October 31st- Happy Halloween!

Here is a sample of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of literature circles.
Literature Circle Examples

For Thursday:
Be ready for your 2nd Literature Circle meeting over chapters 4-6.

Look at those cute little Madelines! <3

October 30th

1. In class today you will meet with your group to discuss the following things:

•  What was successful about your group discussion
• What three things does your group want to work on next meeting to improve depth/quality of discussion?
• What is the job of each role for the group?
• How do we prepare for our role for the group, while being prepared to contribute to other members' roles?

2. Make sure that you have responded to the Google Classroom question (posted Friday).

3. Read chapters 4-6 of Hidden Figures for Thursday literature circle meeting.

October 27th

1. Please turn in your 3 drafts of your Narrative paper. These should be stapled together.
2. You will then get into your literature circle groups. You will need their chapters, role sheets, and notes.
3. You will receive discussion questions from me to help aid your discussion of each chapter.
4. You will have the remainder of the hour to go through what you have discovered for your roles for your groups.. And discussion questions.  Remember, each role is the leader for this discussion, other group members should contribute to each discussion point. You need to be on task the entire time.
5. At the end of the hour, please turn in your “role” sheets.  
6. There is a follow up question on Google Classroom... please have this completed by Monday.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!

October 26th

We will do our literature circle first meeting on Friday when I return.

1. Watch the author interview found under the Hidden Figures links (on right hand side of website).
Write down some discussion questions to help aid your literature circle meeting.

2. Read the following article from NPR- Hidden Figures- NPR. Again, use this article to help for your discussion questions/notes for your discussion with your group.

3. Read the following article from Popular Mechanics: The Real Story of Hidden Figures...  same drill.

For Friday:
1. Make sure that your Narrative paper is uploaded to Turnitin.com by 7:29 AM!
2. Bring all 3 drafts stapled together to class.
3. Make sure that you are ready for your assigned "role" for your literature circle.
4. Make sure that you have read prologue-chapter 3 of Hidden Figures. 
5. Email me if you can/have secured a copy of the book.

October 24th

Literature Circles-

In literature circles, small groups of students discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by the responses to what you have read. You may talk about events and characters in the book, the author's craft, literary device usage, or personal experiences related to the story.

Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers.

Finally, literature circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response. 

For Thursday:
1. Read the Prologue-Chapter 3 of Hidden Figures. 
2. Annotate your text for literary devices, plot intrigue, characterization, etc.
3. Prepare for Literature Circle discussion by attending to the requirements of the role you will fill for this first discussion round- Discussion Leader, Diction Detective, Bridge Builder, and Reporter.

Expectations for Literature Circles:
1. Reading is completed and annotated before the circle meeting.
2. Work for group role is thoughtfully completed and shared during group meeting.
3. Discussion questions are thoughtfully processed during group meetings.
4. Each student takes notes during circle meetings.. we will do a project at the conclusion of the book.
5. Discussion relates specifically back to the text during discussion.

Teal Group:
Keely                 Zane
Chloe                 Sarah
Austin                Serena
Jonathan
Niraj

Kelly Green Group:
Sean                  Gracie
Kelsy                 Tim
Hailey               Konnor
Drew                 Nick
Soleil

Bearcat Green Group:
Garrett               Evan
Jillian                 Kemmery
Marcus               Christen
Alec                   Madison
Evan

REMEMBER: Final draft of your narrative paper is due Friday morning to Turnitin.com by 7:29 AM!! 

October 23rd

1. Your 3rd Attempt is DUE TODAY!
2. You will go through the same scoring and proofreading process as you have done the previous 2 attempts.
3. Email Mrs. Cole the two averaged scores.
4. After you receive the feedback for your 3rd attempt, you will select ONE of the three narrative attempts that you want to clean up for a final draft to turn into Mrs. Cole.

As you are preparing your final narrative draft, I suggest doing the following:

• Reviewing the scoring guide carefully to make sure that you are demonstrating the requirements for this paper.
• Look over the sample writings from Johns Hopkins and compare your work to the sample works. 
• Review the descriptive writing techniques and make sure that your paper demonstrates proficient skill with these techniques.
• Review the narrative writing techniques from the reading... make sure that the components of narrative writing are obvious in your final draft. 

Your final draft is due to TURNITIN.com by Friday, October 27th at 7:29 AM.  You will turn in your 3 hard copy drafts when you come to class on Friday. Please staple these together.

October 17th

ATTEMPT #2

1. You will, then, read through your own paper and SCORE IT with the scoring rubric, keep track of your own scores on a separate piece of paper. 

2. Next, you will need to switch you paper with a partner.

YOU WILL BE HAVING TWO PROOFREADERS THIS ATTEMPT. 

 Proofreaders will follow the following instruction:

Proofreaders: 

1. The first read: You will start with the LAST sentence. You will read ONE sentence at a time until you are reach the top of the paper. Yes, you are reading the paper BACKWARDS. In this reading you are ONLY looking for grammatical and spelling errors, and sentence clarity.  Is there subject-verb agreement? Pronoun-antecedent agreement? Sentence mechanics are correct? Diction choices accurate? If you find an error, make a comment in BLUE. Do not fix the error. 

2. The second read: You will start at the TOP of the paper. In this read  you will be looking solely at CONTENT. Does the paper have a CENTRAL THEME? Is the evidence logical and sufficient to the theme? Is the evidence relevant? Does the entire paper support the requirement of the prompt? Does it sufficiently address the purpose of writing? Mark errors or comments in RED. 

3. The third read: You will start at the TOP of the paper. In this read you will be looking solely at STYLE and STRUCTURE. Is the tone appropriate for the audience and the content addressed. Is the a narrative complete with BEGINNING.. MIDDLE... END?  Does each section have a topic sentence that supports the overall claim? Does the paper utilize NARRATIVE OUTLINE? Does is utilize active voice? Does the author utilize critical narrative/descriptive techniques? Do they use effective transitions? Between sentences? Between sections?  DO THEY UTILIZE careful and strategic DICTION and SYNTAX? Mark suggestions and comments in GREEN. 

4. The fourth read: You will be, again, starting at the TOP of the paper. In this read, you will be looking solely at FORMAT. Has the author appropriately addressed MLA style guide? MLA Title?? Mark in PURPLE. 

4. In the fifth, and final, read. You will read through from top to bottom and read for the complete experience. Does the entire paper work together? Any last concerns? Mark in ORANGE. 

Pay specific attention to this proofing process. This is an excellent strategy to ensure that your final product achieves its intended purpose.  

AFTER you are done PROOFING. You will need to SCORE the paper with the specific narrative rubric. Please write the scores... PLUS the justification of their scores ON THEIR PAPER AND their scoring guide.  You will then give them an AVERAGE of the 7 scores.. (we struggled with this last round... Add up all 7 and then divide that number BY 7. Round up.)

LAST... email your 2 averaged scores to HRH COLE. 

FOR WEDNESDAY: Outline for attempt #3 due at the beginning of class on Wednesday. 

October 16th

1. Outline for narrative attempt #2 is due today.

2. Read pages 374-376, Carl Sagain's "Frederick Douglass: The Path to Freedom" in Reader for College Writers. 

Before reading:
 - Examine how Sagan uses dialogue effectively. Read his direct quotations carefully.
-  Think about what is the "path to freedom" that is discussed in this essay.
- Review discussed narrative and descriptive writing techniques.

After reading:
Go through the "Questions for Discussion" and "Thinking Critically" with a small group.

For Tuesday:
From your outline, and strongly referencing the John's Hopkins samples PLUS the scoring guide, write your draft for attempt #2. Hard copy is due on Tuesday for class. PRINT IT OFF BEFORE YOU COME TO CLASS.

October 12th

You will need to switch you paper with a partner. Proofreaders will follow the following instruction:

Proofreaders: 

1. The first read: You will start with the LAST sentence. You will read ONE sentence at a time until you are reach the top of the paper. Yes, you are reading the paper BACKWARDS. In this reading you are ONLY looking for grammatical and spelling errors, and sentence clarity.  Is there subject-verb agreement? Pronoun-antecedent agreement? Sentence mechanics are correct? Diction choices accurate? If you find an error, make a comment in BLUE. Do not fix the error. 

2. The second read: You will start at the TOP of the paper. In this read  you will be looking solely at CONTENT. Does the paper have a CENTRAL THEME? Is the evidence logical and sufficient to the theme? Is the evidence relevant? Does the entire paper support the requirement of the prompt? Does it sufficiently address the purpose of writing? Mark errors or comments in RED. 

3. The third read: You will start at the TOP of the paper. In this read you will be looking solely at STYLE and STRUCTURE. Is the tone appropriate for the audience and the content addressed. Is the a narrative complete with BEGINNING.. MIDDLE... END?  Does each section have a topic sentence that supports the overall claim? Does the paper utilize NARRATIVE OUTLINE? Does is utilize active voice? Does the author utilize critical narrative/descriptive techniques? Do they use effective transitions? Between sentences? Between sections? Mark suggestions and comments in GREEN. 

4. The fourth read: You will be, again, starting at the TOP of the paper. In this read, you will be looking solely at FORMAT. Has the author appropriately addressed MLA style guide? Mark in PURPLE. 

4. In the fifth, and final, read. You will read through from top to bottom and read for the complete experience. Does the entire paper work together? Any last concerns? Mark in ORANGE. 

Pay specific attention to this proofing process. This is an excellent strategy to ensure that your final product achieves its intended purpose. 

AFTER you are done PROOFING. You will need to SCORE the paper with the specific narrative rubric. Please write the scores... PLUS the justification of their scores ON THEIR PAPER.  You will then give them an AVERAGE of the 7 scores.. (Add up all 7 and then divide that number BY 7. Round up.)

LAST... EMAIL  your TWO SCORES  to HRH COLE. 

HOMEWORK for MONDAY: 
Round #2 outline is due on Monday. 

October 9th and 10th

1. You are working to complete your first narrative draft, which is due on Thursday, October 12th.

Utilize your resources carefully.  Use the samples and outlines to guide you. Review often the scoring guide.

Friday, October 6th

2. You have a first draft of your first college application essay due in class on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12th. This is 700 words maximum. Remember to have the word count at the bottom of the paper. We have reviewed multiple examples of descriptive and narrative writing. We have examined the techniques of narrative and descriptive writing.

You will find your first "it is real now" narrative paper assignment/college entrance essay here: College Entrance Essay Attempt #1

3. Before you begin, you need to pick 3 essay samples from the Johns Hopkins link of "Essays that Worked"
JHU- Essays that Worked

Read and annotate the example of stellar college admission essays from Johns Hopkins. Put these findings in your notes.

In 2013, JH had over 20,000 applications and accepted close to 3,500. The admissions committed chose this essay as outstanding and memorable. WHY? What did it do that makes it so effective and productive?

While you study these samples, you will at the bottom what college admission officers had to say about the successful essays. Use this information.

4. Outline your first narrative piece. The prompt is designed to really make you think. Go through the question thoroughly before you start writing. This prompt is designed to show the University of Pennsylvania who you are. How can you show them who you are and why you will fit at their university?

Though we have studied multiple narrative works, I have provided a narrative template to assist you in writing this paper. This is to be used a guiding structure, but place your focus on developing the narrative and descriptive techniques in telling your story.

I have also placed some handouts on transitions, dialogue, and effective verbs under "writing instruction".   Remember proper MLA heading and formatting.

Your FIRST DRAFT IS DUE OCTOBER 12th!!!

Remember your writing goals are: Believable. Effective. Interesting.

Thursday, October 5th

SENIOR PICTURES WILL BE TAKEN ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12TH! 

1. Read and take notes on the SOAPSTONE analysis process. The link is found here: SOAPSTONE analysis

2. Do another reading of "Revolt of Mother" using the SOAPSTONE process. You are still examining the narrative techniques, but you are adding a level of the HOW and WHY.

This will help your examination of the text in your Socratic seminar.

3. For the Socratic seminar, you will have thoroughly annotated the use of descriptive/narrative writing techniques in Freeman's "Revolt of Mother" text. Remember you are identifying and evaluating the descriptive writing techniques... The HOW. The WHY!

Write 4 higher level questions asking the HOW and the WHY of these techniques.

4. We are studying this text as a sample of writing... we are not studying it for its overall literary/story purpose. We are looking at Freeman's writing style, so we can mirror the techniques as we work into our first paper. Study the techniques!!!

For FRIDAY:

1. Review the Personal Narrative Rubric. Look over the criteria on the far left column. This is what you will be targeting for in your writing. I WOULD... put these criterion in your NOTES!
Personal Narrative RUBRIC

2. You need to study/review/soak in the following Personal Narrative Outline example. PUT THIS IN YOUR NOTES: Personal Narrative OUTLINE
** This will be the outline format that we will be utilizing for the first paper.

3. Read the following student sample of a personal narrative: Student Sample- Personal Narrative