Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

AACW

Children's Stories

We are finalizing our children's stories:  scanning, printing and binding.

Short Stories

Kathleen and Adriana read their stories today, and we annotating their stories, then gave them comments.

CREATIVE WRITING

Here's the agenda I used in class:

Class Rules for Today, Thursday and Friday

·      Put your cell phones on the upper right corner of your desk.  They should remain there all block. 

·      Stay in your assigned seat for work-time today.  I need to be able to monitor your progress, and see your screens at a glance.

·      Don’t talk—I want you working independently. 

·      If you have a procedural question, read the directions again.

·      Work ONLY on your two prose revisions—that is the assignment for today.

o   Why the rules?

o   Revision is important—I’m giving you time in class to work on them; therefore, I have to insist that you are focusing all your time and energy on revision.

o   We have an extremely limited amount of time to get revisions done—we simply do not have any time to fritter away.

o   If people don’t finish revisions today in class, they become homework, which infringes on your time to create the portfolio. 

o   If people don’t finish revisions and don’t do them for homework either, they aren’t available for peer conferencing tomorrow.  Consequently, 20% of their grade for the assignment will be an “F”. 

o   I still have multiple pieces to read and get back to you.  I have to be able to focus in order to get these things done.

Wednesday—Creative Writing Revision—Step 1

1.      Get out your paper copy for the first prose piece (NOT a poem) you             are going to revise.

2.     Read Having a Writing Conference with Yourself on page 5.

3.     Put a star by five questions you’d like to answer when you create             your SECOND DRAFTS of revised prose.

4.     Open up your iBook file, and hit “TRACK CHANGES”.

5.     REVISE to a second draft, making a MINIMUM of ten changes.

6.    Save and print!  Keep your two drafts safe until tomorrow, when I’ll             look at them, and when you  will peer conference.

7.     Get out Prose Revision #2.

8.    Repeat steps #1-6.

·      15 minutes = 1.5 minutes per change you make, if you make only the minimum for tomorrow which is ten

·      What does it say if it takes you less than fifteen minutes?

·      This is THE ASSIGNMENT where you show me you can apply EVERYTHING we’ve done this term.  If you’re half-assing it, you’re totally missing the point!  And you’re missing out on the opportunity to create something great!

·      You MUST have a REVISED PROSE #1 and REVISED PROSE #2 when you come to class tomorrow.

·      Why?  We will be traded them for peer conferences. 

·      If you don’t have it, you will get a zero, and that will not be a zero you cannot make up.  In addition, you will not do a peer conference--which will decimate your revision grade for this page.  (The job you do conferencing someone else’s piece is 20% of the revision grade.)

MODERN PROSE

I conferenced with half the class about Reading Records, and I did book chats as necessary.