Typography Tips

These tips for using fonts, column width, spacing, etc. were written for teachers, but contain great advice for students, too.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog-design-101-typography-tips-jason-cranford-teague?utm_source

Parts of Speech with Mad-Libs

Adjectives

http://www.momswhothink.com/reading/list-of-adjectives.html#Adjectives List

Nouns

http://www.momswhothink.com/reading/list-of-nouns.html

Verbs
http://www.momswhothink.com/reading/list-of-verbs.html

Fun with Words and Pronunciation

Fire: Beaver Creek Fire in Idaho

I spent a lot of time as a child and teen in this area.
Notice the choices the creator of this video made as he put it together.

http://vimeo.com/72619750

Added August 22, 2013

epi- and words

extra credit opportunity

Brian P. Cleary                                          

EPITHET is a descriptive word in place of the name of a person or thing, usually insulting. EPITAPH is the inscription on a tombstone, or else a tribute to the departed. EPIGRAM is a brief, clever statement. EPIGRAPH is a brief quotation set at the beginning of a text to suggest its theme, or the inscription on a statue or building.

Extra credit for each of these questions you can answer: 

1. What does the "epi-" part of each word mean?  

2. What does the word part "thet"  mean here? 

3. What does the word part "taph" mean?

4. What does the word part "gram" mean? 

5. What does the word part "graph" mean? 

epi- a prefix

Core Standards Addressed 8-21-13

Core Standards Addressed:

Reading Literature 2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.  [Today students will complete two preassessments -- a formal preassessment to be recorded on Mastery Connect, and an informal survey/quiz -- for how much they already understand about theme -- often a difficult concept for 7th graders. We will follow the development of themes in The Outsiders, and learn techniques for summarizing.]
            Students will follow the development of themes in The Outsiders, collecting evidence for the themes.
            Summary:  One-third or less the length of the original,  contains all major points of the 
            original, objective -- meaning it tells the story without adding your own commentary or interpretation.

Reading Literature 3. Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).   [The informal survey/quiz will also check for understanding of setting, characters, conflict.] 

Reading Literature 6. Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.   [We will begin looking at how point of view makes a difference in how a story is told.  For example, in both Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and in The Outsiders, characters we may usually think of as the "bad guys" become the protagonists.]

Reading Literature 7. Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film).  [The video clips we watch today will provide a base -- anchor texts -- for discussion of the differences between a video and a written text.  I selected Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid because at the beginning of the novel The Outsiders, the main character has just watched a Paul Newman movie, and he apparently enjoys  the tough guys that Newman played.   Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was actually made within a couple of years after Hinton wrote The Outsiders, but to me this is the best  clip from a Newman movie to show the kids.  It's exciting, it's in color, the protagonists are portrayed as likable outsiders, it can be used to illustrate several major elements of literature, and it provides examples of how the film-makers select camera angles and other aspects of film to convey their story.   Students will be reading The Outsiders,and will will watch the movie, so they will be able to compare the two formats.  

Reading Literature 10.  10. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.  

The Outsiders has a lexile score of 750.  This is below the stretch band for our new core, but is still an effective tool to get kids into reading and talking about quality literature.  Sometimes we choose an easier text so we can worry less about comprehension and focus more on teaching other concepts.  

The Curtis Family --7 months or more before the story begins

40 Book Challenge

40 Book Challenge

OPTIONAL but HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

As 7th grade students, you are invited to participate in our third ever 40 Book Challenge. Impossible, you say? It’s not.   All it takes is consistency, dedication, time, and self-motivation.  Although you may be reading more than you’ve read before, the required books you read for your English, reading, and other classes count, as well as books for the Battle of the Books. 

Here are the rules:

1. Read! Read! Read!

2. Read some more.

3. Read from a variety of genres.  See the list below of genres you must read to complete

            the challenge.

4. Read books that are on or just above your reading level.

(The point is to CHALLENGE yourself.)

5.  Aim for 100 pages per book.

6.  Books that are 400 pages or more can count for two books.

7.  Books you read (completely) in this class or others do count.

8.  Keep track of the books you read on the 40 Book Challenge Chart. 

9.  If you begin a book and don’t want to finish it, “break up” with the book and begin another.

10.  You must finish a book for it to count. 

Required Genres:    

Fantasy (3 books)
Science Fiction (3 books)

Classical Lit (2 books)

Mystery (3 books)

Historical Fiction (3 books)

Poetry (2 books)

Informational (2 books)

Biography/Autobio (2 books)

Traditional Lit (3 books)

Realistic Fiction (3 books)

Your choice (14 books)

Please remember, this is an optional activity. This is not mandatory!
However, nice things come to those who participate!