Time to Think Thursday

The new marking period is almost here.  I know we will be switching gears to persuasive writing soon, but I wanted to give you all another shot at explanatory essay topics.  Our next type of reading is non fiction / biography.  I would like you all to think about a famous person, living or dead, who has had an influence on your life.  Think about the following questions to get you started:

• What made this person famous?
• What character traits does this person possess? How do you know?
• What type of person would be most drawn to this person?
• Is his / her  influence a positive one? (I would hope so.) Explain.
• How will knowing about this person's life shape your life?

The above questions would help shape an explanatory essay.  Now think about your influential person. Let's talk about him / her here on the blog.  I bet you will see that others feel the same way that you do.

I almost don't want to share pictures because I don't want to lead you all in one direction or another. Remember, all areas are acceptable.  Your special person could be in politics like a world leader, sports, music, theater, literature......and so on, and so on.

Here are a few pictures of the people who helped to shape my life.

Jacqueline Kennedy

Dr. Maya Angelou is a remarkable Renaissance woman who is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature. As a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director, she continues to travel the world, spreading her legendary wisdom. Within the rhythm of her poetry and elegance of her prose lies Angelou's unique power to help readers of every orientation span the lines of race. Angelou captivates audiences through the vigor and sheer beauty of her words and lyrics.  ( This excerpt is from her own web site.)

 

John Steinbeck (Above)                            

S. E. Hinton

Who are some of the people you will admire 10, 20, 30 years from now? 

Fictional Friday

It's time to start talking about your free reading books on the blog.  Part of your January project will include artwork that depicts the setting of your book. Let's talk about the setting here on the blog.
Below are some pictures to get you thinking about setting.

Enchanted Forest



In the country or on the farm

In the mountains

On a baseball or soccer field




OUTER SPACE


Historical fiction books have a variety of locations.


In a school

This isn't my classroom. There's too much natural light.

Comment above was written by a student.  By the way, this is a classroom in a Japanese high school.

Maybe your story takes place in a home, a park, a mall or .....There are so many options.

Name your title and author and describe the setting so far in your book.  Discuss the best way to "show" the class your setting on project day. You can use any medium.  Original artwork, computerized illustrations, or 3-D structures are all acceptable. Think about effort when you make your decision.

Whatever Wednesday-----It's the end of Marking Period One.

Nice job, everyone, on all the blog comments.  It was good to see you all took this new experience seriously.  I saw many great ideas for both reading and writing coming from each of you who shared.

Take a break from commenting for this long weekend.  You can look forward to more topics next week as we find new avenues to explore in Integrated Language Arts. 

Monday we will visit the library for our yearly book fair and also so you can choose your new free reading book.  Read the book jackets and search for a book with an interesting setting and characters who are able to deal with conflict.

You will have a challenging project at the end of marking period two. This will be another chance to showcase your many talents.

Welcome to Fictional Friday!

 We are not done with snakes yet, but take a look at this wonderful animal and think about story lines. 


What was your favorite animal story ever?  Let's talk about reading.