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Writing: How to make them understand you!

Writing is a process. Professional writers have professional editors. This feedback process will help you improve how you start writing, complete a draft, and hone your final version.

Initial Checklist before we even get started:

  • Is your paper about one topic or event? (If not, is it an argument with a structure?)
  • Does your paper have an introduction?
  • Does your paper have a conclusion?
  • Do you have a variety of sentence structures?
  • What tense did you write your paper in?

If you already have writing credits with edMe, great! If not, scroll down to buy a $9.99 pass. Then, you can choose where you want to begin in the writing process. Then, you can choose where you want to begin in the writing process.

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Overview of this page and how edMe supports your writing process.

We use a 7-step writing process and highlight the 3 steps that are most useful for you to receive feedback.

Outlines, thought bubbles, Pros-and-Cons lists are all great ways to start thinking about writing. Click here to get help organizing your ideas.

Look for connections, missing details, and other additions you can make. If you organized your idea in groups, put them in order so that you can use your organizer to write paragraphs in the correct order. Now, you know what needs to be in your introduction and conclusion and the details in between.
It takes time! It takes focus! You can do it piece by piece. Write a paragraph or a page at a time. Be sure your ideas are building in a good order. Think about how readers will understand what you say.
The first draft is a good overview of how writing is going. This is an exciting point. Half way done! Upload your first draft here.
Drafts should be reviewed to see how the ideas are ordered and connected (transition sentences!).
Make sure each of your sentence flows well. Check your verbs and your punctuation. Make sure your sentences have different structures (but no run-ons!).
Read through your paper one last night to ensure your word choice will meet the expectation of your teacher or audience. Also, be sure to use the correct formatting for your assignment.
Upload your final draft here.

How to use edMe writing support

Upload your assignment, organizer, or drafts here.
  1. First, upload your assignment above. (If you don’t have a copy of an assignment, write the directions, save it, and upload that file.)
  2. Choose the correct stage above then click that page, or you can upload them here.
  3. Wait for your feedback in 24 hours or less!
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For our five-paragraph warriors, here is another voice describing how to structure your introduction, three body, and summary paragraphs.
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Cruppenik

The Ozobot is an easy-to-use robot that allows students to solve problems by coloring paths for the Ozobot. Here is a 6-minute video that explains every step of using the Ozobot.

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There are lots of “kinds”. We bought a spicy Spiderman Ozobot because they made too many and it was put on sale. They all seem expensive in this back-to-school season, but the white Ozobot seems the cheapest this week.

We have a series of math puzzles written with minimal words. Students working above grade level can use some of the addition techniques they are teaching at school but with a higher level of strategic application.

I will bring this stuff down to tournament so you can see it and Dawkins can give it a shot.

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Robotic Hand Activity

Goal to Reach: Choose your own goal! Check one.

Create a hand that can hold 4 oz of water.  Create a hand that moves quick enough to sign three letters

Materials:

  • Cardboard
  • String
  • Plastic Straws

Estimated Time: 30 minutes

Learn about your hand! Questions to think about:

  • What are the straws acting like? 
  • What are the strings acting like?
  • How does your body pull strings? 

Challenge for Robotic Hand Station:

Find out which type of material makes the best string and which type of material makes the best hand!

If you want to share your work, you can upload a document, picture, or PDF file below!

Upload your picture here.
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Rocket Ship Activity

Goal to Reach:  Make the rocket ship fly over your head by 1 foot!

Materials:

  • Plastic Straws
  • Thin Strips of Paper

Estimated Time: 5-10 minutes

Thinking about spaceships. What do you think is most interesting about spaceships out of this list?

  • They are fast.
  • They are heavy.
  • They are air tight.
  • They go up while gravity is pulling down.

Challenge for Rocket Ship Station:

Measure the height of your rocket ship flight by telling us what to do. Write down your measurement process in a table format like this:

Flight Attempt Measurement
#1
#2
#3
#4

If you want to share your work, you can upload a document, picture, or PDF file below!

Upload your picture here.
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Balloon Car

Goals for Balloon Car Activity

Goal: Make a car that goes 4 feet.

 (Make sure forces are not pushing your car backwards!)

 New Words:

  • Axle – Connects 2 wheels
  • Force – pushes and pulls that move and stop things.

Materials:

  • Uninflated Balloon
  • Plastic Straw
  • Toothpicks
  • Plastic Toy Wheels

Estimated Time: 20 minutes

Challenge for Balloon Car Station:

Make your successful car as cheap as possible!

Cost of parts:

  • What is the cost of your first design?
  • What is the cost of your final design?
  • List the price of the parts that are no longer on your car.

If you want to share your work, you can upload a document, picture, or PDF file below!

Upload your picture here.

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Rubric for using 3 Citations

This rubric is for using 3 details from the book to explain your artifact.

Attempt is missing or barely started.Paragraph is not supported by facts from the book. Only one fact cited from the text is used.Only two facts cited from the text are used.At least three facts cited from the text are used.
Missing0123

Review your work and give yourself a score. Explain why you gave your work this score.

To go to the next rubric, click here.

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Rubric for Well-Written Paragraph

This rubric is for how well-written your paragraph is.

Attempt is missing or barely started.Paragraph is disorganized, lacking main idea with supporting details and/or grammar inhibits a reader from understanding.Paragraph is somewhat organized, but main idea and details are not closely related or well-structured. Paragraph is clearly organized with a main idea and strong supporting details.
Missing012

Review your work and give yourself a score. Explain why you gave your work this score.

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Rubric for Making a Connection

This rubric is for how well you made a connection between a museum artifact and Frederick Douglass’ autobiography book.

Attempt is missing or barely started.The connection is unclear or misinterprets the book.The connection is vague or shows partial understanding of the book.The connection is realistic and well described.
Missing012

Review your work and give yourself a score. Explain why you gave your work this score.

To go to the next rubric, click here.

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African American History & Culture Artifact

The National Museum of African-American History & Culture has amazing collections from a variety of eras of African-American life and culture. For this project, we will explore the 1850s collection (but please explore some other decades when you can!). 

You can see the collection by clicking “Date/Era” then “1850s” here:

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/collection

Choose an artifact from the collection that has a connection to The Narrative of Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Then, write a paragraph that explains the artifact you choose, how it connects to the book. Be sure to cite 3 details from the book in explaining your artifact. 

If you want to share your work, you can upload a document, picture, or PDF file below!

Upload your picture here.

Click here to see the rubrics for this project.