January 4, 2011

 Bell-Ringer:  Do you agree or disagree with this statement: It is important to have grandparents and/or other extended family besides your parents and brothers and sisters. Explain your answer. 

Reading Minutes:
A1 The Maze Runner by James Dasher
A2 The Maze Runner by James Dasher
A3 The Name of This Book is Secret -- Pseudonymous Bosh
A4 A Coming Evil (740L) by Vivian Vande Velde -- a mix of historical fiction and fantasy
      Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli

SSR late presentations

The Giver
A1 to chapter 17, page 137, paragraph 6
A2 to chapter 17, page 134, paragraph 2
A3 to chapter18
A4 to chapter17, page 135,  to paragraph 4.

The Giver -- Distopian Fiction 
Summary so far  -- to Chapter 15
      Jonas lives in a community where everything runs "perfectly."  When children become twelves, they receive their job assignment for the rest of their working life.  Jonas is apprehensive about his job assignment because he has no idea what it will be.  When it comes time for the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas is skipped.  He is not assigned -- he has been selected.  Jonas has become the new Receiver of Memory for his community.   He is told that he has qualities that make him fit for this duty.  One of these is the ability to "see beyond."
      His selection makes him different and makes it harder for him to spend time with or talk with his friends.  He is also unable to share his new experiences with his family.  Jonas has a mother and father and a younger sister named Lily.  Husbands and wives are assigned to each other and no family is allowed to have more than two children.  His father, who works as a Nurturer for New Children (babies), has brought home a New Child named Gabriel who needs extra care.  The alternative was for Gabriel to be "released," something that also happens to the very old and to community members who have broken the rules of the community three times.  Those who are released are no longer allowed to be members of the community.  Gabriel may still  be released if he does not learn to sleep through the night.
      Jonas knows he has the "seeing beyond" ability  because a couple of times he has seen a flash of something he can't explain.  In his training as Receiver, he finds out that what he is seeing is color, which has been eliminated from their community because many generations before, the community had decided to go to Sameness.  Jonas is trained by the Old Receiver who he now calls The Giver.  The job of the Receiver of Memory is to receive and hold memories of the world -- the history and experiences of the past -- so that he can provide the wisdom that comes from those memories. 
       A Receiver is needed because the rest of the people in the community do not have these memories.  They do not remember or learn about the past.  They know only their own individual pasts.  Books (except a dictionary, a book of the rules, and a listing of government and other job departments) are not available to the community.  Only the Receiver has access to other books. 
      Jonas begins to receive the memories from the Giver when the Giver places his hands on Jonas' back, and transfers a memory at a time to him, including memories of hills and snow and sunshine and color which were given up when the people went to sameness.  He also receives memories of pain and war and death.  When Jonas receives the memories, it is as if he is really experiencing them.  He is there in the memory, seeing and hearing and feeling.  Experiences of intense pain leave him hurting even after he comes out of the memory. Pleasant experiences also carry over, and he is beginning to see color in his everyday life. 
      Jonas begins to feel frustrated that he can't share the memories with others.  So many of them are beautiful.  He briefly attempts to transfer a memory to a friend, and then to his father and sister, but it doesn't work.  One night when the new child Gabriel is restless, Jonas puts his hand on Gabe's back and automatically transfers a peaceful memory to this child who, like Jonas and the Giver, has pale eyes -- very rare in their community. 
       The Giver tells Jonas that ten years earlier a New Receiver had been selected and had failed.  The memories she had received were released back into the community and "It was chaos. . . They really suffered for awhile. . . . . it certainly made them aware of how they needed a Receiver to contain all the pain.  And knowledge."
     


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Don't forget that you have a spelling test on January 6.
Vocabulary/Spelling #7 Test on January 6
Prefix to study: il- which means not
1. illegal
2. illiterate
3. illegible
4. illogical

1. illegal -- leg = law So, illegal means not conforming to the law

2. illiterate -- literatus, literally mean. "furnished with letters." So, if you are illiterate, you are NOT furnished with letters.
3. illegible -- leg ( ere ) to read + -ibilis -ible = capable of. So, illegible means NOT capable of being read.
4. illogical -- log = word, speech, thought, reason So, illogical means NOT conforming to reason.
conform = to fit together
Learn the underlined definitions for extra credit

November 22, 2010

Bell-Ringer: Paragraph Packet, page 11


Spelling: Receive handout for the suffix -ate.  See the tab above for Spelling to get the information now for Test #4.

A2 took the test on extra-.

Reading Minute:
A1-  Magyk by Angie Sage
A2- Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
       Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
A3- none
A4- none


The Giver:
Chapter 3 +  Reading Groups and Questions, SSR (symbolic story representation)
A1 finished chapter 3
A2 just got started working in groups
A3 finished 3 and well into 4
A4  finished 3 --some into 4.


Extra Credit:  If you begin your statement with the two words, “If I”, nine times out of ten, your next word should be what?  

Here is the answer:  Your next word should be “were” not “was.” Example: “If I were wealthy, I’d be happy.” As long as what comes after the “If I” statement is untrue (I’m not wealthy), which in fancyspeak is in the subjunctive mood, you want “were.”  from Brian P. Cleary 
Explain this to me for extra credit.

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 ?

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.