Word Study Unit 1

From now on - you only have to fill in your personal reading log daily!

Important:

MAP Makeup sessions are scheduled in the Library after school on Tuesday, September 3 and Wednesday, September 4 from 3:00pm - 4:15pm.- If you missed a session, or need to finish a test -MAKE SURE- you attend on one of these days.

H/W
Bring your Wordstudy Test sheet to class tomorrow: Signed!
Remember - you only have to look at the questions on the sheet that you made an error on.
www.socrative.com Room # m325

Mentor Text: Reading Response 

 In the beginning of the book, "The Dead and the Gone," by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Alex lived a normal life.  He had friends, a family, and he was always winning school competitions.  But all of that changed when the moon was hit by a meteor.  The moon was pushed towards the earth, causing millions of natural disasters all over the world.  And meanwhile, his parents are gone and he has to take care of his two sisters. The premise of the story is based on the moon crisis, and how Alex deals with this change.

    Alex proves to be a bold, responsible, and short-tempered guardian.  At first, Alex believes that his parents and his older brother are alive and about.  But after months of waiting, and no phone calls, he begins to lose hope. Meanwhile, his younger sister Bri, is filled with faith in Christ, and that He is always watching over us.  Bri turns out to be a rather optimistic girl, but her bright side is also her flaw.  She is unable to see reality. But, Julie, Alex's younger sister, is the first to lose hope.  She no longer believes in Him. This too is Julie's flaw. She has no faith whatsoever, which only makes her life more unhappy. Alex, on the other hand, is actually a very confused child.  When Julie says to him, "Look me in the eye and tell me that Mami and Papi are alive," he can't.  Alex doesn't know what to believe.  Are his parents really alive?  But this confusion proves to be a roadblock for him, his nights are haunted every night with these thoughts.  Is my family alive? Or are they dead? Is God really there, watching over us? These thoughts confuse him and make it much harder for him to understand his sisters and for him to be able to protect them. The only thing Alex is sure of is that he needs to protect his sisters.

    Susan Beth Pfeffer's story ends up being about a confused boy in a confused world.  Her message in this story is that if you don’t work hard, you’ll never succeed.  To be honest, I completely agree with this message, because if you want to achieve your goals in life, you’ll have to work hard for it.  This moral reminds me of the book, “Kira-Kira,” because in this family, the parents have fallen into depression, the older sister is extremely ill, and the younger sister is forced to persevere and work hard to take care of her family.  Overall, "The Dead and the Gone" was a very enjoyable book, but a bit on the dark side.  If I were ever able to speak to Alex I'd tell him to just hang in there and just keep pushing.

Being organized is 'key' this week. Make sure you are well prepared for the week's learning.

If you need help on how to put your images slideshow onto your blog, use this link. (Thanks Jordan for finding this!)

• Tuesday - Your Life Slide show- Due
• Wednesday - Naive Narrative - In class Reading Response (make sure you have read the story BEFORE class and identified any red flag moments). You will have 30minutes to write about the NARRATOR: Link to Story
• Thursday -Subjects and Predicates practice worksheets 1+2 (Due - These will be given out Tuesday)
• Bring your most favorite song to class - It must be something that is at least 2 years old (you can just tab it on youtube)
• Friday - 1st Graded Reading Response Due - Will you be prepared?
• Friday- 'Reading Ladder' Self Evaluation - More on Wednesday
• When preparing for Friday's first reading response, how many of these categories will you include?

The reading response will receive 4 grades (x1 reading grade - ideas and x3 writing grades - craft, structure, conventions).

The Reading Response Rubric is attached here (coming soon)

Inspired by an Object: Student Mentor Texts

"Will I get an 'A' in writing?"

This might be something many of you ask in the next few weeks - Look at these samples below and see if you can answer your own question.

Look how this student builds the mood of the piece through the description of setting

Look how this student draws you slowly into the purchase of the special object

Want to know who these writers are? - Ask around...hopefully - YOU will be here next week!

Now how does your writing from Friday's class compare?

Always ask...what are these writers doing that I can imitate?

In 11 days, you will be submitting your first piece for grading! What grade will you be getting?

Win Sigma $$$ for leaving a comment for these writers.

Weekly Reflection

Important:

MAP Makeup sessions are scheduled in the Library after school on Tuesday, September 3 and Wednesday, September 4 from 3:00pm - 4:15pm.- If you missed a session, or need to finish a test -MAKE SURE- you attend on one of these days.

Will you be able to bring your memory to life with words?

We covered a lot of new content this week.

Advanced Subjects and Predicates
Ways to Generate ideas for Memoirs
The naif (naive) narrative
M.A.P. Tests

My recommendation is that you practice your subjects and predicates here. You will be expected to incorporate these into your writing going forward. We will have a quiz on this topic on Friday Sept 6th

Be prepared - We step up the pace of learning next week!

• Monday - Unit 1 Wordstudy Test
• Tuesday - Your Life Slide show- Due
• Wednesday - Naive Narrative - In class Reading Response (make sure you have read the story BEFORE class and identified any red flag moments). You will have 30minutes to write about the NARRATOR: Link to Story
• Thursday -Subjects and Predicates practice worksheets 1+2 (Due - These will be given out Tuesday)
• Bring your most favorite song to class - It must be something that is at least 2 years old (you can just tab it on youtube)
• Friday - 1st Graded Reading Response Due - Will you be prepared?
• Friday- 'Reading Ladder' Self Evaluation - More on this next week!

The Flawed Narrator

Today, we introduced the concept of the 'flawed narrator'. This is another technique we can start to  use to discuss the stories we read.

What kind of character is the narrator of your story? - Use these prompts to build your opinion

e.g. Sample introductory reading response

       

Everything Will Be Ok by James Howe tells the delicate tale of a young boy  who finds an abandoned kitten in the woods at the end of her street. The young boy, the narrator, demonstrates his innocence and naivety throughout the story but grows in strength as the tale unfolds.

      Clearly the narrator knows the difference between kindness and unkind acts from the onset; he decides to rescue the kitten upon finding it. However,  he still plays with  Daniel or Claude just because they, "...live at the end of the street" (p.247).

     Naming the kitten he finds is a clear example of how the narrator shows only a partial understanding of the events.  His mistaken assumption is that her parents will automatically allow him to keep the kitten... (what else could you say about this narrator?)

Word Study Study Guide: Test is Next MONDAY

Don't forget:  Tomorrow, you need to bring an object or a picture of an object that holds special significance to you.

"To write a life is to live it twice..."

The learning has started. We have begun!

A lot of new content covered today!
Grammar Recap:
Could you name the four advanced subjects and give examples if asked?
Can you use these advanced subjects in your descriptive writing going forward?

Mining Ideas for Memories
H/W Create you own 'slideshow of powerful memories' - Make sure the images you choose each hide a story. Minimum 20 images. Embed your finished product into your blog. Ask me if you need help with this
I opened up...so many stories behind these images....so must YOU!


Expectations: A minimum of 20 images - If you don't have access to images or the ones you want alternatives might be: draw a sketch, use an image that is symbolic of your idea i.e. a picture of any house could represent your first home. A stock image from google might  represent one of your favorite toys.  Use  your creativity to 'mine for memories'

DUE: NEXT Tuesday






Shout out to...RIYA for her engaging writing piece: Notice how she has really tried hard to paly around with using advanced subjects.

Thursday - We will hear from the group winners of the book talks - so we can get a good idea of what a solid 'reading response' might sound like.

For FRIDAY - IMPORTANT! Bring an object that has special significance to you. If you cannot bring the object, bring a photo of the object

I am always available if you need additional help on any topics we cover in class!