September 17, 2010
1. Everyday Editing: More on colons.
Here are some more examples of sentences that use a colon and commas in a series:
But the car is quiet for now, as are the noontime streets: gas stations, boundless concrete, brick buildings with plywood windows -- Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics (2005)
Before I do anything else, I need to go back over everything that has happened this summer: the Big Mistake, the old man, the book, the lamp, the telescope, and this box, which started it all.
-- Wendy Mass, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life (2006)
I pulled the latch on the mailbox and fanned through the stack of letters: an electricity bill, a New York Times renewal notice, a bank statement, and a Bon Appetit magazine. -- Tracy Mack, Drawing Lessons (2002)
A complete sentence: item, item, item, and item.
Here's another example:
"I love chocolate in almost any form: chocolate cake, chocolate cookies, chocolate pie, chocolate bars, chocolate ice cream, even chocolate bubble bath."
Now, write your own if you haven't already. Don't forget that what goes before the colon needs to be a complete thought, a complete sentence.
2. Reading minute: It's Constitution Day, so I'll read about the Constitution.
Reading minute record: About the Constitution from the National Constitution Center
3. The Outsiders
Vocabulary for Talking about Books and Stories: FYI
Character: One of the people (or animals or other thinking creatures) in a story. How we learn about characters:
Through how the character is described by the narrator.
Through how the character is described by another character.
Through what the character does.
Through what the character says and how he or she says it.
Through what the character thinks. Protagonist: The main character in a story, often a good or heroic type.
Antagonist: The person or force that works against the hero (protagonist) of the story.
Narrator: The person or character who actually tells the story, filling in the background information and bridging the gaps between dialogue.
Point of View: The angle from which a story is told. The angle depends upon the narrator, or person telling the story. Most of the time the point of view will be either first-person point of view or third-person point of view.
first-person point of view: One of the characters is telling his or her own story.
third-person point of view: Someone from the outside of the story is telling it.
Today we read from The Outsiders: (the track and time information are notes for me, the teacher)
A1 to top of page 14 (track 1, 25:22 on iTunes) to top of page 24, (track 2, 8:13)
A2 to top of page 13 (track 1, 23:30 on iTunes) to top of page 24, (track 2, 8:13)
A3 to top of page 13 (23:30 on iTunes) to top of page 24, (track 2, 8:13)
A4 to top of page 13 (23:30 on iTunes) to top of page 24, (track 2, 8:13)
If you were absent: Arrange to come in during Cave Time or stay after school to read the pages you missed in The Outsiders, and to add more to your composition book notes about the characters. You have two new characters (girls) to add to your notes, as well as adding more things you find out about the characters you already have.
4. Students had time to read independent books and/or to work on their projects.
Important reminders:
If you were absent when we went to the lab to take these tests, you will need to take the MyAccess writing test in computer lab (Room 223) during one Cave Time, and the SRI in the computer lab during another.
If you were here and did not finish the SRI, you may finish it in the computer lab (Room 223) during Cave Time. For the SRI, print your results and bring them to me.
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There will be retakes (for those who have already taken it) of the teachers' names spelling test during Cave Time on September 17 and 23.
You should be studying the commonly confused words:
confused words chart.doc 43.0 KBFor those who would like an A on spelling, see our challenge list:
