Book Share Handout

Some students have misplaced their handout for the book share. Here is a link to the copy they received:

Book Share
Book Share Marking Checklist

The questions on the Protagonist they have to answer are:

Book Title: __________________________
Author: ______________________________

Who is he/she? What makes him or her interesting?

What are his/her circumstances in life? (Residence, home life, occupation)

What is the protagonist "fighting" for? What is his or her main goal?

Who or what is in the way of him or her achieving this goal easily?

What key personality traits help the person in their efforts? (courage, perseverance, honesty, intelligence, friendliness, dedication,...) Explain how this quality helps him or her.

Read an excerpt (about a page) that focuses on some point that you are trying to make about the novel. It can be a character focus, the climax, or a description the is done in great detail.

Book Shares Start on Tuesday December 20

For parents that aren't sure what a Book Share is; it's what we used to call a book report. Students have been working on a book they have already read that they can share with the class for the last week. I've told them they will be marked on their written work as well as their presentations.

Written work should consist of:
Book Summary: (name of book)
Plot: Initial incident, Rising action (10-20 points), Climax, Falling Action, and Conclusion
Settings: Locations and time period of book
Conflict: Person vs. Person, Person vs. Society, etc. also provide detailed example of the conflict with the character names
Theme: What does the main character learn in the story and/or what moral is the author trying to illustrate

Character Sketch: Divide a white sheet of paper into six squares, in each square draw a yearbook picture of the character, write their name, a description of what they look like, six words that describe their personality.

Protagonist Study
This is on the last page of the hand-out that every student received. I will have it posted shortly so students can access it from home this weekend if they have forgotten it at school. The hand-out also includes what I will be marking on for the presentation.

STAY TUNED!

Welcome to Term 2!!! New Book forms!!!

I apologize for not getting my updates completed sooner. I will hopefully be able to start updating my blog more frequently now that my report cards are completed. Students will now have all book forms for the term in their duo-tang that they keep in the classroom. I'm still making them available online for students that are away for an extended period or want to complete a book form at home as soon as they are finished.

TERM 2 BOOK FORMS
Term 2 Book Form Expectations
Term 2 Book Form Package (7 available book forms)

Editing and Good Copy of Big Fish Tale

GOOD COPY OF YOUR STORY IS DUE TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22

Editing
-Read the work out loud or have someone else read the work out loud
-Does the story make sense and have a clear beginning, middle, and end?
-Are all four figures of speech present?

Grammar and Spelling
-Are there any spelling mistakes?
-Are there capitals and periods?
-Have number one-ten been written and 11-1,000,000,000,000 written like this example?
-Are the commas and apostrophes used correctly?
-Was the correct homonym used? Examples are where, were, wear, or through, threw, knew, new

For the good copy of the Big Fish Tale I've asked students to:
-Type/Handwrite/Print Good copy
-Double Space their work
-Identify with highlighter the four figures of speech

Term 1 Book Forms Due DECEMBER 8

We are quickly approaching the end of the term. All six Book Forms are due December 8. Please see my previous posting for the expectations and sheets if students need to print them out to complete them at home. Book forms count as 10% of every students LA mark.

Editing and Writing

Students will work on editing and improving their Big Fish tales by working in partners and going through their own writing. I'm attaching some handouts on similes, personification, alliteration and onomatopoeia, and capitalization that they will be receiving in class today. Students will begin receiving small writing pieces to edit for marks this week. The editing pieces come from the Education World Website.

Grammar and Figures of Speech handouts
Everyday Edits

"Big Fish" Tale

Students were to have their rough copy of their Big Fish Tale written for today. They are now to go back into their story and add the following:

Figures of Speech:
1 Simile- a direct comparison using like or as
1 Personification- giving human characteristics to inanimate objects or animals
1 Onomatopoeia- a word resembling a sound
1 Hyperbole- an extreme exaggeration

This rough copy is due tomorrow. The story should be no more that two pages in length double-spaced. They should highlight the four figures of speech they used.

Homework update 8-22

Today in 8-22 Language Arts class students began writing their "Big Fish" tales. They are to write an exaggerated tale of something that has happened to them in their real lives. The assignment rough copy should be completed according to these guidelines and is due tomorrow at the beginning of class.

First Draft of Big Fish tale
- Double spaced
- Who is the story about?
- Where did it happen?
- When did it happen?
- what events occurred?
- Why did this event happen?
- Should be between one-two pages in length

If the student has a lot of writing to do tonight it is an indicator of what they were or were not doing in class today. Students will be calling home tomorrow to explain to you if they are not finished their homework.

"Big Fish" Tale

Last week we watched the movie "Big Fish". Following the movie students have been asked to fill in a comparison chart on the exaggeration of characters and the reality of them. They have begun exaggerating events that have happened in their own lives but are based on reality. following their brainstorming they will be writing their exaggerate "Big Fish" Tales this week in class.

Here is a link what the students have been working on:
Big Fish

Silk Road Update

8-22 finished the questions 6-12 they are due tomorrow, students who were finished began the vocabulary activity for the "Road to Cathay" -story of Marco Polo.

8-26 Finished the vocabulary yesterday so today we brainstormed what the characteristics of a merchant and began working on the character they are creating for their final Silk Road Merchant's journal activity. We will continue writing the journal tomorrow in class.

Silk Road Activity *UPDATED!*

We have been working on the Silk Road cross-curricular activity for the last week. Students were split up into different cities/countries along the Silk Road, they were asked to create the goods that came from that region. They were then asked to trade with neighbouring countries to get more goods. This is what happened during the time of the Renaissance. Students have been completing questions following that activity. 8-26 has read the story in class and 8-22 will be reading the story following answering the questions. There is an journal writing activity following the story that we will begin next week.

GREAT INTERACTIVE WEBSITE ON THE SILK ROAD

Here is a link to the handouts that students have received:
Regions of the Silk Road
Text book page to answer questions 6-12
Silk Road Activity Booklet
Vocabulary for Marco Polo Story

Book Forms

I've spoken to the class about book forms and how their marks will be awarded. 10% of their mark will come from their book forms and teacher observation. I've provided students with printable links below.

Term 1 reading expectations
Fiction Book Form
Non-Fiction Book Form

Week of October 3-6 Mad stories

This week we have been working on our Mad stories, students had to write portions of each others stories with very little knowledge of what the person before them had written. They have now assembled their stories and have gotten into groups and shared them. I've asked them to get into groups of 3-5 students and perform their story. They are not allowed to use props, they have to use the people in their group as props, each person is to have an equal part in the group. Presentations will happen early next week.

8-26 begin presenting on Tuesday October 11
8-22 begin presenting on Wednesday October 12

Update

We have spent the last several classes on the Jabberwocky poem. Yesterday both classes orally presented their own remix of the poem to the class. I have updated the LA marks on our school website. Please email me if you do not know your child's password.

Jabberwocky Poem

Today in class we discussed:

Adjectives: describe nouns
examples: Green, happy, messy, short, furry
Adverbs: Describe an action, usually ends in ly
examples: quickly, modestly, stupidly
Nouns: Person, place, or thing
examples: cat, Calgary, school, boy
Verb: Action words
examples: run, jump, skip

We read some Mad libs where students had to provide words to fill in the blanks to create a nonsense story. If you would like to see them or play them online you can visit:
Mad libs

We read the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll students were asked to identify the adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and verbs and replace them to create a poem that made sense.

Link to handout:
Jabberwocky Poem and handout

Summer Poem and Library Days

The due dates for your poem based on the "Summer" poem we read in class this week (Available in previous blog post)are listed below. The good copy should be on white paper, between 15-20 lines long and be illustrated and coloured by hand:

"Summer" Poem
8-26 Due Friday September 15
8-22 Due Monday September 19

LIBRARY DAYS
8-22 GOES TO THE LIBRARY ON DAY 2 PERIOD 3
8-26 GOES TO THE LIBRARY ON DAY 5 PERIOD 2

Monday September 12

This week I've assigned a "Get to Know You" handout for students.
For the next couple days we will be working on the poem "What Shall I Pack?"

Links to Handouts:
Get to Know You
Get to Know You Page 2
What Should I Pack? Poem

A-Z Story

On Tuesday with 8-26 and Wednesday with 8-22 we began writing a short story. Each sentence of the story was to begin in order with the letters of the alphabet.

8-26 A-Z Story is due Wednesday September 7
8-22 A-Z Story is due Thursday September 8

Here is a link to the handout if needed:
A-Z Story Handout

Welcome Students and Parents!

I have created this blog for you to find out information pertaining to students in Language Arts 8-22 and 8-26 for the 2011-2012 school year. My plans are to provide frequent updates on homework, assignments, projects, quizzes, and tests. Please feel free to email me at dlreiffenste@cbe.ab.ca if you have any further questions.