HW from Tuesday, 2/28/17

Due on Thursday, 3/2/17

1) Find a song with lyrics that demonstrate a discernible rhyme scheme. Either cut and paste or type them into a Word document. Print the document, then mark the stanzas to show the rhyme scheme. Bring this to class on Thursday.

2) Compose a poem about your favorite season using one of the following rhyme schemes:
AABB, ABAB, ABCB, AAAB. Type it into a Word document, identifying which rhyme scheme you used, then email it as an attachment to both my regular and my MarkUp email addresses.

3) Continue reading The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of Mark Rodriguez. Your goal is to finish reading the book as soon as possible. Please send me an email to let me know when you have finished the book.

Also, daily:

+ Read your (approved) reading log book for pleasure, aiming for at least 30 minutes daily. Mark the number of minutes on your Reading Log calendar (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 small check mark in the top corner of your Reading Log calendar for that day.

NOTE: The March Reading Log will be due, signed by a parent, on Thursday, 3/30/17.

HW from Thursday, 2/23/17 ~ NO CLASS ~ KEYS CANCELED

Due on Tuesday, 2/28

1) The February Reading Log is due, signed by a parent.

2) Revise your four Haiku season poems. Make any corrections noted on the MarkUp copy. Read them over and decide if they sound juvenile. If they do, make them better. Fix the figurative language. Be sure your syllabication is correct. Type them up—four separate poems formatted as follows: one Haiku per page, single-spaced, aligned left. Use the largest font possible that still keeps your longest line on one line instead of two. Print it out in the nicest form your printer has, on the nicest paper you have.

3) Illustrate your Haiku poems. You may use whatever media you'd like—watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, paint, pencil drawing, etc.—but the illustration must appear on the same page as the printed Haiku poem corresponding to it.

4) Complete a gerund poem. Remember, the format is as follows:

Line 1: one word
Line 2: three gerunds, each capitalized, separated by commas
Line 3: phrase (noun)
Line 4: phrase (request or question)
Line 5: adjective

Sample gerund poem:

Leaves
Rustling, Dancing, Whispering
Voice of God
Speak to me
Open

5) Continue reading The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of Mark Rodriguez. Your goal is to finish reading the book as soon as possible. Please send me an email to let me know when you have finished the book.

Also, daily:

+ Read your (approved) Reading Log book for pleasure, aiming for at least 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 small check mark in the top corner of your Reading Log calendar for that day.

NOTE: The March Reading Log will be due, signed by a parent, on Thursday, 3/30/17.

HW from Tuesday, 2/21/17

Due on Thursday, 2/23/17

1) Continue with your mystery story. Read, re-read, revise, correct, and add some more. Repeat. By Thursday, you must be ready to turn in D2. See below for requirements for the D2.

D2 Requirements:

* Your story does not have to be finished yet. (You may use as many pages as you would like to tell your story, up to 25.) This D2 must have at least 2500 words, which will likely be 9-10 pages. Yes, it is fine if it is longer than that. No, your story doesn't have to be finished!

* Work on your story. Proofread it carefully. Proofread it carefully again. Write some more. Proofread it carefully. Proofread it carefully again. Repeat.

This is what the writing process looks like: Write, read, fix, read, fix again, write some more.

* Print it out and give it to your parent to proofread. (DO NOT hand your parent a paper unless you have carefully proofread it yourself, several times!!!) Have your parent write directly on the copy you hand them, and have them sign it to show they proofread it.

* Make the corrections and revisions suggested by your parent. Read it again. Make sure you think it is as perfect as it can be. Print a beautiful copy and staple it in front of your signed proofread copy.

* Paper clip this stapled D2 packet to the top of the red-copy D1 I gave back to you. You should have it ready to turn in when you come into class on Thursday.

Also, daily:

+ Read your (approved) Reading Log book for pleasure, aiming for at least 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 small check mark in the top corner of your Reading Log calendar for that day.

NOTE: The February Reading Log will be due, signed by a parent, on Tuesday, 2/28/17.

HW from Thursday, 2/16/17

Due on Tuesday, 2/21/17

1) Make sure you really like your four Haiku poems, one for each of the four seasons. Each should contain some form of figurative language. Be sure your syllabication is correct. Type them up—four separate poems on one page, each double-spaced—and mail them to my MarkUp address.

2) Continue with your mystery story. Read, re-read, revise, correct, and add some more. Repeat.

3) Continue reading The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of Mark Rodriguez.

Also, daily:

+ Read your (approved) Reading Log book for pleasure, aiming for at least 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 small check mark in the top corner of your Reading Log calendar for that day.

NOTE: The February Reading Log will be due, signed by a parent, on Tuesday, 2/28/17.

HW from Tuesday, 2/14/17

Due on Thursday, 2/16/17

Dear creative writers,
I have been called unexpectedly out of town for a family emergency so I can't fully process what I want you guys to do, and I'm not sure whether I'll be back for class on Thursday. For now, please continue revising and writing your mystery story and reading in the Mark Rodriguez book. I'll update here with further details as soon as I'm able.

Have fun with your stories! They're so fun!

HW from Thursday, 2/9/17

Due BEFORE Tuesday, 2/14/17

1) Make sure your springboard poem is typed in the proper format. (See sample poem in previous assignment.) Then make the poem double spaced, save the document as "Your Name, Springboard Poem D1," and then email it as an attachment to my Markup address.

2) Make all needed corrections to the D1 of your mystery story. Read over it. Make adjustments and improvements as necessary. Read it over again. Listen to how it sounds. Be sure those first few pages are really good before you move on.

3) Continue working on your mystery story. Be sure the action is unfolding at a good pace—not too fast—and that you're building suspense and interest as you go along. Remember the ways we learned to enhance description in our writing. Use them! Be descriptive! You will need to continue your story so that it is between 1500 and 2000 (proofread, wonderful) words by Tuesday. The story does not need to be finished at that point.

4) I will email back your marked up springboard poem. Once you receive it (before Monday), make any suggested corrections, then return it to the proper single-spaced format that appears in the example above.

5) Save the poem as "Your Name, Springboard Poem D2," and then email it as an attachment to my regular email address. (ASAP again!) I will post them on the SWS Blog as soon as I get them. Please also print a copy of this D2, staple it to the top of the old proofread copies, and bring the whole packet to class on Tuesday.

Also, daily:

+ Read your (approved) Reading Log book for pleasure, aiming for at least 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.

NOTE: The February Reading Log will be due, signed by a parent, on Tuesday, 2/28/17.

HW from Tuesday, 2/7/17

Due on Thursday, 2/9/17

1) Write a springboard poem, using the parameters demonstrated in the sample poem below, entitled "I Am."

I am a romantic girl who loves to dream.

I see exotic lands on the other side of the world.

I hear waves crashing on a distant shore.

I see a setting sun and a rising moon.

I pretend to be someone else.

I feel the wind on my face; I stand in a golden meadow.

I touch the infinite sky as I soar with silver wings.

I worry that I will be trapped in this town forever.

I understand that I am a dreamer.

I dream of magical, fantasy worlds.

I try to hold on to this world of imagination.

I am a romantic girl who likes to dream.

For the springboard poem, the format is as follows:

* Each line is a complete sentence that ends with a period and starts with "I _________" (any present tense verb).
* It does NOT rhyme.

* It consists of three stanzas (poetry lines grouped together) of four lines each.

* The first and last lines of the poem are identical.

NOTE: Please title your poem "I Am" and have the first (and last) line begin with "I am a..."

2) Type out your poem. Print it. Proofread it. Have someone else proofread it. Make sure it follows all the correct parameters, and that you like it!

3) Print a corrected, beautiful draft and bring both drafts to turn in on Thursday.

Also, daily:
+Read your (approved) Reading Log book for pleasure, aiming for at least 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.

NOTE: The February Reading Log will be due, signed by a parent, on Tuesday, 2/28/17.

HW from Thursday, 2/2/17

Due on Tuesday, 2/7/17

1) Finish your name poem, using the strict parameters that were given. Rules of form are very important in some forms of poetry, so we're getting used to following somebody else's "rules" sometimes when we write our poems. For this one, the format is as follows:

--> Write the letters of your first name, vertically, down the left side.

Line 1: 1 word to describe you somehow

Line 2: 2-word phrase

Line 3: 3-word phrase

Line 4: 4-word phrase

Lines 5-however many are in your name: choose 2-, 3-, or 4-word phrases 

Last line (last letter of your name): 1 word

Here's another sample using my name:

Lovely

Authentic sharing

Until fellowship grows

Ravaging loneliness

Abundance

You will turn in this name poem at the beginning of class on Thursday.

2) Be sure you have completed all suggested corrections to your mystery story—and that you've made any changes or additions you desire to make to the two pages you've already written—before you begin writing any more of your story.

3) Continue in your mystery story. On Tuesday, you will turn in your D1, which is the first graded draft of your story, even though your story will not be finished yet. 

You have currently written 2 pages, which is likely around 500 words or so. By next Tuesday, I want you to have written at least 1000 words of your story. (You may write more, but not more than 1500 words for the D1 turned in on Tuesday. This will likely be between 4-6 pages or so. Again, your story will not be finished at this point! I will just give you a draft grade on this much of the story.)

4) Read over your D1 from the beginning. Proofread it. Change the things you catch that are wrong or that you don't like. Fix them. Then print it out and have a parent read over it to proofread it as well. Make any changes they suggest (that you agree with), then print a lovely copy of your D1. You will turn in both the rough, proofed copy and the lovely copy of your D1 on Tuesday.
Also, daily:

+ Read your (approved) Reading Log book for pleasure, aiming for at least 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.

NOTE: The February Reading Log will be due, signed by a parent, on Tuesday, 2/28/17.