Friday the 13th!

I won't be with you all today. I'm getting hand and ankle physical therapy, and I'll be back on Monday. Just so things are clear, here's the clean up plan for today:

Groups will finish up second draft conferencing. Remember, authors, it is up to you to get the help and feedback you need. After your paper is read, your team's written comments should be written on your draft. Either you take specific notes as your team shares, or your paper is circulated for written responses right on the paper, or both. This doesn't mean a simple signature and date (although that, too, is required). This means that your choice(s) of 6+1 traits are looked at closely, genre, point of view, additional detail - "show, don't tell" - are addressed. The table conversation needs to be QUIET and contained to the assignment: conferencing over the paper and revision. Side bar conversations are rampant and off task and will end up hurting participation. Please keep your team on task. Your performance in the class is dependent on that.

When your team is finished, and many teams already are, you may read SILENTLY while you wait (20 minutes or so) for the rest of the class to complete the conferencing process.

After conferencing, read the Reader's Digest article "Test Your Manners." Take the test after finishing reading, taking particular care with the third page, your weblog post response. Think about the responses you've read so far. Think about how you'd like yours to look, what kind of art or photo, link, comments, etc. You may "sketch" those in since you will be doing this on paper today.

With any remaining time you may continue in your independent reading books. Your second book response is due October 25th, and remember, we are starting To Kill A Mockingbird next week. You may want to be finished with outside reading before then.

Your third and final draft is due on Monday, along with your first draft (with conferencing notes) and your second draft (with conferencing notes). Take pride in your presentation. Use MLA format. Good luck. I'm anxious to read your work.


By the way, here's a link to a site on universal manners. Did you know, according to this site, it is proper manners for youth to stand behind their chairs until all adults are seated at the dinner table? Or how about this one? It is considered rude to make harsh comments when assessing a team member's work! You'll find manners at this site for all ages and all occasions. There's even a window which allows you to submit your own questions or comments. Interesting reading!

Have a nice weekend!

What's In a Name?

Yesterday we talked about the power of words, especially when it comes to your identity. Juliet Capulet (Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet ) asks if a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Your given names, middle names, nicknames, display names, and even email addresses all identify you. Isn't it interesting how many of us said they didn't really like their names? What's important is our awareness of our audiences. Our friends may not call us by the same names our teachers, parents, or employers use for us. We'll be exploring persona while getting ready to set up our own weblog.


We will be "reseeing" our second drafts in class today, and we will discuss ways that an author might try to revise a paper, whether it be word choice, point of view, additional detail, reorganizing the order of the paper - intro., body, conclusion, and so forth. Be flexible when you look again at your own paper.

Free at Last

It's funny that no one asked me about it today, but last night I didn't post to the blog. I got my casts removed in the afternoon, but when I got home, I simply faded out. My wrist and ankle are unbelievably sore, but I can't tell you how wonderful it felt to get the cast cut off and have the freedom of no clunky boot or cast. Now I've just got to get moving a little faster. It seems like I'm moving in slow motion. (Of course, fast motion is what got me in trouble!)

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to continuing with our blogging introduction. We'll finish looking at slides and reviewing expectations. Have you thought at all about a name? We'll talk about "what's in a name" tomorrow, too.

Don't forget book responses if you haven't brought one in yet. I'm anxious for you to have a chance to talk about your books, so we'll make time for some of those tomorrow. Thursday is a second draft conference day, Friday is a laptop lab, and Monday is the due date for your first complete writing project. We're busy. So, what are you not going to forget tomorrow? Answer: book response, signed parent consent form and student assent form for the blog.

Rested and Ready for Workshop

Monday will be our first opportunity to work with our first drafts. We'll define what helps us most in getting feedback our writing groups. Each of you will make up your own guidelines or expectations for what kind of conferencing works best for you. I hope each of you comes in prepared for sharing your work, and I'll do my best to see that all of us have an opportunity to provide input to the writing groups. It takes a high level of trust and responsibility to make it work.

Tomorrow we will also begin our journey into the class Weblog, and I will be sending letters and information to your families about the project. You will have your own Weblog for our literature discussion, but Ihope that you have shared this site with them so that they can at least see a similar model to what we will be doing.

Those of you interested in lightening up your load may leave your big blue textbooks locked in your lockers for the next few weeks. We'll be starting To Kill A Mockingbird and participating on the Weblog for literature discussion.