Yesterday was an action packed day from 1-3pm. The afternoon began immersed in an EEL grammar review challenge (can you find those sentence patterns among the clauses, phrases and questions???) and ended with sweets and treats. Thank you to all of the moms who helped to make the celebration amazing for the children. Erin, your kettle popped popcorn was divine! Laurie, thank you for the trip to Doughnut World. I personally have been converted. The doughnuts were delightful (S-VL-PA). If any parents were unable to pay the $1.00 per student yesterday, please bring it next week to Laurie, Erin, or myself. We want to repay Laurie for her time and $$$:)
Ancient Rome:
WOW! The four week journey to the Ancient Rome three or five paragraph report/essay has been completed for some of you. I strongly believe this investment of time will have a long-lasting impact on their understanding of the basic report/essay. If you have not completed this assignment, continue working on it at home and turn it in when it is completed. I look forward to reading them!
*****Important note: The difference between an essay and a report is that a report turns into an essay when your opinion is added. For example, when the students who chose to include an introductory paragraph and concluding paragraph stated what they felt was the "most significant" thing about ancient Rome, their report turned into an ESSAY. If your child completed a 3 paragraph paper with an introductory statement and final clincher they wrote a REPORT. This week's assignment is a personal ESSAY because it is all about their opinion!*****
NEW ASSIGNMENT 2 WEEKS: Unit 7 - Creative Writing Personal Essay - Notes from the Brain "If I lived in ancient times I would miss..."
- I chose to dive into creative writing to lighten up the subject matter the students are writing about. This assignment is the first one of the year where the students have no source text. All of the details must be extracted from their brains! Many standardized writing tests use this approach to measure a student's writing proficiency. Students are given a prompt and they must write an essay (5 paragraphs - introduction/3 body paragraphs/conclusion). These essays include their opinion. Often, students can get "writer's block" from the fear of a blank piece of paper. The solution to writer's block is to brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm, choose 3 favorite themes (A,B,C), and then ask questions, ask questions, ask questions to create details for each theme.
- Students may choose to write 1, 2, or 3 rough draft paragraphs this week. Decide the length of this paper based on your demands at home. This is a 2 week assignment.
- We worked through two different ideas in class to model the question/answer process. "If I lived in ancient times, I would miss my unicycle." and "If I lived in ancient times, I would miss electricity." The unicycle example is included in their lesson packet. The electricity example was completed impromptu style so the students could see the process in action. We practiced the question/answer process using a microphone for fun and to promote enthusiasm for what can be a daunting task. Allow your child the opportunity to have fun with this essay, be very creative, and hopefully smile a lot about things they love the most.
- PLEASE DO NOT THINK I AM CRAZY OR NEED TO CUT DOWN ON MY LEVEL OF CAFFEINE:) I approached this assignment with a lot of energy and enthusiasm very purposefully.
2) This is typically the time of year when the winter blahs begin. I wanted to incite enthusiasm for this assignment and alleviate any possibility of fear when faced with the idea of no source text (blank page syndrome).
- Unlike the Ancient Rome report, students are encouraged to use "I" in this paper because it is a PERSONAL ESSAY.
- Two new ADVANCED DRESS-UPS: (OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS - LABEL AS INDICATED)
2) We also discussed using triple extensions to add sophistication to your writing(p. 50 gray pages). The rule for effectively using repetition is THRICE NEVER TWICE. Repeating the same word (question,question,question), repeating a part of speech (verbs, adjectives, or -ly words) or repeating a type of phrase or clause are all ways to use this new decoration. Indicate by putting a 3X in the right margin.
All of the ADVANCED DRESS-UPS I AM PRESENTING IN CLASS are optional opportunities for any student that is ready for a new challenge. I firmly believe in consistently presenting new information from the Student Resource Notebook for students who have mastered the dress-ups and decorations on the checklist. If your child is new to IEW this year or has not mastered the checklist please feel no pressure to add these to their papers. Just have them listen in class to the information and leave it there.
***I included a brainstorming sheet in their take home packet if your child would like to attempt any of the ADVANCED DRESS-UPS we have learned in the last two weeks. Choose all, one, or none, but be sure to have fun!***
Happy writing,
Tina:)
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