Our school has a tradition of creating an annual holiday video in which the teachers and staff pretty much act like fools for the enjoyment of our students. Last year, the tradition took a hiatus, so this year, my colleagues and I were determined to come back with a vengeance. 
  As the fall semester really is wrapping up, we here at TWD just want to say thanks for joining us on this journey for the last few months! It's been a great adventure so far, and we're definitely excited about where the new year will take us! Have no fear. There are plenty more posts, ideas, and ramblings to come. 
  We hope you have a restful break. Don't forget to take time to recharge and enjoy yourself.

 And without further ado, I present: "Jingle on that Bell."

   Wow, it's definitely been a few weeks since we posted last, and if you're a teacher, you can probably understand why. Let's be real. It's the holiday season, that glorious time when you're trying to fit in everything you need, create a semester exam, get enough grades, and hopefully do NOTHING over the short break you have. 
   In our 7th grade ELAR class, we're currently working on expository writing.  I'm a "themes" person, so I went with a Home Alone theme for our intro to expository writing. "Writing Alone." It helps make it fun, and gives me an excuse to wear my "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!" shirt. Just like Kevin Mccallister battles Marv and Harry, errr...the wet bandits, we have been battling expository writing prompts. And, just like Kevin attacks the invaders on his own, we too must have a plan of attack when we're alone with that pesky writing prompt. We watched clips of the film, made connections, and even drew our own battle plan map! 
   Our go-to battle plan of attack for initially addressing the prompt is TBWs. (T.B.Dubs, is how you say it.) 
T- Turn the prompt into a question
B- Brainstorm your responses
W- Write a thesis statement

This should at least help students get on the right track with their essay. Let's take a look at a sample prompt from the 7th Grade STAAR Writing Test in Texas:
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   So, our TBWs would sound something like this:
T: (Turn the prompt into a question.) Why is it important to have good friends?
B: (Brainstorm your responses.) They add humor to your life. You can have fun with them. They make your life more enjoyable. They make life worth living (hanging out, having fun, activities). They can help you. Etc.
W: (Write a controlling idea. Choose one or two brainstormed reasons that you will expound upon in the essay to guide your controlling idea.)
Friendship is the foundation of an enjoyable life.
OR Great friendship makes life worth living.
​OR Great friends are companions on the roller coaster of life.

   The H.M.S.C.S. up there is Henry Made Some Chocolate Shakes, and it's an acronym for historical examples, movie and book examples, sports and popculture examples, current event examples, and someone you know as an example. It helps them make sure their ideas have some depth and that they can ellaborate on them. Overall, it's going well. We're going to refine our TBWs process tomorrow and analyze some already-written introductions to identify the thesis statements. We'll see how they do! 
  How do you address writing? Do you tackle it in steps or by using a theme? I'm interested to hear! If you haven't found anything that works for you, give TBWs a try, and let us know how it goes.

Megan Gordon
ELAR 7th Grade