This is the Creative Writing FINAL

Please answer these questions in a New Post on your blog.  Number each of your answers and answer in complete sentences/paragraphs that reference the question so we can easily see which one you’re answering.  This should be a rather lengthy post to earn the entire  100 points.  Include 2 images.

1. List/discuss several of the different pieces of writing you’ve done this quarter, including posts, comments, creative pieces, journals, in-class writings, and things you’ve written on your own.
2. Name/discuss a couple of pieces you’ve read this quarter, including other classmates’ work and/or reading you’ve done in or out of class.
3. Write about setting up your blog and what you have gotten from that experience.  How did you come up with the name for your blog?  Who do you think read it or who would you want to read it?  Will you continue to use it on your own in the future?  What kinds of things will you post?
4. Write about journaling.  What kinds of things are in your journal?  Who would you want to read it?  Will you continue to journal?  What will you write about? 
5. Type an entry directly from your journal that you consider notable.  It could be a paragraph or a page or so.  You don’t have to explain it, but you could.
6. Type or copy/paste a passage or section directly from one of your pieces of writing that you consider notable or your favorite that you’ve written.  It could be a section or a page or so.
7. What creative writing do you plan to do in the future, if any?  What do you get out of writing creatively?  How does this differ from the other writing you do, in school and in life?
8. Some final words of encouragement, appreciation, inspiration, etc. for your fellow writers you’ve worked with this quarter...
9. COPY and PASTE your answer to #8 as a COMMENT on as many of your classmates' final blog posts as you can.  

If you've done everything else, it would be great if you could cruise through your classmates' blogs today and leave some friendly comments on their other posts.

Writing as a Gift

Please write a piece with the intention of giving it to someone in your life as a gift.  This might be a letter, a poem, a story, something else...

If you are comfortable posting the actual piece to your blog, please do so by the end of class on Thursday.  If you don't want to share the actual piece, just show it to me and do a quick post summarizing what you did.

You don't have to actually give the writing to the person you wrote it for, but I'm sure it would be appreciated (and a cheap gift!).  

On Tuesday of next week, we will incorporate some of this writing into an actual gift...

Also:

Remember your journal is due with 10 new full pages on Friday.

Bring in gifts, food, and household items for our holiday family as soon as possible (before Monday!)

The gift of giving

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." ~Aesop

Here's the information and wish lists for the family we adopted for the Crosslines Holiday Basket program.  I appreciate your willingness to share and give.  If each of us can bring just a little, this family will have a lot, I think...We've got a young dad and two little boys.

If there is something in particular you would like to be responsible for, add your name next to it directly on this post.  Put your name in green.  I marked a couple of things I will get below.  For the more general categories like Hot Wheels, food, cleaning supplies, etc., more than one person could sign up and just bring different things.

We need to have everything wrapped and ready for delivery on Monday, 14 December.


Myles (age 8):

basketball  Jacob
basketball shoes (size 2)
sports stuff  Jacob
Ninja Turtles
Legos (Star Wars)
Hot Wheels   Mariah
Transformers  Meghan
winter pants (boys size 6-7)
socks       Fraser
underwear      Fraser 
snow boots (size 2)      Fraser

Elijah (age 7):

Legos (Ninjago)
Goosebumps/R.L. Stine books  Joshua
Hot Wheels     Mariah
Transformers  Meghan
board games (Monopoly  Samantha, Life  Taylor
winter pants (boys size 6-7)
socks       Fraser
underwear        Fraser
snow boots (size 2)       Fraser

For the house:

non-stick skillet     Samantha
towels

Food:  

ham
pies (pumpkin, cherry)
(maybe a gift card for Price Cutter or something?)
everyday basics:  mac n cheese, pasta, rice, soup, etc.
cleaning supplies
toilet paper, paper towels

You teach us!

As a table/group:

Come up with or find a fun and useful writing activity to lead the class in. 

• Activity should take 15-30 minutes
• Each person in the group should complete the activity in advance to share as examples
• Something in journal:  writing, gluing, drawing, etc.
• Leave a comment by the end of class today on this post with a brief explanation of what you plan to do.
• Create a clear and interesting visual aid to put on the SMARTBoard during your activity--this might be a Google doc or Google slides (share it with hfraser@sps.org before you teach).
• Plan who will say what and be ready to present confidently and enthusiastically and in an easy-to-understand way.
• Don't miss the day your group is scheduled to present or you won't earn the points.

Wednesday, 12/2      Katie + Taylor

Thursday, 12/3         M'Kenna + Taylor + Jacob + Maddie

Friday, 12/4              Josh + Tanner

Monday, 12/7           Jordan + Glenda + Jesse

Tuesday, 12/8         Samantha + Mariah

Wednesday, 12/9    Laura + Meghan + Zachary + Emma

Thursday, 12/10      Daniel + Ben + Riley

We will be working on your Altered Book Final Project alongside these activities—bring supplies this week if you can (scrapbook paper, ribbon, Mod Podge, tabs, embellishments, stickers, etc.)

We will also start collecting for our Holiday Basket when I get more information on our family--you can be gathering household supplies like cleaners and paper goods and/or food in the meantime.
  

Thankful for you (and for the break!)

Good morning!  Just two days here this week and then a little break!  And then only 14 school days left in the semester after that!  Wow.  I am thankful for sweet, bright students like you all who make coming to school every day a good experience for me.  I hope you and your families have a safe and lovely (and yummy!) holiday.

Take a look at your grade check and make up any missing work from the PHOTOS section and newer on.  Circle those on your sheet and give it back to me by the end of class tomorrow.  I need to post grades for progress reports again first thing when we get back from break.  We will be moving on to a couple of final projects and won't be backtracking then.

As we discussed, we'll try to have a little POTLUCK in class tomorrow!  Bring a food to share--maybe something you wrote about or have a memory connected to or maybe just something that's easy for you.  We will do a little activity inspired by my fav Maya Angelou and then you might have a little more time to work on the Chromebooks getting caught up on posts.

If you're caught up with everything and would like to leave some friendly, supportive comments on your classmates' posts, please do so.  I know they'd appreciate the feedback.

Keep writing in your journal, too.  We may not do as much together in class over the last few weeks, but I'd still like you to be putting your thoughts and ideas down on your own.

Happy Thanksgiving!  XOXO

Re+vision=taking another look

By the end of class on Monday, please choose 3 of your longer posts to revisit and refine.  

REVISION means to re-SEE.  This could include adding to a story  (at the beginning, end, and/or middle).  This might also involve letting go of some of the writing you've already done and replacing it with something that works better.  This could also mean writing something entirely new--a story or poem or something else--inspired by one of your answers to the assignments like the Dan in Real Life or Maya Angelou questions where you just posted your thoughts on topics.

• Post each piece in a separate New Post
• Title them Revision #1, Revision #2, Revision #3.
• Copy and paste your original text into your post.
• Highlight changes/additions in your new version.

Think about which of your pieces reflect some of your best thinking, writing, creativity, and potential and how you could take those significantly further.  Editing or correcting typos would polish your pieces for sure, but the focus here is to expand on ideas rather than just touching up what is already there.  

Progress Reports go out again the week after Thanksgiving, so catch up on anything you are missing before we leave for break.   Be sure that you've posted your food-inspired writing, too, and let's plan to EAT in class on Tuesday!  Bring something--maybe the food that inspired your writing piece--to share with everyone and/or we could get bagels or donuts. 

You all continually amaze me with your creativity and your responses to the assignments we've done in class...I am so inspired by what you all come up with!  I am THANKFUL for  YOU!  XOXO

Writing about FOOD!

We’re heading into a season of celebrations and family gatherings, many of which are centered around food.  I’d like us to take some time to think and write about our connections to food—memories, opinions, preferences, experiences.  I can think of all sorts of directions this contemplation might take you…

Please write a piece of your choice inspired by food.  The piece might be 300-500 words, any genre.  I thought of a few ideas, but there isn’t really a wrong answer here, so feel free to shape this assignment however you see fit.  This might take a really personal slant for you, or you can take a more observational, factual approach if you’re more comfortable.  Include an image.

Just a few possible approaches:

a short essay re:  the story behind a family food or tradition

                     re:  what Thanksgiving really means

                     re:  a person in your life who has shaped you through food

                     re:  a childhood food memory

a longer poem   re:  a memorable meal

                       re:  a delicious food

                       re:  a disgusting food

                       re:  a cook at work

                       re:  the scene in a kitchen

                       re:  the scene around a dinner table

                       re:  gratefulness (or lack thereof)

                       re:  a childhood food memory

a recipe for an abstract concept
                       (love, disaster, family, the perfect Thanksgiving)

a letter to someone you’re thankful for

a letter to a cook you know and love praising his/her food 

a letter to thank the host for all the work put into the family feast

a short story re:  a Thanksgiving gone wrong

a short story re:  an epiphany about thankfulness or appreciation