Finshing up short stories in English 9

Final drafts will be due Friday! 10/10

Before then, you will need to have 3 people read for revision.  This means you will also need to read the papers of 3 writers.  As you read, please answer the following questions:

What is your impression of the setting in the story?

What did you like about the main character?  Are there things you’d like to know more about?  What have you learned about the main character through dialogue?

Retell the plot in one sentence. 

Is there an exposition, rising action, turning point, falling action and resolution?

As writers, next revise your papers with your peer reviewers’ comments in mind or fresh ideas from yours!

Edit.  Get help with this as needed.

Print; turn in!

For Monday absentees

Notes from English 7 today in case you were absent.

22 September 2014                                         English 7

1.    Put highlighted text in your binder – vocabulary section.

Lead (in a news article) – First sentence in the article.  Contains: Who, What, Where, When

Inverted pyramid – The way information is arranged in a news article – important facts are at the front of the article.

Example of lead sentence:  Hugh Tran is a foreign exchange student originally from Vietnam attending St Regis Falls Central School during the 2014-15 school year.

2.    Index card:  Put your name at the top of the card.  Follow up with your first 3 choices of news articles you would like to write for the class newspaper.

3.    Writer’s notebook:  Spend 5 minutes writing what you already know about your first choice of news articles and what you will need to find out.  Next write the lead sentence to this news article based on what you already know and the definitions above.

Last minute writing ideas

I hope you've been having a lovely summer!  If you need any ideas for writing topics before next Thursday, I'll post some here from this great new book I have called 642 Things to Write About.  

Write a story that includes a streetlight, a bear and a kid with a jar of honey.

Write about something you hate to love.

Describe a dream you remember.

What does your dog do when you are away?  Guard the house, sleep, make adventures?

When was the first time you left your hometown?  Where did you go, and with whom? What was different, the same and how did you feel?

What's something you can do better than anyone else you know?  Write a how-to description of your area of expertise.

What's your favorite meal?  Who cooks it best and what does the meal remind you of?

Describe the perfect bedroom.  How would your room look if you could do anything you wanted to it?

Think of a bad habit and write a scene where the main character can't stop doing it.

If you were mayor of Ferguson, Missouri, what would you do to ease the tensions that erupted in that area this summer?  ( You might need to do a bit of research on this one, but that's a good thing!)

These are just suggestions for the last minute writer.  As always, if you have other ideas, please use your own as they are always better!  I'll post again in a few days in case you are still stuck.

Enjoy these last few days of summer!

Additional online article for disease research

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3327542/

Gathering Grid for Contagious Disease Research Paper

Directions:  Sometimes it is difficult to write a unified paper when you have information from lots of sources to keep track of and include.  Using this form should be a big help!

Research question:	Source 1	Source 2	Source 3	Source 4
How is this disease transmitted from one person to another?
What is the cure for your disease?
What are the symptoms of your disease?
How did this disease affect the community(ies) where it was prevalent?
What is the likelihood you will contract this disease in your lifetime?
What time period and place was this disease most prevalent?
What’s your question?

English 8

Students finished Genre charts after updating reading logs.  We read in The Giver to page 35 and learned about strange rules followed by the citizens of Jonas's community.

English 9

Romeo and Juliet

Students are doing a fine job reading aloud from Romeo and Juliet.  They've hardly skipped a beat.  We just made it to the famous balcony scene today.

Fever 1793

English 7
We read to page 33 in period 1 and 30 in period 8.

Reading logs and genre charts completed for the day, per 1.

We spent some time looking at books on Amazon.  In addition to Silver, Chris Wooding has written some other promising looking books including one called Poison.  Mrs. Chapman will still send interlibrary loan requests till Friday, May 9!

The Giver

English 8

Update reading log – date, title, author, pages and summary.  Put the following chart in the back of your reading log.  Then set remaining reading goals with an eye toward reading from a variety of genres.

Genre	Title/# of titles
Dystopian fiction
Science fiction
Fantasy
Supernatural/ghost
Realistic fiction
Historical fiction
Nonfiction
Sports fiction
Adventure/survival
Romance
Verse novel
Comedy/humor

Read to page 22 in The Giver, dystopian fiction.

Romeo and Juliet

English 9, Act I roles

Montague	Neutral	Capulet
Abram-Spencer	Chorus - Hope	Sampson-Trystin
	Officer-Dylan	Gregory-Dylan
	Prince-Connor	Tybalt-Zach
Benvolio-Sage		Capulet-Anthony
Montague-Spencer		Lady Capulet-Hope
Lady M-Jenna		Paris-Mrs. Scott
Romeo-Austen		Nurse-Nicki
Servant-Connor		Juliet-Heather
Mercutio-Skylar		Servingmen-Connor Anthony Dylan

How do you get a good reading grade? By trying to read all lines, not missing cues, reading with expression and fluidity.

Reading log is due tomorrow, 5/6

Blah, Monday!

5 May 2014

English 7

Business:  Fundraiser sheets..flower sale from 5/5-5/12

                Earth Day is tomorrow in SRF.  We will go out 10th period to clean up the earth!

                School Store.net – spread the word!

Update reading logs

Read Fever 1793!

Characters in Fever 1793:

Mathilda – works at her family coffeehouse, friend and coworker died suddenly

Mother – protective, hardworking and angry

Grandfather – has parrot, was a soldier, joyous and shows Mattie love, gossip

Eliza – black lady who was freed by her husband, but he died before she could buy his freedom, cook in the coffeehouse

Setting –

1793, later summer (August) Philadelphia

Coffeehouse – people meet there to gossip, drink coffee or tea and not spirits (alcohol), play cards or gamble

Rotten pile of coffeebeans, rats etc. conditions that were prime for the spread of disease

Genre Chart

Genre	Title, or number of titles
Fantasy
Science fiction
Realistic fiction
Supernatural fiction
Mystery
Historical fiction
Sports fiction

 Comedy

English 7
Update reading log.
Class activity with Westing Game clues.
Read in class to page 66 (per 1)
Read 30 minutes for homework.

English 8                    

Update reading logs for the weekend's reading.

Literature circle group meetings:

          Be sure you have 2 discussion questions about your book - what do you wonder about at the point where all are supposed to have read to...something about characters' motives or actions, something about the future in the book...
     Next, as a group select a question you will all answer in writing, including the writer of the question.  Choose 4 good questions as a group, (vote if you need to!) answer them independently on loose leaf paper. Ideally, you will choose one question from each group member. When everyone has finished the writing, you should share your answers orally.
Read 30 minutes for homework.

English 9, period 2
Read "Eagle River" chapter from Winterdance.
Complete chapter block on that chapter.

English 9, period 6
Read pages 141-160 in A Northern Light.
Continue silent conversation with the following questions:

Trystin- Do you think Uncle Fifty will give Mattie the money?

Dylan- Why do you think Uncle Fifty drinks so much?

Nicki- Do you think Uncle Fifty is a honest person?

Read independently for homework, 30 minutes.

English 7
Update reading log.
Update information pages on Westing Game characters.
Play with sets of clues!
Homework:  Read 30 minutes.

English 8
Update reading log.
Finish reading Anne Frank together.
Break into literature circle groups.  Two for Code Talker, one each for The Cage and What I Saw and How I Lied, and one miscellaneous.
     Pick a page you will all have read to by Monday
     Write 2 discussion questions on a sheet of loose leaf paper.  As a group pick questions to answer on your papers individually and in writing.  Answer as many as you can in the time you have remaining.
Homework:  Read 30 minutes.

English 9 period 2
Check remaining mushers' progress in the Iditarod.
Read "Alaska" from Winterdance.
Complete chapter block on that chapter.
Complete chapter blocks on the first 2 chapters of independent books.

English 9 period 6
Read A Northern Light to page 140.
Continue (not so) silent discussion in writing:

New questions...

Nicki- Do you think Weaver will turn out like his dad? And Why?

Zach- Do you think that Chester used the tennis racket to hit Grace?

Anthony- Do you think that Weaver will end up getting himself hurt?

Austen-Why do you think Royal helped Weaver out of trouble?

Sage- When and where do you think Royal will propose to Mattie?

Heather- Why was Matties father so against her working at the Glenmore?

Homework:  Read for 30 minutes.  Think of a discussion question if you haven't already contributed one.

English 9 period 6
 Silent conversation (oxymoron) Think of a discussion question about A Northern Light. Answer your classmates' questions and the sample in paragraphs on looseleaf paper.  These will be collected for a grade.  To be continued on Wed.

Example question…What makes Emmie Hubbard hide under the bed?

Spencer: How do you think that Mattie was able to leave the farm to go work at the Glenmore?

Skylar: Out of all the people Grace could have given her letters to, why did she give them to Mattie?

Connor: What do you think was the source of the argument that caused Lawton to leave?

Hope: Do you think Mattie will tell her father about Banard college?

Nicki: Why is Mattie's dad so hard on her?

Spencer: Where do you think Chester went after the day they found Grace Brown?

We read to page 124 from A Northern Light in class.

Read for 30 minutes for homework!

English 8

Update reading logs.
Read Anne Frank - to page 770.  We will finish Wed.

Check mushers on Iditarod.com.  How is your dog sled team doing?

Read "First Snow" chapter in Winterdance.  Complete Chapter block

English 7

Update reading logs with summary of last night’s reading.

Turn in paragraphs stating Sam Westing's assumed wishes and evidence proving such from the will.

Read from The Westing Game. From end of chapter 8 to page 58 (beginning of chapter 10.) (period 1)

English 9

Read the article from the Watertown Daily Times on 3 March 2014 about Jennifer Donnelly and her current writing project.  Then write a response to it in your writer's notebook.

Read in A Northern Light to page 110.

Read from your independent book for homework...30 minutes!

English 8

Update reading log for today.

Using loose leaf paper, write a well written paragraph regarding your independent book on World War II.  Using the timeline provided, identify the time and place in the war your book occupies.  Start with a topic sentence, add 2-3 sentences with details from the book that show how you know this to be true and then finish with a concluding sentence.

English 9 period 2

We read Winterdance, the chapter called "Becoming Dog" and completed a chapter block.

Next we read chapter 2 in independent books.  These should be finished for homework.  Be prepared to share what you read in your independent book with the class on Tuesday.

The mushers in this year's Iditarod are out of Elim.  This puts them within 100 miles of finishing the race.  Jeff King is in 1st place this morning, Aliy Zirkle is in 2nd and Martin Buser is in 4th place.  I guess his sprained ankle isn't slowing him down too much!  Alan Moore is in 36th place.  At this point, 16 mushers have scratched, but he's still going!

English 7                                           Test prep and text analysis

On loose leaf paper:  Answer the following in a well written paragraph:

What do you think Sam Westing wants the pairs of heirs to do after the reading of the will?  Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Hints on writing a well-constructed paragraph: 

Sentence #1 – Topic sentence.  Reword the directions.

Sentences #2-4 – Evidence that proves your idea above.  See chapter 6-7 for the will.

Last sentence – concluding sentence…look to the future of the book, state your opinion regarding Sam’s techniques or desires, tell what you would do if you were an heir…

Homework...read for 30 minutes from your independent book!

This week:  2/10-2/14 all classes will be working on an essay about the joys and shortcoming of living in the Adirondack Park.  Rough drafts will be created Monday and Tuesday.  Peer review will happen on Wednesday followed by revision and editing. Final drafts will be done by Friday.

Outline for the essay is as follows:

I. Introduction - describe where you live

II. Advantage to living here #1

III. Advantage #2

IV. Advantage #3

V.Conclusion

Below are some of the notes we have gathered.  

Living in the Adirondacks              English 8 -10 min. list

Animals – viewing wildlife, hunting, fishing, trapping, opportunities

        Resurgence of nearly extinct animals and returning animals

Weather – Summers aren’t too hot

        Swimming holes and other sites

        Beautiful autumn

        Skiing opportunities

        Mountains to climb

        Practice survival skills

        Camping

        Snow shoeing

Environmental – Quiet

        No traffic

        Semi-clean

        Few disruptive people

        S P A C E

Homework:  Reading for 30 minutes each night...book of your choosing.

English 9

Nonfiction slideshow presentations will be given on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Below is the order in which they will be given.
1.  Sage
2.  Heather
3.  Spencer
4.  Hope
5.  Zach
6.  Trystin
7.  Austen
8.  Connor
9.  Skylar
10. Anthony
11. Dylan
12.  Nicki
13. Jenna
Be ready!

English 7

Students received their graded writer's notebooks and rough drafts with suggestions for improvement this morning. Then we worked on revision of Peak essays. 

Students may have been helped by review comments left by their classmates.  They are strongly encouraged to take the suggestions offered by their teacher! These suggestions will help them to maximize the points they earn as defined by the rubric.  Revision is the hardest part of writing!

Homework - read 30 minutes plus continue revising

Rubric for Peak essay

Writer’s name:_____________________

_____1.  Character is totally conistent with author’s intent.

_____2.  Perspective is totally first person.

_____3.  Mixture of dialogue, narration and internal monologue.

_____4.  Consideration of revision suggestions from classmates and your teacher.

_____5.  Original component shown – details we didn’t “know” while reading Peak.

_____ Total pts.

Book Orders! 

I will be sending out book orders on Friday, 31 January 2014 if you are interested.  Bring either cash or check made out to Scholastic. There is an online ordering option which I haven't investigated yet. Let me know in a comment if you are interested in ordering that way!

English 7
We continued work on Peak journals today.  Most finished peer review.  I reviewed and commented on many papers.  The rest I will return tomorrow in class when we will complete final drafts.  Bring a pen and plan to write final drafts in your own "Moleskine."

No reading logs tomorrow; just revising, editing and final draft writing on this last day of the quarter.

Read for 30 minutes tonight.

English 8
Confused completion of our group peer review activity.  Several groups will be broken up so individual work can continue on Jason's Gold scripts.  I am reviewing a copy of everyone's rough draft tonight, will return them for final draft completion tomorrow in class.

Read for 30 minutes tonight.

30 January 2014

English 9 Slideshow preparation. 

Here is one last writer’s notebook topic to write about:

Among the topics you have selected to research, we see representation from the following areas:

Academia - 1

Financial world – 1

Historical – 2

Entertainment – 2

Sports – 4

Would you say that your class’s selections are a fair representation of the kinds of heroes Americans respect?

Homework - read for 30 minutes.  Slideshow presentations will be made Monday and Tuesday, Feb 3-4.  Writer's notebooks are really due tomorrow with this 4th assignment and we will have more slideshow time in the computer lab.

For a few extra credit points at this crucial period of time, comment on this blog post.  Be sure I can identify you either from the email you leave or put your name in the post.

29 January 2014

Update Writer's notebooks which are due Jan 30

1/21 - Things that make me smile
1/16 - Plan for slideshow
1/7 - Poem

In class today we worked on laptops creating electronic slideshow presentations.  Some are using Powerpoint, while others are using prezi.com.

To access our class prezi account, the following information is necessary:
Go to prezi.com.
username:  hscott@mail.fehb.org
password: roomb105

Slideshow presentations will be made Mon and Tues Feb 3-4.

English 8

29 January 2014

Today:

Writing - Writer's notebook:  what helps you most when you are revising a piece of writing?  5 minutes.

Writer’s notebook @ 20 weeks – English 8

Due 30 January 2014

Jan 29 – What helps you to improve your writing?

Jan 21 – Things that make me smile

Jan 22 - Snow 2 hr delay day – Home is where the heart is list, less than a page!

Jan 16 – Obsessions

Jan 13 – Dreams or your own choice

Jan 9 – What do you know about core standards?

Jan 7 – field trip – music – to Brushton

Jan 6 – Doodle Journal

Dec 19 – What could the man in “To Build a Fire” have done to make his trip more successful?

Notebooks are due Jan 30.

Class work - peer review of script writing - Jason's Gold.

English 7

Writer’s Notebook topic for today   29 January 2014

5 min

What helps you to improve your writing?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Writer’s notebook at 20 weeks – English 7

1/6 – Doodle Journal
1/13 – Make your dreams come true day, or your choice
1/14 – Saints High Peaks Expedition
1/21 – Things that make me smile
1/22 – Home is where the heart is – not a full page
1/29 – Improving writing
Give yourself a check for 12 lines or more!
Due 1/30	/30 pts

  In class we worked on peer review of Peak essays today.