October Agendas

English Language Arts 2009

October 1, 2009 • CW:

Hand in Independent Reading JournalDaily Edit-ApostropheFreewrite #4Introduction to figurative language and the elements of style

• My Name/group readings/share out• What are the features of the vignette

genre?

October 1, 2009• HW:

Read for twenty minutes and record on bookmark. Make sure to get your bookmark initialed.

• Work on your Post-Its, which a due a week from yesterday

• My Name assignment due Monday

Freewrite #4• Please take out a piece of paper, and

either a pen or pencil. Label the paper with your name, the date and Freewrite #4

• What is the personal significance of your given name (first, middle and last)? Does your name mean different things to you, your family and your friends? What are your nicknames? What do nicknames mean to you and those who call you those names?

So what is figurative language anyways…

• Figurative language or speech contains images.

• The writer or speaker describes something through the use of unusual comparisons, for effect, interest, and to make things clearer.

• The result of using this technique is the creation of interesting images. 

Examples…• He has a temper that is like a

volcano. • Her skin was as cold as ice. • Their faces were as white as snow.• He ran as fast as the wind.• The teacher’s lesson was as clear as

mud.• Watching the movie was like

watching paint dry.

Examples• My hair is wild, it never stays

straight. • “It is the smell when she makes room

for you on her side of the bed still warm with her skin.”

• The rain. At first, the rain came in the morning. The rain. The rain didn’t stop. The rain kept coming, and then some. The rain.

October 2, 2009• CW:

Daily Edit-Common mistakes in our writingShare out My Name freewritesReading in class: “Hairs”HW:My Name assignment due Monday Reading, recording and Post Its

October 5, 2009• CW:

Daily Edit: EllipsesRead Aloud: Hairs/identify elements of styleHairs Writing AssignmentRead Aloud: Laughter

• HW:Read and record on bookmark. Bookmark and Post-Its due Wednesday. Punctuation quiz on Thursday.

Reminder• If you haven’t turned in your first bookmark

or your independent reading journal, turn in these assignments as soon as possible

• Remember that each day an assignment is late, ten percent is taken off the grade.

• If you have been sick, it is your responsibility to come talk to me, and access your missing work. All assignments, class work and homework are posted on the class website.

How can we use “Hairs” as a model for our own writing?

• Write a vignette about your own life, and discuss an important physical trait and how it reveals something about the person who possesses it and your relationship to him or her.

• You can discuss a trait that all of you share, or one that makes a particular family member-or you-stand out from the others because it is different.

Sentence Starters• Everyone in my family has different:• Laughs• Smiles• Elbows• Feet• Eyes• eyebrows

Incorporating the Elements of Style

• Yesterday we began to review the elements of style and figurative language.

• Use AT LEAST TWO DEVICES in your vignette

• Remember to use the features of the vignette genre to guide your writing process

Ms. Freese’s Example• Everyone in my family has different smiles. My smile is big,

and punctuated with dimples. It is a Cheshire cat smile, sneaky and suspicious. My sister Susan’s smile is small and curved like a rose. My sister never shows her teeth when she smiles. My sister has stubborn teeth, that even braces couldn’t fix. My mom has a wide smile like a straight line. When she smiles her eyes get as big as saucers. My dad’s smile is like mine. When my dad smiles he shows his two front teeth that are as white as a polished pearl. My dad’s smile is like a mirror of my own. My smile is part of me. It gives away how I am feeling. Everyone in my family has different smiles, but often when we are smiling, my family is together.

October 6, 2009• CW:• Daily Edit Commas/Post-It procedure for quiz• Freewrite #5• Reading in class: “Laughter”

• HW:Reading and recording. Bookmark and Post-Its due tomorrow. Punctuation Quiz Thursday.

Freewrite #5• Write your name, the date

October 6, 2009), and Freewrite #5 on a piece of paper. You will have ten minutes to write a response to the prompt.

Freewrite #5• What roles do our community and

neighborhood play in shaping who we become?

• Where does our sense of identity come from? Does our sense of identity come from our family?

• Why or why not?

“Laughter”• What elements of style does Sandra

Cisneros use in “Laughter?” • Similie (like a pile of dishes breaking) • Sensory details • Fat popsicle lips (sensory details)

October 7, 2009• CW:

Hand in bookmark to appropriate bin. Make sure to staple your Post-Its to the bookmark before handing it in. Daily Edit-Punctuation Review for quiz tomorrowMake Post-It for quizFreewrite #6 (if time)Reading in class: “Boys and Girls” (if time)

• HW:Start bookmark #3, due a week from today and Post-Its. Study for quiz tomorrow. Review your Daily Edit notes.

October 12, 2009• CW

Check in-making up the punctuation quiz, missing work and bookmarksFreewrite #6

• Reading in class: Boys and Girls• Four Corners debate • HW

reading and recording on bookmarks and two Post-its due Wednesday October 14th, 2009

Important Upcoming Dates• Bookmark due dates:

October 7October 14October 21October 28

• Figurative Language Test October 27th

• Identity Vignette Portfolio October 28th• Binder check October 30th

Freewrite # 6• Should parents/guardians raise their

teenage girls in the same way that they raise their teenage boys? Why or why not? What rules should be the same for boys and girls, which should be different?

• Do you have siblings or relatives that are treated differently than you because of gender?

Four Corners• In “Boys and Girls” Esperenza writes,

“the boys and girls live in separate worlds. The boys in their universe and we in ours.”

• Do you agree with her? Do you think that boys and girls are treated differently? If so, how?

October 13, 2009• CW:• Write name on test prep book in marker on

the front cover• Context Clues presentation• Read Aloud “Two Spiders” • Author’s Purpose presentation • Real Aloud “Slugging It Out” p.32-33• HW:

Bookmark AND two Post-Its due tomorrow at the beginning of class

October 14, 2009• CW:

Hand in bookmark and TWO Post-Its. Make sure they are stapled together.

• Bookmark/Post-It process review • Elements of style flash cards• Reading in Class: Two Skinny Trees• Writing in class: Friendship Vignette

HW: Begin bookmark #3, bookmark and two Post-Its due October 21st!

Freewrite #7• Describe a situation where you once

felt really out of place or uncomfortable. Why did you feel this way? What does it mean to fit in? Think about your friends. Are you insiders or outsiders? What do your friends mean to you?

Writing AssignmentChoose an object that represents you and your friends. Do you and your friends “fit in?” Why or why not? How would you describe your relationship?

Use at least TWO elements of style in your vignette.

Three Swings• They are the only ones that

understand me. I am the only one who understands them. Three swings on a playground moving forward and then moving back with the motto: the skies the limit, and the personality that goes with the flow. Three swings on a playground that aren’t occupied. Three swings waiting for their lives to begin.

Ms. Freese’s Example• Their strength is their secret. Three

swings strung together on metal that is planted deep into the earth. They withstand the storms, the rainy days, and live for the sunny days where the sky is as blue as a promise of what’s to come. Three swings whose laughter rings like bells, and whose eyes shine with possibility. Three swinging swings.

Ms. Freese’s Example• When I feel like my feet are too

grounded. When I feel like I haven’t stopped to appreciate the patterns in puddles of rain, I look to the swings. When there is nothing left to look at, and I feel lost, I find a swing and sit on it. I lift my feet off the ground, close my eyes and picture that two swings are surrounding me, holding me up as I fly.