Putting The Novel Study Down

For those of you have been in class these past two weeks, you've been part of my heart to heart.  Thank you for your understanding and helping us best move forward.

Upon reflection, I've decided to put down the novel study until January, so that we can focus our attention on our short story.  We only have 9 classes left together before the holidays, and that was not enough time for us to go through the writing process, with lessons, produce quality work AND complete a novel study.  That is just too much for us to take on, plus ensure that you get quality and effective feedback from myself.

So, you will to come back to school in January ready with your novel, and a published short story (all editing will be done before we leave in December, many of you will most likely hand it in before the break!).

Any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Thank You - Parent/Student Interviews

Thank you for those who were able to make it out for Student/Parent interview.  We had conversations on how to support each other to ensure everyone does well this year.

Thanks again to your parents for taking the time to come out, and for the students who were able to make it to their interviews, being involved in the process.  It will be worth it.

I

Short Story Plan and Rubric

Part of the report card comment feedback from you on how to help you do better was for me to give more detail about assignments.  You asked for it, so here it is. :)

Everyone will recieve a copy of both of these links in the coming days in class.  YOU are responsible to keep this piece of paper (will be double sided) and will need to hand it in at the end of the writing process.

Short Story check list has all the info about due dates (as discussed and decided in class) and going through the writing process.

Short Story Rubic has all the info you need about how you will be assessed on your short story.

A copy of the slide show discussed in class about the process.

Descriptive Language in Your Short Stories

Many of you have already handed in your graphic organizers, and I look forward to returning these as quickly as possible. 

Part of your written short story assignment is to use descriptive language.  We have (or will have) a lesson about descriptive language this week.  Please see the link to a slide show that will cover what we did in class this week. 

Success Criteria for Short Story Presenations

Please see attached a copy of the success criteria for your presentation with your partner on a published short story.

We will be discussing this in class this week as well, before your presentations.

Success Criteria for Graphic Organizer

Please see attached a copy of the success criteria for the Graphic Organizer for your short story that you are writing alone.

We will be discussing this Success Criteria in class this week before your Graphic Organizer is due.

Need another copy of the graphic organizer?  Reminder, you do not have to use this graphic organizer, but I must be able to understand that you know about the five elements of a short story.  Check the success criteria to ensure that you are on track.

Student/Parent/Teacher Interviews

Wow!  So many interviews booked already!

If your parent/guardian would like to set up a time with you to have a discussion with me about our English program, and there are not any times left that meet your needs, then please contact me via email to arrange another interview time.

Reminder to the students.  You need to be involved in the interview process. You are the major piece of the puzzle to ensuring your success!

I can also take informal questions about the English program via email as well.  Thank you to everyone who continues to read the blog.  It is a detailed account of what is happening in our English program. 

Like Core French in English schools, we have a limited time together each cycle (3x every five days compared to your French language teachers who are with you 12x every five days).  I am looking forward to the hard work we have put into the new Daily 5 program reaping quality rewards over the coming weeks.  All the best as you work hard on your Short Story and novel study assignments!

Word Work Rubric

You will be seeing this in class this week.  For your review, please see the Word Work Rubric

You will also be receiving your exit tickets back this week as well.  Please take the feedback and use it for your meaningful sentences in your assignment.

Theme, Audience and Point of View

This week we have (or will be talking about) Theme, Audience and Point of View.  These are all elements of stories (hint, hint, hint, you will want to talk about these in your Short Stories presentations with your partner on your selected published short story).

To review what we discussed in class, please see the slides below.

 Audience/Point of View

Theme

Extra Help/Time

Need extra help and time to get work done?

I will be availabe Tuesday/Thursday mornings in Room 202 (Madame Jones' room) during the morning recess (1050-1115).

Sentences

Your exit tickets will be due soon for your Word Work assignments.  This is a copy of the lesson we did/will do in class about sentences for Grade 7 and 8.

Reminder - Grade 7s the expectation is transition words.
Grade 8s the expectation is transition words and the use of passive and active voice.

Looking for ideas about where to find new and interesting transition words?

http://www.smart-words.org/transition-words.html

http://www.gallaudet.edu/tip/english_works/writing/guide_to_transition_words_and_sentence_samples.html

Looking for information about passive and active voice?

(This site also includes Gramar Girl's pocast) http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/active-voice-versus-passive-voice.aspx

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-voice.htm

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/passive

Anchor Text - Where the Wild Things Are

We have been reading (and rereading) Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak for our short story anchor text.  Yes, it is a "children's story," however, this is what makes it perfect for quick 10-15 min lessons about short stories.
 
If you would like review the text again, to reflect on what we have done in class with it, please click here.  It is the version with the weird voices!

Daily 5 Assignments for November/December

Looking for a copy of the assignments for Daily 5?  Well, here they are!  Deadlines have been recorded by the Tracking Binder person and are posted every English class, and we review them every class we have together!  (No excuse for not knowing when something is due).  We work a few deadlines at a time, to not overwhelm us, and to be able to allow flexibility when things like assemblies, trips and general class changes come up.

Quick review -
Reading to Self - Novel study of your own selection, the goal being that you can discuss the main idea of your text.

Read to Someone - Select a short story of your own choice with your partner, either from those available at school or a favourite (children's story or teen/short story).  Reflect with your partner about the elements of a short story, the effectiveness of those elements, and your own feeling about the story.  Present your findings in a 3 min presenation.  Demonstrate presentation skills and audience skills.

Word Work - Choose 5 words that are a challenge to you.  Complete one of the 4 challenging word work assignments, including a definition, meaningful sentence and explain why those words will challenge you as a reader/writer.

Work on Writing - Go through the writing process and create a short story.  (Be mindful of the term SHORT story!)

Listening to Reading - no formal assignment.  Students may listen to their read to self book to help ensure comprehension. 

Elements of a Short Story

We have (or will be) enjoying the video by Flocabulary Elements of a Short Story.  More detail about the elements of a short story is available here.  

You will be receiving your assignment for a short story very shortly.

To remember while brainstorming your ideas for you short story, a short story is a story with a fully developed theme but significantly shorter and less elaborate than a novel.  Often depicting few characters and concentrating a 'single effect' or mood.

We will be having more lessons around theme and conflict, audience, point of view and expressive language.