Really Tired Me!

I have been so tired lately. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the catty, back-biting, trouble-making girls in my class this year. Maybe it’s all the back biting that’s going on in my workplace. I don’t know, but it’s affecting me and my body. I know I’m going to come out of this with the information that I need to move on to a better job. So, until then, I will endure and learn what I need to know. Bye for now!

Superteacherworksheets.com & The Plot Chicken Rules

Hello Dear Readers,

I’m writing to report that my writing program is coming along. Last year I didn’t work on writing as much as I wanted to. I was scared I wasn’t going to do a good enough job. Not only that, but I just didn’t know where to start. So, as I always do when I have a problem, I tackle it.

Well, during the summer time I bought a couple of books about teaching children how to write & read them. I also dusted off some books I’d gotten for free from some trainings & read those.

I checked the standards to compile a list of all the different types of writing required for 4th & 5th grade. That’s when I discovered that students need to be able to read proofreading marks. Well, that was just perfect because I found three different sets of bookmarks on superteacherworksheets.com (click link). I have basic, which has 6 basic proofreading marks students need to know; the intermediate, which has 9 basic marks students need to know; lastly, there’s the advanced bookmark, which has 14 basic proofreading marks students need to know.

To tie everything in together, I read my students The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane & Herm Auch. We then completed a story using the rules from the book.

PLOT CHICKEN RULES: Rules for writing a great story

Rule #1- Have a main character

Rule #2- Hatch a plot

Rule #3- Give the main character a problem

Rule #4- Ask, “What If…?” questions

Rule #5- Write what you know

Rule #6- Build suspense

Rule #7- Use your senses (see, touch/feel, taste, smell, hear)

Rule #8- Make sure the main character solves their own problem(s)

Although these rules don’t apply to every piece of writing, I have been able to help them with their writing just by pointing out what Plot Chicken rule they did not follow. So, between superteacherworksheets.com & The Plot Chicken Rules rules, my student’s written work is blossoming.

***If you have not read The Plot Chicken Rules by Mary Jane & Herm Auch, do yourself & favor and read it. Then read it to your students. (If you would like to read my book review of The Plot Chickens, click here.)

***I have been unable to print the intermediate & advanced bookmarks from superteacherworksheets.com. I’ll write to the creator of the site and make sure he’s aware of it.