Thursday/Friday, September 25/26, 2014

Book Orders Due by October 3. 


When you receive your graded book project, if you need to redo it, or wish to for more points, attach your new copy to the graded one. 

When I point out spelling words you should learn, copy them into your composition book on the page for editing tips for you (page 39+). 

To prepare for the available retake on Text Structure, see the teacher for a practice packet.  Identify the text structures of the paragraphs, and afterward we'll talk about them.

Mini-Lessons from the Aug/Sept. Book Project

1. iRead -- Individual Reading Time (10-15 minutes)  

This month's book assignment is based on Realistic Fiction.  Realistic fiction books are gathered in the front of the classroom.  

Realistic fiction will have -- characters that could really exist in our world settings that could really exist in our world events that could really happen in our world Realistic fiction will NOT have -- magic talking animals imaginary creatures presented as real in the world of the story things that haven't yet been invented events that haven't yet happened A Few Contemporary Realistic Fiction Books

Receive the book assignment for September-October.   BoM #2 Summary.docx  

Here are some helps:  How to Summarize

Sign up for your book!  Sign-Ups due by October 1/2.

 

2. Sparkle the Commonly Confused Words --

[For those who are absent, Sparkle is a spelling game. Practice your spelling for this week, and review the words from last time.   Besides using the link to review your words, if you look at the past few days, you can see the memes and other hints for learning the words. Our test will be next time.]

3. iWriteRight --  CSI  American Fork Now Investigating:  Conventions in Sentences Investigation Your sentence: Copy the sentence.       Because there is an escaped lion in the school  halls, we are going into lockdown. What do you notice? Click on the link below. Label the Sentence: 9-25: ______________________

4.  What is a Central Idea?   

Receive and tape-in tape-ins for your composition book.   

Central Idea will be a complete sentence. It will include     the topic and       the idea the author wants you to learn about the topic. It will NOT be a question.  It will be a complete statement. It will be broad enough to cover the big idea(s) in the chapter or paragraph or other passage. It will be narrow enough so it's NOT including things that are not in the chapter or paragraph or other passage. It will NOT include your own opinions about the chapter or paragraph or other passage. Central idea is also called main idea or topic sentence.

  

Central Idea Practice

If time. . . .  Period A1 did not have time to work on this.

5.  Finish your posters and be prepared to present them.  

Mini-Lessons from the Aug/Sept. Book Project

Central Idea:
When you write the first sentence (topic sentence) for a paragraph or essay, include the subject (topic) of what you are writing and a statement about it.   If you are writing about a book, tell the title of the book in that first sentence, and perhaps the author's name, too.

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What is Intended Audience? Looking at magazine covers may help you to understand what is meant by "intended audience."  

The dedication is not the intended audience.

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How to Write Book Titles:
When you are handwriting the title of a book, underline it.
When you are typing the title of a book, italicize it.

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How to Write Legibly: 

If you need to, work on improving your handwriting or hand printing.  Especially watch how you form upper case and lower case letters.

If you are having a hard time with Capitalization, click on that link.

If the problem is forming the letters, here are a few common problems that I see:

Lower case "a" and "o"  are closed at the top.  The letter "u" is open at the top.

For me to tell whether you can spell a word or not, you need to form your letters properly. 

Do not make block letters.  This is just to show that the upper case S is about twice the height of the lower case s. 

I see a lot of "p's" floating all over the place.
The upper case P has its "tail" above the line, and resting on the line.
The lower case p has its tail below the line.
For me to tell whether you know what to capitalize,
you need to write in capital and lowercase letters. 

The terms upper and lower case come from the days when printers used metal type.  The letters were kept in divided cases, and the "upper case" letters were kept in the upper case.  The "lower case" letters were use more often, so they were placed where they were easy to reach. 

In case you are not sure how to form the upper and lower case letters, here is a useful chart:

Upper and Lower Case Alphabet

Carefully show that your lower case r's are not n's and vice-versa.

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How to Spell Correctly:
Notice those words you frequently misspell, and learn how to spell them correctly! 

Here is a study method that helps a lot of students:   Procedure for Studying Spelling Words

When you are editing major assignments to hand in, look up the spelling for every word you are not sure of.

Easy Spelling Hint:  When you have a word right in front of you already -- such as in a writing prompt or in a book you are writing about -- look at how that word is spelled, and spell it correctly in your own writing.

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Do not use the ampersand [&] as an abbreviation for "and." Write out the word.

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Tuesday/Wednesday, September 23/24, 2014

Reminders and Announcements: 

Please hand back or pick up  papers from the lower wire basket. 
When you receive papers back, carefully look at them.
Save graded papers until you have received your term grade. 

When you receive your graded book project, if you need to redo it, or wish to for more points, attach your new copy to the graded one. 

When I point out spelling words you should learn, copy them into your composition book on the page for editing tips for you (page 39+). 

F.Y.I.:  The dedication in a book is NOT the intended audience. 

To prepare for the available retake on Text Structure, see the teacher for a practice packet.  Identify the text structures of the paragraphs, and afterward we'll talk about them. 

Don't forget to check off with Ms. Dorsey the books you 

read for the 40 Book Challenge. Bring your chart and tell me about your books. 

Don't forget to hand in your book project if you haven't yet. 

Our next spelling test is on September 29/30. 

         on a lot/allot/and NOT alot,   were/we’re/where,   then/than, cause/because

If you need to retake the text structure test, pick up the homework packet.

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Today's Activities:

1. iRead -- Individual Reading Time (10-15 minutes)  

 Next month's book assignment is based on Realistic Fiction.  Realistic fiction books are gathered in the front of the classroom. We will be going to the media center as a class  today.

Realistic fiction will have --
characters that could really exist in our world
settings that could really exist in our world
events that could really happen in our world

Realistic fiction will NOT have --
magic
talking animals
imaginary creatures presented as real in the world of the story
things that haven't yet been invented
events that haven't yet happened

2.  iSpellRight -- Add to your composition book under "Spelling."  page 15 +                 Our next spelling test is on September 29/30. 8. cause/because Smoking can cause cancer. He left because he was angry at her. Remember how to spell "because" with this mnemonic. Why should you support our cause? You should support our cause The abbreviated  'cause is to be used ONLY in the most informal situations -- such as a note to a friend.  The abbreviated  'cause is to be used ONLY in the most informal situations -- such as a note to a friend. Otherwise, write out because.  And here is  Ms. Dorsey:  Our next spelling test is on September 29/30.

3. iWriteRight --  CSI  American Fork Now Investigating:  Conventions in Sentences Investigation Your sentence:         Copy this sentence into your composition book.   Pocahontas was only eleven years old when she met [John] Smith, and he left the New World two years later.                                             -- How They Croaked, page 52-53 Label it as a ____________________ sentence. Take that, Disney! Notice everything you can about the above sentence.  No more points for capital letters at the beginning of the sentence  or periods at the end.  It is a correct sentence (I hope), so you are not looking for errors (I hope).

4. Digital Citizenship Presentation and time to look for realistic fiction books.

A Few Contemporary Realistic Fiction Books

 Students received this list:

More Realistic Fiction.docx

Some Contemporary Realistic Fiction Books You Might Like to Read.docx

B6 looked at editing pointers for book project
B6 worked on their posters
need more info on Central Idea

A Few Contemporary Realistic Fiction Books

Realistic fiction will have --
characters that could really exist in our world
settings that could really exist in our world
events that could really happen in our world

Realistic fiction will NOT have --
magic
talking animals
imaginary creatures presented as real
things that haven't yet been invented
events that haven't yet happened



I was just reading from Avi's novel Windcatcher, checking it out to see whether I could recommend it.  I can.  I had to look at it twice because it starts out with a scene from the 1700s.  However, the story takes place in our time, and the main character is the age of many  of our seventh graders at the beginning the school year.  Well,  I've only been sailing one time, but I loved it, and early on in the book this boy wants to buy a sailboat.  I'm on his side!  It won't spoil the story if I tell you that he does get the sailboat.  You might want to read the story more if I tell you that later on he has adventures in that sailboat, including danger from some ruthless treasure hunters.

The subject of boats reminds me of a book I recently read titled Navigating Early.  It is about a boy named Jack from Kansas who ends up at a private school on the East Coast.  At this school rowing is BIG sport, and our boy from Kansas hasn't rowed, much less had much of anything to do with bodies of water.
He ends up rowing and navigating.  The "Early" of the title turns out to be another boy at the school -- one who is very different from the other boys.   Jack and Early go on an adventure, rowing up the river, and finding much more that what they are looking for.

Traveling and finding more than you expected reminds me of the book Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.    Salamanca Hiddle is on a long road trip from Ohio to Idaho (my home state!) with her eccentric (in this case that means very crazy and fun!) grandparents.  To pass the time, she tells them the story of her friend Phoebe Winterbottom, whose mother disappeared.   As she tells about Phoebe, the reader finds out that Sal also just wants to find her missing mother.

The book Hope Was Here, by Joan Bauer,  is about a girl whose mother named her Tulip, then left her as a tiny baby with her aunt.   Tulip was too much as a name, so she goes by Hope.  Her aunt is a cook in restaurants, and as Hope gets old enough, she becomes a waitress.  Each time they move on to a different place to work, Hope leaves a note somewhere in the old workplace declaring "Hope was here."

That reminded me of an historical fiction book in which the mother, who hasn't had much education, is trying to be encouraging in a hard situation, and writes in a letter to her daughter, "We can always hop."  But, historical fiction will be for another time.  It is realistic, but not contemporary.

Whirligig by Paul Fleishman is about a teenage boy whose choices lead to the death of a girl in a car accident.  His "punishment" is to travel around the country building whirligigs as memorials to her.  He meets many people and learns about life and about himself.

In Deathwatch by Robb White, teenager Ben is a hunting guide in the Southwest.  On this expedition, he ends up being hunted himself!   This is a must-read for those who like intense adventure.

Another book you might like is Hero, about a boy who lives by a river in Idaho.  He and a friend are  building a raft to take on the river, but his dad asks him to let an unpopular boy from their community join them.  They are not supposed to take the raft out unsupervised, but the three boys do.   They end up losing the oars and are headed toward two dams!   Who will end up being a hero?

More Realistic Fiction.docx

Some Contemporary Realistic Fiction Books You Might Like to Read.docx

How to Summarize

In case you were absent, here is the handout: Plot Map.docx

No, I don't mean the opposite of "winterize." 

How to summarize:  
The type of summary that you need here is a story summary, and it should be objective.  "Objective" here means that you have not added your own opinions and observations. You are telling the story as it is. 

One way to summarize a story is to think of it as

To summarize a story or novel, it is helpful to think of a plot map.

This is a story map, or plot map, showing the basic outline of a story.
It starts out with (1) exposition which introduces the characters, setting, and basic problem. Actually many of the best stories begin with a "boom" -- beginning in the middle of the action, and then go back to give you more information about the characters and setting.  The best stories also weave much of that information into the story so that you are not just getting a big chuck of "Alice was a young girl who always wore a blue dress with a white apron and wore a ribbon to hold back her long blonde hair. She lived in England on a vast estate where. . . . . . . "

After the exposition comes the (2) inciting incident, something that happens to kick-off the action of the story.  It causes a problem or makes an already existing problem worse.
The problem is also called the CONFLICT.  In a novel there will likely be more than one conflict, but usually there is one main one that the character is trying to solve.
(3) COMPLICATIONS come along for the character(s).
The point at which the problem (conflict) is solved is called the (4) climax.
In novels, there may be several climaxes in which one problem is solved, but the character goes on to another problem.
After the problem is solved, there is often a winding up of the story -- sort of the "they all lived happily ever after. . " or not.   That comes in the (5) denouement and resolution.