Final reflective essay

Your reflective essay should include the following:

1. How you have grown as a writer this year

2.  Where you feel you could improve

3.  How the 6+1 traits of writing helped you to become a better writer

o  Are the 2 traits you chose at the beginning of the year still the most challenging for you?

4.  The one piece of writing that helped you to see your progression as a writer (your “Aha!” moment if you will)

5.Tell me your favorite and least favorite writing pieces and why.

6.How did your writer’s notebook help shape your writing this year?

7.BONUS: What mentor text helped you the most? 

Also:

•Must be typed, double spaced and use an easy-to-read font

•Need to have a rough and final draft

DUE: Friday May 24th 

In-Class Essay: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

To prepare yourself for writing a formal essay that involves research and citing sources, let's have a little fun with an impromptu in-class essay. So here's your assignment:


In 5 paragraphs, write an essay explaining why you think Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is so popular. Here's the challenge: I'm not asking what YOU think of Marcel the Shell; I'm asking you to analyze what made him such a hit with the general population. So for those of you who find the videos and picture book absolutely, mind-numbingly annoying, you're going to have to delve outside your comfort zone and force yourself to think hard.


Remember, in order to be counted as an essay, you must have the following things:

• Intro
• Thesis statement
• body paragraphs (at least 3)
• Conclusion that reminds your reader what your thesis was (i.e., not restating it word for word)

Writing Assignment: Social Studies Essay

Your 5-paragraph essay will involve choosing a famous person from Latin America and explaining why they are important to study in history class. Remember that you are not just reporting your research. You need to take what you learned about your person from your research and form a well-thought out argument for why this person should be studied.  You also need to remember to cite your sources within your paper and write a works cited at the end.

Here is a list of people to choose from, but you are not limited to these people if you can think of someone else you'd rather write about. You must, however, confirm that person with me.

Due date: ??? TBA

• Simon Bolivar
• Cesar Chavez
• Bartolome de las Casas
• Pancho Villa
• Diego Rivera
• Fidel Castro
• Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Pablo Escobar
• Rigoberta Menchu
• Che Guevara
• Eva Peron
• Miguel Hidalgo
• Jose Marti
• Julia Alvarez
• Selena
• Juanes
• Frida Kahlo
• Oscar de la Hoya
• Gloria Estefan
• Carlos Santana
• Eugenio Maria de Hostos
• Desi Arnaz
• Celia Cruz
• Antonio Novello
• Roberto Clemente
• Atahuallpa
• Quetzalcoatl
• Sammy Sosa 

Remember: it is OK to use Wikipedia as long as you corroborate the information by confirming it with other reliable sources. Think of Wikipedia as your jumping off point for research, not your be-all, end-all.

What is NaNoWriMo?

NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing month, is an entire month dedicated to writing your very own novel. November begins this month long endeavor and adults around the world participate in this program for the thrill of attempting to write a novel in only one month. But kids can participate in the Young Writer’s Program of NaNoWriMo and also write their own novels, too. For kids the word count is lower than the adult version, but there is still huge satisfaction in setting a goal and acheiving it. For kids who want to sign up and parents who want to know more, go to the following website:

NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program


Remember, this is a huge opportunity for extra credit in English for 2nd quarter.

If you're interested in doing this, please sign up on the website and then respond to this post with your user name.