November 1, 2007

November 1, 2007
1. We went to the media center to look for books for the novel portfolio. Students completed a brief assignment sheet with information about three books they might want to read.
who were here, and would like to earn more points should ask me for the alternate assignment.
Students who were not here may make-up the assignment on their own time. Students who were here, and would like to earn more points should ask me for the alternate assignment.
Look for the call number on the back of a book.

2. We began reading The Giver.
Students filled out an anticipation guide about freedom vs. security/safety. How does our society balance the need for freedom with the need for security/safety? How should the two be balanced? A topic in The Giver is "Balancing Freedom and Safely." A theme is "Any society (or ruler(s) of a society) must make decisions about how much they are willing to restrict freedom in order to provide security for that society."
This is a very timely topic. Especially since the September 11 terrorist attacks, our nation has been grappling with this issue.
Students will pose as investigators, trying to find out about the community portrayed in The Giver.

3. We also had a brief end-of-term celebration. The winning house from each class had ice cream. Students were able to eat their own candy, and (almost) everyone received candy from Ms. Dorsey.

Notice: Don't forget to select a book for the portfolio, have it approved by a parent or guardian, and return the book approval slip (half goldenrod sheet) to Ms. Dorsey by November 9.)

Portfolio Book Approval

Portfolio Book Approval -- Seventh Grade English -- Dorsey
Dear Parents,
During each of the remaining terms of this school year, your student will be doing an assignment called the book portfolio. For Term 2, your student needs to choose a novel of any type
(a fictional book that has at least 100 pages) that he/she has NOT read before, that is at his/her own reading level, and that is not on our department list of books not allowed for the portfolio. (See the back of this form.)
Once the book is chosen, please sign this paper to indicate your approval. Your student must have his/her novel in class with the signed portion of this paper by November 9, in order to receive full points. Sooner is better. Encourage your student to read his/her book whenever and wherever possible.
This term's portfolio assignment will be passed out by November 7. (Sooner, if possible.) I recommend that your student finish his/her book at least a week before the first project due date: November 30. That way he/she will have time to get the project done. The second part of the project will be due December 14. This will be an interesting assignment that requires creativity and understanding of the book. Quality work handed in early is welcome!
Thanks for your help!
Sincerely, Ms. Dorsey

Student name: (Please print first and last name)
Title of novel:
Author's name:
Number of pages: (The book should be at least 100 pages long.)
Parent signature:
Date:
Teacher approval
Date:
Points _____/10 + on time _____/10

See the list of books not allowed for the Portfolio Project.

October 30, 2007

October 30, 2007
Begin Term 2.
1. We took a pretest on the seventh grade core confusing words.
2. Students received a list of the confusing words with their meanings, "I Can" Statements for Term 2, and the approval slip for the novel each student will select to use for his or her novel portfolio for the term.
3. Students cleaned out unneeded papers from their binders.
Confusing Words --
4. In pairs, students created mini-posters to teach about using the confusing words correctly.

October 26, 2007

October 26, 2007
Students watched the rest of the video of The Outsiders, and filled out a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the movie and book. Students also wrote a brief review of the movie.

Term grades for all classes will be sent home next Friday.

Extra Credit

Earn extra credit by taking this quiz on The Outsiders, printing your "corrected answers," and turning it in to the wire basket with your name on it.

http://www.angelfire.com/ego/mr.f/SubjectLinks/english/outsiders/outsiders.html

Expires November 15.

October 24, 2007

October 24, 2007
Students finished handing in work today for Term 1. Next term I will strictly adhere to my policy (see the disclosure document), and no late work will be accepted after the deadline -- about one week before the end of the term.

Students had the opportunity to present their projects if they haven't. Students had the opportunity to finish up late or incomplete work.

We played a capitalization game.

We started watching the movie of The Outsiders. Where we left off, Ponyboy and Johnny have just arrived at the abandoned church at Windrixville.

October 22, 2006

October 22, 2006

1. Finish capitalization exercise if needed. After some correcting (the paragraph at the end), students handed in their paper.
2. We finished reading The Outsiders.
3. We answered questions about The Outsiders. (See below.)
4. Group Term Project Presentations
5. If time, we played a capitalization game for house points.
Reminders: If you haven’t handed in your Reading Bingo, talk to Ms. Dorsey.
Hand in your signed progress report.

Finishing Up The Outsiders
Answer these questions clearly and legibly, using complete sentences. Then hand in this paper to the top wire basket for your class. If you don’t finish answering this in class, finish it as homework and hand it in next time. Don’t forget!
Answer question #1 using the book.
1. Ponyboy explains that he writes the story of The Outsiders for what reasons? (page 179)
Answer question #2 using the on the separate sheet.
2. S.E. Hinton says she wrote The Outsiders when she was sixteen because. . .
Answer at least two of the following questions from your own experience sand understanding:
3. Are you an “insider” or an “outsider” at American Fork Junior High? Or are you sometimes one and sometimes the other? Explain.
4. What can you do, or what have you done, to help yourself become an “insider” at the junior high? Give at least one specific example.
5. How can you help others, or how have you helped others, who might feel like “outsiders”? Give at least one specific example.
(State Core: Standard 2, Objective 1: write about how a text relates to my own life
Preparing for Standard 2, Objective 2: recognizing author’s purpose)

Quoting S.E. Hinton: "I wrote The Outsiders because I was worried and angered by the social situation in high school. I saw two groups at the extreme ends of the social scale behaving in an idiotic fashion. I could see both sides of the situation, but I naturally had the most sympathy for the side that was treated the most unfairly. When a friend of mine was beaten up for no other reason than that some people didn't like the way he combed his hair, I took out my anger by writing about it."

October 18, 2007

October 18, 2007
Today we continued to share presentations of the term group inquiry projects. Students also worked on their capitalization exercise (20 points -- due next time).

Don't forget to return your progress reports (received October 16) signed by a parent or guardian.

If you haven't handed in your reading bingo or your term group project, see me.

Students who have not yet completed and submitted the GoMyAccess Essay about the influence of the Character Traits of a character from The Outsiders, or who wish to receive a higher grade on the assignment may go online to write and revise the essay. These must be completed by October 24th. (If you didn't complete and submit the essay, it will show up as zeros on PowerGrade for the two scores on Character Traits.)

The first term ends October 26.

Period 2 finished reading The Outsiders today. The other period are near to the end.
On the 24th and 26th we will watch the movie based on the book, and make comparisons between the two.

October 16, 2007

October 16, 2007
If you have not handed in your Reading Bingo Card or your Term Group Project about some aspect of the school, do so as soon as possible. No late work will be accepted after this Friday, October 19th.

Students who did not complete and submit the GoMyAccess Essay last time about the the influence of the Character Traits of a character from The Outsiders, or who wish to receive a higher grade on the assignment may go online to write and revise the essay. These must be completed by October 24th. (If you didn't complete and submit the essay, it will show up as zeros on PowerGrade for the two scores on Character Traits.)

Receive progress reports today -- to be returned with a parent or guardian signature no later than October 24th to receive points.

View Term Group Projects.

The Outsiders -- starting at page 159.

Using Capitalization correctly -- for those who have not mastered capitalization. If you have already shown mastery, that assignment on PowerGrade will be marked "EX" for excused. If you are excused, you may have free reading time as the other students work on capitalization.

October 9, 2007

October 9, 2007
1. Hand in assignments due.
Hand in Reading Bingo. Make sure your books are entered on the card by the teacher and signed off by the teacher. Add up the total pages, and write that total on the line: Term 1 _____ pages. Turn it in to the top wire basket for your period.

Hand in Term Project. Turn in your tape or disk with the first two pages of the packet.

2. Listen to/Follow along with The Outsiders. We read to the middle of page 159.

3. Write a GoMyAccess essay about The Outsiders. The prompt is Character Traits.
You may revise this essay at home. Your user name is your first name and student number, no spaces. Your password is 999yourlastname.

October 5, 2007

October 5, 2007
Receive back Sentence Work Quiz. Think about what you answered correctly and what didn't. File it in your binder under Writing.

Read The Outsiders. A1 page 112 - 143, A21 page 118 - 148, A3 page 114 -143, A4 page 116 - 145.

Think about how the character traits of each person in The Outsiders affects other characters.

The students did a brief writing assignment "What I Want to Do Before I Die." Johnny says that he just didn't have enough time, living only to sixteen. What would you like to accomplish or experience before you die?

Be prepared to hand in your tape, etc. for your term projects next time. Don't forget to label it with your subject and your names.
Also be prepared to hand in your Reading Bingo cards next time. Make sure yours is signed by the teacher. Add up the total pages and place that number in the blank right after "Term 1" ____ . I'll fill in the points.

GoMyAccess Prompt

GoMyAccess Prompt

Character Traits

Character traits in fictional or real people may have positive or negative effects on the people around them.
Select a person, real or fictional, who possesses character traits that influence others in a positive or negative way. Write an essay in which you describe this person's character traits and provide examples of how these traits affect other people.

For this essay, you will write about one of the characters from The Outsiders. How do the traits of that character influence the other characters in the book?

As you write, remember your essay will be scored based on how well you:
· develop a multi-paragraph response to the assigned topic that clearly communicates your controlling idea to the audience.

· support your controlling idea with meaningful examples, reasons, and information based upon your research or readings.

· organize your essay in a clear and logical manner, including an introduction, body, and conclusion.

· use well-structured sentences and language that are appropriate for your audience.

· edit your work to conform to the conventions of standard American English.

Use any of the tools available to you, such as the Checklist, Spellchecker, or Graphic Organizer.

State Standards:

UT7.1.3 (character), UT7.2.2, UT7.2.3, UT9.2.3, UT10.2.1.b, UT10.2.3, UT11.2.1.b, UT11.2.3, UT12.2.1.b, UT12.2.1.c, UT12.2.3

October 3, 2007

October 3, 2007
Today we went to computer lab to finish the SRI and to have a few students complete the GoMyAccess pretest.
Student groups for the term project could work on putting together a PowerPoint.
Students who were finished early had a chance to read for reading pages or just for recreation (if they were done with their 400 reading pages for the term.

We listened to The Outsiders from page 103 through
A1 page 112; A2 page 118; A3 page 114; A4 part way through page 116.