Courage Bravery Hero?

Our First Class Novel: The Outsiders

I don’t believe there is or ever will be such a thing as the Great American Novel—but I think there are many, and The Outsidersby S.E. Hinton is one of them. This is a novel that tells tough truths about loyalty, class, violence and that explores the transformative power of the written word. When I give it to the children of friends, I know they will feel about it just as I did when I first read it more than forty years ago.
Will Schwalbe

About The Outsiders 

1962 Red Corvair

Paul Newman

The First Young Adult Book
S. E. Hinton wrote The Outsiders in 1967. The author, S.E. Hinton, was sixteen years old. Your parents (or grandparents) might remember that in the sixties (and before) they couldn’t go to the library or bookstore and find “adolescent literature” or literature for young adults. They would see sections of books for children and sections for adults. Some give S.E. Hinton the credit for writing the first of what is now known as the adolescent or YA (young adult) novel. She wrote the kind of book she wanted to read.
Gangs and Cliques and Making People into Outsiders
The Outsiders is loosely based on what S.E. Hinton saw in her own community. The book is centered around a group of teen boys who hang out together – a gang -- but not the type of gang we think of today.
Some parents have concerns when they hear we’re reading a book about “gangs.”
Outsiders is more about social divisions. The major division in the book is between the wealthier, more privileged kids (the Socs – pronounced “sōshs,” and the kids who live on the poorer side of town (the Greasers – because at that time it was “cool” for guys to use a grease-like product on their hair).
Violence in the Book
Yes, there is violence in the book, but it is not graphic violence, and consequences of violence are clearly shown.
Smoking in the Book
Yes, the main character does smoke. He’s from a time and place where a lot of teens smoked. Society didn’t understand as much then about the consequences of smoking, and while a lot of kids made the better choice not to smoke, some chose to. Smoking is not glorified, it is shown as addictive, and students should pick up on at least one very tragic result of smoking shown in the plot.
Drinking in the Book
Some of the characters drink, though the main character and his brothers don’t. Like smoking, in the book drinking has tragic consequences.
Language in the Book
The language in the book hasn’t been a problem here in Utah Valley. The 1983 Francis Ford Coppola movie version starring C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Diane Lane, Rob Lowe, and Emilio Estevez added more words some parents might be uncomfortable with, but it is still an excellent movie.
Why We Read The Outsiders
I choose to read this book with students because
1. it is well written,
2. it’s an amazing example of what young people can accomplish. (The author was sixteen when she wrote it.)
3. it provides an interesting text we can use to learn about character, setting, theme, and other terms students need to understand for the study of literature.
4. most importantly, it gives us the opportunity to talk about issues students are interested in, issues they need to think about to make their own lives and the lives of others better.

Parents, here are some questions you could discuss with your child in connection with The Outsiders: (I highly recommend that, if you can, you read the books your children are reading. This can lead to great discussions with your child, and, besides, adolescent fiction is so enjoyable!)

1) What groups do I belong to?
How many people do you need to belong with?

2) How does a person come to belong?

3) What are good and bad ways to belong?

4) What can I learn about belonging from the texts I read?

5) How do we use language (the way we speak and write) as a way of belonging?

6) How do we include and exclude others from belonging?

7) Have you ever felt like an outsider? Is it okay sometimes to be an outsider? What would be helpful ways to respond when you feel that way?

Topics: cliques, family, friends, caring, emotional control, violence, drinking, smoking, dealing with death and loss of loved ones, social inequity, importance of education, appreciating nature, the things we have in common as human beings, etc.

Originally published 9/1/09

Added 7-10-12:
S.E. Hinton answers a question about belonging/joining:
Q: What were you like as a teenager? Were you a
greaser; a Soc?
A: I was a tomboy. I played football, my close friends
were guys. Fortunately, I was born without the
need-to-belong gene that says you have to be in a
little group to feel secure. I never wanted to be
classified as anything, nor did I ever join anything
for fear of losing my individuality.
http://www.theoutsidersbookandmovie.com/TheBook.html

Setting in The Outsiders:  
"Hinton modeled the book's setting on her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, although she never refers to the city by name. The novel is most likely set in the mid-1960s, the time period during which it was written, although, again, Hinton makes few explicit references to external historical events that might fix the book in time."  -- http://www.enotes.com/outsiders-qn/setting
Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1960's 

Literary Gangs

The Outsiders -- an excerpt read by Markus Zusak

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxgcfWLx-Ns

Questions answered on GoodReads by S.E. Hinton-- Her answers start with message 305.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1331187-click-here-to-ask-s-e-hinton?order=a&page=1

One of her responses: "I was very involved in the movies The Outsiders, Tex,
and Rumble Fish. I scouted locations, helped with wardrobe, taught Matt to ride for Tex, ran lines
with the actors on Outsiders, sometimes wrote scenes
for Rumble Fish just as we were getting ready to shoot them. I'm very happy with all three."

Chocolate Cake for Breakfast --
http://www.fromthegrapevine.com/health/chocolate-cake-breakfast-new-research-says-it-might-actually-help-you-lose-weight

And here's Bob:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GVugJj7BUs

Slideshow about Outsiders — 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1pF6Di73UwISTsZcf6B-9zMvoeVtv25pWKaVR8SEIDpU/edit#slide=id.p4

Online Outsiders 

https://www.dvusd.org/cms/lib/AZ01901092/Centricity/Domain/4219/the-outsiders_se_hinton.pdf

‘

coke commercial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bvYPIhIiS4

Will Rogers -- as mentioned in The Outsiders

The Outsiders

Our First Class Novel: The Outsiders

character portraits

Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1960's

Belonging  with poem

Paul Newman

1962 Red Corvair

Will Rogers -- as mentioned in The Outsiders

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Self-Starter:  Read through the computer lab assignment and look through your composition book notes to help you select which character you will write about.

Discuss conclusions from last time.

Learn (or be reminded) about the difference between a paragraph and an essay.

Create a small folded "book" that shows the differences between paragraph and essay.

Paragraph to Essay.pptx 

Today we will go to the Computer Lab -- Computer Writing Lab 211.
You will each type an essay.  You may select one of the following topics:
Character Traits  of a Character from The Outsiders
or Analysis of a Character from The Outsiders

Instructions for today: 

Outsiders essays October 2011.doc 

You will write one of these about  a character from The Outsiders. 

You may revise as many times as you wish, and you are able to work on this from home -- through October 19 -- next Wednesday.

Sample Essays for MyAccess Essay about Character Traits

List of Character Traits

Enrichment:  Extra Information about Adjectives: Character Traits and Adjectives

 

A2 -- This is also the day to create our door decoration for Red Ribbon Week!  Bring ideas and stuff (glitter, ribbon, fun paper, pictures you've drawn that have to do with avoiding drugs) to make it great!  We won't have time to do this in class, so we need talented (or at least willing) volunteers to come during Cave Time on Friday to put up our door decorations.

 

Reminders: 

Are you ready for your Book-of-the-Month test?

Are you caught up on your composition book?  See the tab above labeled "Composition Book."

Test on Commonly Confused Words  -- Don't forget the commonly confused words!  The test will be on October 25.  

October 19 is the last day to hand in late and revised work.

confused words chart.doc 

Friday, October 7, 2011

You will have a substitute teacher today because I will be attending the Utah Council of English Teachers Conference and meeting Neal Shusterman, author of  The Schwa Was Here, Antsy Does Time,  Unwind, and others.   You will accomplish much while I am gone, I trust.

P.T.S.A. Reflections entries are due by Wednesday, October 19.   Extra credit is available in English class for entering the literature division.

Book orders are due by the 14th.  I could send an order before that if I receive enough requests.

Self-Starter:  Students completed a packet about "The Perfect Paragraph."  If you were absent, pick up a packet from the back of the room.

The class watched part  of  The Outsiders.
 A1 to the point where Johnny and Ponyboy at the lot.
A2 to Johnny and Ponyboy on the train.
A3 to Johnny and Ponyboy getting help from Dally before leaving town.
A4 to Dally, Johnny, and Ponyboy at the Dairy Queen.

Students filled out a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the movie and book so far.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Self-Starter:  Pick up the half-sheet tape-in.  Mark the paragraph as directed.   Paragraphs 1 2011.doc
Spanish only: Los párrafos 1 - 2011.doc

2.  About paragraphs:  We will be learning how to write Mary Poppins Paragraphs: Practically Perfect in Every Way!
What is a paragraph?
A paragraph is a group of sentences that have a topic in common.  Of course, there's more to it than that.  A paragraph can have any number of sentences, but for our purposes,  it will have at least five sentences. 

We are using color coding to mark the parts of a paragraph:
The topic sentence is green because it gets thing going.  It names the topic and makes a statement about it.  (You could also call it a CLAIM.)

The body sentences are yellow because they throw light on the topic -- lighting up or making it clear.  (They contain pieces of EVIDENCE that the topic sentence is true.)

The conclusion is red because it brings the paragraph to a stop.  Later when you are writing essays, there might not be a concluding sentence for a paragraph, or it may serve as a bridge into the next paragraph.

The paragraphs we will be writing will also use transitions to bridge smoothly from sentence to sentence, and to show the relationship from idea to idea or from sentence to sentence.

Learn more at http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/fwalters/para.html
___________________________

3.  Reading The Outsiders (and listening to the audio book) --
A1 from page 80 (page 45, track 2, 30:48) to page 99 (Chapter 6, 22:31)
A2 from page 75 (page 45, track 2, 22:21) to page 98 (Chapter 6, 22:21? top of page 98)
A3  from  page 75  (page 45, track 2, 22:24) to page 93, (Chapter 6, 14:36)
A4 from  82  (page 45, track 2, 34:34) to page 104, (Chapter 6, 32:0)

List episodes/events in your composition book.  

Students answered various questions, and we discussed Cherry's loyalty/disloyalty, whether Ponyboy was right when he said that Dallas Winston would never care about anyone, and other issues.  
For some of the questions, we drew names to find out who would answer. 

________________________________________
Today is the day for Book-of-the-Month make-ups during Cave Time.
Find more information about paragraphs at   November 2, 2010

Extra Credit Poem Memorization

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Make up for the September Book-of-the-Month Club is available on Thursday, September 29.  Come to Ms. Dorsey's room for Cave Time.  Bring your book and notes.    Because this is a test, you may not do it at home.

When you come to do it, you will go to Friday, September 23, 2011 on this blog.

Self-Starter:  Pick up your composition books.  Pick up the tape-in from the back table. Follow the directions on the tape-in.  Complete this editing exercise based on a sentence from the novel Jack's Run*:  How'd They Do It - Capitalization, Etc.doc

How'd They Do It Caps Spanish.doc  (This may not be a very correct translation, but should give some idea of what our assignment is saying.)

Extra Credit Opportunity: (available all year)

Find errors (capitalization, punctuation, spelling, etc.) in published material (books, magazines, newspapers, copyrighted Internet text) and show me the errors.

_________________
2.  Reading The Outsiders (and listening to the audio book) --
A1 from page 57  --(disk 45, track 1, 19:16) to page 80 (page 45, track 2, 30:48)
A2 from age  49 (disk 45, track 1, 7:19) to page 75 (page 45, track 2, 22:21)
A3  from page 51  (disk 45, track 1, 10:14) to page 75  (page 45, track 2, 22:24)
A4 from  page 58   (disk 45, track 1, 21:15) to page 82  (page 45, track 2, 34:34)

List episodes/events in your composition book.  

Extra Credit Poem Memorization

 

We did play a bit of Sparkle today to practice commonly confused and other often-missed spelling words. 

  __________________________________________

*Here is a description of the novel Jack's Run by Roland Smith

From Booklist  -- Gr. 5-8. In Zack's Lie (2001), after Jack's dad's arrest for drug trafficking, the family entered the Witness Security Program to hide from the dangerous drug cartel that will be exposed in court. As the story picks up in this action-packed sequel, Jack arrives in Los Angeles to stay with his college-age sister, Joanne, only to find that she has foolishly blown their cover. Kidnapped and flown to Argentina, Jack and Joanne show their mettle in a series of violent confrontations and other frightening situations. Filling in readers on the background from the previous book takes a bit of time, but once the pace of the story picks up, it never flags; both the heroes and the villains seem larger than life. Sometimes the story strains credibility but may be just the thing for readers who crave plot-driven fiction full of action and danger. Carolyn Phelan  Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

__________________________________________

Reminder:  Don't forget to study  your commonly confused words and to watch for them  -- and spell them correctly -- in your writing! 

Book-of-the-Month:  Find another novel, but in a different genre, and read it by October 25.   For example, if you read a fantasy book in September, you could read an adventure or historical fiction or other genre this month

To find our lists of recommended books and of books you may not use, go to
http://cavemanenglish.pbworks.com/Recommended-Books

Books you may NOT use for the Book-of-the-Month assignments

Monday, September 19, 2011

After school on the 19th:  I forgot that today was Talk Like a Pirate Day!  Arrrggg!  I'm such a landlocked lubber!  However, if you're looking at this after school, you could still talk like a pirate this evening!  I'm going to.    Here's some piratical vocabulary:  Pirate Talk
By the way, my favorite pirate book is   Pirates! by Celia Rees which is an historical fiction book about women pirates (women who become pirates) in the Caribbean.   It's a long book, but very exciting, and is recommended for students in 6th through 9th grade.   



Today's self-starter:  Pick up your composition book. Read through the blue sheet on your desk.
If you finish early, study your commonly confused words.  If more time, read your novel.

Blue sheet:  You could download this to help you prepare for the assessment on Friday.  Notice the grading rubric on the second page.
BoM Assessment for Sep prep.doc

2. Interrogative or Declarative?  Changing a question into a statement when you writes answers to questions on tests and quizzes. 
Examples:
Interrogative:  What did you do over the weekend? 
Changed to Declarative :  Over the weekend I. . . . . .

Notice that you're borrowing words from the question.  

For your book assessment on Friday, the first sentence of your answer should change the question into a statement.  Examples: 
Interrogative:  Why do you think the author gave the book this title?
Changed to Declarative:  The author gave the book Holes this title because. . . .
Sometimes the "question" will come in the form of a statement (Imperative) such as "Explain the setting of this book."  You'd change it to begin your answer something like this:
"The setting of the book Stargirl is. . . . "

_________________
3.  Reading The Outsiders (and listening to the audio book) -- Watch for and record cause and effect relationships under "Events/Episodes in The Outsiders" in the middle of your composition book.)
A1 from top of page 44, chapter  3  12:15 to page 57  --(disk 45, track 1, 19:16)
A2 from page 37, beginning chapter 3 to page  49 (disk 45, track 1, 7:19)
A3  from page 40, Chapter 3 ( 5:11)  to page 51  (disk 45, track 1, 10:14)
A4 from  page 45, Chapter 3   (page 45, track 1) to page 58   (disk 45, track 1, 21:15)

Cause-effect: Examples
Cherry and Marcia are walking with the Greaser boys because they had left their boyfriends and the Greasers were helping them get home.
Johnny and Ponyboy are so tense and nervous because they're tired of living in a place where there is so much conflict between Socs and Greasers and where they are always the underdogs.

Episodes:  We finished the episode at the drive-in movie.  We read the episode at the vacant lot and Ponyboy's home where Darry slaps Ponyboy and Pony runs away.  We read part or all of  the episode at the park.

• Spelling retake is available during Cave Time beginning September 15. 
• Don't forget to be reading your book-of-the-month.  See the questions for the assessment under the Book-of-the-Month tab above.  You will write your answers in class on September 23.  
• If you haven't finished or haven't taken the SRI, please use a Cave Time to go to computer lab 223 (by Peet and Heng) to take the test.  Mrs. John knows how to help you get in and take the test.  Please go knowing your own student number.  Let me know when you've taken it so I can enter your points.
• If you haven't taken or haven't finished the main idea pretest, see me. 

If you'd like to order Scholastic Books online, and benefit our classroom, go to http://pcool.scholastic.com/parentordering/login.jsp register, and enter code GKLJW.
To order through me without going online, bring me the filled out order form and a check written to Scholastic Book Orders. 
I'll be sending in orders on September 23, or sooner if I get enough orders. 
Order forms are available on the rolling table at the back of the room near the door. 

_______________________________________
Notes for your information:
What does it take for a complete sentence?  A complete sentence makes a complete thought.
Do each of these show complete sentences?  Which are and which aren't?

1. a. "The bird Darzee.   1.b. Because he really did not do anything other than sing."

2.a.  "I would recommend this book to my sister.    2.b. Because I think she would like this book."

Answers:
Both 1a and 1b are not complete sentences.  The reader can't tell what it is that's being said about the bird.  The reader can't tell what is happening because he doesn't do anything other than sing."  They could be corrected by changing them something like this: "I would change the bird Darzee in this story because he really did not do anything other than sing."

The sentence 2a is a complete sentence.  The sentence 2b is not a complete sentence.  It only gives part of a thought.  It  needs to be combined with 2a to create a complete sentence:  "I would recommend this book to my sister because I think she would like this book."

           _________________________________________________

Extra Credit: 
Questions you could discuss with your parents:
Are richer people better than poorer people?
Is it their own fault that poorer people are poorer and richer are richer?
Discuss either or both of these questions with a parent or guardian, and turn in a brief summary (4 to 10 sentences) about what conclusions you came to.  Have the parent or guardian sign it. 

September 7, 2011

September 7, 2011
Self-Starter:  Capitalization exercise in the composition book -- tape-in, list, explain.
Capitalization (and review end punctuation)
 Handout -----------------------------------------------------------------

Capitalization #1    September 7, 2011          from The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, chapter 2

Tape this into your composition book.  Then create a list of all the words in this passage that are capitalized. For each word, tell why it is capitalized.

Example:     1.  Dally – It is the name of a person and also begins a sentence.

            Dally was waiting for Johnny and me under the street light at the corner of Pickett and Sutton, and since we got there early, we had time to go over to the drugstore in the shopping center and goof around.  We bought Cokes and blew the straws at the waitress, and walked around eying things that were lying out in the open until the manager got wise to us and suggested we leave.  He was too late, though; Dally walked out with two packages of Kools under his jacket.

 ____________________________________ If you were absent, you could do this on another paper sized so you can tape it into your composition book.

 

Which of the four types of sentences are the sentences in the passage from The Outsiders?   Students answered on a small sheet of paper and we held a drawing for four correct answers to receive a small candy.
A4 still needs to do this. 

Receive spelling test back.  A retake will be available in about two weeks.  If you wish to take it, study between now and then, and attend Cave Time on the date(s) specified to take the test.
Spelling retake is available during Cave Time beginning September 15. 

New spelling challenge -- Commonly confused words  confused words chart.doc 
The test on commonly confused words will be given on ____________?
We will be working on learning these in class before we take the test.  




Continue reading The Outsiders, paying attention to plot, character, setting, events, conflict.
Read to end of "jumping."
Watch video.
Read, keeping track of descriptions of characters.  How do they compare with the way they are presented in the movie?

In your composition book, in the middle section "Notes and Quickwrites,"  use the next full two page spread, write the names of each of the narrator's gang of Greasers across the top.  Take notes underneath on description for each of the characters.  If you were absent, you could do this on another paper sized so you can tape it into your composition book.

Ponyboy     SodaPop      Darry/Darrel     Johnny      Steve     Two-Bit     Dallas/Dally


A1 read to page
A2 read to page 9
A3 to page 14
A4 read to page
If you were absent, read chapter 1.

Important Reminders:  You should be reading your book for the Book-of-the-Month Assessment.  The questions that will be used are now posted.  See the tab above for  Book-of-the-Month.  You will write your answers in class on September 23.  

If you were absent for the spelling test, please come to Cave Time to take it.  If you need a retake, listen/watch for the days I will over that in Cave Time.  Study between now and then.

Our First Class Novel: The Outsiders

Important Reminders:
Have you signed up for your book-of-the-month?  Sign-ups are due, and you need to have the book read and bring it with you to class on September 23.   See more about the assignment by clicking on the tab above for Book-of-the-Month.

Please show Ms. Dorsey your composition book if you have it at school and haven't yet received points for it.  

Reminder of  Expectations for Term 1

________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Did you know?

Commonly Confused Words

In the past, this set has been most frequently missed: desert/desert/dessert
I got lost in the desert.
Never desert your post if you are a soldier.
Let's have chocolate pudding for dessert.

September 2, 2011

September 2, 2011

Bell-Ringer/Self-Starter: Pick up your composition book.  In the middle section "Notes and Quick Writes" -- right after the plot line diagram -- label the page with date and title:  9/2/11  "Insiders and Outsiders?"   Write for about a half page or so on this question:  "Have you ever felt like an outsider, someone who didn't fit in somewhere?  When and where?"  and/or "Do we have insiders and outsiders at our school, or did you at your elementary school? Who were they?  (not specific names, but types of people)
 (If you were absent and do not have the plot diagram, copy it from the back white board if it's still there, or copy it from a classmate, or you can copy it from the class blog.)

Important: Have you signed up for your book-of-the-month book?  Ask for the list for your class.  
See more information about the Book-of-the-Month Assignment on the tab above labeled Book-of-the-Month.

Spelling Test:  Take the test on the names of your teachers, your counselor and the administration.
There will be a retake available after  two weeks during Cave Time.

Read from The Outsiders and take some notes on exposition.
A1 finished packet
A2 through the first page of packet
A3 through the second page of the packet
A4

Do this in your composition book -- in the middle section "Notes and Quick Writes" -- right after "Insiders and Outsiders?"

Label the page “Notes on Exposition”  with today’s date.

Create two columns.  Copy these headings and notes, then continue to take notes as we read.

What I've found out                          How I know from the text 

Examples: 

It’s daytime.                                                The narrator steps out of a

                                                            movie theater into bright

                                                            sunlight

  The narrator has                               He says so. He hates most

green eyes                                           guys with green eye.

Darrell (Darry) and Sodapop             The narrator tell us.

are the narrator's brothers

 
_______________________________________

Media Center Field Trip
Last 40 minutes of class: You are expected to be quietly attentive to Mrs. Jones, then to spend the extra time either getting acquainted with where books are in the media center,  looking up books on Alexandria, or finding a book and checking it out.

A1 9:00
A2  10:35
A3  12:05
A4   2:05


Important Note:  If you have brought your composition book and haven't yet received points for it, please show it to me.  I graded all that were here at the beginning of the week, but it is your responsibility to show me yours when you bring it in after that. 

7th Disclosure Dorsey 2011-2012.doc

November 2, 2010

Bell-Ringer:  Study together for the spelling test on Thursday on the word part bi- and the spelling words and meanings that go with it.

Prefixes and Suffixes Chart 2010 

A3 and A4 played Sparkle to practice.

Hand in your white character chart for a character from The Outsiders, if you haven't yet.

Reading Minute:
A1: none --   Ms. Dorsey read Dogzilla to the class.
A2: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
A3: Everest by Gordon Corman
A4: Harry Potter - Sorcerer's Stone --J.K. Rowling

Finish the movie
A1 -- had already  finished the movie
A2  from  1:34:20 -- finished the movie
A3  from  scene 26 (motorcycle escort)  1:32:12 --  finished the movie
A4   from Ponyboy passes out after they see the police and Dally  1:40:35 -- finished the movie.

_________________________________________


Get together with your classmates to finish filling in your charts for comparing and contrasting the book with the movie. 


In your composition books --

Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the movie of The Outsiders that we watched to the book.Either compare (tell about things that are the same), or contrast (tell about things that are different.) Don't bite off more than you can chew.  (Keep your topic small enough.)

Basics of writing a paragraph: 

1.  Make sure today's date is at the head of this entry.
2. Skip a line.  
3. Indent the next line and begin with your topic sentence.
4. Create another sentence that supports the topic sentence.
5. Create another sentence that supports the topic sentence.
6. Create another sentence that supports the topic sentence.
7. Add your closing/concluding sentence.  This sentence leaves the reader feeling that the piece has been wrapped up/finished. 


8. Now, go back to #2 and give your paragraph a title that tells the subject of the paragraph.
___________________________________________

Example: Contrast paragraph

Title: Halloween Then and Now

       Halloween is very different for my grandchildren than it was for me.Because their mom (my daughter) is a great bargain finder, they have many well-made costumes to choose from.  When I was their age, we'd go to the five and dime store,  and I'd pick out a cheap and uncomfortable plastic mask that came with a sort of stiff plastic tunic printed with a design suggesting that character.  Also, they have many near neighbors' homes where they can trick-or-treat.  On the other hand, my parents would have to drive me miles to get to the other far-flung farms where our neighbors lived. Their Halloween fantasies are enhanced by readily available DVD's and videos they can watch right in their home.  There were no such things when I was in school, and if you wanted to watch a scary show, you had to catch it at the time it was shown on one of your two or three TV channels. There was no way to record it and watch it while you warmed up after returning from collecting candy.  Though my grandchildren  have better costumes, closer neighbors, and more access to Halloween media, my childhood memories of the holiday will always be precious and magical to me.

Blue Introduction (topic sentence)

Red: First detail

Green: Second detail

Purple: Third detail

Blue: Conclusion/Concluding sentence

or

       Halloween is very different for my grandchildren than it was for me.Because their mom (my daughter) is a great bargain finder, they have many well-made costumes to choose from.   Also, they have many near neighbors' homes where they can trick-or-treat.  Their Halloween fantasies are enhanced by readily available DVD's and videos they can watch right in their home. In contrast, when I was their age, we'd go to the five and dime store,  and I'd pick out a cheap and uncomfortable plastic mask that came with a sort of stiff plastic tunic printed with a design suggesting that character.  Also, my parents would have to drive me miles to get to the other far-flung farms where our neighbors lived. Finally, there were no such things as DVD's or videos or TiVo when I was in school, and if you wanted to watch a scary show, you had to catch it at the time it was shown on one of your two or three TV channels. There was no way to record it and watch it while you warmed up after returning from collecting candy.  Though my grandchildren  have better costumes, closer neighbors, and more access to Halloween media, my childhood memories of the holiday will always be precious and magical to me.

Blue Introduction (topic sentence)

Red: First detail from one side.

Green: Second detail from one side

Purple: Third detail from one side

Red: First detail from the other  side.

Green: Second detail from the other side

Purple: Third detail from the other side

Blue: Conclusion/Concluding sentence

More on writing paragraphs:
http://freeology.com/graphicorgs/pdf/hamburger.pdf
More information on writing paragraphs:
http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/taylorse/Taylors%20Elementary%20Curriculum%20Information/paragraph.asp

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Spelling: The test on bi- and the words that go with it will be given on Thursday, November 4.

Your first prefix is bi- which means two or halves.  Test on November 4.

When you write it on the spelling tests, make sure you include the hyphen after it: bi-.
You will also spell the words bicycle, bisect, binoculars, and bimonthly.



If you can tell the meaning of each of those words (according to the word parts) you will receive more credit.

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

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

Download the chart of prefixes and suffixes here.

Prefixes and Suffixes Chart 2010 

Here is a blog post that discusses the use of bi- in biweekly and bimonthly.  
http://blog.paulpehrson.com/2007/10/25/grammar-corner-bi-words/

October 29, 2010

Important Reminder:  Friday the 22nd was the last day to hand in late and revised work for Term 1. If you have an F, see me. 

1.  Bell-Ringer:Prepare to watch the movie again -- fill out anything you need to from the movie so far on the chart in your composition book, and receive your spelling to study for the test next week: your first prefix or suffix and the set of words that goes with it.  

   Our spelling for second term will focus and word parts -- prefixes and suffixes -- and commonly used words that include those word parts.  We'll work with one word part at a time, along with spelling the example words on the chart, with a test every week or so.  

 

Prefixes and Suffixes Chart 2010   -- This is a file to download.

A2 may not have received their handouts today for this assignment.

Your first prefix is bi- which means two or halves.  Test on November 4.

When you write it on the spelling tests, make sure you include the hyphen after it: bi-.
You will also spell the words bicycle, bisect, binoculars, and bimonthly.


If you can tell the meaning of each of those words (according to the word parts) you will receive more credit.


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

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

Halloween (and School) Spirit!

2.  Reading Minute:  See the calendar for your day.

A1 The 13th Reality by James Dashner

A2  Zoobreak by Gordon Corman

A3  Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

A4 The Watsons Go to Birmingham-- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

4.  Reading:  Developing reading skills and learning literature terms and strategies. 

The Outsiders -- We will be watching the movie, comparing and contrasting the movie with the book, and comparing and contrasting the way the characters are portrayed in the movie and in the book.

A1 watched movie from  45:18 to end of movie. 
A2 finished book, watched movie from minute 27 to  1:34:20
A3  movie from  minute 34. (Socs chasing Pony and Johnny at the park) to scene 26 (motorcycle escort)
A4 movie from minute 35:26 to Ponyboy passing out after Dally dies.

Extra Credit:  Be the first to tell me the title of this movie that C.Thomas Howell (Ponyboy) also acted in.  It came out the year before The Outsiders, and he and the other boys pictured here were in a scene where they had something very unusual happen when they were riding bicycles.
This extra credit has been used.  It is no longer available.

See Ponyboy on the left, looking up at ?

October 25, 2010

Important reminders:
October 22 was the last day to hand in late or revised work for the first term (which ends October 29).  
Your October Book-of-the-Month Assignment  was due October 19. You should have turned in your  yellow sheet filled out and with notes, and/typed the essay on MyAccess  by Friday, October 22.

Your September Book-of-the-Month project was due on the 21st.  You were able to hand it in for points minus 25% up until October 22nd.

We checked your composition books on October 13.   You also were able to turn in the grading on and do make-up work on your composition book up through the 22nd. If you haven't been here since the 13th, see me.  The Composition Book -- So Far.   Make-up work for composition book: Make-up Work for Composition Book

If you have an F in the class, please see me.

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1.  Bell-Ringer:  
 

Divide this passage from Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George into sentences.  Insert punctuation and double- underline letters that should be capitalized because they begin a sentence.

All other punctuation and capitalization has been left as it should be, except the beginnings and endings of sentences – and except one spelling error that you should be able to find and circle.  (Paragraphing has also been removed, but we’ll talk about that another time.)

 It was my aunt who decided to give me to the dragon not that she was evil, or didn’t care for me its just that we were very poor, and she was as we said in those parts, dumber than two turnips in a rain barrel my father had been a terrible farmer, and too proud to admit it, so he had struggled on year after year despite countless failed harvests it had only been my mother’s skill with embroidery that kept us from starvation she had sewn fancywork for all of the merchants’ wives and once for the lady of the manor but now Mother and Father were dead of a fever, leaving me and my brother, Hagen, to the mercy of my father’s sister and her husband, who weren’t exactly wealthy themselves after the sale of our farm brought only enough money to pay off the mortgage, my aunt proposed the idea that I might marry into money and so pull the rest of the family out of poverty but while I was pleasant enough to look at, with blue eyes and a small nose, my straw-yellow hair was also straw-straight and I was sadly freckled to be blunt, I was not beauty, and as I could not spin straw into gold or cry diamond tears, there was no reason for a wealthy suitor to overlook the fact that I had no dowry whatsoever  “it will have to be the dragon,” my silly aunt declared as we all sat around the hearth, holding what my uncle called a council of war   “surely a brave adventuring knight will save her from its clutches,” she continued.

  _____________________________________________ 

2.  Reading Minute:  See the calendar for your day.

A1  Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

A2 Cavern of the Fear by Emily Rodda

A3  Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan

A4 None

3.  Reading:  Developing reading skills and learning literature terms and strategies. 

The Outsiders

Today we read from The Outsiders: (the track and time information are notes for me, the teacher) 
 

A1  page 168, disk 4, track 2, minute 17:45  to end of book. 

A2   page 157, Disk 4, track 2 minute 2:35  to page 17

A3  page 153, disk   4 , track  1, minute   37:10 to track 2, minute 33:34

A4   page 153, disk 4  , track 1 , minute 37:10  to track 2, minute 

Themes: 
"You don't just stop living because you lose someone.  . . . You don't quit." page 173
Families should stick together against anything.  p. 176
Understanding should go two ways.  p. 174





Here's a fun site -- especially if you are a Harry Potter fan!
http://harrypotter.scholastic.com/ 

October 21, 2010

1.  Bell-Ringer: Prepare for the Commonly Confused Words Test.  Those who were not retaking the test were to read quietly.  
If you haven't handed in your yellow October Book-of-the-Month sheet -- hand it in today or tomorrow. Staple it to the goldenrod grading sheet.
*No late or revised work or extra credit accepted after tomorrow.

2. Confusing Words Test   confused words chart.doc
  _____________________ 

3.  Reading Minute:  See the calendar for your day.

A1 Tennis Shoes and the Feathered Serpent  by  Chris Heimerdinger

A2 The Sisters Grim by Michael Buckley

A3  Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

A4 Last time was Secret Order of the Gum Street Girls by Elise Primavera

A4 Today:  The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan 

4.  Reading:  Developing reading skills and learning literature terms and strategies. 

The Outsiders
Character and Conflict in Literature
* Don't forget to fill in your chart about a character from The Outsiders.

Today we read from The Outsiders: (the track and time information are notes for me, the teacher) 
 

A1    page 140, disk 4, track 1, minute 15:10 to page 168, disk 4, track 2, minute 17:45

A2     page 130 Disk 3, track 3, beginning  to  page 157, Disk 4, track 2 minute 2:35

A3     page  127 . disk   3  track  2  minute 29:52 to page 153, disk   4 , track  1, minute   37:10

A4   page 125, disk 3, track 2, minute 25:39 to page   153, disk 4  , track 1 , minute 37:10  

Important reminders:
Your October Book-of-the-Month Assignment  was due October 19. If you haven't turned in your yellow sheet filled out and with notes, and/or if you haven't typed the essay on MyAccess, make sure you get this done by Friday, October 22.  

Your September Book-of-the-Month project was due on the 21st.  You may still hand it in for points minus 25% up until October 22nd.

October 22 is the last day to hand in late or revised work for the first term (which ends October 29).  
Make sure you're up-to-date on your composition book at The Composition Book -- So Far.

We checked your composition books on October 13.  If you weren't here, see me about checking your composition book.

Make-up work for composition book: Make-up Work for Composition Book

Answer to last time's extra credit question:  facetiously  

October 7, 2010

1. Bell-Ringer: In your composition book, label the page with today's day.  Then respond to this prompt: On page 26 in The Outsiders, Ponyboy says, "You take up [stand up] for your buddies, no matter what they do." Do you believe this?  Explain why or why not.  Write a half page or more. 

  _____________________ 

2. Reading Minute:

A1  Leven Thumps and the Ruins of Alder  by Obert Skye

A2  The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

A3  Deep, Dark, and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

       Bites: Scary Stories to Sink Your Teeth Into  "Perpetual Pest" by Neal Shusterman and Terry Black

A4 Crash by Jerry Spinelli

3.  Reading:  Developing reading skills and learning literature terms and strategies. 

The Outsiders
Character and Conflict in Literature
* Don't forget to fill in your chart about a character from The Outsiders.

Today, consider what you would say if you were the character you're focusing on, and if you were called to testify or to answer questions in a press conference.
Would these characters actually be asked to participate in a press conference?  (today's laws about juvenile defendants)

Today we read from The Outsiders: (the track and time information are notes for me, the teacher)
A1     top of page 90, Disk 3, Track 1, 8:30  to page 106, Disk 3, track 1, minute 35:28
    
A2   page 90 "Would you rather have me living in hide-outs. . . "  Disk 3, Track 1,  minute 9:11 to page 106, Disk 3, track 1, minute 35:28

A3    top of  page 89,  Disk 3, Track 1, minute 6:25 to page 106, Disk 3, track 1, minute 35:28

A4  page 90 "Would you rather have me living in hide-outs. . . "Disk 3, Track 1,  minute 9:11 to page 104, Disk  3, Track 1, Minute 32:01

What do you think would have happened if Pony, Johnny, and Dally hadn't been there at the fire?


4.  Spelling/Vocabulary:  Do you know your commonly confused words yet? Make sure you're using them correctly in your writing. confused words chart.doc 43.0 KB
Dictation or  Sparkle or ? with the commonly confused words. 

Dictation: 

1. Pony felt bored while he waited at the hospital.
2. The reporters asked a lot of questions. 
3. The two other boys looked younger when they were asleep, too.
4. Are you writing on your character chart?

Important reminders:
Your October Book-of-the-Month Assignment is due October 19. Have your book read and bring it and your extensive notes on a character from the book.  You should be signing up for your book of the month.  The last day you may receive points for signing up is October 8.
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.

Your September Book-of-the-Month project was due on the 21st.  You may still hand it in for points minus 25% up until October 22nd.

October 22 is the last day to hand in late or revised work for the first term (which ends October 29).  


Make sure you're up-to-date on your composition book at The Composition Book -- So Far.

Extra credit: How many ways are there to make change from one dollar?

From Brian P. Cleary Fact Which You Are Unlikely to Ever Need: There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.