Mrs. Cheney's Language Arts

New Web Page

2009-02-25T11:50:00.001-07:00

I am now posting on my web page at http://my.uen.org/myuen/217706/Home.

1/12/09

2009-01-12T09:08:00.002-07:00

So sorry about the absence. I've been a lazy blogger. I will do better!

We are reading Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen. As of today we have read through chapter 2. Today we talked about literary devices authors use to help us understand the deeper meanings of their stories. These are the devices we looked at today:

imagery: painting a picture with words

simile: a comparison between two unlike things using the words like or as

metaphor: a comparison between two unlike things saying one thing is the other

inference: when an author says something indirectly and we guess what was meant based on the clues in the text

irony: a conflict between reality and expectation

foreshadowing: hints of what will happen in the plot of a book, story, movie, etc.

symbolism: an object or idea that has a deeper meaning than its actual self

We used these definitions to figure out which device Mikaelsen is using in each of the following quotes from the book:

1. He was built like a bulldog with lazy eyes. (p. 3)

2. “Hey Champ, try falling on your fists sometime.” (p. 24)

3. Cole was to put his clothes on inside out. (p. 4)

4. Keep things dry, because wet kills. (p. 17)

5. He stared forward with steely patience, like a wolf waiting (p. 4)

6. “I’m not afraid of dying,” Cole boasted.
Edwin smiled slightly. “If death stares you straight in the face, believe me, son, you’ll get scared.” (p. 17)

7. “If I saw a Spirit Bear, I’d kill it,” Cole said. (p. 18)

8. Whatever happened, he could always count on having one more last chance. (p. 6)

9. “At.oow is something you inherit. This blanket has been handed down for many generations in my family. It once belonged to one of our chiefs and is a link to our ancestors. You can’t own at.oow. You are only its caretaker for a time. If you accept this at.oow from me, you must promise to care for it and someday pass it on to someone else you trust.” (p. 19)

10. His anger smoldered like a lit fuse. (p. 22)

11. Some days his dad got so mad, he turned beet red and twitched because he couldn’t lay a finger on Cole with the guards watching. (p. 9)

12. Now the game was over and he was in charge . . . Rage controlled his tight grip on the match. It controlled the defiant flare of his nostrils and the striking of the match against the box. Rage controlled Cole’s hand as he drew back, paused for a split second, and then flipped the lighted match inside the shelter. (p. 24-25)

13. “Whatever you do to the animals, you do to yourself. Remember that.” (p. 18)

Extra credit:

Cole’s name. Explain your answer.

Research Paper Guidelines

2008-12-15T09:03:00.002-07:00

Guidelines for Writing Your Research Paper

All drafts and final paper must be typed, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, double-spaced.
Your paper should be made up of an introduction (one paragraph), a body (at least six paragraphs) and a conclusion (one paragraph).
You must have a thesis statement in which you introduce three sub-topics.
Include transitions between paragraphs.
Do not use I, me, we, us, you etc. in your paper.
You should have at least 1000 words in your final draft.
Include information from at least three sources (one MUST be a book, only ONE may be an internet site).
You must have a works cited page (we will talk more about this in class).
You must have in-text citations from all three sources (we will talk more about this in class).
Quotations can be no longer than 4 typed lines.
Do not plagiarize (use your own words, structure, ideas)
You will turn in your outline, drafts, revisions, works cited pages and anything else we worked on in class along with your final draft. Do not throw any of these things away.

Structure
Introduction (3-5 sentences)

Hook: Grab the reader’s attention with a quote, scenario, question, vivid description, etc. Must be related to your topic. 1-2 sentences
Thesis statement: Simply and clearly state the main idea of your essay.1 sentence
Three sub-topics. Choose three points of similarities and differences you will write about. Briefly state these ideas here. 1-3 sentences

Paragraphs 2-3 (5-8 sentences each)

Go back to paragraph one
Find your first sub-topic
Write a paragraph including specific details and examples from the text and your own experience
Write a transition sentence.

Paragraphs 4-5 (5-8 sentences each)

Go back to paragraph one
Find your second sub-topic
Write a paragraph including specific details and examples from the text and your own experience
Write a transition sentence.

Paragraphs 6-7 (5-8 sentences each)

Go back to paragraph one
Find your third sub-topic
Write a paragraph including specific details and examples from the text and your own experience
Write a transition sentence.

Conclusion (3-5 sentences)

Summarize—restate your thesis statement and three sub-topics in different words
Make a closing statement. Tie your closing statement back to your opening hook.

12/15/08

2008-12-15T08:54:00.002-07:00

We started our day with spelling words and then reading/glossary time. Find the new list in the right side bar.

We're still working on the research paper. You should have given your draft and an evaluation form to your parents to read over the weekend. I checked evaluation forms today. Use the evaluation to show you what you need to focus on to make your final draft better. Be sure to keep your form so you can attach it to your final draft when you turn it in on Thursday.

Today's task is to print a first draft of the Works Cited page. Remember, you need at least three sources. One must be a book. No more than one website. I will be checking Works Cited pages tomorrow in class. Remember, all these deadline points really add up. Stay on task and complete each assignment by the due date and you'll get a good grade.

12/11/08

2008-12-11T10:41:00.002-07:00

We have been working on our first drafts in the computer lab during the last two days. We are working toward completing a 1000-word draft by the end of class tomorrow.

Remember to cite your sources in the text of your paper. Here is a good site to show how to use in-text citations.

Your draft should:

be typed, doubled-spaced in 12 pt. Times New Roman font
include a thesis statement (the main topic of your research paper) and three sub-topics
be at least 8 paragraphs, including an introduction (1 paragraph) a body (six paragraphs) and a conclusion (1 paragraph)
be at least 1000 word (click on Tools then Word Count to find the number of words)
have MLA formatted in-text citations (at least one per paragraph and from at least three different sources)

We will be printing our drafts by the end of class on Friday. I will ask you to have your parents read your draft and fill out an evaluation over the weekend. We'll work on revising and editing on Monday and Tuesday in class. We'll also work on the Works Cited page and the Title Page.

Remember, don't throw away any of the steps we have worked on for this project. We'll turn everything in next week!

12/9/08

2008-12-09T09:50:00.002-07:00

Today we talked about the MLA format for citing sources. When you write a research paper, you have to document your sources. That means you have to tell the reader where you got your information. We are using the MLA format for citing sources for this research paper. Today in class, I gave you a chart showing how to follow this format. We also practiced using the MLA format on a worksheet. Get the worksheet and chart from me if you missed classes.

Here is a great website showing how to use MLA format. Use your chart and this website to format your Works Cited page. Remember, you need at least three sources for your research paper. You must use at least one book and no more than one good website.

We also worked on our outlines for our research paper. If you missed today, get an outline form from me.

12/8/08

2008-12-08T08:57:00.002-07:00

We are continuing with our research paper. We are spending today in the library doing some book research. Remember, I am requiring you to use at least one book for a source of information for your research paper. We are taking notes of interesting information today. Make sure to write the book and page number next to each note so you can cite your sources in your paper.

We will be writing on outline tomorrow. We will also be talking about MLA format for citing sources. We will talk about the "Works Cited"--what to include and how to format. Remember, if you complete each task I give in class, you should be able to complete your research paper without any homework. Only those who mess around in class get stuck with homework. Be sure to complete each task when it is assigned.

Check the right column for this week's spelling list.

Research Paper Calendar

2008-12-03T11:07:00.001-07:00

Research Paper Calendar

From: mrs_cheney,
2 minutes ago

Research Paper Calendar

View SlideShare document or Upload your own.

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12/3/08

2008-12-03T10:57:00.003-07:00

Today was late start--so we had a short class.

We started with reading and glossaries. Next we talked about the upcoming research paper. We will be doing some preliminary research over the next couple of days. We will each explore three interesting topics to narrow down the to topic of our focus by Friday.

Get a chart from me if you weren't here today.

See this calendar for important due dates for this project. Be sure to click on the screen icon to get the full screen view of the calendar.

12/2/08

2008-12-03T10:56:00.001-07:00

Today we read "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh", by Ray Bradbury on page 203 of the red lit. book.

We filled in the compare/contrast chart as we read. The chart was due at the end of class.

12/1/08

2008-12-01T08:45:00.003-07:00

We finished the final copy of the compare/contrast essay last Wednesday. Turn it in as soon as you can if you missed class on Wednesday.

Today we started with a new list of spelling words. Check the right side bar for the list. We will have a spelling quiz on Friday.

Today we read "Drumbeats and Bullets" on page 197 of your red literature book. This is a non-fiction account of the drummer boys in the Civil War. We will be comparing this article with a fictional story about drummer boys we will be reading tomorrow. Copy the chart on page 202, read "Drumbeats and Bullets" on page 197, and fill out the first column of your chart.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

11/24/08

2008-11-24T09:50:00.003-07:00

Welcome to a new trimester! I'm a bit late getting started with my blog for this tri--I hope you'll forgive me.

Things we have already discussed:

Glossary

During reading time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, you will be required to enter a word you your glossary. A glossary is a collection of vocabulary words and definitions found in the back of technical books. Your glossary will be a collection of words and definitions you find from the books you will read during reading time. I would like you to keep a glossary in the back few pages on your journal. Your glossary should be a chart with these headings: date, word, book page #, definition. As you read, look for words that may be unfamiliar, interesting, fun to say, or just plain curious. When you find a word you'd like to add to your glossary list, record the date, the word, the book and page number where you found your word, and a definition of the word in your own words.

This is not a dictionary activity. I repeat, this is not a dictionary activity. That means, don't use a dictionary to find your definitions. You will find your definitions right there in the book you are reading. Look for context clues (clues in the text of your book), first in the sentence the word is part of, then in the sentences before and after that sentence. Sometimes the context clues come through an entire chapter. I promise there are clues in every book you read to help you understand the words in the book.

Here is an example from Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer. On page 77 it says, "Finally the curiosity I'd suppressed so long got the best of me." The word suppressed might be an unfamiliar or interesting word to you. So let's look at the sentence to see if we can figure out what it means based on how it is used. Clue #1: curiosity. We know what curiosity is. It means an inquisitive state of being. She wants to know something, and she wants to know it bad. Clue #2: got the best of me. We know that means it won the contest, took over, or overcame. Clue #3: finally. We understand that to mean that it was a long time before the curiosity took over. That means she was able to hold back her curiosity for some time. So now we're ready to guess based on our clues. What does suppressed mean? It must mean to hold back. So for your definition, you would write "hold back" or some similar phrase.

It's just that easy.

This is a skill that you will use again and again. If you are able to use context clues properly, it will help you to be a life-long learner. Plus it makes school a whole lot easier.

You will turn your glossary in at mid-term and at final. I expect at least one word for every reading period we have. That means by the time the trimester is over, you should have about 36 words in your glossary. Each entry is worth 3 points. Make sure to keep up with your glossary every time we read so you won't have to make it up at the end.

On Friday, we read "Thanksgiving: A Meal Without Forks and Other Feast Facts" on page 137 in the literature textbook. After reading the essay, we made a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the first Thanksgiving with our modern-day Thanksgiving traditions. This was a pre-writing activity to prepare us for a compare/contrast essay we will be writing today, tomorrow and Wednesday.

Today we started with reading/glossaries. You should have two words in your glossaries after today.

Next we continued with our prewriting activities--this time we wrote an outline. An outline is a like a map that shows us where to go (and what to write) in our drafts. This is what we covered today:

Structure of a five paragraph compare/contrast essay

Introduction (3-5 sentences)
• Hook: Grab the reader’s attention with a quote, scenario, question, vivid description, etc. Must be related to your topic. 1-2 sentences
• Thesis statement: Simply and clearly state the main idea of your essay.1 sentence
• Three sub-topics. Choose three points of similarities and differences you will write about. Briefly state these ideas here. 1-3 sentences

Paragraph 2 (5-8 sentences)
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your first sub-topic
• Write a paragraph including specific details and examples from the text and your own experience
• Write a transition sentence.

Paragraph 3 (5-8 sentences)
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your second sub-topic
• Write a paragraph including specific details and examples from the text and your own experience
• Write a transition sentence.

Paragraph 4 (5-8 sentences)
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your third sub-topic
• Write a paragraph including specific details and examples from the text and your own experience
• Write a transition sentence.

Conclusion (3-5 sentences)
• Summarize—restate your thesis statement and three sub-topics in different words
• Make a closing statement. Tie your closing statement back to your opening hook.

Do not use phrase like:
• I’m writing my essay about . . .
• This assignment is . . .
• My first (second, third) sub-topic is . . .
• My thesis statement is . . .

Outline, Compare/contrast Essay
Directions: Use the outline form below to organize your compare/contrast essay. Choose your topic and three sub-topics to show similarities and differences. Section I is for your introduction. Section II is for the body (one paragraph for each sub-topic). Section III is for your conclusion.

Topic_____________________________________________________
I. Introduction
a. Hook___________________________________________________
b. Thesis statement____________________________________________
c. Sub-topic #1_________________________________________________
d. Sub-topic #2_________________________________________________
e. Sub-topic #3_________________________________________________
II. Body
a. Sub-topic #1_________________________________________________
i. Example #1____________________________________________
ii. Example #2____________________________________________
iii. Example #3____________________________________________
iv. Transition_____________________________________________
b. Sub-topic #2_________________________________________________
i. Example #1____________________________________________
ii. Example #2____________________________________________
iii. Example #3____________________________________________
iv. Transition_____________________________________________
c. Sub-topic #3_________________________________________________
i. Example #1____________________________________________
ii. Example #2____________________________________________
iii. Example #3____________________________________________
iv. Transition_____________________________________________
III. Conclusion
a. Restate thesis (different words)__________________________________
b. Restate sub-topics (different words)_______________________________
c. Clincher (tie it all together)______________________________________

The outline is due tomorrow!

11/17/08

2008-11-17T14:37:00.002-07:00

Make sure to turn in your hall passes and late work vouchers for extra credit today. Tomorrow is the last day of the tri!

11/13/08

2008-11-13T12:18:00.004-07:00

Today we started a five-paragraph persuasive essay. We talked about structure and we wrote an outline. We watched this PowerPoint presentation.

Structure of a five paragraph persuasive essay

Introduction (3-5 sentences)
• Hook: Grab the reader’s attention with a quote, scenario, question, vivid description, etc. Must be related to your topic. 1-2 sentences
• Thesis statement: Simply and clearly state your position on the issue. 1 sentence
• Three arguments. Choose three arguments you can use to convince your reader of your position. Briefly state these arguments here. 1-3 sentences

Paragraph 2 (5-8 sentences)
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your first argument
• Write a paragraph about it
• Use specific examples to support your argument
• Write a transition sentence.

Paragraph 3 (5-8 sentences)
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your second argument
• Write a paragraph about it
• Use specific examples to support your argument
• Write a transition sentence.

Paragraph 2 (5-8 sentences)
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your third argument
• Write a paragraph about it
• Use specific examples to support your argument
• Write a transition sentence.

Conclusion (3-5 sentences)
• Summarize—restate your thesis statement and three arguments in different words
• Make a closing statement. Tie your closing statement back to your opening hook.

Outline, Persuasive Essay
Directions: Use the outline form below to organize your persuasive essay. Choose your topic and three arguments to support your opinion. Section I is for your introduction. Section II is for the body (one paragraph for each argument). Section III is for your conclusion.

Topic___________________________________________________________________

I. Introduction
a. Hook_______________________________________________________
b. Thesis statement______________________________________________
c. Argument #1_________________________________________________
d. Argument #2_________________________________________________
e. Argument #3_________________________________________________
II. Body
a. Argument #1_________________________________________________
i. Example #1____________________________________________
ii. Example #2____________________________________________
iii. Example #3____________________________________________
iv. Transition_____________________________________________
b. Argument #2_________________________________________________
i. Example #1____________________________________________
ii. Example #2____________________________________________
iii. Example #3____________________________________________
iv. Transition_____________________________________________
c. Argument #3_________________________________________________
i. Example #1____________________________________________
ii. Example #2____________________________________________
iii. Example #3____________________________________________
iv. Transition_____________________________________________
III. Conclusion
a. Restate thesis (different words)__________________________________
b. Restate arguments (different words)_______________________________
c. Clincher (tie it all together)______________________________________

We will be going to the computer lab tomorrow.

11/4/08 - 11/12/08

2008-11-12T08:20:00.002-07:00

Mrs. Cheney has been a slacker! So sorry. Here is a recap of what we've done in the past week or so. We finished up the compare/contrast unit with a group project. Each group created a Venn diagram, then wrote a one paragraph summary of the differences and similarities between "The Monkey's Paw" and "The Third Wish." If you missed this activity, come see me.

The next few class periods we spent reading "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. This story is in your red literature books. If you missed one or more days during the four days we read, you will need to check a book out and read the part you missed.

Today we are taking a test (of sorts) on "Flowers for Algernon". This is a making connections test--I'm far more interested in what you think about the issues surrounding Charlie in our story than the nit-picky details of the story. If you missed today, you will need to be prepared to fill in a plot map and answer several essay questions using examples from the story and from your own experiences to show me what you think.

Tomorrow we will start writing a persuasive essay.

Remember, due dates are a-coming! Don't forget--Friday is your last day to turn everything in.

11/3/08

2008-11-03T15:37:00.001-07:00

We read "The Third Wish", by Joan Aiken, today. We filled out our compare/contrast chart. We found that this story was quite different from "The Monkey's Paw" even though they are centered on a common motif. Tomorrow we will be making connections with the similarities and differences.

Be sure to study your spelling words and know your POSOTW.

10/31/08

2008-11-03T15:36:00.002-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Today we told scary stories in the dark. CREEPY!!!!

We talked about story telling techniques such as volume of your voice, rate of your speech, hand gestures, facial gestures, sound effects, lighting, etc. We practiced using our very best story-telling techniques to scare the socks off of each other. Did it work?

10/30/08

2008-11-03T15:35:00.002-07:00

We read the second part of "The Monkey's Paw" today. Check out a book if you missed class.

10/29/08

2008-10-29T14:59:00.002-06:00

Today we started a compare/contrast short story unit. We read the first part of "The Monkey's Paw," by W.W. Jacob. We will be reading again tomorrow.

10/28/08

2008-10-28T14:07:00.002-06:00

Today we wrote essays on www.myaccess.com. This is a great writing evaluation program for you to use at school and at home. I have added several prompts in the "assignment" folder. You may use these prompts to practice your writing at home. Remember, your username is your first name and student ID # (no spaces, no S), and your password is 999 and your last name (no spaces).

Today's writing sample is for the school district. We will write another essay at the end of the school year to see how much we have learned.

10/27/08

2008-10-27T09:32:00.002-06:00

No spelling words this week!

Using our peer evaluation sheets, we made changes to our drafts today in class. We spent the entire class period working on our final drafts. The final autobiography is due tomorrow. Use this score sheet to put your paper together. Make sure you give yourself a grade!

Score Sheet
Name____________________________ Class period__________

Please staple your paper in the following order:
• This score sheet
• Outline
• Draft
• Peer edit sheets
• Picture
• Final draft

Student score
All steps included ________/30
Visual aid ________/15
Introduction ________/15
Three experiences ________/45
Transitions ________/15
Life lessons ________/30
Total ________/150

Mrs. Cheney’s score
All steps included _______/30
Visual aid _______/15
Introduction _______/15
Three experiences _______/45
Transitions _______/15
Life lessons _______/30
Total _______/150

10/24/08

2008-10-27T09:26:00.004-06:00

We started today by taking the spelling quiz. If you were absent, arrange to make it up before or after school, or during advisory on Wednesday.

We spent the rest of the class period doing peer evaluations. Using the following form, have two friends or family members read your paper and answer the questions to help you find ways to improve your paper. Use their suggestions to make changes to your draft.

Autobiography Peer Evaluation
Writer____________________________ Reader_____________________________
Your draft has 11 indented, double-spaced paragraphs Y N
Your draft is typed in Times New Roman Font, 12 pt. Y N
Your draft has an intro, a body and a conclusion Y N
Your intro has a hook and introduces three experiences Y N
Your body has 3 experiences, 3 paragraphs each experience Y N
Your conclusion explains the meanings of your experiences Y N
I have three questions about your experiences.
Question #1 _____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Question #2 _____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Question #3 _____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

We will work on our final drafts on Monday.

10/23/08

2008-10-23T08:06:00.001-06:00

We worked on our drafts all day today. Don't forget to bring a printed copy of your first draft to class tomorrow. We will also have a spelling quiz tomorrow.

10/22/08

2008-10-23T08:02:00.004-06:00

Autobiography Visual Aid
Your autobiography is an opportunity for you to express who you are based on the stories you tell. The reader should come away with a basic understanding of your values, ideals, characteristics, hopes and dreams. To further illustrate who you are, you will be required to turn in one visual representation of yourself along with your final draft. This visual representation can be anything you would like it to be—a drawn or painted picture, a photograph, a collage, a graph, a chart, a map, a diagram, a pattern, a diorama, a poster, an abstract drawing—anything that you feel represents you. The only requirement is that it be a visual representation. Be as creative as you can.

Autobiography outline
Directions: Use the outline form below to help you organize your autobiography. Choose three experiences and list the important points under each experience. Section I is for your introduction. Section II is for the body (including each of the experiences). Section III is for your conclusion. Be sure to include the meaning of your experiences in your conclusion. You will turn this outline in with your final draft.

I. Introduction
a. Experience #1___________________________________
b. Experience #2___________________________________
c. Experience #3___________________________________

II. Body
a. Experience #1___________________________________
i. Detail__________________________________________
ii. Detail_________________________________________
iii. Detail________________________________________
b. Experience #2___________________________________
i. Detail__________________________________________
ii. Detail_________________________________________
iii. Detail________________________________________
c. Experience #3___________________________________
i. Detail__________________________________________
ii. Detail_________________________________________
iii. Detail________________________________________

III. Conclusion
a. Meaning experience #1___________________________
b. Meaning experience #2___________________________
c. Meaning experience #3___________________________
d. Tie it all together_____________________________

Autobiography Structure
Times New Roman, 12 pt. font
Double-space (ctrl 2), no extra spaces between paragraphs (only hit “enter” once)
Indent each paragraph (hit “tab” once)

Paragraph #1
Introduction: start with a hook (always!) The opening paragraph is the first bit of writing our readers will experience. We want our readers to enjoy our writing, so we give them our very best writing in the first paragraph to convince them to keep reading. There are several ways we can hook our readers. Here are just a few ideas:
• start with a question
• create a scenario the readers may be familiar with
• put the reader in your shoes
• draw the reader in with dialogue (this helps the reader feel as though he/she is personally involved in the situation)
• paint a picture with your words (imagery)
• use words and phrases that appeal to the senses
Do NOT write any of the following, or any variation of the following:
• "I am going to write about . . ."
• “This is a paper about . . ."
• "This is my writing assignment . . ."
• “My autobiography is about . . .”
After your hook, briefly introduce your three experiences. Your three experiences should be separate events. They should not be similar kinds of experiences. For example, you should not write about three different football games you played in. Instead, you should focus on the lesson you learned about yourself in the most important football game and then choose two other experiences that taught you the same kind of lesson.

Paragraphs #2, #3, #4
Start paragraph #2 with a transition sentence or word. Describe your first experience in these three paragraphs. Be sure to explain who, what, when, where, why and how when you are describing your details. Tell why this experience was meaningful to you in paragraph #4.

Paragraphs #5, #6, #7
Start paragraph #5 with a transition sentence or word. Describe your second experience in these three paragraphs. Be sure to explain who, what, when, where, why and how when you are describing your details. Tell why this experience was meaningful to you in paragraph #7.

Paragraphs #8, #9, #10
Start paragraph 8 with a transition sentence or word. Describe your third experience in these three paragraphs. Be sure to explain who, what, when, where, why and how when you are describing your details. Tell why this experience was meaningful to you in paragraph #10.

Paragraph #11
The conclusion of your paper should summarize your experiences and tie them together to show how they were meaningful to you. You must have some sort of a meaning tied to your experiences in this paper. I will be taking off points if you do not give me some sort of a meaning in the conclusion. It is very important that you focus on the meaning of your experiences. Please, please, please focus on the meaning of your experiences in your conclusion. (Do you think it might be important to focus on the meaning of your experiences in this paper? Hint: the answer is YES!)

The first draft (11 paragraphs) will be due at the beginning of class on Friday. We will work all day today and tomorrow in the computer lab.

10/21/08

2008-10-21T13:06:00.002-06:00

Today we talked about adding detail. Yesterday we each wrote about an experience we have had that was somehow meaningful to us. Today we are revisiting the experience to see what kinds of details we should add. Remember, a good way to find details to add is to ask yourself where, what, when, why, how questions. You should also make some sort of connection between your experience and what it means to you today. Here is an example of how I added detail to my experience:

When I was five years old I was jumping on the couch. I fell and hit the sliding glass door. When my mom heard the crash she ran into the room. She found me lying on the floor with broken glass all around me.

Here is the same experience after I added important details:

Five year old children have a lot of energy. I was no exception to the rule. When I was five, I loved to climb and jump. Wherever we went, my mom was always pulling me down off of things, but I wouldn’t stop climbing.

One day when I was watching TV in the living room I started getting antsy. I needed to climb or jump or run or do SOMETHING. I couldn’t stand just sitting there watching Sesame Street. So I climbed onto the back of the couch. Then I thought it would be fun to jump from the back onto the cushions of the couch. It was fun for a while, but I started to get bored again. I needed more of a challenge, so I decided to try jumping from the cushions up to the arm. Well, I jumped too far—which wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t been for the sliding glass door on the other side of the arm.

I crashed through the glass of the door. I don’t really remember that part, but my mom remembers the sound. She came running into the room to see what on earth had happened. She found me there, lying in the glass, looking up at the remaining glass with its sharp ends pointing at my stomach.

My mom freaked right the heck out, until I looked at her and said, “Sorry Mom.” She couldn’t believe that I was okay—not only okay, but I didn’t have a single scratch or bump from the incident. She was so happy that she started crying. I think she cried later on, too, when she realized they would have to buy a new sliding glass door.

These days I still climb, but instead of furniture I climb mountains. In August my husband and I climbed the Grand Teton. It was an experience I will never forget, and it symbolizes a big part of who I am. I climb now for inspiration rather than to rid myself of excess energy. The beauty of the mountains helps me to be grateful for our earth and all the joy it provides for mankind.

Do you see how the added details make a difference in my story?

Your assignment today was to look at the experience you wrote yesterday and add details. When you are satisfied with the description of your first experience, write about a second. You should write at least three paragraphs for each of three experiences.

I also gave this worksheet to help you decide which experiences you would like to focus on:

Who Am I? Name______________________________

Use the following questions to gather ideas (pre-write) for your autobiography. This worksheet is meant to get you started. Don’t limit yourself to these topics when writing your first draft.

1. What is your favorite thing to do after school or on weekends?

2. What is your earliest memory?

3. Describe a time when you were hurt.

4. Describe a happy moment from your childhood.

5. What is your family like? Describe them.

6. What do you think is the best thing about you?

7. What is your greatest talent? What do you do with your talent?

8. Think of three experiences you have had that show who you are. Briefly describe those experiences here. You can write on the back of this paper if you run out of room. Write as much as you can so you will have something to work with when you write your first draft.

10/20/08

2008-10-20T08:43:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful fall break! I went to a rendezvous with my husband and our six girls. We had a wonderful time dressed in our colonial clothes, cooking outdoors, and mingling with other campers. The weather was simply gorgeous!

Today we started with this week's spelling words. See the right side bar for the list. We also talked about the P.O.S.O.T.W. Be sure to study these things on your own for a quiz on Friday.

We started a new writing project today; we are writing a personal narrative. A personal narrative is a description of an experience you have had. We are working toward an autobiography, in which you will write about three experiences you have had that were meaningful to you. The personal narrative can be one of those three experiences.

We started by brainstorming different kinds of experiences you could choose. Since you are writing three paragraphs about this experience, we decided the experience should be one that is very clear in your memory. The more you can remember, the easier it will be to write three full paragraphs. Here are some possible ideas: painful experience
scary experience
embarrassing experience
exhilerating experience
learning experience
near-death experience
first experience in any area
spiritual experience
negative experience
traveling experience
etc.

You have each had 13-14 years to experience life. Tell me about one of those experiences in three paragraphs. Remember, each paragraph should be 5-8 sentences long. The more you write today, the more you'll have to include in your autobiography.

The first draft of your personal narrative is due tomorrow.

10/13/08

2008-10-13T12:11:00.002-06:00

We took the final test on The Outsiders today. If you missed it, you can make it up tomorrow or Wednesday during class while we're watching the movie.

10/10/08

2008-10-10T14:35:00.002-06:00

We took our spelling quiz during the first ten minutes of class, then we finished reading The Outsiders. We will have a test on Monday. The test will be all about the big ideas of the book along with connections between the book and real life. Just like Ponyboy's English teacher, I want to know your big ideas. So come Monday ready to think, think, think!

10/9/08

2008-10-10T14:34:00.001-06:00

Today we read to page 166, then we practiced our spelling words in the computer lab at http://spellingcity.com.

10/8/08

2008-10-08T07:52:00.003-06:00

We started with 10 minutes of reading (don't forget to put a word in your glossary), then we read, read, read again. Be sure to make connections with the themes and your own life as we read. The test on Monday will be all about making connections.

Tomorrow we will be in the computer lab for a spelling activity after we read some more of The Outsiders.

10/7/08

2008-10-08T07:49:00.002-06:00

Today, after journals, we read, read, read. We read through chapter 8, page 130, of The Outsiders. We talked about the emerging themes in the book--family, individuality, stereotypes, violence. We're finishing the book this week, so expect to do a lot of reading this week in class.

Remember to study your spelling words!

10/6/08

2008-10-06T07:54:00.002-06:00

We got new spelling words today. These words are tricky plural words. Not all plural words end with an "s". We have a shorter list this week because we're also doing prefixes and suffixes. See the right side bar for the list of words.

We discussed Thursday's reading today, then read pages 93-110 in class. We were on assembly schedule today, so class was a little shorter than usual.

Thanks to all the parents who came in to see me during parent teacher conferences. I appreciate working with you to create a successful experience for your student. I hope we can continue to work together.

10/2/08

2008-10-02T10:13:00.002-06:00

Today we practiced our spelling words, we took a spelling quiz, we turned in our first book report, then we read silently from our Outsiders books for the rest of class. We read through page 93. We'll discuss on Monday.

Bring your parents to parent/teacher conferences this afternoon or tomorrow during school hours. No school tomorrow due to conferences.

10/1/08

2008-10-01T11:09:00.003-06:00

Today was late start--so of course we didn't get nearly enough done. *sigh*

First we took a quiz on the first 75 pages of The Outsiders.

Next we talked about the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay", by Robert Frost.

Nothing Gold Can Stay
Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

To understand the poem, we analyzed it. That means we broke it down into parts to figure out which each part meant, then we put it all back together again to find the meaning of the poem. The first step was to find the metaphors. They are:

Nature's first green is gold
and
Her early leaf's a flower

Next we had to figure out what the metaphors mean. In order to do that, we need to know something about denotation and connotation. We can break those two words into word cells (aha! something useful comes from knowing word cells!). These two words have the same root--notation. So what is a notation? It's a group of symbols used to represent something meaningful. So it can be words, numbers, music, anything that has a group of symbols that are somehow meaningful. For our purposes, we will say a notation is a word.

Next we look at the prefixes--de- and co-. Co- means with and de- means down or minimal. We can put the prefixes with the roots to discover the meaning of denotation is just the word itself while connotation is the word along with other ideas we associate with the word. A simpler way to say it is a denotation is a dictionary definition of a word while a connotation is everything we think about when we hear a word. When we have a metaphor, we look at the connotation of the words being compared.

Let's compare green and gold:

Green
Money
Foliage
Nature
Eco-friendly
New
Jealousy
Sick

Gold
Money
Jewelry
Riches
Warmth
Wealth
Friendliness

We take this a step further by looking at the phrase, "Nature's first green". What is nature's first green? Spring. So how is spring gold? After a long winter, we long for spring. We get so happy when we see the first signs of spring. We have been waiting for this day through months of snow--so it feels like gold to us.

The next metaphor is "Her early leaf's a flower". How is a leaf a flower? Taking on connotations again, a flower is a positive symbol that gives us warm, fuzzy feelings inside. So a leaf is as good as a flower when it's all we have. Or we can take into consideration that some trees flower before they produce leaves. Or we can look at an early leaf. What color is it? Usually a yellow green--not the true green of a leaf. When buds first appear, they are usually indistinguishable from flower buds. When they first open, the edges are ruffled like flowers.

The whole idea is that spring is a new and wonderful time. We all look forward to it, and the new greenery is beautiful to us.

"Her hardest hue to hold" is a good example of alliteration, or the repetition of the first sound of multiple words in a sentence or line. The use of alliteration here makes the line stand out. It also makes the poem more pleasant to listen to. What is the idea of this line? Knowing that hue means color helps. This line goes along with "But only so an hour" to say spring is fleeting. It doesn't last very long. The colors change, we get used to it, life goes on and before we know it, it's fall.

The next device we're looking for is an allusion. Poets often include a reference to a commonly known place, event or character. The idea is that the reader uses his or her background knowledge of the allusion to draw connections to the poem. In this case, the allusion is "So Eden sank to grief". Eden is a reference to the garden of Eden. In the Christian tradition of the creation, the garden of Eden was a paradise that fell into a state of chaos. The paradise was only temporary--just like spring. Most people are familiar with the Christian creation story, so most people would understand that Frost is making an indirect comparison of the garden of Eden to spring time.

The last line, "Nothing Gold can stay", finalizes the idea. We can't hang on to spring forever. Fall will also end the golden springtime. Winter kills it altogether. Spring is temporary, but while it lasts, it's golden.

Now we have to put it all back together and decide what it means to us. Can we apply this interpretation to other ideas, other cycles? When we read about Johnny and Ponyboy tomorrow, we find out that they aren't just talking about spring time when they talk about this poem. We find out they are talking about other beginnings. They are talking about the newness of anything state of being. They are especially talking about youth. The idea is that when you are young, you are full of hope for the future. Everything is wonderful, and you can become anything in the world. But as you age, you lose that optimistic outlook on life. You become jaded by all the bad things that are happening in your world around you.

Sounds pretty pessimistic, doesn't it? Let's see how it all pans out in The Outsiders. We may find more meaning in the poem as the story progresses.

9/30/08

2008-10-01T08:44:00.002-06:00

Today's journal assignment was to write each of the word cells on my list five times. Here is the list:

hydra, hydro
chron
therm
meter
di
centi
phobia
ize
logical

We continued with our reading of The Outsiders. We read through page 75 today. At this point of the book, we are in the middle of the rising action and several themes have been introduced. A theme is a big idea, a lesson, a moral of the story, or a recurring idea in the book. We brainstormed a list of themes we seen so far, and this is what we came up with:

violence causes more problems than it solves
friends are important influences
everyone has problems, no matter the social class
don't judge a book by its cover (stereotyping)
families come in all different forms
everyone could be considered an "outsider" depending on who they are with
your group doesn't define you as an individual

We also talked about symbols. A symbol is a thing or event that represents something greater than itself. Some symbols we've found in the book so far:

greasers' hair = their identity
socs' money, cars, clothes, jewelry = social status, wealth, power, intimidation

We met in groups to discuss themes in an activity called "The Last Word". Each member of the group was given opportunity to discuss a theme of the book. We also talked about the importance of connecting literature to our own lives. If we don't ask ourselves what it means to us individually, we don't really learn the lessons the book has to offer.

If you missed today, please check out a book and get caught up on the reading.

Remember, there will be a quiz on the first 75 pages tomorrow. The spelling quiz will be on Thursday this week due to parent/teacher conferences.

Please come see me during the conferences with your parents. The more your parents are involved in your education, the more you will learn.

9/29/08

2008-09-29T07:59:00.003-06:00

Today we got new spelling words and a new part of speech. Check out the right side bar for the list. You may notice that the words on our list this week have what we call "cells". A cell is a root, a suffix or a prefix that has a specific meaning. Cells give us clues as to the meaning of a word. It is also easier to spell words if we understand the cells that form them. Let's take a look at the some of the cells in our words today:

hydro: water
chrono: time
thermo: heat
meter: measure
phobia: fear
logical: pertaining to the study of
ize: to make
cent: one hundred

So, if we put these cells together, we find that thermometer means an instrument that measures heat. Hydrophobia means a fear of water. Chronological means pertaining to the study of time (or in the order of time). These cells are building blocks that help us to form words. Isn't the English language fun?

After the spelling words, we read from The Outsiders. See me to find out how far your class period got in the book today.

Remember, book reports are due on Thursday. We will also have a spelling quiz on Thursday. There is no school on Friday due to parent/teacher conferences.

9/26/08

2008-09-26T12:14:00.002-06:00

Today we turned in journals/glossaries. I graded them while you read silently.

After reading time, we had the spelling quiz. Come in to make it up before or after school if you missed it.

Next we talked about book reports. You will each be required to turn in a book report by October 2. We have been reading all trimester, and many of you have read multiple books. Choose one to report on. I handed out book report forms in class. I have lots of extras if you need one. We will have another book report due at the end of the trimester.

In two of my classes, we talked about behavioral expectations. I issued a behavioral contract for students to qualify to watch The Outsiders, the movie. This is what the contract looks like:

Behavioral contract, The Outsiders
All students who maintain appropriate behavior will be included in watching the movie, The Outsiders. There will be a three strikes rule from now until the time we watch the movie in class. If you receive three strikes, you will be excluded from watching the movie. You will be given an alternate activity (a two-day assignment) to be completed in a different room if you do not comply with this behavioral contract. You may be given strikes for the following reasons:

• Talking to your neighbors
• Arguing with the teacher/sub
• Being disruptive in general
• Being tardy to class
• Making a mess in class
• Not following along while we read
• Using a cell phone or other electronic device in class
• Passing or writing notes in class
• Cheating on homework, quizzes, tests, etc.
• Saying unkind things to your classmates or teacher
• Not reading or writing your journal during the appropriate time
• Any other behavior that detracts from a positive learning environment

I will be keeping track of strikes on the role sheet. Anyone with three strikes will be excluded from watching the movie. I will also use the strikes to help me to determine your citizenship grade.

We read from The Outsiders for the rest of the class period.

9/25/08

2008-09-26T12:07:00.002-06:00

Today we started with a journal entry: What group to you belong to? How does your group feel about interacting with other groups (both positive and negative)? Possible groups could be: cowboys, preppy, popular, goths, emos, jocks, geeks, techies, music/drama, religious, skaters, smart kids, etc.

Next we had a spelling activity. For this activity, you were to choose five words from this week's list. Be sure to choose five different words from the ones you chose on Tuesday. Write the word, spelling it aloud as you go. Write it again, only this time leave off the last syllable, but continue to spell it aloud. Write it again, leaving off the next to last syllable, but continue to spell it aloud. Continue until you have nothing left to write. Next, turn your paper over and write the word from memory. Repeat with each of the five words.

This week we are talking about adjectives. Look to the right side bar if you don't remember what an adjective is. During reading time today, we wrote all the adjective we could recognize from The Outsiders. Each student should have come up with quite a list. After we were done reading, we got into groups to share our adjectives. We eliminated the adjectives that were identified by more than one person in the group, and compiled a group list. Then we repeated the activity with the group lists as a class. Each class come up with 30-40 adjectives that only one person had identified. The point--adjectives are EVERYWHERE! Get used to them. :)

9/24/08

2008-09-24T08:42:00.002-06:00

We started class with reading/glossaries. Journals and glossaries will be due on Friday. You should have seven journal entries and eleven glossary entries. Remember, you need to have the word, the book and a definition for full credit.

We talked about similes and idioms today (click on words for a definition). We had a class-time assignment to find five similes and idioms during our Outsiders reading today. There are dozens of examples you can choose from. The list was due at the end of class. As of today, we are about half way through chapter two.

9/23/08

2008-09-23T12:24:00.002-06:00

Today we started with this journal prompt:

What does it mean to be an outsider? Have you ever felt like an outsider?

Next we had a spelling practice activity. This is what you do:

1. Take a piece of paper.
2. Fold it in three sections.
3. Label the first section "trace", the second section "copy", and the third section "recall."
4. Choose five words from the spelling list. Make sure to choose words you are having a hard time learning.
5. Write the five words in the first column.
6. Start with the first word in the "trace" column. Trace the word three times with your pencil or finger, saying each letter aloud as you trace it.
7. Go to the next column and copy the word, saying each letter aloud as you write it.
8. Fold your last column over so you can't see the first two columns. Write the word from memory, saying each letter aloud as you write it.
9. Repeat with the remaining four words.

This activity will help you to cement these words spellings in your mind. Be sure you spell the word correctly in the trace column so you study the correct spelling. Good luck!

Next we read the rest of chapter one from The Outsiders. We have learned about the Socs and the Greasers as well as the seven members of the Greaser gang. We also learned about a conflict between Darry and Ponyboy. Ponyboy wonders why the Socs hate Greasers so much. What do you think?

9/22/08

2008-09-22T11:11:00.004-06:00

Today we got a new spelling list. Look to the side bar to the right to find this week's words. We also got a new P.O.S.O.T.W. which you can also find in the side bar to the right.

We had 15 minutes for reading and glossaries.

I handed out progress reports today. Mid-term grades will be sent home to your parents this week. If you feel the need to raise your grade before your parents get it in the mail, now would be an excellent time to do so. Remember I don't accept work without a late-work voucher.

We started reading The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, today. We talked about how to properly care for a book. Don't drop, throw, or hit things or people with your book. Don't open them open wider than how the book naturally falls when you place it on a surface while it is open. Take good care of these books, please. I will dock your citizenship points if you are not taking good care of the books.

We talked about S.E. Hinton as an author. Her name is Susan Eloise Hinton, but she published under her initials to hide her gender. She was worried that boys wouldn't want to read a book about gangs written by a chick. She was only 17 years old when The Outsiders was published! She wrote this book while she was in high school. It was based, in part, on the social issues her own high school was facing. Hinton started a new genre with The Outsiders. Before she wrote the book, there weren't books about young adult and teen issues. These days these kinds of books can be found in the young adult or adolescent literature sections in the library.

Hinton isn't the only author who has published under a gender-neutral name in order to maintain a readership. J.K. Rowling was also concerned about the possibility that no one would want to read her Harry Potter books if they knew the author was female.

We read the first 10 pages of The Outsiders as a class. We talked about our approach to reading novels in Mrs. Cheney's language arts class. I will read, and we will frequently stop to talk about the book. We will be analyzing the plot, the writing, the literary devices, and the social issues raised in this book. This means we will be breaking it down and putting it back together again in order to understand how it all works together.

Today we talked about the basic situation of the plot (characters, setting, background information), similes, alliteration and foreshadowing.

*Bonus!!!!* Find three adjectives in this post, write them down and a piece of paper along with your name and class hour then give it to me tomorrow and I will give you five extra credit points!

9/19/08

2008-09-22T11:08:00.002-06:00

Today we had reading and glossary time at the beginning of class. After that, we took the spelling quiz. Then I handed back the your character analyses, and we talked about the problems and successes you had as a group. Believe it or not, this took the entire class period.

Coming attraction: The Outsiders

9/18/08

2008-09-16T08:13:00.003-06:00

IOWA Testing today.

9/17/08

2008-09-16T08:13:00.001-06:00

IOWA Testing today.

9/16/08

2008-09-16T08:12:00.001-06:00

IOWA Testing today.

9/15/08

2008-09-15T10:28:00.002-06:00

Today we wrote spelling words in our planners, then we read and put words in our glossaries.

We also had a discussion about stereotyping. We talked about stereotyping based on gender and race. Try this: look at the list below. Mentally decide what gender and race each of these people are.

16 year old gang member from West Valley City

14 year old whose father is a doctor

11 year old whose older brother got arrested for drunk driving

16 year old drug dealer

15 year old who goes to church every Sunday

13 year old who can’t wait to drop out of school

17 year old who plays on teams in three different sports

14 year old who wants to be an artist

15 year old who wants to be a dentist

12 year old smoker

13 year old straight A student

17 year old model

Did a specific race and gender automatically pop into your head? This is called stereotyping--or making a judgement on someone based on a limited view of the person. We all do it. Unfortunately, it's not a good thing. When we stereotype, we often make assumptions about people which are not true. Sometimes this can cause huge problems. Think about a time someone stereotyped you. How did it make you feel?

We are going to be reading The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton during the next three weeks of class. We will be discussing social issues such as stereotyping, gangs, violence, acceptance, and the ability to understand who you are as an individual. We will also be learning more about plot elements and literary devices. Hope you enjoy!

9/12/08

2008-09-15T10:21:00.003-06:00

Today we had a spelling quiz, then finished our character analysis essays. If you didn't turn it in, be sure to use a late-work voucher. Don't forget to make up your spelling quiz if you missed it. It is up to you to arrange the make up time and place with me.

Have a good weekend!

9/11/08

2008-09-11T09:13:00.004-06:00

Today we typed the first draft of our character analyses. Homework tonight: have your parents read your draft and fill out the Parent Evaluation.

Parent Evaluation Sheet
Five Paragraph Character Analysis

Student Name________________________________

Parent Name_________________________________

Dear Parent,
We have been learning about the structure of the five paragraph essay in language arts. This is a structure that your student will follow again and again during his/her education. We have worked on this draft for several days in class, and we are now ready to fine tune the final draft. Please read this draft of your student’s five paragraph character analysis and check for the following requirements:

1. Is the paper double-spaced (no extra spaces) and typed in 12 pt. Times New Roman font? Yes or No
2. Does your student’s paper have five distinct paragraphs? (The first line of each paragraph should be indented; there shouldn’t be extra spaces between paragraphs.) Yes or No
3. Does the essay start with a hook? (A quote, scenario, question, description, etc. which draws the reader’s interest) Yes or No
4. Does the first paragraph introduce the character and the work the character is from? Yes or No
5. Does the first paragraph introduce three ideas (sub-topics) about the character? Yes or No
6. Does the first paragraph have 3-6 sentences? Yes or No
7. Is the second paragraph an explanation of the first idea (sub-topic) stated in the first paragraph? Yes or No
8. Does the second paragraph have examples from the book or movie to support that idea? Yes or No
9. Does the second paragraph have 6-8 sentences? Yes or No
10. Is the third paragraph an explanation of the second idea (sub-topic) stated in the first paragraph? Yes or No
11. Does the third paragraph have examples from the book or movie to support that idea? Yes or No
12. Does the third paragraph have 6-8 sentences? Yes or No
13. Is the fourth paragraph an explanation of the third idea (sub-topic) stated in the first paragraph? Yes or No
14. Does the fourth paragraph have examples from the book or movie to support that idea? Yes or No
15. Does the fourth paragraph have 6-8 sentences? Yes or No
16. Does the fifth paragraph summarize the paper? Yes or No
17. Does the fifth paragraph restate the thesis and three ideas (sub-topics)? Yes or No
18. Does the fifth paragraph include a final thought that ties back in to the opening hook? Yes or No
19. Is the fifth paragraph 3-5 sentences in length? Yes or No

You will be making changes to your first draft based on "no's" on your evaluation.

9/10/08

2008-09-10T09:19:00.002-06:00

Today we talked about structure, hooks and transitions. We've learned the format of a five-paragraph essay. Now you get to practice what you've learned. Take a look at the following sections from a five-paragraph essay. There are ten sections that go together to create a structured essay. Since there are five paragraphs, we know that two sections go together to form each paragraph. I have placed these sections in a random order. See if you can arrange them in the correct order, based on what I have taught you about the introduction (hook, thesis, sub-topics), the body (three paragraphs, one for each sub-topic) and the conclusion (a summary, restating the thesis and wrapping up the main idea).

Hint: transition phrases often tell us where the paragraph goes in an essay. Also, each paragraph of the body will focus on one sub-topic. That means you should be able to identify which sections go together based on the main idea of the section.

A. The newer twin and quad theaters offer their own problems. Sitting in an area only one-quarter the size of a regular theater, moviegoers often have to put up with the sound of the movie next door. This is especially jarring when the other movie involves racing cars or a karate war and you are trying to enjoy a quiet love story. And whether the theater is old or new, it will have floors that seem to be coated with rubber cement. By the end of a movie, shoes almost have to be pried off the floor because they have become sealed to a deadly compound of spilled soda, hardening bubble gum, and crushed Ju-Jubes.

B. The problems in getting to the theater, the theater itself, and the behavior of some patrons are all reasons why I often wait for a movie to show up on TV.

C. Some of the patrons are even more of a problem than the theater itself. Little kids race up and down the aisles, usually in giggling packs. Teenagers try to impress their friends by talking back to the screen, whistling, and making what they consider to be hilarious noises.

D. Once you have made it to the box office and gotten your tickets, you are confronted with the problems of the theater itself. If you are in one of the run-down older theaters, you must adjust to the musty smell of seldom-cleaned carpets. Escaped springs lurk in the faded plush or cracked leather seats, and half the seats you sit in seem loose or tilted so that you sit at a strange angle.

E. I am a movie fanatic. When friends want to know what picture won the Oscar in 1980 or who played the police chief in Jaws, they ask me. My friends, though, have stopped asking me if I want to go out to the movies.

F. After arriving home from the movies one night, I decided that I was not going to be a moviegoer anymore. I was tired of the problems involved in getting to the movies and dealing with the theater itself and some of the patrons.

G. And then there are the lines. After hooking yourself to the end of a human chain, you worry about whether there will be enough tickets, whether you will get seats together, and whether many people will sneak into the line ahead of you.

H. First of all, just getting to the theater presents difficulties. Leaving a home equipped with a TV and a video recorder isn't an attractive idea on a humid, cold, or rainy night. Even if the weather cooperates, there is still a thirty-minute drive to the theater down a congested highway, followed by the hassle of looking for a parking space.

I. The next day I arranged to have cable TV service installed in my home. I may now see movies a bit later than other people, but I'll be more relaxed watching box office hits in the comfort of my own living room.

J. Adults act as if they were at home in their own living rooms and comment loudly on the ages of the stars or why movies aren't as good anymore. And people of all ages crinkle candy wrappers, stick gum on their seats, and drop popcorn tubs or cups of crushed ice and soda on the floor. They also cough and burp, squirm endlessly in their seats, file out for repeated trips to the rest rooms or concession stand, and elbow you out of the armrest on either side of your seat.

Figure out the correct order, then click here to check your work.

Did you get it right? Did you catch on to the transitions? Could you recognize the thesis? Did you figure out the order of sub-topics based on how they were presented in the introductory paragraph?

I hope you noticed how the transition words and phrases helped the flow of this essay. We have phrases like "First of all", "And then", "even more of a problem than". These phrases help the reader to move from one sub-topic to another. Notice that two of the paragraphs in the body begin with a brief mention of the topic of the previous paragraph along with an introduction of the topic for the new paragraph. This is a great way to move the essay along nicely.

I will be looking for transition words and phrases in your five-paragraph character analysis. I will also be looking for a good hook. Here is an example of an introduction without a hook:

I am writing a character analysis about Dallas Winston from The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton. Dally was the toughest member of the gang. He had a hard life from growing up in gangs in New York City. Dally became hard through his experiences.

Did you notice how I started with the phrase, "I am writing a character analysis about . . ."? Don't do that. Ever. Never include any phrase that contain the words "I am writing" in any essay. I know you're writing. I have evidence of your writing when you hand me a paper with your name at the top and words on the front. Instead, start with something that will grab my (the reader's) attention. Here is an example of a introductory paragraph with a hook:

His dead body slumped into a crumpled pile on the street as bullets tore into his flesh. It was clearly suicide, but what drove him to such a desperate solution? The death of the only person or thing he ever loved. Dallas Winston, from The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton, became harden through a life filled with crime, violence, and hatred. Dally’s hard life drove him to a tragic death.

The hook draws the reader in by describing a quick scenario involving the character and asking a related question to get the reader thinking about the character. It works. Do your best to start your introductory paragraph with a hook.

We'll be in the computer lab typing up our first drafts tomorrow. Don't forget to bring your draft and notes with you.

Have a happy day!

9/9/08

2008-09-09T12:00:00.002-06:00

Today we wrote our spelling words five times each in our journals. Remember, we are having a quiz on Friday.

Next we continued our work on our first draft of the five paragraph character analysis. We used our worksheets to remind us of the details we want to include about our characters. This is the exact structure you should follow:

Structure of a five paragraph character analysis essay

1. Introduction
• Hook—grab the reader’s attention with a quote, scenario, question, vivid description or conflict associated with your character. 1-2 sentences
• Thesis statement—character’s name, the book (or movie) he/she is from and the author. 1 sentence
• Three sub-topics. Choose three character traits to focus on. Briefly state the three traits you will talk about in your essay. 1-3 sentences

2. Paragraph 2
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your first sub-topic
• Write a paragraph about it
• Use examples from the book or movie to support your ideas
• Write 6-8 sentences

3. Paragraph 3
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your second sub-topic
• Write a paragraph about it
• Use examples from the book or movie to support your ideas
• Write 6-8 sentences

4. Paragraph 4
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your third sub-topic
• Write a paragraph about it
• Use examples from the book or movie to support your ideas
• Write 6-8 sentences

5. Conclusion
• Summarize—restate your thesis statement and three sub-topics in different words
• Make a closing statement. Tie your closing statement back to your opening hook.
• 3-5 sentences

We spent the rest of class finishing the first draft of the essay. As you can see, I am requiring a certain number of sentences in each paragraph. Please count your sentences in each paragraph to see if your draft meets the requirements. If you don't have enough sentences, you will need to add more examples or details until you have the right number of sentences. Please write good, 8th grader length sentences (Please no three-word sentences--let's shoot for eight or more words in our sentences.)

I will check drafts tomorrow at the beginning of class.

9/8/08

2008-09-09T11:50:00.002-06:00

We started our day writing this week's spelling words in our planners. See the right side bar for the spelling list. We will have a quiz on these words on Friday. Also on Friday's quiz--a few questions about our POSOFT (part of speech of the week). This week it is the noun. The two kinds of nouns we discussed today are concrete nouns and abstract nouns. See the side bar to the right for a mini-lesson on nouns.

After spelling, we read and put words in our glossaries.

We continued with our work on our five paragraph character analysis today. We talked specifically about the required information in the first paragraph.

1. Introduction
• Hook—grab the reader’s attention with a quote, scenario, question, vivid description or conflict associated with your character. 1-2 sentences
• Thesis statement—character’s name, the book (or movie) he/she is from and the author. 1 sentence
• Three sub-topics. Choose three character traits to focus on. Briefly state the three traits you will talk about in your essay. 1-3 sentences

Your first paragraph should be 3-6 sentences.

Things to consider:
• Do not use phrases like “I am writing about . . .”, “This essay is about . . .”, “My character is . . .”
• Do not restate the assignment in any way
• A great hook in the beginning will make the rest of your essay more interesting.
• Choose your three sub-topics wisely—you’ll be writing a paragraph about each of them in the body of your paper.

You should have completed a draft of your introductory paragraph by the end of class.

9/5/08

2008-09-05T08:04:00.004-06:00

Today was a reading/glossary day. You should have at least three words in your glossary.

After reading time, we started a new writing project. We learned earlier this week about the importance of having good characters in any plot. We are going to look more closely at a specific character of your choice as we complete a character analysis essay.

Today we worked on the pre-writing for this essay. First we brainstormed about the characters we could choose. Then we answered the questions on this worksheet:

Name______________________ Class period_____________

Character analysis worksheet

To analyze something means to break it down into parts in order to understand how it works. When you analyze a character, you examine what the character says, does, and thinks in order to gain an overall understanding or insight into him or her.

Choose a character we have read about in class or in your individual reading. Answer the following questions about your character. You will be writing a 5-paragraph character analysis on your character during the next few days in this class, so include as much detail as possible in order to have enough material. Use the rubric below when considering which details to include. Remember, choose your character carefully. The more interesting the character, the more you’ll have to write about.

Character_______________________________ from ___________________________.

What does your character look like?

How does your character behave?

What is important to your character?

What does your character think?

How do other people in the story respond to your character?

What is the character’s conflict?

What it the most interesting/exciting thing about your character?
RUBRIC:
A good character analysis:
• Uses an attention-getting opener
• Identifies the character, the work, and the writer
• Includes a thesis statement
• Cites specific details that support the thesis
• Is organized clearly
• Summarizes the main idea in its conclusion

We will continue with the five steps of the writing process as we work on this assignment.

9/4/08

2008-09-05T07:23:00.004-06:00

We finished reading "The Landlady" today. Here is the plot map we came up with as a class:

click on image to enlarge

Your homework is to make your own map of a plot you know well. You can use a plot from a book, story, fairy tale, television show or movie. Include the basic situation, at least six conflicts, events or examples of foreshadowing for the rising action, the climax and the resolution. Follow a line like this:

This homework is due on Friday.

9/3/08

2008-09-03T12:27:00.005-06:00

Today we had a short day because of late start.

For the first 15 minutes of class we read silently and added words to our glossaries.

For the remainder of the class period, we continued with "The Landlady," by Roald Dahl. We are following the progression of the plot on a plot map. So far this is what we've come up with:

click on image to enlarge

We will finish this story tomorrow in class. You will then get the chance to make your own plot map on a story of your choice. Be thinking about a story you know well for this assignment. I'll give the details during class tomorrow.

9/2/08

2008-09-02T11:48:00.004-06:00

Welcome back after the long weekend. I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday.

Today we talked about the elements of a plot. Click here to view a good powerpoint presentation about literary elements. You will need to know these terms from the powerpoint presentation:

characters
protagonist
antagonist
setting
conflict
man v. man
man v. nature
man v. society
man v. machine
man v. self
external conflict (man, nature, society and machine)
internal conflict (self)
foreshadowing
climax
point of view

You will also need to know how these elements fit together when mapping out a plot.

We started reading "The Landlady," by Roald Dahl. We will be looking for all of these literary elements as we read the story. We read the first page today. You will have a few minutes to catch up on what you missed during class tomorrow.

If you have any questions for me, I'm happy to answer.

8/29/08

2008-09-02T10:27:00.001-06:00

Glossary

During reading time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, you will be required to enter a word you your glossary. A glossary is a collection of vocabulary words and definitions found in the back of technical books. Your glossary will be a collection of words and definitions you find from the books you will read during reading time. I would like you to keep a glossary in the back few pages on your journal. Your glossary should be a chart with these headings: date, word, book page #, definition. As you read, look for words that may be unfamiliar, interesting, fun to say, or just plain curious. When you find a word you'd like to add to your glossary list, record the date, the word, the book and page number where you found your word, and a definition of the word in your own words.

This is not a dictionary activity. I repeat, this is not a dictionary activity. That means, don't use a dictionary to find your definitions. You will find your definitions right there in the book you are reading. Look for context clues (clues in the text of your book), first in the sentence the word is part of, then in the sentences before and after that sentence. Sometimes the context clues come through an entire chapter. I promise there are clues in every book you read to help you understand the words in the book.

Here is an example from Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer. On page 77 it says, "Finally the curiosity I'd suppressed so long got the best of me." The word suppressed might be an unfamiliar or interesting word to you. So let's look at the sentence to see if we can figure out what it means based on how it is used. Clue #1: curiosity. We know what curiosity is. It means an inquisitive state of being. She wants to know something, and she wants to know it bad. Clue #2: got the best of me. We know that means it won the contest, took over, or overcame. Clue #3: finally. We understand that to mean that it was a long time before the curiosity took over. That means she was able to hold back her curiosity for some time. So now we're ready to guess based on our clues. What does suppressed mean? It must mean to hold back. So for your definition, you would write "hold back" or some similar phrase.

It's just that easy.

This is a skill that you will use again and again. If you are able to use context clues properly, it will help you to be a life-long learner. Plus it makes school a whole lot easier.

You will turn your glossary in at mid-term and at final. I expect at least one word for every reading period we have. That means by the time the trimester is over, you should have about 36 words in your glossary. Each entry is worth 3 points. Make sure to keep up with your glossary every time we read so you won't have to make it up at the end.

We spent the remainder of the class period reading our personal books.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

8/28/08

2008-08-28T12:19:00.002-06:00

Today was a journal day. If you were absent today, you should make up your journal by writing a half page about a topic of your choice.

After journals we talked more about the writing process. So far, we have explored prewriting, drafting, and we just started doing some revising. Today we revised some more. You assignment was to choose a sentence in your paragraph to rework. I asked you to change your verb in your sentence to an active verb. An active verb is a verb that has a built in adverb (a word that modifies a verb). For example, jump is a verb that covers a broad range of activities. We can use a more specific word than jump--hop, leap, pounce, bound, vault, bolt, spring, hurdle . . . Each of these words show us how someone jumped. A hop is a different kind of jump than a hurdle. There is a built-in description of how the jump was performed. So find a great active verb, and replace your boring old verb.

Next, add an adjective. An adjective is a word that describes a noun. So, you should find the main noun in your sentence. Once you've found it, think about words you could use to describe that noun--color, shape, size, mood, state of being . . . Insert that word before your noun.

Next, add an adverb. Now that we have a great verb, we should say how that verb is being performed. Adverbs often end in "ly". Did your horse hop lazily? Or did he madly bound? Add the adverb before or after the verb.

Now we're going to add a prepositional phrase. A preposition is a word that relates another word to a noun or a pronoun in the sentence. A phrase is a group of words in a sentence that adds meaning or clarifies something. Our prepositional phrase is going to tell us either where or when the action happened. In the field, around the corner, after his midnight snack, behind his left ear . . . Choose a great preposition phrase to clarify the action.

After you have reworked your sentence, it is time to proofread your paper. This is the editing step in the writing process. You want to make sure you've spelled all your words correctly, that you have correct punctuation and capitalization, that you have good grammar.

Now we're ready to pull it all together for the final draft. Rewrite your paragraph. It should be 5-7 sentences long. Your sentences should be anywhere from 8-20 words long. I want your very best writing. I want it to be neat. I want an indent on the first line. I want periods at the ends of sentences. I want descriptive language. Give me a good, polished paragraph.

I would like you to staple all your papers in this order, from top to bottom: colored picture, interview notes, 1st draft, final draft. Make sure your name is clearly displayed on your paper.

Congratulations! You've finished your first writing assignment in Mrs. Cheney's language arts class! You're well on your way to learning the writing process. This is a tool that can help you throughout your life. Way to go!

8/27/08

2008-08-27T08:16:00.004-06:00

Today we are taking a reading inventory. Click here and follow the directions. After you have finished your inventory, click on your reading grade level to find books written on your level.

After completing the inventory, we are heading to the library for a chat with Mrs. Wouden and a chance to check out a book.

8/26/08

2008-08-26T12:13:00.002-06:00

Here's what we did today:

Journals
There is a specific format I would like to you follow when making journal entries. I would like to you write the date at the top of the entry. On the very next line you should respond to the prompt on the white board. To receive full credit, you should write from margin to margin (the red lines on the sides of the paper) from the first hole to the second hole. This is one half of the page. I require a half page entry for all prompts. You may start the next entry at the half-way mark (the second hole) of the paper. If you have written more than a half page on the previous entry, turn the page and start your next entry at the top of the paper. You may write on the fronts and backs of your paper. If a journal entry I require is shorter than a half page (DLAs), you should skip to the half-way mark to start your next entry. I only want entries to start at the tops and middles of your paper.

If you are absent on a journal day (Tuesdays and Thursdays), you should make up the journal entry by writing a half page about any topic you choose. Journal entries will be worth five points each. That means 24 entries will be worth 120 by the time we finish the trimester. Please keep up with your journal entries. It is far easier to keep up than to catch up.

Tuesday Teaser
I read a Tuesday Teaser from No More Dead Dogs by Gordan Korman today. I will be reading a few pages from books of different genres most Tuesdays. Your job is to listen and consider whether you'd enjoy trying a book from that genre.

The Writing Process
We continued our work with our writing assignment, following the steps of The Writing Process. We finished our prewriting yesterday, so today we progressed to the second step--drafting. Drafting is organizing your ideas into sentences and paragraphs. The first draft is not supposed to be perfect. It is supposed to be something you will rework to make better. We we draft, the best thing to do is to write as many of your ideas as you can into sentences as quickly as you can. When all your sentences are written, it is time to move on to the next step--revising.

To revise, you should look closely at what you have written and make changes to your draft to make it better. Look at the ideas. Do they flow, one to another? Do your sentences make sense? Do you need to add details to clarify your ideas? To you need to take out some unnecessary details? These are the questions you should ask yourself during the revision step of The Writing Process.

Today we traded our paragraphs with our partners, and we helped each other revise. The job of the partner was to write some notes on the paragraph to help the writer improve his/her work. We had enough time to read each others' paragraphs, but we didn't have enough time to finish the revision step of The Writing Process. We will continue with this project on Thursday.

Coming Attraction
Tomorrow we will be in the computer lab doing reading inventories. We will also have some time in the library for checking out a good reading book. We will probably have some time to read tomorrow. Our regular reading time will begin the first fifteen minutes of class on Friday.

Thanks for another great day!

First day of school!!!

2008-08-25T07:47:00.003-06:00

Welcome to language arts with Mrs. Cheney. Today we discussed rules and the disclosure document. If you were not here, you will need to get a disclosure document from me to take home to your parents to sign. Bring it back tomorrow for 5 points.

We also started a writing activity. We interviewed partners to find interesting experiences they have had. We will be writing a paragraph about our partners in class tomorrow. We will follow the writing process for all writing activities. Today we finished the prewriting step of the writing process.

I'm excited to get to know all of you. I love teaching and I'm happy to be your teacher.

For bonus points: The first student from each class period to tell me the first step of the writing process will earn 5 extra credit points.

Last Day of School Internet Activity

2008-05-27T07:57:00.006-06:00

Follow the directions in this post. You will turn in your Word document at the end of class. This is supposed to be fun, so don't get too bogged down by the details, but please make an attempt to do everything the scavenger hunt asks you to do.

1. Open Microsoft Word. Put your name at the top of the document, then number 1-10 down the left side of the page.

2. Click here.

3. Watch at least four commercials. Tell which commercials you watched, which one was your favorite, and why for your #1 in your Word document.

4. Find a picture of the summer toy you'd most like to own. Copy and paste the picture and an approximate cost of the toy for #2 in your Word document.

5. For #3 on your Word document, write a top 5 list of your favorite actors and/or musicians. (If you don't have favorites, just choose 5 famous people--we will be using this list for the next several questions).

6. Look up the third person on your list here.

7. Write the person's name, birthday, and one interesting fact your learned for #4.

8. Find a picture of the second person on your list.

9. Copy and paste your picture into your Word document for #5.

10. Find your favorite movie here.

11. Copy and paste a picture from this website in #6 in your Word doc.

12. What is your favorite song? Listen to it now. (free.napster.com is a good place to look)

13. Write your favorite song in #7 in your Word document.

14. Time to shop! Find an outfit complete with accessories for a fun summer-time barbeque.

15. Copy and paste pictures and prices of each item for #8 in your Word document.

16. Time to go to a baseball game. Find an internet site devoted to any baseball team or their home stadium.

17. Write the web address for #9 in your Word document.

18. How about a summer-time concert? Find a concert you'd like to go this summer. It can be anywhere in the world!

19. Give the date, time, city, venue, and ticket price for your #10 in your Word document.

20. Print up your Word document and turn it in to Mrs. Cheney.

Have a fun summer!

4/8-11/08 8th

2008-04-11T07:37:00.002-06:00

This week we have been working on a persuasive paper.

Organizing the Persuasive Essay

Step 1: Choose a topic
• Your topic should be an issue that has two opposing views.
• You must have an opinion on this topic.
• Consider your feelings and opinions before you write.
• Consider what evidence and examples you have.

Step 2: Determine Your Purpose
• Decide on your purpose: What will you convince the readers to believe or to do?
• Do not start writing until you have a clear purpose.
• Your purpose determines your thesis statement.

Step 3: Remember Your Audience
• The topic will tell you who the intended audience is (usually some formal group of adults: school board, administration, etc.)
• Keep this audience in mind as you write. (You don’t have to address them by name.)
• Present your arguments in a way that will impress this audience.
• Name calling and angry tirades won’t work.

Step 4: Opening Paragraph—Capture Attention
• The first sentence(s) in your essay should capture attention.
• Your attention-getter must relate to the topic in some way.
• Ways to capture attention:
1. Startling situation or statistic
2. intriguing question
3. Powerful description

Some Way NOT to Begin:
• I am going to tell you about . . .
• Once upon a time . . .
• This is an essay about . . .
• The assignment says I have to write about . . .
• My first main idea is . . .

Step 5: Opening Paragraph—Clearly State Your Thesis
• Thesis = a complete sentence that gives your opinion regarding the issue and what you think should be done.
• A good thesis is short and clear.
• The thesis is what the rest of your paper will prove.
• Example: We should get rid of the candy machines in the schools.
Step 6: Opening Paragraph—Main Points
• After stating your thesis, briefly and clearly mention your three main arguments.
• There should be no question about what you will prove in your essay.
• Example: We should get rid of the vending machines in schools. They contribute to health problems, they cause messes, and they do not earn much money for the school.

Step 7: Opening Paragraph Conclusion/Transition Statement
• At the end of your first paragraph, make a statement the either moves the reader smoothly into the next paragraph or restates your thesis in different words.
• Example: Clearly, vending machines do more harm than good.

Step 8: Second Paragraph—Topic Sentence
• Begin the second paragraph with a topic sentence that clearly states your first main point.
• Example: To begin with, vending machines in schools contribute to health problems for students.

Step 9: Second Paragraph—Specific Supporting Examples
• Support your topic sentence with specific (not general) examples and details.
• Include explanations about how your examples support the topic sentence.
• Address the opposing argument: Explain why it is wrong or why your idea is better.
• Example: Some people argue that kids will get pop and candy anyway, so there is nothing wrong with having the machines in schools, but this goes against the spirit of education. Schools are supposed to help kids stay healthy, not provide them with products that may cause them harm.

Step 10: Transitions
• At the end of the second paragraph or the beginning of the third paragraph, include a transition sentence.
• Example: Not only do vending machines contribute to health problems, but they also create other problems in our school.

Common Transition Words:
• First
• Furthermore
• Another
• Besides
• Although
• Consequently,
• Additionally,
• Next,
• In addition to
• Instead of
• Rather than
• Similarly,
• Therefore
• On the other hand,
• However,
• Finally,

Step 11: Third Paragraph Topic Sentence
• The topic sentence that clearly states your second main point should either be at the very beginning of the paragraph or immediately after your transition statement.
• Example: Vending machines create a lot of litter.

Step 12: Third Paragraph Specific Supporting Examples
• Support your topic sentence with specific (not general) examples and details.
• Include explanations about how your examples support the topic sentence.
• Address the opposing argument: Explain why it is wrong or why your idea is better.
• Example: Many people believe that litter in schools is not a problem. They say, “That’s why we have janitors!” Not only is this incredibly arrogant, but it doesn’t address the fact that the presence of vending machines makes our school look bad.

Step 13: Transition
• At the end of the third paragraph or the beginning of the fourth paragraph, include a transition sentence.
• Example: Some people might overlook the mess because they believe the vending machines bring lots of money to the school, but this is not the case.

Step 14: Fourth Paragraph—Topic Sentence
• The topic sentence that clearly states your third main point should either be at the very beginning of the paragraph or immediately after your transition statement.
• Example: Contrary to popular opinion, the vending machines do not bring in that much extra money.

Step 15: Fourth Paragraph—Specific Supporting Examples
• Support your topic sentence with specific (not general) examples and details.
• Include explanations about how your examples support the topic sentence.
• Address the opposing argument: Explain why it is wrong or why your idea is better.
• Example: The argument that the schools need the money brought in by vending machines is misleading. The amount the machines bring in is such a small part of the total school budget that the money would not be missed.

Step 16: Fourth Paragraph Conclusion Sentence
• End your fourth paragraph with a sentence that concludes your third main point.
• Example: There is no doubt that the school needs more money for programs and supplies, but there are better ways to get the money than by poisoning our students with junk food.

Step 17: Closing paragraph—Restate Your Thesis
• Begin your final paragraph with a concluding phrase and then restate your thesis.
• Don’t use the exact same wording you did in the opening paragraph.
• Example: As you can see, the disadvantages of vending machines far outweigh the advantages, and we should therefore remove them from our schools.

Common Concluding Phrases:
• In conclusion
• As you can see
• To summarize
• It is clear that
• Obviously
• For these reasons
• As I said
• Clearly

Step 18: Closing Paragraph—Restate Your Main Points
• Restate the main points in different words than you used in the opening paragraph.
• Example: Because vending machines are hazardous to students’ health and make the schools look bad, they are not worth the small amount of extra money they bring in.

Step 19: Closing Paragraph Clincher: Powerful Closing
• Conclude your paper with a powerful and memorable final sentence (“clincher”).
• You may refer back to the opening of your paper if you used a good example to capture attention.
• You may end with an intriguing question or a provocative idea.
• Leave the reader thinking!

Step 20: Avoid These Phrases:
• I am going to tell you about . . .
• This is where I talk about . . .
• In this paragraph, I will . . . .

You now have everything you need to organize an excellent essay. You just have to come up with the ideas!

4/8-11/08 9th

2008-04-11T07:35:00.001-06:00

We've been busy with our mythology unit. We've had group presentations every day. If you missed a day, please get the notes from a friend. I will be collecting notes and journals on Tuesday.

Be sure to keep up with the reading schedule, and if you miss a quiz, be sure to arrange with me to make it up.

Have a good weekend!

4/7/08 8th

2008-04-07T14:47:00.001-06:00

Today we watched a video about Anne Frank. Look forward to a nice big writing project starting tomorrow!

4/7/08 9th

2008-04-07T13:40:00.004-06:00

We are going full speed ahead with our mythology/epic unit. Today we started group presentations. We had three excellent presentations about Aphrodite, Poseidon, and Artemis. Good job presenters! Get the notes from one of your buddies if you missed today.

I gave journal topics today. We will start class with five minutes for journal writing for the next several days. Your journals entries must be at least one half page to get full credit. Journals will be due Tuesday, April 15. Here are the prompts:

Odyssey Journal Questions
Name_________________________
Respond to the following journal prompts during the first five minutes of class for the next six days. You should write a minimum of a half page for each entry. Staple this paper to the top of your entries to turn in on Tuesday, April 15.

1. What are the characteristics that someone must have to be a hero?

2. Have you ever been on a journey? Here did you go? What did you do? If you have never been on a journey, where would you like to go?

3. If you were going to write an epic poem, who would you want as the hero? Why? Describe this superhero of yours.

4. Odysseus and his crew encounter various monsters on their voyage home. Have you faced “monsters” in your life? How have you dealt with them?

5. Odysseus, as the hero of The Odyssey, displays many abilities in having to deal with beings of all kinds and with various cultures. Think about the qualities Odysseus displays that help him interact with the various people he meets on his journey. Choose a quality, such as “open-mindedness,” and tell how this quality can be useful today when you are dealing with people.

6. Odysseus does not tell his men about the dangers they face with Scylla and Charybdis. Do you believe that it is best to know what is going to happen to you if it is dangerous, or would you rather face the danger without knowing about it? Why or why not?

I also gave a chart of Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes for you to study for the upcoming test on Tuesday, April 15. You'll need to see me for the chart. The format won't work right here, and it is best that you have the chart in the proper format.

Also, we will follow a strict reading schedule for The Odyssey. I will put a schedule of the quizzes in the due date column to the right.

Reading schedule:
We will be reading Part One of The Odyssey from your purple literature books during the next five days of class. Please keep up with the following reading schedule:

Date, Pages
Monday, April 7, 651-658
Tuesday, April 8, 660-665
Wednesday, April 9, 666-670
Thursday, April 10, 673-677
Friday, April 11, 678-686

We will be having a test on the group presentations about the Greek Gods, The Odyssey, and Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes on Tuesday, April 15.

We are packing it in during the next several days. I'm expecting great work from each of you.

Sorry for the break

2008-04-04T09:02:00.002-06:00

I apologize for the break in entries. It's been a very busy week. You'll have to see me if you missed school during the past week. As a quick review:

8th graders:

We finished reading The Diary of Anne Frank on Tuesday. Wednesday we had a review for the test. Yesterday we participated in a survey sponsored by Communities that Care. Today we are taking the final test on the play. We will be watching a video about Anne Frank on Monday, then we can look forward to a writing project next week.

9th graders:

We are studying mythology. We had a introduction to mythology and the Olympians on Monday. See the PowerPoint presentation here. We also read this Greek Creation Myth:

Greek Creation Myth
In the beginning there was an empty darkness. The only thing in this void was Nyx, a bird with black wings. With the wind she laid a golden egg and for ages she sat upon this egg. Finally life began to stir in the egg and out of it rose Eros, the god of love. One half of the shell rose into the air and became the sky and the other became the Earth. Eros named the sky Uranus and the Earth he named Gaia. Then Eros made them fall in love.

Uranus and Gaia had many children together and eventually they had grandchildren. Some of their children become afraid of the power of their children. Kronus, in an effort to protect himself, swallowed his children when they were still infants. However, his wife Rhea hid their youngest child. She gave him a rock wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he swallowed, thinking it was his son.

Once the child, Zeus, had reached manhood his mother instructed him on how to trick his father to give up his brothers and sisters. Once this was accomplished the children fought a mighty war against their father. After much fighting the younger generation won. With Zeus as their leader, they began to furnish Gaia with life and Uranus with stars.

Soon the Earth lacked only two things: man and animals. Zeus summoned his sons Prometheus (fore-thought) and Epimetheus (after-thought). He told them to go to Earth and create men and animals and give them each a gift.

Prometheus set to work forming men in the image of the gods and Epimetheus worked on the animals. As Epimetheus worked he gave each animal he created one of the gifts. After Epimetheus had completed his work Prometheus finally finished making men. However when he went to see what gift to give man Epimetheus shamefacedly informed him that he had foolishly used all the gifts.

Distressed, Prometheus decided he had to give man fire, even though gods were the only ones meant to have access to it. As the sun god rode out into the world the next morning Prometheus took some of the fire and brought it back to man. He taught his creation how to take care of it and then left them.

When Zeus discovered Prometheus' deed he became furious. He ordered his son to be chained to a mountain and for a vulture to peck out his liver every day till eternity. Then he began to devise a punishment for mankind. Another of his sons created a woman of great beauty, Pandora. Each of the gods gave her a gift. Zeus' present was curiosity and a box which he ordered her never to open. Then he presented her to Epimetheus as a wife.

Pandora's life with Epimetheus was happy except for her intense longing to open the box. She was convinced that because the gods and goddesses had showered so many glorious gifts upon her that this one would also be wonderful. One day when Epimetheus was gone she opened the box.

Out of the box flew all of the horrors which plague the world today - pain, sickness, envy, greed. Upon hearing Pandora's screams Epimetheus rushed home and fastened the lid shut, but all of the evils had already escaped.

Later that night they heard a voice coming from the box saying,

"Let me out. I am hope."

Pandora and Epimetheus released her and she flew out into the world to give hope to humankind.

We spent the rest of the week working on group presentations on the Olympians. Here is the assignment:

Your group will give a group presentation about the Olympian you’ve been assigned. The rest of the class will take notes on your presentation. You will be tested on all 12 Olympians presented as well as the myths each group presents, so it is important that you include all the following information in your presentation.

Olympian Name: Greek_______________ Roman__________________

1. Family background of Olympian (mother, father, sisters, brothers, etc.)

2. Physical and emotional description (remember, each Olympian had human-like qualities which became his or her strength or weakness)

3. Important milestones (progress made by your Olympian)

4. Hardships (every Olympian had some sort of struggle, this is why they were revered by the Greeks—because they could understand the human struggle)

5. Major accomplishments (what is your Olympian known for?)

6. Include a myth about your Olympian. (from Wikipedia.org—“a myth is a sacred story concerning the origins of the world or how the world and the creatures in it came to be in their present form.”) You may read your myth or retell it in your own words.

7. Include visual aids in your presentation (PowerPoint, pictures, posters, videos, props, etc.)

8. Your presentation must be at least 10 minutes long

We will have a couple of library days to prepare your presentations. I will have books available for you in the library. We will present three groups a day. I will make a schedule of group presentations during class. Your presentation can be a PowerPoint presentation (I have a projector), you can make a video, you can present orally in front of the class, you can make worksheets (give me a master so I can make copies), you can act out your myth in a Greek-style play, or you can present in your own original creative way. The idea is that your group will teach the class all about your assigned Olympian. I am requiring visual aids (pictures, posters, handouts, PowerPoint, etc.). The time requirement is a minimum of 10 minutes. You may go as long as you’d like.

Remember, after we are through with the presentations, we will have a test on all 12 Olympians and the myths each group shared. That means the information you teach will be included in the test. Teach the appropriate information so you and your classmates will do well on the test.

I will be grading group presentations on content (whether or not you included all the required information), length (at least 10 minutes), and visual aids and/or handouts (get some!).

3/27/08 8th

2008-03-27T13:27:00.003-06:00

Journal topic for today: Compare and contrast your life with the life of the Holocaust victim you learned about.

After journal writing, we had a quiz on Act 1 and vocabulary words for The Diary of Anne Frank. With the little remaining time, we started reading Act 2. A year has passed and the tension between the Annex-dwellers is starting to rise. Mr. Van Daan has given Mrs. Van Daan's fur coat to be sold so he can have cigarettes, Peter's cat is mysteriously missing, Anne has gone through "the change", and one of the workers in the factory below seems to suspect the Franks are hiding in the building. Action is rising all over the place! I wonder what will happen!

Of course we know what happens, but that doesn't stop us from feeling the pressure the Frank's et al. surely felt. What a horrible, hopeless time!

3/27/08 9th

2008-03-27T13:25:00.001-06:00

Today was the due date for poetry portfolios. We had a nice little poetry slam. Thanks to the ten brave souls who participated. You all did a nice job.

Tomorrow will be a reading day, so don't forget to bring a book!

3/26/08 8th

2008-03-26T08:57:00.001-06:00

We finished up our "I Am" poems and collages today. Tomorrow we will have a quiz on Act 1 and the vocabulary words (for sure!).

3/26/08 9th

2008-03-26T08:55:00.002-06:00

Day Two in the computer lab. Poetry portfolios are due tomorrow. Sign up for the poetry slam today!

Remember oral book reports. We had a good start yesterday. Make sure you are prepared when your day comes up.

3/25/08 8th

2008-03-25T13:06:00.002-06:00

We had an internet activity followed by some poetry writing today. I gave each student a card with the name and picture of a Holocaust victim. We visited a website with biographies of each of these children. After reading the biography, each student wrote an "I Am" poem based on the child they chose. After that, each student wrote an "I Am" poem based on his or her own life.

See me for an instruction sheet if you missed this activity.

3/25/08 9th

2008-03-25T13:03:00.002-06:00

Welcome back! I hope you're all more excited to be back than I am . . .

Today we worked on our poetry portfolios in the writing lab. They will be due on Thursday. Also on Thursday--the poetry slam! There will be real live prizes for the winners! You will need to sign up by tomorrow in order to participate.

3/19/08 8th

2008-03-19T08:32:00.004-06:00

We finished reading Act 1 today. The big news is that someone now knows they are hiding in The Secret Annex. This, of course, creates even more tension than these folks were already feeling. Anne wants to leave, but there is no where for them to go. Things are starting to look bad for the Franks, Van Daans and Mr. Dussel.

We will have a quiz on Act 1 and the vocabulary words on Tuesday when we come back from spring break. I hope you're as excited for spring break as I am.

Don't forget, oral book reports start next week.

Extra Credit
The first person in each class to answer this question will receive 5 extra credit points.

Who has a problem with Peter's cat and why?

3/19/08 9th

2008-03-19T08:26:00.005-06:00

Today was a work day. You had the choice to either read or work quietly on your poems. Remember, we will be in the computer lab Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Your poetry portfolios will be due on Thursday. Don't forget! Also, oral book reports start next week. Check the schedule for your date.

Hope you have an excellent spring break.

Extra credit:
The first person to give me the answer to this question will get 5 points extra credit.

Who wrote the poem "Kubla Khan", and what is the name of the river in the poem?

3/18/08 8th

2008-03-18T13:34:00.002-06:00

We read through Act 1, Scene 4 today. Dussel lets the annex dwellers in on all the latest news. This leads the audience through the rising action happening outside the annex. The climax is very much affected by the rising conflicts happening in the world outside the annex, and we need to be informed of those events somehow. The introduction of Dussel into the mix helps us see what is going on in the real world.

Anne and Dussel, not surprisingly, do not get along. Anne continues her conflict with her mother. When Mr. Frank confronts Anne about her poor treatment of her mother, Anne asks him how she can change. Mr. Frank says, "You must build your own character." This is one of the themes of the play. It goes very well with the "No one can put bars on your mind" theme Mr. Frank introduced earlier. Mr. Frank is all about individual choice of attitude and actions. We, as an audience, are meant to discover the universal truths in these themes Mr. Frank introduces.

We will finish Act 1 tomorrow. We will have a quiz on Act 1 and the first set of vocabulary words on Tuesday next week, after spring break.

3/18/08 9th

2008-03-18T13:26:00.004-06:00

More poetry today! We talked about allegory, paradox, personification and hyperbole today.

Here are the poems we used to discuss these poetic devices (keeping in mind that other poetic devices are used in these poems as well, we're just focusing on a few today):

The Chimney Sweeper (allegorical dream)
William Blake

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

And so he was quiet; and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, -
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.

And by came an angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.

Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.

Batter My Heart(paradox)
John Donne

Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town to'another due,
Labor to'admit you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly'I love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy;
Divorce me,'untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you'enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

Cross (paradox)
Langston Hughes

My old man's a white old man
And my old mother's black.
If ever I cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.

If ever I cursed my black old mother
And wished she were in hell,
I'm sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well.

My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder where I'm going to die,
Being neither white nor black?

The Ghost Song (personification, allegory)

Sting

I watch the Western sky
The sun is sinking
The geese are flying South
It sets me thinking

I did not miss you much
I did not suffer
What did not kill me
Just made me tougher

I feel the winter come
His icy sinews
Now in the fire light
The case continues

Another night in court
The same old trial
The same old questions asked
The same denial

The shadows closely run
Like jury members
I look for answers in
The fire's embers

Why was I missing then
That whole December
I give my usual line:
I don't remember

Another winter comes
His icy fingers creep
Into these bones of mine
These memories never sleep

And all these differences
A cloak I borrow
We kept our distances
Why should it follow I must have loved you

What is the force that binds the stars
I wore this mask to hide my scars
What is the power that pulls the tide
I never could find a place to hide

What moves the Earth around the sun
What could I do but run and run and run
Afraid to love, afraid to fail
A mast without a sail

The moon's a fingernail and slowly sinking
Another day begins and now I'm thinking
That this indifference was my invention
When everything I did sought your attention

You were my compass star
You were my measure
You were a pirate's map
A buried treasure

If this was all correct
The last thing I'd expect
The prosecution rests
It's time that I confess: I must have loved you

No difference (hyperbole)
Shel Silverstein

Small as a peanut
Big as a giant,
We're all the same size
When we turn off the light.
Red black or orange,
Yellow or white
We all look the same
When we turn off the light.
So maybe the way
To make everything right
Is for God to just reach out
And turn off the light!

3/17/08 8th

2008-03-17T11:33:00.002-06:00

We had reading time with glossaries for the first 15 minutes of class. Following reading time, we resumed our class reading of The Diary of Anne Frank.

We are well into the rising action phase of the play. We are seeing conflicts wherever we look. Mr. Frank manages to keep himself fairly conflict-free, but the others are struggling. And they'll struggle even more with the introduction of a new resident in The Secret Annex. Mr. Dussel joined us today. Is he welcome? How do the others feel about him? We he cause problems? We'll have to keep reading to see.

3/17/08 9th

2008-03-17T10:34:00.005-06:00

Happy St. Patty's Day. Today we talked about imagery, simile, metaphor, symbolism and irony. We read several poems in which poets use these poetic devices.

Emily Dickinson (simile)

After great pain a formal feeling comes--
The nerves sit ceremonious like tombs;
The stiff Heart questions--was it He that bore?
And yesterday--or centuries before?
The feet, mechanical, go round
A wooden way
Of ground, or air, or ought,
Regardless grown,
A quartz contentment, like a stone.

This is the hour of lead
Remembered if outlived,
As freezing persons recollect the snow--
First chill, then stupor, then the letting go.

The Road Not Taken (symbolism)
Robert Frost

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Richard Corey (Irony)
Edwin Arlington Robinson. 1869–

WHENEVER Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

Introduction to Poetry (metaphor)
Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

"Binsey Poplars" (imagery)
Gerard Manley Hopkins

My aspens dear, whose airy cages quelled,
Quelled or quenched in leaves the leaping sun,
All felled, felled, are all felled;
Of a fresh and following folded rank
Not spared, not one
That dandled a sandalled
Shadow that swam or sank
On meadow and river and wind-wandering weed-winding bank.
O if we but knew what we do
When we delve or hew--
Hack and rack the growing green!
Since country is so tender
To touch, her being so slender,
That, like this sleek and seeing ball
But a prick will make no eye at all,
Where we, even where we mean
To mend her we end her,
When we hew or delve:
After-comers cannot guess the beauty been.
Ten or twelve, only ten or twelve
Strokes of havoc unselve
The sweet especial scene,
Rural scene, a rural scene,
Sweet especial rural scene.

We also talked about the "Spring Sonnet Contest" sponsored by A Prairie Home Companion. I hope you will consider entering your sonnets in the contest.

We spent the rest of the class period writing original poetry for your poetry portfolios.

3/14/08 8th

2008-03-14T11:47:00.002-06:00

We read the first half of Act 1, Scene 2 today. The basic situation was set up in Scene 1. The rising action is starting in Scene 2. We have all sorts of conflicts in The Secret Annex by two months into the hiding. Anne and Peter, Anne and Mrs. Frank, Anne and Mr. Van Daan, Anne and Mrs. Van Daan, Anne and Margot, Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan, Mr. Van Daan and Peter. Mr. Frank is really the only one who hasn't been involved in any conflicts at this point. We'll see how long that lasts.

3/14/08 9th

2008-03-14T11:46:00.001-06:00

Your poetry portfolio is due Thursday, March 27. It should include:
Section One:
Ten original poems (that means you wrote them) in ten different poetic forms from the list on the front of the handout. Be sure to give each poem a title, and indicate the form for each poem.
Section Two:
Ten poems you have found. Each poem should be written by a different poet and should feature a different poetic device. Do not use a poet or poetic device more than once. Be sure to indicate the poet and the poetic device for each poem.
Section Three:
Print out song lyrics from your favorite musical artist. Write a good paragraph (7-9 good sentences) about how the artist uses at least three different poetry devices in his/her song. Use examples from the lyrics. Include the title and writer of the song.

Hints for getting a good grade on your poetry portfolio:
• Clearly mark each section
• Staple papers together in booklet form, or use a folder that secures the papers together on the left side
• Make a front cover for your portfolio
• Make sure you follow the correct format for each poem in section one
• Make a real effort to write good poetry in section one
• Be sure to identify the poetic devices in section two
• Write a good solid paragraph in section three

We will be having a poetry slam in class on Thursday, March 27. To prepare for our slam, we will have open mic in class today, March 14, and Wednesday, March 19 for you to practice reading your poetry in front of the class. A poetry slam is a competition. There will be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prize. These are real, actual prizes totaling $20!!!!! There will be four rounds of our poetry slam. We will need 5 judges and at least 8 contestants. See me if you’d like to be a judge or a contestant. Each contestant will need to have 5-6 good original poems to read. Original means you wrote the poem yourself. The judges will rate each poem. We will combine the judges’ scores to determine who moves on and who is eliminated. Oftentimes, a very dramatic and entertaining reading increases the score of a performance. I’m planning to dim the lights and play some music during our slam to create some nice ambiance. The poetry slam is a more modern approach to Beatnik poetry readings. Laid back finger snapping is highly encouraged. Poetry slams are a lot of fun and becoming more and more popular among all age groups. After all, it is cool to be a poet (think song-writers). I will have a treat for everyone who participates, judges and contestants.

3/13/08 8th

2008-03-13T09:47:00.002-06:00

We read through Scene 2 in The Diary of Anne Frank today. We discovered that Anne and Mr. Frank are both optimists, Peter is very shy, the Van Daans are wealthy (Mr. Van Daan seems to have an addictive personality), Mrs. Frank is overprotective, and Anne has a closer relationship with her dad than she does with her mom.

We have been introduced to two themes in the play: when the world seems to be filled with evil people, there are still good people willing to do the right thing (Miep and Mr. Kraler), and there are no walls or prisons for the mind.

I handed out vocabulary lists today. Study them for a quiz on Wednesday. Make sure to learn the spelling and the definition of each word.

3/13/08 9th

2008-03-13T08:57:00.002-06:00

After looking through some haiku, limerick, lyric, and narrative poetry, we spent the rest of the hour in the computer lab writing poems and finding poems for our portfolios. Here are the poems we reviewed in class:

Haiku

The lightning flashes!
And slashing through the darkness,
A night-heron’s screech
Matuso Basho

The falling flower
I saw drift back to the branch
Was a butterfly.
Moritake

Limerick

There was a young lady from Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger;
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside
And the smile of the face of the tiger.
unknown

There was a young lady of Lynn
Who was so uncommonly thin
That when she essayed
To drink lemonade
She slipped through the straw and fell in.
unknown

A tutor who tooted the flute
Tried to teach two young tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor,
“Is it harder to toot, or
To tutor two tooters to toot?”
Carolyn Wells

There was a young lady named Bright
Whose speed was much faster than light.
She set out one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
unknown

Narrative

Out, Out
Robert Frost

THE BUZZ-SAW snarled and rattled in the yard
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
Five mountain ranges one behind the other 5
Under the sunset far into Vermont.
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
And nothing happened: day was all but done.
Call it a day, I wish they might have said 10
To please the boy by giving him the half hour
That a boy counts so much when saved from work.
His sister stood beside them in her apron
To tell them “Supper.” At the word, the saw,
As if to prove saws knew what supper meant, 15
Leaped out at the boy’s hand, or seemed to leap—
He must have given the hand. However it was,
Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!
The boy’s first outcry was a rueful laugh,
As he swung toward them holding up the hand 20
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all—
Since he was old enough to know, big boy
Doing a man’s work, though a child at heart—
He saw all spoiled. “Don’t let him cut my hand off— 25
The doctor, when he comes. Don’t let him, sister!”
So. But the hand was gone already.
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.
And then—the watcher at his pulse took fright. 30
No one believed. They listened at his heart.
Little—less—nothing!—and that ended it.
No more to build on there. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.

Lyric

The Summer I Was Sixteen
Geraldine Connolly

The turquoise pool rose up to meet us,
its slide a silver afterthought down which
we plunged, screaming, into a mirage of bubbles.
We did not exist beyond the gaze of a boy.

Shaking water off our limbs, we lifted
up from ladder rungs across the fern-cool
lip of rim. Afternoon. Oiled and sated,
we sunbathed, rose and paraded the concrete,

danced to the low beat of "Duke of Earl".
Past cherry colas, hot-dogs, Dreamsicles,
we came to the counter where bees staggered
into root beer cups and drowned. We gobbled

cotton candy torches, sweet as furtive kisses,
shared on benches beneath summer shadows.
Cherry. Elm. Sycamore. We spread our chenille
blankets across grass, pressed radios to our ears,

mouthing the old words, then loosened
thin bikini straps and rubbed baby oil with iodine
across sunburned shoulders, tossing a glance
through the chain link at an improbable world.

3/12/08 8th

2008-03-12T13:38:00.002-06:00

We had some reading time today. We talked about our oral book reports again. Remember, I have strict criteria you must follow to get full credit for the report. See me if you lost your instruction sheet.

We starting reading the play, The Diary of Anne Frank. We read through the first scene, taking in all the clues that contribute to the basic situation. We learned very early in the scene that Mr. Frank is the only survivor of The Holocaust. This will affect how we interpret Anne's words and actions, knowing that she dies in a concentration camp when she is a mere 15 years old.

We will talk about the vocabulary words tomorrow.

3/12/08 9th

2008-03-12T13:37:00.003-06:00

We talked about some of the terms and poetic forms on your assignment sheet. We practiced descriptive writing (imagery) as a class by describing a part of a picture, then adding detail with each draft of the sentence. We also had some time to work on the initial drafts of our poems. You should also be working on these at home. I will not be giving you enough time to finish all ten poems in class.

3/11/08 8th

2008-03-12T13:28:00.004-06:00

Today we had a lesson about the history of The Holocaust as a pre-reading activity for The Diary of Anne Frank.

What is The Holocaust?
Literally, it means a huge destruction or sacrifice.
When spelled with an upper-case “H” (making it a proper noun) it refers to the deliberate attempt by the Nazi government to destroy all Jewish people in Germany and surrounding countries.
Took place before and during WWII, between 1933 and 1945.
Targeted Jews, Gypsies, Poles, homosexuals, communists and anyone who tried to fight against the Nazi party.

The Jewish People
Judaism teaches that there is one God and that the Jews are the chosen people. The believe in The Torah.
Strong families.
Dietary code—Kosher foods.
Strong sense of community.
Jews live in all parts of the world.

Anti-Semitism
Hatred or unfair treatment of Jewish people.
Started in 1000 A.D. and occurred throughout Europe.
Religious reasons—Christians blamed Jews for killing Jesus.
Social reasons—Jews were different, spoke a different language, dressed differently, ate different foods, etc.

Hitler
Born in Austria, 1889.
Poor student, failed out of art school.
1914 joined German army, fought in WWI.
Germany lost WWI, Hitler blamed the Jews.
Decided to go into politics to right the wrongs Germany suffered.
Joined the Nazi party (National Socialist German Workers’ Party).
Became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933.
Gave himself the title, “Fuhrer” (tyrannical leader).
Charismatic speaker, had many faithful followers.
When Germany lost the war, committed suicide to avoid getting caught.

The Nazis
Hitler and friends wrote 25 points, outlining the aims of the Nazis. Some of these points:
Gain land to settle all German-speaking people.
Take control of more land to expand.
Ensure only people of German blood could be German citizens.
Allow only German citizens to have rights in German lands.
Give complete power to the government (Nazi party).
Require that non-German citizens leave Germany.
Require German citizens put the interest of the national community before their own.
Outlawed other political parties.
Believed in Racial superiority, “I believe that the Aryan race—white Europeans of the blonde, Nordic type—are superior.”
Racial purity—”No boy or girl must leave school without having a clear understanding of racial purity and the importance of keeping the racial blood pure.”

Propaganda
Information and ideas that are worded and presented so people will accept and believe them, even if they are not true.
Nazis used posters, radio broadcasts, leaflets, rallies and demonstrations to spread their propaganda.
Blamed Jews for Germany’s financial state, and for taking German jobs.
Used words like sub-human, vermin, filth, corrupters, and a plague to describe Jews. Referred to Jews as cargo or pieces when talking about transporting Jews to concentration camps.
Hitler promised Germans that their lives would be better, if they could get rid of the Jews.

German Jews in the 1930's
Nazis came into power in 1933.
They immediately started persecuting and killing Jews, but they kept it secret, so the Jews didn’t really understand the danger they were in.
Started taking Jews’ businesses from them.
Did not allow Jews to work with Germans.
Prohibited Jewish children from going to school with German children.
Banned from sports, cultural activities and public events.
The Nuremberg Laws were passed in 1935—anyone with Jewish ancestry was a Jew, Jews could not marry Germans or become German citizens.
Jews began to see they were in danger, began to leave Germany.
Other countries had quotas of incoming Jews they would allow, making it difficult for Jews to leave.
Jews lost everything when they left.
Many Jews stayed, believing their persecution was only temporary, in order to keep their belonging intact.

Kindertransports
Jews began sending their children to other countries to live.
Most of these parents never saw their children again.
Children were smuggled out of Germany and taken to Britain and other countries willing to help.

Kristallnacht
The Night of Broken Glass, November 9, 1938.
An organized Nazi attack on synagogues and Jewish homes and businesses.
Many Jews were expelled from their homes.
Their belongings were taken from them.
Gestapo arrested 20,000 Jews and took them to concentration camps.
Nazis made Jews pay for repairs.
Germans who tried to intervene on behalf of Jews were also targeted.

Ghettos
After Kristallnacht, Jews were forced out of their homes and into ghettos.
Low supplies of food and water.
Many families lives in each apartment.
Jews were not allowed to leave the ghetto for any reason.
Jews were not allowed to work, did not have much money.
Possessions were taken from them when they were forced from homes into the ghetto.

The Final Solution
At a conference on January 20, 1942, the Nazis proposed “The Final Solution”
“The Final Solution” was to exterminate all Jews in countries under German control.
They planned to transport all Jews from Ghettos, concentration camps and labor camps to death camps.
There were mass graves, shooting, gassing, burning in ovens, and other atrocities.
Thousands of Jews were killed every day. The ovens burned continuously.
Auschwitz was the most notorious death camp, killing about 1,600,000 people.
As Germany began to lose the war, camps began to be liberated, or freed, in 1945.
Those Jews who survived had nothing to go home to, were separated from their families, didn’t have any money, so their suffering continued.

Jews in Hiding
To avoid concentration camps, some Jews went into hiding.
They relied on citizens to bring them food and supplies.
Those hiding the Jews often shared their own rations with those in hiding.
Citizens were risking their lives to hide Jews.
Many hidden Jews were found and killed.
Those hiding the Jews were punished, sometimes killed.
Neighbors often spied on each other, Nazis gave rewards for turning in people hiding Jews.
Anne Frank wrote her diary while she was in hiding.

3/11/08 9th

2008-03-12T11:04:00.002-06:00

Today we started our poetry portfolios.

Here is the assignment:

Poetry Portfolio

You will be writing 10 poems for your poetry portfolio. You will choose from the following forms:

Choose 2-3 of the following:

Ballad: A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain.
Epic: A long, serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure.
Sonnet: A lyric poem that is 14 lines long. English (or Shakespearean) sonnets are composed of three quatrains (see below) and a final couplet (see below), with a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. English sonnets are written in iambic pentameter (see definition). This is a STRICT format which MUST be followed to get full credit.
Quatrain: A stanza or poem of four lines.
Stanza: Two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem. The stanzas of a poem are usually of the same length and follow the same pattern of meter and rhyme.
Couplet: In a poem, a pair of lines that are the same length and usually rhyme and form a complete thought.
Iambic pentameter: A type of meter in poetry, in which there are five iambs (pair of two syllables) to a line. (The prefix penta- means "five," as in pentagon, a geometrical figure with five sides. Meter refers to rhythmic units. In a line of iambic pentameter, there are five rhythmic units that are iambs.) Shakespeare's plays were written mostly in iambic pentameter, which is the most common type of meter. From Romeo and Juliet: "But soft!/ What light/ through yon/der win/dow breaks?"

Choose 3-4 of the following:

Haiku: A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Haiku often reflect on some aspect of nature.
Limerick: A light, humorous poem of five usually anapestic (two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable) lines with the rhyme scheme of aabba.
Lyric: A poem that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. A lyric poem may resemble a song in form or style.
Narrative: A poem that tells a story, usually from the poet’s perspective. It should be an original story, not a retelling of a familiar story (ballad or epic).

Choose 3-5 of the following (see handout for structure):
1. If I Were in Charge of the World Poem
2. I Am Poem
3. Telephone Poem
4. Acrostic Poem
5. Transformation Poem
6. Why? Poem
7. Free Verse Poem
8. Concrete Poem
9. Diamante Poem
10. Special Place poem

In addition to the poems you write, you will collect 10 poems written by your choice of the poets I’ve listed here. You must use a different poet for each poem you choose. Each of these poems should feature the use of one of the terms listed here. You will indicate which poetic device each poem features. For example, you may choose a poem that has the line, “cascade, contend, collide”. You should write a sentence or two about how this poem features alliteration as a poetic device. Do not use any poetic device more than once.

Poetic devices:
Alliteration: the repetition of the same starting sound in several words of a sentence
Free verse: Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set meter.
Hyperbole: A figure of speech in which deliberate exaggeration is used for emphasis. Many everyday expressions are examples of hyperbole: tons of money, waiting for ages, a flood of tears, etc.
Metaphor: A figure of speech in which two things are compared, usually by saying one thing is another, or by substituting a more descriptive word for the more common or usual word that would be expected. Some examples of metaphors: the world's a stage, he was a lion in battle, drowning in debt, and a sea of troubles.
Meter: The arrangement of a line of poetry by the number of syllables and the rhythm of accented (or stressed) syllables.
Onomatopoeia: A figure of speech in which words are used to imitate sounds. Examples of onomatopoeic words are buzz, hiss, zing, clippety-clop, cock-a-doodle-do, pop, splat, thump, and tick-tock.
Personification: A figure of speech in which nonhuman things or abstract ideas are given human attributes: the sky is crying, dead leaves danced in the wind, blind justice.
Refrain: A phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after every stanza.
Simile: A figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word "like" or "as."
Imagery: Painting a picture with words.
Symbolism: Giving an object a meaning that is greater than the object itself. The object represents something bigger.
Irony: A conflict between reality and expectation
Allegory: A story that has a deeper or more general meaning in addition to its surface meaning.
Paradox: a statement that contradicts itself; "'I always lie' is a paradox because if it is true it must be false"

Poets to choose from:
Edgar Allan Poe
Robert Frost
Emily Dickinson
William Shakespeare
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Billy Collins
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Walt Whitman
John Donne
Sylvia Plath
Naomi Shihab Nye
Pablo Neruda
e. e. cummings
William Carlos Williams
Henry W. Longfellow
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
William Blake
Wendell Berry
John Keats
William Butler Yeats
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Service
Shel Silverstein
Louis Carroll
Truman Capote
Langston Hughes
T. S. Eliot
Carl Sandburg
William Wordsworth
Sting
Bob Dylan
John Lennon
Paul Simon

We read a sonnet and a ballad together in class. For good sonnet examples, check out the sonnets of Shakespeare (click on a number). Robert Service has written some fun ballads. Check those out for examples if you're stuck. Remember, a ballad uses meter, rhythm, and rhyme scheme to sound like a song. In Robert Service's poem, "The Cremation of Sam McGee," he uses unstressed and stressed syllables in such a way that the words have a quick and easy flow. Check it out and you'll see what I mean.

You should start writing drafts of poems right away. Don't put it off until the last minute.

3/10/08 8th

2008-03-10T13:15:00.003-06:00

Today I handed out oral book report guidelines. If you missed them, here they are:

Oral Book Report
Criteria Sheet

You are required to give one oral book report this trimester. To get full credit you must meet the following standards when presenting your book:

Bring the book to show to Mrs. Cheney. It must be at least 200 pages long.
State the genre of the book in your oral report. Genre means type or classification. Typical genres include mystery, historical fiction, non-fiction, science fiction/fantasy, romance, etc.
State the title and author of the book.
Tell your classmates about the book. You may summarize the book if you wish, or you may choose to give a few important highlights. You may even want to read a couple of interesting pages from the book. Just try not to give away the ending so you won’t ruin it for others if they choose to read the book. Also, tell us about something you learned from this book.
Bring at least one visual aid. This could be a picture, a prop, an object, or even a PowerPoint presentation if you choose. I have a projector in my room available to show such presentations.
Your report should last 2-3 minutes. You will lose points for falling short or going over.
I will be grading on content and presentation. That means I will be looking for evidence that you actually read the book (you provide this by showing your knowledge through your words), and I will be looking for your confidence. Speak loudly and clearly enough for the entire class to hear and understand what you have to say.
If you’d like to do an additional oral report for extra credit, see me to schedule a time. I have a limited number of slots for extra credit reports.
Good luck!

I also sent around a sign-up sheet so you can schedule your report. If you don't see me to sign up for a time, I will sign you up for a time.

Today we looked at some pictures from the Holocaust. In groups, we described the people in these pictures. We came up with long lists of adjectives describing the plight of the Jews during the Holocaust. Tomorrow we will have a bit of a history lesson about Hitler, the Nazis, WWII, and the Holocaust. Wednesday we will start reading The Diary of Anne Frank. We will read the play version. I will distribute vocabulary lists tomorrow. I have put some links in the right side bar (under the "links" heading). Check out some good Holocaust sites.

As a word of warning, there are many disturbing images to be found on the internet. If you choose to search for images of the Holocaust, you may find some horrific pictures. We won't go into the most horrible parts of the Holocaust. We will focus, instead, on the human will to survive, and the acts of kindness that make the difference to those with whom we interact.

3/10/08 9th grade

2008-03-10T13:13:00.002-06:00

Today we had a visitor come to class and give a survey about bullying. This has nothing to do with my class. If you missed it, don't worry about it. Tomorrow we'll start up our poetry unit.

First week of the trimester, 8th and 9th

2008-03-05T10:07:00.003-07:00

This week is filled with disclosure documents, class rules and procedures, routine training, book assignments, and a little bit of a fun writing exercise. You can find a copy of the disclosure document in the right side bar. Be sure to have your parents check it out and sign it, and you should sign it too. Return it to me in a timely manner and I'll give you five whole points! Just think, you could start your semester with a 100%.

There have been some changes in the way I'm doing things this tri, so if you've had me before, you're going to need to adjust with me. First off, we will not be counting reading pages as part of your grade. You may cheer when you hear this news, but keep in mind it was an easy 15% of your grade before. You no longer have that cushion. I will continue to require outside reading, but it come in a different form of assessment. I will explain this all in class next week.

Another new procedure I have adopted this trimester is the late work voucher. You can read all about it in your disclosure document. Please be aware that I will not accept late work unless you have a voucher attached.

I'm looking forward to another great trimester. Check this site often for supplemental information to what we cover in class. I will include extra credit opportunities from time to time here on my blog, so check it often!

2/26-28/08 8th

2008-02-29T13:51:00.001-07:00

We published our stories by reading them aloud. We are also having individual conferences with Mrs. Cheney to finalize grades. Hope y'all have a fun three-day weekend!

2/26-28/08 9th

2008-02-29T13:49:00.001-07:00

We're watching Romeo and Juliet and tying up all the loose ends of the trimester.

2/25/08 8th

2008-02-25T14:05:00.001-07:00

We spent the day in the writing lab typing up the old final draft of our perspective stories. They will be due tomorrow (if you didn't already turn them in today).

2/25/08 9th

2008-02-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Romeo and Juliet final test day! Good luck.

2/22/08 8th

2008-02-22T12:38:00.002-07:00

We read our drafts aloud to our peer editing group today. We paid particular attention to the four parts of the plot, making sure each member of the group has included all four parts. If you weren't here today, read your draft with a parent and ask them to help you to determine whether or not you have all four parts of the plot. Check out this power point as a good source of plot pointers.

We will be typing our final drafts on Monday.

2/22/08 9th

2008-02-22T12:37:00.002-07:00

Today is a catch-up and reading day. If you have missed a quiz, you should plan to take it today.

Also, we will be taking the Romeo and Juliet final test on Monday. Here are some drama terms you will need to know:

Drama: a story that is written to be acted for an audience.
Comedy: a story that ends happily; comedies usually end with a wedding
Tragedy: a story that ends in the death of the main character or characters
Aside: words that are spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character but that are not supposed to be overheard by the others onstage
Soliloquy: a long speech in which a character who is onstage alone expresses his or her thoughts aloud
Setting: the time and place of the story or play
Theme: the central idea of a work of literature; tells what the writer wants to reveal about the subject; is usually expressed in a sentence
Motif: a repeated structure, contrast, or literary device that helps to develop the theme
Allusion: reference to a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or pop culture
Foreshadowing: the use of clues to hint at events that will occur later
Comic Relief: comic scene or event that breaks up a serious play or narrative

Character: person in a story, poem or play
Static Character: a character who does not change much in the course of a story
Dynamic Character: a character who changes as a result of a story’s events
Flat Character: has only one or two traits
Round Character: has many different traits, which sometimes contradict one another
Protagonist: the main character in fiction or drama
Antagonist: the character or force that works against the protagonist
Motivation: the fears, conflicts, or needs that drive a character
Foil: a character who is used as a contrast to another character

Irony: a contrast between expectation and reality—between what is said and what is really meant, between what is expected to happen and what really does happen, or between what appears to be true and what is really true
Verbal Irony: a writer or speaker says on thing but really means something else
Situational Irony: occurs when there is a contrast between what would seem appropriate and what really happens, or when there is a contradiction between what we expect to happen and what really happens
Dramatic Irony: occurs when the audience or the reader knows something important that a character in a play or story does not know

2/21/08 8th

2008-02-22T11:52:00.006-07:00

The second step of the writing process is drafting. When you draft, it is a good idea to write as fast as you can to get all of your ideas down on paper. You can go back and make changes later.

Your story needs a plot. There are four parts of every plot. You should start with a basic situation. Readers need to know some background information about the setting and characters in order to understand the story. After you've established a basic situation, you should give your characters some sort of a conflict. Generally, stories have a set of complications that rise to the main conflict. This set of complications is called rising action. The high point of the conflict (when it seems that all will be lost as a result of the problem) is called the climax of the story. The main character of the story must overcome his/her conflict at this point. The actions the character takes to overcome the conflict is called the resolution. Your story is over when the resolution is completed.

You must include all four parts of the plot in order to get full credit. Remember, your story is to be told from a different perspective from the one we normally hear. You should be creative, have fun, and add some new and interesting twist to an old story.

Here is a good example of telling a story from a non-traditional perspective.

2/21/08 9th

2008-02-22T11:52:00.002-07:00

Today was the Utah Direct Writing Assessment.

2/20/08 8th

2008-02-22T11:48:00.002-07:00

Today we did some pre-writing for a new assignment. Stories are written from the main character's perspective. Would we get a completely different story if it was told from another character's perspective?

We brainstormed a list of stories that are well known in our culture. Then we listed the characters involved in each stories. Each of us chose a character, and we began to rewrite the story from that character's point of view. (Example, the wolf in "The Three Little Pigs" might claim that he wasn't really going to kill the pigs. He just wanted to introduce himself to his new neighbors and bring muffins to be friendly.)

Choose a character and a story for tomorrow.

2/20/08 9th

2008-02-22T11:41:00.002-07:00

We finished Act V today. We talked about the different emotions the different characters are feeling during this act. Specifically, we spent a lot of time talking about Friar Lawrence. He is in a very difficult position. His initial decision to marry Romeo and Juliet has lead to all sorts of less-than-honest behavior in the hopes of covering up his less0than-priestly advice. It is an interested path--one small lie leading to a slightly bigger lie, and so on and so forth until he finds dead Romeo, Juliet and Paris and feel the weight of his behavior. In the end, the prince decides that the Friar has always been a holy man in the passed, so he doesn't punish his deeds. What happens in our society when a high-profile person who has always been known to be good makes a decision based on poor judgement? Do we consider past behavior? Or are we quick to condemn?

We took the quiz on Act V today.

2/19/08 8th

2008-02-19T09:24:00.005-07:00

Today we test on Touching Spirit Bear. Good luck!