ELA 101

Students in my 8th grade English class have begun working on a collection of poetry.  We will be completing 8 different kinds of poems for students to compile and illustrate in a hardbound published book.

So far students have done a fair job of working at this genre.  Some have really taken to it and are blossoming as poets – trying different strategies or tools of the writing trade.  Others are still confused by poetry and are somewhat reluctant to really embrace the poetic form.

To date we have completed a Silent Loud Eternal poem, a Three Word poem, and an I Am poem.  Today we started an Object Poem.  We still have Epsitle Poems, Free Verse Poems, Limericks, and Poems for Two Voices to complete. 

I have encouraged students to try more than one of each type of poem so they can choose their best to include in their book.  Also, I am grading them on their poems and the overall neatness of their final project, not on their artistic ability.  Therefore, if they would like to seek help on their illustrations that is completely acceptable.

Students will have computer lab time in class to type their papers next week.  As always, if your son/daugther feels that they would benefit from additional time, they are free to take advantage of our open lab Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after school if a home computer is unavailable.

The entire project is due no later than Friday, December 21st.  I anticipate the final week before break being spent on the illustrations and hope to have things wrapped up on Thursday (12/20) since that last day before break is filled with other fun activities.

Finally, the books are being published through StudenTales and paperwork will be sent home shortly with details on how to order an additional copy of your child’s book.  Be sure to ask for it!

Last week students drafted their stories after brainstorming several topics they could write about.  We looked at several examples of picture books, though most students had an idea already floating around in their mind. 

Your students are writing original children’s stories that will be published and illustrated.  The understanding for the assignment is that the writing should be around 1 1/2 – 2 pages single spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font.  This equates to about 1,000 words.  Most students have reached that length in their handwritten drafts (around 4-5 lined pages).  When they prepare their books for publication, the have the option of changing the style and size of their font and adding digital pictures, clip art (though I’ve discouraged this), hand-drawn or computer generated images.  Their text will be spread out over 7-8 pages in the book and they will complete their cover art, Title and Dedication pages and well as an About the Author section.

This week, students are going to be getting a little messier with their drafts.  We are learning strategies such as Babysteps, snapshots and thought shots, and how to punctuate dialogue.  Students will have computer lab time in class to type their papers next week.  As always, if your son/daugther feels that they would benefit from additional time, they are free to take advantage of our open lab Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after school if a home computer is unavailable.

The entire project is due no later than Friday, December 21st.  I anticipate the final week before break being spent on the illustrations and hope to have things wrapped up on Thursday (12/20) since that last day before break is filled with other fun activities.

Finally, the books are being published through StudenTales and paperwork will be sent home shortly with details on how to order an additional copy of your child’s book.  Be sure to ask for it!

I’m embarrassed by the fact that my last post was nearly a month ago!  It seems impossible that time has passed so quickly.  I hope that what few readers I managed to attract haven’t written me off as a lost cause (which is a round about way of asking you to leave me some feedback if you’re still lurking out there!!).

I understand that my snazzy embedded podcast in my last post doesn’t work unless I am logged into my Edline account, because that’s where the link is imported from…so I’m still working on finding ways to embed podcasts into this blog because it’s a great way for students to take their work and make it public. 

Since I’ve last written we have wrapped up our reading units in both 7th and 8th grade and begun our writing units (children’s stories in 7th and poetry in 8th).  So far, the students are doing a fair job and I hope to kick it up a notch this week. 

Personally, I travelled to New York where I attended several sessions at the National Writing Project annual meeting and toured the city reminiscing about the six months I lived there during an internship my junior year in college and making new memories with fellow writing project colleagues.  I’ve purchased nearly all my Christmas presents and have decorated my house for the holidays.  I’ve also worked on a small collection of poetry that I too hope to publish with the students and keep as a gift for my son.