Writing with Mrs. Murphy

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Journal Prompt - September 16

TGIF!!

Below is your journal prompt for today!

Happy Writing!
Mrs. Murphy

What do you think the world needs now?

Journal Prompt - September 15

Happy Thursday!

I hope you all are ready for a GREAT day!!

Below is your journal prompt.

God bless,
Mrs. Murphy

If you could design one room in a house to suit only your needs, what would it look like? (. For example, would someone have a desk made of chocolate?)

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Journal Prompt - September 14

Good morning!

Below is your journal prompt for today!

Happy Writing!
Mrs. Murphy

If I could give one piece of advice to any person in history, that advice would be...

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Journal Prompt - September 13

Good morning!

Below is your journal prompt for this morning!

Happy Journaling!
Mrs. Murphy

If I were the teacher, I would...

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Good morning!

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

Your journal prompt for today is FREE CHOICE. You may finish your reflection from 9/11 or write a new journal on any topic you like.

Happy Writing!
Mrs. Murphy

Friday, September 9, 2011

September 11, 2001 Remembrance

Dear Students,

Today our school remembers the heroes and victims of 9/11. You were too young to remember the actual events of that tragic day in our country's history. This morning your journal will be your thoughts of September 11. What do you know? What do you think about that day? How do you feel about it?

May God bless the families of all the victims and may He continue to watch over our country!

God bless,
Mrs. Murphy

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Journal Prompt - September 8

Good morning!

Today we celebrate the birth of Our Lady. For this morning's journal write a letter to her.

God bless,
Mrs. Murphy

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.