Room 132

Dear Students,

If you have uploaded your memoir, I have resaved it in draft form. Please wait until you have edited your third draft and upload your 4th!

Thanks,

Mr. Pettis.

This week I am pushing my Language Arts students hard in Room 132. Today they peer edited and editors both asked questions of writers and answered questions. They asked questions like, “How did this happen? You can add more details about this.” They answered questions like, “What was the favorite part of the story.” The goal was to give students enough feedback and momentum to write their best memoir story ever.

Tomorrow is another big day. My students have asked that big days be clearly scheduled, so here’s the schedule.

Journal Prompt: Choose a character in your book. Choose a character that you think you can get into their head. Write a letter from that character’s perspective to another character in your book. What do you have to say to this person? What does that person not understand that you can make clear to them? What advice do you have for that character?

I will collect your third draft of your memoir as you are working. I’m excited to read them after seeing so much quality peer editing yesterday.

Mini-Lesson
Goal: Each student will learn how to create two critical thinking questions.

Why: We are doing this to deepen your conversations in your literature circles.

I was taught to make critical thinking questions using the words how, why, might, and should. Your challenge today is to come up with at least two critical thinking questions using these words. (Teacher note, I found writing good critical thinking questions to be a lot harder than I thought it would be, but if it is easy for you, write down extra critical thinking questions. Make them great questions about what’s going on with the characters in your book.

Example 1. How might life go on after the book for Jimmy now that his father is dead.
Example 2. Why should Jimmy go to school if he already knows everything at his new school.

Question 1:

Question 2:

Bonus Question:

Bonus Question:

How will you know if you have created a critical thinking question? A critical thinking question cannot be answered yes or no. A critical thinking question doesn’t have a “right answer,” but invites others to share their ideas, perspective, opinions, and point of view.

Lit Circles
Today you will each share your best critical question and each person will answer each question. Share your opinions and predictions. If you have time, share more questions and golden lines.

What I am watching for: I am watching for students to share their questions and share their answers and begin discussions based on their opinions about the characters and about what they think will happen to the characters in the rest of the book and after the book ends.

Follow up
Fill in evaluation forms. If time allows, we will have a conversation about what worked and didn’t work in your lit circles. We only have one more lit circle for this book, how can it be the best one?

Lost Dog

By Mikemussina
“We’re almost there!” exclaimed my dad.

“Nutmeg looks scared,” my sister whispered to me. “She’s shaking all over.”
“She’ll be fine.” I said hopefully. The truck halted to a stop at the parking lot. My dad, sister, and I climbed out the truck with my dog Nutmeg. Nutmeg is a medium sized brown and white Australian Shepard / Brittany spaniel mixed dog. She was abused and thrown out of her home and chased by packs of dogs, bitten and left in the cold before we adopted her from the pound. She is afraid of other dogs and runs away from them. We leashed Nutmeg up and started on the long slippery trail. Dogs were coming on all ways of the path walking to the dog park. The path was filled with left over food of the dogs and garbage everywhere.

My sister and me were on bikes while my dad walked with Nutmeg. It wasn’t long until we came to the gate to the dog park. The dog park was vast with thick stenches and poop everywhere. There was part of lake Washington so the dogs could swim and play, a huge rotten log that kids played on, sticks and balls laying everywhere in site, and a small track which the dogs could run around on. All through the disgusting air was the noise of dogs barking and smelling. “Now kids. You can’t leave the gate open at the dog park or the dogs might run away.” said my dad. We walked into the dog park Nutmeg in between my dad’s legs.

As we entered the dog park Nutmeg started to whine. Suddenly two huge dogs came bolting at Nutmeg. She got nervous and fled from the curious hounds all the way around the dog park.
Then when she turned a corner she found the dog gate open and bolted out. It happened in an instant. “Nutmeg!” my dad called. My sister started to pout.
“Dad will we ever see her again!” she cried.

“Now Emily, were bound to find her somewhere.” he said in an encouraging tone. She gave a faint smile. Now we set off. My dad went up by the highway and Emily and me rode the path back to the truck. Nutmeg was nowhere in site. A man came along calling his dog’s name. Probably one of the hounds that chased Nutmeg out of the park.

The path on the trail was cold and damp. Huge puddles lay everywhere. I climbed a small hill to see if I could see the nervous dog. Then I heard a faint howl coming from the parking lot.
I rushed to the sound, forgetting my sister. After I made my way to the parking lot I saw the furry body of Nutmeg huddling against the car door soaking with mud and water. I yelled for my sister and dad, “Guys, I found Nutmeg.”

There was no answer. I sighed and leashed Nutmeg to go search for my family members. It is hard to walk Nutmeg. She is so attached to my mom that she never wants to leave her side. When I leashed her she froze again like an ice cube in a freezer. “Nutmeg lets go, we have to find them.” I said calmly. “Come on Nutmeg,” I thought.
She gave a faint growl but moved slowly over the cement. As I walked more she got less tense and calm. Suddenly Nutmegs urges gave way and she squatted over to the grass off the path.
“Not now Nutmeg.” I groaned. She gave a push and soggy wet poop sloped out. Smelly steam rose from the monster. It was dripping yellow sludge from its sides. I didn’t have a bag so I moved on.
After walking around the whole park I decided that I had to head back to the truck. Just then a yelled filled the air. “Mat!” It was Emily. “I’d thought you left me here,” she pouted.
“Emily get over it.” I said boldly. Then we went back to the truck. My sister, Emily, was grateful to see Nutmeg and me again. Once we left the muddy path to the parking lot I saw dad smiling. We climbed into the warm truck and drove home. Nutmeg was safe and we stopped at Seven Eleven for a much-needed treat, not just for us but something for the lost dog too.

Dear Parents and Guardians of Room 132 Language Arts Students,

We’ve begun second quarter and it’s time for an update. I’ve got news about the room132.com blog, memoirs, grades, and the source.

Our blog is going great. We’ve been getting lots of traffic and attention recently. As far as I can tell, there really isn’t any other site showcasing student work like we are. We are on the cutting edge of online presentation of student work. If you haven’t subscribed to our feed, you can go to http://room132.com and sign up to get every post to the blog sent to you via email. Or, if you use bloglines or any other news aggregator, you can subscribe to our feed at http://feeds.feedburner.com/room132. For the few of you who have left comments on the blog, thank you. Comments are very inspiring to bloggers because it shows that someone is reading and responding. Getting comments on writing inspires writers to continue to write and improve their writing skills. If you haven’t commented on the blog, we invite you to go read the blog and leave comments on any blog entries of interest to you!

November is rewrite month at Eckstein and this week we are going to be rewriting like crazy. Students have 3 drafts of their memoir due this week. Their first draft is due Tuesday, Their second draft with a revise intro/lead is due Wednesday, and Thursday the third draft is due with added details, thoughts, feelings, and reflections inspired by peer editing. I’ll be spending my entire weekend editing them for a final draft which will be due Wednesday, December 7th. We are working on developing our writing so that when you read it, it’s like you can see it as a movie in your imagination. I’m also looking for self reflection in these memoirs. Why is this story important to tell? How did these events change your life? Please take some time to read over your students work and ask them questions about their memoir to help them develop it.

This last quarter I had some problems with the grade machine. My files were on the wrong school server and when they got switched over 4 weeks into the quarter, my grades were erased. Luckily, I had paper backups and I didn’t lose any work, but it threw my routine of sending progress reports home. With the new quarter, I am going to be publishing grades to the internet via the source which is at http://source.seattleschools.org/public/. You will now be able to check your student’s grades online anytime. I’ll be publishing grades to the internet every few weeks, so it won’t always be instantly current. Student grades are password protected, so that only you and your child can see their grades online.

I know that not everyone is online and I’m happy to send out paper progress reports if you would like them. You can also use our parent resource center which is located across the hall from me (I think it’s room 131.) If you are ever curious about your student’s grades or have any concerns, the best way to get ahold of me is through email at nbpettis@seattleschools.org. Alternately, you can reach me through the school at 206-252-5010, or just leave a note in my mailbox in the front office anytime.

Mr. Pettis

Here is the grading rubric for the student memoir

Each typed draft turned in on time – 5 points possible for each draft (Save them to turn in at end!)

Each draft shows significant improvement – 20 points possible

The memoir’s lead/intro is catchy and intruiging- 20 points possible

The memoir is full of details, thoughts, feelings, and reflections. – 40 points possible

Total points possible – 100 points

Extra Credit: Post to the blog before Friday, December 9th for an extra 5 points!

The last two weeks have been pretty easy in my LA class with lit circles and since this next week is going to be packed full of writing, reading, and homework, I’m writing it all down for you.

Journal prompts this week are all “must-dos.” Prompts are often optional, allowing each student to use the prompt for inspiration, but this week the journal prompts are preparation for lit circles and the memoir, so they are all “must-dos.”

Monday:
Journal Prompt: What are your rules of friendship?
Lit Circle: Who are the friends in your book? What rules of friendship get broken?
Due: 5 Golden lines. (Each time we meet for lit circle from now on, you will need to collect five lines from the reading that are powerful sentences.)
Follow up: How did your lit circle go and what did you say about friendship in your book?
Classwork: Make an timeline/outline of your memoir.
Homework: First drafts of memoirs are due tomorrow. Make sure they are minimum 4 pages typed 12-point font and double-spaced. As your looking through your book, write down 5 golden lines that have to do with friendship due Thursday for lit circles.

Tuesday:
Journal Prompt: Who is a true friend to you? How do they show you that? How do you show them that?
Turn In: Put your first draft next to your journal to get checked.
Lesson: Story Leads lesson
Classwork: Rewrite your intro/lead to hook me as a reader.
Homework: Rewrite your lead and reprint your memoir. Your second draft is due tomorrow!

Wednesday
Journal Prompt: Describe a time when you had friendship trouble or when the rules of friendship have been broken for you.
Turn in: Put your second draft next to your journal to get checked.
Lesson: Peer editing. As you read each other’s work, look for 4 or more places that need more details to make the reader feel as if they can see the story like a movie behind their eyelids. Write at least 4 questions on the draft you are editing asking for more details, thoughts, feelings, or reflection.
Homework: Add more details including thoughts, feelings, and reflections and reprint your memoir. This the third draft due tomorrow. (Revise is the school word of the month!) Also make sure you’ve been writing down your golden lines as you read.
Bonus: No reading logs unless you need to make one up!

Thursday:
Journal Prompt: Do the characters in your lit circle book have a true friendship? Explain your answer.
Turn in: Put your third draft on top of your first and second drafts next to your journal to be collected. Put your golden lines on top of your book to be checked during journal time.
Mini-lesson: Ways to follow an idea and support what someone else says.
Lit Circle: Discuss the theme of friendship in your book. What kinds of friendships are there? Do the rules of friendship get broken? What do you think will happen to the friendships in the book when it’s over? Today I want your group to focus on the skill of keeping the continuity of the conversation going. This will require responding to what others in your group say and resisting the urge to go off on tangents.
Follow up: How did it go in your lit circle? Fill in your evaluation forms.
Homework: Finish your book by Monday.

Friday:
Journal Prompt: Describe a wose case scenario of a friendship meltdown.
Lesson: How to write a highlight your third draft to show off your intro, details, emotions and thoughts.
Classwork: Highlight your third draft; enjoy a snack if everyone turned them in on time Thursday.
Homework: Finish your book.

Next Week: You get your third draft back for more revision. This is going to be the best memoir you’ve ever done! You can put it on the blogafter you’ve finished your 4th and final draft.

Coming soon: Progress reports and online grade checking via “The Source.”

I can’t find my school planner, when is the memoir 1st draft due?

I’ve started our pixel unit in my art class and there are two parts. In the first part, students have to come up with a “lil’ dude” or “lil’ dudette.” This project finds it’s inspiration at pixeljoint, the super collaborative pixel website .

For part two of the project students will each make a creative pixel drawing that is 40×40 pixels which is 10 inches x 10 inches of 4 squares per inch graph paper.When you realize that the origional gameboy was like 240×180, you realize that 40×40 pixels is pretty tiny.

The only other requirements are that it has to have less than 10 colors and has to be appropriate for school display. I’m also making it a contest and the winners will get their drawings made into giant pixel pictures to go on our wall. I’m going to try and integrate some time on the computers to make these into true pixel drawings! Have you done any pixel drawings? Do you have any advice for my students?

Update: if you fill in a square you have to fill in the whole square. No half squares!

Preview:

Bonus Material: Here is a link to all the flipbooks in 25 minutes of glory!

Go make your own flipbooks on the web. Via Steve.

More flipbook action here!

The inner linings of my core,
blown to bits and then somehow peiced together by time,
And several band-aids,
There’s never a fault to be given,
The thought is just to large,

I’m a bright star with more edges,
then I should have,
print off a copy and maybe,
just maybe,
they’ll sell for a thousand currencies,

I try stuffing my words like pillows,
fighting for something important to say,
now, if there were a non-physical entity for preteen girls,
Beleive me, I’d be screwed over,
Still hanging onto the phone,

Hours and hours,
owning myself and everything else,
time passing,
key-lime ice cream melting over the side,
going,
going,
going,
insaneinsaneinsane!

[Note: I know, I know, it's awkward and cliche, and you probably don't get it.. You don't have to tell me twice..]

~Marie

Wow, I found this great curriculum that Ann Ayers put together for the apple website. The student work is really cool! I wish I had a class of macs to make movies and animation with!

You walk into Meadowbrook’s basketball gym

And you pick the ball and bounce it several times

You hear the echoing of the bouncing ball in every direction

The net makes a swish sound after a made shot

More echoes and more swish sounds

By the time you know it, there are little kids running here and there and everywhere

Then you are forced to leave the gym because of day care

You sadly bounce the ball home as the heavy rain drips on your body

I sit on the line
My heart beats like crazy
30 seconds to go
Kids yell go, go, go all around me.

I have a big leeward hole
I yell at the people below me to move
Everyone gains speed

3seconds to go
I shoot my bow
Pull in my sail
And blast out in front.