I have spent most of the day putting in a comma and the rest of the day taking it out.
— Oscar Wilde
This quote reminds me of my students and the comma. Once taught, they want to put the comma everywhere. I would like to know about commas and the word because. I know that you use a comma with because when it starts the sentence. So, do you place a comma before the word “because” when it’s in the middle of the sentence? If yes, why?Maybe an example would be nice.
I am in the process of revamping my writer’s workshop because it is not working for me. I am curious to how you manage your writer’s workshop. I teach middle school so time is a factor. I have read that it needs to be at a consistent time each week–whether you do it 3 days a week or 5 days. I am considering 3 days a week, but what do you do on the days you don’t have writer’s workshop? Do you incorporate grammar within your writer’s workshop? How do you manage the noise level? (you know middle schoolers like to talk and it’s not usually about school) Is writer’s workshop only for lower grades? Most of the books I have read deal with grades 1-5. How do you incorporate writer’s notebooks into writing workshop? So many questions!!!!
Next week is my last week of being lazy. I can’t believe how fast the summer went. The crazy thing is–I don’t feel ready for the school year to begin. I haven’t planned a thing. I kinda got side-tracked, but for a good cause. I found out on July 3rd that I was pregnant. Since then my emotions and insides have gone on a very twisty roller coaster. This week has been the first in many that I have actually felt well enough to get in-front of a computer, go outside, and eat. My appetite consisted of pretzels and peanut butter for the past three weeks.
My goal next week is to start planning for the school year. School offically begins August 18; however, I have meetings to attend in Memphis and then of course in-service. I do have some thoughts in mind of how I want to manage my classroom this year. I have been reading literature on managing a successful writing workshop. I still need to figure out my kinks– time is always a factor.
Tonight I cooked something new–Parmesan pesto chicken! Wow! It was delicious. I got the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens 100 Best Chicken Recipes 2003. I made the pesto using sweet basil from my garden. The chicken was so tender and juicy. I paired it with pine nut couscous, steamed fresh zucchini and yellow squash. Below is the recipe:
prep: 30 minutes cook: 20 minutes
6 skinless; boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds total)
salt
ground black pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan Pesto * see recipe
2 T butter
1 T olive oil
Parmesan Pesto:
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small garlic clove
cover and blend in food processor until smooth, stopping as necessary and scraping side of container. makes 1/2 to 2/3 cup
Chicken:
1. place chicken breasts in between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Pound lightly into rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Remove plastic wrap. Salt and pepper.
2. Spoon a slightly rounded tablespoon of the Parmesan Pesto onto each chicken breast; spread pesto over chicken. Fold in sides of each chicken breast; roll up into a spiral. Secure w/ wooden toothpicks.
3. Heat butter and oil in a 12 in. skillet over medium heat. Add chicken rolls; cook, uncovered, about 20 min. or until chicken is no longer pink, turning occasionally to brown evenly. Remove toothpicks.
4. Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with basil sprigs if desired.
makes 6 servings.
nutrition facts per serving: 333 cal, 21 g total fat, 87 mg chol, 397 mg sodium, 4 g carbo.
Today I came home from organizing my classroom to an empty house. It was an odd feeling because no one was here to greet me as I walked in. Usually my two dogs, Belle and Mimi, are wagging their tails and smiling when I arrive. It’s going to be this way for a few days because they are visiting their grandma, Sophie. Tony and I are going out of town and my parents agreed to watch over them. I know that they will be happier with Sophie and not at the kennel. I will see my two girls next Wednesday when we go to pick them up in Kentucky.
The 2007-2008 school year is over! Last Friday was the last day of school. It went by so fast this year, but I am glad it’s over. I am ready for some R & R. The only thing about the end of the year is the process of packing up everything. At my school we have to take everything off of the walls and store it. It’s a daunting task, but I guess it’s a good thing because you start the next year off fresh.
This summer I am looking forward to reading literature about writer’s notebooks and how to implement them better. I will be attending an advanced institute where I’ll be researching more of my inquiries. Right now I am thinking of the following questions:
How can I better implement a writer’s notebook into my writer’s workshop?
How can I use a writer’s notebook to model and teach revision and editing?
If you have any ideas, I would love to hear about them on either topic…
The school year is winding down. Today we had our field day and boy was it tiring. Our school does field day a little differently. They are divided into 24 teams where there are students from all grade levels. The goal for this was to be more family oriented. The teams compete against each other and they win by the best times. The past two years my team has placed 2nd, but unfortunately we didn’t place this year. It was a good day.
You can always tell when it’s the end of the year– students shut down 2 weeks before school is actually out. Tuesday I attempted to do this cool lesson on vivid verbs, but it bombed. I can’t blame the kids though–I’m ready for it to end too. This year was a good year over all–next year will be an even better year. I am already thinking of new ways to improve the year.
I was wondering what some of you do at the end of the year to keep your students going. Please share your ideas.
Today is our 3 year anniversary. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone by. Tony is such a good husband. I am so glad that I met him in 2004 and got to know him. We have had some good times together. He is not only my hubby, but my best friend too! It’s kind of funny how when we first met we would go out to dinner and a movie and stay up. Tonight, we went to dinner, shopped for more flowers at Lowe’s, and vegged out on the couch in our pjs watching our favorite Wednesday night shows.
Every spring my husband and I get the green thumb. Today we spent 2 1/2 hours at Lowe’s choosing the perfect flowering shrubs for our backyard. We decided on a variety of azaleas, gardenias, rhododendrons, and preliuses. We also bought two rose bushes that smell delightful. I can’t wait to plant them tomorrow.
Today I read and graded my students’ slices of life. In order to get a 100% they were to write at least 21 half page entries. To get extra credit they had to write 25 entries and to win the pizza party they had to write 31 entries. Out of 71 students 21 students had 31 entries! I was impressed. I have planned the pizza party next week. A lot of my students enjoyed writing the slices of life. Some want to continue. Tomorrow I am going to give them a reflection sheet on slices of life and their writers’ notebooks in general. I want to see what they like and don’t like so I can revamp for next year.
 | Chang on My Merrells |
 | Joe Zenir on How Often? |
 | Dee on Thoughtful Responses |
 | Meg Nicholson on Commas and Because |
 | davisbg on Commas and Because |
