Ms. Faircloth

Today we read "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote and discussed how the signposts appeared in the story.

Today students shared their drafts with their Writing Partners. Writing Partners checked for the requirements (intro format, clear topic sentences, evidence from the story, conclusion) and gave feedback about an area to focus on in revising today.

Today we finished reading Red Kayak . Then students worked on vocabulary and shared at least 6 words completed in the vocab chart (back of the Reading Notebook).

Today students wrote out the flashdraft of their Theme analysis essay. They needed to include: An intro using the format we learned for the character analysis essay (see the reference sheet in the Writer's Notebook) Paragraphs including evidence from the story - use the Boxes & Bullets outline from yesterday to organize your thinking. A conclusion that a) reminds the reader of your topic, b) restates your thesis/claim, and c) connects the theme to the wider audience (i.e. makes it more universal)

Today, students took the theme statement from yesterday and plugged it into the box of the "boxes and bullets" essay outline. Then we talked about how the claim can lend itself toward the topic sentences of the essay so students could add that to the outline. For example, the claim "The theme of Red Kayak  is 'the truth is always the best choice'" implies a few things - there is a choice about telling the truth (good v. bad), and that there is something being hidden or not spoken about. So, the outline might start to look like: The theme of Red Kayak is "the truth is always the best choice". (in the box at the top of the outline) ⟹ The main character, Brady, learns a secret.   x x ⟹Brady struggles with whether to tell someone his secret or not. x x x ⟹When Brady tells the truth, things get better. x x x LASTLY, students looked for evidence in the story to start filling out their paragraphs. They will be writing out their...

Today we discussed themes in Red Kayak. Students created a T-chart - with two headings: "Problems and Motivations" and "Lessons Learned". Then they filled it out with their ideas about problems Brady encounters/Things that motivate him, along with the lessons they think Brady is learning in the book. Then, students turned in a statement about the theme in the book ("The theme in Red Kayak  is...")

Today we wrote poems inspired by William Carlos Williams' "The Red Wheelbarrow" . We discussed the simplicity of WCW's poem, and the way it creates snapshots in each stanza. Students noticed that it gave the impression of how important a simple, everyday object can be. Then, they thought about the Red Kayak in our novel, and how it is a simple object that has caused so many problems. Students wrote their own version of the poem, mostly changing the last two stanzas, and turned in a poem about the Red Kayak. Then we read Chapter 25.