HW from Thursday, 9/29/16

Due on Tuesday, 10/4/16

1)  Keep reading for your Reading Log and writing in your Gratitude Journal even though I neglected to give you the October calendar today.  (You will have to keep track of the reading you do today through Tuesday on another piece of paper.)  My apologies!

2)  Your "Descriptive Setting" paper is due on Tuesday, 10/4.  You will write a descriptive paper about a favorite place.  Do not tell a story, although you may insert yourself into the description if you wish.  NOTE: See the * below—or check your email!—for some clarification sent on Friday morning at 9 a.m.

Remember:

* Be descriptive (i.e. don't give a "weather report") without being flowery (i.e. don't overdo it and make it silly).

* Incorporate at least one example of good figurative language (simile, metaphor, or personification) in your description (as discussed today in class). Please highlight it with a colored highlighter in Draft 1 so I can find it easily. Do not highlight it in Draft 2.

NOTE: If you have any questions about how to do any of these things in your word processor, check with your parents or an older sibling or friend.  If you still need help after trying that, feel free to call me.  I am happy to help.

Please observe the following parameters for your paper:

* Length: at least 200 words (but can be up to 300 words)

* Format: 1-inch margins, automatic double-spacing, no extra lines, 12-point font (Times New Roman or Garamond)

* Header set to automatically show up on top left of each page, with 3 single-spaced lines as follows:

Full name (First Last)
Date due (October 4, 2016)
Title: (Descriptive Setting—Draft 1 (or Draft 2, whichever is appropriate)

* Footer set to automatically show up on bottom center of each page, with page number

* Two drafts in addition to the ten numbered descriptive sentences you wrote for homework last Tuesday:

--> Draft 1 must be proofread first by you, then by a parent and one other person (get signatures).  

--> Draft 2 should be the corrected one, based on your feedback from the two who proofread your paper.  

Staple the three papers together: Put the homework sentences on the bottom, then Draft 1 (with signatures and highlighting of figurative language), then Draft 2 (the beautiful, corrected copy) on top.  Do not fold your papers.

3)  Also, please begin to learn and memorize (as we go along) the different types of figurative language we're studying.  (There are five of them, including three that are good to use in creative writing—simile, metaphor, personification—and two that we want to avoid in creative writing—hyperbole, idiom.  We discussed these at length in class today, with examples given.) 

I would encourage you (and your parents) to visit the class website often, to keep informed of what we're studying and to make sure you're retaining it.

Also, daily:

+ Read your (approved) book for pleasure, aiming for 30 minutes daily. Mark the number of minutes on your Reading Log (in multiples of five, rounded down) as you go along. 

+ Write in your Gratitude Journal, aiming for three things but listing at least one thing you are thankful for daily. When you have done so, place a check mark in the top corner of your Reading Log calendar for that day.

The October Reading Log is due, signed by a parent, on Tuesday, November 1.

------- OPENING (Bible verse and prayer):

For Tu, 10/4: Joshua (CWA); Katie (CWB)

For Th, 10/6: John (CWA);  Michael (CWB)
For Tu, 10/11: Logan (CWA); Luke (CWB)
For Th, 10/13: Chase (CWA);  Caleb (CWB)
For Tu, 10/18: Zach (CWA); Haddon (CWB)
For Th, 10/20: Zayden (CWA);  Daniel (CWB)
For Th, 10/27: Caelie (CWA);  Gabrielle (CWB)
For Th, 11/3: TBD (CWA); Lorena (CWB)

For Tu, 10/25: Victoria (CWA); Leena (CWB)

For Tu, 11/1: TBD (CWA); Josiah (CWB)

For Tu, 11/8: TBD (CWA); Nicholas (CWB)

-------- * From an email I sent at 9:00 Friday morning:

Hello, creative writers! 
I received a great question, and my answer is probably something all of you should read, just to clarify:

The ten descriptive sentences you wrote were intended to give you a head-start on your paper in that it got you thinking (and writing creatively) about the place you had chosen for your paper. Feel free to use any of those sentences in your paper as you write your first draft! That said, if you have changed your mind and would like to write your paper about a different place, that's fine, too. Feel free.

Once you've written Draft 1 of your paper, you will proofread it carefully to make sure it makes sense and you've caught all the errors you can find. Then have a parent AND one other person read over it, making suggestions for improvement or marking errors they see, and then sign it. 

For Draft 2, you will revise and correct the proofread Draft 1 paper based on your proofreaders' suggestions.

Does that make sense? Feel free to call if you have more questions!

LS