Doodle Notes and Commas Nov. 18

Writing Portfolio
We worked on defining short story parameters. Students by Thursday need to commit to their answers to the following questions:

1. What is the future technology that will be featured in the story?
2. What is the "teenage problem" that will drive the story?
3. How will you raise the emotional/social/spiritual stakes for the problem? (e.g., If the protagonist cannot resolve the problem, then how will it ruin their life?)
4. What is the limit on the technology that will play a role in the story? (Remember, technologies are like super powers, interesting because of their limits/weaknesses. Consider, for example, Superman and kryptonite.)

Core
Instead of a bellwrite, please write a letter of appreciation to our custodial staff. Please be specific about one or two things you appreciate. Have a classmate proofread your letter. Then write a final draft on the colored paper using your best cursive.

I introduced students to a method of notetaking we'll call "doodle notes." This method consists of capturing important ideas with a series of images and key words. A youtube video demonstrates this method. Of course, our focus in not on the artistic quality of the doodles, but on how well they enhance our understanding and memory. We practiced using this method with a reading packet on the rise of communism in Russia.

Students also read an excerpt from the book, Eats, Shoots and Leaves. This passage discusses 7 key rules of comma use. Students wrote down the 7 rules in their own words, noted exceptions or special cases for the rules, and wrote down sample sentences that demonstrate the rules. Some students started working on a handout that had sample sentences. They identified which commas were used correctly and which ones were used incorrectly (or needed to be added). For each instance, students identified which of the 7 comma rules was at work. We will continue work on this tomorrow.

Homework:

• Continue creating doodle notes on the reading packet. Go up through the sixth page to the white space. Stop when you reach the paragraph that begins, "For many millions of Russians..."
• Memorization of Jacob 5, part 4 (due Thursday) part 5 (due Friday)