Point of View

http://www.mesacc.edu/~paoih30491/PointofView.html

Prepositional Phrases

 Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na!

Anchor Chart: Features of a Memoir

Pre-Writing Strategies

The 2014-15 5th graders are off to a fabulous new school year!  We are beginning our narratives with pre-writing strategies.  As we thought about ways to pre-write, graphic organizers came up in our discussion, leading us to a discussion on when to use specific organizers.  It was a great discussion. Hannah shared her anchor chart below:

Click below for examples on ways to use these strategies:

• Make a list
• Creating an event sequence using a web
• Creating an event sequence using a table to jot notes
• Creating an event sequence using sketching
• Creating an event sequence using stickynotes

Contagious Disease Projects

Publishing Fun
Check these contagious disease projects!

West Nile by Hannah
Tuberculosis by Stella

Pertussis by Nyssa

Cholera by Amber

Small Pox by Sam

Polio by Lola

Bird Flu by Joey

Scarlet Fever by Kassidy

Typhus by Kylie

Cancer by Nick L.

Leprosy by Gabby

Measles by Nick V.

Hepatitis by Jacob S.

Mononucleosis by Hayden 

Influenza by Carter

Mumps by Jacob K

Chicken Pox by Jackson
Malaria by Jadee

Giardia by Logan

Swine Flu by Grace

Writing an Informative Piece: Writing a one page essay

We used our research notes to create a one page essay.  This was incredibly easy after all the hard work of reading and organizing our notes.  We practiced orally summarizing then synthesizing our reading notes with a partner before writing.  Students posted their essays on their writing blogs.  Check them out.  Next step:  PUBLISH for an audience.  

Joey:  Bird Flu

Hannah:  West Nile

Stella:  TB Sanitoriums

Writing an Informative Piece: Organizing Paragraphs

You've written your thesis, chosen your categories/details, and have written an introductory paragraph.

Time to order your paragraphs.  

1. Click on the link to access the Research Guide google Research Guide Template
2. Make a copy of the doc and title your name/ research
3. Copy and past your introductory paragraph into the first box.
4. Write a topic sentence for each category in the box.  Use the remainder of the box to write the remainder of your details.  Complete at least 3 of these category boxes.
5. Make sure that your sources are listed at the bottom of the 2nd page.

Writing an Informative Piece: Writing an Introductory Paragrapha

After determining a thesis, students then webbed (or jotted notes in a table) about which key ideas they wanted to share in their paper.  They are in the process of using their notes to write an introductory paragraph.  See examples below:

By Kylie






by Grace

By Kassidy

By Stella

Writing an Informative Piece: Research Question to Thesis Statement

After developing a research question, students turned it into a thesis statement. They also determined whether their paper will use a compare/contrast structure or chronological structure.

Here are a few examples:

Compare/ Contrast Structure by Kylie

Chronological Structure by Grace

Chronological Structure by Kassidy

Compare/ Contrast by Joey

Chronological Structure by Lola

Research Question:  How could one simple sneeze turn out to be so deadly?

Thesis:  Even though there is a successful vaccine, Pertussis is still very common.

Chronological Structure by Nyssa

                             

Writing an Informative Piece: Formulating a Research Question

We've been reading, reading, reading about contagious diseases.  Each student chose a different disease to read more closely about.  While reading, they summarized their reading by jotting notes in a table. Beside the notes, they also jotted questions that developed as they read.  After reading multiple sources, students were asked to develop a question they'd like to research more.  One that could be used to inform others about something interesting.

Research Guide Template

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wWRT_0DyapGjh3wRO_l9ICJX27VqsgaW_NgC4uw6ij8/edit?usp=sharing
Below are a few examples:

By Kylie

By Grace

By Lola

By Kassidy

By Nyssa

By Joey

By Stells

Students were also asked to cite their source on their table.

Narrative: Pacing

Pacing is a narrative technique that authors use to control a reader's movement through the text. Effective pacing serves to maintain the reader's interest and an appropriate sense of suspense; it allows for lingering on details at just the right time and minimizes details at other times.

Narrative: Using Dialogue

Dialogue 

Dialogue is a tool that narrative authors use to move stories along and show how characters respond to and feel about situations. On

Using Description- Rewording

Description
It is the recipe for a great narrative. Your job is to make the story a mind movie for your reader. In prior blog posts, you've learned that strategies for using description in your narrative:  Detailing a Person, Place, or Thing,  Elaborating on an Event, Using Sensory Details, Showing, Not Telling, and Drawing from Word Lists.

Today you'll learn another strategy called Rewording.

Rewording

This is when you revise a sentence and you choose one word, a phrase, or even a sentence, then add or change around the word order to make it clearer.

I do this by rereading my piece then underlining the word or phrase I want to reword.  This works well when you have a partner or writing group to help you.  Sometimes it helps to have a fresh "eye" looking at your work.

Example:
I rode past the stores and thought how much I wished I had money to go shopping.  I really wanted a Rainbow Loom but I also wanted a digital camera and ipod touch.  I needed to have a lot of money to buy all of those things but since I have none, I won't buy anything.

Reworded:
My pockets were empty as I rode my scooter past Target.  Earlier that day, I saw the Target flyer and instantly I could feel my wallet burn a hole in my pocket.  I needed to save $200 to buy that ipod touch, so I'd have to ride past Target and save my money for another day.  The Rainbow Loom and digital camera would have to wait until after I purchased my iPod.  A penny saved is a penny earned.

Using Description- Showing, Not Telling

Description
It is the recipe for a great narrative. Your job is to make the story a mind movie for your reader. In prior blog posts, you've learned that strategies for using description in your narrative:  Detailing a Person, Place, or Thing,  Elaborating on an Event, and Using Sensory Details.
Today you'll learn another strategy called Showing, Not Telling.

Showing, Not Telling
There is a difference between showing and telling.  Think of the concept of Show and Tell.  First you showed the item, then you told about it.

• How was showing it different than telling about it?

Showing is a special way of telling.  It means you can visualize it.  The readers may all see the same thing.  Now how can we do this with our writing?

Take these two examples:

The food looked gross.

The gray slimy slop sloshed in the bowl.

• Which one "tells" and which one "shows"?

More examples:

(I took this from Lola's story)

I looked up and saw a panicked squirrel.

Above me a squirrel darted and forth from one tree branch to another, chattering loudly.

How is showing different from telling?

Can you turn these telling sentences into showing sentences?  Give it a try in a comment.

It was cold.
It was hot.
My mom is nice.
My friend is funny.
The sky was beautiful.
The day was dreary.
His outfit is colorful.
My bedroom is plain.
My desk is messy.
My bedroom is messy.
The pizza was good.
I like school.
Recess is fun.
I have a good friend.

Using Description- Sensory Details

Description
It is the recipe for a great narrative. Your job is to make the story a mind movie for your reader.  
In the past 2 blog posts, you have learned how to detail a person, place, or thing, and how to elaborate an event.  Today you'll learn to use description by adding sensory details.

Sensory Details
Sensory details use your senses- taste, touch, feel, hear, and see.  Choose a part of your story that would pop out at the reader better if you described it using one or more of your senses.

Example
It is raining outside.

Using Sensory Details
I took this piece of writing from Jadee's blog.  I think she did a nice job using sensory details here.
I can hear the rain pouring down, hitting the ground, making a “splash”. It feels cold and refreshing, considering I had just woke up.

Using Description- Drawing From Word Lists

Description
It is the recipe for a great narrative. Your job is to make the story a mind movie for your reader. In prior blog posts, you've learned that strategies for using description in your narrative:  Detailing a Person, Place, or Thing,  Elaborating on an Event, Using Sensory Details, and Showing, Not Telling

Today you'll learn another strategy called Drawing from Word Lists.

Drawing from Word Lists 

Using interesting words will give the reader a better visual while reading.  I will usually use simple words in my first write then go back and revise with stronger ones using my thesaurus.  There are many online sites you can use to find stronger words (synonyms).  A free one I use is http://thesaurus.com/.

Example:

I walked home after crashing my bike.

I'd like a stronger word for walked.  I'd like to show my reader how I walked after crashing my bike.
I looked up walk using www.thesaurus.com.  Here is what I got.

Now after crashing my bike, I certainly wouldn't be strutting or prancing.  I can't just use any word on the list, I have to make sure it makes sense.  Sometimes, I look up words in the dictionary after I search on a thesaurus to make sure I'm using it correctly.

I like the word ambled. I looked it up on www.dictionary.com.  Here's what it said:

It means to go at a slow and easy pace.  That's what I want readers to see when they read this sentence.

I'll choose to use the word ambled.  

I ambled home after crashing my bike.

After using this strategy for awhile, you'll notice your vocabulary growing!  It's amazing how fast that happens :0)

Please give some examples that you've used in a comment below.