November 29 & 30

Skill 16 Review: I asked students for examples of detail-rich writing that low on the scale of abstraction. We talked about different ways to get detail in your writing:
1. Action
2. Inside knowledge
3. Facts and figures (numbers, proper nouns, etc.)
4. Authentic language--dialogue
5. Emotion
5. Figurative language

Skill 18: Tap the power of figurative language (similes, metaphors, and personifications)
If you weren't in class, make sure you study this Skill. If you missed the beginning of class, please do Assignments 1 & 2 on p. 560. Then practice writing a simile about a character in your narrative--use this "pattern": _____ was so ____, like ________, like _______.

Rank the following similes and metaphors (1=best, 4=worst):
1. I stood transfixed like a bump on a log.
2. She was so elusive, like a beautiful perfume you smell but can't name, like the whisper that wakes you from a dream and turns out to belong to the dream.
3. Exposed like a caterpillar on a leaf, he wolfed down his lunch before taking flight.
4. Your thighs are apple trees whose blossoms touch the sky.

Homework
Make sure you've written at least the first three pages of your Significant Event Paper on Google Docs. (10 points)

November 22 & 28

Significant Event Paper--1 page due. Also, we went over sample papers (see me for pink handout).

Skill 16--Moving down the scale of abstraction (pink handout that goes with A&B reading). We did activities to practice detail-rich writing.

Homework
1. Read Skill 18.
2. Write a second page of your Significant Event Paper and print pages 1 and 2 (minimum).

November 16 & 17

Significant Event Paper Samples
Students met in sample paper groups to go over answers and then shared with the class.

Skill 15: Make your narrative a story not an "and then" chronology
"A story depicts events that are connected causally or thematically to create a sense of tension that is resolved through action, insight, or understanding." We graphed out the chronology of the four stories on the white board. We saw that  the events in the stories were all tied to the theme of the story.

Paper Topics
Students wrote lots of ideas for topics. I read prompts from pages 151, 153, and 157.

HOMEWORK
1. Read Skill 16.
2. Print and bring one page of your significant event narrative.

Secret quote: "Death ends a life, not a relationship." (Morrie Schwartz)

Significant Event Paper Schedule

Please be prepared for class by completing these reading and writing assignments BEFORE class:


Nov. 16 & 17
Ch. 7, pp. 150-58, topics, character, setting, theme, and plot

Nov. 18 & 21
Skill 15: Make your narrative a story, not an an then chronology

Nov. 22 & 28--one page of paper due today (print), 5 points
Skill 16: Write low on the scale of abstraction

Nov. 29 & 30--two pages of paper due today (print), 5 points
Skill 18: Tap the power of figurative language
Skill 19: Expand your repertoire of styles

Dec. 1 & 2--three pages of paper due today on Google Docs, 5 points
Writing Lab

Dec. 5 & 6
Writing Lab

Dec. 7 & 8--four copies of finished paper due today (print), 10 points
Peer Reviews

Dec. 9 & 12--bring revised draft of paper
Conventions

Dec. 13 & 14--Significant Event paper due on Google Docs
Start Document Design

November 14 & 15

Focus on Revising your "Problematizing Paper"


A&B Skills 5, 9, 10, 12, 14, 25, and 28 Quiz


Writer's Notebook Revision Activity--we'll start this activity in class; finish at home. Due Nov. 16 & 17.

HOMEWORK:
1. Read Chapter 7, pp. 150-58. Bring your textbook to class.

November 10 & 11

 Finer Things Clubs--Thanks for all the work you put into your clubs. I could tell that you learned a lot and enjoyed the "finer things" of life--good books, good food, good music, and good discussions!

HOMEWORK:
1. Reread and understand Allyn & Bacon Skills 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 25, and 28. Quiz next time.
2. Bring your Writer's Notebook, your A&B textbook, and your Medicine Bag.

Secret Quote: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger-flipping; they called it opportunity. (Bill Gates)

October 17 - November 11

Finer Things Clubs