Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 13 (April 28)

Greetings!

Writing 1 Haiku

Two weeks to finish

Pencils, essays, books, stories

Coming to an end

With only two weeks left in the semester, I found myself at a loss today; I could not come up with a clever or thoughtful Quick Write idea.  My solution?  Let the students decide it for me.  Our three options today were to write about 1) your favorite video game; 2) dinosaurs; or 3) a strange/weird/bad cooking experience.  One student combined all three ideas and wrote about a video game that had dinosaurs that were bad cooks.

Our Words of the Day were words that spell another word when spelled backwards.  This kind of word is called a Semordnilap, which is "palindrome" spelled backwards.  (Remember, palindromes are words that are the same forward as they are backward, i.e. mom, dad, tot)

Desserts backwards is stressed.  (In other words, when you get stressed, you should go back for desserts!)

Yob (a rowdy youth) backwards is boy

Avid (having great enthusiasm; greedy) backwards is diva.

Ogre (an ugly imaginitive creature) backwards is ergo (therefore).

Rebus (not a Semordnilap) is a representation of a word using pictures or symbols. Emojii might be good examples of these.

Students handed in the final drafts of their News Stories.  I look forward to reading these.  They've chosen such interesting topics.  Our final essay is an Essay Re-Write.  For this essay, they have the chance to improve one of their previously written essays.  We listed the essays that they have written this year:  Descriptive, Personal, Example/Illustration, History/Biography, Narrative, Theme/Character, and a News Story.  They've been very hard workers!  For this final essay, they should consider looking for ways to write better sentences, to add more information and details, and to strengthen their thesis statements.  The final draft of the previous essay will be considered the rough draft and should be handed in next week with the re-write.

We read through some of the poetry that the students had chosen to read for this week.  I had them choose poems that hadn't been assigned.  A number of students selected two poems by Gelett Burgess:

"A Purple Cow"

I never saw a Purple Cow,

I never hope to see one,

But I can tell you, anyhow, 

I'd rather see than be one.

"Cinq Ans Apres" ("Five Years Later")

Ah, yes!  I wrote the "Purple Cow" --

I'm Sorry now I Wrote it!

But I can tell you, Anyhow,

I'll Kill you if you Quote it.

In addition to reading poems, the students will write 3 short poems for next week.  I gave them a handout the explains the haiku, diamante, and cinquain.  A haiku is a Japanese poem that is formatted according to a syllable structure.  The other two poems are short, non-rhyming shape poems.  

The next two weeks, in addition to Quick Writes and some final grammar work, will focus on our Poetry Jam.  I divided the class into 3 "Teams" who will compete together.  Each team member should have 3 poems that he/she has selected to present.  The teams will present as a group, and the others will score them using a rubric.  The categories are Level of Difficulty, Memorization, Physical Presence, and Dramatic Quality.  An extra point is given if the poem is an original.  Students can choose poems from their books,  poems from other books, or poems they've written.  Poems from other sources and original poems must be at least 8 lines long.

Note:  Below I've listed some links to some good, Christian spoken word (a.k.a. poetry) artists

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Essay Re-Write

-- Choose 3 poems for the Poetry Jam

-- Write 3 poems: a haiku, a diamante, and a cinquain

Links for this week:

Class Notes

Essay Re-Write

Poetry Jam Rubric

Writing a Haiku

Writing a Cinquain

How to Write a Diamante

How to Write a Haiku

Aha Poetry: Haiku

How to Write a Diamante Poem

How to Write a Cinquain Poem

Spoken Word Christian Poetry -- Jason Harrison

Jesus Is || Spoken Word

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing a Diamante

 Diamante: A seven-line poem that takes the shape of a diamond.

Lion
Majestic, proud
Roaring, snarling, prowling
Mane, muscle . . . Fleece, fluff
Bleating, leaping, grazing
Meek, gentle
Lamb

A Poem of Opposites

Diamantes are poems about opposites: the first and last words have opposite meanings (or convey opposite ideas).

A diamante has seven lines that follow this sequence:

Line A: One word --Topic A (must be a noun)
Line B: Two vivid adjectives that describe Topic A
Line C: Three interesting “-ing” action verbs that describe Topic A
Line D: Two concrete nouns about Topic A and two about Topic B
Line E: Three interesting “-ing” action verbs that describe Topic B
Line F: Two vivid adjectives that describe Topic C
Line G: One word -- Topic B (must be a noun)

Here’s another example:

Light
Clear, brilliant
Glowing, shining, revealing
Mirror, candle . . . Whisper, shadow
Deepening, sleeping, shrouding
Black, quiet
Darkness

Brainstorming 

Use the tips below to brainstorm on blank paper for different ideas. Then follow the directions to write your own descriptive diamante. Because the poem has a limited number of words, choose each word carefully, avoiding vague, blah words.

Writing Your Diamante

Opposite Word Pair Ideas

Correct: age/youth (nouns)
Incorrect: old/young (adjectives)

·         cat/dog

·         boy/girl

·         hamburger/Coke

·         pencil/paper

·         sandals/sneakers

·         king/queen

·         fire/ice

·         thunder/lightning

·         earth/sea

·         rose/thorn

·         love/hate

·         victory/defeat

·         peace/turmoil

Line A: Name a topic (see the suggestions above for some ideas).
Line G: Name an opposite topic. (This will be the LAST line of your diamante.) Remember—topics must be nouns.
Line B: Brainstorm 5-6 vivid, concrete adjectives to describe Topic A. Do not choose words that end in “-ing.”
Line C: Brainstorm 5-6 highly descriptive participles (verbs ending in “-ing”) that fit Topic A.
Line D: Brainstorm several nouns that tell something about Topic A and Topic G. Be careful—make sure you choose NOUNS, not ADJECTIVES!
Line E: Brainstorm 5-6 highly descriptive participles (verbs ending in “-ing”) that fit Topic G.
Line F: Brainstorm 5-6 vivid, concrete adjectives to describe Topic G. Do not choose words that end in “-ing.”

1.      Pick out your most descriptive words from your brainstorming and put your diamante together. Diamantes do not need titles.

2.      When you are satisfied, recopy the poem onto clean notebook paper.

3.      Center your diamante on the paper.

4.      Begin each line with a capital letter, and remember your commas. Do not use ending punctuation.

5.      Include three spaced periods in the middle of Line D.

6.      When finished, double-check for concreteness!

Line A. _______
Line B. _______ , _______
Line C. _______ , _______ , _______
Line D. _______ , _______ . . . _______ , _______
Line E. _______ , _______ , _______
Line F. _______ , _______
Line G. _______

Writing a Cinquain

 Cinquain (SIN-cain): an unrhymed poem consisting of five lines arranged in a special way.

Planet
Graceful, ringed
Spinning, whirling, twirling
Dances with neighbor Jupiter
Saturn

A cinquain is an example of shape poetry. Because of the exact number of words required for each line of this poem, a unique, symmetrical shape is created from interesting, descriptive words.

The word cinquain comes from the Latin root for “five.” Notice that the cinquain has five lines that follow this sequence:

Line A: One vague or general one-word subject or topic
Line B: Two vivid adjectives that describe the topic
Line C: Three interesting -ing action verbs that fit the topic
Line D: Four-word phrase that captures feeling about the topic
Line E: A very specific term that explains Line A

Here’s another example:

Insect
Hidden, hungry
Preening, searching, stalking
Waits as if praying
Mantis

Write Your Cinquain 

Word Pair Ideas: General topic / specific topic

·         bird / parrot (or crow, canary, dove)

·         fruit / apple (or pear, banana, watermelon, peach, etc.)

·         season / spring (or summer, fall, autumn, winter)

·         winter / January (or spring / April, summer / July, autumn / October)

·         candy / jawbreaker (or Snickers, jelly beans, licorice)

·         storm / tornado (or hurricane, blizzard, squall)

·         water / river (or ocean, lake, stream, creek)

·         grandparent / Nana (or Grandma, Papa, Pops)

Line A: Name a general topic (see suggestions above for ideas).
Line B: Brainstorm 5-6 vivid, concrete adjectives to describe the topic on Line E. Do not choose words that end in “-ing.”
Line C: Brainstorm 5-6 descriptive participles (verbs ending in -ing) that fit the topic on Line E.
Line D: Brainstorm several four-word phrases that capture some feeling about the topic on Line E.

Line E: Rename your topic, being more specific. This will be the last line of your cinquain.

1.      Pick out your most descriptive words from your brainstorming and put your cinquain together.

2.      Your cinquain should have 5 lines and the finished poem should only have 11 words.

3.      When you are satisfied, recopy the poem onto clean notebook paper.

4.      Center your cinquain on the paper.

5.      Begin each line with a capital letter, and remember your commas. Do not use ending punctuation.

6.      When finished, double-check for concreteness!

Line A. _______
Line B. _______  ,   _______
Line C. _______  ,   _______,  _______
Line D. _______ _______ _______ _______
Line E. _______

Writing a Haiku

What Is Haiku?

Japanese in origin, haiku is not based on rhyme, but on a pattern of syllables. At three lines long, haiku is a poem of economy. Traditionally, only 17 syllables are allowed, so a finished haiku may end up being just 12 or 13 words long.

By its nature, haiku is concrete and concise, capturing a single moment in a mere handful of words. It’s a tall order to write a poem full of rich imagery, paint a picture in the reader’s mind, and leave an impression on a heart or soul—and do so with so few words.

Choosing a Subject for Your Poem

Haiku poems celebrate appreciation for beauty and nature. Plants, animals, water, weather, and seasons are often subjects of haiku. Powerful yet sensitive, these poems communicate a mood or tone without actually using words to describe feelings.

 Red and gold poppies

explode with fresh spring colors,
invading my yard.

Notice how this haiku expresses a crisp, springy, bright feeling. You can picture a tired winter garden coming to life. The words never actually say, “After a cold, colorless winter, I am so happy and cheered to see flowers again!” Yet this is the message the poem brings.

In the darkest wood
with heads hanging mournfully,
weeping willows cry.

This poem gives a feeling of sadness, even though the words don’t tell you how the poet feels, or how you should feel. Notice how personification helps to communicate this tone. When writing haiku poetry, think about the emotions you want your reader to experience. Paint a picture with your words to express a mood.

Formatting Your Haiku Poem

Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables

When counting out syllables, listen to the beat within a word, silently tapping it out on the table. Usually, a syllable is marked by a vowel sound. “Butterfly” has three syllables (but/ter/fly). The word “cocoon” contains two syllables (co/coon). The word “exuberantly” has five (ex/u/ber/ant/ly). “Flight” has only one (flight).

What to Do if a Line Contains Too Few or Too Many Syllables

> Leave out or add articles (a, an, the) to shorten or lengthen the number of syllables. Example: a six-syllable line must be shortened to five syllables.

A/ small/ frog/ trills/ loudly = 6 syllables
Small/ frog/ trills/ loud/ly = 5 syllables (drop the “a”)

> Use your thesaurus to find a similar word that will fit.

> Look for a word to drop.

Poetry Jam Rubric

Poetry Jam Rubric

	1	2	3
Level of Difficulty	Simple, Easy, Short	Somewhat challenging	Extremely challenging
Memorization	Not at all	Kind of	Absolutely
Physical Presence	No eye contact; stiff & uncomfortable	Comfortable & confident	Authoritative, compelling
Dramatic Voice & Articulation	Inaudible, distracted, over-emoting	Clear, adequate; not overly stylistic	Mastery of rhythm, skillful, reflects meaning

Original poetry = 1 extra point

Essay Rewrite

Definition

The purpose of this essay is to improve editing skills by rewriting a previously written essay.  Effective editing is a step-by-step process.  One key is to re-read a paper multiple times, looking for only one kind of error at a time.

Editing Plan

As you re-read your paper, look for any errors in the following areas:

·      Complete sentences:  Each sentence should have a subject, verb, and a complete thought.  Look for incomplete and run-on/comma splice sentences.

·      Parallel Constructions:  Faulty parallel construction leads to unclear and awkward sentences.

·      There are/is/was/will be, etc.:  Any sentences with this type of construction must be changed.

·      Punctuation:  Pay close attention to commas and ending punctuation.

·      Agreement:  Make sure all subjects and verbs agree; also look for noun/pronoun agreement.

·      Spelling:  With the spell check function for most word processing software, this is not as much of a problem as it used to be.  However, your computer will not know if you’ve put the wrong word in, or it may autocorrect and change the word from the one you intended.

·      Paragraph construction:  Each paragraph must have a main idea.  Make sure that all of the thoughts expressed in the paragraph are part of that main idea.  Do any sentences need to be moved to another paragraph?  Does the paragraph need to be divided into smaller paragraphs?

·      Organization:  Is the overall organization of the paper logical?  Does each point lead to the next?  Should it be rearranged?

·      Content:  The essay should give sufficient information to support your thesis. Have you included enough background information?  Have you satisfactorily covered the material?  As you re-read, look for ways to expand your essay.  Also, note any information that seems unnecessary. 

Thesis Development

Your essay should have a clearly defined thesis that you explain and support.  Sometimes a thesis is simple and straightforward; sometimes they are more complex.  Your reader should never be confused as to your topic and your decided opinion or stand on that topic.           

Essay Guidelines

– Due date:  May 5

– Essay length:  500 – 700 words (between 2 and 4 pages)

– Additional work:  Thesis statement and a paragraph about what you’re learned as a writer.

– Final draft format:

– Typed (if this is not possible, please let me know)

– 1 inch margins

– Name and date on the upper right hand corner

– Number the pages on the lower right hand corner

– Title centered above the text of the essay