Week 27 "There I was..."

Hey, kids! We're back to blogging. This week you get to write a story - a true story about something you have experienced. Choose a topic. It should be interesting, but keep it small enough to write about it well. No novels needed! Now pick a point in time right before the main thing happens and start there. Use strong verbs, vivid details, and sensory words to bring your reader right into the action with you. "There I was..."

Here's my example:

There I sat, cross-legged on the hard wooden gym floor on a Friday afternoon. The older students were seated in the bleachers, but the seventh-graders were on the floor as usual for assemblies. Today’s event was actually a “pep-fest”. We were there to cheer on the boys basketball team. They had won their conference and were going to compete for regional champs that same evening.

For me and my friends, the more exciting part of the festivities was the raffle drawing. The ninth grade class was going on a spring trip. They had sold raffle tickets as a fundraiser. For weeks, the grand prize had been gleaming at us all from the locked showcase in the entryway of the school. It was a beautiful, brand-new stereo system. I mean, it had EVERYTHING - turntable, AM/FM receiver, speakers, and a cabinet to hold it. But, best of all, it had the latest in stereo technology…an eight-track player.

None of my friends had even held an eight-track cartridge, but we all wanted to. An eight-track never needed to be turned over. It would just keep playing as long as you liked. And it didn’t get scratched like records. Some people were even lucky enough to have one in their car! Not my family. My dad had recently lost his job. We were likely to be sticking with the old cars we had for some time. Tomorrow was my birthday, and I was pretty sure my gifts would all fall into the category of “things I need” such as pajamas and socks.

I would have liked to have claimed at least one hundred of the raffle tickets that filled the gigantic clear plastic bag that the PTO chairwoman was dragging to the podium. Since that wasn’t possible, I had helped sell tickets for the fundraiser. Each pack of twenty I sold had earned me one of my own. I had also managed to convince myself it was okay to buy just one with a quarter from my piggy bank. So, all together, four tiny tickets in that bag had my name on them - "Kristen Johnson."

Wait. What? I looked at my friends sitting beside me. They were screaming and pointing. “Get up there! You won!”

Dazed, I managed to get to my feet and stumble over lanky seventh grade legs to get to the front. Time seemed to be passing in slow motion. I couldn’t think. What had just happened? Was it possible? Was I the winner of the grand prize?

Ten minutes later I was on the phone in the office calling home. “Mom,” I said. “I’m going to need a ride home from school today.” I paused. “I don’t think they’ll let me take my new stereo home on the bus!”

My twelfth birthday still ranks among the best ever.

Remember...
- Be sure to save your writing in a word processing program.
- Read it over to yourself aloud, to make sure it makes sense. Check for good descriptive details.
- Make any editing changes needed (correct spelling, capitalization and end punctuation).
- Then copy and paste it into the comment section.
- Don't forget to include your first name and code, so that you get credit for your effort!

Week 24 Yeow!

Imagine you have gotten a tiny splinter while climbing over your neighbor’s fence. Write a very exaggerated story to explain to how you became “injured”. Remember to use strong verbs, as well as hyperbole.

As always,

• Write your story in a word program first.
• Reread aloud to make sure it makes sense.
• Revise it to include descriptive words that paint a picture for the reader.
• Check it over for spelling, punctuation and capitalization errors.
• Then copy it and paste it in the comments section.
• Be sure to include your first name and code to receive credit for your work.

Watch this space for a sample story coming soon...

Week 23 Comparing and contrasting

Recently, we have been comparing and contrasting stories like Cendrillon and Cinderella. Good readers are always on the lookout for similarities and differences. Good writers try to include details that will "show" those similarities and differences.

This week, compare and contrast two similar, yet different, places (such as your room and your sister's). Write three sentences that show (not tell) the important similarities between them. Then write three more sentences that explain (more showing) ways they are different. Use good descriptive adjectives and details that make a picture in our minds. Help us "see" the similarities and differences.

Below is a sample (Note: This example uses shoes instead of places. Don't write about shoes! :-)

Tennis shoes and dressy sandals are found in my closet. They both wrap themselves around my feet and protect my tender soles. I can coordinate them with various other items in my wardrobe - a green hoody and peach scarf with my tennies and a sparkly dress and earrings with my sandals. Occasionally, either set might wander away on some younger feet. (My daughters like to borrow my shoes!)

I think the similarites end there, however. There are many more ways my footcoverings are different.

Tennis shoes become old friends who know all my favorite haunts. They love to run, jump and play. They don't mind a muddy puddle now and then. In fact, a bit of dust and a few smudges merely add to their charm. On the other hand, dress sandals are like prim and proper acquaintances who carry me to fancy dinners or the opera. Their high heels lift me above my everyday self. They step gingerly over grimy patches of slush and are careful to always stay on the sidewalk. They truly distain blemishes on their polished exterior.

Yes, tennis shoes and dress sandals are part of the same family tree. But I think they must be very distant cousins!

Remember...

• Be sure to save your writing in a word processing program.
• Read it over to yourself aloud, to make sure it makes sense. Check for good descriptive details.
• Make any editing changes needed (correct spelling, capitalization and end punctuation).
• Then copy and paste it into the comment section.
• Don't forget to include your first name and code, so that you get credit for your effort!

Week 23 Not yet...

Dear students,
Tonight is Edina Unplugged. Enjoy a fun relaxing evening with your family! They are more important than homework. Look here tomorrow for the Week 23 blog assignment.

Mme Powell :-)

Week 22 Fantasy!

Fantastic! That’s how the stories we have been enjoying could be described. The Stranger, Cendrillon/Cinderella, and Heat Wave! are filled with marvelous events we can only wish were real.

This week, write your own fantastic story. Keep it somewhat simple. Focus on one small event rather than writing an entire series like the Lord of the Rings! You will be able to tell a better story if you keep it small enough to tell it well with the details that will make it interesting. As we noted in Heat Wave!, use specific strong verbs such as rippled, twisted, squirmed, and snagged.

I can’t wait to see what your imaginative minds will create!

Due Monday, March 10.

Week 21 A letter to Mme Powell

Dear students,
Last week we passed the 100 day mark in our school year. It is a good time to “take stock” of the past and look ahead to the future.

(Note: This week’s assignment will not be submitted on the blog. Instead, you can turn it in on paper or send it to me via email at powellclass@gmail.com.)

Write a letter to me, Mme Powell. In the first paragraph, share your thoughts about your accomplishments so far this year in English. How do you feel you have grown as a reader and writer? What, in particular, are you especially proud of accomplishing? Is there something you have really enjoyed (or really not enjoyed!) this year in English class?

Then write a second paragraph stating one way you would like to improve. Do you feel that you need to spend more time reading aloud to practice your reading fluency? Do you need to branch out in the types of books you read or choose more challenging titles? Would you like to expand your writing skills by working hard at choosing specific words or becoming more daring when revising? Perhaps you need to make a commitment to always capitalize beginning words, names and the word “I”. Or maybe, you know that you really need to put more effort into focusing in class and doing your best work. Choose one good goal for you. State what it is that you want to achieve. Then write a sentence or two that explains specifically what you will do to accomplish that goal. If there is a way I can help you achieve your goal, please include that as well!

Be sure to use the format of a friendly letter as we have practiced in class (heading, greeting, indented paragraphs, closing and signature). Also, be sure to read your letter aloud to yourself and make any corrections necessary before turning it in.

Your letter is due on Monday, March 3. Go fourth graders!

Week 20 Choice Week!

Students,
This week you may write about any subject that interests you. Take us on an adventure to a far away place, real or imaginary, by using strong verbs and vivid adjectives. Or, describe a scene or a person in lively language to bring us up close to the setting or character. It’s up to you!

Use at least 75 words to write your story, poem, letter or description.

• As always, do your work in a word processing program first.


• Revise and edit your work before copying and pasting it into the comment area of the blog.


• Don’t forget to include your first name and code.

You may post your writing on your own blog this week if you prefer. Note: This assignment is due Monday, February 25, at 8:00 AM.

Challenge: Remember Mary Casanova's tips? One of them was, "Use your 5 senses." This week, try to include details that appeal to at least three of your senses! Help us to hear your brother hopping up the stairs. Let us smell the sweet flavor of morning cinnamon rolls at grandma's. Show us the pink and purple streaks of clouds crisscrossing the blues of the sky just after sunset. See my entry below for other examples.

Happy writing!
Mme Powell

In my entry for this week, I wrote about a topic that doesn't seem very exciting, yet I found lots of interesting things to write about anyway. I could write about it with strong details because it is something I "know". As you read it, look for details that appeal to your senses. Do you feel like you are taking a walk with my dog and me?

Brrr. I slipped my hand into my mitten as quickly as I could after closing the car door. Elsa was already a speeding mass of legs and fur racing to the edge of the woods. There wasn’t much question which of us would win the contest. She just couldn’t wait to catch up on all the new smells since yesterday.

My boots squeaked on the snow as I followed her at my more leisurely pace. I didn’t want to move too slowly this morning though. It was COLD. My woolen-sock covered feet stayed toasty in my snow boots, but my legs were not so lucky. The frosty wind pierced through my sweatpants and the cold crept up under the cuffs. I needed to keep moving. I pulled my hood up over my hatted head to block the frigid air from my cheeks. Almost instantly my breath created icy crystals on the furry trim, but the small relief from the wind was welcome.

I squinted ahead to see how far Elsa had gone. She looked back at me with perked ears and a “come-on-what’s-takin’- ya” expression. Her head cocked to one side and her black nose bore a white patch of snow on its tip. Pretty cute, that rascal.

Laughing, I lifted my heavy boots high and joined the race.