Thursday, 2/4, and Friday, 2/5/2010

CREATIVE WRITING

Thursday

Sharing

• People finished sharing their Earthbook favorites aloud.

Organization

• Christina and Crystal sorted and handed out the purple pages for the new unit.

Writing Lesson

• Tips on Titles--people read page 42, then grabbed Earthbooks to complete page 43.  They handed them in when complete.

Writing Assignment

• Where Were You Last Night?--We got the assignment to "Begin a Story with a 'Given First Line".  Marissa read it aloud to the class.
• Miranda read Nicole's "Hitchhiker Party" as a model.
• Chris read "Tad's Canadian Escape" as a model.

Workshop

• We each typed our own stories, beginning with the line, "Where Were You Last Night?"  We put them in the drawer at the end of the block.
• Reguirements:  fiction; typed and doublespaced, 12-point font; one-page minimum

Homework

• Select ONE item from page 48, and set a timer for twenty minutes.  Write or type for your chosen topic for the full twenty minutes.

Friday

Writing Lesson

• We talked about the terms ENDLINE, ENJAMBENT and LINE BREAKS.  
• Aach and I modeled how people were to work on the poems on the Endline page (35), and then we broke into trios to read the poems aloud to each other, put slashes in where we thought line breaks should be, and talk about our reasons for endline.
• We got back together as a group and shared our responses, and then I handed out the original formations of the poems so people could see how the authors used endline.

Writing Assignment

• I handed out the rubric for the Prompt Word Poem, and I handed out the words.  I explained the assignment and how I was going to evaluate it.  People had twenty minutes to type or write on this assignment, and they will complete it for homework.

Homework

• Prompt Word Poem

ADVANCED CREATIVE WRITING

Friday 

Homework Due

• We spent five minutes at the first of the class filling out the rubric for the "Saying 'It' Without Saying It" Poem, and then we put the rubric and poem in the drawer.
• We put page 23 and our photo in the drawer.

Writing Assignment

• Stretching the Truth (p. 25)--I went over the requirements, and then we listened to a memoir from David Sedaris (pp. 26-37).  
• We stopped now and then and picked out the elements of his story we thought were exaggerated.
• We also listened to a shorter memoir of Sedaris' the last five minutes of the block, where exaggeration was on full display as well.
• We grabbed iBooks and started our own Stretching the Truth memoirs.  (These are due TUESDAY.)

Homework

• Stretching the Truth memoir (work on it at least 30 minutes over the weekend)
• Page 23, filled out; bring the photo with you!