Announcements and Reminders:
Pull out your Book of the Month and start reading!
Your Overall Spelling Test will be on November 8/9.  Your book of the month assessment will be on November 16/17. You are reading science fiction or fantasy and will write about the setting and how it affects other elements of the novel. MonthRubric3.docx Sample for Fantasy/Science Fiction Book Assessment Next month the genre is nonfiction. |
Targets for Today:
I can revise my introductory paragraph. I can find pieces of evidence for my essay. I can explain my evidence. |
Today’s Agenda:
Silent reading. Let's take a step into the future for a minute! Imagine this situation: "Harvey is in 9th grade. He does all right in school, loves soccer, and watches a lot of Psych. One Wednesday morning, he decides to listen to the school announcements instead of staring at the wall. Hey! A school dance is coming up! Harvey secretly looks sideways to see how Angela will react to the announcement. She nudges her best friend and says, "Let's go!" Harvey decides he's definitely going to be there. On the night of the dance, Harvey wears his coolest high tops and brushes his hair extra carefully. At the dance, he and his friends bravely walk over to Angela's friend group, and they all start grooving. Angela is suuuuper cute, and for the first time, Harvey actually hopes that the DJ will play a slow song so he can ask her to dance. And wait! There it is! Harvey tries to squish the nervous butterflies in his stomach, pretending he is totally chill as he asks her to dance. She says yes and even seems excited! They talk about their classes, and at the end of the song, she gives him a good hug. Harvey is on cloud nine! But things only get better... The dance is ending, and Harvey's friend comes running over and slugs Harvey on the arm. "This is for you." He says. He hands Harvey a piece of paper, and on it, Harvey sees Angela's name and... her phone number! Score!" Let's do a little acting now. Pretend that you are Harvey, and that you can't wait to tell someone about the dance! What would you say about it if...
 Why were some of those stories different? He was talking about the same thing!!
Audience matters. Purpose (Mode) and format matter.
There are many different purposes and formats for writing. Look at these examples:
Writing on Twitter:
"Danced the night away with the coolest Cavemen around! #sweetmoves #besties"
Writing in your journal/diary:
"It was a cool dance. I was excited to see Angela there, and even though it made me stinking nervous to ask her, I did ask her to dance with me! I dunno if I should text her tonight though..."
Writing about it for the school website:
"Cavemen of all ages had a blast at the school dance! Thank you to all who came and enjoyed, and all who helped to make a great activity possible."
So let me tell you a secret...
School writing has its own purpose and format. Argument writing in school is a little different than argument writing in a magazine or online. Essays in school may be a little different than essays on websites.
Learning to write for a certain purpose and in a certain format is like learning the rules to a kind of sport. Soccer has special rules, and so do basketball, football, cross country, volleyball, etc. But no matter what sport you are playing, there are certain skills you'll use. Usually you'll play well in any sport if you are a quick runner, or have good reaction time, have strong muscles, are a good jumper, or have good ball control. See?
Rules: No double dribbling. No off-sides passes. Three hits before sending the ball over the net.
Skills: Ball control. Flexibility. Muscle strength. Good vertical.
Writing is the same way. Sometimes the rules change, but skills stay the same!
Rules: Write 5 paragraphs. Don't give your opinion. Do give your opinion. Make it rhyme.
Skills: Good word choice. Clearly express an idea. Spell correctly. Transition between ideas.
Here are two specific examples that a lot of you will see in your feedback:
Rule: Pick just one side of the issue, not both.
Skill: Support your opinions well, no matter what your opinion is.
Rule: Give your opinion and back it up with two reasons in ONE sentence.
Skill: Express your opinion clearly and give support.
Come pick up your packets, and use this time to revise your introductory paragraph!!
Now pause! Let's review evidence.
It is something concrete and indisputable. Sometimes we assume something is true, but it is actually our opinion. For example:
Drinking and driving is bad...
But someone who drinks and drives probably doesn't think so.
Rich people can have everything they want...
But Bob from The Outsiders didn't.
People should always help each other...
But Johnny saved kids from a burning building, and he died.
Evidence is concrete if:
Try asking yourself- "Could someone deny this? Or is it an undeniable fact? Can it be proven to be true?"
If your evidence is concrete, explanation becomes easier. You have a real fact there, and then you can say what you think about it. Make sure you explain why that fact proves that your claim is right.
Use the rest of the time to do the following:
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If You Were Absent:
Pick up your Argument Essay Packet and look at your feedback. Write the revised version of the introductory paragraph. Find two quotes from the book for your evidence, and write an explanation for each in the boxes provided. Put a star next to the one you want me to look at, and turn that in. Study for your Overall Spelling Test. |
Vocabulary:
Audience (in writing): After coming up with a specific topic, it is also important to identify the audience for your writing. As a writer, your audience is not whoever reads the essay (this is far too broad) or even simply your instructor (of course he/she will read your writing). Instead, the audience is the group of people you want to educate or persuade (or entertain).
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