Term Two Assignments
POW #9:
Legends of the Snow Snake
Assigned:
January 11, 2010
Due:
January 18, 2010
Mr. Paterson may not know it, but he needs help! Last week, he entertained us during the cold weather by telling us about “snow snakes”, the shy and elusive reptiles that only appear during the most bitter winter days.
Very little is known about snow snakes. They leave mysterious winding trails in fresh snow, and often are glimpsed in the smoke curling out of chimneys. They often climb trees, where they are camouflaged by hoarfrost-covered branches. Although snow snakes live near humans, they are seldom seen because they are very shy and hide when people are near. Snow snakes sometimes live alone, but sometimes they travel in small herds. No one knows why.
Your job this week is to create a short account of a snow snake sighting that will astonish the herpetological world by adding important information to the very little that is known about snow snakes. Please describe your sighting, and include details of what you learned in a “report” or “journal entry” of no more than one page in length. Pictures of snow snakes are welcome. You also have the option of writing snow snake lyrics to a familiar tune which we can sing together at future assemblies. Keep it short enough to be read over the intercom during future announcements of indoor recesses due to extremely cold weather. We will combine all of our snow snake tales and songs into a little book and present it to Mr. Paterson, perhaps at a special snow snake assembly.
(This will be a tall tale, in case you didn’t realize that!)
POW #8: List
Poem
Assigned:
Monday, January 4, 2010
Due: Monday,
January 11, 2010
Start
by thinking of a topic: a food, a sport,
an article of clothing, an activity, an animal.
Take
a few minutes to write down a list of words and phrases that go with
your
topic.
Example:
Places
to read a book
I
wrote down:
In
the classroom
On
the bed
Under
a tree
In
a chair
On
the bus
On
the computer
On
the piano while practicing
While
taking a walk
While
talking on the phone
I
decided I liked the first three lines, and then decided to make the
fourth line
rhyme with “bed”.
In
the classroom
On
the bed
Under
a tree
In
your head.
I
changed “bus” to “train” because it was easier to rhyme, and then made
up the
fourth line to rhyme with “train”.
In
a chair
On
the train
On
the computer
In
the rain
This
time, I decided to break down the last line to make two lines:
On
the piano while practicing
While
taking a walk
On
the phone
While
you talk
Then
I added a final stanza to round the whole thing off:
There
are so many places to read
If
you just know where to look
My
advice to you is this:
Never
be without a book.
Is
it great poetry? Not really, but I had
fun putting together.
Total
time elapsed, including writing this article out: about
20 minutes.
Places
to
Read a Book
By
Mrs.
Pilon
In
the
classroom
On
the bed
Under
a tree
In
your
head.
In
a chair
On
the train
On
the
computer
In
the rain
On
the piano
while practicing
While
taking
a walk
On
the phone
While
you
talk
There
are so
many places to read
If
you just
know where to look
My
advice to
you is this:
Never
be
without a book.
POW #6: Start
a Personal Poetry Collection
(Write
two
new original poems to add to the two you already have created.)
Assigned: Monday, November 30, 2009
Due: Monday, November 7, 2009
Today, we will begin a
poetry
unit. For the next few weeks, expect to
read, write and listen to a large number of poems. Part of your
assignment will be to build a
collection of poems you enjoy that other writers have created.
You are asked to make illustrated or
decorated copies of at least 10 poems, written by others. Be sure
to include titles and authors, and
include them in the poetry section of your binder. This morning,
you began by copying the poem
below in your best handwriting and then illustrating it. This
will become the cover page of your
personal book of poems—something you will continue to build until the
end of
the year.
Greatness
by Alden Nowlan
I would be the greatest
poet the world
has ever known
if only I could make you see
here on the page
sunlight
a sparrow
three kernels of popcorn
spilled on the snow.
This
year, you already have written two poems.
The first was a poem that introduced you to the school and
community. (It was posted on a hallway
bulletin board in the early weeks of school, and included a photo of
you). The second was POW #4, a poem based
on a
strong emotion. You should make copies
of these two assignments to include in your poetry booklet. You may handwrite or word process.
Please
make the poems look attractive by choosing your font carefully, and
perhaps by
including illustrations, a border, and other visual features. I suggest that you plan to put one poem on
each page of the book you create.
This
week, you will write the third and fourth poems in your
collection.
Part One:
You will model your first new poem on “Greatness” by Alden
Nowlan. Please begin by modelling the same
first
line: I would be the greatest
poet the world has ever known…) and
continue. You may make the poem longer
if you wish, but strive to create a vivid picture with your words. Think of this poem as a snapshot—a moment in
time. Aim to describe a strong image in
just a few simple words.
Part Two:
During ELA today, you brainstormed a number of words to describe
the
landscape and climate of
Think about what you know about images,
setting,
mood and message. Then create your own
poem describing a
I have included the two poems from Crossroads, below.
Rainlight
By Jenny Nelson
Walking
in the rainlight,
wet
lace and palelight
deep
within the circle
of a
misty
late o’night.
breath
caught with seasmell
hair
hung with rainstar
wrap
me round with seaweed
or
I may float away.
gather
all my longings
and
wrap them up in seafoam
put
them in a paper boat
and
let them sail away.
*****
Haida Gwaii
By Jaalen Edenshaw
Forest snap, crack, quiet
Beachspray, breakers, cold
Ocean, wetdeep, fishy
Muskeg, ploddy, damp, full
All part of Haida Gwaii.
POW #5. A Special Place: Show,
don’t tell!
For your Paragraph of the Week this
week, you will be writing a short description of a place that is
special to
you. This place may be real (your room;
a vacation spot; the hockey rink; Grandma’s kitchen;
Try to make your description
interesting (vary your sentences, use strong and interesting
vocabulary, give
specific information, make comparisons, create sensory images using
what you
see, hear, feel, touch, taste, smell…).
On the back of this page is a rubric
for descriptive writing. Please use it to help guide your work. Please put this rubric into your writing
binder after you have finished this week’s assignment.
Here is an example, taken from Chapter
One of Natalie Babbitt’s wonderful novel, Tuck Everlasting. (She’s also the author of Kneeknock Rise.)
“The road that
led to Treegap had been trod out
long before by a herd of cows who were, to say the least, relaxed. It wandered along in curves and easy angles,
swayed off and up in a pleasant tangent to the top of a small hill,
ambled down
again between fringes of bee-hung clover, and then cut sidewise across
a
meadow. Here its edges blurred. It widened and seemed to pause, suggesting
tranquil bovine picnics: slow chewing
and thoughtful contemplation of the infinite.
And then it went on again and came at last to the wood. But on reaching the shadows of the first
trees, it veered sharply, swung out in a wide arc as if, for the first
time, it
had reason to think where it was going, and passed around…
“And what is interesting, anyway, about
a slim few acres of trees? There will be
a dimness shot through with bars of sunlight, a great many squirrels
and birds,
a deep, damp mattress of leaves on the ground, and all the other things
just as
familiar if not as pleasant—things like spiders, thorns and grubs.
“In the end, however, it was the cows
who were responsible for the wood’s isolation, and the cows, through
some
wisdom they were not wise enough to possess, were very wise indeed. If they had made their road through the wood
instead of around it, then the people would have followed the road. The people would have noticed the giant ash
tree at the center of the wood, and then, in time, they’d have noticed
the
little spring bubbling up among its roots in spite of the pebbles piled
there
to conceal it. And that would have been
a disaster so immense that this weary old earth, owned or not to its
fiery
core, would have trembled on its axis like a beetle on a pin.”
POW #4:
Writing a Poem About a Strong Emotion
Due: Monday, November 9
POW #3:
Writing a Fable
Due: Monday,
November 2
Assigned: Monday, October 19,
2009
Due:
Monday, October 26, 2009
This week, your challenge is to write a paragraph about a person whom you consider to be a champion. The person may be famous, but he/she can also be someone known only to a few others.
Begin by making a list or web of the reasons you consider this person to be a champion. (Please be sure to show me this list or web.)
Then write one paragraph explaining why you believe that this person qualifies as a champion. Include a strong, interesting topic sentence at or near the beginning of your paragraph. Then support your topic sentence with three or four detailed sentences that provide evidence to support your contention that this person is, indeed, a champion. Finish with a concluding statement that sums up your thoughts and encourages others to think more deeply about your opinion.
Revise and proofread to strengthen your writing.
Prepare your good copy, double spaced, and either word processed OR written in blue or black ink. Those who word process may e-mail their finished work to me at pilong@spsd.sk.ca , or hand in their memory stick on Monday morning.
POW #1: Writing Dialogue