Reminders, Quickwrites, & Examples
2014 – 2015
Q1, Weeks 4 - 6
W
“Without struggle there can be no progress.” ~ Frederick Douglass
Condie, Ally. Matched. New York: Scho0lastic, 2010. 4. Print. “It hushes through the night, its sound a background for the low rain of our parents’ voices, the lightening-quick beats of my heart.” I haven’t read very much, but the setting of Matched seems to be in a futuristic society with “air train[s]” (4) and old fashioned notions of someone else selecting marriage partners instead of letting people find love for themselves. The main character, Cassia, narrates the story in 1st person and is with her best friend, Xander, on an air train on their way to get “matched.” I chose the sentence above because I liked the sound of it. The air train that “hushes through the night” must make a soft murmuring sound. It seems significant to the futuristic setting and the “lightening-quick beats” of Cassia’s heart tell me that she might be feeling nervous or excited. This reminds me of the excitement I feel the night before the first day of school.
Plan your PRESENTATION I. Introduction: “My name is _____ and this is my Literacy
Notebook
II. Body A. One affinity is _________, because ________. B. One challenge is _________, because ________. C. One strength is _________, because. D. A goal I wrote on my STAR is _________. And it’s
hanging [point to its place on the ceiling].
III. Conclusion: “Thank you.” or “I’m looking forward to working with ___ Hour.”
7th-Graders:
Do you have all your
RN inserts?
Genre Chart, p1;
p.2; p.3; p.160;
p.161; p.190; p.191;
p.192; p.193; p.194;
p.195; p. 196; p.197
Rambling Autobiography I was born at the height of World War II just as
Anne Frank was forced into Bergen-Belsen by the
Nazis. I adore Brigham’s vanilla ice cream in a
sugar cone and dipped in chocolate jimmies. I
bought my favorite jacket for a dime at the
Methodist Church rummage sale. I have lied to my
parents. I never read a book for pleasure until I
was 38 years old. One of my students once leaned
in to me in an interview and said, “My mother’s
having a baby; this is the one she wants.” When I
was 12 I set the organdy curtains in our bathroom
on fire, playing with matches. My favorite place to
hide was high in the maple tree in our front yard
where I could spy on neighbors. I can still smell
wet white sheets pulled through the ringer washer
when I think of Grammy Mac. I dated Edmundo in
high school because it angered my father. I fainted
when I heard the sound of the zipper as the
mortician closed the body bag holding my mother.
I gave birth to twin sons. I once had dinner with
Judy Blume. I am a teacher who writes. I want to
be a writer who teaches….
Linda Rief
Try this:
• For 2-3 minutes, write as quickly as you
can your own “rambling auto biography.”
• For 2-3 minutes, write as quickly and as
specifically as you can about any one thing
this brought to mind for you.
• If you’re stuck for starters, borrow any
phrase and write off that, such as
“I was born at…during…when…”
“…playing with matches…”
“I can still smell…”
Rief, Linda. 100 Quickwrites. New York: Scholastic, 2003. 30. Print.
9/15/2014 – Show vs. Tell
Show vs Tell = Take a “telling” sentence and revise it with
descriptive elaboration or “showing details.”
Telling: He went away.
Example Showing:
“Billy walked far away from his hometown, his brown hair
blowing in the wind. As he ambled down the highway, cars
speeding by, a rough looking semi screamed past at 70 miles per
hour.”
~ Nathan W., 8th-grader 2007
Sketch a Place, D1
color temperature number texture sound smell taste shape looks like / sight size how you felt distance (close/far) brightness animals? people? significance / connections / memories
Name, Hour 9/24/2014
ACTIVITY: Literacy Notebook Inserts
1.You need a packet of Literacy Notebook
inserts. The top pages are #s 2 and 3 with the
heading: “Expectations for Keeping a
Literacy Notebook.”
2.You will cut each page into half-sized pages.
3.Then, using scotch tape, tape each half-page
onto the corresponding page in your Literacy
Notebook.
4.While sharing the tape, you may snip several
pieces before taping. If you finish before
your tablemates, consider helping them out.
Characterization: The development of a character through actions and dialogue. Authors use two methods: 1. direct – author is “directly” telling audience
information about character 2. indirect – reader must infer character traits
through speech, thoughts, effect on others, actions, and looks
Metaphor: A comparison of two unlike things not using “like” or “as.” Ex: “Time is money.”
Simile: Comparison of two unlike things/ideas using “like” or “as”. Ex: the classroom was like a warzone.
Insanity
Hit!
Smash
Guts,
Butts,
Crush heads.
Break
Legs,
Arms,
Backs.
Men
In stacks,
All
After a ball. Gaston Dubois from American Sports Poems
Selected by R.R. Kundson & May Swenson
Try this:
• For 2-3 minutes, write as quickly as you
can all that this poem brings to mind.
• Write as quickly and as specifically as you
can about any activity, trying this list
technique.
• Write as quickly and as specifically as you
can about whether you agree or disagree
with the title as a description of football.
Rief, Linda. 100 Quickwrites. New York: Scholastic, 2003. 29. Print.
Insanity
Hit!
Smash
Guts,
Butts,
Crush heads.
Break
Legs,
Arms,
Backs.
Men
In stacks,
All
After a ball. Gaston Dubois from American Sports Poems
Selected by R.R. Kundson & May Swenson
Try this:
• For 2-3 minutes, write as quickly as you
can all that this poem brings to mind.
• Write as quickly and as specifically as you
can about any activity, trying this list
technique.
• Write as quickly and as specifically as you
can about whether you agree or disagree
with the title as a description of football.
Rief, Linda. 100 Quickwrites. New York: Scholastic, 2003. 29. Print.
Why I Read
by Richard Peck
I read because one life isn’t enough,
and in the pages of a book I can be anybody;
I read because the words that build the story
become mine, to build my life;
I read not for happy endings but for new beginnings,
I’m just beginning to run out of material;
I read because every journey begins at the library,
and it’s time for me to start packing;
I read because one of these days I may want to leave
this town,
and I’m going to go everywhere and meet everybody,
and I want to be READY!
Try this:
Write
about why
YOU read.
Write why
about you
don’t read.
What is
your
resistance
about?
Write
about why
you wish
you read
more.
Heart Map: Find a person or pet who thinks you are awesome. 9/22/2014: Show vs. Tell Telling: He/she thinks I’m awesome. Showing:
Condie, Ally. Matched. New York: Scholastic. 2010. Print
“When I fall asleep I dream that Grandfather has given me a bouquet
of roses. ‘Take these instead of the tablet,’ he tells me” (119).
This quote is significant to Cassia’s story. In her community, every
citizen carries three tablets, one blue, one red, and one green. Before
his life ended, Cassia’s grandfather encouraged Cassia to never take
the green tablet. Then he revealed a secret hiding place inside the
compact she carried as her “artifact.” Inside the compact, Cassia
found two poems, poems that had been banned from being read by
the community. The bouquet of roses becomes symbolic of the
words Cassia is trying to memorize and hold on to. I think this
foretells of danger to come and other big decisions Callie will have
to make. This book reminds me of Jonas in The Giver. He too had to
take a pill and ended up rebelling against his community. I think
Callie will be the same kind of rebel.
Time Somebody Told Me Quantedius Hall, from You Hear Me?
Time Somebody Told Me
That I am lovely, good and real
That I am beautiful inside
If they only knew
How that would make me feel.
Time Somebody Told Me
That my mind is quick, sharp
and full of wit
That I should keep on trying
and never quit.
Time Somebody Told Me
How they loved and needed me
How my smile is filled with hope
and my spirit sets them free
How my eyes shine, full of light
How good they feel when they
hug me tight.
Time Somebody Told Me
So, I had a talk with myself
Just me, nobody else
'cause it was time Somebody Told Me.
Try this: •For 2-3 minutes, write as quickly as you can all
that this poem brings to mind for you.
•Borrow any line and write as quickly and as
specifically as you can all that comes to mind,
letting the line lead your thinking.
•Borrow the line “Time Somebody Told Me…”
and write as quickly and as specifically as you
can, letting the line lead your thinking, or write
about all that you wish someone did tell you.
Your Name, D6E Descriptive Paragraph, Dr. 1 9/26/2014
Sketch a Place
Quickwrite Rules:
1.Write the entire time – as quickly as
you can – anything the text brings to
mind.
2.Writing time is sacred time. Ssshhh!
3.If you’re stuck, copy any phrase and
write from that, wherever it may lead.
This Session:
eAgenda: All-in-
One agenda for
scaffolding literacy
and Delivering
Instruction
Presented by
Shelly Unsicker-
Durham