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

August 27, 2010

August 27, 2010 -- Today's Agenda

Bell-Ringer:  Students completed a quiz based on the disclosure document, and we later discussed it.
Assignment: Return the signed and filled out disclosure signature sheet and VIP form by September 2.

A2 received bar codes for their student planners.  I still have some bar codes for students who were absent, or were moved from my A2 class.

Students were told about the Book-of-the-Month Club. See this post for more information:

Required Individual Reading

 

We took a "fieldtrip"  to the media center where Mrs. Jones presented an enhanced introduction to the media center.  Students had an opportunity to select and check out books. 

Our librarians are Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Bird. 

     You may check out up to three books for up to two weeks  with one renewal (unless the book is in great demand), and the late fine is ten cents a day.  

 

Back in the classroom: Mrs. Dorsey presented a "Reading Minute" from Antsy Does Time by Neil Shusterman.

 

A2 and A4 received the first spelling assignment.  A1 and A3 will receive it next time. See

First Assignments for 2010-2011

  

Don't forget to bring your composition book

if you have not yet brought it. 

Please write your first and last name and period 

on the front. 

Accessing the Media Center "Card Catalogue"

Question: How do I access Alexandria on the Internet?

Answer:  Go to www.alpine.k12.ut.us and click on the following links in this order:
Parents & Students,
Departments,
Alpine Instructional Media Center,
Secondary School Collections,
American Fork Jr.
I can't guarantee it will work, but it may be worth a try.

September 29/30, 2009

September 29/30, 2009
Notes: Don't forget to return your signed progress reports.
One class still needs to receive their progress reports. Their signed reports will be due the next class time.

There are more student jobs to sign up for.
__________________________________________

1. The Outsiders (Follow along and watch for information about your assigned character. Also watch for themes.)
Reading The Outsiders -- Watch for topics and themes.
B1 -- from page 45 to "If you're looking for a fight. . . " to page 53, beginning of Chapter 4
B2 -- from page 51, halfway down to page 61, halfway down.
B4 -- from page 60, 1/3 of the way down to end of page 67? Is this right?

A1 -- from page 38 "She was coming through to me. . . " to page 53, chapter 4.
A1 needs to do the anticipation guide/talk about themes.
A2 -- from the bottom of page 46 "I thought I had plenty of time" to page 68, chapter 5.
A4 --from page 45 "pity the back seat" to page 65.

2. Confusing Words Presentations -- its/it's

3. Let's Sparkle on the Confusing Words!

4. Media Center to look for books at their own independent reading level, and for possible books for October Book-of-the-Month -- Students will be looking for books at their own independent reading levels.
A-Day students will go to the Media Center on Friday.

August 27/28, 2009

Don't forget to study for your spelling test on teachers' names, your counselor's name, and the administrators' names.

August 27/28, 2009

Vocabulary: Our vocabulary words are

protagonist: The main character in a story, often a good or heroic type

and


antagonist: The person or force that works against the hero of the story; the “bad guy.”





I. Today we watched a small segment of the video Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid because
1. It's from the 60's, and we're building schema (background knowledge) before we read The Outsiders.
2. We talked about the protagonists and antagonists in the clip.

II. We looked at two poems, looking for protagonist and antagonist. See nearby post.

III. For "Everyday Editing," we read a short passage that began with "Let me tell you something about . .." Then the students imitated by using that first sentence starter and writing about things they could tell us about. Here are the passage and the assignment:

From Sing a Song of Tuna Fish: Hard-to-Swallow Stories from the Fifth Grade (2006) by Esme Raji Codell— (This passage reminds me of at least one special reason why we write.)

"Let me tell you something.

When you are a kid, you think you are going to remember everything. You think you are going to remember everyone who sits next to you in class and all the things that crack you up. You think you are going to remember the place where you live and all the things that made your family yours, and not the family down the hall or across the street. You think you are going to remember every punishment and big test and rainy day. You think you will remember how you feel being a kid. You think you will remember so well that you will be the best grown-up who ever lived.

And you might.

Or you might be. . . old enough to get a kind of amnesia. Memories are like days and bones and paper: they can turn to dust, and they change if not preserved.

. . . Who knows? Maybe you can use my stories. Maybe they will help you unpack your own more carefully, just in case the strange and improbable day should arrive that you forget what it was like to be a child.

Though I hope it never does."

Students, write a
"Let me tell you something about. . .”
[This can be a person, a place, or something else.]
Use at least one serial comma set in your first draft, or in a quick revision.

Revise: Place an asterisk by a place that could use more detail. Close eyes, picture, three specific, sensory details.

__________

IV. Two students from each class volunteered to be class librarians. We discussed how to check out books, and then we went on a "field trip" to the school media center where Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Byrd taught us about using the media center.

Our class library rules:
Pick a book and take it to one of our class librarians or Ms. Dorsey.
You'll need the pink sign-out list. Fill out the required information, making sure you write legibly.
You may check out 1 book at a time.
You do not have a due date for returning the book, but keep it only while you're reading it.
Make sure that when you bring it back it is signed back in. See one of our class librarians or Ms. Dorsey.
There are books in the room you aren't allowed to check out -- especially the kind of books that are meant to be browsed through instead of read. Ask if you're unsure.


Reminders: Continue to study your spelling words/names.
If you didn't bring your disclosure signature sheet back today, bring it soon!

March 25/26, 2008

March 25/26, 2008

Test Preparation -- More Practice with an article about "The Evacuation of Saigon."

More about the Book-of-the-Month Club -- One possible project is a poster. -- See some examples from last year displayed in the room. (Your requirements may be a little different.)

Once again, you are "Sentenced." Today we are talking about sentences and clauses (dependent and independent. Students viewed the PowerPoint - Part 2 and filled in the blanks for notes on the PowerPoint information. B-DAY STUDENTS TOOK A QUIZ.

Check out our wiki for copies of handouts and even the PowerPoint about Sentences.
http://cavemanenglish.pbwiki.com/?pwd=e3xjtdh2p5

We are going to the Media Center to look for books and to do a scavenger hunt in print resources. (reference books!)

If you are absent, you need to do the test practice, get the worksheet that went with today's PowerPoint (you may ask a classmate for the words to fill in the blanks), and complete (on out own) the media lab assignment.

August 25/26, 2008

August 25/26, 2008
*Find the extra credit opportunity for this week here on our blog.*

Self-Starter: Students wrote on the whiteboard teacher names as practice for the spelling test on Thursday/Friday.

1. Some of the students who hadn't done so yet handed in (into the top wire basket for their period) --
disclosure signatures,
the VIP sheet (on the back of the disclosure signatures),
the book approval,
and the composition book which is to be left in class.

2. We discussed
a. checking out books from the classroom library
b. book orders -- The first order will go in this Friday.
c. expected behavior for on the way to and from, and in the media center

3. Students took the second part (sections C and D) of the Core PreTest. If you are absent, you may need to arrange a time before or after school to make-up the tests.

4. We went to the media center to allow each student to look for a book for the Book-of-the-Month Club assignment or to read a book. Most students also had some extra time to read after finishing the test.

April 3, 2008

April 3, 2008
Today we did more test preparation activities. Each student received a bubble sheet, and the students answered questions about commas in a series and about subject-verb agreement.
A1 worked on commas and Part 1 of Subject-Verb Agreement.
A2 worked on commas and Part 1 and Part 2 of Subject-Verb Agreement.
A3 worked on commas and Part 1 of Subject-Verb Agreement.
A4 worked on commas and Part 1 and Part 2 of Subject-Verb Agreement.

We went downstairs to the media center to do a book pass there -- a chance for students to sample several different novels as possibilities for the term novel portfolio.

Don't forget that the novel portfolio book approval is due by April 9.
We'll be having a binder check soon, so make sure your papers are properly filed.


TEST PREPARATION WORK:

Commas in a Series

Commas keep words and ideas from running together in a sentence. They are used between words, phrases, or clauses when there are three or more in a series. Read the following poem quietly out loud to yourself.

Example:
Without a comma at my command, more
punctuation I would demand.
There'd be no brake to slow the rush of cursor
crayon pen or brush.
My days of writing soon would end without that
modest little friend
Who slips quietly in between the words in series
long or lean.

Now, read it again to figure out where three missing commas should go.

© Great Source


Test Practice #1 Fill in the bubble for the correct answer to #1.

#1. People in the twentieth century created computers radar and penicillin, but they also gave the world hula hoops and Stryrofoam cups.
#1. Where should commas be added to the above sentence?
a. after created after hula hoops
b. after computers after radar after hula hoops
c. after computers after radar
d. after century after world

Test Practice #2 Fill in the bubble for the correct answer to #2.

#2. Do you think that your interests expectations fears beliefs and desires are formed partly by television music and movies?
#2. Where should commas be added to the above sentence?
a. after interests after expectations after fears
after beliefs after television after music
b. after interests after expectations after fears
after beliefs
c. after interests after expectations after fears
after beliefs after desires
d. after think after formed

Test Practice #3 Fill in the bubble for the correct answer to #3.

#3. Some countries try to ban foreign entertainment censor radio and television broadcasts destroy historical records or jail dissenting citizens in an attempt to control people's thoughts.
#3. Where should commas be added to the above sentence?
a. after foreign after entertainment after radio after television
after destroy after citizens
b. after entertainment after broadcasts after records
c. after entertainment after radio after broadcasts
after records
d. after countries after and after attempt after control
Commas in a series

Subject-Verb Agreement
The subject and verb of a sentence must agree in number.
In other words, if the subject is singular,
the verb must be singular, too.

If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

Test Practice #4 - 10. Fill in the bubble for the verb form that would make each sentence correct.

#4. The bunnies (a. brings, b. bring) eggs to our homes on Easter.

#5. A skunk and its enemy (a. is, b. are) soon parted.

#6. Either math or pre-algebra (a. is, b. are) a requirement for eighth graders.

#7. Beans and Barley Restaurant (a. serve, b. serves) great veggie burgers.

#8. Carnival rides, fireworks, and cotton candy (a. makes,
b. make) state fairs fun.

#9. The committee (a. has, b. have) recommended improvements for school lunches.

#10. Neither the faculty nor the students (a. is, b. are) happy with the change in the schedule.


Don't forget that the novel portfolio book approval is due by April 9.
We'll be having a binder check soon, so make sure your papers are properly filed.

January 18, 2008

January 18, 2008
We finished the Pronoun/Noun circle book. You need a definition and two examples for each type of pronoun and each type of noun. (See pages 296-306 in our writing and grammar text.)
We watched a video about nouns or pronouns.
Students took a quiz on types of pronouns and nouns, using the circle book and the textbook.
*** Students received the term portfolio assignment.***
Students had a chance to look for portfolio books in the media center.
Students went to the media center to look for a portfolio book.

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.)