To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the inner music the words make. ~Truman Capote, McCall’s, November 1967

From Telling….to Showing!


Please remember that any work publish here belongs to the author and therefore copywritten.

Here are a few of the 7th grade efforts to take a piece of “telling” writing…

Albert ate breakfast in a hurry.

and turn it into a SHOWING writing.

Albert, in a rush, took a shower, brushed his teeth and ran down the stairs. He got up to his sausage, eggs and bacon when the school bus was bumbling down the street. He just gobbled down his cheesy eggs and juicy bacon. The bus was waiting, but as he opened the front door, it was gone!

S. U.

Albert got downstairs with just a few minutes left. He crammed eggs, toast and a muffin down his throat, chugged his orange juice until it was air and ran out the door with a breakfast bar just to remember it was Saturday and he still has a stomach ache.

G.M.

Albert had only 5 minutes to eat breakfast, so he scoured the fridge and pantry for something to eat before the bus came. He took some milk, cereal and juice and gluped it down as fast as he could. As a result, he threw up and had to stay at home all day and be told that scarfing down food so fast can give you stomach aches and make you vomit.

J.I.

Albert rushed downstairs and grabbed a seat. He poured milk and cereal, getting more all over the table than in the bowl. Then he began to shovel breakfast in his gapping mouth like a steam shovel. His family set across from him, bits of half chewed cereal flying. They had lost their appetites.

K.A.

He ran downstairs and started to eat breakfast like he had not eaten in days. As Albert, my brother, thought he was late for school. He threw the eggs and bacon in his mouth and chewed with his mouth open. Then he ate the bread and got jelly and butter all over his mouth. When he spilled the orange juice down his shirt I decided to tell him that school didn’t start for another hour.

A.D.

He chugged his milk and he shoveled down his eggs. Albert scarfed his bacon and slurped up his cereal. He gulped down his orange juice while spilling it all down the front of his shirt, and just as the clock struck 8:00 am, he rushed out the door. But despite his hurried eating and sprints to the stop, Albert missed the buss.

L.R.

Albert jumped out of bed realizing that he would be late for school.  He scurried to get dressed and freshen up. Then he flew down the stairs to get breakfast. He gobbled up his eggs and bacon as fast as he could, tearing up the food with his choppers. He then hopped on his bike and sped to school like he was a shot out of a cannon. Arriving at the school, he saw that no one was there. Then he remembered that today…was SUNDAY.

I.S.

Parents Have Homework Too…


Dear Parents,
IN A MILLION WORDS OR LESS…

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR CHILD!

Yes, your children are back to school, but YOU are getting a homework assignment! This is an activity that Mrs. Corey (MFMS 7/8 English teacher) and I have been doing for several years with remarkable success.

The reasoning behind this activity focuses on the fact that it often takes Middle School teachers a great deal of time to get to know their students as individuals. We do not see them all day as we would if they were in a self-contained classroom. In fact, some students we really never get to know. I believe your child is special and unique in his/her own way, and no one knows this better than you. This activity gives you, as a parent, the perfect opportunity to tell me what YOU think I should know about your child. You may write as much or as little as you like about your child with one stipulation…please do not exceed one million words.

I know many of you lead extremely busy lives, so I will be accepting responses any time during the next two weeks. The final due date for this activity will be September 15th. If you wish to email your responses instead of writing them, please email them to:

cuttillm@mfschools.org
I promise that I will read every one of the responses I receive, and I will not share your comments with any other person, including other Maroa-Forsyth Middle School teachers, unless you give me permission to do so in your letter.

One more thing…this writing assignment is for extra credit only. Your child will not be penalized in anyway if you choose not to respond to it. However, I hope you WILL choose to complete this for me and more importantly, for your child. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Cuttill-Price

A New School Year Begins!


MFMS is up and rolling this week as we begin another school year. PBIS basic training has been completed and we are ready to settle into the first few weeks of school. After a few days of getting to know each other, here are some things you can look forward to in 6/7 English the next month:

Mode Monday

Ready, Set, Write or

Rain, Steam, Speed

Poetry

Review of prepositions (Do you remember those?)

Jeopardy

Grammar Goodness

Trait Tuesday

As you can see, we have much to accomplish so—let’s get writing….