December is a month full of writing in upper school Language Arts! In each of the middle school grades, we have been talking about the value of intellectual property and the importance of honoring the thinking, writing, and creativity of others; that is the foundation for our research and citation habits as we avoid plagiarism.
In 6th grade, students are writing informative essays on the topic of their choice. From famous writers and infamous criminals to life-saving hospital research and world leaders, each student has selected a topic which intrigues them.
In 7th and 8th grade, students are writing persuasive essays on a topic that gets them fired up. We discussed the difference between a personal preference and an opinion that could be defended. They have selected a wide array of topics on very worthy topics.
How can you support?
- Read an article that your student is drawing information from and discuss it with them. In classes, we have discusses multiple times the importance of reading the whole article and not just grabbing individual bits of information without reading the whole. They should have a research document with all the websites and sources linked, followed by a succinct list of information they have gathered from the source. You can follow their links and see what sources they are using.
- Feel free to ask them how it is going. Just asking may help them remember to spend a little bit of time on it each evening. The final, polished essay is due next Friday; working a little each night will benefit them greatly. I’ll post preliminary deadlines on Google Classroom, such as research deadline and rough draft deadline.
In the high school, we are writing spoken word or slam poetry. This form of poetry is meant to be performed, and it doesn’t matter as much what it looks like. It matters more what it sounds like when it is spoke out loud. We’ve been watching examples, pulling apart other people’s work, and conferencing/drafting our own poems. Some students are in the polishing phase and others are working to finish their first stab at their poems.
As far as deadlines go, I will be hosting a “coffee shop spoken word poetry slam” next Thursday, December 14th during class. Students should sign up to bring a food or drink item, and we will enjoy listening to one another perform their poems. (I’ve shared with the students that they are not expected to memorize their poem, but they should be comfortable enough to lift their eyes from the paper easily and adjust volume and pacing to add to the effect of their poem.)
Whether your student is in 6th grade or 12th, I encourage you to ask them about what they are writing!
