7th/8th Grade Writing: Week of 9/24-9/27

Good morning, scholars and families!  This week in writing, students will begin their second draft of their personal narrative stories, which are to be revised for the strategies we reviewed in the last two weeks on "Showing, Not Telling."

Important Announcement

Students are responsible for turning in their second draft on a separate sheet of paper, double spaced (skipping every other line on the lined paper), and it must include 2 examples of each of the four strategies below.  These four strategies for "Showing, Not Telling" are:

- Diction

- Dialogue

- Descriptive language

- Sensory detail

This second draft is due by beginning of class on Tuesday, September 25.

Weekly Objectives

This week, we will review paragraphing, capitalization, punctuation, and how to make editing/revision marks on drafts.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me via email at sgeng@learncharter.org.  Thank you! 

7th/8th Grade Writing: Week of 9/17-9/21

Good morning scholars and families!  This week in writing, scholars will be continuing to learn and apply different methods for "Showing, Not Telling" in writing personal narratives.

See below for the objectives we'll be covering this week.  Please note: timing of lessons may vary based on student/whole class needs.

• SWBAT identify and apply sensory details in narrative writing.
• SWBAT identify and apply figurative and descriptive language in narrative writing.
• SWBAT apply the 4 "D"'s of Showing, Not Telling to their own personal narratives.  Students are also responsible for a revision sheet that they will turn in with their revised drafts.

Feel free to email me with any questions or concerns at sgeng@learncharter.org.  Thank you!

7th/8th Grade Writing: Week of 9/4-9/7

Overview: This week, we will continue practicing generating story ideas and leads.  We will also discuss tips for good active listening, the purpose and intent of writing conferences, and the 6+1 important traits of writing!

Upcoming:

• I will begin to collect scholars' writing notebooks starting this week and next.
• Scholars should have... 1) Seed stories vs. Watermelon stories; 2) Leads notes and at least 3 practice lead examples; 3) At least 2 seed stories that they've expanded into writing samples; 4) At least 1 free-write sample that covers 1 page. 
• Collection dates: 8A writer's notebooks are due on Friday.  7B writer's notebooks are due next Monday.  7A writer's notebooks are due next Wednesday. 

7th/8th Grade Writing: Week of 8/20-8/24

Overview: This week students are continuing to develop their seed stories in their writers' notebooks.  Students must remember to bring their writers' notebooks every day to class, or else they will receive a zero for the day. All writing in the next few weeks will be done in their writers' notebooks.

Upcoming: Students will have to turn in their writers' notebooks beginning the week of 8/27-8/31. The initial schedule (prone to change) will be:

• Mondays: 7B journals due
• Wednesdays: 7A journals due
• Friday: 8A journals due

Families, please note that students will be allowed to continue writing in their writers' journals on the days they are due to be turned in, but will not take them home that day or the day after.  For example, students in 7B will leave their notebooks in the classroom on Monday night, and will continue to write in them Tuesday during class - they will NOT have homework on Mondays in their writers' notebooks then.  Similarly, students in 7A will leave their notebooks on Wednesday nights and therefore not have any homework in their writers' notebooks on Wednesdays.  This is just to inform you of when your scholar may not actually bring home their notebook.

Please feel free to contact Ms. Geng at sgeng@learncharter.org with any additional questions or concerns.

7th/8th Grade Writing: Week of 8/13-8/17

Overview: This week students are beginning their writers' notebooks!  We will be decorating our notebooks, discussing the "do's" and "don't's" of writing, and beginning to brainstorm seed story ideas.

Upcoming: Students must remember to bring their writers' notebooks every day to class, or else they will receive a zero for the day. All writing in the next few weeks will be done in their writers' notebooks.

Please feel free to contact Ms. Geng at sgeng@learncharter.org with any additional questions or concerns.