We've been working on our first quarter cumulative writing task all week.  Students will be finished on Monday.  have a great weekend!

Extra Credit Opportunity!!

Select one of the following scenes and make a color poster depicting it.  Be sure to include all of the details and characters in the description.  You may work together on this one.

-The scene between Squeaky & Gretchen and her sidekicks.
-The park scene on May Day
-Squeaky's pre-race visualization

Poems are due tomorrow!

Here are the notes for this week.  We'll be reading the short story "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara.  Here's a website with informantion about the author:  http://socialjustice.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/index.php/Toni_Cade_Bambara

“Raymond’s Run”

 by: Toni Cade Bambara

setting- Harlem, present day

narrator- Squeaky (also the main character) 1^st person point of view

Words to Know

relay- a race where several team members are used to finish

      Ex. The Unites States lost the 400 meter relay at the track meet.

clutch- to grasp and hold tightly

      Ex. I watched the student nervously clutch the note she had written.

prodigy- a person with great talent

      Ex. Tiger Woods was a child prodigy when it came to golf.

sidekick- a close friend

      Ex.  Many superheroes have a trusty sidekick.

periscope- a device that lets one see beyond the area he/she is in.

      Ex.  To see above the water the captain of the submarine used the periscope.

Literary Element

Conflict- A struggle between two forces

5 Types:

Person vs. Person

Person vs. nature

Person vs. society

Person vs. technology

Person vs. themselves

Today in class, we are reading "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.  This famous poem about choices, seems to give advice about thinking through life altering decisions. 
The classwork becomes homework if not finished.  Follow this link for a text and audio version of the poem.
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15717

Write an extended metaphor poem in the same style as Langston Hughes answering the mother in "Mother to Son."  Use a different metaphor (rather than crystal stairs) to describe your own insights about life.  

 

Here's an example:

 

Sample “Mother to Son” Poem

Extended Metaphor

Little Soldier

By Julia L.

Mama,

Life ain’t easy;

I know this now.

You give me the strength to fight the battle.

Life is a battle,

Obstacle after obstacle.

I was once a soldier,

Naïve to the death and hardship of war,

But with your wisdom, I am now commander.

Commander of my own troops,

Me, myself, and I.

I may lose a few battles now and then,

And I will certainly triumph over the war.

Thank you for being my trainer.

Thank you for helping me with my quest.

Thank you for being wise and kind

And revealing the key.

The key to the door.

The key to life.

Life ain’t easy,

But I will fight to the finish.

Fight to the death.

Today, we are reading "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83.  He is famous as being a Harlem Renaissance poet and writer of short fiction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Renaissance

Langston Hughes'
Mother to Son

---

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

Homework: Complete pages 27 and 28 of packet on nouns

Here are the notes for the day:

poetry- words arranged in a rhythm (or not) that express ideas and emotions.

literal language- when speech or writing means exactly what it says.

*figurative Language- speech or writing that is not meant to be taken “literally.”

     simile- comparing two unlike objects using “like” or “as”

          Ex. The crowd roared like a lion.

     metaphor- comparing two unlike objects without using “like” or  “as.”

          Ex. He is a computer.

     personification- giving non-human things or ideas human  characteristics.

          Ex. The basketball danced around the rim.

     hyperbole- an exaggeration

          Ex. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.

imagery- mental pictures that are created with words.

tone- the writer’s attitude towards a subject.

mood- the emotion you feel when reading a poem.

alliteration- the repetition of beginning consonant (not vowels) sounds in words.

     Ex. Sally sells seashells by the seashore.

rhythm- the beats in a poem

The 5 week term for the first quarter ends today!

Quiz Tomorrow on the Elements of Fiction

Study these terms from your notes:

plot, setting, protagonist, antagonist, character (primary and secondary), theme, exposition, rising action, falling action, climax, resolution

Scantron Reading Assessment Today and Tomorrow!

It's Yankee Candle Time!!

In an effort to raise some funds for our upcoming field trip to a Broadway show in New York City, we will be participating in a Yankee Candle fundraiser.  Students will receive the fundraising packets, including catalogs and order forms in class today,

October 1. 

**All money is to be collected, documented on the order forms, and handed in to Mr. Manley no later than Wednesday, October 17, 2012.