Piecing Together the Paragraph

Focusing on organizational patterns in writing, students worked in groups to piece together a chronologically organized paragraph that was split into nine different sentences. They began to see just how valuable transitional words are in writing, helping the writer to logically express his/her self so that the reader can grasp an understanding. Take a look at some of the groups in action below!

Transition Words for Chronological Order!

Here are some helpful transition words to use when writing your blog post this week. These are great transition words for organizing writing chronologically!

after
afterward
at last
at length
at once
at that time
before currently
earlier
eventually
finally 
first, second, third
immediately
in the meantime
in the past
in the future
lastly
later
meanwhile
next 
now
presently
previously
recently
shortly
soon
subsequently
then
thereafter
today
tomorrow
while
when

Vocabulary Quiz Friday

Students should be studying for their vocabulary quiz on Friday, March 1st. The words are all dealing with patterns of organization in writing!

    

a.         Chronological order - the order in which the events occurred, from first to last

b.         Cause and Effect order -  the cause (or reason) is usually discussed first. This then leads to a discussion of the effect (or result.)

c.          Emphatic order - requires you to arrange your ideas according to their importance. Do you want your strongest, most important point to hit the reader immediately or do you want these points to appear near the end? Depending on your topic and your purpose, you should consider what effect these points may have upon your readers. For instance, you might save the strongest point until last, so you can build all your arguments and leave readers with a lasting impression.

d.         Compare/contrast order - based on comparison (the similarities) and contrast (the differences.) Both sides of each point are discussed together.

e.         Process order - a sequence of actions is described. It instructs the reader on how to do something. It is basically a set of directions. Owner's manuals and cookbooks are organized in this pattern.

Blog Post of the Week

Congratulations to Crystal M of B Block for earning Blog Post of the Week! She chose a poem written by her sister as her favorite poem and explained it beautifully! Check out her post below:
 

Epipoem
From: Debi Sheehan

"A relationship is like a rose, How long it lasts no one knows; Love can erase an awful past, Love can be yours, you'll see at last; To feel that love, it makes you sigh, to have it leave, You'd rather die; You hope you've found that special rose, 'Cause you love and care for the one you chose.:" -Rob Cella

I always thought
You'd be the one
To hold me closely.

The one I've waited
So patiently to come,
My one true love.

Then I found out,
You're just like the rest
But I wanted you still.

I thought that maybe
I could make you
Be the one.

But I was wrong.
So I'm still waiting,
For I will find the one.

The one, I'll share my life with,
Who will love me
As I love him.

We'll go on together,
And we'll be happy,
Hopefully to go on forever.

"I chose a poem written by my older sister that she wrote for publication class when she was in high school. The assignment was to find a quote online and create a poem that goes a long with it. The poem is about love. It begins with a relationship that has turned out to be bad, but not giving upon finding true love. I really like this one because my sister doesn't do the traditional rhyming that most poets do. The quote she used has all the rhythm, and she goes on to use her own style. It is a very powerful poem that begins sadly but ends up happy. This is a great poem from her collection of work because most of her writing is dark and sad, but with this one she shows that she will not give up."

Poetry, Paraphrasing, Presenting...

Today was an exciting day in ELA as students were able to take advantage of the technology available at the school. They worked in groups and found meaning in Carl Sandburg's famous poem, "Fog."

They also practiced paraphrasing and identifying main ideas as they worked together to comprehend the narrative poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service.

 They were able to type their ideas/notes and email it so their notes could be projected while they presented their ideas.

Vocab Quiz Friday

Students should be studying to prepare for their short vocabulary quiz on Friday on the following words:

onomatopoeia

imagery

alliteration

rhyme

repetition

narrative

hyperbole

Some Encouragement...

Blog Post of the Week

 Congratulations to Julianna T of A Block for earning BLOG POST OF THE WEEK! Her response to Shihan's Def Poetry Video was well-written. She supported her opinion and explained the power of figurative language in the poem. Check it out below!

" When I first heard Shihan performing his Def Poetry, I didn’t understand it and like it, because he was talking to fast. Though once I really focused on what he was saying, I ended up really enjoying it. One of the things that made me start to like it, was that he showed emotion when stating the poem. For example, when he was talking about his children growing up to be successful, and how his children’s babysitters spend more time with his kids then he does, you can see the sadness in his eyes. What made me like it even more, was that there were tons of poetic devices in Shihan’s def poetry. Though one thing that stood out to me the most was alliteration. He states in the poem, “Thirty things thirty told” and “makes melodies out of moonshine”. Using the alliteration really grabs the reader’s attention, and makes them more interested in the poem. This is why I enjoyed Shihan’s Def Poetry."