Friday, November 4, 2011

Literary Devices...

Good day to you all,

      Today is November 4, 2011.  Procedural writing is a specific genre that serves a specific goal.  Procedural writing teaches.  Procedural writing guides.  Procedural writing is concise.  It starts with a purpose, and arranges a method as a series of steps that provide exact instructions.

Below you will find a piece of procedural writing I have tried to complete for you.  Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to go back over the other 2 mini syllabi presented in the learning modules and evaluate me.  Grade me.  You will be provided with a checklist.  On the checklist, make comments and provide feedback on how I'm doing as a procedural writer.  What are your thoughts? 
- Does my writing have a purpose?
- Does my writing list a series of steps?
- Could a reader complete the task by following the instructions? 

                                                      LITERARY DEVICES

Description/Purpose
Survey, read, and follow this mini syllabus to identify Literary Devices and to use a wiki. 
For this Learning Experience you are presented with LITERARY DEVICES.  Literary Devices, for this lesson, are broken down in to two categories: Literary Techniques and Figurative Language.  (NOTE: Depending on who you speak with and/or what you read, Literary Techniques are often times substituted for "Literary Devices".  This can cause some confusion. For this learning experience please think of Literary Techniques and Figurative Language as two parts the make up Literary Devices.) 
     
      1.) Literary Techniques are tools and strategies that enhance a story in order to make is meaningful.  Techniques deal with the way a story is STRUCTURED.    These are the items in a story we love and remember.  From flashbacks to forshadowing, along with sub plots and plot twists, LITERARY TECHNIQUES are what make literature rich and engaging.
      2.) Figurative Language is a literary device that talented writers, film makers, and story tellers use to add depth and voice to their work.   
      -The wiki page is our way to demonstrate learning and share our new schema with each other.
A wiki (Listen i/ˈwɪki/ wik-ee) is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor.[1][2][3] Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include community websites, corporate intranets, knowledge management systems, and note services. The software can also be used for personal notetaking.
Wikis may serve many different purposes. Some permit control over different functions (levels of access). For example, editing rights may permit changing, adding or removing material. Others may permit access without enforcing access control. Other rules may also be imposed for organizing content.
Ward Cunningham, the developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work."[4] "Wiki" (pronounced [ˈwiti] or [ˈviti]) is a Hawaiian word meaning "fast" or "quick".[5]

Learning Objectives/Targets
I can produce clear and coherent writing appropriate to task, purpose and audience.

Method/Procedure & Materials
1. Read through the mini syllabus to understand the task layout and learning target.
2. Click and "SURVEY" (scan/skim) the wiki page to see what is there. 
3. View the videos laid out for you in the order they are presented.
4. As you watch, pay attention to your thinking and post new learning, thoughts, schema, or questions on the wiki.
      Note: please post at least one comment for "Literary Techniques" and one comment for "Figurative Language"
5. Read through other peoples contributions and see if you can make any connections. 


From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

6 Word Memoirs...

Dear Teenie-Boppers,

      Today is Wednesday, November 2, 2011.  We will end our journey into the Holocaust with a memoir.  Below are some thoughts I've found about memoirs: what they are and what they are not.  Below you will also see a model of the writing process.  This is something we will visit many times over the rest of the academic year.  At the very bottom of the post you will see the memoir writing process.  There are three phases to writing a good memoir.  Those three phases fall into the writing process, but are just a little more specifically geared for memoirs. 

This brainpop is a great place to continue our memoir journey since we have already watched a digital memoir together:  http://www.brainpop.com/english/writing/biography/

Memoirs are deep thoughts that touch the essence of an experience.   
Memoir is your memory and your study of an experience in life. 
Memoir is your thinking really deeply: the meaning below the meaning…  The meaning below the meaning you thought you found. 
Memoirs are not biographies or autobiographies.  They are something similar, yet not exactly the same.  The subtle differences make memoirs more like a narrative: a story about a particular experience in someone's life. 
Memoirs are a part of a life: not the whole life of a person. 
Writing Process:
Step
Description
Strategies
Prewriting
An activity that causes the writer to think about the subject.  The writer organizes his thoughts before he begins to write.
Drawing
Talking
Brainstorming
Graphic organizers
Research
Listing
Field Trips
Drafting
The process of putting ideas down on paper.  The focus is on content not mechanics
Taking notes,
Organizing thoughts
into paragraphs,
Writing a first draft
Revising
The process of refining the piece of writing.  The writer adds to a writing piece.  The writer reorganizes a piece of writing.  The writer shares his story and gets input from peers or teacher.
Peer editing
Conferencing
Share Chair or Author’s Chair
Editing
Mechanical, grammatical and spelling errors are fixed in the writing piece.
Checklists
Rubrics
Editing Checklists
Proofreading
Publishing
The writing piece is prepared in final form, including illustrations.  The writer shares his writing with others.
Reading aloud
Reading to a group
Displaying in the room
Printing the books
Web publishing

Memoir writing process. 
Act 1 Downloading Phase
Act 2 Sorting Phase
Act 3 Framing Phase
I hope you take these lessons and concepts with you as you create your own memoirs this week and the next.  Enjoy!
Yours Truly,
C
From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy