Summer Reading Suggestions

What are your top three favorite novels that you have read recently?  Explain a little bit about why, providing a brief snapshot about the story without giving too much of it away. 

THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC NUMBER 2

Why do you think Hannah (Chaya) is starting to lose sight of what is reality and what is not?  Why may this become a problem for her?  Explain.

The Devil's Arithemetic Chapters 1-4

As we read through Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic, answer the following in complete sentences...

1.) Hannah is a young girl, around your age...in what ways can you relate to her? Explain.

2.) Why did Grandpa Will get upset that Hannah wrote the the numbers on her arm? Explain.

Name that poetic device...

Your challenge is to find a song that exemplifies one of the following poetic devices:  metaphor, simile, or alliteration.   Write the verse(s) or stanza of the lyrics that best showcases this poetic device.  Be sure to give credit by posting the song's name and the artist as well.   Watch out for profanities!  Good luck!

The Power of Persuasion...Time to Shop!

Think of a time when you were persuaded to buy something.  What persuaded you to do this?  Was there a particular argument, fact, or strategy used by the advertising team that made the item more appealing to you? Why?  Discuss.  Feel free to make appropriate commentary on other posts. 

The wolf is innocent!

Wolf A. Wolfe has been accused of the ultimate crime in Fairytale Land...first degree pig slaughter.  However, your client, Wolf A. Wolfe feels like he was falsely accused of these horrific crimes. You were hired to convince the jury that Wolf  A. Wolfe  is NOT GUILTY!  Be sure to include a hook, specific persuading details, a powerful closing sentence, and remain on topic!    Good luck attorneys!

Can you persuade the jury that the Wolf is Guilty?

Wolf A. Wolfe has been accused of the ultimate crime in Fairytale Land... first degree pig-slaughter.   You are a prosecuter for the two slain pigs' brother, Frank A. Bacon. You were hired to convince the jury to convict Wolf  A. Wolfe of these horrendous crimes.  Be sure to include a hook, specific persuading details, a powerful closing sentence, and remain on topic!    Good luck attorneys!

Ides of March extention

Now that you have posted to the blog on the Ides of March.  Read the following article taken from the Washington Post.  Do you agree or disagree with the author?  Explain.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/beware-the-ides-of-march/2012/03/15/gIQAXEF5DS_blog.html

"Beware the Ides of March"

"Beware the Ides of March" is not telling you to not watch the Oscar nominated movie starring Ryan Gosling and George Clooney.  In fact this phrase came long ago... before the prestigious Oscar award was even created.    So where in history did this phrase come from?  What famous leader died on this date in history?  Why do you think society still remembers it today? 

You may use the internet to help you on your quest. However, do not forget to site your source. Good luck!

BOOK CLUB BLOG WAR HEROES

ATTENTION WAR HEROES BLOGGERS:

As you are reading in your book club you need to be posting to the blog.  You are required to do one origional blog post a day and comment on at least 2 other blog posts throughout the week.   Remember when you post to use your non fiction comprehension strategies:

• Inferring (from the cover, title, pictures (if there are any), as well as the text)
• Connecting (link prior knowledge and information ot new information learned in the text)
• Questioning (some of your questions may be answered, some may not)
• Clarifying (verbalize confusing points... others may help to clarify or you may be able to do so as you dive deeper into your story).

BOOK CLUB BLOG I SURVIVED

ATTENTION BLOGGERS I SURVIVED:

As you are reading in your book club you need to be posting to the blog.  You are required to do one origional blog post a day and comment on at least 2 other blog posts throughout the week.   Remember when you post to use your non fiction comprehension strategies:

• Inferring (from the cover, title, pictures (if there are any), as well as the text)
• Connecting (link prior knowledge and information ot new information learned in the text)
• Questioning (some of your questions may be answered, some may not)
• Clarifying (verbalize confusing points... others may help to clarify or you may be able to do so as you dive deeper into your story).

BOOK CLUB BLOG POSTS BEHING ENEMY LINES

ATTENTION BEHIND ENEMY LINES Bloggers:

As you are reading in your book club you need to be posting to the blog.  You are required to do one origional blog post a day and comment on at least 2 other blog posts throughout the week.   Remember when you post to use your non fiction comprehension strategies:

• Inferring (from the cover, title, pictures (if there are any), as well as the text)
• Connecting (link prior knowledge and information ot new information learned in the text)
• Questioning (some of your questions may be answered, some may not)
• Clarifying (verbalize confusing points... others may help to clarify or you may be able to do so as you dive deeper into your story).

BOOK CLUB FLIGHT 29 DOWN BLOG

ATTENTION FLIGHT 29 DOWN Bloggers:

As you are reading in your book club you need to be posting to the blog.  You are required to do one origional blog post a day and comment on at least 2 other blog posts throughout the week.   Remember when you post to use your non fiction comprehension strategies:

• Inferring (from the cover, title, pictures (if there are any), as well as the text)
• Connecting (link prior knowledge and information ot new information learned in the text)
• Questioning (some of your questions may be answered, some may not)
• Clarifying (verbalize confusing points... others may help to clarify or you may be able to do so as you dive deeper into your story).

BOOK CLUB BLOG...EVEREST

ATTENTION EVEREST BLOGGERS...
As you are reading in your book club you need to be posting to the blog.  You are required to do one origional blog post a day and comment on at least 2 other blog posts throughout the week.   Remember when you post to use your non fiction comprehension strategies:

• Inferring (from the cover, title, pictures (if there are any), as well as the text)
• Connecting (link prior knowledge and information ot new information learned in the text)
• Questioning (some of your questions may be answered, some may not)
• Clarifying (verbalize confusing points... others may help to clarify or you may be able to do so as you dive deeper into your story).

BOOK CLUB BLOG POST...SURVIVORS

ATTENTION SURVIVOR BLOGGERS:

As you are reading in your book club you need to be posting to the blog.  You are required to do one origional blog post a day and comment on at least 2 other blog posts throughout the week.   Remember when you post to use your non fiction comprehension strategies:

• Inferring (from the cover, title, pictures (if there are any), as well as the text)
• Connecting (link prior knowledge and information ot new information learned in the text)
• Questioning (some of your questions may be answered, some may not)
• Clarifying (verbalize confusing points... others may help to clarify or you may be able to do so as you dive deeper into your story).

BOOK CLUB BLOG...THE BLIND SIDE

ATTENTION THE BLIND SIDE BLOGGERS:

As you are reading in your book club you need to be posting to the blog.  You are required to do one origional blog post a day and comment on at least 2 other blog posts throughout the week.   Remember when you post to use your non fiction comprehension strategies:

• Inferring (from the cover, title, pictures (if there are any), as well as the text)
• Connecting (link prior knowledge and information ot new information learned in the text)
• Questioning (some of your questions may be answered, some may not)
• Clarifying (verbalize confusing points... others may help to clarify or you may be able to do so as you dive deeper into your story).

BOOK CLUB BLOG... MONEYBALL

ATTENTION MONEYBALL Bloggers:

As you are reading in your book club you need to be posting to the blog.  You are required to do one origional blog post a day and comment on at least 2 other blog posts throughout the week.   Remember when you post to use your non fiction comprehension strategies:

• Inferring (from the cover, title, pictures (if there are any), as well as the text)
• Connecting (link prior knowledge and information ot new information learned in the text)
• Questioning (some of your questions may be answered, some may not)
• Clarifying (verbalize confusing points... others may help to clarify or you may be able to do so as you dive deeper into your story).

Thursday March 1st Homework...SEW up a Connection, Prediction, or Inference

Make a connection, prediction, or inference on your independent reading during class today.  Be sure to SEW it up and post your response here.   Have a great weekend!

S.E.W. it up... Februrary 16, 2012

Read the two quotes below from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Michael Jordan.  Though they are both from different times and different areas of expertise, the value and theme of their quotes is the same.  Make a connection (text-text, text-world, or text-self) to the quotes below.  Remember to S.E.W. up your response! 

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan

How Do You Overcome Writer's Block?

Calvin has a very literal understanding of the phrase "Writer's Block"...have you ever had writer's block before?  If so, what are some ways that you have overcome it?







M.A.R.S. Report for February 13, 2012

After reading your independent reading book, make either a connection, prediction, or inference based on your reading.   Remember to make a statement, provide evidence to support that statement, and explain why!  This will be graded in class tomorrow during your conference.

The Power of Persuasion

The Super Bowl...a time for delicious fatty foods, (hopefully) a great game, a much over-hyped half time show, and 30 second commercials that cost over 3 million dollars to air.   That's right, I said over 3 million dollars to air a commercial that is less then a minute long!   Why?  Corporations hope that their marketing teams can develop flashy and memorable commercials for this once a year festival of football and munchies because there are so many viewers (111 million people tuned in for 2011's big game). The corporations hope that their money to design, film, and air the commercials will be well worth it.  The question is did they have the power of persuasion on their side or did they give a lackluster final product that left you not even knowing what they were advertising to begin with.  
Here is your challenge...


M&M's - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn3mktl30iw
Pepsi - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rZs8ZKTsp0
Pepsi Max- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7USr2kriO8
Chevrolet- http://www.youtube.com/chevrolet
Dorritos (1)- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kds2YpA0Jf0
Dorritos (2)- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STb6ZSo5CPw


Think back to all the commercials that aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday... Which one do you think did the best job persuading you, the consumer, to buy or use their product?  Why?  (S.E.W.)

New Year's Resolutions... S.E.W. what's the big idea anyway?

"How To Make New Year's Resolutions You'll Actually Follow"  Click on article below: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/01/how-to-make-new-years-resolutions-that-actually-follow/

Many people follow the tradition of making a New Year's Resolution each year.  However,  how many individuals around the world actually follow through with their resolutions once they are made?  Read the comic strip and article above and then take a stand...  Are New Year's Resolutions a good idea or a bad one? Be sure to support your answers with your Statement, Evidence, and of course to tell me Why!

What did you read over the break?

Read anything good over the break?   If so, I want to know about it!    Provide the title and author of the book and why it is a good read.   We could all use some fresh ideas for this new year!  

MARS statement due January 9, 2012

Let's start fresh...
We are going to add more style to your MARS statements by including some important SEW what qualities to them.  Try to make a Statement,  Evidence, and your WHY whenever you are making a connection, prediction, or inference in your novels.   Next week, you will be given open ended response to work on with your novels with "S.E.W. whats the big idea?" blog post, which is coming soon..

Don't forget to copy and paste your MARS statement into a running Word document so when you are audited, all your work is available for me to check quickly. 

Tuesday Journal... "Let's Catch Up"

You have a journal choice today.  You may write about your favorite gift that you received over the holiday (being sure to explain why) or you may choose to write about something special that happend to you over the holiday break (maybe a family tradition, a trip, some exciting news).   Whatever you choose to write about be sure to add specific details.   We will use this journal activity for a writing activity where your classmates will help you "blow up your piece" and explode a moment.     If you look carefully, I will be adding a journal entry in here too... and I just may "blow up" one of your pieces as well.   Let's have fun with this and use it as a way to catch up, after all we haven't seen eachother since last year!  ;)