31 Novel Part 3 // Due the week of May 10, 2017

Hi Everyone!

Same as last week—write your next 4-5+ pages, and read the next 4-5+ pages of your partner's novel, leaving at least 4 comments. Be sure your comments are specific and explanatory. Answer the question of why you feel the way that you feel.

Something that always helps me is to go to a coffee shop, especially on a nice rainy day like what we're having and just write :D

Have fun and email me if you have questions!

30 Novel Pt. 2 // Due the week of May 4, 2017

Hi Everyone!

The homework this week is to write the next 4-5 pages of your novel, and to read the first 4 pages of your partner’s novel and comment at least 4 comments (our usual comment rules—no grammar but rather big picture comments.) You can comment using the "insert comment" function of Google Drive so that you don't have to actually write on their paper. If you're not sure how to "insert comment," Google "insert comment google drive" and the phrase will bring up some tutorials.

Thanks and email me if you have questions!

29 Novel Beginning // Due the week of April 26, 2017

Hi Everyone!

This week, you are starting your novels, so start by writing the first 4-5+ pages of your novel! (minimum 4)

I will not be grading you on grammar or how perfect it is—the key of this assignment is just to get you writing more than you've potentially ever written before! A lot of people think, "I could never write one thing that was 15-20 pages long!", but this year, you'll get to see how you absolutely can!

Here are a couple of tips if you get stuck:

• Change the plan! If your plot diagram has your character spending the next ten chapters on a bus, and you're feeling bored, change it up! Add a second love interest! Add a ghost! Add a bus crash! Whatever keeps you interested!
• Skip around! If you feel like a certain scene that you've planned is kind of boring but you really think it's important, skip it for now and come back to it later! (Just add a sentence or two explaining the missing section, so that your partner isn't super confused.)
• Brainstorm with a friend or family member! There's nothing like a second mind to give you exciting ideas to add to your novel! They can also help you flesh things out, so you can see if your character needs more development, or what have you.
• Email your partner if you want some advice!
• Look up novel writing inspiration on Pinterest (with a parent's permission and overseeing) to get some inspiration!
• If you are still having trouble, it might be necessary to just start from scratch and plan a new novel—not all ideas you have will provide enough inspiration for a full novel. At that point, brainstorming a new idea with a friend is a great idea! (This last option is not recommended but rather only for desperate situations :D)

Most importantly, let your creativity run wild! Have fun! 

28 Novel Plot Diagram and Scene List // Due the week of April 18, 2017

Hi Everyone!

This week, your homework involves more thinking than writing, but it is still very important because you are brainstorming the novel! If you don't like your ideas later on, it will involve a lot of make-up work, so make sure you like your idea now :D

• On a piece of paper, plot out your novel using a plot diagram. Make sure to have at least 5 rising action events. Also make sure that all of your events (after the inciting event) build on each other to increase the tension.
• 

• On Google Drive, write out a scenes list of around 15-25 scenes that will occur in your novel. Each scene should have 1-2 complete sentences that describe it. i.e.:
• Betty is walking down the street in the alien world of Lum. Suddenly, an alien boy gets hit by a car, and Betty stays with him until the ambulance comes. (Exposition and Inciting Event both happen in this scene. That's okay.)
• Betty visits the alien boy in the hospital. He's unconscious, but she talks to him about her sad life story, thinking he can't hear her.
• The boy wakes up the next day, and tells Betty that he heard everything she said and she's embarrassed (when she visits him that evening). The boy asks her to visit again.
• When Betty visits again the next day, the boy is missing from the hospital. The doctors all act like he was never there, like Betty is insane. Betty realizes there's a conspiracy going on.
• Etc, etc, etc.

Be ready to talk about your ideas in class next week!

27 Narrator: Objective Point of View // Due the week of April 13, 2017

Hi Everyone!

First let's review the three different points of view:

1. First Person POV: I, Me, My (is the main character)
1. I stepped into the spaceship.
2. The dragon flies past me. 
2. Second Person POV: You, Your, You're (is the main character)
1. You stepped into the spaceship.
2. The dragon flies past you.  
3. Third Person POV: He, She, They, Bob (is the main character)
1. Bob stepped into the spaceship.
2. The dragon flies past Bob.

Therefore, the narrator is sometimes also the main character (first person), and sometimes the narrator is watching the main character (third person), and sometimes the narrator makes the reader into the main character (second person). 

However, there can be some overlap. For example, in a framing narrative, a person speaking in first person is often telling the story about someone else, in third person. 

But now onto what we will really be practicing: The three different levels of knowledge for the narrator:

1. Omniscient: The narrator is inside every (main) character's mind. He knows what Belle and the Beast are both thinking.
2. Limited: The narrator is inside only the main character's mind. She knows what Belle is thinking, but not the Beast.
3. Objective: The narrator is inside no one's mind. He must gather and describe what Belle and the Beast are thinking just from their body language, facial expressions, dialogue, and more. He can't say "She was sad…" because he can't know that she was sad. He can only say, "Tears dripped down her cheeks, and her lower lip trembled…"

HOMEWORK: 

Write a short story of ~1-4 pages in objective third person point of view. (You can use a framing narrative if you'd like, but the narrator still must not be able to know the main character's inner thoughts.) It's harder than it sounds, so really read over your story when you're finished to try to catch any deviations from objective POV! 

Try, as usual, to include an exciting bang at the end, and imagery, and also remember that it should be whole by itself—not the first chapter of a novel. 

We'll get to write the novel next, so that's when we'll do the first chapter!

This is our last short story, so have fun with it!

Email me if you have questions!

26 Peer Review Imagery // Due the week of March 26, 2017

Hi Everyone!

For homework, write at least 5 comments for each of the paper that we have not yet read in class. Be sure to write complete sentences that explain why you believe what you believe about the paper.

1. Be specific
2. Be kind
3. Be constructive

Email me if you have questions!

25 Imagery // Due the week of March 18, 2017

Hi Everyone!

This week, you learned about using imagery to paint a picture in the minds of your readers! Imagery uses all five senses to do so, using:

1. Similes (comparisons using "like" or "as")
2. Specific adjectives and adverbs
3. Specific nouns
4. Specific verbs

• A paragraph with bad imagery:
• The girl walked into the candy land. It was really amazing and neat. It smelled wonderful. Everything tasted great! She saw so many cool things!
• This description includes multiple senses (smell, taste, sight, etc), but it's not specific enough to actually give us an image in our mind.
• A paragraph with good imagery:
• The girl walked into the candy land and was hit with the strong smell of chocolate mint. Above her, she saw light, puffy pink clouds that were close enough for her to touch. When she grabbed one, it was so soft she could barely feel it—like a down feather. Immediately, she stuck it into her mouth and tasted grape sweet and sourness. 

Homework this week is to write a ~1.5-4 page story that has an exciting ending just like the last one, but also really focuses on including a bunch of imagery, probably with some sort of world-building! It's not a lot of space for a story, so remember, you're not writing a novel—the plot should be relatively simple (but with a twist at the ending helps).

(4 pages is pushing it for length; lots of people wanted to be able to write more so I extended the 3 page limit, but try to not make it more than 4 pages. I love that you guys want to write more, but it just makes it tough for peer reviewing to make it too long. We will be getting a chance to write novels at the end of the year, and those can be as long as you'd like :D)

24 Short Story 1 Peer Review

Hi Everyone!

This week, the homework is to peer review your peers' short stories!

1. Write at least 6 comments for each story, and have them printed/torn out to hand to your peers in class.
2. Comment using the following guidelines:
1. No grammar comments
2. Detail: Is there too much/little? What details are effective?
3. Plot: Does it make sense? What would be good changes to make?
4. Characters: Are they believable? Is there enough description? How is the dialogue?
5. Etc, etc, etc
6. Be nice but constructive—try to have mix of positive and negative comments :D

• Wednesday:
• Teresa
• Sam
• Ann
• Sol
• Izzy
• Thursday:
• Sam
• Elsa
• Laura K.
• Laura L.
• Friday: TBA

23 Short Story 1: Big Bang Ending // Due the week of Feb. 28, 2017

Hi Everyone!

This week, write a 1.5-3 page short story which ends with a big bang or unexpected twist at the ending. With a story that is this short, you won't want to include too much plot or background information, but rather try to include just a little segment of time. Remember, you're not writing a novel, or the first chapter of a novel; the story must begin and end all in the 3 pages page limit.

We will be peer reviewing stories next week, so be sure to post them to Google Drive.

Thanks and let me know if you have any questions!

22 Revised Research Paper // Due the week of Feb. 22, 2017

Hi Everyone!

This week, you may have more or less homework depending on how much you need to revise your research papers. But either way, spend some time looking over your papers and make sure you are satisfied, using the following rubric as a guide:

Research Paper Rubric:

• Title: 2pt
• Make sure it's relevant to the paper (not "Research Paper") 
• Introduction:
• Attention-grabber: 3pt
• It is attention-grabbing? See the different ways to be attention-grabbing in the early  posts of this blog.
• Thesis: 4pt
• Does it follow the formula: Opinion because Reason1, Reason2, and Reason3 ?
• Are all three reasons separate and independent? Or do they overlap?
• P1 Evidence: 5pt
• Do you have a topic and concluding sentence (or at least sentences that work to intro and finish off the paragraph nicely)?
• Do you have ~4-5 sentences of ethos, pathos, logos, and other detail?
• P2 Evidence: 5pt
• See above
• P3 Evidence: 5pt
• See above
• Conclusion: 2pt
• Does it adequately wrap up the paper, perhaps restating the thesis in new words?
• Does it have a call-to-action?
• In-Text Citations: 5pt
• Do you cite your sources within the paper, using our format of numbers in parentheses? If you don't understand how to do this still, be sure to email to ask—it's a large percentage of the points!
• I will check citations randomly, so make sure you're not just putting numbers in random places :D
• Formatting: 5pt
• Times New Roman, 12pt font —or— Arial, 11 pt font
• Double-spaced
• No extra spaces in between paragraphs
• Header in the top left corner:
• Name
• Ms. Middaugh
• Writing 1
• Date
• Paragraphs are indented
• Total: 36pt

Email me if you have any questions!

21 Research Paper Peer Review 3 // Due the week of Feb. 18, 2017

Hi Everyone!

Another week of peer reviews:

WEDNESDAY:

• Sol
• Jenna
• Sam
• Ianna

THURSDAY:

• Stacy
• Sam
• Laura K.

FRIDAY:

• Lillian

20 Research Paper Peer Review // Due the week of Feb. 8, 2017

Hi Everyone!

This week, complete the peer reviews of six comments each for:

WEDNESDAY:
—Maddy
—Izzy
—Sol


THURSDAY:
—Ann
—Elsa
—Laura L.


FRIDAY:
—Quinn
—Sam
—Maddy


I will be having you turn your reviews into the person you reviewed, so be sure they are clear, specific and constructive! (And kind, even if they're negative—but don't let this make you afraid to give constructive criticism :D)

Also if you were reviewed this week in class, spend this week revising your rough draft, while the critiques are still fresh in your mind!


Thanks and email me if you have questions!

19 Research Paper Rough Draft // Due the week of Feb. 2017

Hi Everyone!

This week, the homework is to write the rough draft of your research papers! You will not be graded harshly on this rough draft, but you should be happy enough with your draft that you’re okay having your peers read through it and discuss it next week. 

You should write in a paragraph form, but have all of the pieces of the following outline:

1. Introduction
1. Attention-grabber
2. Thesis= Opinion because R1, R2, and R3
2. Paragraph about R1
1. Topic sentence
2. ~4-5 sentences of evidence
3. Concluding sentence
3. Paragraph about R2
1. Topic sentence
2. ~4-5 sentences of evidence
3. Concluding sentence
4. Paragraph about R3
1. Topic sentence
2. ~4-5 sentences of evidence
3. Concluding sentence
5. Conclusion
1. Wrap it up
2. Call-to-Action

Put it on Google Drive and email me if you have questions!

18 Research Paper Notecards // Due the week of Jan. 25, 2017

Hi Everyone!

This week, the homework is to create 15 notecards with one piece of evidence on each, supporting your thesis from two weeks ago.

If you, in your researching, find that your thesis was wrong or that one of your reasons does not have enough evidence behind it, feel free to switch! That is one of the marvelous things about research: discovering when long-held opinions are not legitimate, and then being open to changing them! (It' just means you may need to change also your works cited page/etc to adapt to your new topic.)

Remember, the three types of evidence are:
Logos: Statistics, facts, logical analysis
Pathos: Personal stories
Ethos: Expert opinions

However, a common mistake is for students to organize their notecards by these three types of evidence. Notecards should be organized based on your three reasons instead.

Make sure you have at least five notecards for each of your three reasons with your thesis statement. I gave you color-coordinated notecards last week, but if you lose these, you can always make your own at home.

Email me if you have questions!

17 Works Cited Page // Due the week of January 17, 2017

Hi Everyone!

Last week, you chose a topic, casually researched it, and wrote a thesis statement on it! Then you posted your thesis statement to our Research Paper document on Google Drive. If you have not yet done this—definitely do it asap :D

For this week, you will be creating a Works Cited Page!

Works Cited Page:

• It is a document that tells all of the places you got your information, whether books, interviews, webpages, etc! 
• Each source is called a "citation" on this page, and citations must have several different pieces of information and be in a certain fancy order. Fortunately, the internet can help us know what information is needed and in what order!!!
• Go to Easybib.com and tell the website whether you are citing a webpage, book, interview, etc.
• Fill out the information that Easybib.com asks to have
• For webpages, BE SURE to tell Easybib.com to "show URL" so that the webpage address is shown in the citation!
• Complete the citation and paste it into your Works Cited Page on Google Drive!
• Make sure you have at least 5 sources for your Works Cited Page. 

**No need to write down information from these sources yet. Just find them, make sure they will be able to help you with your research paper topic thesis, and then cite them in a Works Cited Page!

(I know, this week had a lot of info; feel free to email me on Engrade if you have questions!!!)

Website Legitimacy: 

• Sometimes it's tough to know whether a website is telling the truth or not! Here are some guidelines to help you figure out if a website it legitimate or not!
• .gov, .edu, and .org are usually legitimate 
• .com can be legitimate, but not always
• Is it well-written?
• Is it well-designed?
• Is is well-known for being legitimate?
• Is the information consistent with what you're seeing from other websites?

16 Research Paper Thesis // Due the week of Jan. 12, 2016

Hi Everyone!

This week we are beginning the research paper!

The exciting thing about the research paper is this:

Even those who do not like writing almost always have interests: space travel, anti-aging techniques, WWII history, Artificial Intelligence, ancient Greek gods, current politics, etc. Your interests will evolve as you grow, but your whole life, you will likely continue learning about whatever things interest you, so knowing how to learn about those things is absolutely vital! I like to capitalize on that natural fascination we all have with at least one part of the world by allowing you to pick your topic for the research paper!

However, before picking your topic for this paper, part of this week's homework is to look through the 40+ topics that are listed in a document in our class folder (Wednesday/Thursday/Friday Research Paper Topics) and spend some time casually looking at some of them (and any of your own ideas) online.

The reason to do a little pre-research researching is simply to make sure there is enough information out there on that topic before choosing it. For example, I've had multiple students want to write about how Atlantis does exist, only to discover that the evidence for that viewpoint is not enough to easily fill a 2-3 page paper.

Once you have looked into 4-5 topics, choose one and write a thesis statement on it. This statement should be written, with your name, on the shared "Research Paper Topics" document in the class folder. More directions for that are listed there.

You will be writing a thesis on your topic because I treat the research paper exactly like the practice persuasive essay we do, except with real evidence! So the thesis should have:

• Opinion because Reason1, Reason2, and Reason3.
• ie: Living with cats is the best way to live longer because they make people happier, they can fight off intruders, and they can call an ambulance if you need one. 
• If you want more of a refresher on thesis statements, feel free to look back at the old thesis statement post on this website.

**We will be reviewing your thesis statements next week.