Thursday, March 1, 2018

Thursday/Friday, March 1/March 2, 2018



Announcements and Reminders for Thursday/Friday, March 1/March 2, 2018:

Happy March! 


Book Sign-Ups were due February 28!  
Biography
Autobiography/Memoir
Literary Nonfiction

If you  weren't here to get the Nonfiction Book-of-the-Month Assignment, you can download it from here:

Finding the Central Idea Graphic Organizer.docx
Recommended Nonfiction
See the tab above for required reading for more information.    
March 2  is the deadline for handing in late and revised work, unless you make special arrangements with me.      
              

Targets for Today:

I can use details from fiction and nonfiction to find the most important ideas.  



Today’s  Agenda:

A-day Classes/B7: You do not need your composition book. 
B5 -- You need your composition book. 

1. A-day Classes/B7:Individual Reading Time -- It's best to read your nonfiction books! 
If you haven't signed up yet, do it today.

1. B5 -- "Reading a Prompt"  with Mrs. Hilton

Steps to Decode a Prompt: 
1.      Circle the VERBS

2.      Underline WHAT it asks you to address (usually a phrase)
3.      Squiggle under the FORM it wants you to respond in

This is a link to Verbs commonly used in a writing prompt.


Practice Prompt: While everyone has to eat, not everybody agrees with what is tasty and what isn’t.

List 3 foods that you feel very strongly about and label them either “love” or “hate.” Then, choose
one and use specific details to explain why you love it or hate it.







2.  Using supporting details (the most important details) to determine a theme. (in fiction)

Determine the main message or point of each part of the story, then put them together to come up with a theme.

theme: a big idea in fiction  --  what the author is saying about the topic -- a message that applies in many, many situations  and to the experience of many, many people 


(See some possible themes for this book below.)






3.  Using supporting details (the most important details) to determine a central idea. (in nonfiction

The Pros and Cons of Sports for Middle School Students.docx

Determine the most important facts or ideas in each paragraph, then put them together to come up with a central idea.


central idea:  a big idea in nonfiction -- what the author is saying about the topic -- will usually be specific to that story, and not apply to other situations or people




Drawing out the Central Idea -- We will practice the drawing strategy to find the most important points and the central idea in a passage.

You could use this strategy when you are taking a reading test and/or when you are taking a writing test the requires you to read articles and other materials first.









A Central Idea expressed in Drawings 




If You Were Absent Thursday/Friday, March 1/March 2, 2018:


Vocabulary:

theme: a big idea in fiction  --  what the author is saying about the topic -- a message that applies in many, many situations  and to the experience of many, many people



central idea:  a big idea in nonfiction -- what the author is saying about the topic -- will usually be specific to that story, and not apply to other situations or people



Themes:
The key to happiness is making your loved ones happy.
Selfishness (or greed) does not bring happiness.
Taking does not bring happiness -- giving does.
Those who take and take are never satisfied, but those who give all find happiness in the end.
In giving you receive.
Giving too much is not good for the person to whom you are giving. 



 Help and Enrichment 

Game for Types of Sentences by purpose
https://www.quia.com/rr/45767.html

Games for Prepositional Phrases
https://create.kahoot.it/details/prepositional-phrases/f9ca82e9-d744-4bb7-8aea-a7734261f31d

More About Types of Phrases

Subordinating Conjunctions
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2biawdXGAiI

Conjunctions and Kinds of Sentences 

Reminders: 
A simple sentence is the same as a main clause.  It must have a subject and a verb, and it must express a single idea.   A simple sentence can have two subjects doing the verb, two verbs being done by the subject, or both. 

A compound sentence could be divided into two complete sentences without adding any words.  You could divide the two sentences in a compound sentence by taking out the comma and coordinating conjunction and capitalizing the first word of the second sentence. 


Links for conjunctions and types of sentences: 





Conjunction Junction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPoBE-E8VOc


Coordinating conjunctions can connect phrases, words, or clauses. 

and clauses