More Second Term Extra Credit

Brian P. Cleary

Syncope (SINK-uh-pee) in grammatical terms, is the shortening of a word by omission of a sound, letter, or syllable from the middle of the word; for example, "ne'er" for never, or "ev'ry" for every. So it's like a contraction for the middle (as opposed to the ends) of the word.   -- Come and tell me about this word (including the word, a definition, and an example) for 3 points of extra credit. 

 

 What to you know about the Constitution?

Play the game and learn the words.

November/December Book-of-the-Month

November-December Book-of-the-Month Assessment

Answer five of these questions about your Book-of-the-Month book.  Don’t forget to use specific details, examples, and description from the book in your answers.

The Setting:

What is the setting – place- time?

What is the setting – government, society, community?

      Why?

       What is good about it?

        What is bad about it?

The People:

    How do the people live?

The Rulers:

          Who rules?

How much power do they have?

If they live differently from most of the people, how are      their lives different?

The main character:

How does the main character find himself/herself in conflict with society?

Does he or she fight against the society?  How?

The Theme or Message:

What  does this book teach about how life could or should be lived?

--- about what is of value in life?

--- about how to balance freedom and security?

--- about what governments should or should not do?

 ______________________

 




--   UNDER CONSTRUCTION --
 For suggested books and other additional information, see the tab above for Book-of-the-Month.

As you read, watch for how you learn about what the characters are like, what themes are emphasized in the book, and what the setting is (especially what sort of society/government the people live under).   What do they have that is good and that we might want in our society?  What things that we value have they given up? 

 Collect data: quotes, descriptive and other details, examples,

Compare the society in your book with our own contemporary American society

type of government
who rules
How much power do they have?
lives of the rulers (the people in charge)
types of rules governing the society

What are the supposed goals of the government?
Many distopian societies are attempting to create some kind of perfect society by eliminating problems that we experience in our current society.  What was this distopian society trying to do, and how successful are they?  What problems have they created in the attempt?

How much freedom do the people have?
everyday lives of the people

Friday, November 4, 2011

1. Write about candy!  See Wednesday, November 2, 2011.

Last time:  

A1 received candies, made booklets, got into assigned groups, collected  words,   got started on topic sentence

A2 got into groups, made booklets

A3  got into groups,  viewed/helped with model paragraph

A4  got into groups, viewed, noticed things about a model paragraph

This time you will receive candy (a Jolly Rancher and a Starburst), if you didn't last time.

-- create a  small booklet, folded out of one sheet of paper

-- collect adjectives to use

-- create a contrast paragraph step-by-step focusing on differences between the two candies

 Students will work in small groups, helping each other,  and will have about twenty minutes to complete the activity. 

Sample Paragraph for Candy-Contrast

Added 11-7-11: 

Model Paragraphs for Starburst/Jolly Rancher Contrast

At this link you'll find paragraphs that were written by students on November 4, 2011.

 

2. Computer Lab 211 --
Select a narrative prompt to write about.  Write your best essay or story.
You may submit and final submit as many times as you wish.

My Access for November 4

 

Reminders:

1.  Today November book orders are due.
If you'd like to order Scholastic Books online, and benefit our classroom, go to http://pcool.scholastic.com/parentordering/login.jsp register, and enter code GKLJW.

2.  Spelling test on November 10!  See the links below:

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Prefix bi-

3.  Another note:  Our school PTSA book fair will be held  November 29-30 and December 1.  Parents, be sure to stop by during the Parent Teacher Conference on December 1st.

 

Great Opportunity to Enter a Contest and to Earn Extra Credit

The Letters About Literature Contest is sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress
in partnership with Target.  If you decide to write and enter a letter, you could show it to me for possible extra credit.

Yours would be a letter written from you to a very favorite author -- living or dead.  See the instructions at the links below for more details. 

There is also a prompt for writing the letters on MyAccess:

Letters About Literature    (The links on the prompt are outdated.)

Here are links to use to learn more about the contest:
www.lettersaboutliterature.org
At this site they give you lots of great instruction for successfully writing a letter to an author. 
 or
http://www.lettersaboutliterature.org/how_to_enter

Sample Paragraph for Candy-Contrast

 To contrast is to point out differences.

Students used a chart to collect words (especially adjectives) to use in their paragraphs:  Below is an example of word collecting:

One Kind:  M&M	Both Tasty Letters on it Colorful Candy shell	Another Kind:  Skittle
chocolaty M Subdued colors  Soft, smooth center velvety		Fruity S Vibrant colors  Chewy

Write legibly.   

Genre: Contrast 

Sample Paragraph for Candy-Contrast

 

2b)  Peer review 

We wrote, revised, and edited.  Thanks for revision and editing help!

Candy Contrast Paragraph

The Skittle and M&M that I hold in my hand both have a candy shell and are tasty, but they have several differences.  First of all, the M&M is chocolate on the inside, but the Skittle is fruity inside.  A second difference is that while the M&M is a subdued brown, the Skittle is a vibrant orange color.   After I get through the candy shell, my M&M is smooth, while the Skittle is chewy.  I enjoy both candies even though they are very different.

 

 Then we color-coded the paragraph for topic sentence, evidence and explanation (details), and concluding sentence.  We also bolded transitions.

The Skittle and M&M that I hold in my hand both have a candy shell and are tasty, but they have several differences.  First of all, the M&M is chocolate on the inside, but the Skittle is fruity inside.  A second difference is that while the M&M is a subdued brown,  the Skittle is a vibrant orange color.    After I get through the candy shell, my M&M is smooth, while the Skittle is chewy.  I enjoy both candies even though they are very different from each other.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Self-Starter:  Individual Reading and sign up for Book of the Month if needed.

History of the English Language and receive your first spelling assignment.
Make-up absence by viewing the PowerPoint and filling in the blanks on the cloze document.

This is a the cloze document to download.  There should be more in the room, too.
A Brief History of the En.doc
See the PowerPoint during CaveTime or make arrangements for  after school.




Begin Prefix-Suffix Study and Tests: 
General spelling test rules: 

• If you misspell or fail to capitalize your name, you will lose points.
• If you capitalize words or letters that should not be capitalized, you will lose points.
• A prefix, when it is written alone (not in a word) should be followed by a hyphen, such as "bi-" which is our prefix for the November 10 test. A suffix, when it is written alone, should be preceded by a hyphen, such as "-ment."
• Every letter must be legible for a word to be counted as correct.  

Prefixes and Suffixes Chart 2010   -- This is a file to download.

Vocabulary/Spelling #1             Test on November 10, 2011

  Your first prefix is bi- which means two or halves. 

When you write it on the spelling tests as a prefix (not in the words), 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

 __________________________

Writing a Contrast Paragraph -- 

A1 received candies, make booklets, got into assigned groups, collected  words,   got started on topic sentence.

A2. got into groups, made booklets

A3  got into groups,  viewed/helped with model paragraph

A4  got into groups, viewed, noticed things about a model paragraph

Prefix bi-

bicycle

bisect

bisect

binoculars

Bimonthly can mean every two months.

Bimonthly can mean twice a month.