Extra Credit Opportunity!

1.  Look up the following words in a dictionary and write down their definitions.  

consult
unsullied
satisfactory
tyrannical
absence

2. Use each word in an original, complete sentence.

Extra Credit Opportunity!!

We are at a section of the novel, Inside Out and Back Again, where Ha is having a tough time adjusting to life in Alabama.  She doesn't speak the language, doesn't know the customs, and she looks different from everyone else. 
Write about a time in your life where you had to adjust to a new setting.  What was it like?  How did you feel?  Were there obstacles that you had to overcome?  (1 paragraph) 

Extra Credit Opportunity!! Due Friday, 10/31

Above, is an example of Vietnamese currency.  In a well developed paragraph, explain the following:

Who is the man on the bill, and what is his significance to Vietnamese history?

All classes should be up to page 43 in Inside Out and Back Again.

Homework:

Section 6- Read pages 4-9 of Inside Out and Back Again for gist.

Section 7- none (most students were out of class for STAR math)\

Section 8- reread pages 4-9 of Inside Out and Back Again and complete "Quick Write 1."

We've been working with the poem "1975: Year of the Cat" from Inside Out and Back Again.  Here are some text based questions that everyone had to answer in class.

1. Tet is a special day.  When is Tet, and what two events are celebrated on Tet?
2. How does the family celebrate Tet?
3. How does this special day affect other days?
4. What does ha do that may bring bad luck?
5. What can you infer about Ha based on this action?

Homework:  
Section 8- read pages 4-9 for gist
Section 9- read pages 4-9 for gist
Section 10- finish above questions and read pages 4-9 for gist. 

Students were also given an independent reading list to keep track of all the books they red this year.  

Today and tomorrow, I am introducing our first book of the year, Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai.  Here's a link to her author page.  http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/36544/Thanhha_Lai/index.aspx
Enjoy!

New Vocabulary:
**inference- a determination based on evidence
panic- uncontrollable fear
desperate- extreme need
quantities- amounts
clashes- fights
haste- with quickness
poignant- intense
affidavit- a sworn statement
consulate- government official in a foreign country

The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost, 1874 - 1963

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

All classes are just finishing up their first Mid-Unit Assessment.  It focuses on the short story "Harrison Bergeron," by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 

Tomorrow is Picture Day!!

Tomorrow and Friday:

Mid-Unit Assessment- this assignment will contain one reading, 5 multiple choice questions, and 2 short response questions.  

All students should have handed in questions 6-10 on page 98 in the literature books following their reading of "Raymond's Run."  

Today and tomorrow, classes are doing a close reading of The Declaration of Independence.

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

Homework:

Sections 8,9,10

Complete pages 54 and 55 of packet on personification.  Leave page 56 blank.  

Today's Homework:

Section 9- I didn't get a chance to hand it out, so we'll push it to class time tomorrow.
Section 10- p. 52 and 53 in packet on simile, metaphor, and personification.
Section 6- p. 54 and 55 in packet.
Section 7- p. 54 and 55 in packet. 

All classes are working with the poem "Identity," byJulio Noboa Polanco.  The poem introduces one of the major themes we'll be working with for the first quarter.  In class, we'll also be working with text based evidence in written answers.  

Homework for 9/8/14.

If you were in ELA today (sections 6,7,8), here's homework:

Complete pages 51,52, and 53 in packet on simile, metaphor, and personification.  

Also, here are the notes we took in class today:

literal language- when speech or writing means exactly what it says. Ex. The pencil is on the desk.

*figurative Language- speech or writing that is not meant to be taken “literally.” Ex. The pencil is the key to your future.

  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/living characteristics.

    Ex. The basketball danced around the rim.

imagery- mental pictures that are created with words.

tone- the writer’s attitude towards a subject.

mood- the emotion you feel when reading something.

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

  Ex. Sally sells seashells by the seashore.

Sections 9 (purple) and 10 (yellow)- Went over rules and regulations, etc.

Sections 6 and 7- Facebook page and "Charles" by Shirley Jackson.

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back!

Welcome to our class website for 2014/2015!  I trust everyone had an exciting and restful summer.  Check this site often for any important information, assignments, definitions, or news specific to things going on at JWB or in my classes.  Good luck and have a great year!

Today, I met with sections 6(blue), 7(red) and 8(green).  We went over rules, regulations and expectations.  Section 6 received their lockers as well.