Saturday, November 28, 2009

December 2/3. 2009

December 2/3. 2009
1. Prepare for spelling/prefix test.
2. Take the test.

Test on the prefix il-, its meaning, and on the example words.

Test next time will be on the suffix "-ful" which means  full of or characterized by.  Words using -ful are adjectives.  (Did B4 receive these?)

1. careful
2. beautiful
3. useful
4. helpful
5. frightful

3.  Finish and pass off the Magical Study Guides!
4.  In your composition book, write an entry answering these questions:
      Label it with:   [Today's Date]   What is worth fighting for?  What causes would  you be willing to stand up for? 
   Introduce the book Words By Heart.


5.  Book Fair  


For answers to questions about your November-December book project, see

FAQ's about the Project

November 30/December 1, 2009

November 30/December 1, 2009

1.  We went to the computer lab where students had the opportunity to revise and edit and complete (if needed) their letters to the author.  The deadline has been extended to December 3.
2.  Students worked on making a "Magical Study Guide" for practicing their 7th grade core prefixes and suffixes.

Parent-Teacher Conference December 3. 


Last chance to edit and revise your October Letter About Literature.   Do it by Thursday, December 3. 
    Do as much revision and editing as you wish, but make sure     you 
      -- right align your name and the school address at the top of the page. 
     -- edit for complete sentences, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation (check for teacher comments, suggestions).



No spelling test today.
Test next time (December 2/3) will be on the il- words:
1. illegal
2. illiterate
3. illegible
4. illogical

Extra credit for knowing what these word parts mean:
1) "leg" as in legal             -- lēgālis  -- the law
2) "litera" as in literate       -- litterātus  -- learned, scholarly from "letter"
3) "leg" as in legible          --   leg(ere)  -- to read
4) "logo" as in logical         -- Gk logikós -- of speech or reason
 
Notice that all your prefixes and suffixes, word parts, meaning, and spelling words are on your chart of prefixes and suffixes. 

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thank You!

Thank you to the students who quietly clean up our classroom without being asked or reminded.  I may not mention it, but I often notice you doing it  -- especially as class ends, and I very much appreciate it. 

By the way, if the rest of the class won't allow it, the  few students who usually do won't be able to mess things up for everyone else.  Stand together to tell those students to pick up their stuff, to not make messes in the first place, to not deface desks, books, class materials.  Tell on them if needed.   Such actions are good citizenship. 

Monday, November 23, 2009

FAQ's about the Project

Assignment and grading 

Newest questions:  
How do I use easybib.com ?  


1. Click on  "Click here to select a source."
2.  Select from the menu the type of source.  Most often you are probably using a web site.
3. Enter web address and click on Autocite.
4. Click on "Create Citation." 
5. Copy and paste your entry or do your whole works cited list and then copy and paste it.




Can I use the URL (web address) in my informal citation?
Answer: No.  Do not use the URL there.  You may, however, use the name of the web site, or in some cases, part of the name of the web site.  You may use name of the author or sponsor of the web site.


For instance: 
Instead of writing this --   (NOT THIS)

According  to http://www.asdk12.ort/schools/romig/pages/museum/Gold%20Group/Gold.htm, the Klondike Stampede, though it was entirely in Canada, dramatically helped Alaska's economy. Due to the Klondike, Alaska earned $103,000,000.00 in gold. When gold was found in the Klondike, some 80,000 adventurers ventured north to Dawson City. 30,000 of them actually arrived there. The other 20,000 were scattered all over, from The Bering Sea to MacKenize River in Canada.


You could write:   (BUT THIS)

According to the Anchorage School District web site, the Klondike Stampede, though it was entirely in Canada,  dramatically helped Alaska's economy. Due to the Klondike, Alaska earned $103,000,000.00 in gold. When gold was found in the Klondike, some 80,000 adventurers ventured north to Dawson City. 30,000 of them actually arrived there. The other 20,000 were scattered all over, from The Bering Sea to MacKenize River in Canada.

(Thanks, Addison.)

1. Do I have to put my name on it? 

For whatever sort of project you do, don't forget your name, period, and date! 


2. How many sources do I need to use?

You will use at least 3 or 4 different sources for your facts.  If you use Wikipedia, you may not count that among the required 3 sources.  You'll need another source to verify what you found there.

3.  May I use my historical fiction novel as a source? Can I use other books as sources?
You may not use your historical fiction novel, only nonfiction sources.  You may use nonfiction books.  Use citationmachine.net or easybib.com to create your works cited entry for a book.  


4. What do I need for a PowerPoint?
You're aiming for 15 facts (found in at least 3 or 4 different sources), a title slide, and a works cited list.  Each fact will be introduced with an informal citation such as "according to Captain Jack Sparrow : ) , . . . " or "The Caribbean Museum of Piracy states that. . . ."   Then you will have your works cited list at the end.  I should be able to look at the informal citation and be able to tell which works cited entry goes with it. 
You will also use illustrations, and if you find them online, include the URL for each either on the same page with the illustration or on a slide or two at the end. (You can create a citation on easybib.com for photos, etc., or you can just use the URL.)
Don't forget to either put your facts in quotes if you are quoting directly, or put them into your own words to avoid plagiarism.  Most should be in your own words.

5. What do I need for a Blog?
See the question about PowerPoints, only substitute posts for slides. 

6. What do I need for a Poster?  (no text in pencil!) 
You need a title (with your name, period, date), your fifteen facts on a list or attached separately to the poster (each introduced -- in the same sentence -- with an informal citation such as "According to an article in the World Book Encyclopedia about sharecropping, . . .,"  or "George James, an expert on the Civil War, stated that. . . " 
You also need attractive illustrations that help the reader understand your  subject.  Tell where you found the illustrations -- with them or with the Works Cited list.  (You need at least 5 illustrations.)

Your Works Cited list may be attached to the back of your poster.  I should be able to look at the informal citation and be able to tell which works cited entry goes with it. 
Your product must be neat and attractive.  



7. What do I need for a Scrapbook?
 You need a page with the title, with your name, period, date.
 Each page will have one or more facts with an illustration or illustrations. 
You should have at least 5 pages (to 15 pages) of facts with illustration. 
 Your Works Cited list will be a page at the end, along with where you got your illustrations unless you already showed that with illustration.   I should be able to look at the informal citation and be able to tell which works cited entry goes with it. 
No text in pencil. 
Your product must be neat and attractive.   No lined paper for illustrations.





8. What is a Works Cited List?
It is a list of the sources you actually used in your project.  
The easiest way to create the entries is to go to citationmachine.net or easybib.com 
Use MLA format.  Pick the type of source you are using -- text or online.  
On easybib, just pick the type of source from the list. 

Do the best you can to get the information about your source into the citation. 
Submit and then copy to a Word document the entry created by citationmachine or easybib.
You will have three or four or more entries on your Works Cited List.  

Saying you found something on Google or Yahoo or Wikipedia is not enough.  That is like saying you found a book in the library without telling which book it is or who it's by or where in the library you found it. 


You may use several facts from each source.   For each fact that you use, you should link it to a works cited entry by using an informal citation


Example:  
According to Ms. Dorsey on our class blog, you should link each fact you use on your project to an entry in your works cited list. 


Works Cited entry :

Dorsey, Claudia E. Web log comment. Caveman English. Claudia E. Dorsey, 23 Nov. 2009. Web. 23     Nov. 2009.




The red part above is the "informal citation."


Here's another example for a Works Cited Entry:
For the facts you need to cite (like with easybib.com or citationmachine.net) the sources.

Here is a works cited entry from  easybib for a fact from one student's project. I just put in the URL she provided (after I'd selected Click Here to Select a Source, Web Site), clicked on AutoCite, then on Create Citation -- lower on the page.  Then I could copy that citation, or wait until I had them all and copy the whole works cited/bibliography from easy bib.
This is the works cited entry:

"Roman Social Class and Public Display." VROMA :: Home. Web. 09 Dec. 2009.    
.
        



9.  Where do I put my works cited list? 
    If you are doing a PowerPoint, put it on the last slide or two.
    If you are doing a poster, tape it on the back of the poster.
    If you are doing a blog, put it on one of your posts.
    If you are doing a scrapbook, it should be the last page in the scrapbook.
    If you are doing a video or other recording, print it and attach it to your printed script.

Title your works cited list "Works Cited."



10.  What do you mean by an "informal citation"? 
    You use an informal citation when you tell right in the same sentence with the fact where you got that fact.   See the example above, and this example:  

I learned on a web site for the Buxton Historic Museum that the community of Elgin (Buxton) was founded in 1849, and that there are still descendants of those original settlers living there now.



Here's the works cited entry to go with it:

Gardner, Lori. "BUXTON WEB EXHIBITS." BUXTON HISTORIC MUSEUM. Buxton National Historic Site and Museum, Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .





11. How many slides do I need to have if I choose to do a PowerPoint?
You will have about 10 to 17.
-- One for the title page.
-- 8 to 15 for your facts -- Each fact will use an informal citation.  You'll have an illustration on each slide.  The illustration will illustrate with the fact. 
-- One or more for your Works Cited List.
-- If you don't put the URLs where you found your illustrations beside or below them, put the URLs for illustrations  together on another slide at the end.  For each URL, give the page of the slide that illustration is on.

12. What is the project about? 

Your project is about the real (factual/nonfiction) setting for the book -- the time period, events, real people and or places that form the basis for the fictional story.  

13.  Will we have more time in class to work on this?  

After we have practiced finding information online, and using easy-bib or citation to create works cited, and had some time to seach online, the rest of the project is to be completed on your own. 

Links:

Phrases for Informal Citations 

Sample of a fact for the Book-of-the-Month Assessment

Sample Facts and Works Cited for the Book Research Project

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Phrases for Informal Citations

Informal Citations -- Some of the Phrases You Could Use

according to
as reported by
as stated in
affirms that
agrees that
asserts that
validates
as you could read in
[name of person/author] states in [name of source] that. . .
[name of person/author] , an expert on [the subject], says that . . .
[name of person/author, the author of . . . , writes. . . (or wrote that. . . )
reports that
says that
In found in [name of source] that. . .

Happy Thanksgiving!



image found at karencombs.wordpress.com


Friday, November 20, 2009

Research for Words By Heart

Research for Words By Heart
http://eolit.hrw.com/hlla/novelguides/ms/Mini-guides.sebestyen.pdf  = study guide for the novel (some information on reconstruction and civil rights

"Reconstruction Period." Encyclopedia Britannica. Found with Sirs Discoverer, 2006. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .


picture: http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com/discoweb/disco/do/picture?picurn=urn:sirs:US;IMAGE;GIF;0000109026&urn=urn:sirs:US;ARTICLE;ART;0000224494
Caption: Campaigns of terror were waged against black officials and voters by secret societies of whites. The efforts of these societies helped overthrow the Reconstruction governments.

Encyclopedia Article about the Ku Klux Klan: (found by way of Sirs Discoverer:  http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com/discoweb/disco/do/article?urn=urn%3Asirs%3AUS%3BARTICLE%3BART%3B0000223162

About Andrew Johnson:  Northerners and black people found Johnson's clemency to leading Confederates particularly alarming because he had done little to stop a campaign of terror that extralegal organizations had launched against Southern freedmen and pro-Union whites. In addition, Johnson vetoed a Civil Rights bill, as well as a bill to extend the life of the Freedmen's Bureau, which Congress established just before the end of the Civil War to aid and protect the freed slaves. He also condemned the proposed 14th Amendment. Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights bill was overridden, and the 14th Amendment-which, like the Civil Rights bill, conferred citizenship upon the freedmen-was eventually ratified. Although later efforts to remove Johnson from office proved unsuccessful, Congress was able to act over his opposition to protect the rights of the freedmen in the Southern states.
from
"Reconstruction Period." Encyclopedia Britannica. Found with Sirs Discoverer, 2006. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .

Sharecropping:
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-3590


Photos of sharecroppers: http://www.english.illinois.edu/Maps/poets/a_f/brown/photos.htm


http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/northamerica/after1500/economy/sharecroppers.htm


http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/sharecropping.aspx  (included ready-made citation)

Sample of a fact for the Book-of-the-Month Assessment

I could present my facts on a PowerPoint (no more than one or two facts per slide), a poster, a scrapbook, etc.  Fifteen facts would earn full points if they meet the requirements.  Each fact should be appropriately illustrated. See the pink assignment and grading sheet. You could also create a blog for this assignment.

Required for all formats:

15 facts -- each including informal citation

3 sources or more where you found your facts (If you use Wikipedia, you must have 4 sources.)
Works Cited
Tell where you found your images.
Quality work, not plagiarized, but edited well.


Make sure you have your Works Cited list in or with your project. You could place it on the back of your poster, on a last slide or slides on a PowerPoint, or on a separate page of your scrapbook.    


Sample: 

   According to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, in their publication “The Holocaust: An Historical Summary,” the approximately nine million Jews murdered by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945, weren’t the only ones the Nazis persecuted and killed.  They also murdered, persecuted, and enslaved Gypsies, mentally and physically disabled people, Soviet prisoners of war, communists, socialists, members of trade unions, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Poles and other people from Slavic nations, and 
more.  

On a separate page or slide, you'll have the works cited list. Use EasyBib or citationmachine to create your works cited entries.

Works Cited

    "THE HOLOCAUST: An Historical Summary." BEYOND THE WALL OF REMEMBRANCE (1993): 5-10. Web. 19 Nov 2009.

Images

Slide 1: Image of bodies  found at:  http://www.americanvoiceinstitute.org/Remembering%20Auschwitz.htm (I also found the photo at several other sites. Do not go to this site for information.  It is very a very biased site -- anti-Palestinian, and is there for a current political agenda.)




Note: Notice that you are to use informal citation for each fact.  The bolded part in my fact above is the "informal citation" where I told where I got my information.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Doing Research November 17-20

Doing Research
Here is the shortened version of the full lesson, and we didn't even get to all of it in class.

Special Note:  For your project, you need at least three sources.  Wikipedia always must be confirmed by another source, so if you include it, you would need four sources.  

1.  Create a list of search terms to use when looking for information about the nonfiction setting for your individual book.
 *  Often you can find a site about the book or find the author's official site that may tell you about some of the reality behind the fiction.
 * You could look up places and characters you think may be real.  
 * Don't look up fictional characters or places.
 * Look up the "big" subjects such as "holocaust" or "Japanese Internment" or "Pony Express."  You search terms could be the sorts of words and terms you would look up in an encyclopedia.
   Words that you would just look up the meaning for in the dictionary may not make good search terms.
 

2.  You may want to check the media center or public library catalog for nonfiction books about your research topic.

3. Try some of the best places to search on the Internet.
     A. Go to our school web page and scroll to the bottom of the home page to find the link to Pioneer -- Utah's Online Library.
 The user name is pioneer and the password is time.

          The best places to search there for this assignment are Sirs Discoverer and World Book.           
Type in your term or terms and look for the best sources.

On Sirs Discoverer, I typed in Holocaust, and found this article:  http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com/discoweb/disco/do/article?urn=urn%3Asirs%3AUS%3BARTICLE%3BART%3B0000025141http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com/discoweb/disco/do/article?urn=urn%3Asirs%3AUS%3BARTICLE%3BART%3B0000025141
If I decide to use some of this information, I would make sure I save the citation information, including the URL.

           B.  Try CactiSearch (cactisearch.com) which is a metasearch engine which searches several regular search engines.

      
          C.   Try  clusty.com and notice the categories at the left which may help you narrow your search.



          D.  Try kartoo.com and notice how it is different from the other search engines you have used.
     
          E.   Try dogpile.com
                    Notice the suggestions at the right.


          F.  Try using an advanced search on google,or yahoo, or clusty, or dogpile, or another search engine, using special search words and signs.  Often on a search engine, to the right of the search bar is the word ADVANCED  or ADVANCED SEARCH.  Try clicking on it and you can narrow your search.

 Even without an advanced search, you can narrow or broaden your search by using these special terms and signs:

AND  If you put "and" between two terms, the search engine will select items that have both of the terms.

OR     If you put "or"  between two terms, the search engine will select everything that has either one.

 - (minus sign)   If you use a minus sign before a term, the search engine will reject any item that contains that term.

 "  "  (quotation marks)    If you use quotation marks around a phrase, the search engine will select only those items that contain that set of words together in that order. 
 

      
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
   I could go to citationmachine.net, select MLA at the left, then on-line journal or magazine article at the left, and enter my information to create a Works Cited Entry for the above article which would end up looking something like this: 

Works Cited

    "THE HOLOCAUST: An Historical Summary." BEYOND THE WALL OF REMEMBRANCE (1993): 5-10. Web. 19 Nov 2009.

When you use World Book Online, each article provides a works cited entry at the bottom of the page.

When you have a Works Cited entry, make sure you know which information you got from that source.

  When I find a fact, I could go ahead and put it into my own words with an informal citation.  Here's an example that I took from the above article:

       According to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, in their publication “The Holocaust: An Historical Summary,” the approximately nine million Jews murdered by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945, weren’t the only ones the Nazis persecuted and killed.  They also murdered, persecuted, and enslaved Gypsies, mentally and physically disabled people, Soviet prisoners of war, communists, socialists, members of trade unions, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Poles and other people from Slavic nations, and more.  

The bolded part is the "informal citation" where I told where I got my information. 

This is the works cited entry that goes with my fact:
Works Cited

    "THE HOLOCAUST: An Historical Summary." BEYOND THE WALL OF REMEMBRANCE (1993): 5-10. Web. 19 Nov 2009.

    
 
  You can copy the Works Cited Entry (from citationmachine.net or from the bottom of the page on World Book) and paste it into a Word (or other word-processor) document.    Put your facts on one page and your Works Cited entries on another.
   Also try easybib.com to find out if you like it better than citationmachine.net.)
    The facts will be used to create your project/presentation.

Accessing Pioneer for Reseach

The user name is pioneer.

The password is time.

http://pioneer.uen.org

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

November 23/24, 2009

November 23/24, 2009

Today: Spelling Test on -er, -or  and words.

Next time: il- which means not      This test will be given on December 2/3.
1. illegal
2. illiterate
3. illegible
4. illogical

Extra credit for knowing what these word parts mean:
1) "leg" as in legal             -- lēgālis  -- the law
2) "litera" as in literate       -- litterātus  -- learned, scholarly from "letter"
3) "leg" as in legible          --   leg(ere)  -- to read
4) "logo" as in logical         -- Gk logikós -- of speech or reason


Usage Note: For most of its long history in English, literate has meant only "familiar with literature," or more generally, "well-educated, learned." Only since the late 19th century has it also come to refer to the basic ability to read and write.

logic -- of Gk logikós of speech or reason. 


Bring your historical fiction book to read.

Friday, November 13, 2009

November/December Book Assessment

November/December Book Assessment
You are reading historical fiction. Historical fiction is fiction (a made-up story) set in a real time and place (the place in general is real -- our own world -- but a particular town, home, etc. may be fictional), and sometimes there are some real characters in the story. Events may be manufactured, but they fit with events that really happened in that time and place -- they could have happened.

-- You will be researching the reality behind the story of the historical fiction book you are reading.
See suggestions for research in the handout at Asking Questions and Finding Answers .
-- Your end product will be a presentation of facts about that reality. You will use informal citation to introduce each fact.
-- You will hand in with your prepared product a list of where you found your facts: a "Works Cited" list. -- -- You will use MLA style to prepare that list. You may use easybib.com or citationmachine.net to prepare your Works Cited list.
-- You will not plagiarize. You will study about your facts, then present them in your own word.
Download a handout on research and how you need to cite sources at Asking Questions and Finding Answers .

easybib.com      or
http://citationmachine.net/

When you do your Works Cited Page, you need at least three (3) sources.  If you use Wikipedia, you need four (4). 


Purpose:
1. You will learn about a time and place, event, or person or people from the past.
2. You will practice doing research, and hopefully learn new research skills and understandings.
3. You will learn how to cite information from sources.
4. You will practice writing about a topic after you have researched it.
5. You will learn how to avoid plagiarizing.
6. Your product (project) will teach other people about your subject.

Audience:
The teacher, your classmates, seventh graders in future years, others who may see your product.

Your general procedure will be --
1. Select an historical fiction book about a subject or era you find very interesting.
2. Read your book.
3. As you are reading, think of questions you could ask about the historical setting: about times, places, events, or people.
4. Do research to answer the questions you have asked, and to find out even more. (You may be doing your research and creating your project as you read your book.)
5. Select the most interesting or important facts about your subject.
6. Present them in a PowerPoint, on a neat and attractive poster, as a scrapbook, as a videotaped news program (handed in with a written script), or in another way you propose and the teacher approves. All projects should include illustrations (pictures, photos,maps, graphs or charts, representative art, etc.). You could create a blog for this assignment.

Grading:
5 points for each fact that is important or interesting, and is stated clearly so the reader or viewer can understand. Each fact will include an informal citation. No points will be given for any fact for which the source is not cited.

75 points or 15 facts will be full points for that aspect of the assignment.
If you got the full 25 points below and provided 10 facts, you would receive a 75%. Twelve facts and full points on quality would receive 85%.

25 points will be based on the quality of your product:
25 (outstanding and attractive), 15 (okay), 5 (handed in, but doesn't show much effort)
Considered in this grade will be these items:
conventions (capitalization, punctuation, spelling)
neatness and attractiveness of the product
text clearly and legibly written in blue or black ink or typed (no pencil for text)
materials used are appropriate and are well-kept (no spiro-bits, no projects that have been
scrunched or spilled on)

These projects will be due December 10/11.

Examples of Informal Citations and Entries for a Works Cited Page

When you do your Works Cited Page, you need at least three (3) sources.  If you use Wikipedia, you need four (4). 

Each time I give a fact, I use informal citation to tell where I found it.
Fact: According to whitehouse.gov, William Howard Taft was President of the United States from 1909- 1913.
Fact: Also according to the whitehouse.gov entry about President Taft, Theodore Roosevelt picked Taft to be his successor, then later worked to defeat him when Taft tried for re-election.

I'm collecting information to create a works cited entry: Title: "William Howard Taft" http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wt27.html , accessed on February 5, 2008.

Fact: In January of 1910, the New York Times reported that Austria had accused Russia of espionage.

Information to use in a works cited entry: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free "AUSTRIA ACCUSES RUSSIA.; Military Attache Said to Have Been Involved In Espionage." January 27, 1910. Found in the New York Times Archives online -- accessed February 5, 2008.

Other Helps and Links:
Sample of Facts with Works Cited Page    Your facts should be turned into a PowerPoint, a poster, a scrapbook or electronic scrapbook, or another quality presentation.


Checksheet for using internet sources: http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson983/checklist.pdf
A PowerPoint on doing research on the web:
The handout to go with the PowerPoint:http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson983/student.pdf
This lesson has lots of great suggestions and helps for creating a PowerPoint and for citing sources and creating Works Cited page:  http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=787



The handout to go with the PowerPoint: http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson983/student.pdf

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Accessing the Media Center "Card Catalogue"

Question: How do I access Alexandria on the Internet?

Answer:  Go to www.alpine.k12.ut.us and click on the following links in this order:
Parents & Students,
Departments,
Alpine Instructional Media Center,
Secondary School Collections,
American Fork Jr.
I can't guarantee it will work, but it may be worth a try.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

No Cave Time for Author Letter this Week

Week of November 9-13
Tuesday was the only day this week that the computer labs were available for working on your Letter to the Author.   There is no Cave Time Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday are reserved for enrichments.

You may work on this at home, with unlimited submissions.  Please let me know when your letter is ready for grading if you are submitting or have revised and edited.

Your user name is is yourfirstnamestudentnumber.
Your password is 999lastname.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

More Recommendations for Historical Fiction

More Recommendations for Historical Fiction

Goodnight, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian   -- World War II



Here is a site that lists historical fiction recommended by the Anchorage Public Library librarians for kids and teens:
http://lexicon.ci.anchorage.ak.us/guides/kids/booklists/historicalfiction/

From the Scholastic Website, from Tarry Lindquist  came these recommended books:

With Every Drop of Blood: A Novel of the Civil War by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier (Delacorte/BDD); 228 pages; $15.95
In this first-rate novel, two young men are caught up in the Civil War: Johnny is on a bold mission to supply Rebel troops, while Cush, a Yankee, is a runaway slave. They form an unlikely alliance during the final days of the war.


Under the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury (Delacorte/BDD); 192 pages; $15.95
As Japanese-Americans living in Hawaii, Tomi and his family face prejudice and hatred after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Father is taken to an internment camp and Grandfather disappears. Tomi discovers how people respond to crisis.


The Captive by Joyce Hansen (Scholastic); 128 pages; $13.95
This novel chronicles the life of a young Ashanti boy from his captivity in West Africa to his life as a slave in Salem, Massachusetts, and then to freedom with African-American ship captain Paul Cuffe.


The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers (Scholastic); 288 pages; $14.95
This novel is about the experiences of five generations of an African-American family on Curry Island, South Carolina. The book encompasses the Lewis family's joys and challenges, beginning with the first slave boat that landed on the island.


Shuttered Windows by Florence Crannell Means is a period piece (Kingman 446) set in the 1930s that remains a valuable part of social history (Helbig andPerkins 338). The story introduces Harriet, a young Black orphan from Minnesota who journeys to the Carolina lowcountry's tidal islands to visit her grandmother.


In Katherine Lasky's True North, the reader meets Lucy, an off-spring of Boston's high-society, and Afrika, an escaped slave traveling freedom's Underground Railroad. Their two worlds collide when Lucy discovers Afrika hiding inside her grandfather's house.


See also 

Recommended Historical Fiction Books

Monday, November 9, 2009

November 19/20, 2009

November 19/20, 2009

Spelling/Vocabulary
Test on these: 
fore- means "front"
1. forehead 

2. forecast
3. forethought
4. forefront



cast -- to throw, calculate, prepare, contrive


O.E. þencan "conceive in the mind, think, consider, intend" (past tense þohte, p.p. geþoht), probably originally "cause to appear to oneself," from P.Gmc.

c.1290, from O.Fr. front "forehead, brow," from L. frontem (nom. frons) "forehead," perhaps lit. "that which projects," from PIE *bhront-, from base *bhren- "to project, stand out."

No retakes will be available, so study the words and word parts sets as they come.

 Test next time will be on

-er, -or which mean one who, that which (nouns)

1. farmer (The root word comes from a word meaning property.)
2. baker (The root meant "to roast.")
3. dancer   (Just that.)
4. teacher (The root meant "to show or point out.")
5. author  (The root comes from a Latin term for "to create.")
6. doctor  (The root word comes from a word that means "to teach."

No retakes will be available, so study the words and word parts sets as they come.
I'm wondering if there is a general rule about using -er or -or.  
Hmmm.  There's actor, author, director, doctor, donor, editor, governor, juror, mayor.
There's barber, dreamer, grocer, jogger, baker, teacher, dancer, lawyer.  
I'm not seeing a rule that seems to apply generally.  


Doing ResearchHere is the shortened version of the full lesson, and we didn't even get to all of it in class.

Special Note:  For your project, you need at least three sources.  Wikipedia always must be confirmed by another source, so if you include it, you would need four sources.  

1.  Create a list of search terms to use when looking for information about the nonfiction setting for your individual book.
 *  Often you can find a site about the book or find the author's official site that may tell you about some of the reality behind the fiction.
 * You could look up places and characters you think may be real.  
 * Don't look up fictional characters or places.
 * Look up the "big" subjects such as "holocaust" or "Japanese Internment" or "Pony Express."  You search terms could be the sorts of words and terms you would look up in an encyclopedia.
   Words that you would just look up the meaning for in the dictionary may not make good search terms.
 

2.  You may want to check the media center or public library catalog for nonfiction books about your research topic.

3. Try some of the best places to search on the Internet.
     A. Go to our school web page and scroll to the bottom of the home page to find the link to Pioneer -- Utah's Online Library.
 The user name is pioneer and the password is time.

          The best places to search there for this assignment are Sirs Discoverer and World Book.           
Type in your term or terms and look for the best sources.

On Sirs Discoverer, I typed in Holocaust, and found this article:  http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com/discoweb/disco/do/article?urn=urn%3Asirs%3AUS%3BARTICLE%3BART%3B0000025141http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com/discoweb/disco/do/article?urn=urn%3Asirs%3AUS%3BARTICLE%3BART%3B0000025141
If I decide to use some of this information, I would make sure I save the citation information, including the URL.

           B.  Try CactiSearch (cactisearch.com) which is a metasearch engine which searches several regular search engines.

      
          C.   Try  clusty.com and notice the categories at the left which may help you narrow your search.



          D.  Try kartoo.com and notice how it is different from the other search engines you have used.
     
          E.   Try dogpile.com
                    Notice the suggestions at the right.




          E.  Try using an advanced search, using special search words and signs.  Often on a search engine, to the right of the search bar is the word ADVANCED  or ADVANCED SEARCH.  Try clicking on it and you can narrow your search.

 Even without an advanced search, you can narrow or broaden your search by using these special terms and signs:

AND  If you put "and" between two terms, the search engine will select items that have both of the terms.

OR     If you put "or"  between two terms, the search engine will select everything that has either one.

 - (minus sign)   If you use a minus sign before a term, the search engine will reject any item that contains that term.

 "  "  (quotation marks)    If you use quotation marks around a phrase, the search engine will select only those items that contain that set of words together in that order. 
 

      
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
   I could go to citationmachine.net, (or go to easybib.com) select MLA at the left, then on-line journal or magazine article at the left, and enter my information to create a Works Cited Entry for the above article which would end up looking something like this: 

Works Cited

    "THE HOLOCAUST: An Historical Summary." BEYOND THE WALL OF REMEMBRANCE (1993): 5-10. Web. 19 Nov 2009.

When you use World Book Online, each article provides a works cited entry at the bottom of the page.

When you have a Works Cited entry, make sure you know which information you got from that source.

  When I find a fact, I could go ahead and put it into my own words with an informal citation.  Here's an example that I took from the above article:

       According to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, in their publication “The Holocaust: An Historical Summary,” the approximately nine million Jews murdered by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945, weren’t the only ones the Nazis persecuted and killed.  They also murdered, persecuted, and enslaved Gypsies, mentally and physically disabled people, Soviet prisoners of war, communists, socialists, members of trade unions, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Poles and other people from Slavic nations, and more.  

The bolded part is the "informal citation" where I told where I got my information. 

This is the works cited entry that goes with my fact:
Works Cited

    "THE HOLOCAUST: An Historical Summary." BEYOND THE WALL OF REMEMBRANCE (1993): 5-10. Web. 19 Nov 2009.

    
 
  You can copy the Works Cited Entry (from citationmachine.net or from the bottom of the page on World Book) and paste it into a Word (or other word-processor) document.    Put your facts on one page and your Works Cited entries on another.
    The facts will be used to create your project/presentation.



November 19th -- If you were absent today, you could view what we did  by uploading these:
The handout to go with the PowerPoint:http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson983/student.pdf
This lesson has lots of great suggestions and helps for creating a PowerPoint and for citing sources and creating Works Cited page:  http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=787

November 17/18, 2009

Spelling/Vocabulary
-ate means cause, make, operate upon (This suffix makes verbs.)
1. separate
2. create
3. segregate
4. dominate

Test next time. 
fore- means "front"
1. forehead 

2. forecast
3. forethought
4. forefront



cast -- to throw, calculate, prepare, contrive


O.E. þencan "conceive in the mind, think, consider, intend" (past tense þohte, p.p. geþoht), probably originally "cause to appear to oneself," from P.Gmc.

c.1290, from O.Fr. front "forehead, brow," from L. frontem (nom. frons) "forehead," perhaps lit. "that which projects," from PIE *bhront-, from base *bhren- "to project, stand out."

No retakes will be available, so study the words and word parts sets as they come.

Book Groups -- Doing Research

November 18 -- A-Day students, if you were absent, see the PowerPoint and Handout at
The handout to go with the PowerPoint:http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson983/student.pdf
This lesson has lots of great suggestions and helps for creating a PowerPoint and for citing sources and creating Works Cited page:  http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=787

November 13/16, 2009

November 13/16, 2009

1.  A Word about Vocabulary for  Author Letters and other Writing
      In Six Traits, it's called Word Choice.

        Read about improving the vocabulary in your writing.
         Receive an opportunity for extra credit.
Get the handout  (A Word About Vocabulary) at http://cavemanenglish.pbworks.com/Letters-to-Authors


2. Spelling/vocabulary  test on "extra-" words.

Receive your new  Spelling/vocabulary words:
 Suffix to study:   -ate which means cause, make, operate upon (This suffix makes verbs.)
Words to learn for the spelling test:
1.    separate
2.    create (on state list)
3.    segregate
4.    dominate
Test next time.
No retakes will be available, so study the words and word parts sets as they come.

Extra credit information for the above spelling list from dictionary.com:
separate  (v.)
1393 (implied in separable), from L. separatus, pp. of separare "to pull apart," from se- "apart" (see secret) + parare "make ready, prepare" (see pare).

Origin:
1350–1400; ME creat (ptp.) < L creātus, equiv. to creā- (s. of creāre to make) + -tus ptp. suffix

Origin:
1400–50 in sense “segregated”; 1535–45 as transit. v.; late ME segregat < L sēgregātus (ptp. of sēgregāre to part from the flock), equiv. to sē- se- + greg- (s. of grex flock) + -ātus -ate 1 ; see gregarious

Origin:
1605–15; < L dominātus (ptp. of dominārī to master, control), equiv. to domin- (s. of dominus) master + -ātus -ate 1




3. Book Groups Strategy Lesson:  Asking Questions
    Book Groups --  Asking Questions/Finding Answers

Find the handout at Asking Questions and Finding Answers

To get into the Pioneer Library from home, the username is Pioneer, and the password is Time.

November 11/12, 2009

November 11/12, 2009

Spelling/vocabulary  test on -able/-ible words.
What is the general rule for which suffix you use?  -able or -ible?

Receive new spelling/vocabulary for next time  --
 Prefix to study:   extra- which means beyond or outside
Words to learn for the spelling test:
1.    extraterrestrial
2.    extraordinary
3.    extravagant
4.    extrovert
No retakes will be available, so study the words and word parts sets as they come.

extravagant: 1350–1400; ME < ML extrāvagant- (s. of extrāvagāns), prp. of extrāvagārī, equiv. to extrā- extra- + vagārī to wander 

extraordinary 

1431, from L. extraordinarius, from extra ordinem "out of order," especially the usual order, from extra- "out" + ordinem (nom. ordo) "order."

Bookends -- Opening and Closing for Author Letters and other Writing  (
Get the handout at http://cavemanenglish.pbworks.com/Letters-to-Authors
or

Bookends (. . . How to Close Your Letter)

Try revising your letter to the author to make it better!


Book Groups -- What makes an effective group?
Our task:
Read the book,
practice reading strategies and skills,
discuss the book,
help everyone in the group understand the book,
look for questions to research.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Checklist for Author Letters

To get into MyAccess: username = firstnamestudentnumber   password = 999lastname

Checklist for Author Letters
adapted from teaching materials at http://www.lettersaboutliterature.org/lesson_plans

See the teacher scoring rubric at http://cavemanenglish.pbworks.com/Rubric-for-Letter-to-an-Author

I. . Content
  • Purpose: Does the letter address the essay's theme -- describing how a work of literature somehow changed the reader's view of the world or self?
  • Audience: Does the reader demonstrate a knowledge of his or her audience?  In other words, is the writer addressing the author and not the teacher or others?
  • Supporting Details:  Does the letter provide explanations or examples, anecdotes, or other specific details to support the reader's point of view?
II. Reader Response/Originallity and Expression
  • Does the reader dialogue wit the author rather than summarizing the book's plot or analyzing literary elements within the book?
  • Does the reader correspond with the author rather than compliment?
  • Is vocabulary smooth and natural rather than "tongue-tied" or showy?

III. Organization and Grammatical Correctness
  • Does the reader present ideas in a logical, organized manner without unnecessary repetition?
  • What organizational strategy (internal text structure) does the writer use?
    • chronological order if relating a story
    • cause-and-effect
    • compare/contrast
    • steps in a process
    • other: _____________________________________
  • Does the essay have bookends -- an introduction or lead paragraph that hooks the reader plus a concluding paragraph that may or may not mirror the opening paragraph?
  • Has the reader proofread the letter for errors of spelling, capitalization,  and punctuation?

Symbolic Representation 2010



February 15, 2008

February 11, 2008

 

Friday, November 6, 2009

November 9/10, 2009

November 9/10, 2009
1.  Self-Starter: Sentence imitation:  This is one way you could revise your letter to an author -- by creating a powerful lead with an intriguing sentence.


2. Spelling/Prefix Test on bi-  with four spelling word examples.
3.  Assignment for next time:  Vocabulary/Spelling #2  -- Test on November 11/12
Suffixes to study:   -able  and -ible which both mean capable of  and are used to create adjectives.
Words to learn for the spelling test:
1. capable                4. edible
2. agreeable             5. visible
3. expandable               
No retakes will be available, so study the words and word parts sets as they come.


A-Day Classes: Finish History of the English Language, as needed.  Be prepared for a quiz on the History of the English Language   See the PowerPoint at

History of the English Language PowerPoint 

Cloze Notes for History of the English Language PowerPoint

 

A2 -- Review and assessment on sentences, fragments, independent and dependent clauses.

Reading Workshop: Book Groups

What you should be working on for this class:
1. Learning your seventh grade prefixes and suffixes and how to spell the sample words. 
2.  Revising and Editing your Letter to an Author.
3.  Reading your November-December Book of the Month,

     -- watching  for questions about the real setting, characters, or  events in the book for which you could research and report.
4.  Watching out for and revising for sentence fragments and run-ons.  
5.  Participating appropriately in your reading group.
-- watching  for questions about the real setting, characters, or  events in the book for which you could research and report.

November 5/6, 2009

1. Time to find or read your November/December Book-of-the-Month.

2. Mini-lesson for your Letter to an Author. 

3. Term 2 Vocabulary:   (history of our language)  Power Point and Take Notes

History of the English Language PowerPoint 

Cloze Notes for History of the English Language PowerPoint

 


4.  Vocabulary/Spelling Assignment #1    The test will be given next time in class.
HOMEWORK: Study the assigned prefix and learn the spelling words.   The test will be given next time.
Prefix to study:   bi-  (see your suffix/prefix chart for meanings)
Words to learn for the spelling test:
1. bicycle   = two circles or wheels
2. bisect = cut into two parts 
3. binoculars = involving two eyes  (Ocular refers to the eye.)
4. bimonthly  = every two months or twice a month


Find the chart for your seventh grade prefixes and suffixes at 

Prefixes and Suffixes from the Seventh Grade Core for Term 2 (and on) Vocabulary     This is a file to upload and print.



5. Pretest  and teaching for writing complete, correct sentences.

6.  Time for Book Groups. You should hand in a response sheet by the end of the period.

Important notes:
Have you submitted your Letter to an Author (Letters About Literature)?
If you can access the Internet from home, find the targets for second term at the link below.  If you can't, ask me for a hard copy.

Here are the Targets (I-Can's) for second term.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Neatness Counts!

I'm tired of some classes not following directions for putting away the composition books and leaving a mess behind, so I'm going to record each time a class leaves their composition book crate in a mess or leaves items in the classroom I have to pick up and throw away or put away.  The class which does best with this will receive some sort of recognition:  candy?  free time? a pat on the back?

We'll start over again after the winning class receives their prize.   This round will end November 13.


B1    messy 10/6/09 -5
Total: - 5
composition books -2
Total: -7
10-28-09  -5 composition books
Total: -12
10-30-09  -3 things I had to pick up -- 2 books and a paper
Total: -15
11-05-09  -5 items I had to pick up.
Total: -20
11-11-09  -8   items I had to pick up.
Total: -28


B2   10/08/09  -- -3 (items on floor, magazines left out)
Total:  - 3
10-30-09  -3 items I had to pick up
Total: -6
1-05-09  -3 items I had to pick up.
Total: -9                                                            B2 won!



B4  10-14-09  minus 2 (items on floor, left out on desk)
10/20/09  ( I picked up and cleaned up 10 items left by this class.)
Total: 12
10-22-09  I had to keep the class after (less than 1 minute) to clean up, and I still had to pick up three items
Total: - 20
10-26-09   -8 I had to pick up that many items after they left.
Total: -28
10-28-09   -6  I had to pick up six items.
Total: -34



A1  messy compostition books -3
Total: - 3
messy compostition books -3
 Total: -6
 10-29-09  messy compostition books -3
Total: -9
11-2-09  messy composition books -3
Total: -9
11-10-09   messy composition books -5 -- and you had plenty of time to put them away early on in class.
Total: -12


A2    I had to pick up 7 items from the floor on 10/07/09  -7  10/09/09  -2 items on floor -2 items (composition book and pencil left on desk)
10/19/09  I had to pick up 5 items.
Total: - 12
 10-29-09 I had to pick up 5 items  and the books on the shelf under the bulletin boards was messed up
-10
Total: -22
11-02-09  I had to pick up items -4
Total: -24
11-06-09  compostion books  -3
Total: -27
 11-10-09  compostion books  -3
Total: -30

A4  messy 10/2/09 -5
10/19/09   3 items
Total: - 8
10-29-09  3 items
Total: -11
                   
                   
                   
                   
 

Mini-Lesson #1 for Revising Letters to Authors

Mini-Lesson #1 for Revising Letters to Authors
To get into MyAccess: username = firstnamestudentnumber   password = 999lastname



The Lead Paragraph – How to Hook the Reader in 25 Words or Less!

    In a news story, it’s called a lead.  In a novel, it’s the prologue; in a TV screenplay, the teaser.  No matter what you call it, the introduction is one of the most important parts in a piece of writing.  If the opening is boring or unfocused, too long or too short, the reader won’t bother to read any farther.  An effective opening, on the other hand, delivers a one-two punch:  it grabs the reader’s attention, and it suggests the main idea or theme of the story to follow.

Which of the examples inside grab your attention? 
Which let your attention slip through their fingers?
Rate these four lead paragraphs in order from most interesting to least interesting:  #1, #2, #3, #4.  Be prepared to tell why you rated them as you did.

________ a.  My name is Ben and I am a young writer.  I write science fiction fantasy.  I have started to write many stories but have been sidetracked by new ideas.  I have to say your book Wolf in the Shadow greatly changed the way I write.  I like your juicy details.  I once started to write a story about a guy who died in Greek times and came back to life in modern times. (to David Gemmel)

_________b. It is mere ink on paper.  That’s all.  Just a “by-the-way-I-have-to-remind-Herbert-to-buy-milk-at-the-supermarket” scribble.  But it lifts you up and throws you crashing to the ground.  By jotting down ideas of life and love into a 46 line poem you, Andrew, stormed into my safe bedroom chamber and arose me from my deep sleep.  You taught me there is a difference between being alive and living. 

_________c.  I know you are busy writing books and everything so this letter won’t be very long.  I loved your book.  I love how Huck went down the Mississippi.  Overall, it was really quite an amazing adventure and a good book. (to Mark Twain)

_________d.  Some people stay the same after reading a book.  But your book tossed my brain all around.  The risk you took in writing The Drowning of Stephen Jones makes me want to take a risk. .  . change the way I think.  That’s why I’m here in this facility.  I’ve had trouble changing.  Because of books like yours, I now want to speak out against racism and people who hate people without even knowing them.  (to Bette Green)


Some suggestions for hooking the reader’s attention:
•    Share something personal about yourself.
•    Use an anecdote (a brief true story) that relates to a character or event in the book.
•    Use a before-and-after comparison.
•    Mention an interest or quality you share with the author or with one of the characters in the book.

Adapted from Letters About Literature at http://www.lettersaboutliterature.org/

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Important Dates for Term 2

Important Dates for Term 2:
Term 2 begins October 26, 2009, and ends January 8, 2010.

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held December 5.

Your November/December Book-of-the-Month Assessment is due December 10/11.
             (You will have had seven weeks or more to read your book and prepare the assessment.)

The final test on prefixes and suffixes is tentatively scheduled for December 14/15.

The last day to hand in any late or revised work for Term 2 is December 22.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Sample Letter (and Format) for Letter to Author

[your name]
American Fork Junior High School
1120 North  20 West
American Fork, Utah  84003

November 3, 2009

Dear Lois Lowry,

    Even though the word “government” is never mentioned once in The Giver, your book forever changed the way I think about government.  Before I read The Giver, government was just a tedious topic endlessly discussed by adults.  I realized only after finishing the book that the few, mysterious people making all the decisions for Jonas and his Community were actually the government.  Why did they have the power to withhold all of the bad memories, which were so vital for the citizens to be able to live fully?  Even though these memories were incredibly painful, was that the right decision?  Would I want my government to make such decisions and to have such power? No!  A government should serve its people, not shield them from basic human experiences.

    Because of The Giver, I started paying more attention to news stories about governments.  [This paragraph continues, and this letter continues for four more paragraphs.]


Sincerely,


Cori Anne Mazer


[As a closing you could also use Your friend, Respectfully, Regards, or another polite closing.]




Sunday, November 1, 2009

November 3/4, 2009

November 3/4, 2009
1. Term 2 Vocabulary  Pretest  -- We are taking and correcting the pretest.  Points will be given for completion.   If you are absent, find a time during  Cave Time when you can come to take the test.

B4 received their new vocabulary charts.


2.  We will be in the computer lab to type our letters to authors as assessment for your October Book-of-the-Month.  If you have not completed and carefully revised and edited your work, you will complete it on your own at home, during Cave Time intervention, or at another time when you are able to access the Internet/ My Access.

http://www.myaccess.com

Find handouts at
http://cavemanenglish.pbworks.com/Letters-to-Authors

Find the rubric at
http://cavemanenglish.pbworks.com/Rubric-for-Letter-to-an-Author