White Oak Middle School
For the rest of the month, students are working on writing novels and updating their word count on the NaNoWriMo site. Each student has set a writing goal and will work on specific tasks aligned with that goal then apply it to their novels.
Dates to remember:
November 19-23: Thanksgiving Break!
November 30th at midnight: NaNoWriMo deadline for meeting word count goals (set by students)
MONDAY: It’s Musical Monday! Students were randomly selected to share their favorite songs with their classes. We made pages in our comp. books to jot down lyrics that inspire us. We talk about places that we can find inspiration for writing, and music is a great source! Students also reviewed plot today with a little sorting contest and then worked on the plot for their upcoming novels.
TUESDAY: Students will practice with a new set of Greek & Latin roots. I will be at a workshop.
WEDNESDAY: 1/2 day for students; students will work on their Passion Projects.
THURSDAY: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) kickoff! Students will begin writing their novels. We will spend the entire month of November on this.
FRIDAY: NaNoWriMo continues.
This week is all about vocabulary. Students are working on Greek & Latin Roots, creating vocabulary flip books, and showing mastery of words by listing examples & non-examples, as well as illustrating the words and using them in sentences. There will be a test on Friday.
This is the final week of the first nine-week grading period. Students are learning new Greek & Latin Roots (and advanced students are also working on SAT Vocabulary). Students have also been working on FlipGrid videos for introducing both themselves and their main characters for the stories they will be writing during NaNoWriMo in the month of November.
There will be vocabulary tests on Wednesday in all classes, and students have been provided links in their Google Classrooms to Quizlet study sets.
MONDAY- Quick-write topic: Mindful Monday – Write about anything that’s on your mind; students will learn more Greek & Latin Roots and add all of the ones covered so far to their comp. books; complete “creating interesting characters” activity in the Google Sheet I shared in Google Classroom.
TUESDAY- Quick-write topic: Tell-Me Tuesday – Tell me about your favorite fictional character; students will create character sketches. They will also join my FlipGrid and create videos.
WEDNESDAY- Quick-write topic: Write about a conflict you had with a friend or family member; Creating Conflict activity (for upcoming novel writing during NaNoWriMo).
THURSDAY- Warm-up: read and take note of the plot of the book; Plot Roller Coaster.
FRIDAY- Warm-up: First-Chapter Friday (I will read the first chapter of a book aloud to spark student interest); finish up all activities from this week & hopefully have some time in class for students to READ!
This week, students will be setting writing goals and attending goal-setting conferences with me. They will also work on Greek & Latin Roots, wrap up NoRedInk.com assignments, and turn in their personal narrative essays.
(In addition, advanced students will work on SAT vocabulary and article-of-the-week responses).
Also, it’s homecoming week! See the school website for daily dress-up themes!
This week we are working on building our vocabularies and increasing comprehension by learning Greek & Latin roots. We are also reviewing personal narrative characteristics and preparing to draft an essay. Students are making the connection between using strong words to build better sentences and use those better sentences to write better essays.
Don’t forget Wednesday is a half day for students! We will use that day to get up on all things NoRedInk. 🙂
MONDAY: Students will respond to an article they read in reading class.
TUESDAY: NoRedInk.com for nouns and verbs review
WEDNESDAY: Diction (Word Choice) lesson; create War of the Words game cards
THURSDAY: grammar foldable (types of sentences & notes)
FRIDAY: War of the Words game
This week in English, students will complete an assignment at NoRedInk.com, write 9/11 poems, and dive into the writing process in addition to their normal daily journaling.
I hope everyone enjoyed their three-day weekend!
Students continue to gain stamina in writing through high-interest quickwrites. I’m proud of the progress they are making! We are currently focused on the brainstorming and drafting stages of writing. Each student needs to bring one can of Play Doh this Friday for a fun, hands-on activity that teaches the entire writing process.
Students will visit the library this week for a presentation on reliable sources for research as they prepare to begin Passion Projects. These research projects won’t be presented until the second semester.