11/30/07 8th historical fiction and nonfiction

Today we started another compare/contrast activity. We won't be writing an essay this time, but we will spend a couple of days comparing and contrasting historical fact and historical fiction.

Today we read three nonfictional articles about The Civil War. You can read these articles on pages 194 - 200 in your red literature book. We learned some important facts about The Civil War, specifically about the "drummer boys." We also talked about the facts and statistics we learned.

After we read the articles together (along with a class discussion) we made a chart like the one on page 202 of the literature book. We filled in the information for the side that says, "Drumbeats and Bullets."

On Monday, we will read "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh," by Ray Bradbury. This is a fictional short story based on the drummer boys of The Civil War. We will fill out the other side of the chart on Monday.

Important things to know:

Elements of Historical Fiction

• set during a real historical era


• contains historically accurate details


• includes fictional characters


• often includes characters based on actual historical figures

Examples of Historical Fiction

• Across Five Aprils, Irene Hunt


• Catherine, Called Birdy, Karen Cushman


• The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elizabeth George Speare


• Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis

Click here if you'd like to learn more about The Civil War.

11/30/07 9th group presentations

Group presentations.

We'll start reading the book on Monday, so be ready for a whirlwind of reading, learning activities, quizzes, journal entries, and, of course, a final test. Don't worry, we'll do our best to make learning fun!

Have a happy weekend.

11/29/07 8th revise and edit

Today for a journal entry, we wrote our spelling words five times each.

We focused on revising and editing our 1st draft today in class. I checked the Venn diagram and 1st draft to make sure we'll all on track (and to put a little grade in my book). Then we got together in groups of three or four to do some peer evaluations. Each group member read her/his paper aloud while the other group members listened for the following things:

• hook (not "I am writing my paper about . . .")
• thesis (indicating three sub-topics)
• signal words (see previous entry)
• does the paper compare/contrast the first Thanksgiving with writer's Thanksgiving
• conclusion/closing statement

Each listener wrote a half page about the reader's paper based on the criteria above. The idea is that the reader should use the notes from the evaluators to make good, positive changes in his/her paper. Each student was also assigned to do a self evaluation. If you were not in class today, you should have two or three folks at home evaluate your paper based on the criteria previously mentioned. You should also answer these questions for your self-evaluation:

• Does my paper have a good hook?
• Does my paper have a thesis statement stating three sub-topics?
• Does my paper have three paragraphs in the body, one per sub-topic?
• Does my paper have a conclusion?
• Does my paper have five paragraphs?
• Does my first paragraph have five or more sentences?
• Does my second paragraph have five to seven (or more) sentences?
• Does my third paragraph have five to seven (or more) sentences?
• Does my fourth paragraph have five to seven (or more) sentences?
• Does my fifth paragraph have four or more sentences?

If you answered no to any of these questions, you will need to revise (change) your paper. You will also need to revise your paper based on the comments you received from your peer evaluations.

The final draft is due tomorrow. Please turn all steps of the writing process in this order:

• score sheet (green sheet I handed out today in class)
• Venn diagram
• first draft
• peer evaluations
• self evaluation
• final draft

Good luck and work hard! I expect a lot out of my students, but I know you can do it!

11/29/07 9th grade group presentations

Group presentations today. Good luck!

Remember to study spelling words for Monday.

11/28/07 8th grade 1st draft

We started our day by talking about glossaries. A glossary is a section in the back of a book (often a textbook) that gives the meanings of difficult words used in the book. We will create our own personal glossaries based on the difficult words we find in our daily reading. One of your ongoing assignments is to put a new word in your glossary every time we have reading time in class. Please devote a section of your language arts notebook to your glossary. You will need to include the following in each glossary entry:

• a word you are unfamiliar with
• the book and page number you found the word
• what you think the word means
• an original sentence that shows you know what the word means.

Often times, we can figure out what a words means based on the clues given in the surrounding sentences. You are to guess the meaning of the word based on these clues given in the context of the book. This is a very important skill to develop. I will be checking glossaries from time to time, and you will be graded on having one complete entry for every time we have silent reading in class.

We also worked on our first draft of the comparison/contrast essay about the first Thanksgiving and our own Thanksgiving. A first draft should be written quickly, and should focus on organizing the ideas we gather in our prewrite. Your assignment for tomorrow is to write a first draft based on the following organization:

Introduction (1 paragraph)

• grabs attention of reader
• introduces main topic
• introduces three sub-topics
• 5 sentences

Body (3 paragraphs)

• each paragraph focuses on one sub-topic
• 5-7 sentences per paragraph

Conclusion (1 paragraph)

• summarizes paper
• restates topic and sub-topics
• closure
• 5 sentences

Tomorrow we will be working on revising and editing our first drafts. Make sure you have your first draft ready for class tomorrow.

11/28/07 9th grade group presentations

Work on your group presentation. I will have a projector available for you to use if you would like to show a picture, a slide show, a power point presentation or anything on the computer.

I will be ordering books today.

Presentations will start tomorrow. They will be in this order:

• vocabulary section 1
• time period and background information
• vocabulary section 2
• debtor's prison and work houses
• vocabulary section 3

Each presentation should last at least 10 minutes. Will we get through as many as we can on Thursday and finish up on Friday. Please, please, please do your best work on your presentation so we can all be ready to read and understand the book together.

If you have anything you would like me to make copies of, please give it to me today.

11/27/07 8th grade comparison/contrast

Today we read a short essay about the first Thanksgiving (pages 137-139 in your red literature books). We will be comparing/contrasting the first Thanksgiving with our own modern traditions. When we read or write comparison/contrast essays, we should pay particular attention to the signal words used to alert us to similarities and differences.

comparison signal words:

• additionally
• moreover
• in the same way
• similarly
• both
• correspondingly
• as well as
• besides
• further
• too
• also

contrast signal words:

• except
• despite the fact
• but
• although
• by contrast
• instead of
• nevertheless
• however
• on the other hand
• otherwise

When we see these kinds of words, we can expect a comparison (how the two are similar) or a contrast (how the two are different).

During the next three days, we will be writing an essay comparing and contrasting our own Thanksgiving traditions with the first Thanksgiving. Whenever we write in our class, we follow the writing process:

prewrite (gather ideas):

• brainstorm
• list
• chart
• map
• web
• free write
• outline
• diagram

draft:

• organize your ideas in sentences and paragraphs
• write quickly and don't worry about mistakes

revise and edit:

• have someone read your paper to help you find ways to improve your writing
• read your paper aloud to discover your mistakes
• add detail
• correct mistakes
• etc.

final draft

• make your paper nice and ready to turn in

For our prewriting today, we made a Venn diagram. We will work on the first draft tomorrow in class.

Homework tonight:

• finish Venn diagram
• find one additional source of information about the 1st Thanksgiving (the Internet is a good place to look), decide if is it a primary or secondary source.

11/27/07 9th group presentations

Group presentations, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, should:

• be at least 10 minutes
• present the information you have been given
• be interesting
• be memorable.

You are required to assess for understanding (find out if the students understood what you presented). There are lots of different ways to assess. You can:

• ask questions to see if the students learned your information
• give a quiz
• play a game
• come up with your own creative form of assessment.

If we don’t learn from your presentation, we won’t understand the book as well. You will be rating each others’ efforts, so everybody pitch in and help your group in order to earn the best grade possible.

We will be grading each others' efforts in our group. Your individual grade on this presentation will depend largely on the rating you receive from your group members.

We worked on our presentations during class today, and we will present tomorrow and Wednesday.

I also gave a spelling list for Monday's quiz. You can find the list in the right bar here on my blog.

11/26/07 8th and 9th

Welcome to a new trimester. I sent home disclosures today. They are due with parent signatures tomorrow.

We're going to have a great trimester!

11/20/07 8th and 9th Last day of the trimester

Today we turned in our textbooks and any last minute reading pages.

FYI, I am changing classrooms. Next tri I will be in room 40.

Good job to all of you hard-working students! I hope you have a great Thanksgiving break.

11/19/07 8th Ray Bradbury stories

I will be calling each student up for an individual conference during class today and tomorrow. We will be going over your final grade for the trimester. Be sure to bring your unused hall passes for extra credit.

While I am conferencing, students will be working from their literature books. Please read the following stories and answer the questions I have outlined below:

• read "The Flying Machine" on page 303
• answer questions 1-4 on page 311
• read "The Dragon" on page 313
• answer questions 1-3 on page 318
• read "The Fog Horn" on page 319
• answer questions 1-5 on page 329

I will be collecting textbooks tomorrow. I will also be submitting final grades for the trimester tomorrow.

11/19/07 9th compare/contrast short stories

I am having individual conferences with students today and tomorrow to go over final grades for the trimester and to make any last minute changes. I will submit grades tomorrow.

During these two days, students should complete the following assignments in their lit. books:

• read page 21o, make chart
• read "The Sniper" on page 212
• answer questions 1-9 on page 217
• read "Cranes" on page 222
• answer questions 1-11 on page 228
• read page 230, then write a comparison/contrast essay about the two short stories you read

We will be turning in our textbooks tomorrow.

11/16/07 8th "The Landlady"

We finished reading "The Landlady," by Roald Dahl, today in class. After we finished, we answered questions 1-5 on page 81 of the literature book. We also completed the writing activitiy on the same page. This assignment is due on Monday.

Journals and reading pages were due today.

Bring your unused hall passes for extra credit on Monday.

11/16/07 9th "The Cask of Amontillado"

Today we read "The Cask of Amontillado," by Edgar Allan Poe, pp. 174-179 in the literature book. After we read the story, we answered questions 1-13 on p. 181. It is due Monday.

Journals and reading pages were due today.

Bring your unused hall passes for extra credit on Monday.

11/15/07 8th "The Landlady"

Today we started with a journal entry. If you missed class, make up your journal by writing a half page on a subject of your choice.

We read from our literature books today. The story we are reading is "The Landlady," by Roald Dahl. You can find it on page 71 in your literature book. This story has all sorts of foreshadowing, or hints about what will happen later in the story. Predicting what will happen in the story is an important part of reading. We use our analytical skills when we predict based on the clues the author has given.

We will be reading this story for the next two days. We will be using our literature books every day for the rest of the trimester.

On Monday and Tuesday you will be reading several Ray Bradbury stories during class. I will have individual conferences with each of you during that time. If you have unused hall passes, I will accept them for extra credit at that time.

11/15/07 9th Edgar Allan Poe

Today we talked about Edgar Allan Poe. We will read his short story, "The Cask of Amontillado," tomorrow in class.

Edgar Allan Poe was one messed up dude! Read the articles about him in your literature book on these pages: 180, 184-186, 187-188, 189 and 190. As you can see, there are all sorts of mysterious circumstances surrounding his life and death. Think about how his experiences could have affected his perspective. Knowing about the life of Poe helps us to understand his stories and poems.

The autobiography was due today.

Don't forget about the journal and reading pages due tomorrow.

Monday and Tuesday we will be reading short stories from our literature books. While you are reading, I will have individual conferences with each of you to discuss your final grade in my class. If you have any hall passes for extra credit, bring them to your conference.

11/14/07 final draft

Today we are in the computer lab working on our final drafts of our autobiographies. The great news about the final draft is that you should already have all the work done at this point. All you have to do now is type up the changes you decided to make during the revision step of the writing process.

Remember:

• 12 pt. Times New Roman
• double-spaced
• 3-5 pages
• great introduction (do NOT use: "My paper is about . . .)
• focus on life lessons learned (nice alliteration, eh?)
• smooth transitions
• include a picture/drawing/collage/illustration/etc.

The final paper will be due at the beginning of class tomorrow. Please staple your paper in this order:

• score sheet
• outline
• first draft
• peer edit sheets
• picture
• final draft

Good luck on your final. I hope you've discovered something new about yourself during this writing assignment.

Coming attractions:

We will be reading some fun short stories in class tomorrow and Friday. Monday and Tuesday we will be having individual conferences. The trimester ends on Tuesday. Don't forget the important due dates shown in the side bar to the right.------>

11/13/07 revise and edit

We follow the steps of the writing process in my language arts class. After drafting, we revise and edit. Today in class we talked about revising our papers.

There are three areas I would like you to pay close attention to. The first is the introduction. The opening paragraph is the first bit of writing your 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

Some things to avoid:

• "I am going to write about . . ."
• "This is a paper about . . ."
• "This is my writing assignment . . ."

We also talked about transitions. You have been assigned to write about three separate experiences that relate to some lesson you have learned about life. It may be tricky to create the transitions between these experiences because they seemingly have little to do with each other. There is, however, one common thread in your experiences--the lesson you have learned. If you focus on the main lesson when you are moving from one experience to another, your paper will have a better flow. Also, use appropriate words to create your transitions.

There are several websites that have good ideas about using transitional words:

http://larae.net/write/transition.html

http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr6.htm

http://jc-schools.net/write/transition.htm

The third thing I would like you to look for when you revise is whether or not you have enough detail about your experiences. Be sure to explain who, what, when, where, why and how when you are describing your details.

To revise, please have two friends or family members read your paper paying attention to your transitions, your introduction, and the details you have included in your description of your experiences. After they have read your paper, they should write down three questions they have about your experiences. You will turn these two lists of questions in with your final paper. You will answer the questions they have asked you in your final draft.

Be prepared to work on your final draft in class tomorrow. This means you should have your first draft completed with lots of notes written in the margins reminding you of the things you need to change to make your paper better. Good luck!

11/12/07 autobiography

Today we worked in the computer lab on the first draft of the autobiography. Your autobiography should focus on three experiences you have had in your life that have taught you something important about yourself. You may use the experience you wrote about in your personal narrative.


The 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.

Your paper should have an introductory paragraph which includes a small reference to each of the experiences you will be sharing. The body of your paper should focus on the three experiences. 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 of 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.


The final paper will be 3-5 pages, typed, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, double-spaced. You are also required to include some sort of visual aid to represent the lessons you have learned. This visual may be one or more photographs, drawings, a collage of pictures from magazines, etc.


The first draft will be due Tuesday, November 13. We will revise in class on Tuesday, then work on the final draft in the computer lab on Wednesday, November 14. The final draft will be due when you come to class on Thursday, November 15.


You will get full credit for the outline and first draft by showing them to me in class on their due dates. I will also require you to turn all parts of the paper including the outline, all drafts, all revisions, the final draft and the visual aid on Thursday.

Your outline is your prewrite for this writing assignment. You may come up with your own outline, or here is one you may cut and paste into a word document to help you create your outline on your home computer:

Outline

Directions: Use the outline form below to help you organize your autobiography. One good way to do this is to choose three experiences, then 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. This form is meant to be a guide. If you would like to organize your paper in your own way, feel free to create your own format.

I. Introduction
A. Experience #1________________________________________
B. Experience #2________________________________________
C. Experience #3________________________________________
II. Body
A. Experience #1________________________________________
1.
2.
3.
B. Experience #2________________________________________
1.
2.
3.
C. Experience #3________________________________________
1.
2.
3.
III. Conclusion
A. Meaning exp. #1_______________________________________
B. Meaning exp. #2_______________________________________
C. Meaning exp. #3_______________________________________