|
|
 |
|
|
7th Grade--Fiction: Scary Stories
Dear Parents and Students:
We are currently studying Fiction. In this unit, students will be able to
apply a variety of creative writing strategies to their own True or "Made-Up"
Scary Stories.
In addition to focusing on writing, our 7th grade students will be
participating in the district-wide reading Starbooks Program. Our students
are very excited about the program, and I look forward to providing you with
feedback once we start reading the book on Monday, October 19.
During this unit, students will be able to apply the following to their Scary
Stories:
1) An effective hook (i.e. Flasbacks, in medias res (in the middle),
anecdote, dialogue or a detailed descriptions
2) Use advance or sparkling synonyms
3) "Show-not-Tell" by using sensory language
4) Peer Edit through a variety of workshops
5) Understand the Writing Process (Pre-Writing, Drafting, Revising,
Editing and Publishing)
6) Use a variety of creative writing strategies
Update: The students have been provided with a variety of handouts for your
viewing (Writing Rubric, Checklist and Anticipation Guide). The Cover and
Final Draft is now due on Wednesday, October 21; they will be able to print
their final draft at the end of class on Wednesday, October 21.
______________________________________________________________________________
8th Grade--Mystery/Suspense/Research Unit
Dear Parents and Students:
I am the Writing Coordinator for our school. The district has adopted
a "new" writing initiative to assist in making our students become more
effective academic writers. Since our 8th graders will be assessed on
writing on both the FL Writes and FCAT Reading, I have designed a rigorous
writing curriculum that will challenge them on a variety of levels/forms. My
focus this month is the Expository Essay (Author's Critique/Research Paper).
Over the next few weeks, my 8th grade LA students will be conducting
extensive research and writing their first Author's Critique using
the "Comparative Strategy." This method involves them being able to
compare/contrast the book and film version of "The Monkey's Paw." Throughout
this process, they will need to learn background knowledge on the writer--
W.W.Jacobs--and understand his style of writing. Throughout this course of
study, they will be able to use an advance Planning Frame when structuring
their essay. In addition, they will learn how to use a variety of mature
transitions in their writing as well as a variety of sentence strutures
(gerunds, participial phrases and complex/compound sentences) to illustrate
and elaborate their ideas.
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
