Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Casey at the Bat

Casey at the Bat
by Ernest Thayer

The Outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, if only Casey could get but a whack at that -
We'd put up even money, now, with Casey at the bat.

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despis-ed, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped-
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And its likely they'd a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two."

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.

Need a Rhyme

Rhymezone

So what do you do when you need to rhyme?  How about going to Rhymezone?  When you are writing a poem and you need a word bank to help you, Rhymezone is a great resource.  All you do is type in the word and it gives you a bunch of choices.  Don't forget though, a poem still has to make sense and be meaningful.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Angry

Angry
by Sara Holbrook

You can't hold me
angry, angry,
When I'm angry
angry, angry.
There's no comfort
in your touching when I'm mad.

If you talk to me, I'll fight you.
If you reach for me, I'll bite you,
'cause I'm angry,
'cause I'm angry,
'cause I'm mad.

Though at first it wasn't you,
I was mad, but not at you,
till you held me,
or you tried,
to push my mad aside.
I'm a raging storm inside.
You can't hold me
and you tried.
Now I'm angry 'cause you tried.

Now I'm angry with an anger
you can't hold and I can't hide,
angry, angry
angry, angry.
Can't control me,
angry, angry.
You can't hold me,
angry, angry.
So don't try.

The poem is from the book, I Never Said I Wasn't Difficult. You can buy it HERE
Image from epicnewsezine.com.

Rewrite Your Poetry

Take a piece of advise from Lee Bennet Hopkins in his poem titled, Dear Poet. Take one of your drafts, Reading Workshop students, copy it twice, and write three versions.

Dear Poet,

Do you want
to write a poem?

Forget it . . .
until
you have
rewritten it.

Make your poem
stronger
by
not
writing a poem

but
rewriting it
and
rewriting it
and
rewriting it

until--

what you
have
is
a poem
like
no
other
poet
has
ever
written--

or

rewritten--

before!

Poem from Seeing the Blue Between compiled by Paul Janeczko.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Impose Your Will



Celebrate Poetry

 In Reading Workshop we are celebrating National Poetry Month. Students are reading and writing poems. Many will be shared on their blogs. Today's poems are inspired by Donald Graves from his book, Baseball, Snakes, and Summer Squash. These poems tell of the trials of growing up.



Thursday, April 14, 2016

These Amazing Kids

I have sat and watched sixth grade students take tests this week. All I can say is that I am amazed. The work ethic and effort I have witnessed is unbelievable. Students gave everything they had to do their best. As a teacher it is humbling to see such effort. I am so glad to have had the chance to spend the year in language arts with these students.

The MAP Test measures students' growth throughout the school year and the scores were through the roof. Students took the first MAP test in September. It projected a score that they should achieve by the end of the year. Over 92% of the Reading Workshop students exceeded the projected score and most were much higher than projected.

If I was in charge of schools, I would put an immediate end to testing. I know it serves a purpose, but there are better ways to evaluate students, teachers, and schools. Unfortunately, testing controls education today. I guess this points even more towards what a remarkable event I witnessed this week. 

No one in schools likes testing, and especially not students. Considering this, the drive and determination I watched this week will be something I will remember always. And even more important, this strength of character will lead these students to unimagined successes down the road.

Great job Reading Workshop students!

Monday, April 11, 2016

Spoken Word Poetry

Ms. Woerner shared this video today in Reading Workshop. Taken from the famous basketball movie, Coach Carter, it has an excellent example of Spoken Poetry.





Timo Cruz:

Our deepest fear
is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear
is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
that most frightens us.
Your playing small
does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened
about shrinking
so that other people
won't feel insecure around you.
We were all meant to shine
as children do.
It's not just in some of us;
it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously
give other people permission
to do the same.
As we are liberated
from our own fear,
our presence automatically
liberates others.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Bad Poem




This poem is from the book Seeing the Blue Between available HERE.

Here's a Few Poem Titles

Weird Students
Mismatched Socks
Riding Vader (My Horse)
I Ate Too Much Chocolate
Cheesy Biscuits and Garlic Breath
Hard Workers
Eli is Not So Shy Any More
Just Plain Megan
Cafeteria Noise
Why Do You Make Me Have to be Mean?
The General aka Mrs. Hardin
Frank the Tank (Kaminsky)
Frank Gets Class
Rainy School Days
Zoom aka Carter
Zoom Thinks He's a Super Hero
The Last Class Was Boring
It Was All My Fault
I was Boring
We Were Still Asleep
Last Night I Had Bad Dreams
Why Does Tacey Work So Hard?
Distracting Class
Off Topic
Writing
World Hunt
I Hate to Lose
My Truck Got Washed Today
I Want to Cry
Not
720 Classes in a Year
My Heart's a Stereo
I Want to Be the Next American Idol
Everybody Now, Slide to the Left
Courage Enough to Write
My Diet Starts Next Monday
Grandma Has Gas
Talk Less, Write More
Afraid of Poetry
Dreams, Desire, Dedication, and Dish Washing
My Chucks Have Blue Shoestrings
Whining Instead of Working
Flo Rider (I Cry)
Music Makes Me Think
Are We Going to Sing Today and Other Questions Students Ask Every Day
Can I Go to the Bathroom?
How Many Topics Should I List?
Is This OK?
Allison Got Her Name on the Sign
Seriously, Aren't you a Little Sick of Cats Because I Am
Alexis, Allison, and Ashton
Earn a Brave Buck
A Little Less Cry and a Lot More Effort
My Sense of Humor is Underappreciated
Nose Pickers
Eddie's Hair
Take a Load Off Fannie
Morning Announcements
It's For not Fur
Red Card
You Can't Have My List
I Wonder What You Don't Know That I Don't Know
A Spot in Time and It's Not a Dalmation
Spaghetti Face
I Hate Sporks

Image from www.mycutegraphics.com


Friday, April 1, 2016

Dentist and the Crocodile

Dentist and the Crocodile 

by Roald Dahl

The crocodile, with cunning smile, 
sat in the dentist's chair.
He said, "Right here and everywhere 

my teeth require repair."
The dentist's face was turning white. 

He quivered, quaked and shook.
He muttered, "I suppose I'm going t

o have to take a look."
"I want you," Crocodile declared,
 "to do the back ones first.
The molars at the very back are easily the worst."
He opened wide his massive jaws. It was a fearsome sight––
At least three hundred pointed teeth, all sharp and shining white.
The dentist kept himself well clear. He stood two yards away.
He chose the longest probe he had to search out the decay.
"I said to do the back ones first!" the Crocodile called out.
"You're much too far away, dear sir, to see what you're about.
To do the back ones properly you've got to put your head
Deep down inside my great big mouth," the grinning Crocky said.
The poor old dentist wrung his hands and, weeping in despair,
He cried, "No no! I see them all extremely well from here!"
Just then, in burst a lady, in her hands a golden chain.
She cried, "Oh Croc, you naughty boy, you're playing tricks again!"
"Watch out!" the dentist shrieked and started climbing up the wall.
"He's after me! He's after you! He's going to eat us all!"
"Don't be a twit," the lady said, and flashed a gorgeous smile.
"He's harmless. He's my little pet, my lovely crocodile."


The book, Poetry Speaks to Children contains this poem and is available HERE.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

See the Good



Image from @marcandangel

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Just for a Smile



Image from @TheFunnyWorld

Monday, March 21, 2016

What Will You Use Your Success For?

This year in Reading Workshop we have talked a lot about being successful. Dr. Cornel West, speaking at Columbus State University asks about the next step--what will you use your success for?



Dr. West also says, you are going to have to muster the courage to examine who you are. Thoughts? Opinions?

Friday, March 18, 2016

KP Asks How Can We Make the World More Awesome?



Thursday, March 17, 2016

Kindness Project


Monday, March 14, 2016

Kindness Project




Students, you and a partner have one week to make Salt Creek a better place. You can do any kind of project you wish. You must document/journal/diary the project. An act of kindness can be towards one person or many. It can be a one-time thing or ongoing. 

Grades are based on two parts. The first half is based on your writing. The other half is based on your creativity and the ability to make the life of someone else better.

Do You Have Drive?


Friday, March 11, 2016

More Connections

We have been talking about Connections as Readers. Here are some more examples from Reading Workshop students.

Calla
Today in the book Rules by Cynthia Lord, Catherine went to Jason's birthday party where she didn't know anyone there. The only person that she knew was Jason. The way that I can relate to that part in the book is because one time I went to a party and the only person that I knew was the person hosting the party. It was pretty awkward only knowing that one person.

Rachel
The book I am reading is called Runaway by Wendelin Van Draanen. The connection I made today in my book is when Holly wants a dog. She goes to the pound to find her a dog but the pound won't let a kid have a dog unless a parent signs for it. After she left she though to herself "The pound is like a death row for dogs, only the dogs haven't done anything wrong!" That is kind of the same thing I thought when my mom, sister and I went to the pound to find a dog. The dogs look so sad when you go into a pound, I just wanted to take all of the dogs home.

Luke

I had a really serious connection with my book The Living. In The Living Shy's grandma died of a a thing called Romeros Disease. After that his cousin Miguel also got the sickness. When I was about seven or six my grandpa died of a heart attack. I was devastated just like Shy. Only a few weeks back my grandma had some of the symptoms of a heart attack and I really just panicked. But I know of all the pain Shy is having because having a dearth or near death experience hurts your heart.  

Sydney Today when I was reading 'Warriors Forest Of Secrets', I read that when the war ended all of the cats were worn out and beat up. They all had to see the medicine cats to treat their wounds. They all had not to bad scars on them, but the battle hurt them. The cat that alarmed the clan was a cat called Brackenpaw, he was on a hunting mission with Fireheart (The main character) when Brackenpaw smelled the other clans! He went to tell Fireheart, and he was just in time too. He went to tell his clan that they were coming, they won the battle! Brackenpaw was named a warrior after his act of bravery... This is a connection to me because one time in the summer we were playing capture the flag! The war between the two teams were finally over. My team had won and everyone was tired and exhausted. Someone on the other team had got scratched on the elbow, so they had to get a bandaid. At the end, the person that got the flag was officially the 'king' of capture the flag.

Hailey

I am reading "The Honest Truth" by Dan Gemeinhart. While I was reading I made a connection. In this book the main character, Mark, is climbing a mountain, Mount Rainer, the tallest mountain in North America. While he is climbing the mountain his dog, Beau warns him about a crevasse. A crevasse is a really deep crack that can sometimes be on mountains, and Mount Rainer was full of them. This is a connection for me because I was walking in a field with my dog and there was a really deep hole in the ground that I didn't know about And he barked and he saved me. 

JosieThe book that I am reading is Seekers Forest Of Wolves. The connection that I had with the book was a place. In the book it said that Lusa and Toklo were standing on top of the valley and they could see a path that went by a tree that had its roots sticking out of the ground that went right into the creek. I had a connection with this because at my aunt's house she has a path through the woods that leads to a tree like the one in my book. That is one of the many connections i have with my book.  

A Different World

Living in a rural area in Southeast Ohio, this video from Verizon advertising a GalaxyS7 shows a much different world than where we live. Can you imagine yourself there?

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Students Are Connected

Here are some examples of connections students had as they were reading:

A connection I had today was from the book "The Dog Who Danced" by Susan Wilson. The connection I got from reading this book was that it reminded me of another book I have read in the past. The other book is called "Umbrella Summer". The reason "The Dog Who Danced" reminds me of "Umbrella Summer" is because Ed and Alice's (The Dog Who Danced) daughter died and in "Umbrella Summer" the main characters brother died. The reason that made me think of this was that the characters in "The Dog Who Danced" and "Umbrella Summer" are both sad from the recent death of family members.  

In my book All Fall Down by Ally Carter it is about this girl named Grace. Everybody thinks Grace is going crazy ever since her mom died three years ago. People think this because Grace watched her mom die so she is the only one who knows what really happened. Nobody believes her though. I can make a connection with this because on Thursday night's I help out with some little girls in dance class. There is one little girl named Adele, she is three and her mom died last year. Ever since then in class she'll get mad and go crazy over small things. That might be normal for most three year olds, but that is not the way Adele used to act.

I just started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley have a baby named Dudley. One gray Tuesday Dudley's mom had to wrestle little screaming Dudley in to his high chair. My connection was when my little sister Delaney was a baby she would always scream and cry when I tried to put her in her high chair. Her screaming would always drive me crazy.

Erin
A connection I made while reading City of Bones is that the main character, Clary Fray is mad at her mom because her mom told Clary that they were going on vacation for the rest of the summer, and that meant that Clary to put an end to her summer actives. Clary left the house and her mom kept on calling her . Clary felt guilty because she kept ignoring her moms calls. I can connect with this because I remember a time when I was about four or five and I was mad at my mom because she was making me clean my room up and I wasn't allowed to go out until it was clean. I jumped out of the bedroom window and claimed that I was running away, but my mom caught me and made me go back inside. 

The connection that I had made to the book "You Have Seven Messages," is that the main character Luna, loves to take photos. Luna likes to take photos like of her family and friends, just like I enjoy taking. She also likes to take photos of strange things in nature, which I love to take pictures of really unique and different flowers. So in the book, "You Have Seven Messages" by Stewart Lewis, I have only made one connection, but I am sure that I will find many more!
 
Today as I read the book "The Body in the Woods" by April Henry- I felt a real connection with one of the main characters. There are three main characters in this book, and they all have different personality's. The main character I am most like is Alexis. I think I have a real connection with her because she is scared and paranoid of the scary things in life. In this book Alexis is the one who found the body in the woods. When she found this body she froze and stared at this dead girl. She tried to bring herself to go toured the body but it was to hard. She started walking slowly, but so slowly it was like she was walking in place. She got close enough to the body she decided to blow her whistle as loud as she could to get her friends to where she was at. She wasn't fearless. She was just so scared she almost couldn't blow her whistle. When her friends came back she just stood there staring at the dead girl's half open eyes. Even after the cops came, she wanted to believe it wasn't real, that it was just a bad dream. She honestly didn't know how to react, and I don't blame her. 

Alexis is just like me because I am sacred, I am paranoid, and I can't handle situations like that. If I was her I would do almost the exact same thing. I wouldn't know how to react so I would just panic and freak out. I would freeze like Alexis did, I wouldn't be able to talk, and I definitely wouldn't be able to breath. I would pretty much have an anxiety attack. Unlike her though I would scream, as loud as I could. Then I would blow my whistle. I might act fearless (which I am), but when it comes to spiders and situations like this... I honestly don't know how to react. The only thing I'm good at is scream. Which only makes the situation scarier.

I had a lot of connections while reading the book I Am Number Four, but the biggest connection was when the main character (Johnny) was going to a Halloween Festival with his dog dressed as a superhero and his Dad. They bought raffle tickets and Johnny went to a Haunted hayride with his friends. I connected to this scene because I remember on halloween we took our dog and dressed her as a superhero too. Also because right after halloween I went to this haunted house with most of my friends. I have so many connections in this book and that's just some of them.  

I am reading Code Of Honor. Kamran Smith's brother is accused of being a terrorist. Kamran just got captured and is being held prisoner of the United States Government. Kamran is being held in a cell for weeks and has talking to people about his brother, Darius. Though one night he decided to escape. He had hit a guy with a lunch tray to get out. Kamran had to run hide and sneak around until he was almost outside. Then he had to shoot a fire extinguisher to cover him while he ran past some guards. Kamran kept running and ran into the guy he hit earlier. It ended up him and someone else were coming to get him out anyway. He did all that for nothing. 

Right when I read that I could relate to it. One night I was staying up pretty late on a school night to get finished with my homework. I was rushing through everything and finally got finished with all of it. It ended up we had a snow-day the next day and I kind of did all of it for nothing, just like what Kamran did. I felt good when I got finished, but when I found out I could have done it the next day I was a little mad. I bet Kamran was too.

My connection I had today was from the book Starters by Lissa Price. There was a part in this book were Callie went to Prime, a hospital and she saw Michael and he had a different face because he looked bad before, at least that is my inference. But in my old book Wonder the main character was Aggie. He had 27 surgeries since he was born and he looked bad. 

My book is the last book of the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson and it is called Never More. I made a connection in a part in the middle of a book and it was when the main character Max got mad and kicked over a candle. When she did that it set the whole tree house on fire so she had to get out and fly away. She continued to say sorry to Dylan (the guy that made the tree house) and he continued to say it was okay. I related to that because one time I broke something glass of my grandma's and felt really bad. She said it was fine and it wasn't my fault. I still felt really bad and kept blaming my self.  
 
I am reading a book called Zane And The Hurricane and I am on page 15 . When I was reading page 14 they were talking about that a storm was not going to keep going. They thought it was going to stop but it did not stop all. That was like when hurricane Sandy hit Greater Antilles, Eastern United States, Bermuda, Bahamas, and Eastern Canada. They thought it was going to stop and it did not stop. It was a storm that died down two days after.

My book is Belly Up and one connection I had with it was when Teddy ran into the prehistoric period exhibit with all of the animatronic dinosaurs. They were scaring him when he walked by. This reminded me of the time I went to Universal Studios in Florida to ride a ride called Jurassic Park: The Ride. We got in this boat thing and at first it was slow but then the story plot changed. One of the dinosaurs escaped! Then the boat was flying, it was so fast and when we rode by, the dinosaurs jumped and scared everyone. And then we finally reached the dinosaur that escaped, we just kept on going, right between his legs and then slid down a waterslide! That was one connection that I had with my book.

 

Connections

Today's topic is Reading Connections. Effective readers constantly connect to the text as they read.  Their inner voice  relates the text to their life, other books they have read, and prior knowledge.  Readers with higher levels of comprehension consistently and constantly make connections between the meaning of the words, and background knowledge.

For information you can see Reading Workshop Connections and More on Connections.



Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Do Something


Friday, March 4, 2016

Time Online Response

You can read the article used for this assignment at How Much Time Do You Spend Online?


Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Wisdom From the Dr.

Your assignment today, Reading Workshop students is to pick one life lesson from Dr. Seuss and write a blog post about it. Share your thoughts, ideas, and/or opinions. How does this life lesson apply to you? You might even be courageous and write in the style of Dr. Seuss.

As Dr. Seuss would say:

Whatever you write, whatever you do, let everyone know, the who is you.







Image from facebook.com/AFeelGoodWorld

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss


Friday, February 26, 2016

Could This Describe How You Operate?


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Are You Reading Something Good?


Monday, February 22, 2016

Happy Monday


Monday, February 8, 2016

Power of Dreams


Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Making Mistakes

Do you have courage enough to make mistakes?


Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Be Successful


Thursday, January 28, 2016

Kid President's Thought for Today


Monday, January 25, 2016

The Roots Video




You can see a list of stems from weekly vocabulary lessons Stems #1-8.
You can see a complete list of Stems Here.
You can also use an online Etymology Dictionary.

Friday, January 8, 2016

Student Choice Project

Reading Workshop students, you have your choice of genre for the next project. Please fill out the form below and submit. Once this form has been turned in, I will meet with you individually or in small groups to discuss your project.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Grammar from The Insanity Zone


Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Baby, Fix Your Sentences


Monday, January 4, 2016

Take Control of the Rest of the Year


Sunday, January 3, 2016

Grammar Police


Friday, December 18, 2015

Want to Understand Your Teacher?


Thursday, December 17, 2015

The Grammar Song


Fragments From the Doctor


Fused/Run-on Sentences

Here are a few tips from the doctor.


Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Do You Have What it Takes to Succeed?


Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Paulsen on Books


Monday, December 7, 2015

Know Your Homophones


Homophones--Words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings.

Not Homophones—where/were
Homophones—where/wear
A
ant, aunt

H
here/hear

P
peer, pier

T
there, they're, their
threw, through
to, two, too

W
where,wear

The rules for today's Reading Workshop Homophone Telephone:
1. You can only whisper to the person beside you
2. You can only use www.dictionary.com as a resource
3. You can share with the person on each side
4. If you hear (here) words from anyone other than the person beside you, you (ewe) cannot use those words
5. If homophones start with different letters, you can list them under whichever word you list first.
6. You can't (cant) use proper nouns.

Friday, December 4, 2015

A Poster Child for Success

Her first month of school was tough. She was in trouble for not doing her school work. She spent every recess in study table. Her grades were not good. She got a lecture, or had to listen to teachers talk about not getting her work done daily. I had several conversations with her myself, and none seemed to help.

Fast forward to December and she is a success. She is getting every assignment complete and never has to go to study table. She is working hard to do her best. Her teachers are proud of her.

Annie's story started with the decision that she didn't want study table any more. She was tired of the pressure to do her work. She made the decision to start doing her work. Then she talked to all of her teachers about her missing assignments and how to get caught up on her work. She spent a few days working real hard to get everything done. Then she made sure she did all of her homework every night.

So what's the message here? Success is possible. It can and did happen. It seems simple when you read about it. Annie made it look easy. And when it happened it was amazing. Everyone felt good. The teachers were so proud of her. All it took was a little hard work and a lot of determination. Great job Annie!

Monday, November 23, 2015

KP Says, "Be Thankful!"

I am so thankful for this year's sixth grade class. It is a smiley class with a ton of students with great attitudes. As we take a break for Thanksgiving, thanks to all the students in the hallway at Salt Creek that are making this a great year!


Be Who You Are


Friday, November 20, 2015

In Conclusion





Here is an example of a great conclusion from a recent writing assignment, As a Writer . . . Luke's conclusion wraps up his essay and leaves the reader understanding him as a writer.

My goal as a writer is to wow the reader. I’m trying very hard every time I write to do my best and get the best response from the reader. I don’t just write for a grade. I write because it is what I like to do.  I love that feeling of someone telling me that the writing I do is great and and creative, and just fun to read. I know I have a few mistakes, but either way I’m going to be the best writer I can.

Here is another example from Kaleigh. Although it is shorter, it sums up her essay in a great way.

In eleven weeks of school, I have learned so much about writing. I understand what I am doing well and what I need to work on. If I keep practicing I hope my spelling problems and lack of ideas will be improved!


Here is another example of a good conclusion written by Ella.

Over the past nine weeks I have continued to improve as a writer.  I also need to work on different things that will help me get a better grade on my essays.  However, there are also things I have succeeded in writing as well.  In conclusion, I will continue to improve when I write in Language Arts class!

Ellie wraps up her essay well by restating her main point.
 
I am going to get better at writing this year because I am going to try my best. I have been making mistakes but that’s fine to me because it is teaching me that I need to do better. I’m ready to start getting better at writing and keeping up the work I already do well.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Kid President and I Agree




Monday, November 16, 2015

Make Success Happen


The Setting

The setting is where a story takes place, when it takes place, and the duration. The setting can include specific information about time and place or can simply be descriptive. A novel has an overall setting but scenes usually occur in several different settings.

The time in setting doesn't usually mean what time it is on the clock. The time of the setting is broader, like a period of years or in time.

Duration means the time period from the beginning to the end of the story. For some stories this is just a few hours or days; other stories span decades or centuries.

The example used in class is from the book 3:15, Things That Go Bump in the Night by Patrick Carman.  The audio password is cody. The video password is hook.

Reading Workshop students, for this project, the goal is to define setting, analyze the impact the setting has on the book you are reading, and then share it in a piece of writing using details from the book to support your points. This should be at least a five paragraph essay beginning with an introduction, a body that includes specific scenes/events from the book and ending in a conclusion that wraps up the topic.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Things to Do Today

Are you busy? Could you spare a minute?


Are You Ready?

Sometime life comes at you from all directions. Are you ready when it does?



Friday, November 6, 2015

Have a Great Friday!

It's Friday!



Image from @weareteachers.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Be Great!


Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Just A Little Punny


Monday, October 26, 2015

Tell Me About the Main Character

Start with the name and go from there. Tell about the main character in the book you are reading. Describe him/her. What makes him like he is? How does he act? Think? Respond? Feel?

Please use details to support your writing. For example, if you state that he is brave, you should have a detailed scene from the book that proves your claim.

Whatever you do, DO NOT RETELL THE STORY! This assignment is to tell about the main character. If you summarize or retell the book, you are not following the directions!

Make your writing interesting. Think about the character. The best essays will be written by a writer than gets inside the book and the character.

Image from www.bluestemprairie.com

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Think Before You Post



If you are posting at school, you might also add:

T - is it on task?
H - is it helping you be successful?
I - is your post informative?
N - is it needed?
K - is it sharing knowledge?

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Heroes

A lot of the time we talk about what makes a hero. Yesterday I saw some students make a choice that showed me that they are real life heroes. They made a tough but good decision to stand for something. They worked hard in class when others chose not to work. They stood strong, ignored those not working, and gave their all to success.

Great job to Alexis, Alex, Erin, Logan, Luke, Mason, Garret S., Katie, and Rachel. Yesterday you earned my respect and my admiration.

I also found it interesting that the entire 602 class did exactly what they were assigned. Great job guys! I appreciate your hard work and dedication to success!


Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Be Somebody!


Friday, October 9, 2015

Science in Language Arts

Students are writing a blog post for an interdisciplinary project in language arts and science. They recently found the volume of an irregular shaped pond in the science classroom. The pond had two levels so each had to be measured separately and then added together. Units were also converted from standard to metric.

The assignment for Reading Workshop students is to write an overview/essay detailing this process. This post should include an introduction, detailed steps, and conclusion. As always, PUGS count!

This project will count as a grade for both classes. The science grade will be based primarily on content. The language arts grade will be based on content, organization, and PUGS.


Image From: www.wikihow.com

Been Reading?



Image from @MasteryPrep

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Six Word Story

Can you write a six word story? Give it a go and paste it as a comment. Here is one of mine: Trying so hard. Wanting some more.



Here are a few favorites from Six Word Story:

Let’s just pretend this never happened.
You’ll always be a question mark.
But "close enough" is not enough.
Everything’s fine… or so I pretend.
Trust is must, no matter what.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

How is Your School Year Going?

Today's assignment in Reading Workshop is to write a blog post describing the school year so far. Students must give 3 or more examples of events/scenes that demonstrate how their year is going.

The directions:
Think about how your school year is so far. Pick 3 + or – events that have occurred so far this school year that demonstrate this.
  • Start with a topic sentence/introduction
  • In the body include details—one topic/paragraph
  • Wrap it up with a closing

Monday, October 5, 2015

Thanks Teachers!

 On World Teachers' Day, thank you to all the teachers that helped me become what I am today!



Image from #WorldTeachersDay

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Keep Pushing




Image from @wordstextings

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Make it a Great Day


Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Where is Your Homework?

Here's an excuse for not having your homework, Reading Workshop students. Feel free to use it any time.



Or, you could just do your work and be successful.


Image from Tabytha Sidders

Friday, September 25, 2015

KP Talks about Awesome Girls