Dialogue in Writing (An ESCAPE ROOM)

Today's Goal:
We're writing today, and focusing some of our time on dialogue.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3.B
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
The Plan:

1. Read!
2. Write!
3. Dialogue Escape Room.
4. Go back to writing IF your break out ;)

Dialogue Escape Room

Part of what you will be assessed on for your short story is your dialogue. You MUST include dialogue, where characters speak to each other in a meaningful way.

Working together with a partner, access the Dialogue Escape Room. There are FIVE rooms. If you successfully break out of all of them, there is a sticker in it for you.

A few things to remember:

• This is going to be hard. It's supposed to be. You are clever enough to do this. Don't give up.
  
• You will probably have to use some external resources to figure out some of these rules.
  
• Nothing is off limits. Ask Siri. Look it up on Google. Look in your Silent Reading Books.
  
• Working together is absolutely necessary for this. You must work with your partner to escape.

Once you break out, your task is to go into your story and see if you can add some meaningful dialogue and format it correctly.

Reminders/Homework:

• ROUGH DRAFT DUE MONDAY, NOVEMBER FIVE (Period 4/6)
  ROUGH DRAFT DUE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER TWO (Period 1/3/5)
• Make sure you add dialogue to your story!

What's a rough draft Ms. Black? It means write your story on the google doc provided in Google Classroom. Literally, just get it out of your head. If you wait to write your story the day before it is due, then it will turn out poorly. I'm asking you to write your story now so that we can make it better between now and the due date. That's what I'm here for. 

The Halloween Tree

PERIOD 4 and 6 ONLY:

Today's Goal: Work on your rough draft of your story.

The Plan:

1. Read
2. Work on Rough Draft
3. Halloween Tree

Reminders/Homework:
ROUGH DRAFT DUE MONDAY, NOVEMBER FIVE (Period 4/6)
ROUGH DRAFT DUE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER TWO (Period 1/3/5)

Video Screencast for "Let's Start Writing"

This video is for period 1, 3, and 5. I am absent today, unfortunately. I recorded this last night to tell you what you're doing today. Please bear with me; I don't feel that great, but I have attempted to give you lots of helpful information.

It ends abruptly because I ran out of time. Sorry!
Period 3: You need to give Ms. Keane your plot diagram on your way out the door today. I'll get them back to you next class.

Click here for example Letter about Literature

Homework: Start writing your story. Take 20 minutes each night to write a paragraph. You can do it.

Let's Start Writing.

Today's Goal: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3.A
organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
The Plan:

1. Narrative Writing Stations Practice (This is a 10 question multiple choice quiz. You can do it.)
2. Open Google Classroom and Read.
3. Letter about Literature
4. Begin your Spoooooky Story writing!

Letter About Literature

• Today we're going to write letters. This is something we're going to do pretty regularly in the next quarter, so let's start now!
• On Google Classroom, you will find a document that has FOUR prompts on it.
• Pick one, think about a book you finished in quarter 1, and write. 
• Here's the link to books you read. Press Control+F to search for your name!

Starting your Story -

• I will give you back your plot diagram today.
  
• I hopefully wrote something helpful or I will check in with you to ask you some questions to help guide you.
  
• You have a document on Google Classroom to write your story. Right now, there is no worrying about whether or not it is perfect. It's not perfect and that's amazing and wonderful and exactly what it should be.
  
• Today, there is only writing or not writing.
  
• Choose writing. :)

Reminders/Homework:

• You have until Sunday to get any Lt. Race Paragraph revisions done and submitted on the Revision Request form. After that, I will not feel bad about the zeroes.
• Spooky Story Due Friday, November 9

Plotting Your Story

Today you're going to plan the plot
for your OWN story!

Today's Goal:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3.A
organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

The Plan:

1. Read! (10 minutes)
2. Finish your last station and make sure all slides are complete. If you are missing some work, visit the stations you need to visit in order to complete the work (40 minutes)
3. Plot YOUR narrative story. (30 minutes)
4. Social Contract Reflection of the week (10 minutes)

Finishing your Stations

I'm not assigning your movements today. You have 20 minutes to finish your last station, and 10-ish minutes to finish up what you have not completed. Work with whoever you need to to make that happen.

Plotting Your Story

Today I will ask you to plot out your own story. I will give you a plot diagram on paper.

What happens in the beginning? The middle? the end? 

If you aren't sure, that's okay! I will help!

HERE ARE SOME PROMPTS IF YOU NEED IDEAS.

You will turn your plot diagram in today before you leave so that I can give you some feedback and questions to help guide you. If you are absent, please print one or come get one from me and turn it in as soon as possible.

IF you need more time to fill out your plot diagram, that's fine, but you need to turn it in to me today or tomorrow (not next class. Tomorrow. I promise I don't disappear on days when you don't have Language Arts. I'm still here!)

Social Contract Reflection

Over the past week, you have been working in groups. You set at goal at the beginning of this, and it was related to our class social contract. Today is the day to reflect on your successes and struggles. Honesty is the most important! I will give you back your sheet and you'll turn it in before you leave. 

Reminders/Homework:

• Bring back your plot diagram ASAP if you didn't finish. Like today or at RAM tomorrow.
• Your Narrative Story Rubric Requirements is linked here
• Review the following ideas. You will be assessed on these in a short, multiple choice quiz on Thursday/Monday. It will be on the Q1 report card.
• point of view (1st, 3rd limited and omniscient)
• examples of sensory details
• subject and predicate and fragment
• mood
• compound sentences
• characterization
• On Thursday/Monday, I will ALSO ask you to do some writing about the independent reading books you have been reading. Please be prepared for this. If you do not remember which books you read, talk to me or start investigating or both.
• Here is a link to all the books you have submitted on the "I FINISHED A BOOK!" form. If you finished a book and it's not here, you should fill out the form.

Narrative Stations Continued :)

Hi! Please see previous post for our class work for Friday, October 19, and Monday, Oct 22. 

Have a great weekend!

Narrative Writing Stations

Today's Goal: Learn about and practice narrative writing techniques through station rotations

Unit Question: How does an author’s voice and word choice affect the mood of a story?

The Plan:

1. Read!
2. Social Contract Goal-Setting (You'll get a paper copy and turn it in immediately)
3. Narrative Writing Stations

Narrative Writing Stations:

This is going to take a few days, and will all be done in class unless time is wasted.

• You will work with your group VERY closely. 
• 20 minutes at each station
• 1 person is in charge of timekeeping
• 1 person is a direction reader
• What you don't finish in your 20 minutes is homework

Station directions are at your tables, but for future reference, they are linked here as well:

• Station 1: Atmosphere
• Station 2: Mood
• Station 3: Characterization
• Station 4: Create your Characters
• Station 5: Point of View
• Station 6: Conclusions
• Station 7: Simple Sentences
• Station 8: Compound Sentences

Reminders/Homework:

• MALALA RACE PARAGRAPH ASSESSMENT INFORMATION:
• Your scores should be up by the time you get to class, and the rubrics are already in the document for you to look at.
• I will offer retakes on 
• Monday, Oct 22 at RAM
• Wednesday, Oct 24 at RAM
• Wednesday, Oct 24 AFTER SCHOOL
• You must show me a completed graphic organizer in order to try again.
• Complete the "LUMEN" Vocabulary Four Square on your "Magical Root Word" slideshow.
• Make sure your plot diagram is complete for "Knock...Knock...Knock"
• I scored your Lt. Penney articles this weekend. You can see the rubric if you open up the document. Feel free to revise and resubmit. 
• In order to request that I score it again, you must fill out THIS FORM.
• Read your book!

Knock...Knock...Knock...

Today's Goal: 
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

Unit Question: How does an author’s voice and word choice affect the mood of a story?

The Plan:

1. Reading Check-in - please fill this out to tell me detailed information about the book you are currently reading.
2. Read!
3. Magical Root Word - Find your slides on Google Classroom!
4. A short, spooky, shivery story called "Knock...Knock...Knock" - an urban legend retold by Robert D. San Souci
5. Plot

Magical Root Words
We're going to learn some roots this year.
Greek and Latin roots are present in soooo many words in our world. They have meanings, and help give us clues about what the whole word means.

Today we're going to learn about "lum/lumen/luc." There is a set of slides you will use on Google Classroom!

Plot
Definition: the main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.

We often use a Plot Rollercoaster to represent each part of the plot. The goal is to make everything happen in order so that it makes sense to the reader and builds a complete story.

We will fill out this as a class after we read the story, "Knock...Knock...Knock..." out loud together.

Reminders/Homework:

• Complete the "LUMEN" Vocabulary Four Square on your "Magical Root Word" slideshow.
• Make sure your plot diagram is complete for "Knock...Knock...Knock"
• I scored your Lt. Penney articles this weekend. You can see the rubric if you open up the document. Feel free to revise and resubmit. 
• In order to request that I score it again, you must fill out THIS FORM.
• Read your book!

Spoooooooky vs. Scary (Also a survey)

Today's Goal: Take a survey about our class after we spend some time talking about our next unit of study!

The Plan:

1. Read!
2. Narrative Introduction - Spooky vs. Scary
3. A Quickwrite on Google Classroom
4. A survey about our class

Our directions are on this set of slides:

Reminders/Homework:

• Brainstorm with people about spooky/creepy things that might be good for a story. No need to write it down
• Read your book.

R.A.C.E. Paragraph Assessment: Is Malala Yousafzai a true hero?

Today's Goal: RACE PARAGRAPH ASSESSMENT. Show yourself what you can do all on your own!

The Plan:

1. Read
2. GAME OF QUOTES (if you're absent, you'll play another time time.)
3. R.A.C.E. paragraph assessment
4. READ when done! Yay! You did it!

RACE Paragraph Assessment:

• You will receive a new copy of the Malala article you read last class.
• You are NOT required to annotate it. (You're welcome.)
• This is because you already did it once, BUT it is a process that could be helpful. "Not required" doesn't necessarily mean "don't do it." Just saying.
• You have a choice:
• paper and highlighter
• Google Classroom

Reminders/Homework:

• Finish your RACE Paragraph on Lt. Penney. I'm in the middle of grading those. (See last post for rubric)

RACE Paragraph Assessment Preparation

Today's Goal: First read of the article you will use to write a RACE paragraph next week.

The Plan:

1. Read
2. Article about Malala Yousafzai - Read using the "Say Something" procedure with a partner.
3. Annotate the article using the required steps (see annotation notes from previous posts)
4. Work with a partner to complete the graphic organizer.

Here is the rubric I will use to score your Lt. Penney RACE paragraph AND your Malala Yousafzai RACE paragraph

Reminders/Homework:

• This weekend I will be grading period 4/6 Lt. Penney paragraphs. Make sure they are done!
• On Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, you will have your RACE Paragraph assessment. I will give you a BLANK article that you will need to annotate in the same way we have learned, and you will write a RACE paragraph independently.
• READ!

RACE Paragraph #2: Lt. Penney

I left you comments on your first RACE paragraph.

Dear Period 1, 3, and 5: We're going through this a little out of order/on a different schedule because of conference week. Please ask me if you have questions or are absent.

Today's Goal: Get feedback on your first RACE paragraph, and use your graphic organizer and feedback to write your second RACE paragraph!

The Plan:

1. Read
2. Look at your feedback on your first RACE Paragraph on Google Classroom. Remember the assignment is called "RACES Notes and Practice"
3. Use the feedback to ask questions and begin writing your next RACE paragraph. This is also an assignment on Google Classroom.

Reminders/Homework:

• RACE Paragraph #2 is due next class. It must be DONE when you show up to class
• If you have a zero for your courage acrostic poem, it could be that it's in the back of the room because your MLA header is incorrect.

Annotating an Article: Lt. "Lucky" Penney

Today's Goal: Learn the Ram Way of annotating a text. 

The Plan:

1. Read
2. Lt. Penney article
   We will read and annotate the article. I will give you a paper copy.
3. Work on a RACE paragraph graphic organizer to plan out the RACE paragraph you will write next class. (also on paper.)
4. If there's time, begin to write your RACE paragraph on Google Classroom, but focus on the rest first.

Annotating a text:

There are FOUR steps to annotation here at Twin Peaks. 

*Secret Step 0: Read through the entire article once silently to yourself

STEP 1: Number the paragraphs

STEP 2: Key Terms

• These are the most important names or places

STEP 3: Highlight unfamiliar words/terms

• look them up or ask your neighbors or teacher to help you understand the word
• Make a note in the margins

STEP 4: Underline evidence/claims/analysis

• Make a note in the margins

Important:

Do not highlight or underline something if you can’t say anything about it in the margins. Label it, write your thoughts, or define the word. write something That supports your understanding.

For your graphic organizer:

Is Lt. Lucky Penny an example of someone who is a true hero? Why or why not?

Reminders/Homework:

• READ A BOOK!
• Finish your Lt. Penney Graphic Organizer. You will use it to write your RACE paragraph next class.
• Make sure your first RACE paragraph is done. Ms. Black wants to leave you comments.
• If you have zeros for assignments you turned in, check the basket in the back of the room for incorrect MLA headers or No Name papers. If you find it, fix it and turn it in to the inbox.