Unit 1: An Intro to Personal Writing
Effective communication is key when it comes to life both inside and outside of school. It is, therefore, important for students to work on both their written and spoken communication. In this unit, students will study four different types of writing: personal, expository, narrative, and descriptive. They will then draw on their own interests, abilities, and experiences to generate each of the aforementioned types of text. |
Unit Assignments & Activities
ASSIGNMENT/ACTIVITY |
DESCRIPTION |
RESOURCES |
4) SMARTgoal Program: Weebly Hand In: N/A Due Date: Monday, October 7th |
Review the SMARTgoals powerpoint we looked at in class, then use it to help you create your own SMARTgoal! create a new heading element at the bottom of your "Unit 1: Personal Writing" page on your Weebly Portfolio that reads "Unit Reflection: SMARTgoal." Underneath, add a text element and write your SMARTgoal within it. Use both Ms. Hammond's feedback and your own reflection on your User Manual, Anecdote, and Personal Essay assignments to set a SMARTgoal for your future writing. At the end of Unit 2, you will be required to write a rant, thus when it comes to the "timeliness" portion of your SMARTgoal, the end of Unit 2 is what you will put. |
3) Personal Essay Program: Microsoft Word Hand In: Personal Essay (.doc) Due Date: Wed, October 19th |
Not only are there differences between the 4 types of writing (expository, narrative, descriptive and persuasive) but there are differences between forms within these types! This will be the second form of narrative writing we take on in this unit (the first being the Anecdote), and the reason we are taking on 2 narrative forms is to demonstrate these differences. The personal essay tends to take on more of a fact-based focus, whereas the anecdote takes on a more descriptive focus. In this section of the unit, you'll learn all about that in more by writing your own personal essay about "the noun that made you who you are today." |
Happy Endings (examples of excellent conclusino strategies) Writer's Checklist (the new and improved version) Personal Essay Assignment Part 1: Planning Personal Essay Example "How to Write an Essay" Powerpoint Great Beginnings (examples of excellent introduction strategies) TIDC Strategy |
2) Anecdote Program: Microsoft Word Hand In: Anecdote (.doc) Due Date: Tuesday, October 11th |
Now that you know all about the 6 Traits (ideas, organization, voice, fluency, word choice, conventions) that make up strong writing, you will be applying your knowledge to a new assignment - an anecdote! Though you might be all like "anec-whaaaaa?!" you have all heard, and even told, thousands of anecdotes throughout your lifetime. An anecdote is a short, true story told from the speaker/writer’s experience! It starts out as a small memory, and then as we ask ourselves questions about the details of that memory, a story starts to take shape! |
1) User Manual Program: Microsoft Word Hand In: User Manual (.doc) Due Date: Wednesday, Sept. 21st |
To kick off our writing unit, we will be creating User Manuals... for ourselves! These user manuals will be designed with the following purpose in mind: to teach classmates how to best get along with you! Before we begin writing the User Manual, however, we need to learn about the 6 Traits of Strong Writing, and about how to read like a writer (instead of a reader)! Next, we will make a list of all the characteristics YOU, as a class, believe make up a GREAT user manual. Ask yourselves: what makes a user manual a user manual? Next, get to know how you can work effectively with Ms. Hammond this year by reading through the user manual she created for herself! Open a new Microsoft Word document and use this to create your own user manual. Be creative, be honest, be organized, and have FUN! |
Additional Resources
Online Image Editors
Picmonkey (photo editing site) PixlrExpress (photo editing site) BeFunky (photo editing site) Free, Copyright-Free Audio
Sound Bible (sound effects) YouTube Audio Library (independent music and sound effects) Bensound (independent music) Free Music Archive (independent music) |
Copyright-Free Photos & Graphics
Creative Commons (copyright-free images, audio & video) Morgue File (use the free search option) Pexels (high-quality stock images) Albumarium (high-quality stock images) Free Pik (vector images, photographs, PSD files, and more) Open ClipArt Gallery (free clipart graphics) Clkr Clipart Gallery (free clipart by the people for the people) Classroom Clipart (free clipart for school use) The Noun Project (icons for just about anything) Giphy (shareable memes and GIFs) |