MONDAY/TUESDAY

(13L): RESEARCH DAY 3Do Now:

Take out your Research Essay Packet.

Look at Paragraph 2 of your packet. Find two sentences that you can combine using a comma and a conjunction. Combine the two sentences.

Ex. The average GPA of “X College” is 3.5.” The degrees they offer are B.A.’s and M.A.’s.

Revised: The average GPA of an incoming student at X college is 3.5, and the degrees it offers include B.A.’s and M.A.s.

OBJECTIVES

SWBAT use e-text features to obtain information about our college.

SWBAT write the fourth paragraph of their essay.

RESEARCH TIMEComplete the research for the fourth paragraph.

Remember to use key words, not the whole question to find answers.

Tips:

Look out for these headers:

“campus life”

“student life”

“athletics”

WRITING TIME

Follow the guidelines to complete paragraph four. Work on all your other paragraphs.

If you are done early you may begin rewriting your paragraph on a separate sheet of paper.

INDEPENDENT READING

Making Connection Mini Lesson

Make a connection in your reading today and write it down in your Reader’s Notebook.

WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY

DO NOWRespond to this question in at least 1 paragraph:

Is it ever ok to be excited that someone has died, been wounded etc?

(14 L) TITLE: WRITING INTROS AND CONCLUSIONS

Do Now: Read the following introduction from an essay.

Then, write a paragraph in which you describe what you think is good and what you think is bad about this introduction.

“This essay is about UC Berkeley. It was established in 1868. It is a good school in California. The mascot is the Golden Bear. In this essay you will learn about UC Berkeley.”

OBJECTIVES

SWBAT write an introduction to their essay.

SWBAT write a conclusion to their essay.

SWBAT share with each other about the connection they made in their Independent Reading.

HOW TO WRITE AN INTROYour introduction should include at least four sentences:

Step 1: Write an opening sentence that grabs the reader’s attention.

This is sometimes called “The Hook.”

Step 2: Write a sentence about general facts about your college.

For example: school Name, year it was established.

Step 3: Write a sentence that tells the reader why they should read your essay.

Step 4: A sentence that tells the reader what they will learn.

HOOKSHook: Opening sentence that grabs the attention of the reader.

Three Types of Hooks:

1. Questions

2. Anecdotes

3. Quotes

Note, there are more hooks, but I want you to focus on one of these three.

EXAMPLES OF HOOKSType 1: Questions

Did you know that UC Berkeley ranks as the top public university in the world?

How many libraries does UC Berkeley have?

Are you looking for a great school to attend?

Do you want to want to go to college?

EXAMPLES OF HOOKSAnecdote: a short story that is related to your topic.

Type 2: Anecdotes

“When I was in 7th grade I saw a girl wearing a sweater with the word ‘Berkeley’ on it. I thought the word was interesting so I looked it up, and I found out that it is a great college. I decided that that is where I wanted to go to college.”

BY THE WAY: This is the real story about how MR. Gonzalez found out about UC Berkeley!

NOTES

You’ll note that a hook can be several sentences long.

CAUTION: Do not pick a story that is unrelated because it will make your essay seem disorganized and unfocused.

ANECDOTE EXAMPLESType 3: Quotes

“Close to 30 percent of UC Berkeley freshmen are the first in their families to attend college.” This quote shows that you at UC Berkeley you’ll find students who are making a difference in their lives and the lives of their families by attending college. from: berkeley.edu

Notes:

When you use a quote, you HAVE to indicate where you got it from. You also need one more sentence that explains why you chose that quote.

STEP 3 AND 4

Step 3: Write a sentence about why someone should read your essay.

You can use these sentence starters:

Reading this essay is important because…..

The purpose of this essay is…..

Or, your own.

Originality = extra credit!

Step 4: Write a sentence about what they will learn.

You can use these sentence starters:

This essay will provide information about…….

Can anyone think of other sentence starters?

CONCLUSIONS Conclusions should remind your reader about what you wrote, but should not say the same thing as your introduction.

Note: A strong conclusion restates the purpose of the essay (why they should read it and what they will learn) but in a new way.

HOW TO WRITE A CONCLUSION Step 1: Write a sentence that tells the reader why you wrote this essay.

Step 2: Write a sentence that lists three important facts that you discussed in they essay (one from each paragraph)

Step 3: Write a sentence that explains how this college is unique.

Step 5: Write a final sentence that summarizes what you learned by doing research and writing this essay.

WATCH ME WRITE ONE

I will write a conclusion. Watch me take information from my research to craft this conclusion.

Friday

(15L) TITLE: PEER EDITINGDo Now:

The following paragraph has three types of errors:

1. The comma may be in the wrong place

2. The semicolon may be in the wrong place

3. Some words may be spelled wrong.

Rewrite the paragraph with the corrections. Underline the corrections you make.

“UC Berkeley is a good college and, it is beautiful to. There are 27 libraries they; have a lot of books in them. Your going two love UC Berkeley, so you should visit this school.”

OBJECTIVES

SWBAT peer edit essays.

SWBAT revise their own essays.

NOTESPeer Editing: the act of taking your partner’s essay and looking carefully for errors in grammar/punctuation, incomplete sentences, confusing sentences.

Today we will learn how to peer edit essays.

WHAT TO DOFollow the checklist. When you have checked all the items on your list, hand back the essay to your partner.

In general, check for these five things:

1. Are commas in the correct place?

2. Are semicolons in the correct place?

3. Does every sentence begin and end with a period?

4. Does every sentence make sense?

5. Is there a topic sentence for every paragraph?

REVISION

When you receive your essay back, you may begin revising.