DO NOW Quick Write: Why do people move to the U.S.?

DO NOW Share with your elbow partner who you are planning to write your thank you letter to. What are some of the things you will thank the veteran for.

DO NOW Review the t-chart you created, comparing your life with Malala’s. Quick write: What freedom or aspect of being an American is the most important to you? Why?

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS AND NORTHWOOD 7 TH GRADE Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest

WHAT IS IT? Every year the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) sponsors a nationwide essay contest for middle school students. They offer prizes at the local level, the state level, the regional level, and the national level. Prizes range from $50 to $5,000. For many years Northwood 7 th graders have participated in this essay contest. We have had several local and state winners from our school.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE? The contest is open to any 6 th, 7 th or 8 th grader in public, private, or home school. There is no charge to enter.

WHERE SHOULD I TURN IN MY ESSAY? Language Arts teachers at Northwood will collect essays from their students. We will then pass the essays on to the representatives of the local VFW Post who will judge them.

WHEN DOES THE CONTEST TAKE PLACE? Your essay is due to Mrs. Paul: Monday, October 27 th We will print them in class that day, so you don’t have to print your final copy at home.

HOW LONG SHOULD MY ESSAY BE? It cannot be less than 300 words or more than 400 words. The essays MUST be typed with no color and no graphics. Every word counts regardless of length. Your title words are not included in the word count. Do not put your name directly on your essay. You will attach a separate entry form with your name on it.

CAN I GET HELP WITH MY ESSAY? Your teacher, parent, or other adult can check your essay for punctuation, grammar, and spelling… …but they cannot help you with the content of your essay. All the ideas in your essay must be your own.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? You are expected to learn to produce “clear and coherent writing” and to “strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying new approaches.” You will know you are successful when you have a finished essay that you are proud of, one that you have carried through the writing process of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.

WHAT IS THE ESSAY ABOUT? Every year the essay prompt is set by the national level of the VFW. In the prompt is: “Why I Appreciate America's Veterans”

THANK A VETERAN 1.Watch the following videos: Thank a Veteran veterans-day/videos/history-says-thanks veterans-day/videos/history-says-thanks Tribute to American Veterans: Write a thank you letter to a veteran. You can either type or handwrite your letter. It can be to someone you know or you can write it to a non-specific veterans (we will give it to one of our local veterans).

PREWRITING- JIGSAW PUZZLE ACTIVITY 1.Read your article. 2.Write a summary about your article in your Reader’s/Writer’s Notebook.  Who?  What?  When?  Where?  Why?  How? “Why I Appreciate America’s Veterans”

PREWRITING- JIGSAW PUZZLE ACTIVITY 1.Fold your paper into four quarters. Write one word that best describes the veteran in your article. Explain why you chose that word. 2.Briefly discuss your article with your table group and share which word you chose to describe the veteran and why. 3.Find one person from each article (#1, 2, 3, 4) 4.One at a time, each person will share the summary of their article. Then each student will record the name of the article, the word they think best describes the veteran in the article and why. “Why I Appreciate America’s Veterans”

DRAFTING “Why I Appreciate America’s Veterans”

REVISIONS RADaR Revision What are words you can REPLACE with more interesting ones? What are ideas you can ADD to make it more complete? What are things you can DELETE because they are unnecessary, unhelpful, or unrelated to the prompt? How can you REORDER your ideas to make them have more flow and be more clear?

FEEDBACK Take your rough draft home tonight and ask a parent or other adult to read it. Ask for their suggestions and feedback. Ask them to sign it at the top. Bring it back tomorrow.

PROOFREADING Use the tools in Word to help you make your punctuation and spelling more accurate. --spell check --grammar check --word count

FINAL DRAFT- PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS Your final draft should be formatted the following way: - size: 12 font -style: Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial -spacing: 1.5 -no color or graphics! Print one copy WITH YOUR HEADING ON IT for me. Print another copy with NO NAME or HEADING ON IT for the contest. Fill out the top portion of the entry form and staple it to the front of your essay (the one without a name on it). Remember to include the word count on the entry form. Hand it into Mrs. Paul to submit to the VFW.

HOW TO TURN IN ESSAY TO MRS. PAUL: Please staple the following items in this order: 1. Final essay w/heading (top) *write the word count on the top right hand corner *circle the body paragraph that you think best demonstrates your paragraph writing skills. 2. Rough draft w/revisions (next) 3. Peer feedback form (bottom) *Turn in to your class’s in-box.*