Final NaNoWriMo Preparations

NaNoWriMo begins tomorrow!

We have a lot to do to make sure we are prepared for that. Ready?

1. We have a guest speaker coming in for a few minutes to talk to our class. Please be respectful and attentive.
2. This morning, you received a new document in your "Shared With Me" folder in Google Drive. It is the document you will be writing your novel in, titled "period#, your name - NaNoWriMo Novel" (4, Black Alyssa - NaNoWriMo Novel). Make sure you check it and hit "Add to My Drive" so it is in your folder. You DO NOT need to make a new copy. This document IS your copy. (Notice how it already has your name on it?)
3. Have I told you I'm writing a novel, too? I'm just as nervous as you are, don't worry. Here is a link to my novel. You will also find that link in the sidebar under "Useful Links." You can look at it at any time.
4. A Progress Check
5. Catch-Up - What do you need to do to prepare for tomorrow? Character Questionnaire? Plot Outline? "Practice" Openings?
6. For your Halloween enjoyment:

Source

Source

First Steps to Authorship

4th period. 

We have an earthquake drill.

We will be going to the football field.

Please be prepared to follow directions carefully.

Source: Unsplash on Pixabay

6th period.

We're going to work on creating NaNoWriMo accounts.
Please be prepared to follow directions carefully.

Goal #1: Make a NaNoWriMo Account

1. Open your English Journal.
2. In a different tab, go to ywp.nanowrimo.org
3. You will sign up for NaNoWriMo. Your username should be your period, your last name your first name.
   
   Here's an example: 4 Black Alyssa
4. Once you sign up, you will get an email. Go to that email to find a link to set a password.

Goal #2: Only after you've successfully created an account and password.

1. Fill out this form.
2. Open the NaNoWriMo Handbook and download it to your desktop. (Click Download, open it with Adobe, and Save As)
3. Read the Letter to the author on page 1.
4. Go to page 3 and banish your inner editor.

Goal #3: What can you do to stay on top of your work?

• Have you updated your "Currently Reading" shelf on Goodreads lately? What page are you on in your book? (Ms. Black needs to do this too. Remind her.)
• Do you have any missing work in your English Journal?
• If you and the person sitting next to you are both done, can you edit each others' work for proofreading mistakes?

AOW #4

You have some work to do today. Are you ready?

1. Today is Friday. That means you get to read an Article of the Week! You will not be on Newsela today. Instead, open this article called "The 9 Ingredients of Character Development." Make a copy to annotate. In your English Journal, write one paragraph to summarize the article, and one paragraph to share you thoughts and opinions.
2. Have you filled out the form for your book reviews? The link is on the top of the page and it says "Independent Reading/Book Reviews" on it. Make sure you have submitted that form.
3. Go back into Goodreads and edit/finish your book review.
4. Catch up on your English Journal.
5. Check Powerschool. Are you missing anything?

We are collecting your group novels today so you do not have to take them to the library. If you do not have it today, you have until next Friday, October 17 to return it to the library.

Also, on Monday, you will have an assessment to show your understanding of what we have been working on in the past five weeks. If you want to know what to do to prepare, the answer is to practice looking for characterization, setting, mood, sensory details, and conflict in your own independent reading novels. If you can do that, you will be fine.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Group Novel Settings

Source: Chip Kidd

Okay. Yesterday we spent a lot of time looking at a character named Miss Havisham from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

Today, you can focus your attention on your group novels.

Goal #1: Look closely at the setting in your book. 
Look at the settings described in your group novel.  Select at least three quotes from your novel that describe the setting, but tell you something about the character. Add these quotes to the same chart you were working on yesterday. (This should give you at least four entries on your table in your English Journal. The first one will be about Miss Havisham.)

You may work with the person sitting next to you to find quotes and discuss the characters, but you will all need to write in your own English Journals.


Goal #2: Join Remind
Some of you still haven't joined Remind. If you are one of these people, you have a zero in your gradebook. If you would like to change that, join Remind TODAY. This means you need to click on your period in the sidebar and follow the directions. 


Goal #3: STUDENT DATA FORM
Quite a few of you have still not completed the Student Data Form (linked in the sidebar). This is not optional. If you are one of these people, you have a zero in your gradebook. 

If you suspect you are one of these people, fill out this form.


Goal #4: Update your English Journal
Are you missing any entries or parts of entries? Fix that. This is your chance.


Goal #5: Create a Setting
Choose a character from your group book that doesn't have his or her own setting, or who's setting is not well described.  THINK about what you know about that character. WRITE a descriptive paragraph about the setting for that character (in your English Journal, under today's table). EXPLAIN (in a second paragraph) what you are trying to show about the character with the setting you created. There are some ideas HERE if you need help.