Writing with Mrs. Murphy: 9/25/11

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Journal Prompts - September 29 and 30

Good morning!!

Below are your journal prompts for the remainder of the week. Please do only the assigned journal for each day.

Enjoy the rest of your week and I will see you on Monday!

God bless,
Mrs. Murphy

Journal Prompt - Thursday, 9/29

Which quality best describes your life--exciting, organised, dull--and why?

Journal Prompt - Friday, 9/30

Which is least important to you--money, power, fame--and why?

Journal Prompt - September 28

Good morning, Class of 2014!!

Below is your journal prompt!

Happy Writing!
Mrs. Murphy

I wish there was an electric......

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Journal Prompt - September 27

Happy Tuesday!

Below is your journal prompt for this morning!

Enjoy!
Mrs. Murphy

I wish I could forget the time I ..... because....

Monday, September 26, 2011

Journal Prompt - September 26

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Below is your journal prompt.

Enjoy!
Mrs. Murphy

I wish there were a law that said..... This would be a good law because....

Traits of Writing

Ideas (Central Message)
Finding a Topic
Focusing the Topic
Developing the Topic
Using Details

Organization (Internal Structure)
Creating the lead
Using sequence words and transition words
Structuring the Body
Ending With a Sense of Resolution

Voice (Tone of the piece)
Establishing a Tone
Conveying the Purpose
Creating a Connection to the Audience
Taking Risks to Create Voice

Word Choice (Vocabulary)
Applying Strong Verbs
Selecting Striking Words and Phrases
Using Specific and Accurate Words
Choosing Words That Deepen Meaning

Sentence Fluency (How words and sentences flow)
Crafting Well-Built Sentences
Varying Sentence Types
Capturing Smooth and Rhythmic Flow
Breaking the "Rules" to Create Fluency

Conventions (Mechanical Correctness)
Checking Spelling
Punctuating Effectively and Paragraphing Accurately
Capitalizing Correctly
Applying Grammar and Usage

Presentation (Physical Appearance)
Applying Handwriting Skills
Using Word Processing Effectively
Making Good Use of White Space
Refining Text Features

Journal Writing

Journal Writing is a daily required assignment. You will be given a new prompt each day to write a thoughtful response to. Your response should consist of three to four paragraphs and should be written in proper format. You will be given approximately ten minutes to complete the writing assignment. Seven students will be pulled to share their responses each day.

If you should finish writing before time is called you may:
* Complete a Power Typing Excercise (link to the left)
* Read from our current literature story.
* Work in your handwriting book.

The items above should be accessed in that order.

Happy Journaling!

Modes of Writing

The Modes of Writing help the writer establish and maintain a purpose for writing. The modes are:

Narrative: to tell a story

Expository: to inform or explain

Persuasive: to construct an argument

During the early part of writing, writers focus on which mode they are going to use. The writer will decide if they are going to tell a story (Narrative), explain something (Expository), or try to convince the reader of something (Persuasive). As the writing process continues, the writer may find that they must blend modes in order to make the strongest impression on their audience.

Writing with Mrs. Murphy