E. Quinson

Room D-201

8R, periods 2 and 3

 

Monday, September 8, 2008

SWBAT:          Write about an important object that they have with them and why it is important to them.  And SWBAT: understand workshop routines. 

DO NOW:       Take out your writer's notebook.

DEVELOPMENT: 

1.      Review rules again. 

2.      Explain that today we will begin with procedure for writer's workshop.  Outline workshop routine:  DO NOW/Mini-lesson/Writing Time/Share-Wrap-up.  Explain a little bit about entry format. 

3.      Give mini-lesson on writing about an object you have with you. 

4.      Kids write. 

5.      Share/Review. 

6.      Go over workshop procedures and H.W. 

H.W.:  1.  Write about an object in your home which has special meaning to you (at least one page, 9H, at least two pages.)  2.   We are going to begin blogging about our summer reading soon, so make sure you have finished at least two books from the summer reaign list.   If you have already finished that reading, read 20-30 minutes in another independent reading book.  3.  Bring your binder and writer's notebook to class tomorrow and everyday for the rest of the year

 

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

SWBAT:  Free write.

DO NOW:   Write an entry in your writer’s notebook: Predict what free writing might be.

DEVELOPMENT:

1.      Discuss DO NOW entries.  I will write one, as well, only of course, I will actually be writing off the words free writing.

2.      Discuss H.W.  How did writing go last night?  (writing about an object at home that has importance.)  Share.

3.      Mini-lesson on free writing/stream of consciousness.  Discuss meaning of the word consciousness.   How authors (such as Faulkner and Joyce) have used stream of consciousness in their writing.  (Put up overhead of such passages if appropriate.)  Model my own stream of consciousness writing on the overhead.

4.      Writing/Conference time.

5.      Share. 

6.      Review/summarize.

H.W.:  1.  Write at least two pages in your writer's notebook using the free writing technique.  2.  We are going to begin blogging about our summer reading soon, so make sure you have finished at least two books from the summer reaign list.   If you have already finished that reading, read 20-30 minutes in another independent reading book.  3.  Bring your binder and writer's notebook to class tomorrow and everyday for the rest of the year

 

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

SWBAT:          Write "off a word."  (In other words, they will be able to expand their previous entries and delve deeper into the meaning of their own writing and the meaning of words in general.)

DO NOW:       Take 2 to 3 minutes and review your own writer's notebook.  Re-read your entries.  Mark (with a star, exclamation point) any entries or parts of entries you find interesting/surprising/well-written, etc.

MATERIALS:  writer’s notebooks, binders

DEVELOPMENT: 

1.      Review workshop routines.  After the DO NOW and beginning of class.

        Mini-lesson 10-minutes

        Writing/Conference time 15 minutes

        Share time. 10 minutes

2.      Has everyone set up their notebooks yet!!!  They need to review entry format.  Numbering their pages, etc. 

3.      Review DO NOW and free writing and explain that today we will use both our previous writings in our notebooks and free writing to achieve our goal. 

4.      Share time, for past writing.

5.       Teach writing off a word.  Look over notebook and choose a word from any entry.  Put that word at the top of the page and write off that word.  Make sure never to stray too, too far from the word.  When you do, just refocus and come back to the word.

6.      I model this on the overhead.

7.      Writing/Conference Time. 

8.      Share/Wrap up.

H.W.:  1.  Write one full page in your writer's notebook, using the write off a word technique.  2.  We are going to begin blogging about our summer reading soon, so make sure you have finished at least two books from the summer reaign list.   If you have already finished that reading, read 20-30 minutes in another independent reading book.  3.  Bring your binder and writer's notebook to class tomorrow and everyday for the rest of the year

 

Thursday, September 11, 2008

SWBAT:          write in response to a visual stimulus.

DO NOW:       Write an entry in your writer’s notebook:  Free write off the word "art."

MATERIALS:  writer’s notebooks, binders, art postcards

DEVELOPMENT: 

  1. Share DO NOW entries.  Explain varied nature of art itself, so free writing off the word will naturally elicit different responses.
  2. Explain format for responding to the plastic arts.  Just as we put the word at the top of the page earlier,  today they are to put the title and artist of the piece of art at the beginning of the entry.  Otherwise, the response will be difficult to understand, later.
  3. Model writing off a piece of art on overhead, complete with proper heading. 
  4. Kids write. 
  5. Share/Review. 
  6. Go over workshop procedures and H.W.

H.W.:   1.  Write one page in your writer’s notebook:  Write off of a piece of art in your home.  You decide whether or not it is really ART.  2.  We are going to begin blogging about our summer reading soon, so make sure you have finished at least two books from the summer reaign list.   If you have already finished that reading, read 20-30 minutes in another independent reading book.  3.  Bring your binder and writer's notebook to class tomorrow and everyday for the rest of the year

 

Frisday, September 12, 2008 – the art lesson always takes two days, by the time you share, etc.

SWBAT:          write in response to a visual stimulus.

DO NOW:       Review you entry from yesterday and see what else you can add?  Do you have new impressions today?  Sometimes, when we address a work of art, music, or literature, we have different reactions each time we see it.  Sometimes we don’t.  It has to do with our frame of mind. 

MATERIALS:  writer’s notebooks, binders, art postcards

DEVELOPMENT: 

  1. Share DO NOW entries.  Explain varied nature of art itself, so free writing off the word will naturally elicit different responses.
  2. Explain format for responding to the plastic arts.  Just as we put the word at the top of the page earlier,  today they are to put the title and artist of the piece of art at the beginning of the entry.  Otherwise, the response will be difficult to understand, later.
  3. Model writing off a piece of art on overhead, complete with proper heading. 
  4. Kids write. 
  5. Share/Review. 
  6. Go over workshop procedures and H.W.

H.W.:   1.  Write one page in your writer’s notebook:  Write off of a piece of art in your home.  You decide whether or not it is really ART.  2.  We are going to begin blogging about our summer reading soon, so make sure you have finished at least two books from the summer reaign list.   If you have already finished that reading, read 20-30 minutes in another independent reading book.

 

Monday, September 15, 2008

SWBAT:          write in response to listening to music. 

DO NOW:       Turn in your paragraphs about your summer reading project. MATERIALS:  writer’s notebooks, binders, CDs or cassettes with music

DEVELOPMENT: 

1.      Discuss summer reading assignment questions.  Discuss late policy.  Down one half grade per day; from A to A-, or C+ to C, etc.

2.      Review last week’s classes and writing off a visual stimulus.  Explain that this does not have to be great art, it could simply be something you see out the car window, or in the school hall ways.  This is called found art and can be just as or more useful to the writer than formal "art."  Indeed as writers, we always want to be looking for the little details or life that can enrich our art, or indeed ourselves.

3.      Review Goal and teach that just as you can respond to a word or to a visual stimulus you can respond to other sensory impressions.  Today we are going to work with auditory impressions.   

4.      Explain format for responding in this manner.  Just as we put the word at the top of the page earlier and yesterday we put the title and artist at the top of the page, so today, they are to put the title and artist of the piece of music at the beginning of the entry.  Otherwise, the response will be difficult to understand, later. 

5.      Play music and have kids write written responses to it. 

6.      Share/Wrap up.

7.      Review H.W.

H.W.:   1.  Listen to silence alone for five complete minutes.  2. Write two (2) pages in your writer's notebook in response to the experience.  Writer’s notebooks will be collected Thursday.  3.  We are going to begin blogging about our summer reading soon, so make sure you have finished at least two books from the summer reaign list.   If you have already finished that reading, read 20-30 minutes in another independent reading book. 

 

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

SWBAT:          write in response to a short piece of writing. 

DO NOW:       Write an entry in your writer's notebook.  Free choice of style and technique.

MATERIALS:  writer’s notebooks, binders, copies of “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark” and “Mama Sewing”

DEVELOPMENT: 

1.      Discus H.W.  Review previous responding techniques.   

2.      Mini-lesson on reader-response.  Have kids heard this term before?  What does it mean?   What is response?  An answer to a question or a reaction to a situation, etc.  So, with literature, too, we all have responses. 

3.      Create list of kinds of responses we can have in our writers’ notebooks on overhead.

4.      Distribute Reader Response lists as well.

5.      Put "Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark" on overhead and read along with students. 

6.      Students write responses.

7.      If time allows, do "Mama Sewing."

8.      Share/Wrap up.

H.W.:  1.  Write one page in your writer's notebook in response to "Mama Sewing."  Use the list of questions we made in class today, or the Xeroxed list I gave you give yourself lots of ideas for ways to respond. Writer’s notebooks will be collected Thursday.  3.  We are going to begin blogging about our summer reading soon, so make sure you have finished at least two books from the summer reaign list.   If you have already finished that reading, read 20-30 minutes in another independent reading book. 

 

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

SWBAT: create a map of their own writing territories.

DO NOW:  Write an entry in your writer’s notebook:  if you could choose any topic to write about, what would it be and why?

MATERIALS:  writer’s notebooks, binders, copies of writing territories handouts, copies of Linus Pauling quotation

DEVELOPMENT:

1.      Discuss DO NOW and the fact that most of us, when given the choice, choose what we like or prefer, what is to our taste.  It seems obvious, but I want us to have that choice in writing, too.

2.      Discuss that so far, I have been showing them some techniques for getting writing going.  I will continue to do so, I have many ideas left up my sleeve.  But, I also want to get their ideas going. 

3.      I am going to demonstrate on the overhead how I (and many other writers keep lists of writing territories.  This way, when we are stuck with “nothing to write about” we have a bank of ideas we can draw upon.

4.      Model lists on overhead.  Model adding ideas to the list.

5.      Students create their own territories.  Make a list of all the possible ideas you have for topics, genres, and audiences for your writing.  What would be interesting for YOU.  Be as complete as you can, but you will all need to be adding to these lists throughout the year.

6.      Share/discuss territories.

7.      Distribute notebook ideas sheet, just to have in their binders, if they ever get really, really, stuck. 

H.W.:  1.  Add at least ten new ideas to your territories list.  Remember Linus Pauling:  the best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas!  2.  Writer’s notebooks will be collected TOMORROW!  3.  We are going to begin blogging about our summer reading soon, possibly TOMORROW!!!, so make sure you have finished at least two books from the summer reaign list.   If you have already finished that reading, read 20-30 minutes in another independent reading book. 

 

 

Thursday September 18, 2008 and Friday September 19, 2008

Blogging in response to our summer reading????

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