City of Ember 1-5

The City of Ember is turning into a really great book! The first five chapters describe the setting, characters, and the conflict. Living in this city is the only way of life the citizens know, they do not know what they are missing by living underground. Their days and nights are decided by the lights turning on and off- when they are off the city is in complete darkness, not even able to see in front of their faces. I cannot even imagine living this way. Lina dreams of a very bright city and longs to go there one day. I am hoping that this brave girl gets her wish!  This book is really interesting and I have started reading more than we have assigned ourselves!

The City of Ember

    I chose to read The City of Ember based mainly on the fact that I have read both of the other options before, but also based on the summary read in class. I have read the Hunger Games series, and I also read The Giver while in school. The City of Ember stood out to me as a book that I would be interested in right now. The dystopia trend is on the rise making for more creative versions of our world in the future. I have read a few new books with this theme and I really enjoyed the thought and imagination that went into the creation of the story. The City of Ember, being an underground city, running out of supplies seems like such a great adventure novel. The struggle to survive in this underground city, in a race against time seems like a very engaging and an "on the edge of your seat" read that I will fall in love with. I look forward to finishing this novel.

Chapter 9 and Conclusion

     Chapter 9 discusses revision of writings and strategies to use during the revision process. The revision stage is a great time to focus on craft studies. Craft is how you say what you have to say. The way you describe or tell a certain story can affect the feelings the reader takes away from the story. I think craft studies are really interesting ways to incorporate more detail and variety into the students pieces. I cannot remember doing studies like these during my school years, so I am excited to incorporate it into my classroom. I have always had trouble elaborating and adding detail to my own writing, so I believe I could also benefit from craft studies.

     Lists and leads are both examples of a craft study. Leads in particular can be crucial to a story. If the reader is not interested at the beginning they may not wish to continue reading. I really enjoy a good lead in a story- they make the story stand out to me more. We can also focus on the structure of a mentor text. The "shape" of a story can a big impact on the final result also. The sequencing, genre, and transitions can all add up to a fantastic story structure. Finally, we can focus on voice. The voice of a story is the person within the text. Students must be taught to listen for their own writing voice. 

     The true test of whether Writing Workshop has made a difference is if our students use writing as a tool to respond to the world. Writing can affect our world in a number of ways. We must encourage our students to not be afraid to use writing outside of the classroom. We must teach them that a piece they write may one day change the world. 

Chapter 11 and 13

     Both feature article studies and open-choice investigations are creative ways to incorporate the writing process into writer's workshop. The students are encouraged to expand their imagination and think outside the box. A lot of the writing in writer's workshop can tend to focus more on fiction type writing where the writers are telling a story. With a feature article the focus is primarily on nonfiction, this could be the first time the students study a nonfiction piece, which can be much different than studying fiction pieces. The class can see how something they write about could also help and encourage other people through their article.  The open-choice investigation can be really fun too! The students will love that they chose what exactly to write about. You could turn this into a true investigation assignment with props to get the students even more excited. They can take a piece of their writing that means a lot to them and research it find out more information. I really like the visual of the topic chart. This can show the students how one small idea can be transformed into fantastic pieces of writing.