ENGLISH 7
Planners checked

Shared Community posters. They were fabulous!
We have started Seedfolks, by Paul Fleischman. A little background.

Paul Fleischman is a Californian who likes to read while he enjoys his morning cup of coffee and a bagel. Frustrated when he couldn’t find a copy of the local newspaper, he picked up a free new age newspaper and was “instantly rewarded.” There he found an article about a psychotherapist who used gardening as therapy. She mentioned that doctors in ancient Egypt prescribed walking through a garden as a cure for the insane. “That’s the line that set the hook deep,” he said. From there, he began to develop memories, ideas, and newspaper stories. Interviewing others who have experienced therapeutic gardening, he began to develop the various characters for Seedfolks. The book is present day, told from the points of view of 13 different multicultural characters. The setting is a patchwork of plots in the community garden. “For me, the ancient Egyptians were right. A stroll through a community garden leaves me happy and hopeful, cheered by the sight of what we can accomplish together.”

The story: A vacant lot, rat-infested and filled with garbage, looked like no place for a garden. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise for a neighborhood of strangers. Thirteen very different voices--old, young, Haitian, Hispanic, tough, haunted, and hopeful tell one amazing story about a garden that transforms a neighborhood.
How a community is born and nurtured.
We read and discussed Kim's chapter. For homework, read Ana's chapter, chapter 2.

HW:    Thurs: Mugshot week 9, Grammar Packet Review of Unit 1; read Ana's chaptr
         Fri: Spelling Unit 11, exercises, p.57,  1-20 and test.

---

ENGLISH 8
IOA essays handed in. Essay #1 down. ? to go!


Begin watching Spellbound. The movie. About champion spellers.  A documentary. The real thing.
This documentary follows eight teens and pre-teens as they work their way toward the finals of the National Spelling Bee championship. All work hard and practice daily, first winning their regional competition. They face tremendous pressure as the original 250 competitors are whittled down, and words get more difficult. We meet them and their families: two with single parents, three children of immigrants, and a few with learning disabilities.

HW: Thurs: Spelling exercises, p. 57, 1-20, Unit 11

Tues: 11/09 Third Biography response. Finish book.

Weds: 11/17 Final Biography Project

---