The New Marking Period

This marking period we will be focusing on our writing and reading skills because we are going to do even better than our best on the NY State ELA test. All students are to complete a short story which reflects the kind of life that the characters in our book, The Pearl, are leading. A life without electricity or other modern conveniences. A first draft will be due by November 17th. We are also working on a second major project which is our autobiographies. When we finish the Pearl we will be reading, Out of the Dust, a memoir by Karen Hesse. The photo above is of a powerful dust storm in Kansas in 1935, the time period that author Hesse writes about in that memoir.

In order to receive a 3 or 4, remember the following writing rubric:

* The writing piece opens with a "hook", which is an opening that makes the reader interested right away.
* There are few grammar, spelling, or punctuaction errors and none in the re-write.
* The sentences and paragraphs flow well, following a logical sequence.
* Characters are well developed and there is dialogue included.
* The writing is supported by details and the writer successfully creates images with the details.
* There is a strong conclusion that brings the story together in the end.

Reading is harder to measure, but we can and do! So keep up your book logs, which should be kept at home and in class. Remember there are three reading responses, minimum, due per week, see samples in earlier posts below. One of these should be a book talk (if you are too shy to present the book talk you must still fill in the form below and either myself or another student will share the information for you).

REQUIREMENTS OF A BOOK TALK
• Title of the book
• Author of the book
• Information about the author
• Summary of the book so far
• At least one connection to the book – Text to self – Text to text – Text to world (or a prediction, or changed ending)
• Recommendation to other readers