Letter Writing

I like getting letters, so the current project in Reading Workshop, write a Dear Mr. McGuire Letter on the topic of Reasons Why I Like the Book I am Reading for SSR is one of my favorites.   Plus I get to hear about the books students are reading and their thoughts and opinions on them.

Knowing the proper format of a friendly letter is important.  Also, students must set the tone in the opening, put facts and details in the body, and wrap it up in the closing. A good letter, like any writing must have must support with specific details.

Introduction/Beginning

This is a good example of a W's introduction.

This is Justin's beginning:

The book I am reading is called The White Fox Chronicles. The author's name is Gary Paulsen. Gary Paulsen writes a lot of action/ survival books. The main character's name is Cody Pierce. Cody is a 14 year old boy.

This is an opinion/persuasive introduction. 

This is Kari's beginning:

I am reading the book called The Revenge Of The Shadow King. I found this book to be extremely good. Especially if you are into fairy tales, mysteries, and thrillers because that's what it's all about. If you like those kinds of books you may be really attached to this book. I really liked it mainly because I like to read fairy tales and thrillers.

Body/Middle

Shelby does a great job comparing the main character from Heartbeat by Creech in this paragraph:

Another thing that Annie and I have in common is we both have baby brothers. We both love our baby brothers. I think that Annie loves her brother a lot because she was so scared that the baby would get hurt. Annie and I also were scared at first to hold our baby brothers. She was scared that she would drop him, I thought that I would not hold him right and hurt him.

Katie helps us understand the character Bookworm from Max the Mighty.

My favorite character is Bookworm. Bookworm is also called Worm sometimes. She is my favorite character because she loves books. Worm is about eleven or twelve years old. Worm doesn't like her step dad. She doesn't like him because he hates T.V and he hates books. I think that Worm plays a really good part in the story and I like her because she and her mom have to deal with a lot of problems, and somehow she always makes it through.

Conclusion/Closing

Molly does a fabulous job wrapping up her letter.

I would definitely recommend this book to others, because I think a lot of girls could really relate to the main character, especially most of my friends. Also I would still recommend this book to boys, because even though it's a girl's book, it's not about being girly, and all about girls. Some boys may be able to relate to the three boys in the story! The book Spells & Sleeping Bags is one out of my two favorite books. Also, I think the author is very talented with writing her books. She's my absolute favorite author. I think Sara Mlynowski is very talented because I can really get inside the characters mind, and really get into the book as if I were the main character.

Parts of Sarah's letter were shared in a previous class with excellent examples of an opening and closing on this post.

Letter writing is a skill that is used throughout life.  Although this project focuses on writing about a book, these basic skills will apply to any letter written for any purpose.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/clarazamith/3552122301/sizes/s/in/photostream/

Free Writing Choice Friday

Students need time to write. Students need to be able to pursue writing projects. Students need to make choices about their education. Students need to prioritize and work on projects they deem important.

This means, choose a genre and write. If students haven't had as many opportunities to write poetry as they would like, forge ahead. Read some Sara Holbrook, I Never Said I Wasn't Difficult or follow the steps of Sharon Creech in Love That Dog and Hate That Cat. Write poetry and publish it to share.

Every Friday, students will have one hour to write whatever they choose. It can be any project, as long as they are writing. I will be available for conferencing, and can meet with students to address their individual needs. Peers can assist with revision, and as listeners to essays being read aloud to find errors or inconsistencies.

Students, if you have been wanting to write a fictional narrative or a memoir, plan on it. Do some prewriting, and/or spend some time thinking. Consider your characters and the problems they face. Decide how to get the reader into your story with a great opening, and how to build the excitement to the climax. Write an ending that will make the reader think about your story a few hours or maybe even days later.

Maybe your online journal needs some work. You can take this time to add details to entries, or to write a separate entry about your SSR book. If a book has especially touched you, or forced you to think about something, tell the reader about it.

Did you notice a blog post, where you wanted to comment? This is a time that you can share your thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Spend a Free Writing Choice Friday and give the readers of The Reading Workshop something to consider. Or, challenge an idea or opinion with facts that make the reader reconsider.

Free Writing Friday is a chance for you, students to write about what matters to you, writing in whatever genre you choose. The only requirement--write.

Image from http://flickr.com/photos/outlandos/
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Grandfriend's Day

Today is the best day of the year for a lot of students. They have fun with their grandparents/grandfriends. They get to spend time with their grandparents at school, in their classes. Some grandparents travel a long way to get to visit with their grandchildren and participate in class. We had 29 grandparents/grandfriends join our class today. Thank you for joining us.

Students worked hard preparing letters, poems, and journals. They enjoyed sharing them, and even received extra credit for reading them aloud.

AND, the best part--at the end of the day, students got to leave with their grandparents.