NaNoWriMo!!!

National Novel Writing month starts today! Congrats to all students who have decided to take on the challenge of writing a novel during the month of November. I'll be writing right along with you. I encourage all writers to check out NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program homepage. On that page, young writers can find pep talks from both other young writers and published writers, "dares" to help get writing jump-started, and much more.
Explore worlds; explore words; have fun, and--most importantly:
Write on!!!

Writing Contest

Hey student writers:
There's a great writing contest open to students in grades 7 through 12. You can check out the details and register here: http://www.artandwriting.org/
Check it out!

This Week in Language Arts...

This week in language arts, we're beginning a new unit in Springboard. Some of the early topics, discussions, and terms we'll explore include tone and diction in writing, denotation and connotation, nuance, and strategies of definition. We'll start the week by looking ahead to the next embedded assessment: A Definition Essay, unpacking the skills and knowledge needed for success on that assessment. We'll discuss the differences between expository and narrative writing, and we'll analyze and compare a poem (Nina Cassian's "A Man") and an informational text ("Soldier Home After Losing his Leg in Afghanistan" by Gale Fiege) on similar subjects. We'll also continue our exploration of the parts of speech, focusing on prepositions.

End of First Quarter

END OF FIRST QUARTER
Believe it or not, the end of the first quarter is upon us! The quarter ends on Thursday, October 16th.

WHAT STUDENTS HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IN L.A.
This week, in language arts, students met for the first time in critique groups, where they shared and responded to each other's writing, giving feedback and commenting on both the strengths and areas for improvement in their classmates' work. Critique groups will be an ongoing part of the writing process this year, and the students did a great job with their first critique group session.

NEXT WEEK
In class next week, we'll be finishing up the Hero's Journey Narrative, writing a reflection of the narrative (how it reflects the Hero's Journey archetype and how it reflects an understanding of key literary devices: setting, point of view, figurative language, etc.) In history, students will finish their colonial brochures and take a "Tour of the Colonies." For reading, students should be sure to have read both of their non-fiction books, and they should try to reach their point goals by Thursday.

BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Last but not least, a quick book recommendation. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell is a wonderful and quirky and heartbreaking love story. The characters came to life from the first page, and they remain with me now, long after I finished the last page.

Language Arts: September 29th through October 3rd

Over the next two weeks, students will be working on a creative project that reflects their understanding of some of the key literary concepts we've been studying--primarily in the SPRINGBOARD books--since the beginning of the school year. Students will be writing scenes follow a character of their creation through a variety of steps in the Hero's Journey Archetype. An overview of the steps to completion for the project can be found here. Here's a map of the hero's journey for students to use as they brainstorm, and here's a guide to the reflection essay they'll write at the end. I've enjoyed reading students' creative work in their writing notebooks thus far this year, and I look forward to seeing where they take their narratives over the course of this project.

Also, we'll continue our study of the parts of speech. Students will be studying prepositions--and some will make preposition comic strips as part of a "Your Choice" activity. They'll finish up with conjunctions and interjections.

Weekly Assignments Summaries and Links

It's hard to believe that we're already halfway through the first quarter! As a resource for parents and students, I've included a list of all "Weekly Assignments" so far this year. The Springboard Book assignments are all in the district-adopted Springboard books, while other assignments can be accessed through the links below.

Weekly Assignments 8/25 - 8/29
Springboard Book: Lessons 1.1 through 1.4
Nouns and Pronouns Packet

Weekly Assignments 9/2 - 9/5
Springboard Book: Lesson 1.5
Verbs Packet

Weekly Assignments 9/8 - 9/12
Springboard Book: 1.6
Nouns and Pronouns Review One
Nouns and Pronouns Review Two

Weekly Assignments 9/15 - 9/19
Springboard Book 1.7
Adjectives and Adverbs Packet

Language Arts, September 22nd through 26th

Here's a look at what we're up to in language arts this week…

Students will continue to study the parts of speech, with a focus on adjectives and adverbs. Students will complete this review, labeling every word of every sentence, as we're paying close attention to how the individual words work together in a sentence (especially when it comes to adjectives and adverbs). Students will have a quiz on nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs on Wednesday.

Also, we'll continue to examine the Hero's Journey Archetype in the SPRINGBOARD books. Students will read and analyze a section of A WRINKLE IN TIME (one of my favorite books!), and they'll work on their own creative pieces as well.

We have conferences on Thursday and Friday this week, so it's a short week for students. Parents- You all should have received a conference form from your son or daughter at the beginning of this week. I look forward to seeing everyone at conferences!