Majestic Writing Space

Congratulations! You’ve almost made it through your first essay of second quarter. After reviewing many essays today, please check the following list and make sure your essay includes the following:

1. All CDs should use our formula T+L+Q (transition, lead-in, quotation from the text). If a CD does not have a quotation from the text to support the mood, tone or theme you claim it has, the CD won’t  have the strength to support your words. Provide the best phrase from the text to support your claim.

2. “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Raven” — capitalize all the words and put the entire title in quotations.

3. Edgar Allan Poe — please spell this correctly. Once you’ve said his full name in the introduction, you can simplify and use “Poe” or pronouns when you refer to him in the following sentences and paragraphs.

4. The introductory paragraph has three jobs: grab the reader’s attention, provide background, and include a thesis statement. The introductory paragraph should start with a sentence that hooks the reader and makes them want to keep reading (ex. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short life, he wrote stories filled with horror and tragedy). The next three-four sentences should give relevant details about Edgar Allan Poe that explain why he would have written such things (ideas: hardships he faced, death of family members, dishonorable actions, etc. — look in the documents that I’ve attached). Finally, your paragraph needs a thesis that tells the reader what’s coming up in the next three paragraphs in your essay (look on the handout for assistance — modify the sample one to fit your needs; you may want to use a transition to start your thesis to help it smoothly flow from the facts of his life).

5. The concluding paragraph should restate your thesis but not the same exact way. The concluding paragraph should also summarize the essay and repeat (using synonyms/varying word choice) the key ideas from your essay.

Some of the essays I saw today were fabulous — obvious that a lot of thought went into weaving your ideas with evidence from the text.  Keep it up!

Here are a couple resources in case you need help with your introduction: Poe Biography 1 and Poe Biography 2

For those of you going on the Honor Society field trip, here’s what you need to complete by Monday. Please get the word of the day from the Master Notebook when you return. Thanks!

1. Warm Up 9 (pg. 51) Looking at the word you circled Tuesday, make a list of adjectives (describing words) that relate.

2. Page 54 — This is going to be a paragraph titled “I Love _____” (what ever your topic from Tuesday’s warm up is). We’re practicing parallel structure. Click here for an explanation. Every sentence in your paragraph will start the same way (parallelism!) and use the same participle verb.

Here’s an example (I’ve bolded what makes these sentences parallel):

plumerias

I Love Hawaii

I love flying into Lihue, Kauai on a Sunday in July. I love wearing a lei of purple orchids around my neck. I love listening to the roosters crow, the waves crash, and the girls giggle [the list in this sentence is also parallel!]. I love eating ahi tuna. I love drinking POG (passion fruit, orange, guava juice). I love finding the colors of the rainbow in the plumerias and hibiscuses.

Notice the varying sentence length. Notice the description. Please replicate (repeat) using your own topic, verbs and description. Can’t wait to read it! Sentence minimum: 15 sentences (whining only doubles the assignment).

E-mail me with any questions.

See you Monday.

Calling all Majestics!

The Sierra Vista Gallery of Writing is calling! It needs your contribution!

The National Council for Teachers of English is sponsoring a National Day of Writing on October 20, 2009. Our school has its own gallery where we’ll collect the writing of all students of Sierra Vista and publish it online. The writing published in the Sierra Vista Gallery of Writing will show a connection with literature students have read (whether required to or not!).

Please refer to the following PowerPoint for more information: National Day of Writing.

E-mail me with any questions! Comment below and let me know what you think.

– Mrs. P

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
~ Joseph Addison  ~

Walking into the library and staring at some book covers is a difficult way to find a good story. Hearing a recommendation from Mrs. Fulleman, our librarian, a friend or classmate let’s you know right away whether a story is something in which you’d be interested.

This post is going to remain up throughout the entire school year so we can help each other find excellent books! Please help us all out by telling us about what you’re reading, especially the ones that you’ve enjoyed the most.

Besides explaining why you liked a book, your post should include:

1. The title

2. The author

3. A brief summary — but please don’t give away the end!

I look forward to discovering new titles with your help!

Mrs. P

There aren’t many times in our lives when the President has a speech geared for us, specifically. Today (Sept. 8, 2009), President Obama will speak about the importance of education.

In his speech, the President states, “Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.”

He also went on to say:

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

After nine LONG weeks off, here we are! We’re off to a wonderful school year where we’ll learn together, grow together, and get ready for high school. This blog is going to be a tool in our classroom where we’ll respond to literature, discuss books, share research, and create a community of learners. Some of your weekly assignments will be on this blog, so please bookmark it! Encourage your parents to check it out as well. This site will be a great place for us all to stay on track during the school year.

I’m looking forward to a great year of learning with you!

All the best,

Mrs. Pennay