Ninth+Grade

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WITD (Writing Into The Day) will begin each day BUT may be used as WOTD (Writing Out of The Day) instead. Students will use the Writer's Workshop approach to writing in their journals---acknowledging that they may do one of three things: 1) write to the prompt 2) revisit previous writing 3) write to a topic of their own choosing. ======

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However, that said, since there are some prompts I need the students to address in order to be able to participate in discussion, students will be asked to write at least ONE sentence to the prompt before switching to another writing of their own choosing. ======

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As a teacher, I will lead by example. When they sit to write, I will write. When they share, I will share. Sometimes students (or I) will read the entire selection; other times, they (or I) will choose a sentence, or word that was used well. ======

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I will also model conferencing with my students. Using a form I created, I will also ask students to score their paper first, with proofs, before turning it over to a classmate to analyze. Then, I will use student volunteers to 'act out' how to conference. Hopefully, this will lead to quality conferencing time for both students and me. ======

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Use any of these or other picture books to introduce the informational style of writing. Have on hand a pile of other picture books for students to choose from when it is time for them to look through a book to find the elements the class has determined, with guidance, the elements of informational writing. ======
 * Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl by Tonya Bolden
 * The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco
 * The Log of Christopher Columbus by Christopher Columbus
 * Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins by Carole Boston Weatherford
 * Writer's Workshop and Mentor Text at Busyteacherscafe.com
 * Writer's Workshop and Mentor Text at Busyteacherscafe.com

Using any one of these texts/sites, I will guide students through the elements of informational writing. We will look at the elements that make up informational writing--organization, text features, author's style--before then pairing students up and having them look through another picture book to determine the same; when finished, students will share their findings with the whole class. Finally, we will move to excerpts from their text books (science, history, biology, etc.) and then to published articles, always allowing time for students to explore the text in several ways. Sometimes they may mark up the text with highlighters, other times they might make margin notes on the page itself, and still other times we might use sticky notes to make up the text.



Using Article of the Week

 * to teach informational reading and writing
 * to practice citations using MLA format
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">to explore world news and global issues
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">to learn succinct summarizing
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">to prepare for research standards

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Students will read an informational article weekly, beginning with the MLA citation first, then a short summary (50-100 words). A copy of the article will be attached to the citation/summary page. Initially, students will be given the article to read and review; as time progresses (1st 9 weeks--I find the article, thereafter, students find their own article but have the choice of using on I have found and printed if their time is limited) they will become responsible for their own copy of primary document.