To access your writer’s notebook, click on your name below.
To join your Zoom class meeting, please click the button below.
The passcode is: 888626
To access the novel for your class, click the button to the right. In order to be able to annotate it digitally, you will need to download it to your computer.
This summer, you will be writing a short story that will be featured in our first ever, Hall of Stories, Collection of Short Stories book!
Your homework MUST be completed by the time your class begins. You are not allowed to work on past homework during class.
Answer these final questions in great detail. Write as much as you need. Follow PIE.
1.What do you think is Kelly Barnhill’s most important message? Explain how the characters, setting, conflicts, and symbols work together to communicate that message.
2.Which event has the greatest impact on the entire story? Explain why that moment is so important and how it changes everything that follows.
3.Many of the problems in the novel begin because people believe stories that aren’t true. Why do you think Kelly Barnhill chose to make storytelling and truth such an important part of the novel? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
If you read today, you may make any final adjustments to your story. ALL story final drafts must be done and on your final draft tab by Sunday at 11:00 pm. Whatever is on that tab, will be what I publish.
Class 10 Archives
Finish reading & annotating The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Complete your response to literature questions following PIE:
1.The moon appears throughout the novel. How has its meaning changed as the story has progressed? Use evidence from the novel to support your answer.
2.Choose one recurring symbol (such as paper, light, the forest, the Sisters, or another repeated object or place). What larger idea does it represent? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
3.Fear influences many characters throughout the novel. Choose one character and explain how the author uses symbols to help readers understand that character’s fears or growth. Use evidence from the novel.
Go through your rough draft using the Revision Roadmap – Final is due Wednesday
Class 9 Archives
Read & annotate chapters 36-39
Don’t forget to keep up your plot tracker & add theme ideas to your annotations as you go. ADD looking for more of the symbolism that we taked about today.
Literature questions:
- How does learning the truth change people?
- Can knowing the truth ever be harmful?
- What discoveries are shaping Luna’s understanding of herself?
Revise, revise, revise your short story – use the Revision Roadmap above!
Class 8 Archives
Read & annotate chapters 32-35
Don’t forget to keep up your plot tracker & add theme ideas to your annotations as you go.
Literature questions:
- What forms of power exist in the novel?
- How can power be used responsibly?
- What dangers come with power?
Continue your rough draft focusing on making sure the characters are learning lessons. Remember: The rough draft is DUE on Friday!
Class 7 Archives
Read & annotate chapters 28-31
Literature questions:
- What makes someone courageous?
- Is courage the absence of fear or acting despite fear?
- Which characters are beginning to take responsibility for difficult truths?
Finish descriptive dialogue piece
Work on rough draft – DUE FRIDAY – how much you do each day is up to you. Plan accordingly.
Class 6 Archives
Read and annotate chapters 23-27
Literature Questions:
- Are secrets ever justified?
- How do hidden truths affect relationships?
- What consequences are beginning to emerge from past choices?
This week, choose your POV carefully. Rewrite opening if needed.
Finish POV switch exercise that we started in class
Finish your blueprint if needed
You have permission to continue on your rough draft this weekend if you want. It will be due by next Friday, so if you want to lighten up your week, go for it!
Class 5 Archives
Read and annotate chapters 19-22
Literature Questions:
- How is Luna changing?
- Why do people often struggle to understand who they are?
- How do expectations influence identity?
Start tracking the plot (literature – create new sub tab “Plot Tracking”)
Write the opening scene of your story focusing on setting the world using show vs. tell / active voice vs. passive voice (Rough Draft tab)
- Introduce the setting naturally
- Show how the world affects everyday life
- Include at least one rule, danger, or opportunity
- Use active voice
- Show the setting through action and specific details
- Avoid stopping the story for a long explanation of the world
Class 4 Archives
Read and annotate chapters 14-18
Answer literature questions below:
- Why is it difficult for people to challenge traditions?
- What motivates Antain to ask questions?
- When should traditions be preserved, and when should they be challenged?
Complete the planning of your world: Answer the 5 questions on Worlds Shape Stories and add great detail about the culture, locations, and what it looks like – fragments only for this part
Class 3 Archives
Read and annotate chapters 9-13. Please answer the following questions:
- How do stories shape what people believe?
- Can a story become more powerful than the truth?
- Which characters seem willing to question the official story?
Finish “The Setting Switch” prompts B and C that we did not get to in class (Literature class 3 tab)
Choose one passage where the setting plays an important role. (Literature class 3 tab)
In your notebook , explain:
- What details make the setting memorable?
- How does the setting influence the mood?
- How does it affect the characters or conflict?
- Why couldn’t this scene happen exactly the same way somewhere else?
Write a journal entry from one of your characters perspective – remember to give them a voice (Must be at least one page – 12 pt type, Arial) – (My characters tab) We will read these on Monday to the class.
Continue brainstorming your world – (“My World” tab)
Class 2 Archives
Read and annotate chapters 5-8, and answer the following questions:
- What does family mean in this novel?
- How do Xan, Glerk, and Fyrian function as a family?
- Why is Luna’s accidental magical feeding important?
Finish the Reading Between the Lines – Discover the Person activity if not done (literature class 2 tab)
Choose one character from your novel and record one example of each of the following (literature class 2 tab):
- Action
- Language
- Thought
- Body Language
- How Others React
Make sure to label which of the five are being used to convey the characteristic and how it shows this trait. Be prepared to explain what each clue reveals about the character.
Finish developing your three characters – protaganist, antogonist, important supporting character – remember to answer the questions (Character tab)
Choose one location from the IK2W World and study it closely. As you read, answer the following questions (CW Class 2 tab):
- What rules seem to exist in this place?
- What details make this location feel believable?
- What kinds of stories or adventures could happen here?
- What problems or conflicts might a character face in this location?
- What is one idea from this location that inspires you to build your own world?
Class 1 Archives
Read and annotate chapters 1–4 & answer the following questions: (Literature question tab) Don’t forget about your word bank!
- Why do the people continue sacrificing babies?
- Is the community evil or simply afraid?
- What makes Xan different from what the villagers believe?
Independently brainstorm several possible story ideas using the “Beyond the Obvious” strategy. (My Masterpiece tab)
- Start with a simple idea.
- Ask multiple “What if…?” questions.
- Explore different possibilities.
- Select the idea that feels the most exciting.
- Record the story premise in the writing notebook.
Now, choose the one that you are compelled to write!
Before next class, spend about 15–20 minutes exploring the IK2W World on the website. (CW Class 1 tab)
Read the following sections on the main IK2W World page:
- The Story of Flicker
- The Introduction
- IK2W Academy
- Also, read the Firefly path page (click on the button at the bottom of the main page)
Then choose two additional locations that interest you. As you explore, answer the following questions:
- Which location was your favorite and why?
- What makes each place feel unique?
- What questions did these locations make you ask?
- If you could visit one location in the IK2W world, which would you choose and why?
Inspire Kids 2 Write 