Greetings!
We had an enjoyable and productive class today. We began with a Quick Write in which the students were to write a sequel to a favorite commercial. They were very creative. Our Vocabulary Words were from the O. Henry stories. I put the words on the white board and the students took turns looking them up.
We discussed the three short stories assigned for today: "The Gift of the Magi," "After Twenty Years," and "Makes the Whole World Kin." O. Henry is a wonderful writer and is able to sketch creative pictures with some few well-chosen words. He also is good at twisting an unexpected, creative ending. We will read three more stories for next week.
Their next writing assignment is a News Story. We discussed some of the parameter of this assignment. Both O. Henry and Mark Twain were reporters/journalists. Both writers were excellent observers and writers about every day life. For these papers, the students are to write a description of an event or person. It can be an interview or a profile of a person or an account of a venture related to a business, non-profit or other organization.
In a News Story, the writer begins with a "bang" which is a strong opening and lead that grabs the reader's attention. The story then should pick up momentum in the body with support, background and details. Unlike an essay with a thesis, journalistic writing gets the primary information out at the beginning of an article because the reader often has a limited attention span. As the students are 1)Choosing a subject; 2) Gathering details; and 3) Bringing focus to the writing they should consider whether what they have chosen has "news value." In other words, does it have impact, timeliness, closeness or human interest.
A note about Grammar: I will continue to teach grammar details in connection with their written work. I also plan to focus on the comma. That's the one little bit that continues to trip us all up.
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Read A Retrieved Reformation (p. 49); The Ransom of Red Chief (p. 71); The Pimenta Pancakes (p. 29)
-- Fill out 1 Evaluation of a Theme essay
-- Fill out 1 Short Story Chart
-- List 5 similarities found in the 6 stories.
-- Rough draft of News Story.
I've attached the two worksheets in case anyone has lost his/hers.
This week's blog entry.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard
We had an enjoyable and productive class today. We began with a Quick Write in which the students were to write a sequel to a favorite commercial. They were very creative. Our Vocabulary Words were from the O. Henry stories. I put the words on the white board and the students took turns looking them up.
We discussed the three short stories assigned for today: "The Gift of the Magi," "After Twenty Years," and "Makes the Whole World Kin." O. Henry is a wonderful writer and is able to sketch creative pictures with some few well-chosen words. He also is good at twisting an unexpected, creative ending. We will read three more stories for next week.
Their next writing assignment is a News Story. We discussed some of the parameter of this assignment. Both O. Henry and Mark Twain were reporters/journalists. Both writers were excellent observers and writers about every day life. For these papers, the students are to write a description of an event or person. It can be an interview or a profile of a person or an account of a venture related to a business, non-profit or other organization.
In a News Story, the writer begins with a "bang" which is a strong opening and lead that grabs the reader's attention. The story then should pick up momentum in the body with support, background and details. Unlike an essay with a thesis, journalistic writing gets the primary information out at the beginning of an article because the reader often has a limited attention span. As the students are 1)Choosing a subject; 2) Gathering details; and 3) Bringing focus to the writing they should consider whether what they have chosen has "news value." In other words, does it have impact, timeliness, closeness or human interest.
A note about Grammar: I will continue to teach grammar details in connection with their written work. I also plan to focus on the comma. That's the one little bit that continues to trip us all up.
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Read A Retrieved Reformation (p. 49); The Ransom of Red Chief (p. 71); The Pimenta Pancakes (p. 29)
-- Fill out 1 Evaluation of a Theme essay
-- Fill out 1 Short Story Chart
-- List 5 similarities found in the 6 stories.
-- Rough draft of News Story.
I've attached the two worksheets in case anyone has lost his/hers.
This week's blog entry.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard
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