Read Speak 2nd Marking Period

29 Oct

Periods 4 and 5:

Read the 2nd Marking Period of Speak and answer the reading questions. You will have time to work on the Speak Narrator assignment on Google Classroom.

Period 8

Correct and rewrite this paragraph in your notebook.

Narrator’s Point of View

27 Oct

Vocabulary

Today we will go over the words Cursory and Obscure from our 9th Grade Vocabulary list.

Narrator’s Point of View

Today we will go over the different types of narrators in literature.

Here are the notes.

Speak’s Narrator

On Google Classroom:

Read the Second Marking Period in Speak. Choose a section from the 2nd Marking Period in Speak and write about how having a 1st person narrator either limits or enhances our ability to understand what actually is happening in the passage. How would the passage be different if it was told by a 3rd person observer narrator? What do we learn because we have a 1st person narrator? 200 words with quotes from the text to support your answer.

Speak First Marking Period

23 Oct

Vocabulary

Today we will go over the words Ostentatious and Virtue from our 9th Grade Vocabulary list.

Quick Write: Draw a tree in your notebook.

Speak First Marking Period

We will go over the First Marking Period section of Speak.

For next Friday, make sure you read the Second Marking Period section 49-92.

Vocabulary; STEAL Rachel

21 Oct

Vocabulary

Today we will go over the words Contentious and Solitude from our 9th Grade Vocabulary list.

STEAL Chart for Rachel/Rachelle

We will read the Friends section, starting on page 20, of Speak. Together we will complete a STEAL Characterization Chart on Rachel.

Vocabulary; Characterization; Speak

19 Oct

Vocabulary

Today we will go over the words Disdain and Anarchy from our 9th Grade Vocabulary list.

Characterization

Here are the notes.

Skill: Characterization: Characterization is how an author shows a character’s personality. This is done by the character’s actions and the things the character says, as well as the author’s description of those characters.

Speak

Today we will read some of Speak together in class.

For Homework, read through page 47 and complete a STEAL Characterization chart for Melinda on Google Classroom.

Writing Our Memoirs

15 Oct

Today we will have time in class to write our memoirs. The final copy is due on Google Classroom Friday at 11:59PM.

Memoir Requirements

A memoir is a story from your life. It is not the full life story, just a chapter of the story. It may be a story that took years to unfold (your 4 years of high school) or it may have only taken a few moments (what happened when the assistant principal called you into her office).  It can be about an important life event or it can show the importance of normal, everyday events (after all, this is what most of our lives are made up of). Usually there is some lesson or wisdom gained.

Requirements:

Grading Rubric

This document shows how your piece will be graded.

Effective Title and Bookending; Memoir Requirements

13 Oct

Quick Write: What are some great titles of movies, books, songs, shows, etc.? Why are they good titles?

Skill: Effective Title

A good title gets the reader’s attention, creates interest, might raise questions, hint at the plot without giving it all away.  Sometimes it comes from a line in the story or something someone says. It may contain a play on words or a familiar expression.

*Articles in newspapers aren’t titled “Newspaper Article.” TV shows are not titled “TV Show.”

Great book titles here and here

Quick Write: What did you learn from the experience you are writing about in your memoir? Emphasizing a lesson or growth that resulted from the experience can be a great way to end.

Skill Bookending

Bookending– A technique for ending a writing piece, in which an idea that was brought up earlier in the piece is returned to.  Sometimes referred to as a frame story.

Read the Time Magazine Article about the roller coaster Goliath.  Notice the way the story is structured. The author begins with a little bit about the roller coaster Goliath.  Next he is on line waiting to ride the coaster.  The story switches focus and discusses other large roller coasters and coaster technology.  Finally at the end, he returns to his riding of the roller coaster.  He has created a “bookend” structure, in which an idea/situation is introduced, departed from, and then ultimately returned to.  This creates closure in the writing piece.

Examples from movies:

The Princess Bride– The story starts with a grandfather reading a story to his sick grandson.  The actual movie is the story, but every once in a while the “bookend” or “frame story” is reintroduced.  The movie ends with the grandfather and the boy finishing the book.

The Wizard of Oz– The story begins with a tornado in Kansas.  Dorothy is knocked unconscious and awakens in the land of Oz.  The story ends with Dorothy awakening from a dream back in Kansas.

Memoir Requirements

Now we are ready to write our final drafts of our memoir! The assignment is on Google Classroom.

A memoir is a story from your life. It is not the full life story, just a chapter of the story. It may be a story that took years to unfold (your 4 years of high school) or it may have only taken a few moments (what happened when the assistant principal called you into her office).  It can be about an important life event or it can show the importance of normal, everyday events (after all, this is what most of our lives are made up of). Usually there is some lesson or wisdom gained.

Requirements:

Grading Rubric

This document shows how your piece will be graded.

Effective Lead; Speak; Memoir Rough Drafts

8 Oct

Skill Effective Lead

Effective Lead: An author’s attempt to grasp the reader’s attention in the beginning of a work.

First impressions are huge.  Think about how fast you flip through TV channels.  How much time does each program get before you switch stations?  In a world of ever shrinking attention spans, you need to grasp your readers’ attention as soon as possible.

  • Try being vague, create mystery by not immediately letting the reader know exactly what you are writing about…
  • Try using vague words like “it” before explaining what “it” is.
  • Start with dialogue.
  • Start somewhere besides the beginning.
  • Say something shocking.  Sensory Imagery blast.
  • Start in the middle of the action.
  • Make the reader question the narrator’s credibility.

Check out this page of 100 best first lines of novels.

And this one: 1stLinesof Movies

The Opening of Speak

Today you will receive a copy of the first novel we will read together, Speak.

We will read the first page and evaluate it as if it were a memoir. Notice her use of many of the skills we have discuss (sensory imagery, showing not telling, using specific details, paragraphing, and effective lead)

Memoir Rough Drafts

Next we will begin writing our rough drafts of our memoirs in our notebooks.

Using your outlines, start crafting your paragraphs. Try to incorporate some of our skills and techniques, but focus mostly on getting your ideas down. Don’t worry so much about making it perfect. Just get as much of your story down as you can.

Aim for about 2 handwritten pages in your notebook.

Post a picture of your outline and rough draft on Google Classroom.

Outlining Your Memoir

6 Oct

Start Outlining Your Memoir

Outlining– Process of gathering and organizing your ideas before beginning a piece of writing.  Writing without outlining is like getting in a car and driving without knowing what your destination will be.

Steps:

  1. Brainstorm ideas – write down anything you think you might use. No idea is bad; the more the merrier. 
  2. Start Categorizing Ideas – review your brainstorming and group any ideas that are related in some way. (These groups will like become your paragraphs). *You probably won’t use everything you brainstormed*
  3. Organize Your Categories in a Logical Order for Your Paper

Benefits of outlining:

  • Helps you determine if you have enough information to write about a topic
  • Helps you remember your ideas
  • Helps you decide a logical and effective order to present your ideas
  • Helps you break your ideas into subtopics
  • Helps you decide what ideas are worth using and which are not.

Although it may seem like an extra step, an outline will save you time in the long run.  You will be less likely to get stuck, you won’t start writing about something only to realize you don’t have enough to say about it, and it will save you time on the editing process.

It doesn’t have to be fancy, just a collection of ideas.

Some helpful links here and here

Add Specific Details and Sensory Imagery

Once you have created your outline, spend some time thinking about the specific details and sensory imagery. Add these details to your outline.

Examples of Great Memoirs

Here are some great memoirs from students of the past. They may help give you ideas.

Coming Up with Memoir Ideas; Use Specific Details

2 Oct

Announcement! (Read Directions Carefully!)

The directions for our last assignment in Google Classroom Six Word Memoir/Showing Not Telling stated:

1. Post a Six Word Memoir.

2. Showing Not Telling: Post a 3-5 sentence paragraph, using showing not telling, for both A and B.

A. School is weird this year.

B. I feel nervous.

Make sure you are doing all parts of the assignment!!!

Quick Write:

Write about an experience in your life that changed you.

Memoir Example

We will be writing our own memoirs. Today we will look at an excellent memoir by a former student.

Read an Example of a Memoir from a student, “Little” on page 6.

New Skill: Using Specific Details

Use Specific Details: The more specific you can be in your writing, the more impact it will have on the reader.

  • Use brand names (“Air Jordans” instead of “shoes”)
  • Song titles, movie/tv show titles, etc (“‘Kurt Cobain’s scream in ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’” instead of “loud music”)
  • People’s words (“Get over here now!” instead of “the principal called me”)

In 3-5 sentences in your notebook, illustrate the following by using specific details:

  • The woman is rich.
  • It is raining very hard.
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