Writing with Mrs. Murphy

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Journal Prompt - 10/11

Good morning!

Today is Father Ennis's birthday! For your journal prompt this morning, write a letter to Father Ennis (in your journal) wishing him a happy birthday. Your letter should be in proper format (Date, Salutation, Body, Closing). Don't forget to capitalize proper nouns, the beginning of sentences, form possessives correctly and uses punctuation where needed.

Happy Tuesday!
Mrs. Murphy

Monday, October 10, 2011

Journal Prompt - 10/10/11

Hi 6A & 6B!

Below is your journal prompt!

Have a great Monday!

Mrs. Murphy

The Fall Fest is arriving this week! What is your favorite memory of the Fall Fest?

Do you attend all four days? What is the best ride? What is the worst ride? What

are you looking forward to the most about this year's Fall Fest?

Friday, October 7, 2011

EXTRA CREDIT - ENGLISH GRADE OPPORTUNITY

Maryknoll Society Essay Contest

Theme: Jesus and Bullying

Assignment:

Bullying is a serious problem among young people today. Tell as story of how you or someone you know experienced bullying. Then explain how you think Jesus would tell all those involved to handle the situation.

Rules:

Entries must be written in English. One entry per student. Please specify teh division to which the entry is being submitted.

Length:

500-750 words. Pages should be typed and double-spaced or neatly handwritten in ink and stapled.

Deadline:

Entries must be submitted to Mrs. Murphy by Tuesday, 10/18. all entries should be submission ready, meaning they have already been edited for grammar and content.
A quiz grade will be awarded for those that submit an entry.

Prizes:

Maryknoll Society will be awarding the following prizes:

1st Place Prize: $1,000
2nd Place Prize: $300
3rd Place Prize: $150

PE Health Lesson - 10/7

Happy Friday!

Your PE lesson today with be about health. You will need the link below for your class.

Happy Nutrition!

Mrs. Murphy

MyPyramid.Gov - click here!

Journal Prompt - October 7

Happy Friday!!

Today's journal is free choice!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Murphy

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Journal Prompt - October 6

Happy Thursday!

Below is your journal prompt.

Happy Writing!
Mrs. Murphy

What TV or movie star would you like to invite to your birthday party? How

would this change the dynamics of your party? In the end,

would this star's attendance be a positive or negative?

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Journal Prompt - October 5

Good morning!

Your journal prompt is below!

God bless,
Mrs. Murphy

Imagine you woke up one morning and your dog was up walking on two legs, talking,

and cooking breakfast. You, on the other hand, were unable to talk and were walking

on your hands and knees. What would you do? How would you feel?

How would life change for you and your family?

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.