Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Your paragraphs comparing and contrasting Words By Heart with "Song of the Trees"  are  due by March 3.  If you need a page on the wiki to do yours, let me know.  The hard copy for the assignment is here:
Two comparingcontrasting paragraphs.doc

7th Grade Paragraph Rubric General.doc
This was our final assessment on Words By Heart. It was also a final assessment on writing paragraphs. You may revise and resubmit, if you resubmit with the papers/paragraphs that were already graded. This must be done by March 18.  


See information about our current Book-of-the Month project by clicking the Book-of-the Month tab above.  

Don't forget your spelling test on "pre-" next time.

 
Today:

Bell-Ringer:  Subject/Verb Agreement  -- Find ten subject-verb agreement errors in the following passage about Antarctica.  Underline the subject, circle the incorrect verb, and write the correction above the circled verb.

     There are a place on earth where few creatures can survive.  The land are covered with ice and snow, and temperatures is far below freezing for most of the year.   Beyond the warm lands of South America, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand lies the cold waters of the Antarctic Ocean.  If all the ice and snow that covers Antarctica was to melt, the world's seas would rise about 250 feet.

     The only creatures that inhabits Antarctica's interior is insects.  However, thousands of penguins lives on the continent's frozen coasts.  Skuas, which you might remember from the movie Happy Feet, is probably the penguins' worst enemy.  Whales and seals also lives in the waters surrounding the continent. Most of the people who live in Antarctica is scientists.

 Museum Walk for   Ice Story Pictures
   Students went on an outside walk to find and write about pictures from the nonfiction story we will be reading about.  If you are absent, get one of the handouts and use the pictures at the above link to complete the assignment.


Time for a Snow Storm!
Make a snowflake for our classroom:  snowflake directions.doc  Use the directions, or create your own.

_______________________

Antarctic Exploration today: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127927527&sc=fb&cc=fp

June 21, 2010
A robot submarine has made a surprising discovery under the floating ice shelf of a West Antarctic glacier that recently has been disappearing into the sea with alarming speed.. . . .


______________________________


Essential Questions for Ice Story:
What is courage?
What does it take to survive?  
What makes an effective leader?  a hero?
How would we apply what we learn from past stories of survival to preparing for trials in our lives?


Academic:
Why do we read?
How can we make our reading more effective?


What is nonfiction?
How can we use external text features to improve our reading and writing?
How can we use internal text structures to improve our reading and writing?


Products:
Create a new external text feature for your own Book-of-the-Month.
Read and write effective paragraphs with specific internal text structures.
Apply lessons learned from Shackleton's story to  modern emergency preparedness. (possible)

Subject-Verb Agreement Antarctica.docx
Originally Published 2/28/2011  

March 16/17, 20010

Overall test on prefixes and suffixes and spelling associated with them. 

Overall test on prefixes and suffixes and spelling associated with them.

Check composition books. 

1. February 19/20

Write about a time when you were cold. Where were you? When was it? How long were you cold? How did you get warm? I should be shivering by the time I finish reading this!

___________

 2.- #2 





 Ice Story DEW  In your composition book, under editing, make a list of the words that should be capitalized in this passage. Capitalize them.  Also tell where punctuation is needed.

a) Fix the punctuation and capitalization in this passage. (Editing)

growing up in westchester new york elizabeth cody kimmel did not find much in the way of sub-zero temperatures and blizzards to play in. In her imagination, however, each winter brought the frozen wasteland of antarctica to her doorstep, and in her dreams she explored the icy peaks and glaciers surrounding the south pole.

b) Prompt:  If you could go exploring, where would you go? Why?

 ____________

 3.  In your composition book, write to answer these questions:
What does it take to make a great leader?  What leadership qualities do you see in Shackleton?

____________

4.  - #2  Ice Story DEW -- Tape this into your composition book.

a) Editing: Fix the punctuation and capitalization in this passage.

for years cody kimmel collected and read books on explorers of both antarctica and the arctic, and came to view them as old friends. but the tale of one such explorer, ernest shackleton and the endurance, was one to which she returned time and time again

b)  Prompt – Write your answer in your composition book:  Tell about a subject you have enjoyed learning about.  How did you learn about it?  Tell us a few interesting things you’ve learned about that subject. 

 ____________

5. - #3  Ice Story DEW -- Tape this into your composition book.

a) Editing: Fix the punctuation and capitalization in this passage.

"even now," kimmel says, "knowing shackletons  story inside and out, I still have trouble believing it. the things that happened to him, and the things he did, simply defy belief. he certainly had the very worst luck and the very best luck of any man alive"

b)   Prompt – Write your answer in your composition book:  Do you believe in luck, or is there something else that shapes our experiences?   Explain.  (or) You could tell about ways in which you have had really bad luck and/or really good luck, or tell about someone else who has had really bad or good luck or both. 

 

Ice Story -- Finish reading and creating a test on the book.

March 12/15, 2010

March 12/15, 2010
 Today, March 12,  is the Last Day to submit any late work or revisions on essays, book-of-the-month projects, or spelling.   
   *Don't forget to attach the rubric (grading sheet) to your project before you hand it in.  

Cave Time

 -- Spelling tests only will be available  in Cave Time today.  
-- Do not expect to retake a test unless you know exactly which tests you need and have studied the prefix or suffix and spelling words. 
-- If you still need to revise and edit an essay, you will need to do it in computer lab 223 with Mrs. John.  


Ms. Dorsey will be at a Mock Trial competition most of the day on Friday.  Hand in work to your class top wire basket.


Ice Story and DVD

Ice Story Online

Part of our class book is available online here.

March 3/4, 2010

March 3/4, 2010

Computer lab to begin typing external text features for Ice Story.


Take the spelling test on these:

Vocabulary/Spelling #19            Test on  March 3-4
 Prefix to study:   un-  which means   not
1.    unable
2.    unfit
3.    unequal
4.    unearned
5.    undone

For your next test, review our prefixes and suffixes and associated spelling words.



Continue to read Ice Story and view the DVD Shackleton. 

Your projects for your individual books will be due March 8, with no late work after March 12.

February 23/24, 2010

Bring your nonfiction book today to read or to work on the external text feature you have chosen to create. 

Activity self-starter 1a. Prepare for spelling test by  completing a crossword or wordsearch.

Activity self-starter1b.  In your composition book, under writing, tape the small handout, edit the passage, and write in answer to the prompt.

1) Fix the punctuation and capitalization in this passage. (Editing)

growing up in westchester new york elizabeth cody kimmel did not find much in the way of sub-zero temperatures and blizzards to play in. In her imagination, however, each winter brought the frozen wasteland of antarctica to her doorstep, and in her dreams she explored the icy peaks and glaciers surrounding the south pole.

2) Prompt:  If you could go exploring, where would you go? Why? 

Activity 2: Class watches a clip from Ice Story.

Activity 3: Groups read from Ice Story, collect information for their external text features. 

Activity 4:  Time for individuals to read and work on projects for their own nonfiction books.

March 16/17, 2009

March 16/17, 2009

No more late work or extra credit will be accepted for this term. Friday was the last day to hand those in, unless you had already made special arrangements with Mr. Christensen.

1. Lie/Lay Quiz
2. Ice Story Movie -- We watched part of "Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance" -- a Nova special --
and Mr. Christensen will be checking reading logs. (Blue logs -- handed out March 3/4 -- provided also for absent students.) See example on March 5 post.

March 12/13, 2009

March 12/13, 2009

1. Students did a surprise activity in their composition books.
If you were absent, read through these questions, and then write nonstop for 5 minutes or more. -- You may do this in your composition book, or write on another piece of paper to tape into your composition book.

What if you were almost a hero?
What if thousands of people wanted to be your friend?
If you left, and didn't come back for while, would anyone miss you?
If you were lost, who would come looking for you?
What if everyone was so busy with something else and they didn't have the time to come find you?
What if you had no choice but to save yourself?
If you could have 6 people to help you survive, who would you bring?
Why?
What if you died?
Who would tell your story?
What if you lived?
How would you tell your story?

Write nonstop for 5 minutes or more.




________________
Now here's the "head game": What Mr. Christensen was really getting you to do in the "surprise" activity was to practice a technique you can use when you have "writer's block" -- when you need to get the flow going when you need to write. Just put pen or pencil to paper (or fingers to keyboard), and start writing. Don't worry about what you're writing -- just write! The part of your brain that deals with the physical movement of writing somehow connects with the part of your brain that generates ideas, and the first gets the second flowing. (Brain research verifies this.)
As a bonus, the questions he asked (silently) also got your brain thinking about ideas that could be connected to Ice Story.

2. Students finished reading Ice Story. If you were absent, check out a book to finish reading.
3. Some students read their personal narratives to the class.

March 10/11, 2009

March 10/11, 2009

** If you haven't yet, turn in your portfolio assignments and personal narratives. Friday is the last day to hand in late work. The term ends on the 20th.

Students added dialogue to comic strips to show that they know how to use the verbs lie and lay.

Students read Ice Story in small groups through chapter 12.

Students created a time line for Ice Story so far. They created their own External Text Feature!

Student Targets for the Time Line:
Summarizing,
Chronological Internal Text Structure,
Creating an EXTERNAL TEXT FEATURE

Subject/Verb Review

image from http://paulbuckley14059.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/calvin-and-hobbes.jpg

March 5/6, 2009

March 5/6, 2009
The final draft of your personal narrative, double spaced with all parts of the rubric done, and with the rubric stapled to the back is due today!

Students are finalizing registration today. If you have not registered online, take care of that right away. If you haven't handed in the yellow registration form, hand in ONLY the first sheet with our math class approval stapled to the back of it. Bring it to English class.

Today:
Podcast of Grammar Girl! -- Lie/Lay

Read from Ice Story
B1 -- Starting at chapter 3, read through chapter 8.
B2 -- Starting at chapter 5, read through chapter 8.
B3 -- Starting at chapter 3, read through chapter 8.
A1 -- Starting at chapter 3, read through chapter 8.
A2 -- Starting at chapter 2, read through chapter 8.

If you are absent, follow these instructions as you read to catch up:

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Ice Story
Internal Text Structure: Sequence

Last time in class we talked about the differences between Internal Text Structures and External Text Features.

By the end of the discussion it was clear to us that External Text Features were things that could be found (most likely) outside of the text and they stood out on the page. We compared them to “right there” questions on the QAR chart. Internal Text Structures, we decided, were not so easily found.

We compared Internal Text Structures to “think and search” questions from the QAR chart because they are harder to find, and we realized that, just like a structure such as a building, they need to be built out of key characteristics. During reading we looked for some key words that would help us see that the author employed a chronological internal text structure.

In today’s activity, we will similarly be looking for key words, but this time we are looking for key words that signify that the author might be employing a sequential internal text structure. See the posts in this blog that describe internal text structure. We will also be looking for unknown words that we can add to our vocabulary list.

List key words that signal that the author might be employing a sequential internal text structure.
List any vocabulary words that are unfamiliar to you or that get in the way of understanding what is going on.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Lie/Lay -- Perfect Tense

Overhead to Help You Understand:
LIE -To lie down is an act that can be attributed to the subject.
There is no object of this verb, as the subject is doing the action without a receiver.
(Hint: substitute "recline." If "recline" works, then "lie" is also correct)

Conjugation of LIE:
lie (present tense)
lay (past tense)
will lie (future tense)
lain (perfect tense) (use with have, had, has)

LAY - Lay must have a direct object. One lays something down.
(Hint: substitute "put." If "put" works, then "lay" is also correct.)
Conjugation of LAY:
lay (present tense)
laid (past tense)
will lay (future tense)
laid (perfect tense) (use with have, had, has)

Practice: (If you were absent, copy this, complete it, and hand it in.)
For each of these sentences tell whether the verb past, present, future, or perfect.
Then change the verb to the correct lie or lay verb.

Harold reclines in the arm chair.

Harold puts his sister in a car seat.

Leslie reclined on the Spongebob Squarepants chair.

Leslie put her purse on the Spongebob Squarepants chair.

Mark will recline in his hotel room.

Mark will put his briefcase in his hotel room.

Jimmy has reclined by the pool way too much this summer.

Jimmy’s friends have put firecrackers under his lounge chair.

March 3/4, 2009

March 3/4, 2009
Your final draft of your Personal Narrative is due March 5/6! Don't forget, and don't forget to complete each part of the assignment on the rubric.

Turn in portfolio projects if you haven't!

External Text Features and Internal Text Structures!

Announcements

Begin reading Ice Story:Shackleton's Lost Expedition by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel.
A1 read through Chapter 2.