Thursday, September 5, 2013

1. Sign-up for your Book of the Month  -- if you haven't.

Pick up your composition books, please. 


2. iRead:   Individual reading time: Read quietly and individually.  You could find books on the shelves.

 Have you picked your Book-of-the-Month Club book?  

You must have it read by September 19. 

We will type the assignment in class on September 23.

3.   About Edmodo.   Go to computer lab and sign up with  class code.  If you are absent, see me for the class code and directions for signing up or adding the class. 

4.  Paragraph Pretest  -- If you are absent, see me about completing this test.    If you finish early, please  turn in your test and read quietly.  

5. Label this "iWriteRight" with today's date 
     How many capital letters can you find in this paragraph?  List them, and for each capital or each set of capital letters, tell why it is capitalized.  For instance,  both words in "Mayo Avenue" are capitalized for the same reason.  What is it?  
       The same word or phrase repeated counts as a new set. 
      Include the information at the end of the paragraph about where it came from.  

      When I was nine, my parents borrowed my grandmother's new Ford Mustang because it had air conditioning and because my grandmother insisted, and because there was no way our old Chevy could make the two thousand miles from our house on Mayo Avenue in Houston to Decker, Montana, where my father's old Army buddy owned a sheep ranch. . . . It was the first day after third grade at Pearl Rucker Elementary School, and I held the bag of peppermints Mrs. Dodge had given me, along with a note: "Thank you for being my star this year."  I didn't like peppermints, but they were from Mrs. Dodge, and I loved Mrs. Dodge.  So my two younger sisters wouldn't get a single one for the whole drive there and back.  We drew imaginary boundaries on the vinyl seat and dared each other to cross them.

               -- Kathi Appelt, My Father's Summers (2004)

My Father's Summers -- Capitalization

Political Cartoons

Answer Keys for Practice Tests December 10, 2013

Coordinate Comma Practice
1. quiet, obedient
2. no comma
3. hazy, hot, humid day
4.  no comma
5.  shabby, frayed coat

6. c
7. b
8. b
9. a
10. a

Answers for 11-12 will vary.

Commas in a Series

Jeff Anderson suggests that this is what students need to know about serial commas:  (p. 49)

-- Commas can separate items or actions written in a series.

-- Lists consist of three or more items or actions.

-- Two items or actions are a pair, not a list, and do not require commas.

-- A comma separating the last item in a series may be omitted if and or or stand in and separate the last item.  It's an issue of style. (In my class, I ask for the comma to stay.)

Misunderstandings you may need to clarity:

-- confusions between lists and pairs

--Assumptions about commas and conjunctions

      Every sentence that has a comma has a serial comma.

      Every sentence that has an and or or has a serial comma

"The Power of Three"

"Serial commas help combine sentences and expand ideas by using sensory detail -- specific nouns and verbs." p. 50

"Lists can be a way to add specifics to our writing.'" p. 51  sensory details

Comma Swat

My sister traveled to  Boise, Idaho.	My sister traveled to  Boise Idaho.
She was born on  October 4, 2000.	She was born on  October, 4, 2000.
Have you ever been to Boston  Massachusetts  in the fall?	Have you ever been  to Boston,  Massachusetts,  in the fall?
It was on  May 10, 2001  that some very important people were born.	It was on  May 10, 2001,  that some very important people were born.
Before 23 March 1952,  the world was lacking something.	Before 23 March, 1952  the world was lacking something.
Jemima Jones lives  at 253 Pine Street, American Fork, Utah.	Jemima Jones lives  at 253 Pine Street, American Fork Utah.
October 2013 will be remembered for a government shutdown.	October, 2013, will be remembered for a government shutdown.

Doubt and Dreams

State Core -- Semester 1

Under Construction

PreTests: 

• Fact and opinion
• Theme  -- explicit or implied  ( inference)   imply/infer
• Evidence for Theme  -- textual Evidence
• Coordinate Adjectives

The Outsiders: 

W.7.3b. Use narrative techniques to develop experiences, events, and/or characters

RL.7.1. Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what text says explicitly & inferences drawn

RL.7.3. Analyze how elements of a story or drama interact

RL.7.6. Analyze how author develops/ contrasts points of view of different characters/narrators in a text

RL.7.7. Compare contrast written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version

RL.7.9. Compare contrast fictional portrayal / historical account of same period; how authors use or alter  history

Point of view  RL.7.6. Analyze how author develops & contrasts points of view of different characters/narrators in a text

summarizing  RL.7.2. Determine theme or central idea of text & analyze development; provide objective summary

RL.7.3. Analyze how elements of a story or drama interact  setting influence plot and character 

compare and contrast written story to video, etc.   

RL.7.7. Compare & contrast written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version

   Outsiders

(Novel:  The Outsiders 

Short Stories

    Priscilla and the Wimps   elements of literature, finding theme  

Drama? 

What about book of the month? 

Style:  formal, informal   W.7.1d. Establish and maintain a formal style

Write argument     W.7.1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence  a-f

Write narrative   W.7.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique

Short research projects    W.7.7. Conduct short research projects to answer question, drawing on several sources

      citing sources  h W.7.6. Use technology to produce & publish writing & link to & cite sources; collaborate with others

Collaborative discussion  S&L.7.1. Engage effectively in range of collaborative discussions on grade 7 topics, texts, & issues

building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

evaluating speakers

presenting 

   research, multi-media, etc.  

phrases and clauses

simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex

S&L.7.1a. Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and their function in specific sentences

S&L.7.1b. Choose among simple, compound, complex, & compound-complex sentences to signal ideas

misplaced and dangling modifiers.  S&L.7.1c. Place phrases & clauses within sentence, recognizing & correcting misplaced & dangling 

modifiers

capitalization, punctuation, and

spelling  S&L.7.2. Demonstrate conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, & spelling when writing

S&L.7.2a. Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives

vocabulary

a word’s position or function in a sentence)

grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots

S&L.7.4a. Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase

S&L.7.4b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes & roots as clues to meaning of a word

    belli

general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.