Random Autobiography: Revise and Proofread

DUE Today:  Draft of Random Autobiography (7 complete thoughts)

1) Take out the mentor text and your draft. Read the student example on Teen Ink.

2) Revise your draft:

Instead of sentences, make short lines.

Capitalize the beginning of each thought and put a period at the end.

Add  a few more lines. You may repeat the same sentence beginnings as the mentor text:

• I was… 
• I once…
• I’ve heard…
• I saw….
• I’ve had…
• I remember…
• I think…

Add an ending. Look at the end of our mentor text for inspiration.

3) Write your final draft in ink on white paper. Proofread carefully for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

4) If you finish early, add a patterned border. Draw two or three images from your poem and repeat them around the edge of your paper. Add color.

Homework: Finish the final draft of the random autobiography (due tomorrow)

 

Classroom Walkabout & Random Autobiography

Did you invite your parents to NEO? If not, add that to your agenda for tonight. Click HERE and scroll to page two for directions. 

1) Classroom Walkabout

Take two minutes to walk around the classroom. Use a piece of scratch paper to jot down observations. Notice posters, signs, and clipboards. Consider questions for Ms. McMillan.

After a class discussion, you will take a 5-point quiz on classroom routines and procedures. Keep your eyes and ears open and you will do fine. If you need a retake, make an appointment with Ms. McMillan. The goal is for everyone to earn 100% on the classroom quiz.

2) Read and Write a Random Autobiography

Click HERE for the mentor text. Together, we will read this poem at least three times. The first time we will stop to ask questions. The second time we will analyze the author’s craft by choosing golden lines. The third time we will analyze the author’s craft again as we write what we notice about her style.

Click HERE to open the Slides with the complete lesson from class.

3) Rules of Writer’s Workshop

Before starting your own random autobiography poem, read the Rules for Writer’s Workshop. We spend a lot of class time writing together, so it is important to understand the expectations.

4) Write Your Own

On a piece of lined paper, draft your own random autobiography poem. This is a draft, so allow your mind to wander. Write whatever comes to mind. You can revise it later.

HW: Finish the draft of your random autobiography. This may be handwritten on lined paper. If you prefer to type, make sure you print before class.