8^th Grade Writing Plan

09-10

During the course of the year we will pay specific attention to the audience, form, purpose and structure of a number of fiction and nonfiction genres. A substantial amount of time will be devoted to writing and focused instruction that builds on your efforts. We will immerse ourselves in the “writing process,” or, to put it another way, the processes of drafting, prewriting, revising, and editing a writer uses to create a piece that is of publishable quality. We will continue to hone our use of language conventions (grammar, punctuation, spelling) via a combination of targeted mini-lessons applied within the context of meaningful writing (that is, your drafts).

Writing development is directly related to reading development; writers grow in their ability to craft a particular genre, through being immersed in opportunities to read, write, and look closely at a wide range of texts. We will read representative models of writing as we look into a variety of fiction and nonfiction forms. As such, we will be taking on the challenges of learning about new topics and forms and how to communicate ideas to an audience in a purposeful and meaningful manner.

Your growth as a writer will be represented, in large part, by the collection of key pieces of writing you produce over the course of the year. These pieces will form the basis for the culminating Writing Portfolio Project to be completed by the end of the school year. We will chart your writing growth from the beginning of the year by setting specific, individual goals. We will also use personal reflection (your own) and writing conferences to consistently assess your progress in meeting these goals. Grading will be based on: 1.  the rubrics I/you develop for each piece you present as "publishable"; 2. your daily efforts in working through the "writing process", which includes timely production of drafts; 3. your written reflections on your work; and 4. your consistent/diligent use of your Writer's Notebook. Assignment of grades will be based on the following scale: 100-90 A; 89-80 B; 79-70 C; 69 and below Insufficient Progress.

            I have broken the general plan for the year into two month increments with the expressed goal of giving you an opportunity to produce two publishable pieces of work during that time. One piece will work within a specific genre and the second piece will be an independent choice.

            The plan is:

August-September:

            Genre Focus: Literary Essay and Independent Writing Project

October-November:

            Genre Focus: Personal Writing (Memoir and Biography) and Touchstone Project

November-December:

            Genre Focus: Non-fiction forms and Touchstone Project

January- February:

            Genre Focus: Short-story and Touchstone Project

March-May:

            Genre Focus: Poetry, Independent Writing Project and Writing Portfolio

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