The Writer's Block
Mr. Partin - 7th Language Arts
Contact Info
e-mail: keith.partin@jisd.org
Phone: 903-586-3686
Conference: 2:50-3:30 (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday)
Tutorials: Thursday 3:45-4:15
Classroom Expectations
All students are expected to observe the 5 P's of my classroom. They are to be Prepared, Positive, Productive, Prompt, and Polite. If they can master the 5 P's, then they will be very successful in my classroom.
6 Room Poems
Students recently spent a week writing a "Six Room Poem." The poem is generated from graphic organizer that helps writers brainstorm ideas, words, phrases, and images that could be part of the poem. After students have completed the graphic organizer, they use the words and phrases to create a free verse poem. They can rearrange the rooms in any order, eliminate rooms, words, or sentences. Students can use this same technique for poems about people, animals, experiences. (The labels for each box can change depending on the subject). It is a great way to brainstorm ideas before attempting to draft a poem, and it alleviates that “staring-at-a-blank-page-with-nothing-to-write-about” syndrome.
Sacred Writing Time
As part of our daily classroom procedures, students are expected to write in their composition books for ten minutes. The students have the opportunity to write about a topic of their own choice, or they are given several topics from which to choose. The intent is for students to become accustomed to writing for an extended period of time and get their ideas/thoughts onto paper. Students will continue this practice throughout the year as part of our daily routine.
Brushstrokes
"Just as a painter combines a wide repertoire of brush stroke techniques to create an image, the writer choose from a repertoire of sentence structures." (Image Grammar) Students are working on two specific "brush strokes" the 2nd nine weeks:
#1 Painting with Participles
and
#2 Painting with Painting with Absolutes.
These two techniques will give students additional craft tools to add to their writing.
Expository Text
We are continuing with expository text through the remainder of the 2nd nine weeks. We will be looking at other tools to incorporate - using parenthesis and ellipses to create voice, developing sentence variety, and naming/renaming. Students will continue to create Kernal Essays and 11 Minute Essays.