Writing Narratives From Home

Parents,

As you may have noticed from reading the announcements, I have added essay homework for a writing homework grade each week. Our class often discusses why it is important to "raise the rigor" as the year progresses. With that said, it is important for students to increase the volume of writing. Studies show that, of the many practices out there, the volume of writing a student produces is the largest predictor of the quality of their writing. As we continue working on Expository writing in class, we will maintain and increase our strengths with Narratives at home. In this post, I've included several steps of the writing process, as well as student examples of great writing. Like always, please let me know if you have any questions!


Step 1: Brainstorming

In this stage, students are to make a list of potential paper ideas. Then, students make a bubble map of all the details that come to mind about each of those topics. This student has made a bubble map for each of possible ideas: going to Great Wolf Lodge, When her uncle took her to Washington DC to hear the President speak, and when her uncle gave her 20 dollars.

 



Step 1 Continued: Brainstorming

 

 

After choosing a topic, student should create a Five Senses Map, BME outline, and timeline of all the details from the paper topic. Below is an example of student who has decided to brainstorm about going to Great Wolf Lodge.

 

 

 

 

 

STEP 2: Rough Draft

 

After brainstorming, students are to use their brainstorming maps to help form 3 body paragraphs--beginning (or intro), middle, and end (conclusion). The purpose of the rough draft is to get the ideas on paper, and to have a BME structure that is identifiable by indentions at the beginning of each of the three paragraphs. Below is a student's rough draft about a time when they were thankful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steps 3&4: Revising and Editing

 

After writing a rough draft, students are to meet with a partner for Revising and Editing. Revising should be completed first, which is simply going through to see how students can make the paper better--combining sentences, using bigger and better words, adding details to support the paper's main idea, etc. After revising, students are to help one another Edit, which basically looking through the paper for mistakes--misspelled words, punctuation errors, capitalization errors, etc. Students are used to having a friend to help them with this process, but it is VERY IMPORTANT that students learn to both revise and edit for themselves. On STAAR, I highly recommend students taking a break between stages in the writing process. Their papers should look fairly sloppy. See Below.

 

 

 

Step 5: Publishing

 

After meeting with a partner, students should take all feedback from the meeting and create a FINAL draft. This is when students take their take with spelling, writing legibly, and coming up with last minute additions to their papers. Below is an example of a STAAR paper that scored a 3 out of 4. Notice how it focuses on one setting AND one activity.  It also has good details and answers the prompt, which was: Write about a time when someone told you that you did a good job.

 

 

 

In order for students to write at the level they need to be, going through each of the five steps of the writing process is critically important. Because what ends up happening on STAAR is students see the publishing paper and just start writing, which is nothing like what we do in class. They need to practice the entire process in order to be successful.

 

 

 

 









 



Happy New Year! Homework and Communication updates

Parents, I am very excited to begin a new semester with your students. We’ve learned and grown so much in the past few months, and now it’s time to raise the rigor! With it being a new year, we’re going to set higher expectations. Here’s what’s new…

Homework: Each week, three types of homework will be due.

1.     Reading Logs: Students will receive reading logs on Monday. They need to bring the logs completed and signed each day. Reading logs are checked every day BUT are due on the Friday of each week.

2.     Sight Word work: At the beginning of each week, sight words will be posted in three places--the classroom, the weekly announcements, and online at goingplaceslife-school.blogspot.com. These are due every Friday, BUT they can be turned in any time throughout the week! I’ve observed that completing word work throughout the week leads to better quiz scores!

3.     Essay: Each week, students will be asked to write an essay (showing their work throughout each stage of the writing process: brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, publishing). This will be due every Friday, BUT students can turn it in at any point throughout the week! The weeks writing prompt will be posted on the weekly announcements each week.

 Parent-Teacher Communication

Parents, please remember that I send 70% of my communication out through remind101, a messaging service used to text parents. If you are not already signed up, please text this message: @4b2n to this number: 81010. Remind101 is very useful. Remember that texting or calling works best for me, but email will work as well. Please feel free to comment below!

Blog: goingplaces-lifeschoot.blogspot.com    Twitter: follow @goingplaces303

Week 18 Announcements (December 15-18)

Week 18 Announcements (December 15-19)

Parents,

This is the last week before Winter Break! While students are looking forward to the break, I’ve encouraged them to keep working hard for four more days. Because report card grades are due on Wednesday, I will finalize most grades on Monday. With that in mind, there will be No Reading Log Homework. Please make sure they are still reading every day. However, we will still have a sight word quiz on Thursday, so students will still be given sight words for the week.

Reading

Last week we talked about Poetry and compared the differences between freeverse and lyrical styles of poems. Make sure your students can tell you the difference between the two! We will come back to poetry after Winter Break, but it is important for students to read poetry and understand how the poet feels or why they are using the writing strategies that he or she is using. This week, as we introduce Drama, students will have an opportunity to get into student groups and practice acting as characters in a play. Towards the end of the week, after students are tested on parts of Drama, they will have the opportunity to perform for their fellow students in something we like to call Reader’s Theatre.

Writing

Last week, due to testing, a lot of our Writing Block was limited to only a few minutes per day. This week, with four full days, we will have a chance to re-visit Expository writing. We will review the differences between Expository and Narrative writing as well as how Expository is organized. We will talk about brainstorming strategies and also how to organize Expository using either 1) a “Funky E organizer” or 2) a Box Plan. The key things to remember about an Expository papers is that they are divided into 4 paragraphs (Intro, Body1, Body2, Conclusion). Writers use the Intro to grab the reader’s attention and build interest in the topic (\we call a Hook) and tell the reader what main topics will be discussed throughout the paper (Thesis statement). In Body 1 and Body 2, students are to introduce two main ideas to help support their paper’s main argument. Each body has a Topic Sentence, which tells the reader what the paragraph is about. In the Conclusion, students restate their thesis statement and include a final thought or comment about the topic.

Sight Word Homework

Parents, sight word homework is due on Fridays! This work only requires about five to ten minutes each day.

Monday: Write each word 5 times each

Tuesday: Write each word using stairstep spelling ( students should know what this is)!

Wednesday: Write each sight word in a sentence.

Thursday: Define each sight word and provide a synonym and antonym if possible.

unique	exactly	express
paragraph	receive	represent
observe	plural	singular

Like always, never hesitate to call or text 214-517-3793, and you can find these announcements any time at goingplaceslife-school.blogspot.com

Week 17 Announcements

Week 17 Announcements (December 8 - December 12)

Parents,

This week is an important week because students are going to be taking the District’s CFA (common formative assessment) in both Revising/Editing and Reading. Students will be testing on Tuesday and Thursday, so make sure that they are well rested and in a test-taking mindset when they come to school on these days.

Reading

Last week we worked on “paired passages,” which is when a reader is asked to read two separate stories and answer questions about the similarities and differences between aspects of each story. This week we will be discussin two different skills--Fact and Opion and Poetry.

Writing

Last week we introduced how Expository essays are structured using something known as the “Funky E” organizer. It organizes the paper into 4 paragraphs--Intro, Body #1, Body #2, and Conclusion. Each paragraph has very important elements. In the Intro, students are to engage the reader’s attention with something known as a hook. After students have engaged the reader, they are to include a thesis statement, which is one sentence that tells the reader what the paper will be about. The first sentence of the first body paragraph is known as a topic sentence and it connects with the thesis statement from the introductory paragraph. It tells the reader what the paragraph is going to be about. Students are to use their body paragraphs to support to their main defends.

Sight Words

Parents, this will be our first week of sight word homework. Up until now, we’ve been completing many of these tasks in class, but as the year goes on and we continue to raise the rigor in our classroom, we will move this work out the classroom and hold our students accountable for learning beyond the school day.

Sight Word Work is due at the end of each week (on Fridays!)

Monday:     Write each word 5 times each

Tuesday:     Write each word using stairstep spelling ( students should know what this is)!

Wednesday: Write each sight word in a sentence.

Thursday:     Define each sight word and provide a synonym and antonym if possible.

prove	debate	opinion
demonstrate	illustrate	allowing
refuses	contribute	reveal

Reading Logs and Sight Word Homework are due on Fridays!

Parents, remember that you can call and text me at 214-517-3793 and follow what’s happening at goingplaceslife-school.blogspot.com

Week 16 Announcements

Parents,

 

I hope you and your students had a restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving break! We have three more weeks of instruction and then another break (two weeks this time!) As we reach the last stretch of the semester, we will be touching on several new topics. Also, I have a few announcements regarding homework. See below.

 

Reading

 

Before the break we discussed Main Idea in Nonfiction texts. This week we will be covering what we call “paired passages,” which is when we read similar stories across genres and find similarities/differences between the texts. Students will be asked to compare/contrast plots, character traits/feelings, etc.

 

Writing

 

This is a very important week in Writing. We will be introducing Expository writing, which asks the students to argue (more or less) a point to their reader. This week we will look at how Expository writing is organized, and we will begin drafting our expository paper about our favorite time of the year. This week, we will be discussing thesis statements, hooks, topic sentences, supporting details and conclusion statements. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to me.

 

Sight Words

 

Parents, last week only a handful of students turned in sight word homework. Remember that it will be turned in on Friday with the Reading Logs. I am only asking students to complete about 25 minutes per night of homework. Please make sure that they are doing so.

 

Sight Word Work is due at the end of each week (on Fridays!)

 

Monday:     Write each word 5 times each

 

Consider

Consider

Consider

Consider

 

Tuesday:     Write each word using stairstep spelling ( students should know what this is)!

c
co
cop
copy

Wednesday: Write each sight word in a sentence.

The property is normally closed off to the public.

Thursday:     Define each sight word and provide a synonym and antonym if possible.

 

replace: to swap out or exchange

This weeks Sight Words:
 

support	prevent	concern
brag	patient	random
achievement	humble	proud

 

Week 15 Announcments

Parents,

The last two weeks have been very chaotic! We’ve had three benchmark tests and scattered instructional days. This week I am very excited to be back on normal schedule! We will have 5 straight days of instruction before we let out for one week of Thanksgiving break!

Reading

This week will be covering or reviewing several things. Before we began testing, we were covering main idea in fiction stories. Our students know that main idea is what the text is mostly or mainly about. This week we will extend that idea and apply it to non-fiction texts. Remember that main idea asks us to add up the most important details into a concluding statement. Sometimes students get this confused with picking out one important detail, but main idea includes several important details.

Writing

I’m sad to say that this will be the last week of formal lessons on writing narratives (at least until STAAR gets a little closer). We will review the writing process and use it to write a narrative throughout out the week. When we get back from Thanksgiving break, we will move onto Expository writing. In conventions, we will discuss antonyms, synonyms, quotations, and subject-verb agreement.

Sight Words

Parents, this will be our first week of sight word homework. Up until now, we’ve been completing many of these tasks in class, but as the year goes on and we continue to raise the rigor in our classroom, we will move this work out the classroom and hold our students accountable for learning beyond the school day.

Sight Word Work is due at the end of each week (on Fridays!)

Monday:     Write each word 5 times each

 

Consider

Consider

Consider

Consider

Tuesday:     Write each word using stairstep spelling ( students should know what this is)!

c
co
cop
copy

Wednesday: Write each sight word in a sentence.

The property is normally closed off to the public.

Thursday:     Define each sight word and provide a synonym and antonym if possible.

 

replace: to swap out or exchange

This weeks Sight Words:
 

compare	consider	copy
design	interesting	distance
property	replace	entire

Reading Logs:

Now that we are back on a regular routine, reading logs will be check each day. Parents, please remember that reading logs need to be signed and checked every day, and they will be turned in on Friday!

Benchmark scores and other info!

If you would like to see your child’s scores/test, please schedule a conference. As also, you can call and text me at 214-517-3793 and follow what’s happening at goingplaceslife-school.blogspot.com

Benchmark Season is Upon Us!

Last week we took our first Writing Benchmark! I have noticed significant improvements from the beginning of the year until now, which is definitely something to celebrate! I am extremely proud of how hard this group of students continues to work each and every day. The Benchmark has also opened my eyes to several things that we need to continue working on. This week, we will continue to show what we have learned by taking the Math Benchmark (Tuesday) and the Reading Benchmark (Wednesday). The remainder of the week, we will be working on something known as Testing as a Genre, which is basically taking a closer look at how test taking strategies can help compliment our knowledge and skills while we take tests. We will use the benchmarks as a review and discuss strategies like process of elimination, logic, and common mistakes made during testing. For the writing portion, we will continue to analyze what makes good writing and reflect on which strength and weaknesses we have in our own writing!

Homework

Parents, beginning next week, we will have three types of homework: reading logs, sight word work, and writing journals. I’ve decided to do away with daily reading logs because I think it creates negative reading habits and views towards reading (students should still be reading at least 15 minutes every day).

A sneak peak

Reading log:

The new reading log will basically be downsized from daily to weekly. As part of this transition, students will be expected to write ONE summary per week on the book they are reading outside of the classroom. These will start next week and will be due on Thursdays.

Writing Journals:

The writing journal is an idea I am tossing around. I think that, similar to reading, practicing writing outside of the classroom is extremely important in order to become better readers and writers. More details are to come on this, and it will most likely not start until AFTER Thanksgiving break.

Sight Word Work:

This will begin next week, and it basically includes assignments that are expected every day and due at the end of the week on Friday. More details of this will come next week.

Sight Words

debate	decide	develop
produce	determine	observe
necessary	survive	surround

Next week our sight words will be transition words!

Parents, as always, please feel free to reach out and contact me at any time. Also remember that I am doing my best to try and communicate with more than 45 parents, so please be patient. Call or text 214-517-3793 or email me at nicholas.miller@lifeschools.net.

My goal is to have a parent-teacher conference with every parent before Winter Break!