Weekly agenda February 13th - February 17th

We will have our Dystopia Test on Monday. Please study your packets, know your vocabulary, and look over your daily edits. (5th hour, we will finish our review before the test)

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we will be working on our alien projects. Bring your supplies to our classroom before school or during Primetime. In the interest of time, you might want to assemble your sections at home and then put it together in class. Be creative! We will have the alien presentations on Thursday, February 16th. Parents invited!

You will receive your first draft of your short story on Monday. Your second draft will be due on Thursday, February 16th. You are expected to incorporate the feedback you receive from your first draft into your second draft.

The Twilight Zone 1985 Examination Day

We will have a test over two short stories: "Harrison Bergeron" and "Examination Day."

The extra credit constructed response, which will be added to your "Dark They Were and Goldeneyed" test grade, will be due on Friday.

As my earlier post noted, the alien due date has been pushed back until Thursday, February 16th, to allow you more time to work on your project. You may begin bringing in your supplies beforehand. We will have alien workshops Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week. presentations are scheduled for February 16th. Be prepared!

Weekly Homework due Friday, February 3rd

Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed by Raymond Bradbury

Agenda:
We will compare and contrast the genre of fantasy to the subgenres of science fiction. Later in the week, we will be working on our fantasy stories.

Homework:
Workbook pages 77-80 (Verbs and Verbs & their objects)
Rough draft #1 will be returned to students mid-week with feedback and a rubric. Adjustments will be made to the paper at home. Rough draft #2 needs to be typed and turned in by Friday, February 3rd. Use your recess passes this week if you are unable to print at home.

Assessments:
Quiz over sci-fi guided notes and short story, Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed by Raymond Bradbury
 on Friday

Weekly homework - due January 20th

1. Write at least one full paragraph describing a setting for a fantasy story. Use your knowledge of fantasy characteristics (magical creatures, magical events, and magical elements) to create this setting.


Remember: Focus on strong imagery! Use vivid description and sensory images to help your reader “see” your setting.

Your paragraph may be typed or handwritten, neatly, on a loose-leaf sheet of paper. As always, double-space your writing. A paragraph is 5-7 quality sentences.

The setting in a fantasy story is probably the most important piece of the story. As a writer, you have to decide where the story will take place? How will you define what can happen there?
 
2. Illustrate your fantasy setting. Your final product should be 8 1/2 x 11. No other requirements will be issued...get creative with your tools.
 

The Smallest Dragonboy Test will be Friday

Literature Quiz on Friday, January 13th

Study the guided notes from Monday and the Archetype notes from Tuesday. Be prepared to identify the definitions and list examples. Good Luck!

Weekly Homework January 9th - January 13th

Welcome to our Fantasy Unit!

Weekly homework due Friday, January 13th

Homework Essay:

Compose a two-paragraph composition describing your favorite fantasy movie, book, TV program, or children's story. The first paragraph should describe the characters, the plot, and the setting. The second paragraph should describe the magical events, creatures, and/or elements of your chosen fantasy. Remember to use correct grammar and punctuation in your writing. As always... double space!

Homework due September 30th

The Official Movie and Novel Website

Agenda:
We will be taking Unit 1 Edusoft on Monday, finishing the novel on Tuesday, reviewing for Chapter 6-12 Test on Wednesday, taking the test on Thursday, and finishing the movie, The Outsiders, on Friday. It's going to be a fun week!

The Outsiders study booklet is due on Friday, September 30th. The contents of the booklet will be made available to the students on Monday. Use The Outsiders PowerPoint to complete any requirements you were unable to complete in class. Extra handouts will also be available on Monday - look in the 7th grade Literature folder that is kept in class.

Homework: A grade will be issued in both Fine Arts and  Literature for this homework assignment.
1. Create the front cover art for your study booklet. You can create the cover using digital tools or your own artistic abilities.

Refer to this link for details about creating cover art: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/bookcover/guide/

Choose one form of publishing:

• Digital option: Click this link http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/bookcover/
• Artistic option: Your hand-made cover has a colored illustration and colored background

Both options should include the following:

one or more of the characters ( you may use a computer generated image)

the setting -specific details ( No Micheal Jordans on the Greasers)

A specific event from the story

2. Using the space available on the back cover, write an opinion of this book for someone who might be interested in reading it. Your opinion should be 5-7 sentences about one or all of the following:

• Why didn't/did you enjoy the book?
• What character was the most interesting to you? Why?
• Are these themes relevant today? (Friendship, belonging, family bonds) Why?
• What movie/story would modern audiences compare this movie to? Why?

If you have any questions about this assignment, send me a message in Edmodo. Remember, you have the ability to print in Room 130 before school and in our classroom during recess. Have a great week!

Homework due September 23rd

1. A final draft into class on Friday, September 23rd.
2. Read AR

The Outsiders Chapters 1-5 Test on Tuesday, September 20th.
study your booklet to prepare

Homework Helpers!

Homework Help:

1. Read AR - Keep going even if you've reached your 9 week goal. Extra credit is awarded for points up to 250% of your goal.

2. Keep working on your rough draft of your historical fiction story. You should have turned in a rough copy into class on Monday, Spetember 12th. I looked at the drafts for accurate style/content. We wrote in class on Monday, Ms. Robair and I checked all the stories this week, and gave each student specific things to improve in their drafts. We will be typing another draft this Friday to include the new adjustments based on the teacher feedback. Make sure your jumpdrives are with you on Friday!

3. Graphic organizers and rough drafts were awarded points on Monday. There are some of you who did not receive your points, yet. Please take care of this. Grades for the organizers are posted on TAC.

4. 1960's webquest poster is due Friday, September 16th. This is the link we used in class for the research component.The Outsiders Webquest
 
5. Comma Notebook Check on Friday and a Comma Quiz on Friday.

• E1 - The Seven Big Rules of Commas
• E2 - Commas A
• E3 - Commas B
• E4 - Commas D
• E5 - Commas E
• E6 - Commas I

 6. Signed grade reports! I sent home copies of your itemized grades for your review. Please check over them. Teachers make mistakes all the time. Be polite when you bring it to their/ my attention!

Agenda and Homework August 22 - 26

Agenda
Students will use their knowledge of literary elements and author devices to complete a creative group project.  We will continue to discuss literary genres, practice proper usage of grammar and punctuation, and begin the early stages of writing a short fictional story.

Homework

Read AR at least 15 minutes daily.

Write a multi-paragraph essay describing your favorite literary genre.  You must be more specific than "fiction" or "nonfiction."  Use the information learned in class to discuss the specific genre of literature you most enjoy reading. 

Your essay must be neatly written or typed in standard format (times new roman, 12 pt. font).  It should be well-organized and include examples of your favorite genre.

Agenda and Homework August 15 - 19

We will be beginning our Fiction Unit this week! You will be working in teams to research and develop examples of literary elements and author devices which readers can find in all works of literature.

This week students will also complete the Edusoft pre-assessment and receive their new Accelerated Reading goals.

HOMEWORK - Due Friday, August 19

1. Go online and take the following Learning Styles Inventory:
Find Your Strengths

2. Using your inventory results, complete the Coat of Arms. Make sure your submission is detailed and colorful and your top three learning styles are artistically represented.

3. Who Am I? On a piece of separate, lined paper, write a 5-7 sentence paragraph (neatly!) describing who you are as a student. What are your strongest and weakest subjects? In what ways do you learn best? How does your personality affect how you learn? What are your goals for this school year?

Important Reminders
Finish your Summer Reading. You have until August 26th to complete the two required books, take the 2 tests, and submit the 2 reading logs.

Please remember to bring in signed syllabus sheets and blank composition notebooks.

As always, bring an AR book with you to class every day!

Narrative Poetry

An animated version of the poem, by Alfred Noyes, set to music.

The poem, "The Highwayman," was written on the edge of a desolate stretch of land in West Surrey known as Bagshot Heath, where Noyes, then aged twenty-four, had taken rooms in a cottage. In his autobiography, he recalled: "Bagshot Heath in those days was a wild bit of country, all heather and pinewoods. The Highwayman suggested itself to me one blustery night when the sound of the wind in the pines gave me the first line." The poem was completed in about two days.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Highwayman_(poem)

"The Charge of the Light Brigade," written by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Tennyson wrote "The Charge of the Light Brigade" in a few minutes on December 2, 1854, after reading an article in the London Times about the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, which was fought from 1853 to 1856 between Russia on one side and England, France, Turkey, and Sardinia on the other. According to his son, Hallam Tennyson, it was the poet's method to catch phrases that attracted his interest, which he "rolled about, so to speak, in his head, before he wrote them down." In this case, the phrase from the newspaper article was "some hideous blunder," which appears in the poem as "someone had blundered": this might indicate that Tennyson was seeking to blame someone for the disastrous massacre that wiped out the Light Brigade, but the "someone" is never mentioned again. This poem is about (honor) and courage, not about the bad luck or stupidity that put the men of the Light Brigade cavalry in a position to display that courage.
"The Charge of the Light Brigade: Introduction." Poetry for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 8 November 2010. http://www.enotes.com/charge-light/introduction.

BLOG LOG FOR GROUPS: After group discussion concerning the following questions, type your team's response paragraph into the "add comment" area of this blog post. I will post your comments to the blog after the comments are previewed. Please use proper grammar and punctuation...always, always, always.

Have fun! 

According to these two sources, inspiration for these two poems came to their poets rather quickly. In fact, they were able to create these awesome poems in a matter of days.

• Why do you think the poets are so easily motivated by this theme of honor?
• Is this an easy theme to understand and, therefore, fits into a poem quite easily OR is it that the presence of honor in today's world is rare and, therefore, the poet needs to instruct us on what it is to be honorable?  

• How does honor fit into your daily life?

• Do you thinkdisplays of  honor is rare or obvious in today's world?

Tell us...What do you think?