Today in class we revised and edited our rough drafts (some wrote the rough draft today -- I'm glad nearly everyone was able to get caught up).

Tomorrow at the beginning of class, I will be collecting:

1. Your evidence of brainstorming (either a mind map, the TXTéamelo worksheet, or some other brainstorming notes) [5 pts.]
2. Your evidence of organization (either an outline or a storyboard) [10 points]
3. The rough draft & peer editing worksheet [15 points]
4. The final draft [20 points, see the handout you were given for the point breakdown

Contact me if you have any questions, I am available by phone or email tonight.

Using your outline or storyboard as a starting point, begin writing your ideas out in narrative format -- create  a story. Each storyboard picture and starter sentence form the basis for what will become a paragraph.

For each picture on the storyboard (or point in the outline) provide MORE detail. Instead of just "Visité a mi hermano en Alaska," you could write, "Visité a mi hermano Paul. Paul vive en Alaska. Su casa es muy vieja y primitiva. Le falta electricidad y agua corriente. Yo dormía en un cuarto que no tenia una cama ni alfombra."

You should focus on communicating to your reader. Right now, your goal is clear communication of your main ideas, and a good level of detail If you can, have someone else read through your story, without explaining anything to them. If they are confused, you should find out what information was missing, and fix your rough draft so that it is easier to understand.

You need your rough draft ready to be edited by the beginning of class on Monday. If you have problems, or are feeling frustrated or stuck, call me or email me.

You have two options for how to organize your ideas for the short story:
  1) You can write a traditional outline (see the "En contexto" page for an example of what Francisco wrote)
  2) You can create a storyboard, like what we did in class.
       The storyboard is a way to tell your story using pictures, with a short sentence to explain each picture. Start by drawing pictures to illustrate the main ideas of your story, then write a sentence  in Spanish for each picture to describe what the picture is communicating to your reader.

The outline/storyboard will serve as the basis for your rough draft.

The short story writing process is the focus of this unit, and as such the process is worth more points overall than the final product. It will be worth 50 points, and counts as one half of the test grade for this unit. See the document below for details on how the points are distributed, and for instructions on what is required.

Tomorrow at the beginning of the class period, I will be checking on your story ideas. You should have your story ideas written up and ready to make into storyboards.

Your brainstorming notes may be in the following formats:
1. The TXTéamelo worksheet, with ¿Quién? ¿Qué? ¿Cuándo? ¿Dónde? ¿Por qué? ¿Cómo? questions, and an overall summary.
2. A "mind map" or "word web" of ideas
3. Your own format of notes and ideas showing what you have brainstormed

You can choose which format works best for you, any of the three options above will get you the 5 points, as long as you can show that you have taken the time to think through your ideas.

T30: Summarize a well-known story in 10 sentences in Spanish

In Spanish, write a description of a well known story, without using names or titles. This can be a book, a movie, a fairy tale, etc. Write without giving away too many details, but with enough information that your reader can guess what you have in mind. Think about your audience (your classmates) and what they would need to know to figure it out. 10 sentences minimum, in Spanish.

The example I gave in class was a much shorter one than you need to write, but may help you get started:
Una princesa estaba dormiendo. El príncipe la despertó con un beso.
Answer: Sleeping Beauty

Here's another:
Un hombre rico abrió un parque secreto en una isla. Él invitó a unos científicos y expertos al parque. También invitó a sus nietos. El secreto del parque es que fue un parque de dinosaurios. El hombre rico no pensaba de los problemas que pueden pasar con dinosaurios. Empezó a llover, y los dinosaurios se escaparon. Los niños y los científicos tenian que correr de los dinosaurios. Se escondieron, pero los dinosaurios eran muy inteligentes. Muchas personas murieron, pero los científicos y los niños escaparon de la isla en un helicóptero. Los dinosaurios todavía están en la isla.

If you want to know what book & movie I'm describing, click here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/

Below you will find the story we read and summarized in class today, and the worksheet you did for the creative writing warm up:

T29: Write in your own words (in English or Spanish) what each paragraph in the En contexto page is about, then (in Spanish) write one sentence to summarize the main idea of each paragraph.

Use the strategies on the Estrategias page to help you. When you rephrase, explain all the details to show your understanding of the paragraph. When you write your summary sentences (one per paragraph), keep it short and simple, to show you get the main idea.

Keep in mind, this work is designed to prepare you to write your own short story in Spanish at the end of the week -- think about how you, as a writer, are going to communicate information to your readers.

If you need a copy of the page or other materials used in class, I will include them below.

T28 - A letter to the past
Complete the buscapalabras (word search) that you picked up after the test, and on the back complete the following:
Imagine you can send a letter into the past! Write a letter to a friend, in Spanish. Describe something that happened (using PRETÉRITO y IMPERFECTO) to convince your friend of who you are -- then tell your friend 10 things to do  or not to do (using tú MANDATOS). Use your power to change the course of time!!   :)

Because of the CAHSEE testing schedule, these three assignments will serve as the homework for everyone for those days.

T24 - Guide for an incoming freshman
Write a guide for an incoming freshman about what he or she should do in order to have a great first year at Simi Valley High School. Use 10 affirmative commands and 10 negative commands.  Examples: No duermas en clase. Escucha a los maestros.

Reminder: Test for Unidad 3 Etapa 2 will be on Friday.

T23 - Textbook P. 211, Act. 9 & 10
Complete the activities in the textbook, writing out both the questions and the answers.