Research Paper (3rd & 5th Hour)

March Writing Assignment
Researching South American / Caribbean Countries

Due MARCH 25, 2014

     This month we will be doing a research paper for our BIG writing assignment. This is the biggest writing assignment the students have had this year and seems REALLY hard to the students.  However, most of this writing assignment will be done in class IF they use their time wisely they should be able to complete it all at school. 

     Each student picked a South American or Caribbean country today to research. Their paper will be 5 paragraphs and written in MLA format.  The first paragraph is their intro paragraph which will include a thesis statement.  The next three paragraphs are body paragraphs. One will be on the history of the country, one on economics and the third on their choice (I suggested culture).  Their final paragraph is their conclusion paragraph where they should restate their thesis statement. 

     Here is a link on MLA format:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

This link has a citation builder as well as places for the students to research their topic (including WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA) 

http://lili.org/

These two links should provide ways for the students to obtain all the information they need for their papers. 

If you have other helpful links or any questions let me know!

Thanks, 

Auri 

MARCH READING PROJECT (1st & 2nd)

NEWBERY HONOR AWARD

Due April 1, 2014

     This months genre is Newbery Honor.  Students need to choose a book that has won a Newbery award and they will make a Newbery Book Report on it. Here is a link to a list of all the Newbery Medal and Honor books from 1922-present.  

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal

     I have provided a packet with everything they will need to make their books as well as detailed instructions and a rubric so they will know exactly what they will be graded on. Here is what I am expecting:

Cover- Use template 1 in the packet. In the center of the medal, write the name of the book and its author. At the bottom write YOUR NAME. Make it creative and colorful. 

Page 1- Use template 2 in the packet. Label it SUMMARY at the top. Write a 3-4 paragraph summary of the book (fill the page). This summary should include a brief description of the following: main characters, setting, major events, the problem in the story, the solution of how the problem gets solved and the ending of the story. 

Page 2- Use template 2 in the packet. Label it WHY THIS BOOK IS A WINNER.  There must have been a good reason your book was a Newbery Medal Winner.  What was it about your book that made it so outstanding? Write a complete and thoughtful paragraph. Cite specific examples from the book to support your feelings and include the page number. 

Page 3 - Use template 3 in the packet and label it FAVORITE SCENE.  Draw a picture of your favorite scene from the book.  Write a sentence describing the scene below it.  Fill up all the white space with a colorful, detailed picture. 

If you have any questions please let me know. This isn't hard, but it does take some time. So I advised students not to save it 'til the night before. 

They also got new reading logs today that need to be SIGNED and returned APRIL 1st. 

Thanks for all you do!

Mrs. Willard

February Writing Assignment (3rd & 5th)

This month I am having the students write metaphor poems. Most of the work on these is being done in class, however they will need to type their metaphor poem and print it. These are due February 11th.

 This is what I expect:
3 lines
3 stanzas
comparing an abstract noun to a concrete noun (This is their metaphor)

The first line of each stanza will be a metaphor the next two lines will be describing their metaphor. Each stanza will compare the same abstract noun to a different concrete noun.

For example:

Life
By: Auri Willard

Life is a highway (Metaphor)
Each person doing their own thing  (lines describing it)
Busily speeding through getting to where they need to go

Life is a rodeo (Metaphor)
Sometimes we fall off and get dirty (lines describing)
But we have to get up and keep going

Life is a roller coaster (Metaphor)
We all have our ups and downs  (lines describing)
There can be fun along the way

The final copy needs to be:
Typed in 12 pt. font that is legible
Have a title and the authors name
They can add a picture of clip art to it to make it more fun to look at if they would like!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks!

Mrs. Willard

February Reading Project (1st &2nd hour)

Mystery 

This months genre is Mystery. Students will need to read a mystery book as well as their choice book. The book project this month is filling out a sheet about their mystery book.  I gave the students these papers today.  This months project is pretty simple and straight forward. If you have questions please let me know! This is due February 28, 2014 along with their SIGNED reading log. 

Thanks, 

Mrs. Willard

January Book Project (1st & 2nd Hour)

Can you believe it is January already? This year is flying by! This month our genre is Historical Fiction. Here is a link to a list of Historical Fiction titles to give the students some ideas on what they can read.

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/650.Best_Children_s_Historical_Fiction

Our book project to go along with Historical Fiction is making a post card! The directions for this are attached to their reading logs but I will post them here as well.

Historical Fiction Book Project

DUE JAN 31, 2014

For this project, you will write three postcards to a friend or relative.  You will choose an important person, place and event from your book as the topics for your postcards. In each postcard, you will write both facts and opinions about your topic.  Then draw an illustration on the back of each postcard. 

1. Read your historical fiction book. 

2. Choose a topic for each of the three postcards and write them in the chart attached to your reading log. (An important person, place and event)

3. Think of at least one fact and one opinion about each topic. List these in the chart attached to reading log. 

4. Decide whom you will write to on each postcard. Write a rough draft of your message for each postcard, incorporating the facts and opinions from the chart. Include any other information about the book that would interest your friend or relative.

5.Revise your rough draft and then write your final draft on the cards.  Don't forget to sign and address the postcards. 

6. On the back of each postcard, draw the person, place or event that you wrote about.  Write the book title and author as well as your name. 

The rubric is also included on the page with the instructions, but here is what the post cards will be graded on:

Did you fill out the chart? (5 points)

Did you include a fact and an opinion on each post card? (3 points)

Are your postcards well written and interesting? (3 points)

Did you draw a picture on each postcard? (3 points)

Did you write the book title, author and your name on each postcard? (3 points)

Did you turn in your project on time? (3 points)

If you have questions about this project please let me know!

Thanks, 

Mrs. Willard 

December Book Project (1st & 2nd hour)

This month the genre for our book project is Fantasy. The book project is a written book report on the Fantasy book your student has picked.  Here are the directions for this project:

Write a one-page report about your Fantasy book.  Include a one-paragraph summary, one paragraph about how you liked the book and one paragraph about how the book made you feel.

The directions are also on the back of the December reading log. The book project and the reading log will be due December 20th.

IMPORTANT NOTE: READING LOGS MUST BE SIGNED IN ORDER TO BE ACCEPTED. 

** PLEASE make sure a parent or guardian signs your students reading log.

Thanks for all you do!

I hope your Holiday Season is great!

Mrs. Willard

November Writing (3rd & 5th Hour)

This month in English we will be talking about compare and contrast.  For the student's final copy writing assignment I want the students to think about the first Thanksgiving.  Then compare and contrast being an Indian vs. a Pilgrim at the first Thanksgiving.

We will discuss venn diagrams in class.  I would like them to start with a venn diagram, then write a rough draft. Once they have their rough draft I want an older relative to review it and help them make corrections before it is typed.  When they turn in their final copy I would like to see the venn diagram, rough draft and final copy.

Once they have made their venn diagram I want them to choose which they would rather be, an Indian or a Pilgrim and give supporting details for their side as well as tell why they wouldn't want to be the other.

One thing I have noticed is a lot of them aren't using paragraphs.  When you revise please make sure they're using these! It is something we will also talk about in class.

If you have any questions please let me know!

Thanks!