Thursday, September 25, 2008

Homework...homework!

Are you caught up?

Here is where you should be in this class!

  • Touching Spirit Bear: Chapters 11-18
  • Work on your totem pole: 1B due Monday;1A due Tuesday
  • Research your selected issue for your Letter to the Next President
  • Blog post for lit circle novel: color-code, circle verbs and transitions, and insert "add-on's" (appositive phrases)
  • Study for a re-take of the four sentence types. 1B on Monday; 1A on Tuesday.

Keep up the good work!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

A Loyal Pioneer

Below is my paragraph for the blog assignment in which we analyzed our first lit circle book for the assigned literary term.

Please note as you read, the embedded "chunks" of info.

In Carol Brink’s novel Caddie Woodlawn, loyalty is a dominant theme. First, the reader develops a greater respect for Caddie, a fourteen-year-old living in Wisconsin in 1864, when she remains true to her dog Nero when her uncle Edmund convinces Caddie’s mom to allow him to take Nero to be trained as a bird dog. Through floods of tears and an abundance of sad memories, Caddie never gives up on the hope of Nero’s return, and return he does, looking worn and thin but, oh, so happy to see Caddie. Another echo of loyalty runs through Caddie’s relationship with her father. Always a favorite, Caddie realizes that her relationship with her father is a special one, one that she appreciates even more as he begins to share his hobby, his second income…the repairing of watches with his daughter, his newfound “partner.” For many more examples of loyalty to family, to the land, to the Native Americans, go with Caddie on her many adventures as she pioneers…and never ever quits.

Remember...we do not reveal spoilers!

Also, novels need to be hyperlinked to the book on amazon.com.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Uh, oh! Teacher is absent!

That's right! I will not be here Tuesday, so here is your assignment.
  1. Writer's Notebook: Continue to draft your totem pole sections.
  2. Go to the mini-computer lab and load our Class Wiki.
  3. Read both articles on sentence structures/patterns. Follow the directions on the wiki for each article. Complete the handout. Turn in. Why are we reviewing this again?
  4. Then draft your post in Microsoft Word for the novel you just completed explaining how the author used the assigned term within your novel:
    Theme: Jordan, Miles, RaechelSetting: Mildren, Maisie, Kelsey
    Internal Conflict: Susie, Heather, Caitlin
    External Conflict: Shanna, Donovan
    Characterization: Cindy, Taresa, Kayla
    Run out of time? We'll finish this next time.
  5. If completed, print your post and turn in.
  6. 9:00: Complete the questions about your novel. Must be turned in today!
  7. Turn in lit circle packet.
  8. Turn in novel...unless you did not complete your post and think you might need your novel to do so.

Homework: Read this post to review other posts you need to draft.

A look at our near future:

  • Posting is now just a click away!
  • On Thursday, you will each receive a copy of Touching Spirit Bear.
  • Totem Poles will be due next week.

Thanks!

Sunday with Ike

Please check out this site to see our theme in action: A Pioneer Never Quits.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Linking Together

I need your help! Please paste your blog URL into an email, along with your blog title, and send this info to me.

Then I will paste your info onto the wiki so you can check out each other's blogs.

Reminder...read this for blog topic assignments on which to be pondering.

Have a great weekend!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Put Your Thinking Caps On!

Your blogs are created; now the time has arrived to decide about what to post first!

Never fear, the teacher is never far away with just the right blog assignment close in hand!

Blog Topic 1:

As you draft your letter to the next President, plan an excerpt or summary of your thoughts to place in a post.

Blog Topic 2:

We know a pioneer as one who perseveres, one who does not quit. Think of someone in your life that is an example of this definition and begin drafting your presentation, your thank-you, about and to this person.

Then as we subscribe to your classmates' blogs, take advantage of your Reader and comment on one or two blogs. Remember through comments comes the confirmation that you are a published writer!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Blogger Is the Winner!

After some deliberation and debate, Mrs. Huff and I have decided to use Blogger as the class blog type.

If you have created a Edublog or a Wordpress blog....I do apologize, but Blogger is adding some features that will work great for us. For example, soon our Readers can feed right into our blog! I know...the excitement will come as your understanding of these Web 2.0 tools develops. It will...I promise.

So let's all set up a Blogger. (My apologies for the lack of pics...I only have Paint to work with here at home, and the quality is just not good enough. Sorry!)

Step 1: Go to your gmail account and click on "more"; then scroll down to "blog."

Step 2: Click on "my account" in the upper right corner.

Step 3: Select Blogger.

Step 4: Proceed to set up a blog.

CAUTION: Remember, this is a class blog, for class assignments, for a grade. Okay? If you want to publish personal posts, please set up another blog in what is now called your "dashboard."

Congratulations you have now left your digital fingerprint on the web! You are about to be a published author!

I look forward to reading your entries and watching you grow as a writer...and reader!