Saturday, November 22, 2008

Notable West Virginian Essay

1. Choose a person who you believe has made a significant contribution to the state of West Virginia from Chapter 20.
2. Write an essay (NOT A REPORT) which answers these 2 questions:
A) What quality did this person possess which enabled him or her to be a success?
B) How can this person be a role model to an 8th grader in West Virginia?
3. Organize your essay as follows:
A) Introduction: 1 paragraph containing a brief biography of the person.
B) Body Paragraph #1 : Answer question #1
C) Body Paragraph #2: Answer question #2
D) Conclusion: Briefly summarize your answers to questions 1 &2 in order to restate why this person has made a significant impact to the state of West Virginia.
4. Helpful Hints
A) Essay: a short literary composition on a single subject presenting the personal views of the author. This essay must be an original composition – it is not a biographical “report”. You will include biographical information ONLY in the 1st paragraph in order to briefly inform your reader about this person.
B) What is a quality? A quality is an essential characteristic a person such as honesty, intelligence, motivation, integrity, or perseverance (etc…) which is essential to a person’s success in life.
C) What is a role model? A role model is a person who serves as a model in a particular behavioral or social role for another person to imitate.


Essay Length: This essay must contain 4 well-developed paragraphs.

Well-developed: Every idea discussed in the paragraph should be adequately explained and supported through evidence and details that work together to explain the paragraph's controlling idea (Rosen and Behrens 119). The controlling idea for body paragraph #1 is the answer to Question #1. The controlling idea for body paragraph #2 is the answer to Question #2.

Purpose for writing: Your purpose for writing is to answer question #1 and question #2. DO NOT WRITE A REPORT.

Organize your ideas before writing: take notes, brainstorm, compose an outline.

Use 3rd person objective style writing.

Monday, November 17, 2008

The Gettysburg Address Essay

Hello 3rd Block Bloggers!

Its almost over...heave a sigh of relief. The final draft of your Gettysburg Address essay is due on Monday, December 1, 2008 - the first day of school after Thanksgiving break.

I've had a few complaints about the assignment. That's good! My students are exercising their 1st amendment rights and expressing their opinions. I'm so proud of you! Remember..."popular sovereignty!"

In order to respond to your complaints - I posted a written response to the written complaint of a student on this Blog. I invite you to check it out. Kudos to the brave student who posted the complaint "For the World to See." Yes, I know who you are - and I am so glad you felt comfortable enough to express your opinion! 5 extra credit points to you on your essay grade! Good Job!

Need some help with your bibliography? Check out this link:
http://www.fcps.edu/KeyMS/library/bibliography.html

You guys need to check out your contest application papers...fill those out, create a title page and a bibliography to submit with the essay. You have the papers...read them...follow the directions...I should not have to teach this to you.

I have also been researching what we teachers call "CSO's" Content Standard Objectives for Reading/Language Arts. It appears that my 8th grade angels have been writing since the 2nd grade and should have been learning how to organize an essay since the 6th grade. Hmmmmm....practice makes perfect and I wonder why so many of you seemed a little clueless as how to organize your essay. I think you need more practice!!!

I love to write...and believe that it is a very important skill for my students to learn and practice. Why? My grandfather was a writer - and during World War II he was the managing editor for a magazine called Popular Mechanics. How did he get to be the managing editor for a national magazine? A poor, very poor farm boy from rural Illinois? He was a good writer! That magazine is still being published today - maybe you have heard of it? Well anyway, during World War II it was the most popular magazine for the soldiers - so the government gave my grandfather a "deferment" - which meant he did not have to become a solder and fight in the war because his writing was so important to the soldiers who were fighting. Just think...if my grandpa had gone to war and been killed...I would not be writing this to you - because I would never have been born. Wow! Do you still wonder why I think writing is so important?

Sunday, November 16, 2008

How a Bill becomes a Law in West Virginia

Welcome back to the Computer Lab!

Today we will be researching how a bill becomes a law in West Virginia.

Step 1: There is a link to the website for the Wv Legislature on your EdLine page. Open it up.

Step 2: Follow the instructions on your handout. This is a guided Internet research activity. **Please remembers the rules for computer usage in this class - you are not authorized to view any webpages except for those which pertain to the assignment.

Step 3: Complete the research questions on the handout based on information found on the web page.

Step 4: Turn in completed worksheet when finished.