Monday, May 23, 2011

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Bell-Ringer: Write at least 5 things you could write as you sign a yearbook.  Post one on the poster on the bulletin board.

http://www.wikihow.com/Sign-a-Yearbook

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080618220916AAQVSYS





Share the end of Hormone Jungle.



Share your writing.
Bring treats if you'd like!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Bell-Ringer:  One more Bingo Prompt -- Pick the one left you'd most like to write about.
B4 presented their plays -- Great job!

Writing to Music -- students wrote in response several different pieces of music.




Please check the list of students who have checked out books from Ms. Dorsey's classroom library and have not checked them back in.  Please bring back any books you have.  I'd much rather get the books back than put your name on the fines list







No more late or revised work accepted after May 27.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Bell-Ringer:  Bingo Prompt: Pick one you most want to write about.

B3 -- one more play
B4 -- a bunch more plays -- present on Friday

Concrete Poetry -- We made wonderful concrete poetry.  If you were absent, see me for the make-up work to be completed by Friday.





Please check the list of students who have checked out books from Ms. Dorsey's classroom library and have not checked them back in.  Please bring back any books you have.  I'd much rather get the books back than put your name on the fines list







No more late or revised work accepted after May 27.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Bell-Ringer:  "The play's the thing. . . ."   Write about one or more times you participated in or watched a play.

2. Present plays

(If you haven't, hand in your underland or mystery story.)




Please check the list of students who have checked out books from Ms. Dorsey's classroom library and have not checked them back in.  Please bring back any books you have.  I'd much rather get the books back than put your name on the fines list







No more late or revised work accepted after May 27.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Bell-Ringer:  Five items were placed on a tray: three squeeky toys that look rather like alien creatures, a pair of play binoculars, and a seashell.  The assignment is to write a story or poem about one, some, or all of the items.

Hand in your Mystery or Underland Story.
Work on your plays.
About using commas.



Please check the list of students who have checked out books from Ms. Dorsey's classroom library and have not checked them back in.  Please bring back any books you have.  I'd much rather get the books back than put your name on the fines list






No more late or revised work accepted after May 27.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Bell-Ringer: Bingo Prompt  D5 for both classes

2. Reminder of Mystery or Underland Story due next time -- May 19


Underland Rubric.doc also for Mystery story

Play rubric.doc
 

3.  Writing a play  -- Present May 23, 25
      examples
      groups
      work time

4. Students received a tape-in for Period Confusions

No more late or revised work accepted after May 27.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Friday, May 13, 2011

Happy Friday the 13th!

1. Bell-Ringer: In your composition book:  You are on a high mountain, looking down.  Why are you there and what do you see?
This can be fiction or nonfiction. 
Still in the composition book:
2. Write about luck -- good and or bad.

3. Punctuation mini-lesson
       The History of a Few Punctuation Marks with thanks to Nancie Atwell.
   -- Quotations marks were originally lip-shaped marks to show that someone else was speaking.
  -- The exclamation mark started out as the word "Io" which liek saying "Wow!"  It was shortened to Io, then to an I with a dot behind it, then the dot was moved under the I and that evolved to our current mark !
 -- The period came from "peri" which meant round and when the writer had finished writing a sentence he had completely gone around what he was trying to express.  It was written as a circle, which became the dot we use now.
-- The comma comes from "komma" which means "little knife/to cut off" so the symbol was of a little knife, and evolved into our comma (,).


4. Time to work on your mystery or Underland story.
By May 19th, you should have handed in a finished, quality copy.  This should be ready for publishing in a class "magazine" of either your Mystery or Underland story, so it would be best if you could type it.  Make sure you improve (revise your story), then clean up errors.  You may also submit quality copies of poems.

photography by C. Dorsey

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Bell-Ringer:  Bingo Prompt A1 for B3, and B4 for B4

Reminder:
No more late, revised, or make-up work will be accepted after May 27.


2.  Time to work on your mystery story.
       If done (and legible), have you completed your two found poems and your Mothers' Day poem?
       If done with those, quietly read or write.

3.  Create final copy of mystery stories.  Hand it in with the worksheet and peer edit/review.  If you did not get a peer review have a parent or friend review yours.

Handout for writing mystery stories:  mystery planner.doc
Suggestions for writing mystery stories: http://ticket2write.tripod.com/mysplot.html
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20modern/fb/20031118a&pf=true

Monday, May 9, 2011

Monday, May 9, 2011

Bell-Ringer:  Dandelions Poem Tape-In.  Tape the poem into your composition book. Read the poem and respond as directed on the same paper.   Write your response across from the tape-in in your composition book.

Reminder:
No more late, revised, or make-up work will be accepted after May 27.




2.  Time to work on your mystery story.
       If done (and legible), have you completed your two found poems and your Mothers' Day poem?
       If done with those, quietly read or write.

3.  Peer review/edit of mystery stories.  Handout for writing mystery stories:  mystery planner.doc
Suggestions for writing mystery stories: http://ticket2write.tripod.com/mysplot.html
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20modern/fb/20031118a&pf=true

________________________________
Example Response to the prompt:

To poem: 

    This poem makes me think that we need to be careful when we categorize people, when we say, or think, what we think they are, or are like.  Most the time it is not true -- at least not entirely true.  Each person contains so much we do not see.


To one line:  "I am the dandelion that nobody loves."
This reminds me that on Friday I was sitting in a lawn chair in my backyard, holding my 8 month old granddaughter who was fussing because her mom and dad were gone.  She would stop fussing to watch our cat, Alice, so that's why we were there in the backyard.  We watched Alice bite the top off a fluffed out dandelion, then grab the stem with her teeth and pull it up.  I was surprised but wouldn't it be nice if she would pull up all my dandelions.
   Maybe not, because I do love to have at least some dandelions in the spring.  My daughter who is now eighteen has from the time she was very small picked me a bouquet of dandelions at least once every spring.  She still does.   However, those beautiful dandelions are taking over my lawn, and we must battle against them for control of the yard.
    I have daffodil's, too, though they are entirely wanted, unlike the dandelions.

__________
One Line:  basking in bubbles of sunlight -- This is a lovely phrase.  Bubbles of sunlight ---

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Bell-Ringer: Bingo Prompt   B3 ___E5__   B4 __D1___

2. Time to work on your mystery.
3. Writing Tritinas ,  Haiku, Cinquain   page 204 - 207 in Write Source 2000 -- possibilities for a Mother's Day poem.

4.  Make a card for Mother's Day
      1) write your poem
       2) Carefully revise and edit
       3)  Get paper for quality draft
       4) Create the card and have it checked off.

_________________________ First Samples by Ms. Dorsey

Limerick
    There once was a lady called Mom,                 [3 stressed syllables, rhymes with lines 2 and 5]
     Her children thought she was “the bomb.”      [3 stressed syllables, rhymes with lines 1 and 5]
     She’d clean and she’d cook,                             [2 stressed syllables, rhymes with line 4]
     Read her small ones a book,                            [2 stressed syllables, rhymes with line 4]
     And through this she seemed to be calm!    [3 stressed syllables, rhymes with lines 2 and 1]

     I love you, Mom!

________________________________________________-
Haiku – Write one!

     Mother, always there,                          [5 syllables]
     Listening to my woes and joys,           [7 syllables]
     The one I turn to.                           [5 syllables]


      Mom loves tomatoes
      Says they’re best fresh from the vine
      Juicy, red, gladness.
    
_________________________________________
Ballad  of the Busy Mom

      The kids were sick.  Their throats were sore.          [4 accented syllables]
       The furnace had gone out.                                       [3 accented syllables, rhymes with line 4]
       But all was well.  Mom was in charge.                   [4 accented syllables]
        She’d triumph, we’d no doubt.                              [3 accented syllables, rhymes with line 2]

      [You'd need more stanzas because a ballad tells a story.]

___________________________________________
Cinquain   -- Write one!
    
       Mother                                 [One word naming  the subject of the poem]
       Hardworking , patient,         [Two words describing the subject of the poem]
       Loves her children               [Three words showing an action for the subject of the poem]
       So glad you’re my                [Four words giving a feeling about the subject of the poem]
       Mother                                  [Same word or synonym for the first line]
      
_______________________________________________________

    _______________________________________________
Name Poetry (more than a word or two per line)  Say something significant with your poem.

Erin

Elegant lady, you
Radiate love and competence,
Infusing with joy and fun the lives of those around you.
Never stop being the wonderful woman you are!

____________________________________________________

Phrase  Poetry

Throughout the day she triumphs
             in the kitchen, keeping us fed and nourished and delighted
            around the house she creates order, beauty
            at her work excellence is her way
            for her family
            beyond our needs she gives us what will make us happy
            above and beyond what others do
She triumphs as the best of mothers ever!

______________________________________________________

List Poem – variation on  a list poem

Moms
There are moms who want kids quiet,
moms who want kids clean,
moms who want kids  hardworking,
moms who want kids polite,
moms who want kids obedient,
moms who want kids bright,
moms who want kids funny,
moms who want kids good,
moms who want kids to always behave
just the way they should.
You’re the kind of mom who wants kids all these things,
But mostly you want us happy, and that makes our hearts sing!

____________________________________________