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."

Friday's Quiz!

Students should be studying in order to prepare for their

Vocabulary Quiz on Friday on the following words:

luminous

swerve

utter

weasel

burrow

concrete poem

haiku

free verse

"...Whatever is in my bag..."

 

In order to better understand figurative language, students participated in a unique activity today. Each had their own paper bag with their own secret item/object in it. They had to personify their object and create similes and metaphors to clue their classmates as to what was in their bag. Take a look at some of the students in action below!

Blog Post of the Week

Congrats to Kayla S of B Block on earning "Blog Post of the Week!" She did an excellent job examining the lyrics to one of her favorite songs. She quoted the various lyrics and explained her interpretation clearly. Take a look at her post here:

"I chose the song “Breaking the Habit” by Linkin Park. To me this song is very powerful and sends a strong message. The song means to break away from the crowd and be yourself, to not follow what people do. For instance, in the song it says “ it’s not going to go alright, if I want to go this far, so I’m breaking the habit, I’m breaking the habit tonight.” This phrase of the song tells people that if he keeps following those people he’ll blend in and not be unique. So instead he is turning his back on the crowd and being himself. The second reason why I like this song is that it’s extremely catchy and you can rock out and dance to it. Even though it’s a rock song, it is upbeat enough to dance to. In addition, it uses a bunch of figurative language. For instance, “I don't want to be the one the battles always choose” is an example of personification because battles can’t choose what they do. Also, there is so much more figurative language such as similes and metaphors. The reason the song is so powerful to me is that in 5th grade I was having a hard time being myself and I always wanted to be someone other than myself. But, after I heard that song I realized that it was better to be myself and to not follow the crowd."

Kids Blog

Click on your corresponding class.

http://kidblog.org/awesomeblock

http://kidblog.org/bestblock

http://kidblog.org/coolblock

http://kidblog.org/dynamiteblock

Beyond the Classroom -- Defining Poetry

What better way to start off the Poetry Unit than to begin by defining what we believe poetry to be and then venturing outside! First, students brainstormed to warm-up for their adventure beyond the classroom (afterall, it was a bit chilly out!). Then, after grasping an understanding of the most effective way to share ideas, students partnered up and discussed their lists. Following a class discussion, each block proceeded to work together to formulate a definition of poetry. Students thought about all the poems they have read in their lives as well as all they have learned about poetry thus far in their academic careers. 

 THIS IS WHAT EACH CLASS CAME UP WITH . . .

A BLOCK
poetry: words in rhythm that express emotion usually formatted in stanzas

B BLOCK
poetry: words that have rhythm, meaning and feeling; usually organized into stanzas

C BLOCK 
poetry: mini-stories that express meaningful emotion and can have rhyming words

D BLOCK
poetry: a type of passionate writing that expresses a writer's emotion in a rhythm 


After formulating their definitions, students were informed that the word "poem" comes from the Greek word poiesis — ποίησις — which has a broad meaning of a "to make" or "to do." With that, we decided to "make" a new, DIFFERENT class experience. Pen and paper in hand, students respectfully lined up and took a trip outside focusing on all they observed and felt while doing their best to record it. We came back in and reflected on our experience as a whole. There were no rules to how the students could express what they had experienced, except that it had to be on paper. Some wrote in complete sentences, some wrote in bullet points, others composed a list. No matter what each 7th grader decided on doing, it did not matter. The key was the expression. As we dive further into the Poetry Unit we may find that maybe there are no rules to poetry either, and that MAYBE the key to poetry is expression.....

(Special note to the students: You guys were so awesome today. Your behavior was outstanding and I feel so fortunate to be your teacher! Thank you for being so respectful. I know we can do something like this again with no problem!)



 

Blog Post of the Week!

Congrats to Joselyn S of D block! Her amazing and descriptive blog post about her fears and how they affect her life decisions was a pleasure to read! Her writing came alive and truly engaged the reader. Take a look at it here:

"An embarrassing fear that shadow's my everyday life is the lurking oceans, with the secrets it holds. I don't understand this fear, perhaps it's the sharks that animate the sea. The navy waters creating an eerie mood making me edgy about going in, even staying in. Imagine this, you are swishing your legs in the water, not bothering a soul and suddenly a large mammal comes out of the never ending oceans, tearing off one of your limbs. I am completely horrified of this happening to me. Even when I am water skiing, the image floods my brains as though toxins secretly entered my mind. I cannot get over the fact that sharks could be beneath me; maybe that is the reason for this fear. Another hypothesis is that I might be afraid of how large the ocean is, the mysterious ribbon like waves surrounding me; making it almost impossible to know what is around me. One of the times I went swimming an unbearable sensation that something was following me appeared. I don't know why, or even how but it certainly happened. There have been many shark attacks in Gloucester, and I am afraid this will take over my life if a mammal of this sort attacked me. Unfortunately this is a fear that I have, and I share it with many others. And maybe one day I will overcome my fear, but for now this fear shadow's me." 

Vocabulary Quiz on Friday!

Students should be studying for their vocabulary quiz on Friday on these words:

prejudice
scapegoat
flustered
sluggishly
persistently
defiant
metamorphosis

They all come from the screenplay, The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, which we will be reading this week!