Thursday/Friday, February 22/23, 2018

Announcements and Reminders for Thursday/Friday, February 22/23, 2018:                            Slideshows and Book Projects  Finish up your book project and/or slideshow (if still needed) as soon as possible.  Share the finished Google slideshow with Ms. Dorsey and check for comments from her.   Share your book project Google Doc with Ms. Dorsey, check for comments, revise and edit as needed, then print the document and attach it to the front of your rubric. Jan BookoftheMonth 2018.docx How They Croaked Teaching Project Rubric.docx  Link to the Sample Slideshow:   https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oSWW8nZtqYtPpTyOqjjbghkZiHUBw9VU3gZIvPP1IhM/edit?usp=sharing' Nonfiction Book Project  Our new book project is nonfiction.  We will be going to the media center on Thursday and Friday of this week.  There are also nonfiction books available for checkout from our classroom.  Pick a book and start reading.  You will be looking for one or more central ideas in your book and how the central ideas are supported by details in the book.   For instance, in the movie, The Greatest Showman, P.T. Barnum learns that the most important goal in life is to develop caring relationships with others.   We could find many details in the movie that support that idea. Recommended Nonfiction                              Don't forget to complete your eighth-grade registration by February 26.   It's LIVE Week! Live a little -- make new friends, get to know your old friends better.

Targets for Today: Reading: Informational Text Standard 2  I can determine  central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; I can find details to support ideas and conclusions. Conventions of Standard EnglishLanguage Standard 1  I can demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. a.  Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and their function in specific sentences. b. Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas.

Today’s  Agenda for Thursday/Friday, February 22/23, 2018: Pick up your composition book. 1.  Prepare for your test on spelling and other conventions. 2.  A1 and B-Day Media Center for a presentation  about Nonfiction and time to find books Bring your composition book and a pencil or pen.   Write down titles in Books I'd Like to Read. A1  Beginning of Class A2 (last 25 minutes)  10:25 -  B5, B7  Beginning of class  3.  Take the Spelling and Other Conventions Test  This week we will take a break.   Just review your past spelling and conventions assignments.  Look for links to learning helps in the light blue boxes on this blog.   Conventions of the Week #5.docx Conventions of the Week #4.docx Conventions of the Week #3.docx Conventions of the Week #2.docx Conventions of the Week #1A.docx 4. Receive the Book Assignment -- Central Idea  Nonfiction Book of the Month Rubric.docx Helpful Information for Nonfiction Book Project.docx Finding the Central Idea Graphic Organizer.docx Central Idea = the topic         plus the main point the author is making about the topic.  Synonyms:  main idea, main point, gist.   Examples:   A Woman in the House (and Senate)  Women frequently bring a different perspective to decision making.  If we are to celebrate the options available to girls and women today,  we must learn about those who fought to give life and reality to our dreams.  The Finest Hours: The True Story of A Heroic Sea Rescue  The Coast Guard rescuers told about in The Finest Hours  fought against insurmountable odds.   (Supporting details would tell about the odds  and what made them insurmountable.) Non-examples:  theme, topic, specific details supporting detail   noun Supporting detail is additional information that explains, defines or proves the main idea. Information in Supporting Detail Facts - Statistics or graphs Statements - Quotations or opinions from authorities or experts Examples - Comparisons, contrasts, graphs, case studies, illustrations,  or predictions Explanations - Clarifications, definitions, sequence of events,  causes and effects, or summaries Descriptions - Character traits, setting, action or events, or directions An example of a supporting detail in a story is a description of the character's clothing. An example of supporting detail in a newspaper article are sentences that answer       the questions who, what, where, when, why and how. An example of supporting detail in a movie review are sentences that explain       how or why the critic came to that decision: perhaps the acting was mediocre        or the dialogue stiff and cliched. YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2017 by LoveToKnow Corp Read more at http://www.yourdictionary.com/supporting-detail#KBM3Bm1GJE3xtQ4c.99

The "5-Paragraph Trick" for finding a central idea for a nonfiction book: Most nonfiction books are structured like a 5 paragraph essay, only longer. In a five paragraph essay  we are guaranteed to find a concise statement of the main idea/theme of the book at the end of the  introductory paragraph. Similarly, a nonfiction book will often have a concise statement of the  main idea in towards the end of the introductory chapter.   (Introduction, prologue,  first chapter -- Where else in a 5 paragraph essay can we find a concise restatement of the main idea? last chapter) It doesn't always work, but it does often enough to be helpful.  Examples:  My Yosemite  by Mike Graf The first page ends with "Read on, then explore what makes Yosemite special for you."  Central Idea:   Yosemite is special to different people for different reasons.  Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow  738 pages  "Today we are indisputably the heirs to Hamilton's America [and to his vision of the modern world] (6)." Superman Versus the Ku Klux Klan by Rick Bowers The character of Superman “stands guard against threats to human dignity and freedom.” P. 149  The Children of Willesden Lane: A True Story of Survival During World War II by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen Music gave Lisa Jura the strength to face hard times and an uncertain future (vii). Choosing Courage: Inspiring True Stories of What it Means to Be a Hero by Peter Collier This is a theme -- not a central idea!  “Courage isn’t something you’re born with, but rather something you discover within yourself “(xiii). _______________________________ A2  Media Center for a presentation about Nonfiction and time to find books Bring your composition book and a pencil or pen.   Write down titles in Books I'd Like to Read. A1  Beginning of Class A2 (last 25 minutes)  10:25 -  B5, B7  Beginning of class

If You Were Absent: See above. Arrange a time to take your test on spelling and other conventions. Nonfiction Book of the Month Rubric.docx Helpful Information for Nonfiction Book Project.docx Finding the Central Idea Graphic Organizer.docx

Vocabulary: Central Idea = the topic         plus the main point the author is making about the topic.  Supporting detail is additional information that explains, defines or proves the main idea.

Help and Enrichment  Study and Review:  Conventions of the Week #5.docx Conventions of the Week #4.docx Conventions of the Week #3.docx Conventions of the Week #2.docx Conventions of the Week #1A.docx See the helps and enrichment for the previous days we have worked on spelling and conventions. Conjunctions:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2biawdXGAiI More About Types of Phrases Reading Comprehension Tips: How to Find Main Ideas in a NonFiction Book Gretchen Wegner https://gretchenwegner.com/2011/12/11/reading-comprehension-tips-how-to-find-main-ideas-in-a-nonfiction-book/