Poetry Madness: Game 4

answer the following 3 questions about the poems you have read.

1. What is the meaning of the first poem? (Summarize in one sentence)
2. What is the meaning of the second poem? (Summarize in one sentence)
3. Based on the criteria, which poem did you choose and WHY? ***Please tell me everything you think, but use your best writing.

Read Game 4 and choose your favorite.

Reminder: Don't forget to reread your writing. i am noticing spelling mistakes and run-on sentences.

Poetry Madness: Game 3

answer the following 3 questions about the poems you have read.

1. What is the meaning of the first poem? (Summarize in one sentence)
2. What is the meaning of the second poem? (Summarize in one sentence)
3. Based on the criteria, which poem did you choose and WHY? ***Please tell me everything you think, but use your best writing.

Read Game 3 and choose your favorite.

Reminder: Don't forget to reread your writing. i am noticing spelling mistakes and run-on sentences.

Poetry Madness: Game 2

During March, the best college basketball teams vie for the National Title. In order to be the best, each team must state their case by playing the best, scoring the most, and ultimately advancing to the next round.

To create a sense of poetry madness in our room and celebrate poetry and songwriting, we will read a bracket (2 poems) each evening and advance a class winner the following day. However, like the basketball tournament, we must use specific criteria to judge a poem: meaning, poet's craft (rhyme, line breaks, punctuation, simile/metaphor, word choice, repetition), ability to visualize, and your personal connection.

Each night you will answer the following 3 questions about the poems you have read.

1. What is the meaning of the first poem? (Summarize in one sentence)
2. What is the meaning of the second poem? (Summarize in one sentence)
3. Based on the criteria, which poem did you choose and WHY? ***Please tell me everything you think, but use your best writing.

Read Game 2 and choose your favorite.

Poetry Madness: Game 1

During March, the best college basketball teams vie for the National Title. In order to be the best, each team must state their case by playing the best, scoring the most, and ultimately advancing to the next round.

To create a sense of poetry madness in our room and celebrate poetry and songwriting, we will read a bracket (2 poems) each evening and advance a class winner the following day. However, like the basketball tournament, we must use specific criteria to judge a poem: meaning, poet's craft (rhyme, line breaks, punctuation, simile/metaphor, word choice, repetition), ability to visualize, and your personal connection.

Each night you will answer the following 3 questions about the poems you have read.

1. What is the meaning of the first poem? (Summarize in one sentence)
2. What is the meaning of the second poem? (Summarize in one sentence)
3. Based on the criteria, which poem did you choose and WHY? ***Please tell me everything you think, but use your best writing.

Tonight please read Game 1 and choose your favorite.

"Tagging" the Main Idea

Readers,

Many of you have heard about the unrest in Egypt right now. Perhaps your parents have been watching the news coverage or discussing the problem at home. As a child, you might be confused or unsure what is really happening. When it comes to important issues around the world, especially those in unfamiliar areas, adults can feel the same way as well.

One way we gain information about world events is through reading news articles. Read this article about Egypt. If you wish, discuss it with your parents.

We have been working on finding the main idea when we read - what a story/article is mostly about. To help us with this, I want us to look at a digital tool called "tagging". When bloggers and other writers submit online articles, they can "tag", or label, the most important words and phrases. This allows people who are searching for specific information to locate their articles easily online. When writers "tag" words in their article, they think of the most important words and phrases, ones that stand out the most, and the words that show what the article is really about. In other words, online writers "tag" their Main Idea words.

What words would YOU tag from the Egypt article? What words stick out as really important? After reading the article, comment here about the words YOU would tag in the article and explain why. I have given you an example below and tagged words from the blog I just wrote.

A Teacher's Reflections - What are your thoughts?

Readers,

The new year underway, I began to reflect on my reading life; therefore, also thinking about the reading life in our classroom. Over the break, I was able to enjoy reading for pleasure, where I read books that have been on my "Books I Plan to Read" list for quite awhile. The books I read were recommended to me by dear friends, who are voracious readers and know a good book when they read one. Their recommendations were spot on and I found myself in the "Reading Zone" time and again.

As I began planning our next steps for our reading lives in the classroom, I came across this blog post by a fellow reading and writing teacher. I don't know her, but I know she is passionate about teaching reading and writing and thinks deeply about what she reads. I read her blog often for inspiration.

In her post, she reflects on her reading life and what she noticed. It made me think about why we read and the best way to enjoy reading. The changes I have made to our reading class are somewhat influenced by this post and my own reflections.

She begins her post with a quote by Kate DiCamillo, author of Because of Winn-Dixie and many other acclaimed books: "Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or a duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift." As a teacher, who considers reading as a "precious gift" in my own life, I hope, if you do not already feel this way, you will see reading as a gift in the New Year.

As you read her blog, post your reactions to her reflections. I have posted my own response to demonstrate the level of thinking you should demonstrate in your own post.

Reflect and Take Action!

Writers,

We have spent ample time learning about writing conventions by studying the following in our own Personal Narrative writing:

• end punctuation
• capitalization
• dialogue punctuation
• ellipses
  
• commas
• paragraphs
• complex and varied sentence structure.

We have also talked about writing craft, and the use of the following:

• show not tell
• dialogue
• setting
• action
• internal thinking/feeling
• elaboration
• descriptive language.

As a writer, it is important to notice the things we do well, and also to reflect on the things we can improve upon. Please take a moment to review your Personal Narrative, reflect on your peer editing experience yesterday, and make an ACTION PLAN for your future writing. Please choose at least one convention and one craft from the list above and explain WHY you need to improve in this area and HOW you plan to do this.

*You must write in complete sentences and give a detailed response.