Thursday November 8, 2007

What we’re doing in class…Language Arts

Reading - We'll be starting a new novel in book club format on Monday. Stay tuned for details!

Writing - We revised our courage narratives for effective leads ("grabbers"). We also considered our snapshots and thoughtshots.

Word Study (Grammar, Vocabulary, Spelling) - We are taking a break from vocabulary until we read our next new story in mid November.

Social Studies

We needed an extra day to collaborate, so we continued working on a project comparing the similarities and differences between the history, geography, economy, and culture of Colonial America using Power Point. The students work in partnerships. We will present our slideshows tomorrow. Some students may be working on these at home tonight if they emailed the presentation to themselves.

Homework…

Language Arts:

1. Read a book of your choosing for at least 20 minutes.

2. Grammar Packet 3 due Friday 11.9

3. Response and Exploration 2 due Tuesday November 27. Students must try a new response and exploration. They are only allowed to do each type of response and exploration once.

4. Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans. All poems must be submitted to Mr. Joe by Thursday the 15th of November. See the website below:

http://www.anthologyofpoetry.com/pages/index.cfm

5. Courage Narrative Draft #2 typed double-spaced. It should be revised in the following areas: leads, snapshots (3), and thoughtshots(3). Due Friday 11.9

6. Cross-text in-class piece signed by parent and returned by 11.9. Revisions are accepted until Monday 11.12, if student wishes to improve their grade.

Social Studies

Finish the Colony to State ppt. presentation (if necessary)

Business

None

Documents

Courage Narrative Rubric - Students are to create a work of fiction or a true-life story.

Type in 12 point font, double-spaced, Times New Roman font.

Category	4	3	2	1
Grabber	First paragraph has a “grabber” or catchy beginning	First paragraph has a weak “grabber”	A catchy beginning was attempted but was confusing rather than catchy.	No attempt was made to catch the reader’s attention in the first paragraph
Organization	The story is very well organized. One idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions. It has a clear beginning, middle, and end.	The story is pretty well organized One idea or scene may seem out of place. Clear transitions are used.	The story is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear.	Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged.
Characterization	The main characters are named and clearly described in text as well as pictures. Most readers could describe the characters accurately throughout the story.	The main characters are named and described. Most readers would have some idea of the characters actions and appearance throughout the story.	The main characters are named. The reader knows very little about the characters.	It is hard to tell who the main characters are and what they’re doing in the story.
Snapshots	There are at least three snapshots spread evenly throughout the story. The reader can easily make a “movie in their mind” from the snapshot.	There are at least two snapshots spread evenly throughout the story. The reader can easily make a “movie in their mind” from the snapshot.	There is at least one snapshot spread evenly throughout the story. The reader can easily make a “movie in their mind” from the snapshot.	There are no snapshots in the story, or the snapshots do not allow the reader to make a “movie in their mind” from the snapshot.
Thoughtshots	There are at least three thoughtshots spread evenly throughout the story. The reader can easily understand the character’s thinking from the thoughtshot.	There are at least two thoughtshots spread evenly throughout the story. The reader can easily understand the character’s thinking from the thoughtshot.	There is at least one thoughtshot spread evenly throughout the story. The reader can easily understand the character’s thinking from the thoughtshot.	There are no thoughtshots in the story or the reader cannot easily understand the character’s thinking from the thoughtshot.
Spelling and Punctuation (as is)	There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the final draft. Character and place names that the author invented are spelled consistently throughout.	There is one spelling or punctuation error in the final draft.	There are 2-3 spelling and punctuation errors in the final draft.	The final draft has more than 3 spelling and/or punctuation errors.