7th Grade Unit of Study: Realistic Fiction

7th Grade Unit of Study:

Realistic Fiction

Writers must submit via google docs a draft by Sunday, November 2.  Be sure to put a proper heading on the paper.  See below:

Kathy Vogel

5th hour

November 2, 2014

Realistic Fiction Draft 2

Realistic Fiction Checklist

I created a narrative that has realistic characters, tension, and change; and that not only convey but  also develops an idea, lesson, or theme.

• I wrote a beginning that not only sets the story in motion, it also grounds it in a place or situation. It includes details that will later be important to the story. These details might point to the central issue  or conflict, show how story elements connect, or hint at key character traits.

• I used transitional phrases as well as paragraphs for organization

• I gave the reader a sense of closure by showing clearly how the character or place changed or the problem was resolved. If there was no resolution, I gave details to leave the reader thinking about a central idea or theme.

• I used a traditional - or slightly modified - story structure (rising action, conflict, falling action) to best bring out the meaning of his story and reach his audience.

• I developed the action, dialogue, details, and inner thinking to convey an issue, idea, or lesson. I showed what is specific about the central character. I developed the setting and the characters’ relationship to the setting.

• I developed change in characters and situations. I used specific details and figurative language to help the reader understand the  place and the mood (making an object or place symbolic, using the weather, using repetition). I used varied tone to match variety of emotions experienced by the characters across the story.

• I used resources to check sure my spelling was accurate

8th Grade Unit of Study: Investigative Journalism

8th Grade Unit of Study:

Investigative Journalism

Narrative Nonfiction

Find an issue that will matter to others.

• Present background knowledge on issue (could be the at beginning for a lead)
• Include anecdotes (stories, and examples)
• Include 2 direct quotes (from the interviews conducted)
• Adhere to journalistic tone
• Use a story to teach a lesson, comment on a social issue, and/or develop a point of view.
• Incorporates transitional phrases
• Circles back to central idea/issue or leaves the reader feeling a sense of closure at the ending
• Uses paragraphs as a way to organize your article and best bring out the meaning of your story and reach the audience
• Uses action, dialogue, details, inner thinking to convey an issue, idea or lesson
• Uses specific details and figurative language to help the reading understand.
• Varies tone to match the variety of emotions
• Uses resources to check spelling
• Varies sentence structure and correctly punctuates dialogue correctly (especially when including interviews)

Please submit a copy of your paper by Sunday, November 2 via google docs. You will also need to print a copy for your portfolio. Be sure to put a heading on all papers. See below:

Kathy Vogel

3rd hour

November 2,2014

Investigative Journalism

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Weekly Writing

As students grow as writers, one important element is choice. Students will have ample choice in our writing workshop. Part of the work writers do in their notebook is generating or collecting ideas for future drafts. As writers gather and collect ideas in their language arts notebook, they may use those ideas to compose three one page writing entries.  Writing entries can be completed in the notebook, through google docs, or a blog. Our goal is to engage students in digital writing as part of their experience as a writer. Weekly, students need to write outside of class. Typically on Mondays, we will monitor weekly writing which is worth 10 points.  All entries must have a title and date.

For many of the writing entries, writers have choice about their topic. For writers who are struggling, we encourage them to use the following to help generate a topic:  heart map, scar map, neighborhood map, expert list, bank of experiences (8th grade) and other entries from their notebook.

Where I am From Poem

"Where I am From Poem"

Students studied a mentor text, "Where I am From" by George Ella Lyon. Students then wrote a poem of their own. The rubric for this assignment is available. Final drafts are due this Thursday.

Where I'm From I am from clothespins, from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride. I am from the dirt under the back porch. (Black, glistening, it tasted like beets.) I am from the forsythia bush the Dutch elm whose long-gone limbs I remember as if they were my own. I'm from fudge and eyeglasses, from Imogene and Alafair. I'm from the know-it-alls and the pass-it-ons, from Perk up! and Pipe down! I'm from He restoreth my soul with a cottonball lamb and ten verses I can say myself. I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch, fried corn and strong coffee. From the finger my grandfather lost to the auger, the eye my father shut to keep his sight. Under my bed was a dress box spilling old pictures, a sift of lost faces to drift beneath my dreams. I am from those moments-- snapped before I budded -- leaf-fall from the family tree. George Ella Lyon

Book talk about Animal farm

Sean Huizing, an eighth grader, book talked Animal Farm. Click on the link to see his thoughts about Animal Farm. Youtube animal farm book talk

Gathering Potential Writing Topics

One way to grow as a writer is to gather future writing ideas.  Over the course of the year, we will explore various ways to gather potential writing ideas.  To gather potential writing ideas, students will create the following:

7th Grade Mining Ideas:

Monday - Heart Map

Tuesday- Pick one topic from the heart map to write about

Wednesday - Neighborhood Map - number the potential topics to write about

Thursday - Scar/Injury Map and pick one scar or injury to write about

 8th Grade Mining Ideas:
Monday - Writing Territories List
Wednesday - Bank of Experiences
Friday- Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words