October 8/9, 2009Bring your October Book-of-the-Month next time we meet.
You should have your book read by October 20/21.
If you haven't, sign up for your Book-of-the-Month-Club book.
If there are words among our Commonly Confused Words that you haven't yet mastered, or if you were absent and still need to take the test, you can (if needed) get another copy of the chart at
Seventh Grade Confusing Words for Term 1 (and on) Spelling
Please let me know if this works -- downloading the chart by using this link.
1. Lesson on Capitalization -- For what reasons do we capitalize words?
Find capitalized words in books, magazines, newspapers. Determine why each one is capitalized.
Create categories and "file" the words under those categories.
See handout on our wiki: http://cavemanenglish.pbworks.com/October-2009-Handouts
What capitalized words do you find in this passage, and why are they capitalized?
Lucky Trimble crouched in a wedge of shade behind the Dumpster. Her ear near a hole in the paint-chipped wall of Hard Pan's Found Object Wind Chime Museum and Visitor Center, she listened as Short Sammy told the story of how he hit rock bottom. How he quit drinking and found his Higher Power. Short Sammy's story, of all the rock-bottom stories Lucky had heard at twelve-step anonymous meetings -- alcoholics, gamblers, and overeaters -- was still her favorite.
Sammy told of the day when he had drunk half a gallon of rum listening to Johnny Cash all morning in his parked '62 Cadillac, then fallen out of the car when he saw a rattlesnake on the passenger seat biting his dog, Roy.
--Susan Patron, The Higher Power of Lucky (2006)
Here is the passage without the capitalized words (the specific details):
A girl crouched in a wedge of shade behind the thing. Her ear near a hole in the paint-chipped wall of the place, she listened as a man told the story of how he had hit rock-bottom.
2. Zombie Haiku
Today we will write Zombie Haiku. The Haiku form we are using today is a three line poem using a specific number of syllables See the handout on our wiki: http://cavemanenglish.pbworks.com/October-2009-Handouts
Example of Zombie Haiku from Chris Crowe, BYU professor, author, and 'ku Master for the Central Utah Writing Project:
z’ bumper sticker: "z'" is an abbreviation for zombie. "'ku" is an abbreviation for haiku.
“a brain is a terrible
thing to waste.” eat up.
Each student is writing three (3) haiku -- about zombies or something else scary.
Three lines:
1st Line – 5 syllables
2nd Line – 7 syllables
3rd Line – 5 syllables
Have fun!
zombie haiku are
highly addictive ‘cuz they
get into your blood
beware, seventh grade!
Dorsey and other teachers
get into your brains
-- Ms. D.
And another one from Ms. D -- Added 1-28-11 to save it.
Zombie guys aren't jerks.
We want more than your body,
Loving best your brains.
3. The Outsiders (Follow along and watch for information about your assigned character. Also watch for themes.)
Reading The Outsiders -- Watch for topics and themes.
B1 -- page 83, top to page to (We didn't read any more from The Outsiders today.)
B2 -- page 85, chapter 4 to (We didn't read any more from The Outsiders today.)
B4 -- top of page 103 to (We didn't read any more from The Outsiders today.)
A1 -- page 73 ". . . a Halloween costume we can't get out of" to (We didn't read any more from The Outsiders today.)
A2 -- page 96 to (We didn't read any more from The Outsiders today.)A4 --from page 93 -- halfway down -- not quite to the break yet -- to (We didn't read any more from The Outsiders today.)
