Story Elements Quiz

Students took story elements quiz.

"Suit Youself" activity will be handed in on Monday.

Students were informed I will be absent on Monday. Blog entry will be filled in when I return on Tuesday.

"Thank You, M'am" Part III, Spelling/Vocab Quiz

Took spelling/vocab quiz. Students had to correctly spell the words and match them with their definitions.

We finished up the story map and plot outline for "Thank You, M'am".

Directions were handed out for a homework assignment called "Suit Yourself". Students will write a different ending to the story. Length should be at least one side of a page.

Homework:

1) above writing assignment
2) study for quiz on short story elements

"Thank You, M'am" Part II

OM: Describe the character of Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones (from the story)

We spent the class "mapping out" the story according to the story elements handout. Example:

“Thank You M’am”
By Langston Hughes

Characters:

Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones: proud, tough, motherly, generous, assertive, forgiving, lonely

Roger: respectful, nervous, ignorant, needy, scared, lonely, caring, kind

Setting:

Where: a city, street, boarding house

When: early 60’s or late 50’s, late night

Mood: hopeful

Theme: hope, trust, faith

Point of View: third person

Plot Outline

Conflict: Roger tries to steal Mrs. Jones handbag. She tries to help him.

Rising Action

1)Roger tries to steal bag
2)Jones drags him up street.
3)Takes him to her room
4)Washes face

Climax: Roger sitting on bed, wanting to be trusted. She tells him she did things she wasn’t proud of.

Falling Action:

1) Eating dinner.
2) Mrs. Jones gives Roger $10

Conclusion:

Mrs. Jones told roger to behave himself. Roger wanted to say something than “Thank you, m’am”

Note: Some classes had to finish this for homework.

There is a spelling quiz tomorrow. There will be a story elements quiz on Friday.

"Thank You, M'am'

OM: Choose a setting and describe it in detail.

Students were shown an example of a setting description:

The river rushed noisily past the old dock, whose gray, weather worn planks seemed ready to crumble. The sky was overcast and the clouds rushed overhead with the wind that stripped the remaining many colored leaves from the trees. The air found its way through his thick sweater and he started to shiver.

The first few snowflakes raced from the clouds into the river and disappeared.

The mood of the piece was briefly discussed. Students then wrote for four minutes on a setting of their own imagining.

We read "Thank You, M'am" by Langston Hughes, stopping occasionally to apply the reading strategies. (Click the link for the full text.)

Homework:

- Study spelling
- Study Story Elements handout. Apply story read today to each element (doesn't have to be written).

Story Elements and Spelling List 1

I. Students copied first spelling list:

1. assessment
2. consequence
3. eighth
4. information
5. intelligence
6. language
7. literature
8. policies
9. procedures
10. success

We discussed strategies for studying spelling. (Notes are below.)

The quiz will be on Thursday.

II. Students received a handout (see below) on the elements of the short story. There is a quiz on this information on Friday, so studying throughout the week is strongly recommended.

III. Students practiced applying reading strategies with picture books.

Homework:
- Write spelling word definitions in notebook
- Study Story Elements handout
- Read for 15 minutes
- Bring in signed tear-off from Fridays handout (10 extra credit points were given to those who handed it in today. 5 will be given tomorrow.)

Notes:

Steps to Successfully Studying Spelling!

1. Write each word in separate pieces.
Example: Monitor= mon - it - or

2. Say each letter as you write each word, in separate pieces, numerous times.

3. Tap out the rhythm of the word, in its separate pieces, with your finger as you say each letter out loud. Do this over and over.

4. Close your eyes, say each letter out loud, and see each letter in your imagination.

5. Write each piece of the word in different colors.

6. Do 1 through 4 at least five times with each word, every day

SHORT STORY ELEMENTS
A short story is a fairly brief work of fiction. Fiction, as you know, is prose writing about imagined events and characters. A short story presents characters in a struggle or complication, which has a definite outcome. Novels are another example of fictional prose and are much longer than short stories. Some short stories, however, can be quite long. It may range in length from 500 words up to 15-20,000 words. The short story has a definite construction or unity rather than the freedom of a sketch or a tale.

The essential elements of a short story are characters, setting, plot, theme, and point of view.

Character A character is a person, or sometimes even an animal, who takes part in the action of a short story. They may be described by the author mainly by conversation, indirectly or directly by action. By whatever method they are introduced, characters at once must be convincing to the reader since the author does not have a great deal of time to work with.

Protagonist- the major or central character
Antagonist- the character’s opponent, against whom the protagonist contends or struggles

Setting The setting of a short story is the time and place in whicbJ happens. Setting furnishes the background for a story. It includes the place, the time, and the mood of a story. Authors often use descriptions of landscape, scenery, buildings, seasons or weather to provide a strong sense of setting.

Plot The plot consists of a carefully chosen series of events and character actions that relate to the central conflict.

Conflict- the struggle or tension that sets the plot of the story in motion; it builds suspense or mystery and arouses expectations for events to follow.
Rising Action- develops and intensifies the conflict
Climax- plot reaches its greatest emotional intensity; turning point of story
Falling Action- the tension subsides and the plot moves towards conclusion
Conclusion/Denouement- the outcome or settling of the conflict

Foreshadowing- the presentation of information in a work in such a way that later events are prepared for.

Theme The theme is the central belief or idea behind the story, which the author intends to develop through the entire story; it is neither obvious nor hidden. It brings together the characters, setting and incidents so as not to destroy the unified impression.

Point of View The vantage point from which the story is being told.

First Person- The narrative is portrayed by what is known and seen through a single character. That focal character addresses the reader directly.
Character refers to themselves as “I” in the story and addresses the reader as “you.”

Third Person- An outside person or narrator relates the story and can direct the reader’s attention to the inner thoughts of any of the characters and controls the sources of information.

Benchmark Wrap Up

Today, students completed any unfinished portions of the test.

For Monday:
I'm finally sending my opening day letter home. Please sign the tear-off and send it back with your child.

Students need to bring in a picture book for use in practicing reading strategies.

Spelling list will be given on Monday, so everyone will need a multi-subject notebook.

Benchmark Exam IV

Students took part three of the assessment which contains a passage, a poem, constructed response questions (short answer) and an essay.

Essays not finished must be completed for homework.

Also, we will be back to journal writing on Monday so all journals must be in class.

We will start spelling on Monday. Multi-subject notebooks must also be in class.

Reminder: Students need a picture book for Monday to practice reading strategies.

Benchmark Exam III

Students completed the essay from the listening portion of the test. When done, they were allowed to finish the comprehension section if they hadn't done so on Monday.

Note: Students who didn't finish this section will have to finish it on their own, DUE TOMORROW!!

Benchmark Exam II

Students took the listening portion of the test today. The process for this activity is as follows: Students set up their notes page, then a passage is read, with brief pauses between paragraphs. Students write down the main idea of each paragraph on one side of the notes page. The passage is read again, this time, students fill in details associated with each main idea. Afterward, there are two short answer questions and an essay to complete.

Benchmark Exam

All classes took part one of the first benchmark exam. The results of this test will tell us what needs to be worked on for the upcoming state exam in January. There will be one or two more benchmarks taken in the coming months.

Todays portion is reading comprehension. Students read various passages and are encouraged to underline main ideas, vocabulary words, make notes in the margin, etc. There are multiple-choice questions associated with each passage. Students are encouraged to highlight or underline proofs for each answer.

HW:
1) Read for 15 minutes as always.
2) Bring picture book in on Monday (9/25)
3) Extra credit assignment extended to Wednesday. (See 9/13 entry for details)

Reading Strategies II

OM: What was your favorite story as a child? What is it about?

Reviewed the strategies from yesterday's class (see below), I then modeled using the strategies by reading the book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen to the class. I stopped occasionally to 'think aloud' about visualizing, predicting, connecting, etc.

Students will bring a picture book to class on Monday, 9/25, to practice these strategies with a classmate.

Next week we will be taking the first benchmark assessment of the year. This test will tell us which skills should be concentrated on for the state assessment in January.

Reading Strategies

OM: List the things you do in your head while you're reading.

We watched and discussed a slideshow today called Think Aloud Strategy, which was about the things students should do while they are reading to make sure they are 'constructing meaning'. A few notes were taken. The main parts of the slideshow are as follows:

As students read they should…
* pause occasionally to think aloud about connections they are making.
* create images or pictures of concepts from the reading.
* recognize when they are experiencing problems in understanding.
* identify ways they see of fixing these problems.

As students use this strategy, they should:

* predict (“I bet that..” or “I wonder if…” or “I think that…”)

* picture the text (“From this part here I can see…” or “I imagine that…”)

* make comparisons (“This reminds me of..” or “This part is like..” or “This is similar to..”)

* monitor their comprehension (“I don’t get this...” or “This confuses me because..” or “This is a difficult part because…”)

* decide how to fix up (repair) comprehension problems (“Maybe I better reread..” or “Maybe I need to keep on reading to see if…” or “I better find out what this word means because..”)

* comment on what they’ve read (“I like this because…” or “This part is sad because..”)

Good readers have a constant dialogue with the text as they read, although they usually do it silently. Think alouds provide struggling readers with a structure on which to build this dialogue; they learn to think about their reading and to monitor what they do and do not understand.

Tomorrow I will model these strategies using a picture book.

Students will bring in their own picture books for Monday, 9/25 when they will practice these strategies with a partner.

Writing/Editing

OM (Opening Move): What is the most important part of the writing process?

Writing was followed by a brief discussion of the importance of organizing your thoughts for writing. Writing genres were introduced:

nonfiction
fiction
mystery
fantasy
science fiction
romance
horror
essay (with emphasis on the persuasive essay)

Students were then given the following words:

Voice
Naughty
Smile
Revealing
Luck
*bonus word: laden

They then wrote, for ten minutes, a story incorporating these words. Afterward they read their piece to a classmate, listening for writing mistakes, which stand out when writing is read aloud. The point being that students should read their work aloud as part of the editing process.

This story may be rewritten and handed in by Monday as an extra credit assignment.

Homework: All three handouts given so far must be in class, and, as usual, read for 15 minutes.

Opening Moves

Spent the period practicing various types of writing activities (which will be used to open class), each demonstrating that a lot of information can be written down in a short amount of time. Types of writing included free write, focused free write, Compare/contrast, listing, cause and effect, and what if.

Homework: Read for 15 minutes.

Learning Letter

Today students were told that 15 minutes of reading each night is expected. This may be reading a magazine, newspaper, book and even a comic book. Reading improves through practice.

We started the first draft of a letter. First draft and final copy are to be finished for homework. First draft recommendations: Skip lines. (This makes it easier to edit.) Make corrections in a different color so corrections stand out.

Final copy may be typed. Font size no smaller than 12. Font style must be easy to read. I prefer Times New Roman.

Directions are as follows:

Dear Mr. Lambert,
• I discovered I am a/an ____type of learner.
(What is your learning modality? Which ‘intelligence’ best describes you? Tell me why you know this. )

• I usually study by…..
(2-3 sentences)

* I plan to improve my study habits by…
(2-3 sentences; Refer to “Environments for Better Learning.” Describe how you study. Explain how you can improve your study habits.)

* My goals for this school year are……
(academic, social, personal; Two or three sentences for each.)

4 paragraphs
Final copy

Note: Students should have a multi-subject notebook for class in addition to the hardcover composition book. The composition notebook is only for journal entries. The other will be used for class notes, vocabulary, spelling and first drafts.

Learning Modalities (continued)

Opening Move: Four minutes of writing on one more 'moment'. Today, however, students tried to double the amount they wrote from yesterday.

We went over the results from the survey, discussed learning behavior and strategies associated with each of the modalities. Students then filled out an 'intelligence' survey. This survey tries to pinpoint which of the eight 'intelligences' seems to best matches each person.

Homework:

Go over modalities and intelligences handouts and consider what you may have learned about yourself and how you may apply this to doing better this year. Be prepared to write a letter in class on this topic. This letter will be the first major grade of the school year.

Learning Modalities

Today we discussed the difference between a moment and an event. Students wrote a 4 minute journal entry on one moment during the summer. Describing the main moments in an event will result in much more detailed writing.

Students received a handout on learning modalities, ways of "using sensory information to learn." They took a short survey designed to identify their own primary learning style.

Homework

Periods 1 & 2: Look over rest of learning modalities handout.

Period 3: Finish survey

Periods 1,2,3: All students must have a hardcover composition notebook by Monday.

Day 1

All students should have a hardcover composition notebook by Monday, Sept. 11. These will be used as daily journals and will be kept in the classroom.

Please note that at least 15 minutes of reading each night is expected. While we will work on reading strategies and prepare students for state exams in school, reading skill will only improve by reading on a regular basis.