Spitfire

Wednesday, June 4,  2008                                             

This week you will post your FINAL draft of your historical story.  YOU HAVE ALL BEEN DOING A FABULOUS JOB!!  You have each received comments from Kate Messner on Monday of this week.  This is very exciting.

Please remember to incorporate her comments and your teachers in your last and final copy.  Be sure to look carefully at the historical writing rubric to ensure that you have included all the necessary components.  This “FINAL FINAL” copy is due Friday, June 6.  Please be sure to write “FINAL, FINAL and the date that you completed your story” on the top of your page. 

Here are a few editing tips for you to consider when revising:

• Remember to think about the sensory details and try to visualize what is happening in your story.  Be sure to incorporate these details with the events and actions of your story. 
• Remember to write your story from the point of view of a child living along the Vermont Shore where the American fleet ran aground.  Keep your story in the present tense. 
• Balance dialogue (conversation) with the narrative parts.  Let some of the action explain what is happening in your story.
• Create paragraphs in your writing.  Just as Kate Messner uses as a strategy, highlight the parts where the action is and see where you are missing any key elements of your story. 
• Kate Messner’s feedback to you is to, “The begining should grab your readers’ attention.  The middle should make sense and go logically from one idea to the next, and the end should wrap things up and offer a satisfying conclusion.” 

To begin, please click on the ”Login”  on the right hand side of this page, under “Meta.”  Please use the user name and password and follow the directions on the Handout #5.

All the other pages are individual student pages where you will post your drafts and receive comments from your classmates. 

Here are the five Word documents for your reference if you need further instructions on anything that we have done so far:

How To Post General Comments first-login-to-spitfire-blog-and-general-comments.pdf

How To Post Your First Draft instructions-on-posting-first-draft-on-spitfire-blog.pdf

How To Post Comments to Classmates instructions-on-commenting-on-classmates-drafts.pdf

How To Post Your Second Draft instructions-for-second-draft-revisions.pdf

How To Post Your Final Draft instructions-for-final-draft-on-spitfire-blog.pdf