Friday, October 31, 2014

Find the Error

A student -- Kaitlyn A. -- found this error in her nonfiction book, and earned extra credit.  Can you find it, too?

From Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton and  Rick Bundschuh, page 77

Halloween Jokes

These jokes are given with possible answers.  Could you think of other funny answers?

1. What do you use to mend a jack-o-lantern?

Answer:

H.J. #1




2.  Why was the skeleton afraid to cross the road?

Answer:

H.J. #2



3.  What do birds give out on Halloween night?

Answer:

H.J. #3


4.  How do monsters tell their future?


Answer: 

H.J. #4



5.  Do zombies eat popcorn with their fingers?

Answer:  H.J. #5





6. Why don't skeletons ever go to school dances?






Answer:  They don't have any body to go with.


7.  Why did the vampire go to the orthodontist?






Answer:  He went to improve his bite.

8.  Why do witches use brooms to fly on?







Answer:  Vacuum cleaners are too heavy.



9.  What did one ghost say to the other ghost?






Answer:  "Do you believe in people?"



10.  What did the mother ghost say to her son?





Answer:  "Don't spook unless you are spooken to."


11.  How do you make a witch scratch?






Answer: You can take away the "w."



12.  Why did the vampires cancel their game?






Answer:  They couldn't find any bats.



13.  What do you get when you divide the circumference of a jack-o-lantern by its diameter?






Answer:  You get pumpkin pi.



14.  What did the mummy say to the detective?






Answer:  "Let's wrap this case up."



15.  Why can't you tell twin witches apart?






Answer:  You can't tell which witch is which. 





Knock Knock
Who's there?
Owls.
Owls who?

That's right.
Owls do Hoooo!  





Happy Halloween!


What about the WHEREWOLF?   Where is he? 


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Verbs: Dialogue Tags and Ways to Say "Went."



Add "rasped."  Can you think of others to add?
Extra credit is available if you can think of tags to add to this.  

B

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Wednesday/Thursday, October 29/30, 2014

Announcements and Reminders:  
Don't forget to bring food, clothing, etc. as donations to the Food & Care Coalition.



1. iRead -- Individual Reading Time (10-15-20  minutes)  
Be on task.

Today we will all be reading nonfiction books -- some that would work for the book assignment, and others that would not.

Pick up your composition book, and pick up a nonfiction book from the front of the room.
    If you already have your nonfiction book for the project, you may read it. 






What is Nonfiction? 

non·fic·tion
ˌnänˈfikSH(ə)n/
noun
1.             prose writing that is based on facts, real events, and real people, such as biography or history.

When you read nonfiction, you're reading about something that really happened [or something that really is] — it's not a story somebody made up.
                                from vocabulary.com 

Nonfiction will not present anything magical or fantastical or from the future as real.

There will not be made up characters or situations or places.





 What are the qualifications for the nonfiction book you will read?


It is nonfiction.
        It is about real events, people, places, and things. 
It will be either biography, autobiography, or literary nonfiction.

It will have 100 pages or more.
It will be at or near or above your reading level.

As one student said it, "It has to be cool."
In other words, it will be about something you are interested in.

It will be a book you haven’t read.
It will not be on the Do Not Read list.




Next time we will go to the media center.  

You will have time to look for nonfiction books.




CSI  American Fork


Now Investigating:  Conventions in Sentences Investigation

       
Copy this sentence into your composition book.  Be prepared to share what you notice about it. 


As he struggles, Max pulls out his Swiss Army 

knife and begins flipping utensils: the fork, the nail 

clippers, the toothpick, and. . . a giant Samurai 

sword.    
-- Gordon Korman, The Chicken Doesn't Skate (1998)


Notice everything you can about the above sentence. 
No more tickets for capital letters at the beginning of the sentence 
or periods at the end. 
It is a correct sentence (I hope), so you are not looking for errors (I hope). 


Paragraphs:  Finish Powerpoint if needed:  Paragraph 2014. Writing Great Paragraphs 

Write a paragraph:  
Subject/Title:  My Goals for Term 2
Central Idea:   I have [the number] goals for Term 2 of this school year.  
Structure:  Central Idea and Support
Voice:  Serious 
Purpose:  I will think through my own goals so I can work on them all term. 
Audience: This is mostly for myself, though at least one other student, and the teacher will read it.  

Write your paragraph.
Share it with a classmate.  This will be determined by the appointment clock.
Number 1-12 spin:  http://www.classtools.net/random-name-picker/47_FXHRJG

The classmate will do this:
Highlight the Central Idea with green. (Green is for go.)
Number the major supporting details.
Highlight the Conclusion with red. (Red is for stop.)


If you were absent today, 

  • please be looking for your nonfiction book.
  • Copy the C.S.I. sentence into your composition book as soon as you can.  Notice what you can about it.  Study the material on the "Conjunctions" link.
  • Copy the Coordinating Conjunctions list  (FAN BOYS) into your composition book.
  • Do the same for the Subordinating Conjunctions list (A WHITE BUS). 
  •       Extra credit is available for memorizing them. 
  • Write the assigned paragraph.  You could write it on a separate piece of paper and later tape it into our composition book. 

________________________________________________________

B2 Lesson:
LIVE Week -- Hope

What does it mean to have hope?

Have you ever felt hopeless?
Have you ever felt hopeful?
How can we spread hope?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwAYpLVyeFU

To really get this, you have to watch it from the very beginning.

After watching:
What are some of the simple acts of kindness that you saw?  How did they spread hope?

What are some things that people have done for you that have helped you to feel hope?
What are some of the simple acts that you do -- or could do -- to spread hope?

How do you feel when you do little acts of kindness (sharing hope)?

How do you feel when someone takes time to help you -- especially when you're feeling down?

This week our school is creating a "Hands of Hope" wall.  Please share kind acts that your friends and fellow students have done to help you feel hopeful.  Watch for the "Hands of Hope" -- in the shape of a hand -- on a table in front of the lunchroom.





Tuesday, October 28, 2014



1. Pick up your composition book and a copy of How They Croaked. 

2. Reading:    (If you were absent, you do not have to make up the How They Croakedassignment.  Instead, study the information you'll find when you click on THIS LINK:  Central Idea and Supporting Details )
From the chapters after Marie Antoinette-- 
  • Pick another chapter you'd like to read  How They Croaked. 
    • Read it and if you finish, go ahead and begin another chapter.
We did not do the following -- the crossed out part. Instead we finished viewing and taking notes on the Fishbowl/Paragraph PowerPoint, read an article about King Tut, and looked at central idea and supporting details for the King Tut Article. 
Paragraph 2014. Writing Great Paragraphs 

And we can add this!
This is about why King Tut was physically impaired:  (and lets us know that they've pulled him out again!)
http://sciencealert.com.au/news/20142710-26397.html
  • Find a partner who wants to read the same chapter.
  • Today you are looking for a central idea (one of the big ideas) from the chapter.  
    • Find a big idea that is supported by at least three details.  
    • Draw a fishbowl in your composition book under Notes and QuickWrites.
    • Draw a simple fishbowl.
  • and write on it (legibly) a central  idea with three supporting details.
  • add the page where you found the evidence. Example: (5)  
  • Then, when called on, share a main idea from your chapter. 


We learned about Central Idea and Supporting Details



 Receive new Hall Passes.

We still need to cover this:  What genre of book is How They Croaked? 

Fiction or Nonfiction?


We did not look at the analogy for External Text Features: 
What else besides the words (and punctuation) do you find in the book?
We'll look more at these soon.  Here is a link to information about External Text Features.



This term: 
Central Idea and Supporting Details 
Paragraphs
External Text Features
Informational Writing
Argument
Phrases and Clauses
Types of Sentences 
Complete sentences 





Monday, October 27, 2014

Monday, October 27, 2014

Welcome to a brand new term.  Your grades start all over again today. 

1. Pick up your composition book and a copy of How They Croaked, 

2. Reading:   (If you were absent, you do not have to make up the How They Croaked assignment.  Instead, study the information you'll find when you click on THIS LINK:  Central Idea and Supporting Details )

From the chapters after Marie Antoinette-- 
  • Pick a chapter you'd like to read in How They Croaked. 
  • Find a partner who wants to read the same chapter.
  • Ask Ms. Dorsey for the questions. First come, first serve, have another chapters picked you'd like to read in case your first choice is already taken.
  • Begin reading.
  • Answer the questions.
  • Do NOT do the back of the handout.
Be looking for the BIG IDEAS -- Central Ideas -- in the chapter.  



3. How did you find your chapter?
What "tools" did you use?   (For anyone who was absent,  students pointed out that they had used the Table of Contents or Index, and page numbers.  Some also tried thumbing through, using the headings at the tops of the pages.) 
  You most likely used External Text Features!
We'll look more at these soon.  Here is a link to information about External Text Features.


4. What sort of book is How They Croaked -- what genre? 


 
What makes a book nonfiction?   See the tab above for Required Reading.


5. Receive new Hall Passes.





6. Main Ideas

One of the central ideas for the chapter on King Tut is this:
"King Tut's body has been dug up to be examined many times since his death."
What details would support that? 

And we can add this!
This is about why King Tut was physically impaired:  (and lets us know that they've pulled him out again!)
http://sciencealert.com.au/news/20142710-26397.html

A chapter can have more than one main idea. 
What is one of the central ideas in the chapter you just read?
Find a big idea -- one that you can support with details from the chapter. 

  • Pick up  a sticky note, 
  • write your names on it, 
  • and write on it (legibly) a central  idea with three supporting details.
  • add the page where you found the evidence. Example: (5)  
  • Then, when called on, share a main idea from your chapter. 


(Your Names) Sally Scarecrow and Jack the Pumpkin King

Chapter on King Tut
Central Idea:  King Tut has been dug up to be examined many times since his death.
Evidence:

  • In 1922 Howard Carter found Tut's tomb and performed an "autopsy" (4).
  • In 1968 experts X-rayed Tut's remains (5). 
  • In 2005 experts used a CT scan on him (5).  





Text Structures (Internal) 







External Text Features 
External Text Features


(Where do you usually hear the word “Features” used?)


What's your 

Best Feature

One response:  My best feature is my long, silky hair. 


What external text feature could you compare with the signs over aisles in a grocery story? 

What external text feature could you compare with the map you find in the mall?


Some External Text Features:
Table of Contents
Numbers on the bottom of the page
Index

Titles at the top of each page
chapter titles
headings and subheadings
illustrations
captions on illustrations
graphs, charts, tables
bolding or highlighting of letters
different fonts







Teacher's Notes:

Paragraph 2014  Fish Bowl Paragraphs

A1 to fish out of water -- 
B5 to Supporting Details
Reasons, details, examples, and other information that supports and explains the topic sentence.

to bowl with rocks and plant --slide 20
B6 did a quick review.   Had reached bowl with rocks and plants -- Conclusion.  Check on paragraphs -- water in bowl?  to end.

B7 to Conclusions 

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Friday, October 24, 2014

Happy End of Term!  Our new term will begin on Monday!

1. Individual Reading Time


2. Emergency Evacuation Practice



3. More How They Croaked and External Text Features




What is font?  A font is a set of type of one particular face and size.
This is Arial font.     
This is Chalkduster font.
This is Desdemona font.

This is Times Font.

External Text Features 1 

Examples for External Text Features

Examples of External Text Features



External Text Features, Alphabetically 
External Text Features
(If you'd like to practice, you could use the flashcard activity at http://quizlet.com/285777/external-text-features-flash-cards/ 
(A1 will miss November 11 for the day of shadowing someone at work.)


Later:
Paragraph 2014. Writing Great Paragraphs -- After fish leaving bowl -- slide 10
Thinking about paragraphs with the Weird Fishbowl Analogy

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Listening: Accents?!



http://www.sciencealert.com.au/features/20143110-26433.html

Cause and Effect Paragraph


     Have you ever thought about what makes a volcano erupt or what happens
afterward? When the temperature rises deep under the  Earth’s crust, it becomes
hot enough to melt rock and turn it into magma. Sometimes this melted rock blasts
through the Earth’s surface, which causes rock, ash, and deadly gases to fly into
the air. The lava that flows out of the volcano can knock down trees and destroy
houses and even whole towns.  Although volcanoes can cause lots of destruction,
the volcano’s eruption also  creates new land. Many times this new land forms 
an island in the ocean. You  might even live on land created by a volcano.

Why Do Mummies Scream?


from Cricket Magazine:
http://cm-cdn.cricketmag.com/ProductImages/emails/102014_MotivationalMondays/MUS1410_13_Mummy.pdf

What's Where for King of the Mild Frontier

(King of the Mild Frontier is an autobiography by Chris Crutcher.)

This is an unfinished product. 
What's Where?  

Cascade, Idaho:  a small town in western Idaho with a population of about 900.  It is located in the mountains north of Boise and on the shore of Lake Cascade.  A major business there for years was the Boise Cascade Sawmill.   This was Chris Crutcher's mother's hometown, and Chris' family moved there when he was six weeks old.

Dayton, Ohio: birthplace of Chris Crutcher.

Eastern Washington State College:  now known as Eastern Washington University, it is located in Cheney, Washington, which is 17 miles southwest of Spokane.  Chris Crutcher earned his BA degree there in sociology and psychology.

Oakland, California

Spokane, Washington:



-- Information found on the websites for these towns and cities, on Google Maps,  and in the book King of the Mild Frontier




Monday, October 20, 2014

Anyone Like Brandon Mull? Happy Halloween-Time!

Read a Halloween story by Brandon Mull -- if you dare.
http://bookzone.boyslife.org/brandon-mull/

Glossary for Ice Story


1. Anguish: page 34 excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain: the anguish of grief.
2. Beset: page 14 d Nautical . to surround (a vessel) by ice, so that control of the helm is lost.
3. Buffoon: page 19 a person who amuses others by tricks, jokes, odd gestures and postures,etc.
4. Desolate: page 1 -- adjective -- lacking inhabitants and visitors.
5. Ebbed: page 6 --verb-- passing from a high to a low point
6. Exploits: page 2 -- noun-- deeds notable especially for heroism
7. Frenzied: page 8 violently agitated; frantic; wild: a frenzied mob.
8. Improbable: page 2 --adjective-- unlikely to occur
9. Salvage: page 26 the act of saving a ship or its cargo from perils of the seas.
10. Unrelenting: page 1 -- adjective -- not softening or yielding in determination

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Wednesday/Thursday, October 22/23, 2014


Announcements and Reminders: 

New Emergency Procedures: 
Report to your A1 teacher any time we evacuate the building. 

October 15 was the  LAST DAY turn in late and revised work, 
as well as extra credit for Term 1.

Your book project (on contemporary realistic fiction) 
was due on October 13/14. 

  • Students took Spelling Test #3 and all classes have done the Composition Book Check.  
  • The last day to hand in late work, revised work, and extra credit is/was 
  •                     October 15.
    -- You may hand in your Sept/Oct Book Assessment (One-Pager) by Tuesday/Wednesday (October 21/22), but there will be no extensions on that deadline.

    If you need to redo and resubmit your one-pager, you must do it by the end of school on October 22 -- Wednesday.


    Today!!!!!
  • If you have read ten or more books this term, let Ms. Dorsey know by the end of school on Friday. There will be a school party next Tuesday during Cave Time for those who are on track with the 40 Book Challenge.
  • Retake on Text Structure October 22 (A-Day)/23 (B-Day) -- If you have already reached mastery on your score, you do not need to do the retake.
  • Spelling test on all the words we've done so far on October 22/23. If you earn 85% or above on this test, any poor scores on the previous three tests will turn to no-count scores.
  • If you did not finish the SRI (Reading Test on the computer), go to Cave Time in Lab 223 and ask Mrs. John to set it up for you. 


  • So you know what's next:
    October/November:  Read Nonfiction
    Either literary nonfiction (real things told as a story),
    or biography or autobiography.

    Sign up by November 3/4.
    Turn in your project by November 21/24.






    Today only:  Hand in your unused hall passes for extra credit.

     Last time was the LAST day to turn  in your book assessments for A-Day AND B-Day classes. 

    Pick up your composition books.

    1. Individual Reading

    2. Overall Spelling Test  -- all students 

    3. A bit of paragraph powerpoint -- Fish Bowl!!!

    ("Masters" go to Media Center)

    4. Text structure retest. Those who earned a mastery score last time do not have to take it.  

    When you finish the test, pick up a copy of How They Croaked and quietly read the chapter(s) that most interest you. 


    Text Structure
    These students will NOT have to retake the Text Structure test.
    A1 Masters
    Zoe A.
    Kaitlyn A.
    Emma B.
    Noelle B.
    James B.
    Camille D.
    Ryan F.
    Audrey F.
    Emma F.
    .

    Amber H.
    Ryan L.
    Dallon M.
    Teigun P.
    McKell P.
    Cameron R.
    Heaven R.
    Matia T
    18
    B5 Masters
    Ameri B.
    Paxton C.
    Taylor H.
    Katie H.
    Abe J.
    Aaron J.


    Richard M.
    Caden P.
    Damon S.
    Marley T.
    Connor W.
    Mercedez W.
    12
    B6 Masters of Text Structure
    Andrew A.
    Lindsay B.
    Landon B.
    Kenah B.
    Madelynn C.
    Colby C.
    Alaina F.
    Kaitlyn G.


    Brady K.
    Emily L.
    Emily S.
    Suzanne S.
    Alysa W.
    Jacob W.
    14
    B7 Masters of Text Structure
    Emily C.
    Dallin C.
    Hunter G.
    Damien H.
    Dallin H.
    Jayce M.



    Melanie M.
    Kristen P.
    Hayden S.
    Jenna W.
    Joseph W.
    Joshua W.
    12


    If you are going to the media center --
    • Be quiet on the way there.
    • Be quiet there.
    • You are not there to play hide and seek or run or mess around in any way.
    • You may read your own book, take a copy of How They Croaked to read, or look for nonfiction books for the next book assignment. 

    Nonfiction is true.  It is about real stuff.
             Literary nonfiction is written so that it feels like reading fiction: it tells the story of the subject in an interesting way. 

    Biography is a life story written by someone else.
    Autobiography is a life story written by the person himself or herself.

    Biography and autobiography can be found in the media center on shelves 11 and 12.  

    How to find literary nonfiction in the media center:
    Go to: 
    1. Alexandria (On school website find Resources, find Alexandria on the drop-down menu.)
    2. Look at the right for a drop-down labeled "Simple."
    3. Change Simple to Advanced.
    4. Click on Bibliography.
    5. Then type in Literary Nonfiction.  You could also try typing biography or autobiography.




    If extra time:
    Paragraph PowerPoint
    6. Paragraphs 

    Paragraph 2014  Fish Bowl Paragraphs

    A1 to fish out of water
    B5 to Supporting Details:

    Reasons, details, examples, and other information that supports and explains the topic sentence.

    to bowl with rocks and plant --slide 20
    B6 did a quick review.   Had reached bowl with rocks and plants -- Conclusion.  Check on paragraphs -- water in bowl?  to end.

    B7 to Conclusions 


    [How They Croaked (finish chapters)  -- Notice External Text Features]



    Updated October 16, 2014