Do Exit Card #3, due Thursday, 11:59pm.