Hello all.
We're going to do things differently this week regarding our weekly creative writing assignment. For now, please hold on to the "donkey" stories, and be sure to have them tomorrow (I will definitely be there!!!).
Since it's the craziest week of the school year, and you've got show nights up until Sunday, I do not expect you to write a short story over the weekend. Instead, let's complete it in class today. Don't forget about the length requirements!
Today's writing prompt:
A national crisis has forced our government to look for a very special leader. It's a Tuesday morning, you've just finished your Eggos and are in the middle of brushing your teeth when a Secret Service agent arrives at your home. She informs you that you've been elected to be the President of the United States of America, effective immediately.
In today's short story, tell me what the crisis is, how you plan to help resolve the crisis, and anything else you plan to do as president.
If everyone finishes their stories, you may print them out and play a round of Sparkle for Units 12 and 13.
6A Sparkle leader - Anna
6B Sparkle Leader - Patrick
See you all tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Writing Portfolio Info/Assignment for 3/17
Hello everyone,
Your portfolios should be in the following format:
- A section in your binder (remember to use a hole-puncher for your stories)
OR
- A folder
I will be completing portfolio checks periodically to ensure that you are keeping up with it. During these checks I will be looking to see that you have all of your assigned stories in the right place.
For the first six portfolio assignments, this is how grading will work:
1. You will be given a creative story prompt on the blog on Fridays to be completed over the weekend. The story will be due the following Monday (for a completion grade). It will need to follow the same format as my previous post - same font, spacing, etc. ***Please remember to keep the story between 150-250 words (250 maximum).
2. I will return your stories to you on Wednesday. You will have until Friday to edit your story and make any corrections I've noted. Then you will hand your final draft in on Friday, which I will grade for grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc.
For the remaining portfolio assignments, your stories will be assigned on Fridays, and final drafts (to be graded for grammar, spelling, etc.) will be due the following Tuesday. I will not correct your first draft and hand back to you for these pieces.
Your new creative writing assignment (due Monday, 2/17) is to write a story based on the picture below. Remember that a story needs a conflict and a resolution, even when it's short! Have fun!
Your portfolios should be in the following format:
- A section in your binder (remember to use a hole-puncher for your stories)
OR
- A folder
I will be completing portfolio checks periodically to ensure that you are keeping up with it. During these checks I will be looking to see that you have all of your assigned stories in the right place.
For the first six portfolio assignments, this is how grading will work:
1. You will be given a creative story prompt on the blog on Fridays to be completed over the weekend. The story will be due the following Monday (for a completion grade). It will need to follow the same format as my previous post - same font, spacing, etc. ***Please remember to keep the story between 150-250 words (250 maximum).
2. I will return your stories to you on Wednesday. You will have until Friday to edit your story and make any corrections I've noted. Then you will hand your final draft in on Friday, which I will grade for grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc.
For the remaining portfolio assignments, your stories will be assigned on Fridays, and final drafts (to be graded for grammar, spelling, etc.) will be due the following Tuesday. I will not correct your first draft and hand back to you for these pieces.
Your new creative writing assignment (due Monday, 2/17) is to write a story based on the picture below. Remember that a story needs a conflict and a resolution, even when it's short! Have fun!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Grammar Assignment AND Creative Writing Assignment
Helllloooooooo!
Tonight's assignment is below. Feel free to print this out if you'd like, or you may write your sentences on a separate sheet of paper. ***Please see instructions for your new creative writing assignment AFTER the grammar questions.***
Run-On Sentences A run-on sentence is a sentence with at least two independent clauses (complete thoughts) which are forced together instead of being properly connected.
To correct these sentences, you have several options:
1) Separate clauses using punctuation.
2) Separate clauses using a conjunction.
3) Rearrange the sentence (you may add or remove words).
Run-on sentence: He put on some sunscreen, the sun was so extremely hot, and he
wanted to go inside.
"He put on some sunscreen" 1st clause
"the sun was so extremely hot" 2nd clause
"he wanted to go inside" 3rd clause
Corrected sentence: He put on some sunscreen because the sun was extremely hot. He
wanted to go inside.
In the corrected sentence, we separated the 1st and 2nd clauses using the conjunction "because", and we removed the word "so". We also separated the 2nd and 3rd clauses using a period.
Note: Just because a sentence is long does not necessarily mean it is a run-on. Some long sentences are grammatically correct, while some short sentences are run-ons.
Note: Simple, short sentences are the easiest to read and understand!
Directions: try to correct the following run-on sentences.
1. My mother and father and sister are coming to dinner tonight.
________________________________________________________________________
2. I like learning English it makes me tired.
________________________________________________________________________
3. My sister was taller than me when we were young now I am the tallest it is fun.
________________________________________________________________________
4. I love school, I love learning, my teacher is nice.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. I don’t want much for Christmas just some chocolates and a little toy car.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. Blue is my favorite color it is the color of the sky and the sea and it reminds me of my favorite insect which is the butterfly.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. When I get older I want to have a big family I like big families.
________________________________________________________________________
8. We usually leave at 11:00 but today is different we are leaving at 10:30.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. I like Tuesdays and Wednesdays and I like Fridays because the weekend starts on Friday.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. We should get moving there’s no time to waste.
_____________________________________________________________________
****************************************************************************
Creative Writing: Portfolio Piece 2
DUE Monday, March 10th (print before class)
Length: 150 words
Format: 11 point font, Calibri
Standard margins
Double-spaced
Prompt: You know that noise we hear coming out of the heating unit in our classroom? The weird
one that randomly sounds like there's a creature trapped inside, or maybe a small army of
imaginary people? Tell me what it is. I'd like to know who or what is in there, what it's
called, why it's there, and what it's doing. Be as descriptive as you can - tell me what it
(or they) look like.
Grading: Appropriate length (around 150 words) - 10 pts
Creativity - 10 pts
Correct format - 6 pts
Grammar - 10 pts
Spelling - 10 pts
Final draft (to be completed after corrections) - 4 pts
*Please double-check your paper for punctuation, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, correct capitalization, and so on!*
Tonight's assignment is below. Feel free to print this out if you'd like, or you may write your sentences on a separate sheet of paper. ***Please see instructions for your new creative writing assignment AFTER the grammar questions.***
Run-On Sentences A run-on sentence is a sentence with at least two independent clauses (complete thoughts) which are forced together instead of being properly connected.
To correct these sentences, you have several options:
1) Separate clauses using punctuation.
2) Separate clauses using a conjunction.
3) Rearrange the sentence (you may add or remove words).
Run-on sentence: He put on some sunscreen, the sun was so extremely hot, and he
wanted to go inside.
"He put on some sunscreen" 1st clause
"the sun was so extremely hot" 2nd clause
"he wanted to go inside" 3rd clause
Corrected sentence: He put on some sunscreen because the sun was extremely hot. He
wanted to go inside.
In the corrected sentence, we separated the 1st and 2nd clauses using the conjunction "because", and we removed the word "so". We also separated the 2nd and 3rd clauses using a period.
Note: Just because a sentence is long does not necessarily mean it is a run-on. Some long sentences are grammatically correct, while some short sentences are run-ons.
Note: Simple, short sentences are the easiest to read and understand!
Directions: try to correct the following run-on sentences.
1. My mother and father and sister are coming to dinner tonight.
________________________________________________________________________
2. I like learning English it makes me tired.
________________________________________________________________________
3. My sister was taller than me when we were young now I am the tallest it is fun.
________________________________________________________________________
4. I love school, I love learning, my teacher is nice.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. I don’t want much for Christmas just some chocolates and a little toy car.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. Blue is my favorite color it is the color of the sky and the sea and it reminds me of my favorite insect which is the butterfly.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. When I get older I want to have a big family I like big families.
________________________________________________________________________
8. We usually leave at 11:00 but today is different we are leaving at 10:30.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. I like Tuesdays and Wednesdays and I like Fridays because the weekend starts on Friday.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. We should get moving there’s no time to waste.
_____________________________________________________________________
****************************************************************************
Creative Writing: Portfolio Piece 2
DUE Monday, March 10th (print before class)
Length: 150 words
Format: 11 point font, Calibri
Standard margins
Double-spaced
Prompt: You know that noise we hear coming out of the heating unit in our classroom? The weird
one that randomly sounds like there's a creature trapped inside, or maybe a small army of
imaginary people? Tell me what it is. I'd like to know who or what is in there, what it's
called, why it's there, and what it's doing. Be as descriptive as you can - tell me what it
(or they) look like.
Grading: Appropriate length (around 150 words) - 10 pts
Creativity - 10 pts
Correct format - 6 pts
Grammar - 10 pts
Spelling - 10 pts
Final draft (to be completed after corrections) - 4 pts
*Please double-check your paper for punctuation, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, correct capitalization, and so on!*
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