Thursday, November 29, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

The Outsiders Reader Response Journal (Entry #4)

Chapters Three and Four are action-packed! We know Ponyboy is the narrator of The Outsiders, but how would the events of these two chapters be presented from the point of view of either Bob or Johnny?  Pretend you are either Bob or Johnny, then rewrite the scene in the park in first person, present tense. Think about what might be going through their minds as the scene unfolds. Both are thinking about more than just the violence that gets played out in the park. Are they thinking about their friends? Their families? The other social group? What are their emotions throughout the scene? Retell the story from Bob or Johnny's point of view!

Be sure to type your work.

This assignment should be the FOURTH entry in your Reader Response Journal for The Outsiders.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012 -- Day Mrs. Smith was absent

Tonight's Homework...

The Outsiders Reader Response Journal (Entry #3)
Please prepare typewritten answers for these three questions:

1. At the drive-in Dallas harasses Cherry and Marcia. How is this choice of amusement a reflection of his character?
2. Ponyboy and Dallas are shocked when Johnny orders Dallas to leave Cherry alone. What motivates Johnny to give the order? Why does Dallas obey him?
3. Evaluate (tell me) why Cherry and Ponyboy communicate rather openly despite the gap in their social positions.

This assignment should be the THIRD entry in your Reader Response Journal for The Outsiders.

Coming Attractions:

• We spent all of September, October and some of November studying the structure and organization of writing. We will have a TEST on WRITING  during class on Friday, 11/30. You will be provided a reading selection. After you read the selection, we will ask you to find the "parts of the house." You will consider questions like...

"Where is the thesis located?"
"What is the topic?"
"What is the thesis?"
"Identify the topic sentence of body paragraph ___."
 "Identify the transitions."
"Does the author have an introduction technique?"
"Does the author have a conclusion technique?"

This will be the first TEST of the trimester two!

 

 

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

1.) The Outsiders Reader Response Journal (Entry #2):

Answer the following FIVE QUESTIONS in complete sentences and paragraphs:

1. With what social group does Ponyboy identify himself from the first paragraph of the book? How is he like the others in his group? How is he different from his peer group?

2. Tell about Ponyboy's family. Who are his family members and what are they like? What is Pony?s relationship with each of his brothers?

3. Who are the other members of Pony's social group? Describe each person.

4. When Cherry said, "Things are rough all over," what did she mean?

5. You just met Ponyboy, what do you like about him? What do you not like about him? Would you want to be his friend? Why or why not?

This assignment should be SECOND entry in your Reader Response Journal for The Outsiders.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

1.) The Outsiders Reading Response Journal (Entry #1):
Throughout our study of S.E. Hinton's 1967 novel The Outsiders, we will post writing prompts on this blog designed to help you think deeply about the book. It is your job to keep all of your journal entries organized in your binder. We will be collecting them all at the end of our novel study.

Let's begin our journal writing tonight with the two prompts below.

• What is conformity? (Please see this link: http://www.simplypsychology.org/conformity.html). What are the costs and benefits of conformity or nonconformity to a peer group? How do we measure these costs and benefits?
• How does a person's relationship with his or her peers affect the kind of person he or she will become?

Each response should be...
- Typewritten
- Roughly half page in length
- Demonstrating your best writing ability (no MUG errors, complete sentences, supporting details and specific examples).

This assignment should be the FIRST entry in your Reader Response Journal for The Outsiders.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Take the opportunity to spend time with people you care about, enjoy the weather, watch a famous film, read every day.

After this mini-vacation, we are switching gears... get ready for S.E. Hinton's famous American novel, THE OUTSIDERS.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

1.) Finish your first Fry Challenge:
- Read "Life Among the Aztecs," using a stopwatch to track your reading time. This  Online Stopwatch is a good one to use.
- Immediately after you finish reading, record your final reading time.
- Now, test yourself to see how much information you remember from the reading by answering the three sets of questions (Comprehension, Maze, and Vocabulary) attached to the reading packet. Do not look back at the reading! The goal of the exercise is to determine how much information you can accurately recall from the reading.
- Tomorrow: We will calculate your reading speed. We will also correct your three sets of questions to calculate your accuracy rate.

2.) Twenty-Minute Habit, Log.
(Considering what we learned today about what is possible when we improve our reading speed, maybe it's time to increase your daily habit?)

This graphic is based on...

- 60-minute daily habit

- Six days per week

- Books roughly 70,000 words in length

Friday, November 16, 2012

FALL 2012 "I PLEDGE" EXHIBITION...

 

OUTSTANDING EFFORT FROM MOST!

EDUCATIONAL!

CREATIVE!

MEMORABLE!

PROFESSIONAL AND ORIGINAL APPEARANCE!

FUN!

PEER EVALUATIONS YOU PREPARED FOR OCEAN STUDENTS WERE SPECIFIC, SINCERE, AND ACCURATE!
 

THANK YOU, EVERYBODY!

Exhibition grades are in MMS.
If you have questions about your score, see Mrs. Smith for details.

HAVE A SUPERB WEEKEND!
Museum of Science on Monday... my P.A. = tie-dye shirts!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

IT'S SHOWTIME! Tomorrow is your day to shine!

1.) Exhibition Prep!

• Rehearse and finalize your Exhibition presentation.
• Find an adult.
• Share with them the goals of this "Exhibition" project.
• Present your products to the adult.
• Ask the adult...

"Do my products prove that I am an expert on my book?"

"Do my products persuade you that my book is valuable and worth reading?"

If the adult's answer is NO! to any of the questions, then do whatever it takes to improve the quality of your products.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

1.) Exhibition Prep!

• Rehearse and finalize your Exhibition presentation.
• Find an adult.
• Share with them the goals of this "Exhibition" project. 
• Present your products to the adult.
• Ask the adult...

"Do my products prove that I am an expert on my book?"

"Do my products persuade you that my book is valuable and worth reading?"

If the adult's answer is NO! to any of the questions, then do whatever it takes to improve the quality of your products.


Ocean Exhibition is tomorrow!
Let's be ready to enjoy the products of Mr. Hurley's students. When you see high-quality work, offer that student praise and support! It's not easy to go first. Be the type of audience you expect them to be on Friday. Please remember: other Ocean and River teachers are running their classes during our Exhibition; we need to keep the volume down in the pod on both days.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

1.) Exhibition Day is FRIDAY!
Tomorrow is your final in-class workshop session. As you did last Friday, please arrive tomorrow prepared to make excellent use of this valuable work time.

2. Twenty-Minute Habit, Log.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

1.) "I Pledge..." Exhibition

• In-class workshop time this Friday. Arrive to A101 prepared with any materials, books, technology, art supplies, etc., needed to use the entire class period well. This is a rare in-school opportunity to make progress on your products. No student will be allowed to sit at a desk doing nothing; students who arrive unprepared to use this workshop time well will be sent to the office for the period.
• River Exhibition day is  Friday, November 16.

2.) Word Attack: Sub- Super- Sur-
Quiz Tuesday

3.) Twenty-Minute Habit, Log.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

1.) Word Attack: Sub- Super- Sur-
Today's "spot-check" was underwhelming (in ALL blocks!), to say the least. Study, then come to school ready to prove it! Quiz Tuesday.

2.) "I Pledge..." Exhibition next Friday, November 16, 2012!
What are your 2-3 products? This is not a project you can throw together in a few P.A.'s. Challenge yourself to create an impressive body of work that...

• persuades us the book is valuable
• proves you are an expert on the book
• appears professional and free of errors.

3.) Twenty-Minute Habit, Log.
You can expect that logs will be checked prior to Thanksgiving break.

B-I-G night in Massachusetts and America!
Keep an eye on Election 2012! Let's see how the Massachusetts ballot questions #2 and #3 shake out, the Massachusetts Senatorial race, and -- of course --  who wins THE WHITE HOUSE!


www.mittromney.com

www.barackobama.com

Monday, November 5, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

1.) Word Attack: Sub-Super-Sur-
Quiz Tuesday (Monday is a long weekend)

2.) Fall 2012 "I Pledge... " Exhibition
"I Pledge... Fall 2012 Exhibition" Instructions
(Rubrics and instruction handouts were issued in class today, but the rubrics might not be attached to this digital file. See Mrs. Smith or Mr. Hurley if you need another paper copy.) You must devote time each evening, beginning TONIGHT, in order to meet the deadline for this project:

Thursday, November 15 = Ocean Exhibition
Friday, November 16 = River Exhibition

3.) Twenty- Minute Habit, Log.

Coming Attractions:
Expect a series of assessments in the coming week on the topics of essay structure, transitions, outlining, etc.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

1.) Essay #5: My goal
All evidence due MONDAY! Make it your best work yet! Remember: we're using the MCAS scoring guide to evaluate this one, so smart kids will remember to compare their work to the scoring guide and make any necessary improvements before Monday.

2.) Conclusions Practice:
Please arrive Monday with yet another new conclusion for "American Dream?" This time your SIZZLE is... "connect to the reader's life, experience, or emotion." Remember: all quality conclusions...

- Restate the thesis in different words.
- Review the main points.
- Show Some Sizzle!!

3.) "I Pledge" Fall Exhibition
As explained in class today, our grade seven "I Pledge" Exhibition will take place this month. More details on this major assignment will be given early next week, but you should begin thinking this weekend about which one of your "I Pledge" books you would like to present at your exhibition.

Mr. Hurley's Ocean students will present on November 20, 2012.
Mrs. Smith's River students will present on November 21, 2012.

4.) Twenty-Minute Habit, Log


Enjoy this first weekend in November. I can smell the turkey already...

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Tonight's Homework...

1.) MUGS Week #5: Finish your entire study guide with the reductions made in class today. Remember: "five sentences" reduces to two; "three sentences" reduces to one. Quiz tomorrow.

2.) Essay #5: My goal
You should be finalizing your outline and beginning to draft.
All evidence due Monday.

3.) Save all conclusions work for "American Dream?"
We will face-off after tomorrow's MUGS quiz.

4.) Twenty-Minute Habit, Log.


What was your reaction to ...
The 2009 MCAS student sample composition presented in class today? Were you surprised that a seventh grader wrote an essay of that quality? Ask yourself: How likely are you to produce an essay like that one? What one thing can you do NOW to prepare yourself to write a grandslam essay on 3/19/13 that compares to today's student model?