October 10 - Homecoming

Welcome

Welcome to Mr. Tsvirinko's English blog.  The purpose of this blog is to inform both parents and their students who are in my English classes about what it is that we do in class.  For the parents, this is intended to be a way to keep track of your child's learning and stay informed about assignments, projects, and other events.  For the students, this is a great way to refresh one's memory about what happened in class as well as stay updated when you miss a day.  I plan to post a new entry every day, shortly after class is over.  I will recap the main activities of the day, including homework and any reminders, and attach any handouts that were distributed in class.  I hope this will prove to be a great way to stay informed and up to speed, and I hope you will visit often.  If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, please leave your feedback in the comments section.  If you'd like to email me directly,  I check my school email regularly and do my best to return your emails promptly: atsvirinko@visalia.k12.ca.us

English 1 - Narrative Writing: Dialogue

15 minutes - Students read their AR books for the first 15 minutes.  It is important that students have an AR book and bring it every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, because AR reading is worth 10% of their grade.

30 minutes - Since conversation is the best way that anyone gets to know us, it is important to include lively dialogue in a short story for the main purpose of revealing a character's personality, attitude, and even cultural background.  We discussed the purpose of dialogue in storytelling, one important effects of which is to bring the story to life and help readers connect with what they are reading.  Students were then asked to create a dialogue between two people in a given scenario.  After writing for 8 minutes, we discussed proper formatting of dialogue and looked at a couple examples of published writers' use of dialogue.

Homework

Students are to finish a rough draft of their stories and make sure to include some dialogue.  Eventually, students will need to have at least 2 passages of dialogue in their stories.

Reminders

• Bring your AR book.
• If you haven't done so yet, make sure to bring your field trip money.

English 2 - Narrative Writing: Revision/Editing

15 minutes - Students read their AR books.  It is important that all students have an AR book that they are reading and bringing to class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  AR reading is worth 10% percents of the student's grade.

30 minutes - Students are finishing their short stories.  Some are further along than others.  Today we reviewed a few things to look for when revising, and also talked about editing.  We spent much of our time in the library either typing the stories or revising rough drafts.  While most students have made good progress and are close to finishing, some are barely starting.  On Monday, students will be given some time to edit their stories, after which we will begin a new unit.  Final drafts are due on Wednesday.

Homework

Students are to finish typing their stories and revise them using the checklist they were given today in class.