ENGLISH 7

Classwork: On Climate Control in The Giver.  Chapter 11.

Weds: Planner check and hand in check-in sheet for credit

         Thurs: Mug shot, grammar packet misplaced modifiers, Spelling exercises and post-test Unit 17

        Fri: Last day of school. Winter Break! Yay!

ENGLISH 8

Handed in 2nd response, The Pearl.

QW:  Write reaction. Yours. To the ending of The Pearl. Was it satisfying? Did it make sense? Would you want to read more John Steinbeck? Which character moved you the most and helped you to learn empathy -- the power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person's feelings. Why?

Reviewed Chapters 5 and 6 Pearl questions. Talked about the ending. Who was responsible for Coyotito's death? Does Steimbeck make that clear?

HW: Weds: Multiple Choice test The Pearl. Study your reader's chapter responses, vocabulary, notes on John Steinbeck, literary terms to know. Not open book.

Thurs: In-class, timed essay The Pearl

ENGLISH 7

 o     Spelling pretest Unit 17. Exercises and test on Thursday, not Friday

o     New grammar packet, due Thursday, an incredibly short and easy one.

QW:  When he had been a Four and waiting for the midday meal at school, Jonas had said, “I’m starving.” He had been taken aside for a brief lesson in language precision. He was hungry. He was not starving. To say he was starving was to speak an unintentional lie.

Your QW assignment:

*Make a list of five common exaggerations—starting with It’s freezing in here—that you have

heard.  Do you think of the exaggerations on your list as lies? Why or why not?  What are some examples of “polite lies,” or acceptable? When does a statement cross the line and become a full-fledged lie? An example?

o     Discussed recent chapters from the Giver.

HW: Tues: Read chapters 11, 12, 13

        Weds: Planner check and hand in check-in sheet for credit

         Thurs: Mug shot, grammar packet misplaced modifiers, Spelling exercises, p. 83, 1-20 and post-test Unit 17

        Fri: Last day of school. Winter Break! Yay!

ENGLISH 8

 Chapter 6 questions checked in.

 Finished Chapter 4 Fishbowl. Discussed: Your comments on Fishbowl work.

In groups of 3 to 4, discussed: Chapters 5 and 6. We will come back on Tuesday and go over these as a class, and I will pick the  "experts" to present.  

HW: Tues: The Pearl Second Response due. Remember if you did a graphic, only a written response accepted this time. If you have read the book and kept up with reader's responses and class discussion, this will not be a difficult test.

Weds: Multiple Choice test The Pearl. 

Thurs: In-class, timed essay The Pearl 

 Fri: Last day of school for 2010. Winter Break. Yay!

ENGLISH 7

Reviewed and checked in Spelling Unit 16, exercises 1-20, p. 79. Completed post-test

Handed out: Vocabulary Set two. Using your novel, pick four of the words. e the sentence they are found in the novel. Write another sentence of your own, using the word properly. Classwork.

QW: Is it possible to keep all the same friends year after year? Why or why not? Is it possible for one or two best friends to enjoy a lifelong relationship? Explain your thinking. 

 Get study questions for Chapters 8, 9 and 10.

HW: Monday, read Chapters 8, 9 and 10. Use study guide questions to help. 

ENGLISH 8

QW: "This pearl has become my soul. If I give it up, I shall lose my soul." From Chapter 5. Write for at least five minutes. Be inspired. Anything. Just write. 

 Checked in Chapter 5 questions.

Quite nearly but not completely finished Fishbowl, Chapter 4

 

Mon: Finish book, read chapter 6 and complete questions. Two sides to this one.

Tues: The Pearl Second Response due

Weds: Multiple Choice test The Pearl

Thurs: In-class, timed essay The Pearl

ENGLISH 7

 Mugshot checked in and reviewed (New check-in sheet)

Listened to Chapter 7. Discussed and handed in Acknowledging Differences paragraphs.

HW: Friday: 

Spelling Unit 16, exercises 1-20, p. 79 and post-test

ENGLISH 8
Handed in First Response

Finishing Fishbowl presentations for Chapters 3/4.

HW:    Fri: Chapter 5, read and complete questions

Mon: Chapter 6 and complete questions

Tues: The Pearl Second Response due

Weds: Multiple Choice test The Pearl

Thurs: In-class, timed essay The Pearl 

ENGLISH 7

Planners checked. 

No new grammar packet this week due to technical difficulties.

Classtime to work on Acknowledging Differences paragraphs. Due tomorrow.

HW: Thurs: Acknowledging Differences paragraphs. 20 points

Mugshot week 14 

Fri: Spelling Unit 16, exercises 1-20, p. 79 and post-test.

ENGLISH 8

Fishbowl presentations, Chapters 3 and 4

Turned in Chapter 4 questions in your class basket at the end of class. I will give them back to you on Thursday.

Handout Chapter 5 questions. (Due Friday)

HW: Thurs: The Pearl First Response ***DUE TOMORROW***

        Fri: Chapter 5, read and complete questions

ENGLISH 7
Time to read Chapters 5, 6 and 7. Study guide questions handed out, to use while you are reading.


 Acknowledging Differences assignment handed out. Two paragraphs due Thursday.

HW: Weds: Planner check. Read Chapters 5, 6 & 7. Use handout questions as a guide.
Thurs: Write two paragraphs about two of the questions on the Differences handout. Mugshot week 14. Fri: Spelling test and exercises, Unit 16, 1-20, p. 79. Grammar Packeet # 11.

ENGLISH 8

Worked on Fishbowl, expert group presentations of Pearl questions. Begins Weds.

HW: Weds:  Be ready for Fishbowl discussion of Chapters 3 and 4.  Bring in work for 1^st response in case there is time. Read Chapter 5. Questions due Friday

 Thurs: 12/09: First response due. May have time to work on Ch. 5 questions in class on Thursday.
 Fri: 12/10: Read and Chapter 5 questions due

ENGLISH 7

Spelling pretest Unit 16.
New grammar packet handed out on Tuesday.

The Giver: Review comfort object organizer
Discuss Chapters 3 and 4

HW: Tues: Go over vocabulary Set 1. For any 10 of the words you want, find the vocabulary word in the chapter. Write down the exact passage where you found it. Now write your own sentence.
Begin reading Chapters 5 and 6

Weds: Planner check
Thurs: Mugshot week 14 and grammar packet #11
Fri: Spelling test and exercises, Unit 16, 1-20, p. 79

ENGLISH 8
Completed surprise quiz on Chapter 3.

Opening paragraph:   A town is a thing like a colonial animal. A town has a nervous system and a head and shoulders and feet. A town is a thing separate from all other towns, so that there are no two towns alike. And a town has a whole emotion. How news travels through a town is a mystery not easily to be solved. News seems to move faster than small boys can scramble and dart to tell it, faster than women can call it over the fences.

QW: Now, think about how this might apply to the town you live in or how it applies to our school. How is Twin Hills like a place separate and distinct from other schools? What distinguishes it? What is the Twin Hills personality? Does news travel fast? Does gossip trap you and define you? How do you combat gossip?

Got guided reading handouts for Chapter 4. Read Chapter 4 and complete questions for Tuesday.

HW: Tues: Read and Qs for Ch. 4
 Weds: Read Chapter 5. Questions due Friday. Bring in work for 1^st response.
 Thurs: 12/09: First response due. Can work on Ch. 5 questions in class on Thursday.
 Fri: 12/10: Read and Chapter 5 questions due

 Mon: 12/13: Read chapter 6 (finish book) and questions due.
 Tues: 12/14: Second response due

ENGLISH 7

Reviewed and took test, Spelling exercises Unit 15

QW: How far back can you remember? What is that memory? How would you feel if you were told all your memories would be erased, and memories would be assigned to you? (In your writer's notebooks.) 

Started discussion on Chapters 1 and 2 of The Giver.  

In Chapter 2, the community's Newchildren were given comfort objects when they were born. When each child became an eight, such things were no longer necessary, and the object was taken away. As infants, most children in our society willingly and firmly attach themselves to toys or objects, such as blankets. In many cases, the relationship lasts well past the age of eight. We tend to carry the idea of comfort objects with us as we get older and grow into adulthood, although we prefer to think of them as “prized possessions” for the sake of perceived maturity. At times, some of us manage to surround ourselves with mountains of cluttered comfort.

Write about comfort objects, using the graphic organizer.

HW: Monday. Read Chapters 3 and 4. Use handout questions as a study guide. 

Finish comfort object graphic.. 

English 8

QW: "It is not good to want a thing too much. Sometimes it drives the luck away" -- John Steinbeck, The Pearl. Think. Write for 5 to 10 minutes.

Continued our grand conversation about Chapters 1 and 2, The Pearl.  

Chapter 2 Worksheet checked in. Chapter 3 worksheets distributed. Finish for Monday and read Chapter 3. There are two sides to the Chapter 3 worksheet. 

HW:    Mon: 12/06: Read and Qs for Ch. 3, due Monday.

    Tues: Read and Qs for Ch. 4

    Weds. Read Chapter 5. Questions due Friday. Bring materials to class to work on 1^st response.

    Thurs 12/09: First response due. Can work on Ch. 5 questions in class on Thursday.

Coming up:

    Fri: 12/10:  Read and Chapter 5 questions due

    Mon: 12/13: Read chapter 6 (finish book) and questions due.

    Tues: 12/14: Second response due

 

ENGLISH 7

Mugshot and Grammar Packet #10 checked in.

Utopias! Let's share ours.

 (Utopia, noun - an ideal place or state.  Dystopia, noun -- a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression,disease, and overcrowding; an imaginary place where everything is as bad as it can be.) Let's see whether the world of The Giver is a dystopia or a utopia.

 The Giver. Chapter 1. First, filled in the short answer questions. Complete sentences, as always. Then we talk! On Friday, along with Chapter 2.

Handed out Giver Vocabulary worksheets Chapters 1-4. 

HW: Fri: Spelling exercises and test, Unit 15, 1-20, p.75

Read Chapter 2 of The Giver.  Be ready for discussion and/or quiz.

English 8

QW: What is the hardest thing in life you’ve ever had to do? Write for 5 minutes. Complete sentences. If you can’t think of something you had to do, think of the hardest thing you might have to do.

Pearl Vocabulary worksheet, Chapter 1. Drop it in the basket.

Got worksheet for Chapter 2.

In the style of a Grand Conversation, began to present findings on Chapter 1. 

HW:   Fri. 12/03: Read Chapter 2 and complete questions

           Start working on response ideas.

       

  Coming up: Mon: 12/6: Read Chapter 3 and complete questions

   Tues: 12/07: Read chapter 4 and complete questions

    Thurs: 12/09 First Response Due. Can work on Chapter 5 questions in class on Thursday.

     Fri: 12/10: Read and complete Chapter 5 questions

   

Mon: 12/13: Read Chapter 6 (finish book) and questions due

    Tues: 12/14: Second response due 

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Google Docs -- Web word processing, presentations and spreadsheets.

 

ENGLISH 7

In groups, finished creating the perfect community. Presented yours.
In preparation for The Giver, the class-created utopias were incredible. Who wouldn't want to live there.

 Here are some examples: Fuzzy Lump Community, where everything is shared and free; Happy Lane, where everyone is nice and smiles and people only remember the good times; Fairytopia, where people don't think about the past and everyone has the same amount of power.

Got books! The Giver. Name inside.

 HW:   Thurs: Mugshot and Grammar Packet #10. Read Chapter 1, The Giver. Expect a quiz or at the very least, a class discussion.

          Fri: Spelling exercises and test, Unit 15, 1-20, p.75

ENGLISH 8

The Pearl response assignments. Handed out. Discussed.First response due Thurs., 12/09

Checked in Chapter 1 worksheet and broke into groups to discuss questions in a "Grand Conversation" style How we talk about literature in group setting.

Group 1: Qs 1-7       Group 2: Qs 8-14

Group 3: Qs 15-21   Group 4: Qs 22-28

Group 5: Qs 29-35

After discussed assigned questions, using the Grand Conversation strategy, predicted what you think will happen in the next few chapters of The Pearl. Also, came up with a title for Chapter 1 that reflects something about what happened, the characters, or the setting, or all three.

HW: Thurs: Pearl Vocabulary worksheet, Chapter 1. Start working on response ideas.

         Vocabulary worksheet for Chapter 1

    Fri. 12/03: Read Chapter 2 and complete questions

  Coming up:  Mon: 12/6: Read Chapter 3 and complete questions

   Tues: 12/07: Read chapter 4 and complete questions

    Thurs: 12/09 First Response Due. Can work on Chapter 5 questions in class on Thursday.

     Fri: 12/10: Read and complete Chapter 5 questions

   

Mon: 12/13: Read Chapter 6 (finish book) and questions due

    Tues: 12/14: Second response due