1B
Pictures! First thing, we went down to the auditorium to get our school pictures taken.
1. Freewrite. Students wrote for five minutes.
2. Imagery notes. Students received L3: Imagery. We wrote down the definition of imagery by singing the imagery song (to the tune of “Jingle Bells” — ask them to sing it for you!): “Imagery, imagery: taste, touch, hear, smell, see. When you use description, my five senses you must please!” Students then drew sense cards and split into group to analyze the imagery passage on the front of their notes sheet. Then, they jigsawed out into color groups to share out with the other senses. We quickly reviewed the imagery from the passages.
4. Applying imagery. Students listed in their notebooks ten important places in their lives along with a brief memory associated with each. Then, they created in their notebooks a graphic organizer to help them plan a piece of writing. The graphic organizer was a circle with six boxes around it. In each box, students should write one of the five senses; in the sixth box, students should write “Attitude.” After deciding on a place to write about, we filled in our prewriting chart, listing smells, sounds, tastes, etc. associated with the place, as well as an attitude or emotion we have about the place. If you want some examples, click here: Imagery Examples.
HW: Write a one-page description of your place. Use imagery to show your attitude about the place. It may be just description or it may also tell a story (or stories). 1 page minimum. Handwritten or typed are both okay. Due Monday.
2AB
Due to a colossal brain fart, summer assignments will be returned on Friday!
1. Freewrite. Students wrote for three minutes at the beginning of class.
2. Imagery examples. Students received Imagery Examples. We read the examples (as many as possible in 10 minutes) on the back, circled imagery words, and wrote in the margin the attitude of each narrator toward the place.
3. Place brainstorming. Students wrote down in their notebooks a list of ten places that are important or memorable in their lives in some way.
4. Prewriting. On the other side of the imagery examples, students found the Setting Piece Prewriting (If downloading the link, use the first page only). After choosing a place to write about, we filled out the prewriting sheet to help us develop an attitude and focus on imagery. When done, students began writing their piece.
HW: Finish setting prewriting and piece (1 page minimum, typed or handwritten). The piece should use slanted imagery to hint at your attitude toward the place. You may just describe the place or describe and tell a story.
4B
Pictures! We got school pictures taken at the beginning of class, which took about 20 minutes. As students finished getting their pictures taken, they looked at their summer assignment annotations.
Back in the classroom, we discussed the summer assignment. If students wanted to take it home, they signed it out. We will keep all of our work in the classroom (unless you sign it out) just so we know where it is and we can keep track of our progress.
1. Freewrite. Students wrote for three minutes.
2. Imagery notes. Students received L3: Imagery and we reviewed the definition by singing the imagery song (to the tune of “Jingle Bells” — ask them to sing it for you!): “Imagery, imagery: taste, touch, hear, smell, see. When you use description, my five senses you must please!” Students had drawn sense cards at the door, so they split into groups to analyze the imagery passage on the front of their notes sheet. Then, they jigsawed out into color groups to share out with the other senses. We quickly reviewed the imagery from the passages.
3. Slanted imagery. Then we stepped it up a notch. Slanted imagery means description used to hint at an attitude rather than outright describing it. Students identified slanted imagery in the first passage on the back of L3. When finished, we put away this page of notes in our binders.
4. Applying slanted imagery. Students examined the painting The Oxbow by Thomas Cole (an American landscape painter):
Looking at the image, they created a t-chart in their notebooks of positive and negative ways to describe the landscape. We focused on describing rain (showers cleanse the earth vs. torrents pour down), sunlight (the sun beams, the sun blinds), and the bend in the river using a simile (the river bends like a swan’s neck vs. the river bends like a noose waiting for a victim!). Students wrote for three minutes. We shared out for two.
4. Imagery prewriting. We then shifted to thinking about places in our own lives. Students listed ten places in their notebooks that were or are important to them in some way. Then, students chose one to describe (and tell a story about if desired). That one place was then used to complete this prewriting: Setting Piece Prewriting. If downloading the link, use the first page only. Here are some examples of excellent setting/imagery writing that are included on the back of the prewriting handout: Imagery Examples for Back of Prewriting. Your piece can be modeled off one of these if you like.
5. Writing time for setting piece. Once students finished the prewriting, they started writing their piece.
HW: Finish writing setting piece for Monday. Bring your completed prewriting and your completed writing. It should be at least one page long. You may simply describe the important place or you may tell a story and describe the place. For examples, see the back of your prewriting sheet.
ALEXA GARVOILLE 