Portfolio Day

No bellringer. Chromebooks collected.

Recap: I collected your final portfolios today. So far, they look great! I'm very impressed, and you should be proud of all of your hard work. These are a great way to showcase that!

While I checked portfolios, you were asked to create a fan-fiction for a story of your choice where you provide an alternate ending.

Have a nice night!

Z

Batman, Scooby Doo and Alex Trebek Walk into an Elevator...

Bellringer: Batman, Scooby-Doo and Alex Trebek get stuck in an elevator. What happens?

Recap: Upon finishing the bellringer, you were able to either partner up or remain solo. You were asked to write a longer story based off of the prompt.

Homework: Please remember that portfolios are due tomorrow. Late portfolios will receive a grade no higher than a 70%.

Have a nice evening! Remember, it's more important to finish on a good note than to finish quickly and just be done. Hang in there!

Z

Portfolio

Bellringer: What questions do you have on your portfolio?

Recap: We worked on portfolios in class today.

Please review the information shared with you for the format. Portfolios should be assembled in the order:

1. Cover Page with Student Information
2. Table of Contents with page numbers for material
3. Cover pages for each section.

Have a nice evening!

Z

#Graduation

Bellringer: What plans do you have for the holiday weekend?

Recap: I am going to do some fun, free style writing with you from here on out. Today we started with hashtag writing. I provided a topic, and each group had to come up with a story using only hashtag phrases. These turned out well!

Homework: We will begin our portfolios on Tuesday. Please note: You will ONLY have Tuesday in class to work on them! These will be due Thursday, May 29th. If you will not be here, for ANY reason, the portfolio must be submitted either in advance or sent in with someone. This is an assignment worth more than 100 points, which means if it is late, it will receive a grade no higher than a 70%.

Good work this week! Enjoy the holiday!

Z

Guess Who?

Bellringer: Using the following words in a story: burglar, envelope, forest, desk lamp.

Recap: We held another guess-who mystery today. A bracelet was hidden with one of the students, and everyone was asked to ask a question of another person. Based on their answers, you could then begin to eliminate suspects. Both classes figured out who had it solely based on body language! You really used your sleuthing skills!

Nice work today! Don't forget your binders for your portfolios for Tuesday! 

Have a nice evening!

Z

Clue!

Bellringer: Based on the game we played yesterday, what was the most important element to solving the crime?

Recap: We played another detective game today. I'm sorry it didn't go as well as yesterday's. Some of you did catch on, however, that you work better as a team than alone. This was the key to solving the crime.

I am also missing QUITE a number of Mystery Stories. These do still count as a grade. Please be sure to share them with me for your credit. I am noticing many grades dropping. Please do not start slacking off now.

Have a nice evening!

Z

Whodunnit?

Bellringer: 

: 

What's going on in this picture? 

Recap: We held our own mystery today. You were divided into 3 groups and given a scenario. Each group was then given a set of clues, and asked to figure out who had done the crime. You did a great job using your problem solving skills! In each class 2 out of the 3 groups guessed right!

I hope you enjoyed this. I'd like to do another one later in the week!

Homework: Finish your mystery stories. Don't forget portfolios for next Tuesday!

Have a great night! Nice work today!

Z

Mystery

Bellringer: What is a mystery?

Recap: We reviewed the Elements that Make Up Mystery, and then began writing our own mystery stories. Please see the bottom of the sheet for the instructions. If you would like, you may include this story in your portfolios. Stories are due Wednesday for Class Participation.

Nice job today!

Z

Fairy Tale Finale

Bellringer: There have been strong storms in the Mid-West, fires in California, and a young boy magically saved from a dog by his cat. Choose one of these current events, and turn its cause into a fairy tale.

Recap: We turned current events into fairy tales to try and discover a "cause" for these events. Some of you were very creative with this!

I also checked Bellringers 61-70. If you were out, please be sure to show them to me Monday.

Have a nice weekend!

Z

Fairy Tale Peer Edit

Bellringer: You are a helpless young maiden stuck on a sinking ship. How does your prince rescue you?

Or

You are locked in a magical dungeon. How are you rescued and who saves you?

Recap: We began the above partner writing, and will finish it tomorrow.

We then worked on the fractured fairy tale peer edit. Be sure to have the peer edit completed for tomorrow. If you were not in class today, the peer edit must still be completed beforehand. You may ask someone else from the class to edit it for you, but it must be done by someone in the class.

Homework: Have a printed copy of your story, along with the peer edit and original story.

Nice work today! Have a good night!

Z

Hans Christian Andersen Stories

Bellringer:

  

Write a brief fairy tale about what you see going on in this picture. 

Recap: We each read a story today by Hans Christian Andersen. I wanted you to have a different perspective on fairy tales. Many of you didn't like his as much as you liked the Grimm Brothers. Please be sure to choose one of the titles so that you can write your "Fractured Fairy Tale." 

If you would like to see a fractured fairy tale, read this story of the Big Bad Wolf's perspective from "The Three Little Pigs." 

Homework: Complete the rough draft of your fairy tale for tomorrow. Also, don't forget to bring a binder in by May 26th, so we can begin assembling your portfolios.

Nice work today.

Z

Grimm Fairy Tales to Fracture

Bellringer: Write a fairy tale about a frog.

       --You all did a GREAT job with these! You were very creative!

Recap: We read 2 Grimm fairy tales each, but no one was allowed to read the same stories. These will be used when you fracture a fairy tale. This means that you will take one of the stories you've read and re-write it from the perspective of another character within the story. Your rough drafts will be due Thursday, and the final copies Friday.

Tomorrow we will be reading Hans Christian Andersen, so some of you may change your stories, as he has written others that may be more familiar to you. Just keep in mind you will only have 24 hours to create the rough draft.

I think you are finding fairy tales to be wildly different than you have imagined, but that's a good thing! You are expanding your world's!

Great work today! Have a nice night!

Z

Fairy Tales

Bellringer: What is a fairy tale? Name one that you know.

Recap: We began fairy tales today! I think many of you were scared about what they might be, but upon further examination, you found that there are more than you had originally thought. We also discovered that fairy tales were not always meant to have happy endings. Most fairy tales were written to scare children into submission. The Grimm Brothers became popular for writing or adapting old folktales, or writing their own fairy tales. Most had frightening messages!

We began the unit by looking into the lives of the Grimm Brothers. We then took a closer look at some of their fairy tales by going on an adventure through the forest. If you were absent, please take the walk and explore a story! 

Tomorrow we will explore more of their stories, and you will be given your outline for your piece for the end of the week.

Also, you will need a 1/2 inch binder by May 26th so that we may begin assembling the portfolios.

Nice work today!

Z

The Lottery

Bellringer: You have just landed 10 years in the future! You don’t recognize too much about where you are. Describe what the future looks like. How is it different than today? What do you see?

Recap: We reviewed the homework questions from "There Will Come Soft Rains." Then, continuing with the Sci-Fi unit, we began reading "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. There are 5 questions you need to answer that correspond with this, as well.

Nice work! Have a great evening!

Z

Science Fiction

Bellringer: 

Write a brief Sci-Fi story about the picture. Click here for the explanation.

Recap: We began by reviewing the Elements of Science Fiction. Sci-Fi is a very specific genre. It needs to contain one of the required elements in order to be considered Science Fiction, or it is not part of the genre. The link to the above article has the elements and breaks them down nicely.

We then began reading, "There Will Come Soft Rains," by Ray Bradbury. He is one of the leading Science Fiction authors, and one of the best. His writing is very descriptive and beautifully executed. When you are finished reading, there is a questionnaire that goes along with the reading. Both need to be completed for homework for tomorrow if you did not finish in class today.

Please consider how the story is similar to today's world. Bradbury wrote about this "future"; yet, we seem to be living it out.

Have a nice evening!

Z

Zombie Apocalypse Ping Pong Writing

Bellringer: Create a science fiction scenario with a main character named Wallace and a fire.

Recap: Today we did a Ping Pong writing assignment based on your Zombie Apocalypse from yesterday. If you were not here, please complete a writing based on your notes.

For bonus points, you and your partner finish your story! Show it to me in class. This needs to be done for tomorrow!

Z

Zombie Apocalypse

Bellringer: It's the Zombie Apocalypse. List the 5 tools or resources you would bring with you.

Recap: We are beginning a brief unit on Sci-Fi this week. I thought I'd kick it off with zombies, since so many of you have an interest in them! Following the bellringer, I had you split into partners, and together come up with your list of 5 things you would bring, and then list 5 people you would bring.

Tomorrow we will complete a ping pong writing assignment based on this list.

Have a nice night! Great imaginations today!

Z

Peer Edit

Bellringer: What would you do with 3 wishes?

Recap: We finished reviewing the homework questions from "Where Are You Going? Where Have You  Been?" Following this, we completed the peer edit for your fiction story for tomorrow. Please be sure to have a printed copy of your final draft tomorrow, along with the rough draft and peer edit.

Nice work today!

Z