This week we are reading, following your group's reading schedule, and using the computer lab to work on our characters' "social profiles." Originally, we were using www.myfakewall.com, but that has proven to be too buggy as of late. We are now using the tool, "Fakebook."
When you save, it is really important that you remember the URL address!! Write it down!!
Homework: (due this Friday) Have at least 10 posts in your character's social profile. See handouts for full requirements.
Once your profile is complete, post a link to it to the relevant blog below:
Ender's Game
Running Out of Time
Kindred
Z for Zachariah
A Break with Charity
Briar Rose
The DaVinci Code
Angels and Demons
Flowers for Algernon
Rash
War of the Worlds
Catching Fire
The Hunger Games
Fahrenheit 451
Watership Down
Into the Wild
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Literature Circles - Extreme-Challenge Level
Kindred, Octavia Butler: Dana,
a woman living in the 1970’s, is the main character of this book. At
the beginning of the book, she suddenly feels faint and is inexplicably
transported from her living room to another time and place, to a
riverbank where a young boy appears to be drowning. She saves the boy
and gives him CPR before she is suddenly returned to her living room.
As the book continues, she keeps getting taken from her life to rescue
this same boy, and can’t control when it happens. She soon finds out
that the boy lives on a southern plantation during the time slavery, and
as a black woman, must face the reality of being in that time and
place.
Note: This book has a high reading level, as it is found in the regular section of book stores, not the young adult section. It also jumps back and forth between time periods. This book contains some mature content (descriptions of violence).
Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes: The main character of this book is Charlie Gordon, a man with a very low IQ who is chosen to participate in an experimental surgery to increase his intelligence. The surgery was successfully tested on a lab mouse named Algernon, and Charlie becomes the first human test subject. The story is told from Charlie’s point of view as he writes progress reports to monitor his progress throughout the experiment. The surgery works and Charlie does, in fact, become smarter. But what price does he have to pay?
Note: At first, Charlie’s progress reports are filled with spelling and grammar mistakes. As his intelligence grows, so does his vocabulary and sentence structure, leading to a high reading level. This book contains some mature content (references to sexuality).
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury: In future America, a fireman isn't what it means today. Firemen of the future are charged with setting fires - specifically to burn all books for the good of humanity. The title refers to the temperature at which paper burns. Future America itself isn't what you'd be too familiar with, either. It's a place where lawlessness and total abandonment of self-control are the norms, and being an intellectual is outlawed. Anyone caught with a book is thrown into a mental hospital, and their possessions burned to the ground. The central character, Guy Montag, after seeing some people willingly die for their books, is a little uneasy with his job as a fireman, the life he leads, or the society he is a part of. He slowly joins the "outlaws" and becomes entangled in a war.
Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer: One of only two non-fiction choices on the list, this book tells the true story of Chris McCandless, who set out to survive in the Alaskan wilderness with very few supplies. In the early 1990s, when Chris graduated from college he gave all his money to charity, abandoned almost all his possessions, cut all ties with his upper-middle class family, and set out on a journey across the US. He eventually hitchhikes to Alaska, and walks out into the wilderness to try to survive on his own. Four months later, McCandless's body is found by a hunter after he died of starvation. Jon Krakauer investigates McCandles's life in an attempt to piece together the of story of his death, as well as to figure out what drove him to abandon a comfortable life in favor of such high-risk activities. Thanks to journals McCandless left behind and interviews with those who knew him, you hear the story of his fight to survive and get a glimpse into his mind-set.
Note: This book has a high reading level, as it is found in the regular section of book stores, not the young adult section. It also jumps back and forth between time periods. This book contains some mature content (descriptions of violence).
Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes: The main character of this book is Charlie Gordon, a man with a very low IQ who is chosen to participate in an experimental surgery to increase his intelligence. The surgery was successfully tested on a lab mouse named Algernon, and Charlie becomes the first human test subject. The story is told from Charlie’s point of view as he writes progress reports to monitor his progress throughout the experiment. The surgery works and Charlie does, in fact, become smarter. But what price does he have to pay?
Note: At first, Charlie’s progress reports are filled with spelling and grammar mistakes. As his intelligence grows, so does his vocabulary and sentence structure, leading to a high reading level. This book contains some mature content (references to sexuality).
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury: In future America, a fireman isn't what it means today. Firemen of the future are charged with setting fires - specifically to burn all books for the good of humanity. The title refers to the temperature at which paper burns. Future America itself isn't what you'd be too familiar with, either. It's a place where lawlessness and total abandonment of self-control are the norms, and being an intellectual is outlawed. Anyone caught with a book is thrown into a mental hospital, and their possessions burned to the ground. The central character, Guy Montag, after seeing some people willingly die for their books, is a little uneasy with his job as a fireman, the life he leads, or the society he is a part of. He slowly joins the "outlaws" and becomes entangled in a war.
Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer: One of only two non-fiction choices on the list, this book tells the true story of Chris McCandless, who set out to survive in the Alaskan wilderness with very few supplies. In the early 1990s, when Chris graduated from college he gave all his money to charity, abandoned almost all his possessions, cut all ties with his upper-middle class family, and set out on a journey across the US. He eventually hitchhikes to Alaska, and walks out into the wilderness to try to survive on his own. Four months later, McCandless's body is found by a hunter after he died of starvation. Jon Krakauer investigates McCandles's life in an attempt to piece together the of story of his death, as well as to figure out what drove him to abandon a comfortable life in favor of such high-risk activities. Thanks to journals McCandless left behind and interviews with those who knew him, you hear the story of his fight to survive and get a glimpse into his mind-set.
Literature Circles - Super-Challenge Level
Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins: The
main character of this book is Katniss, a 16-year-old girl who lives in
what used to be North America. Her father died when she was 11, and
she has been the head of her household ever since, supporting both her
mother and her younger sister, Prim. In the society that Katniss lives
in, it is tradition (and the law!) that two teenagers from each district
are randomly chosen each year to participate in the Hunger Games, a
televised competition where the kids fight each other for survival. The
winner gets to live a life of luxury (a far cry from the life of
poverty she is used to), but the losers all die. When Prim’s name is
chosen for the Hunger Games in the first chapter, Katniss volunteers to
take her place.
Briar Rose, Jane Yolen: Rebecca, the main character, is a young woman who has always felt a close connection to her grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor that refused to talk about her past. What she remembers most about her childhood is her grandmother’s telling of the story of Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty). Later, while on her deathbed, her grandmother again told the story, this time insisting that she was Briar Rose. Upon her grandmother’s death, Becca promises to travel to Europe and look into her grandmother’s mysterious past.
Z for Zachariah, Robert C. O’Brien: Ann Burden, a teenager who is the main character, thinks that she is the only person left after a nuclear war has made most of the United States uninhabitable due to radioactive contamination. Ann lives in a valley that has somehow escaped contamination, and has survived for a year by cultivating the valley and continuing the family's farm. In that year, she has often wished that she would find another person who survived--a wish that suddenly comes true when she sees a man enter the valley. As she watches him come closer, however, she begins to wonder if she will encounter friend or foe.
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card: Ender Wiggin is a young teen genius living in future. He has been selected by international military forces to be the savior of humanity against a second wave of invading bug-aliens who are bent on destroying the earth. He is sent to Battle School, a floating school in space, where he is trained with virtual reality games in combat techniques. Being the new kid in the school, and fairly young, he is picked on by several of his classmates, and has to fight hard to get respect. Fortunately, he learns quickly to become the best of the best. However, at the end of book, you are left wondering if he is a hero or a monster. If you like The Matrix, or District 9, or any of the Harry Potter movies/books, you will love this one.
Briar Rose, Jane Yolen: Rebecca, the main character, is a young woman who has always felt a close connection to her grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor that refused to talk about her past. What she remembers most about her childhood is her grandmother’s telling of the story of Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty). Later, while on her deathbed, her grandmother again told the story, this time insisting that she was Briar Rose. Upon her grandmother’s death, Becca promises to travel to Europe and look into her grandmother’s mysterious past.
Z for Zachariah, Robert C. O’Brien: Ann Burden, a teenager who is the main character, thinks that she is the only person left after a nuclear war has made most of the United States uninhabitable due to radioactive contamination. Ann lives in a valley that has somehow escaped contamination, and has survived for a year by cultivating the valley and continuing the family's farm. In that year, she has often wished that she would find another person who survived--a wish that suddenly comes true when she sees a man enter the valley. As she watches him come closer, however, she begins to wonder if she will encounter friend or foe.
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card: Ender Wiggin is a young teen genius living in future. He has been selected by international military forces to be the savior of humanity against a second wave of invading bug-aliens who are bent on destroying the earth. He is sent to Battle School, a floating school in space, where he is trained with virtual reality games in combat techniques. Being the new kid in the school, and fairly young, he is picked on by several of his classmates, and has to fight hard to get respect. Fortunately, he learns quickly to become the best of the best. However, at the end of book, you are left wondering if he is a hero or a monster. If you like The Matrix, or District 9, or any of the Harry Potter movies/books, you will love this one.
Literature Circles - Challenge Level
Rash, Peter Hautman:
The year is 2074 and Bo Marsten, the main character, is a teenager
living in the USSA (The United Safter States of America). In the name
of public safety, strict laws have been passed against anything that
could be deemed unsafe. No more fast food, (since it’s bad for your
health), can’t own a large dog, and ‘dangerous’ sports like football no
longer exist. When Bo’s temper gets him in trouble, he is sentenced to
manual labor and is sent to a juvenile detention center in the tundra.
What he finds there goes against everything he’s learned in the
safety-centered world he’s lived in all his life.
Note: This book contains some mature content (PG-13 language).
Heroes, Robert Cormier: Francis Cassavant, the main character, is 18 years old and has just returned home from fighting in the Vietnam War. He was discharged from the Army and given a medal of honor when he jumped on a grenade, saving the members of his platoon, but seriously disfiguring himself. In fact, his face is so disfigured that no one is hometown recognizes him, which is just the way he wants it. He has no family left in his hometown, and no reason to return, except for his quest for revenge. He is there looking for Larry LaSalle, a man he used to respect and admire, but now he fully intends to kill him when he finds him.
Note: This book jumps back and forth from the present to past as the story reveals what has led up to Francis’s hatred of Larry, and many of the chapters are told completely through flashbacks. This book contains some mature content (references to violence).
Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson: One of only two non-fiction choices on the list, this book tells the story of Greg Mortenson's quest to build schools throughout Pakistan. The book begins with Mortenson's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second-tallest summit. When he becomes ill after the climb, he finds himself in a small Pakinstani village where local residents help nurse him back to health. He promises to build them a school when he leaves, not realizing the challenges and dangers he will need to overcome to accomplish that goal. Mortenson begins to see that the key to overcoming the Taliban and fighting terrorism lies in education, and has made it life's work to help build schools throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan. Part inspiration, part adventure, this book documents his journey.
Note: This book contains some mature content (PG-13 language).
Heroes, Robert Cormier: Francis Cassavant, the main character, is 18 years old and has just returned home from fighting in the Vietnam War. He was discharged from the Army and given a medal of honor when he jumped on a grenade, saving the members of his platoon, but seriously disfiguring himself. In fact, his face is so disfigured that no one is hometown recognizes him, which is just the way he wants it. He has no family left in his hometown, and no reason to return, except for his quest for revenge. He is there looking for Larry LaSalle, a man he used to respect and admire, but now he fully intends to kill him when he finds him.
Note: This book jumps back and forth from the present to past as the story reveals what has led up to Francis’s hatred of Larry, and many of the chapters are told completely through flashbacks. This book contains some mature content (references to violence).
Running Out of Time, Margaret Peterson Haddix: Jessie
is a teenager living in the 1840's...or so she thinks. Jessie has begun
to realize that a few things in her community seem a little askew, but
she can't quite put her finger on what it is. It almost seems like the
adults are all keeping some kind of secret. When there is an outbreak
of diphtheria among the children in the community, Jessie's mother
reveals a surprise. The year is actually 1996 and the community they
live in is a tourist site. Since the "town" began, however, the creator
has begun to instill harsh rules against any modern conveniences,
including medicine, and has forbidden anyone from leaving. Jessie's
mother has decided to send her on a dangerous mission to the "outside"
world so that she can stop the outbreak and save the children of the
town.
Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson: One of only two non-fiction choices on the list, this book tells the story of Greg Mortenson's quest to build schools throughout Pakistan. The book begins with Mortenson's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second-tallest summit. When he becomes ill after the climb, he finds himself in a small Pakinstani village where local residents help nurse him back to health. He promises to build them a school when he leaves, not realizing the challenges and dangers he will need to overcome to accomplish that goal. Mortenson begins to see that the key to overcoming the Taliban and fighting terrorism lies in education, and has made it life's work to help build schools throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan. Part inspiration, part adventure, this book documents his journey.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Ropes Course / Science NECAPs Week
Hi Kids,
This week we have been talking about how prepositional phrases can act like either adverbs or adjectives (see the notes on the last post). Also, with you ropes course experience, there is a writing reflection that you must complete.
Homework: Prepositional Phrase Quiz is on Friday.
"Jumping Towards My Goal" Writing reflection due Monday.
2 pages single-spaced if hand-written. Must be legible, spell-checked, and edited.
1 page, double-spaced if typed.
It can be a long, expository paragraph, with a topic and concluding sentence, or heck, even a poem, as long as it has the requested information (see below).
Visual elements encouraged. Sensory details encouraged. English Prime encouraged.
Why did you choose this goal?
How is this goal important to your life?
How long have you had this goal?
What is involved in accomplishing this goal?
How will it feel to accomplish this goal?
What will accomplishing this goal look like?
How will accomplishing this goal affect your life?
What is your “support network” for accomplishing this goal?
What are the difficulties with this goal?
How is working on this goal like climbing the 50’ tree and jumping on to the zip-line?
*If you want to keep your goal from being displayed (if it’s too personal) please write “keep private” on the back.
This week we have been talking about how prepositional phrases can act like either adverbs or adjectives (see the notes on the last post). Also, with you ropes course experience, there is a writing reflection that you must complete.
Homework: Prepositional Phrase Quiz is on Friday.
"Jumping Towards My Goal" Writing reflection due Monday.
“Jumping Towards My Goal” Reflection (30 points)
2 pages single-spaced if hand-written. Must be legible, spell-checked, and edited.
1 page, double-spaced if typed.
It can be a long, expository paragraph, with a topic and concluding sentence, or heck, even a poem, as long as it has the requested information (see below).
Visual elements encouraged. Sensory details encouraged. English Prime encouraged.
Questions that should be answered:
Why did you choose this goal?
How is this goal important to your life?
How long have you had this goal?
What is involved in accomplishing this goal?
How will it feel to accomplish this goal?
What will accomplishing this goal look like?
How will accomplishing this goal affect your life?
What is your “support network” for accomplishing this goal?
What are the difficulties with this goal?
How is working on this goal like climbing the 50’ tree and jumping on to the zip-line?
Grading: An equal combination of:
Content/Length: The essay is long enough that it answers all the questions, and answers them in an engaging, interesting way.
Good Writing Techniques: the essay uses sensory details, strong verbs, good structure, and English Prime.
Well Edited and Presented: The writing has been well edited, and includes some visual elements…looks good enough to mount on the classroom wall.
| A | B | C | D | |
| Content/length | ||||
| Good writing techniques | ||||
| Well-edited and presented. |
*If you want to keep your goal from being displayed (if it’s too personal) please write “keep private” on the back.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
More on adverbs and adjectives
Today we took the assessments on our adverb and adjective knowledge! Your grades should be in Powerschool later tonight. Also, at the end of class, Mr. Stowell gave a stunning rendition to "The Mighty Prepositions Song". If you would like to memorize it, the lyrics are below. So far, only one kid from our pod has memorized it!
Homework: None.
Homework: None.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Adjectives and Adverbs
Today we took notes on adjectives and adverbs.
Two questions came up: Are there more nouns or adjectives in the English language? What are some words that end in -ly that aren't adverbs? Click on the links to find the answers.
Homework: Finish adverb exercises 6 and 7 for tomorrow.
Two questions came up: Are there more nouns or adjectives in the English language? What are some words that end in -ly that aren't adverbs? Click on the links to find the answers.
Homework: Finish adverb exercises 6 and 7 for tomorrow.
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