Ms. Collopy's LA Class

2011-05-18T08:58:00.001-07:00

7th Grade Language Arts

End of Year Tech Project Thursday, May 19 and Monday, May 23 (computer lab time)

Summer Vacation, Oh My!
- Your job:
Plan a vacation and write a travel "story" for this vacation complete with pictures, itineraries, prices, poems, reviews, meals, and mileage! Your trip must last ten days!

All work should be completed on Google Docs. You must name your document yourlastname.nameofdestination (example ruyle.cabosanlucas). Any of the topics listed in bold must be a topic on your Google Doc. You should keep it organized by using effective spacing, bold, italics, numbers and bullets. As soon as you name your document, share it with acollopy@mssd14.org.

Sources:
- any websites that you use must be cited on a list of websites that you utilized
- create a separate document to store the url's/web addresses as you copy and paste them

Budget- $10,000
* Woot! It seems like a lot of money, but remember, this has to include EVERYTHING and EVERYONE going.

1. Pick a destination (where you're going!)
- Day dream about this a little. Do a few Google searches. Then, write a 5-7 sentences paragraph describing your destination; where is it; why did you choose it; what makes it great?

2. Who is going with you?
- You may travel on your own, or with a whole bunch of folks. The more the merrier OR the more the more expensive? $10,000 is your magic number. You must be on your trip for 8-10 days.

3. Travel plans
- planes, trains, and automobiles!
- Plan a detailed itinerary complete with departure and arrival dates and airline information. Use the following websites to help you find the best deal. Don't forget to include airport parking in your expenses.

www.expedia.com
www.travelocity.com
www.kayak.com
www.priceline.com

- If you want to drive to your destination, that's fine too. However, you must have detailed mileage information; how much gas costs, thus how much gas you'll purchase (round trip); if you'll stay in hotels along the way; and food costs. You'll have to decide what type of car you'll drive and research how many miles it gets to the gallon. Get googling! Remember, the shorter your search criteria, the better (no complete sentences or question in the search bar).

4. Transportation when you're there
- Are you going to rent a car? How much will that cost?
- Are you going to walk? Exhausting.
- Are you going to take a bus? How much do buses, trains, etc. cost? Can you buy a pass?

www.expedia.com
or
Find some car rental companies websites (Hertz, Avis, Dollar, etc.)

5. Where are you going to stay?
- Find your specific hotel information and multiply it by the number of nights you want to stay. Remember to check availability on the websites for your dates.

www.hotels.com
www.expedia.com
www.priceline.com

6. Sightseeing
- What makes this place cool? Interesting? List where you'll go and do cool activities like museums, adventures, tours, etc.
- Google searches should help you with this.

7. Pictures, please!
- Include at least five images from your destination. Copy and paste them onto your document. Write a short one-sentence description under each picture. Don't forget to copy and paste each url/website onto your source list.

8. Meals
- You have to eat! Where? How much will it cost?
- In addition to general meal/budget planning, research at least one restaurant in your destination. Write a short description of that restaurant and why it's unique and you want to visit/eat there. Include a picture if you can find one. I bet you can find a menu too!

9. A Poem!
- Yes, a poem! Write a diamante poem about your destination. It's a poem of contrasts. Here's the format:
Line 1- A noun about your place/destination
Line 2- Two adjectives describing the noun from line 1
Line 3- Three "ing" words relating to line 1
Line 4- Two nouns relating to line 1; then two nouns relating to line 7 (this is your transition line)
Line 5- Three "ing" words relating to line 7
Line 6- Two adjectives describing the noun from line 7
Line 7- A contrasting noun about your place/destination

* We wrote diamanates before spring break (the same day we wrote Limericks).

10. Budget - List of all expenses and totals

Here's where you prove your great planning. List all expenses below. Make sure to include a total! If you know how to insert a chart or a spreadsheet, go for it. If not, a list with an accurate total will suffice.

Are you ready to travel? Get planning! All work for this travel plan is due at the end of class on Monday. We'll share these during our short class on Tuesday!

2011-05-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

7th Grade L.A.- Tuesday, May 17

Research Paper

Procedure for Turning Your Research Paper In!

May 17, 2011

1. Finish last improvements/revisions/editing for approximately 45 minutes. Work on both the research paper and the works cited document. It is better if these are two separate documents.

2. Everything should be printed from Word. Saving up here in Mrs. Casey’s lab can be a little tricky, so make sure to put everything into a Google Doc as a final draft (have a copy on Word and a copy on Google docs).

3. Font- 10 pt. Courier (also for the works cited)

4. Double space

5. Proper heading aligned right. Use your formatting palette.

a. Name

b. Date (May 17, 2011)

c. Language Arts

d. Block ____

6. Title of your paper centered below your heading, but above your body paragraph.

7. Insert page numbers. Do not put a page number on the Works Cited.

8. Works Cited: double spaced and reverse indent used correctly. Read Abbi’s blog-post on my blog from last week how to do this in Word! The title Works Cited should be at the top of your page/centered.

9. Do not write anything above each paragraph (Introduction, Body 1, etc.).

10. Do not add extra space in between paragraphs.

11. Indent every paragraph by using the tab button.

12. Before you print, make sure you are not starting any sentences with AND, BUT, OR!

13. Do not include any contractions in your writing- don’t = do not

14. Print your research paper and your works cited document. Please do not print until you are certain that you have formatted everything correctly.

15. When you have printed, re-read your paper and try to fix easy errors that you can with your pen.

a. Do you have commas and periods?

b. If you see sentences that are missing a word/phrase, use a carrot ^ to add in the appropriate word.

16. Go through the entire essay and circle the following verbs:

a. be, is, am, are, was, were, been, being, become, became

17. Underline the thesis statement in your introduction. Draw an arrow out to the margin and label it.

18. Label all topic sentences (in body paragraphs only). Write what type they are from the topic sentence packet. Do not just label them “topic sentence.”

19. Use the rubric to grade yourself. Thoughtfully check the different boxes that apply to your work. Then, give yourself a score based on the different boxes that you check. Don’t just check the proficient box, check the different boxes across scores as they apply to you.

20. When you have finished all self-evaluation, staple your paper together:

a. Rubric on top with your name on it

b. Research paper in the middle

c. Works Cited last

Hooray!

2011-05-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

7th Grade LA- Friday, May 13

1. Type like crazy! Save/name is as: yourlastname.researchpaper.2011. Share it with acollopy@mssd14.org

2. Add your introduction to your body paragraphs.

3. Body Paragraphs:
- should have topic sentences from packet
- no personal pronouns (especially YOU!)
- meaningful transitions
- 6-8 sentences
- excellent word choice
- begin with a variety of words and phrases
- avoid the transition "so"

4. Conclusion:
- should summarize essay without being redundant
- look to the future
- use another interesting statistic or fact
- bring everything to logical closure and feel satisfying
- should not state: This is the end of my essay, etc.

5. PRINT & Homework!
- you need to print your draft thus far and ask for help from someone at home this weekend
- ask a family member to help read and review your essay for ideas, sentence fluency, word choice, and overall GREATNESS!
- get a signature from that loved one as validation that this assignment is complete

6. All paragraphs should be written and reviewed for Monday. They should be printed out and ready to improve. The onus is on YOU to finish writing paragraphs and improving them. The majority of time in class on Tuesday before these essays are due is to complete a Works Cited and a self-evaluation! You have all weekend to continue your awesome research papers.

2011-05-11T06:40:00.000-07:00

7th Grade L.A.- Wednesday, May 11

1. Work on outlines. The directions for your outline is on the blog post from two days ago. Outlines should be finished and printed by the end of the period today.

2. Half-way through class, we will stop and work on introductions. Wait for instructions.

2011-05-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

8th Grade Language Arts- Monday, May 9, 2011

*Link for numerical expression rules!

- Research paper is due today!
- Presentations start tomorrow!
- Budget your time so that you can work on everything.
- Research paper must be turned in following the procedure in this blog post. Papers without a complete rubric and labeling will not be accepted as "on time."
- Whew! Lots to read and do today, so make sure to get through it all and ask questions.

Research Paper

Procedure for Turning Your Research Paper In!

May 9, 2011

1. Finish last improvements/revisions/editing for however long you need. Work on both the research paper and the works cited document. It is better if these are two separate documents.

2. Everything should be printed from Word. Saving up here in Mrs. Casey’s lab can be a little tricky, so make sure to put everything into a Google Doc as a final draft.

3. Font- 12 pt. Courier

4. Double space

5. Proper heading aligned right.

a. Name

b. Date (May 9, 2011)

c. Language Arts

d. Block 3

6. Title of your paper centered below your heading, but above your body paragraph.

7. Insert page numbers. Do not put a page number on the Works Cited.

8. Works Cited: double spaced and reverse indent used correctly. Read Abbi’s blog-post on my blog from last week how to do this in Word!

9. Do not write anything above each paragraph (Introduction, Body 1, etc.).

10. Do not add extra space in between paragraphs.

11. Indent every paragraph by using the tab button.

12. Before you print, make sure you are not starting any sentences with AND, BUT, OR!

13. Do not include any contractions in your writing- don’t = do not

14. Print your research paper and your works cited document.

15. When you have printed, re-read your paper and try to fix easy errors that you can with your pen.

a. Do you have commas and periods?

b. If you see sentences that are missing a word/phrase, use a carrot ^ to add in the appropriate word.

16. Go through the entire essay and circle the following verbs:

a. be, is, am, are, was, were, been, being, become, became

17. Underline the thesis statement in your introduction. Draw an error out to the margin and label it.

18. Label all topic sentences (in body paragraphs only). Write what type they are from the topic sentence packet. Do not just label them “topic sentence.”

20. When you have finished all self-evaluation, staple your paper together:

a. Rubric on top with Works Cited side of the rubric facing up

b. Name on both sides of the rubric

c. Research paper in the middle

d. Works Cited last

21. Getting ready for your presentations:

a. Get pass from Ms. Collopy to miss class.

b. Practice everything- speaking, using visuals, asking questions, etc.

*Do you have at least one chart/graph in your visual?

* Have you planned your grabber?

c. Practice all technology applications- work the glitches out before your presentation.

d. Use the S-Map as your guide as you speak.

e. Get dressed up for your presentation.

f. Practice again! Remember to end your presentation with, "Are there any questions?"

2011-05-09T06:31:00.000-07:00

7th Grade L.A. - Monday, May 9, 2011

*No Do Now!

1. Note and source card check tomorrow!
- at least 30 note cards and 5 source cards
- if you are using Google Docs to store your source cards, you MUST print that sheet from Google Docs today while we are in the computer lab; you will not get credit tomorrow if you say that you have them saved on your account!

2. Start to plan your paragraphs by outlining
- Use the following format to start to think about what information will go into which paragraph.
- Here's the format that you'll need to use when you type your outline in Google Docs.
- Save it as a separate document. Make sure to name it something like lastname.outline.researchpaper'

- You should spend an even amount of time researching and working on your outline!

Outline Directions!

This is how your typed outline should look. You must use Roman numerals, letters, and regular numbers. Your outline must show which paragraphs will have personal pronouns.

I. Introduction:

A. Thesis statement- most important sentence in your paper- on your outline write your essential question that your entire paper will answer. I'll teach you how to turn that into a thesis statement.

B. Short description of your topic

C. Major points that will be in the body paragraphs

D. At least one interesting/startling statistic

1. if you need a bullet underneath these letters, use a number

2. if you need a second bullet underneath, use number two and so on and so forth

II. Body Paragraph #1

A. Major idea in this paragraph

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

III. Body Paragraph #2

A. Major idea in this paragraph

1. Use numbers to add ideas and facts

2. Here's another example of a number that would show a sub-idea from the "Major idea"

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

1. Use numbers to add ideas and facts

2. Here's another example of a number that would show a sub-idea from the "Major idea"

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

IV. Body Paragraph #3

A. Major idea in this paragraph

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

V. Body Paragraph #4 (optional)

A. Major idea in this paragraph

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

VI. Conclusion

A. 7th Grade- for today you don't have to list anything that will be in your conclusion. Just write the Roman numeral on your paper and label it as your conclusion.

Hanging Indent in Word (7th and 8th grade)

2011-05-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

Go into Word, and click "Tools" along the top bar. Then at the bottom of the list is "Customize Keyboard". Click it. Under "Catagories" scroll down and click "Format". Under "Command" scroll down and click "Hanging Indent". Your screen should look like this.

Towards the bottom of the page there is a "Press new keyboard shortcut:" click in the blank bar for typing next to it. ON YOUR KEYBOARD click Command and "T" at the same time. Then click "Assign" next to it. Your screen should look like this.

Click "OK."
You can now return to your document and type. Use the command. This will reverse indent your entire paragraph. The lines you do not want reverse indented, click in front of the line and click "enter".

2011-05-05T09:21:00.001-07:00

8th Grade LA- Thursday, May 5

1. Re-read Tuesday's post if you are un-clear on due dates.

2. Did you sign up for a presentation time yesterday? See me if you didn't.

3. A few tips for your Works Cited:
- separate document at end of your paper
- Works Cited centered at the top of your page
- no additional heading
- entries must be alphabetized by the first word of the entry
- Courier- 12 pt.- double-spaced
- do not write "Source 1", "Source 2", etc.
- must have all correct punctuation and capitalization
- use reverse indent for each entry; see Ms. Collopy if you don't understand this term

4. Writing Style
- use active verbs
- watch for repetitive word choice
- use strong transitions and transition phrases
- use personal pronouns selectively
- read your paper aloud to anyone who will listen; you will hear trends, poor word choice, sentence fragments, and fluency issues

5. Rubric
- see Ms. Collopy- I will share a Google Doc with you!

6. Farewell to Manzanar
- Be sure to have books and study guides with you tomorrow!

2011-05-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

8th Grade Language Arts- Tuesday, May 3

Project Timeline, Etc.

As you write:
- use your outline to guide you, but re-arrange the order of paragraphs as necessary!
- strong topic sentences
- active voice verbs (avoid is, am, are, was, were, been, being, be, become, became)
- varied sentence length
- avoid personal pronouns in most paragraphs
- use strong transitions
- organize the order of paragraphs logically
- start sentences in a variety of ways: ing words, phrases, prepositional phrases, etc.

Tuesday, May 3- Work in Mrs. Casey's lab; write papers & work on Works Cited
*You should "warehouse/save" your paper in Google Docs (name the document; put your last name as part of the name!); when you are ready to turn your paper in, copy and paste it into Word, double-spaced, Courier-12 point font, pages numbered, proper heading-right aligned, simple title centered below heading, Works Cited as a separate page, rubric stapled to back)

Wednesday, May 4- Peer review/class review of work and oral presentation rubrics in Ms. Collopy's classroom

Thursday, May 5- Work in Mrs. Casey's lab; write papers and work on Works Cited

Friday, May 6- optional due date for paper and Works Cited with rubric and self-evaluation; feel free to work more over the weekend and turn paper in at end of class period on Monday, May 9

Monday, May 9- FIRM deadline for paper and Works Cited with rubric and self-evaluation; use lab time for presentation work also (especially if you have already turned in your research paper!)
- This is your last night to practice your presentation at home; we will spend part of the class reviewing requirements and the rubric; you will receive your passes (excuse you from class) on Tuesday

Tuesday, May 10- Presentations (complete work on Farewell to Manzanar, then movie in LA)

Wednesday, May 11- Presentations (complete work on Farewell to Manzanar, then movie in LA)

Thursday, May 12- Presentations (movie in LA)

Friday, May 13- Modified schedule for yearbook signing

2011-05-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

7th Grade LA- Tuesday, May 3

*Make sure to have a tab with my blog and a tab with Google Docs (school account!) open!

Citation Machine Link

Time Magazine Article Link

2011-04-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

8th Grade Language Arts- Wednesday, April 27

Do Now
- No Do Now today.

Meet with Ms. Collopy
- One person at a time needs to come and see me. Separate your source cards from your note cards before coming to see me.

Research & Outline
- Your outline is due tomorrow.
- You should be finishing your research.
- Once you finish your outline, you should print it. You will have not have access to a printer before I check these tomorrow.
- Re-read the post from two days ago about the format for your outline.
- We are ready to start writing our essays.

Print outline before tomorrow (during today's class!)

Do you need the internet for your promotion speech?

Option #1- Start writing a rough draft of your paper.
Option #2- Type your promotion speech thus far.

2011-04-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

7th Grade LA- Thursday, April 28
* Review this entire blog post before you begin today's work!
A. Do Now
- Sentence Combining
- Today's sentence combining is a little different. You can do it!
- Combine the two short sentences in each set three different ways. The clue sentences (a.,b., and c.) will help you decide which conjunctions/transitions to use. Add at least one adjective or adverb to each sentence you write.
1. Sam will study for math. Sam will study for science.
a. Studying for math will precede studying for science.
b. Studying for math will not take place if studying for science does take place.
c. Studying for math will end when studying for science begins.
2. Reiko will practice the flute. She helps her father cook supper.
a. Reiko will not practice the flute if she helps her father cook.
b. Reiko will practice the flute but will stop when she begins to help her father cook.
c. Reiko will practice the flute and then help her father cook.

B. Take a SRI test. I will share your results with you this week. Quit out of the test when you finish. Please do not preview your results. This can cause the computers to freeze.

C. Log into Google Docs Ask me to share my "Book Recommendations of 7th Grade" document with you.
- On that document, you must add three bullets (one bullet per book recommendation). Basically, pick three books that you have enjoyed reading and want to recommend to others.

For example:
1. To Kill a Mockingbird; author- Harper Lee; rating (from 1-10) 9.9!
Synopsis (summary)- Young Scout experiences adventures, thrills, and scares in this coming of age story set in the American South.
Comments: I love the dialogue in this book and Scout's relationship with her brother, Dill, and her father. I love it more every time I read it!

If you have any remaining time, you may read your book silently!
* Keep in mind that you'll need to know what your research paper topic will be by Monday! Ask if you have questions!

- Visiting with your neighbors is not an option! If you have a little extra time, feel free to visit:
cnn.com, msn.com, msnbc.com, or Google News and read about the extraordinary devastation in the South after yesterday's tornadoes.

2011-04-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

8th Grade LA- Monday, April 25, 2011

- Continue research
- Start outline (this will help you figure out what research is lacking)
- Do Now- Read and understand the directions for the formal typed outline.
- Tomorrow: We will go to the Media Center to work with books!
Directions for Outline- Read this today!

8^th Grade Research Paper- Career Paper

Outline due- typed and printed out by class- Thursday, April 28

* Must follow this format!

This is how your typed outline should look. You must use Roman numerals, letters, and regular numbers. Your outline must show which paragraphs will have personal pronouns.

I. Introduction:

A. Thesis statement- most important sentence in your paper

B. Short description of your career

C. Major points that will be in the body paragraphs

D. At least one interesting/startling statistic

1. if you need a bullet underneath these letters, use a number

2. if you need a second bullet underneath, use number two and so on and so forth

II. Body Paragraph #1

A. Major idea in this paragraph

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

D. Each body paragraph must have a label on the outline whether or not you will use the pronouns I, me, my, or mine (NO YOU pronouns in entire essay!)

III. Body Paragraph #2

A. Major idea in this paragraph

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

D. Each body paragraph must have a label on the outline whether or not you will use the pronouns I, me, my, or mine (NO YOU pronouns in entire essay!)

IV. Body Paragraph #3

A. Major idea in this paragraph

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

D. Each body paragraph must have a label on the outline whether or not you will use the pronouns I, me, my, or mine (NO YOU pronouns in entire essay!)

V. Body Paragraph #4

A. Major idea in this paragraph

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

D. Each body paragraph must have a label on the outline whether or not you will use the pronouns I, me, my, or mine (NO YOU pronouns in entire essay!)

VI. Body Paragraph #5

A. Major idea in this paragraph

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

D. Each body paragraph must have a label on the outline whether or not you will use the pronouns I, me, my, or mine (NO YOU pronouns in entire essay!)

VII. Body Paragraph # 6

A. Major idea in this paragraph

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

D. Each body paragraph must have a label on the outline whether or not you will use the pronouns I, me, my, or mine (NO YOU pronouns in entire essay!)

VIII. Body Paragraph #7

A. Major idea in this paragraph

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

D. Each body paragraph must have a label on the outline whether or not you will use the pronouns I, me, my, or mine (NO YOU pronouns in entire essay!)

IX. Body Paragraph #8

A. Major idea in this paragraph

B. Other major idea in this paragraph

C. If you have more ideas that fit in this paragraph, keep using letters.

D. Each body paragraph must have a label on the outline whether or not you will use the pronouns I, me, my, or mine (NO YOU pronouns in entire essay!)

X. Conclusion

A. Statistics that look to the future

B. Focus on dreams and ambitions that will help you achieve your goals

C. Summarize the essay without repeating major points

D. Bring the essay to a logical conclusion

- Next note-card check- Wednesday, April 27!

2011-04-21T09:39:00.001-07:00

8th Grade LA- Thursday, April 21

Do Now:
- What is reverse indent? Write a sentence or two that illustrate reverse indent on your Do Now sheet. Summarize what career you are researching in your sentences and why you chose that career.

Reminders:
- source cards become a Works Cited; please see Ms. Collopy if you don't understand the format
- note card check again tomorrow!

2011-04-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

8th Grade LA- Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Do Now:
- List the adjectives and adverbs in the following passage. Make sure to label the words as ADJ or ADV. Number your paper.

(from CNN.com)
With firefighting C-130s and helicopters flying overhead and another dry, hot, windy day in the forecast, ground crews tackled fires Tuesday that have burned more than 1 million acres in Texas.

One fire, burning near Possum Kingdom Lake, less than 70 miles from the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, had destroyed at least 31 homes and was threatening more than 600 others, the Texas Forest Service reported Tuesday.

The town of Strawn has been evacuated, and the fire has closed within six miles of Graham, where Bailey Barnett has already had to flee once after ash thick as snow began falling around her home.

The area remains under threat, but Barnett, who is pregnant with her first child, has another reason to worry: Her husband, she said, is a volunteer working on the fires with the Graham Fire Department.

"It's been really, really, stressful," Barnett said Tuesday. "I don't think a lot of people realize how bad it is."

Today:

- Re-read directions that I posted on Friday about the project.

- Work on note cards and source cards!

TOMORROW- must have three source cards (or it can be printed off on paper) and at least 20 note cards with high quality information. Your note cards should have headings/topics and bullet points. They must be cross-referenced to your source cards.

2011-04-15T09:42:00.001-07:00

8th Grade LA- Friday, April 15

1. Read this entire post.
2. Complete today's Do Now. Turn it in.
3. Read the next post about your career project.
4. Finish any Manzanar work from Wednesday (also a separate post on this blog).
5. Start research for your project (don't forget source cards!!!).

Friday, April 15, 2011- 8th Grade Do Now

- In one or two sentences, explain the similarities and difference between adjectives and adverbs. Turn it in to Ms. Collopy when you are finished.

2011-04-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

8th Grade LA
2018- On My Own
Career Project

Components:
- Outline (typed)- due April 28
- Written (typed) research paper- due May 6
- Visuals for presentation- due day of presentation- May 11, 12, & 13
- Oral presentation- May 11, 12, & 13

Process for research paper:
- at least 7 different sources (varied; cannot be all internet unless pre-approved)
- note card and source card check
1. 3 source cards/20 note cards- Wednesday, April 20
2. 5 source cards/40 note cards- Friday, April 22
3. 7 source cards/60 note cards- Wednesday, April 27
* note cards should be cross referenced to source cards (e.g., Note 15 from Source 2)
* note cards should be organized by topics (use headings) and include short phrases, words, statistics, and ideas; no complete sentences!
* some note cards may have one key idea, while others may include three or four bullets
- length- at least 10 well-developed paragraphs including introduction and conclusion
- appendix- some type of graph to show historic data about salary
- works cited- correct MLA formatting
Citation Machine Link (you should bookmark this!)
http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?reqstyleid=1&newstyle=1
MLA Citation Examples
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/legacylib/mlahcc.html
A Generic Approach for Citing Websites
http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/MLA-Format4Websites.htm

Content:
- rationale for choosing this career; how this career fits with your strengths
- job requirements
- job description
- inter-personal skills necessary to be successful in this job
- salary/earning potential
- education/requirements- specific course work and degrees required
- outlook- future job market vs. current job market, etc.
- What other information is relevant to your research? Be thorough. Go deeper!

Hand outs will be provided for:
- a letter to parents
- job shadowing
- rubric for research paper
- source cards if necessary

- What questions, concerns, etc. do you have about this project?

2011-04-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

8th Grade LA- Wednesday, April 13
*Please read the entire post including reminders at the bottom.

Please complete the following agenda (self-paced).

First:
Do Now (on your loose-leaf like normal):

Combine each set of sentences two different ways. Give the two sentences completely different beginnings. Use conjunctions, insert words or phrases, add commas or semicolons, or change the forms of words. In addition, add at least one meaningful adjective or adverb and underline those words.

I played with the boomerang all afternoon. My sister played with it all afternoon, too. We had a lot of fun.

We both tried hard. She couldn’t get it to return to her. I couldn’t get it to return to me.

Our fun ended. I somehow managed to land the boomerang. I landed it high up in an oak tree.

There were once many kinds of sequoias. Today only two kinds remain. They are the redwood and the giant sequoia.

Then:
- Google Docs
- create a document called quiz.4.13.manzanar and share it with acollopy@mssd14.org
- use your study guide for chapter 6 to answer questions 27-31
- answer in complete sentences (most answers will be multiple sentences)

Next:
- Use the following link to take the virtual tour of Manzanar. Visit each location. Each image can be manipulated 360 degrees.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/manz/virtualtour/tour/map.html

*On your Google Doc (- Google Docs) reflection for today (share with acollopy@mssd14.org), write a few sentences that describe the setting of Manzanar. What strikes you, surprises you, etc.? Name your Google Doc: LastName.Manzanar.4.13. I will not grade un-named documents.

After that:
In 1948 Congress passed a law that reimbursed internees for property losses and that 40 years later Congress awarded restitution payments of $20,000 to each survivor of the camps through the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (H.R. 442). Research one of these two acts of Congress using internet resources. Locate three different sources, list bibliographic information about each (copy and paste the url onto your document), indicate whether the sources were in favor or against the reparations, and explain how you can tell. Write one paragraph (take a position) on whether the reparations were fair, sufficient, etc. for the survivors. Add this to your Google Doc.

Note: The text of H.R. 442 is available by searching the Library of Congress's Thomas web site

Finally:

Three individuals legally challenged the constitutionality of the relocation and curfew orders. Research one of these three court cases and write a one paragraph summary of their arguments, who was involved in their cases, and the results of the cases. Include this paragraph in your on-going document from the virtual tour, the position paragraph, and then this short summary of the constitutional challenges.

1. Gordon Hirabayashi

2. Fred Korematsu

3. Mitsuye Endo

Reminders:

- Bring your Manzanar book to class tomorrow.

- Your outline for your promotion speech will be checked on Friday, April 15.

- Career projects will begin on Friday! What do you want to be when you grow up?

2011-04-05T06:54:00.000-07:00

7th Grade LA- Poetry Presentation
*Read all directions before you start your search today!

- Presentations- Monday, April 11 ( we will use time on the 12th also if necessary)

-Procedure:
1. Use google or another search engine to find song lyrics.
2. Think of your favorite songs or artists that you like.
3. Read through several sets of lyrics.
4. Pick a song (and its lyrics) to recite/read aloud for the class. The song that you pick must have at least three identified literary elements from the following list. In addition, you will have to write a paragraph explaining the song's literary value.
5. By the end of class today (Tuesday), you should have your song/lyrics selected and saved onto a Google Doc (name it the name of the song). You should copy and paste the lyrics into a Word document and print off two copies of the poem before you leave today!
6. You will read the song aloud to the class. You will be graded on your fluency skills.

- List of literary terms to find in song lyrics:
*these will have to be labeled on one copy of the poem; in addition you will write a paragraph explaining these literary terms
1. rhyme- internal and rhyme scheme
2. alliteration
3. consonance
4. imagery
5. simile
6. metaphor
7. personification
8. allusion
9. repetition
10. irony
* you may find other literary terms in your song; just let me know if you do

2011-03-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

8th Grade LA
Final Instructions for "In Search of Wisdom"

- Use a proper heading on the right side of your document.
- You may center a title of your choice below the heading.
- Indent all paragraphs
- Copy and paste the following chart below your narrative.
- Use the numerical values to assess yourself.

Voice	20
Word Choice	20
Content/Ideas	20
Organization	15
Fluency	15
CUPS	10
Appearance/Self-Evaluation	5

2011-03-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

8th Grade LA
Wednesday, March 9, 2011

1. You are writing a narrative. A narrative tells a story through: dialogue, descriptions, imagery, details, setting, characters, events, places, etc. Look at the packet of four different examples of memoirs in order to help you find your voice.

2. Your word choice should be outstanding. Use a thesaurus. Minimize passive verbs: is, am, are, was, were, been, being (most common).

3. Use words to move the story along (connectors and transitions).

4. Aim for 1,000 words. I will not count the words unless there are foundational issues with the structure and content of your narrative.

5. The project is called "In Search of Wisdom." How will your story teach a lesson about life in addition to telling a great tale?

6. We will finalize grading criteria, due dates, and your presentation schedule tomorrow in class.

7. If you are still reading these directions, good for you. Send an e-mail before 12:55 to acollopy@mssd14.org and tell me your favorite movie. It's worth five extra credit point.

2011-03-04T07:53:00.001-08:00

7th Grade- Finishing Poe Webquest
Friday, March 4

- Google Docs

- When your Poe webquest is finished, you should rename the document:
firstname.lastname.POE.finished; consequently, I will know to grade it

- You must finish it on your own time.

2011-02-24T08:51:00.000-08:00

8th Grade- In Search of Wisdom
Thursday, February 24, 2011

1. Block your narrative out (plan the story in chunks or episodes).
- re-read your interview
- plan at least five distinctive scenes or parts of the story that you are telling
- use a Google Doc to plan and write this entire narrative essay
*share your Google Doc with collopy.collopy@gmail.com; save/re-name is as:
firstname.lastname.insearchof.g8

2. Consider what you will focus on in your writing.
- one event?
- several events?

3. How will you use imagery? What other figurative language would capture the voice of your interviewee?

4. How will you start?
(see hand-out)

5. How will you keep the story moving along?

6. How will you finish the story?

7. Most importantly, how will this essay sound like the person you interviewed? What words, phrases, ideas, and emotions must shine through in this essay?

2011-02-24T06:16:00.000-08:00

Edgar Allan Poe Webquest

*Please read all of the directions before starting your work.
- Keep my blog open in a separate tab.
- Log into your Google Doc Account Google Docs
- Name a Document- LastName.Poe.2.24; share it with collopy.collopy@gmail.com

- Use Google or other search engines to find out information about Edgar Allan Poe. On your Google Doc (share with collopy.collopy@gmail.com), create a top 20 list of biographical statements about Poe's life.

- Number each fact. Write in complete sentences. Give credit to the website from where you found the information about Poe (copy and paste the URL of the website onto your document in an organized way).

- Topics to consider writing about:
- Poe's childhood
- Poe's parents
- Poe's loves
- Poe's struggles with addiction
- Poe's education
- Poe's homes/cities

- Do not copy and paste from these websites. Rather, paraphrase the information into your own words.

2011-02-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

Words to Live By

Directions for our final day of work.

1. Re-read and revise your paper. Pay particular attention to sentence fluency, use of quotes, on-topic writing, strong ideas, expert information=evidence, examples, elaboration, etc.

2. Make sure your quotes follow the following format if you don't introduce the author's name in your writing.
"Nothing gold can stay" (Robert Frost). *note that the period comes after the parentheses

3. Copy and paste the following list after your conclusion. Evaluate (grade) yourself with scores between 1-10 for each category. Ten is high.

Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Sentence Quality/Variety/Fluency
Use of Quotes- not just “dropped” into the paragraph; feel connected and meaningful
Topic Sentences- MUST BE FROM PACKET!!!
Ideas- overall/ On-topic (goes with ideas)
Organization- overall
CUPS (Capitalization, Usage, Punctuation, Spelling)
Word Choice

4. Make sure you have a proper heading in the top right hand corner of your document. Make sure you have double spaced the entire document and it's in Courier 12 pt. font. Ask if you need help.

5. If you want, center the title Words to Live By above your introduction but below your heading.

6. Double-check:
- no contractions should be used in your writing- didn't should be did not, etc.
- no you, your, yours pronouns; this paper should have I, me, mine, myself pronouns

2011-02-14T06:24:00.000-08:00

7th Grade LA- Monday, February 14

Words to Live By
1. Finish any typing that you need to do to have a complete 5 paragraph essay. Please refer to Friday's blog post for directions/ideas about writing your conclusion. There is a Google Docs link on Friday's blog post also.

After you have finished typing your paragraphs, please work on the following. I will try to give you feedback at least once during this class period to help focus your work.

- Revision/Sentence Fluency

* Please re-read your entire essay one time in silence. Try to identify sentences that lack fluency. How can you re-word your ideas so that they flow well and make sense?

- Word choice

* Use a thesaurus or thesaurus.com to play with word choice.

- Giving Each Other Meaningful Feedback
* Make sure that you have shared your document with several people. Try to give your classmates feedback about sentence fluency and word choice. It's easier to find fluency issues in someone else's writing.

- Print a copy of your essay so far TODAY! You will need to take this home with you for homework and have someone read it over with you and provide feedback. I will expect that you have this printed out copy at the beginning of class tomorrow.
* Copy and paste it into Word (seems to print better in Word- make sure to save it over in Word too)
* Courier
* 12 pt. font
* Double-spaced
* MSLABHP4200

Grammar Quizzes
- Take the noun, verb, and prepositional phrase quizzes and see how you do!

2011-02-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

7th Grade LA- Friday, February 11

Google Docs

1. Type your introduction into your document.

2. Re-save/re-name your document as firstname.lastname.wordstoliveby in your Google Docs account.

3. Make sure you've shared it with collopy.collopy@gmail.com.

4. Giving each other feedback.
- Have you shared it with at least five people in this class?
- Read the entire essay so far.
- Insert a comment about sentence fluency and word choice.
- Insert a comment about how the person can give more specific REDS.

5. Try writing a conclusion. Conclusions can be difficult because you feel like you are repeating yourself. Think of the following tips as you write.
- Summarize your most important parts of your life/essay.
- Look to the future!
- Write about what you hope/dream/visualize in your future. What will be important to you in ten/fifteen/twenty years? Why do you hope those things will be important?
- Use a quote to wrap things up.

Topic of this personal narrative essay:
- Write a personal narrative essay about the most important elements in your life. Describe and explain these significant parts of your life. In addition, connect these parts of your life to famous quotes.

2011-01-31T09:33:00.000-08:00

8th Grade LA
Monday, January 31

* Please see me today (Monday) to approve your learning contract if you have not already done so.

The following two paragraphs were written in response to the expository writing prompt about citizenship. Use the paper rubric to grade one of the paragraphs. They are typed exactly as they were turned in.

First task:

- Grade both of the responses using the rubric. You should use a highlighter and be specific in the certain bullets that you highlight. Then, circle a specific point value (1-4) to indicate how you would have scored it. The rubric is two-sided. Be sure to put your name on the rubric and label which side is Example #1 and Example #2. See me if you this doesn't make sense.

Second task:

- Then, re-write one of the paragraphs using the author’s over-riding ideas and supporting details. Try to write it as a 4 paying attention to the criteria on the rubric.

- Type your re-written paragraph on Google Docs. Share it with collopy.collopy@gmail.com.

Third task:

- After you revise and re-write it, make a list at the bottom of the different aspects of the paragraph that you specifically improved.

Here's the topic. Pay special attention to the relevance of the writer's ideas to the given topic.

- Write a letter to your principal (one well-developed paragraph) explaining the fairness/unfairness of rewarding students for excellent citizenship and withholding privileges for those who fail to meet citizenship standards.

Example #1

Dear Mr. Burr,

I think that it is fair to reward students when they have excellent citizenship Because the kids who actually try their Best and are nice caring students. The students that don’t try and don’t care about any of these things should not Be rewarded if they aren’t trying like the other students are. Many of the students that don’t care they always think that they don’t have to do anything to have good citizenship and everyone will be rewarded But that’s not fair to anyone who tries to do their Hardest. I don’t think that the kids give it their all and try their best want to give up and not do anything at school they just do the minimum and it shouldn’t Be that way.

Example #2

Dear Mr. Burr,

Citizenship grade here at this school I think is great especially the student lounge but this grade has it pluses and its delta’s. The fairness in the citizenship grade is it gives privileges and good ones, which make people, want it more like the student lounge. Then there is the unfairness of it. When I was at my old school in d11 we didn’t have these privileges but we did have citizenship grades for each class and how we acted but they were in numbers and they were graded 1-5 and I thought that if Manitou would do that and also I don’t like how the people have to go to a teacher for primetime I thought prime time was supposed to be fun but it’s not and then people talk about the students lounge and you can’t go to it so if you change it to the class grade as I mentioned and if the average is a three then you can have a sticker. The reason I think that should change is because more people would maybe have a chance to be able to go to the student lounge. Thank you for reading this I hope you consider the changes I suggested.

2011-01-31T07:15:00.000-08:00

Words to Live By
Personal Narrative Essay
7th Grade Language Arts

Objectives:
- to read all of the directions, objectives, and topic ideas on this blog
- to pick quotes for all important parts of your life; two quotes per idea (family, friends, sports, hobbies, etc.)
- to copy and paste quotes onto a google doc and/or a Word document that you save in your LA folder in your school account
- when you copy and paste your quotes onto a document, you must also copy and paste the URL (web address) of where you found the quote

Procedure:
- Read this entire post.
- Start using the links to read through as many quotes as you can.
- When you find a quote that you like (must be attributed to a noteworthy person- may NOT be unknown), copy and paste it into a google doc, an e-mail document, and/or a Word document that you save in your LA folder in your school account.

QUOTATION WEBSITES
- Use these websites to start your search for quotes. When you find a quote that you connect with, copy and paste it (including the author) into a google doc, an e-mail, and/or a Word document in your LA folder (school account).

http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/

http://www.famous-quotations.com/asp/categories.asp

http://en.proverbia.net/citastemas.asp?letra=F

http://www.inspirationalquotes4u.com/
- scroll part of the way down the page to see quotes organized by subject/topic

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics.html

http://www.quoteworld.org/browse.php

http://www.quoteland.com/topic.asp

http://www.famousquotes.com/by_category.php?letter=a

http://www.quotationreference.com/subject_index.php

http://en.thinkexist.com/topics/

Homeowork- 1/31/2011
- Find more quotes if necessary!

Extra Credit
* If you have read this far, come to me for five points of extra credit (CSK) and tell me three parts of speech.

2011-01-20T10:12:00.001-08:00

Writing Contest!

LA Classes:

Check out this link if you have time today. Read about the topic and previous entries!

Writing Contest

Google Docs Link

2011-01-19T11:09:00.001-08:00

Google Docs

2010-12-06T08:35:00.001-08:00

Music Lyrics

- Here are search results that you can use to find your lyrics:

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=song+lyrics&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=active

Find your lyrics.
Copy and paste them into a Word document.
Double space.
Separate into stanzas if not done already.
Give credit (copy and paste) to the website from which you are taking your lyrics.
Make sure you have the title of the song, the artist, and the performer.
Print two copies of your lyrics.

7th and 8th Grade LA- Monday, Nov. 15

2010-11-15T06:04:00.000-08:00

7th and 8th Grade- Extended Writing

Revising, (Improving), and Editing

- Goals Today:

- Finish work from Friday; you may have to re-read those directions.

- Share your Google doc with a few classmates; receive feedback from others, give feedback.

- Do a word count on your document. Less than 600 is probably too short, more than 1,200 is probably too long. Talk to Ms. Collopy for clarification.

- Print at least one copy to have your parents read/ use for LA tomorrow.

When asking for and giving feedback to others:

- Read the entire essay/story/letter.

- Give the author ideas about paragraphs that need more details, elaboration, examples, etc.

- When giving feedback about the personal narrative and the creative short story, give ideas on places for more dialogue and imagery.

- Give feedback on sentence fluency and variety.

- Offer ideas for improving the writing.

- Give all feedback on the Google doc, not by yelling across the room.

Homework - Monday, November 15, 2010-

- *Print a copy of your writing. It might be easier to copy and paste your document into Word; save it in Word; print to MSLABHP4200.

- Ask a parent or another adult (older siblings are fine) to read your essay/story/letter. Ask them to read it at least once and give you feedback on your ideas, sentence fluency, word choice, creativity, etc. Have them help you find CUPS errors too.

Language Arts- 7th and 8th Grade

2010-11-12T05:27:00.000-08:00

Language Arts- Friday, November 12

*Please read this entire blog post before you start your work today.

8th Grade Students

- Publish your Lois Lowry paragraph on your blog. Then, read all of the directions and proceed with today's work.

Do you have all four of your rough drafts?

Re-read all four (or however many you have with you today). Which one do you like the most? Which one is the best?

Objective:

- To revise, edit, and publish one full extended writing piece by the end of class on Monday. (*If you don't finish by Monday, November 15, you will have to arrange access to technology to turn your essay in by Wednesday).

Step 1- REVISE

- You've re-read your rough draft.

- Do you understand the topic, the mode of writing, and the audience for whom you are writing?

- Type your piece into a Google Doc (school account).

- Just TYPE! Don't worry about any formatting or editing issues.

- Let Ms. Collopy know when you have it typed into your Google Doc.

*REVISION STRATEGY #1- Go through your rough draft. Do you have enough IDEAS? Have you elaborated, given examples, provided evidence throughout the piece?

- If you have chosen the black and white picture short story....

- Is it creative?

- Does it tell a story?

- Does the story follow the plot principles of Freytag's Pyramid?

- Is there a conflict?

- Is there dialogue?

- Does it make sense?

- If you have chosen the hero essay...

- Is it on topic? Do you have enough ideas, examples, elaboration, evidence, and examples?

-Write a well-developed essay (4-6 paragraphs) about the following topic. Make sure to plan your writing first.

Imagine you could be a hero for a day. Write a well-developed essay describing what you would do and why. Be sure to include a description/definition of what a hero is. Would you be a super-hero or more ordinary? Who would you help? How? What might an ordinary day in the life of a hero look like? Explain why the world needs heroes.

- If you have chosen the Letters About Literature...

- Is it on topic? Remember, it's a letter connecting to the author, the characters, the conflict, the resolution. It's not a book report. Perhaps you've shared how the book has changed you or affected you. Do you have examples that connect to the experiences or parts of the book that have affected you?

- If you have chosen your personal memory/memoir...

- Does the story or memory itself relay its importance? In other words, do you have to state, "This is why this memory is important to me." Instead, the story speaks for itself. Have you used dialogue, imagery (descriptive writing), similes, or metaphors?

REVISION STRATEGY #2:

- Sentence Variety.

- List the first word in every sentence of your writing piece. Look for repetition. Change the beginning of at least five sentences. Use your topic sentence packet for inspiration on how to start sentences in a variety of ways.

- Do any of your sentences begin with SO, AND, BUT, or OR? Change them.

- Does the length of your sentences vary?

*Check your grade on PowerSchool. Feel free to print a grade report if you want. I will not give you print-outs today.

Students: Come up to Ms. Collopy and quietly whisper your favorite movie to her for five extra credit points! Good job reading all the directions! Shhhhh, don't tell your neighbor...

When You Are Finished with Franklin Work...

2010-10-06T11:39:00.001-07:00

7th Graders

- Use this link and take a few grammar quizzes. Start with the quiz on capitalization.

Grammar Quizzes

8th Graders

- Use this link and take a few grammar quizzes. Take the punctuation quizzes in order.

Grammar Quizzes

Ben Franklin

2010-10-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

Ben Franklin Project

Week of October 4-October 8

Objective/Learning Goals:

- to explore the life and work of a famous American statesman, inventor, and author

- to show a mastery of summary skills

- to read from a variety of sources

- to create a personal "Life's Little Instruction Book" based on personal philosophies, yet modeled after Franklin's famous proverbs

- to use technology to access information and demonstrate knowledge, comprehension, synthesis, and evaluation of information

*Please read and review all of the directions before you start the webquest.

Procedure:

* use Firefox or Safari for all internet based activities

* use tab browsing to toggle in between websites, directions, Google Docs, and your Edublog

1. Ben Franklin Webquest

- answers copied and pasted onto a blog post

- title blog post Ben Franklin Webquest answers

- answers should be in complete sentences

- Here's the link, but you will have to copy and paste several different websites in order to find the correct information:

Ben Franklin Webquest start page

2. Summary Paragraph

- publish on your blog post; feel free to write the draft in Google Docs (here's the log-in: Google Docs/MSSD14 log in)

- use any of the following websites (or find your own reliable websites)

- http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/

- http://bensguide.gpo.gov/benfranklin/

- http://www.libertyskids.com/arch_who_bfranklin.html

- http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/

- write a well-developed paragraph that summarizes Franklin's personal life, accomplishments, contributions, and legacy

- insert a picture (or two) into the post; make sure to give credit to the website where you found the image

- use a topic sentence from your topic sentence packet; use a concluding sentence

3. Proverb Translation

- Create a blog post titled Franklin's Proverbs and My Translations

- Define the word proverb first (you have to understand what a proverb is in order to translate them correctly).

- List one of Franklin's proverbs. Then, define the proverb in your own words (complete sentence; you may use dictionary.com; do not copy and paste, put it into your own words).

- Use the following link to translate 14 proverbs; you must choose the 14 proverbs from the 14 different years represented; read through several of them and put 14 into your own words!

- The post should be structured so that it's clear what year the proverb comes from, the original words, and your translation; use bullets, bold lettering, and spacing to show this organization

Here's the link for Franklin's proverbs:

http://www.vlib.us/amdocs/texts/

- scroll down to 1700s

- then use each year of "Franklin, Benjamin: Poor Richard" to look at the proverbs from the different years

- The 1733 link is a little harder to read because the proverbs are listed in a paragraph. You can do it!

3. Questions for Mr. Franklin
- Create a list of questions that you might ask Ben Franklin about his proverbs, his political viewpoints, and his outlook on the 21st century vs. his life during the 18th century.
- Title this blog post Questions for Mr. Franklin; you must have at least 10 questions that show a connection between his life and life now; questions should reflect his political accomplishments, current events, his proverbs, etc.

4. Life's Little Instruction Book

What advice would you give to elementary school kids about life, school, family, friends, sports, hobbies, good times, bad times, OR just any lessons that you've learned?

Here's a little information about the original Life's Little Instruction Book that was published years ago!

Jackson Brown originally wrote Life's Little Instruction book as a gift for his son who was leaving home to begin his freshman year in college. Brown says, "I read years ago that it was not the responsibility of parents to pave the road for their children but to provide a road map, and I wanted to provide him with what I had learned about living a happy and rewarding life." Life's Little Instruction Book is a guidebook that gently points the way to happiness and fulfillment. The observations are direct, simple, and as practical as an umbrella.

"Most of us already know how to live a successful and purposeful life," says Brown. "We know we should be more understanding and thoughtful, more responsible, courageous and appreciative. It's just that we sometimes need reminding." Life's Little Instruction Book is that reminder and the perfect gift for students, relatives, or a friend who needs encouragement at any time of the year. A New York Times #1 bestseller for 50 weeks, it is translated into 33 languages and continues to inspire readers throughout the world. This title is available in three separate volumes or in one book collection, The Complete Life's Little Instruction Book.

Read a few of the original "instructions." They're light-hearted and fun, yet they ring true with many people. Some of Life's Little Instructions...

Your Task:

- Create your own instruction book about life and living.

- Does your family have any sayings or beliefs that would be part of your list?

- Create at least 20 instructions. Title your blog post something unique that represents your instructions. List and number your 20 instructions. Use short explanations as necessary. Have fun with these instructions and be light-hearted.

2010-09-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

8th Grade L.A.- September 15, 2010

1. SRI test and receive progress report to take home.

2. Google Docs - work on your summary paragraph. Comment on several others' paragraphs (4-6?). Your summary paragraph should accurately and concisely summarize the New York Times article on study habits. The information should be specific enough to show a true understanding of the four findings.

When you are ready to turn yours in, copy and paste it onto a Word document (because it prints in a more desirable format):

- double space

- proper heading

- Courier 12 pt. font

Food for thought:

For all our conceits about being the center of the universe, we live in a routine planet of a humdrum star stuck away in an obscure corner ... on an unexceptional galaxy which is one of about 100 billion galaxies. ... That is the fundamental fact of the universe we inhabit, and it is very good for us to understand that. -Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996)

- Write a post on your Edublog that reflects on that quote (agree, disagree, wonder, like, dislike, etc.). Can you add an image and give credit to where you found the image?

2010-09-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Monday, September 13, 2010

After you finish your SRI test (I'll send you home with reports to share with your parents today), please "play" in the following sites.

Complete this survey!

- It's short! The first two questions are mandatory, but you don't have to answer the third if it doesn't apply to you.

New School E-Mail (it looks like your Gmail, but it's not!)

- send an e-mail to a classmate or two through this new e-mail account; remember it's not your personal Gmail account

Google Docs Start Page (it looks similar to the e-mail screen, but it's different!)

- create a new document called "Language Arts Today" in Google Docs; save it

PowerSchool Log-in

- check your grades; what else can you find out here?

Edublogs

- log into your edublog from last year (or create a new edublog if you didn't last year); change the appearance (or play with it) of your blog

Ms. Collopy's 8th Grade Wiki

- Click on this link. I don't have much posted yet, but hope to use the Wiki as a useful resource (in addition to this blog).

Ms. Collopy's 7th Grade Wiki

- Click on this link. I don't have much posted yet, but hope to use the Wiki as a useful resource (in addition to this blog).

A confusing (yet fun?) brain teaser here

- Let me know when you figure it out, because I haven't yet!

Grammar Blast

Play the 7th or 8th grade review games and see how well you score.

Test

2010-08-31T11:51:00.001-07:00

7th Grade Homework

Word Wall- 4th Quarter

2010-04-29T07:00:00.001-07:00

The Word Wall in Ms. Collopy's room is standing extra credit. In order to earn extra credit, use the following words in meaningful sentences. Meaningful sentences demonstrate a true understanding of the definition and correct usage of the word. Sometimes, it is necessary to write more than one sentence in order to demonstrate this understanding. Each high-quality sentence is worth a possible two points. The maximum amount of extra credit awarded per quarter is 50 points.

Here are the words for the Word Wall:

pseudonym
fluctuate
concurrent
lucrative
abound
finale
pliable
indigence
soluble
affinity
docile
frugal
desolate
degenerate
allegiance
hoard
aggregation
underscore
dexterity
divulge
gregarious
unquenchable
covet
jeopardy
influx
sporadic
affluent
traverse
capsize
municipal

Thursday, April 15

2010-04-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

Thursday, April 15

Typed final drafts of your research papers and works cited are due tomorrow!

Today:
Read all directions before getting started.

Create a new Word document for your works cited.
Change your font to Courier NOW! (it will help you later)
The words Works Cited should be centered at the top.
The entire document should be double spaced. Do not put extra space in between citations.
Works Cited Basics: Alphabetize your source cards; type your source cards into your Word document following these directions; type continuously (ONLY hit return in between source cards) and do all of the reverse indent formatting at the end; the auto-format feature will want to eliminate the < > symbols for your internet sites; type it in twice and you will over-ride this auto-format feature!
Do no format the reverse indent until you have typed in each entry. Complete reverse indent at the end. I will help you individually as this can be a little bit tricky.
Do not put a heading on the works cited page.
Be conscientious about all capitals, periods, commas, quotation marks, < >, etc.
When you are done typing your works cited page, continue typing, improving, and editing your body paragraphs...

- When I read your final draft, will I think you are an expert or just know the basics?
- When I read your final draft, will I think you worked on the writing process and fluency, or just stating information?

Formatting instructions for your final draft of the research paper and works cited:
- Look at the back page of the original packet that I gave you about the project about the heading and title.
- Font- 12 point font.
- Font type- Courier
- Insert page numbers if you know how.
- Double-space the entire document.
- Paragraphs should NOT have labels (for example, do not put the word "introduction" above the introduction).

April 13, 2010

2010-04-13T06:29:00.000-07:00

April 13, 2010

Mac Lab Goals:
- Keep on typing your rough draft.

- Type your introduction, 3-4 body paragraphs, and conclusion.

- Use your topic sentence packet in order to write each topic sentence for your body paragraphs.

- Don't worry about most formatting, but by the end of class, do the following:

1. double space
2. type your name and class period at the top of the page
3. PRINT to the Mac Lab printer (MSLABHP4200) right at the end of the period and keep this draft for tomorrow.
4. No one will be allowed to print tomorrow, so even if you have two or three paragraphs, please print at the end of the period!

Monday, April 12- Working on Rough Drafts

2010-04-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 12

Working on Rough Drafts

- Step 1- Read this entire blog post.

- Step 2- Open Word; if you have already created a document use that document; save early and often!

- Step 3- Start typing all of your paragraphs! Use your hand-written rough drafts and start typing your body paragraphs.

Do not worry about any headings, format issues, font, titles, etc.
We will follow a common format; you can always format your document last.

- Step 4- Use your topic sentence packet to start each body paragraph. Each body paragraph should start with a topic sentence from the topic sentence packet.

- Step 5- Follow your outline in order to organize what information is in each paragraph.

- Step 6- Use transitions to link ideas and paragraphs together.

- Step 7- If you want to work on typing/body paragraphs at home, you need to transport this document electronically back and forth between school and home. OR- I am more than happy to write passes for homework club for any students this week.

Ways to transport your document:

- copy and paste in the body of an e-mail; work on it at home, then copy and paste it into Word at home and repeat to get it back to school
- attach the Word document to an e-mail and work on it at home and school
- use Google Docs
- use a flash drive

Friday, April 9

2010-04-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 9

Today:
- continue research; go deeper!; are you an expert about your disease OR have you just covered the basics?
OR
- start typing (and saving in your LA folder) your introduction and conclusion into a Word document
- don't worry about any formatting yet; these instructions will be given next week; you can always go back and re-format

This Weekend:
- continue to revise and edit your introduction and conclusion; share it with your parents
- work on your outline; this is your ticket into the MacLab on Monday, April 12

Next Week:
- typing, revising, and editing our research papers
- final draft of research paper with a works cited - due Friday, April 16!

Reliable Websites- Disease Research

2010-03-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

March 31, 2010

- In addition to finishing yesterday's work, please complete the following task today.

1. Come up with a Top Ten Disease Research Website list.

2. You have two options of how to share this information.
- The best way is to post the list on your blog and use the "link" feature.
- You should title the blog post- Top Ten Disease Research Websites.
- Under each link to a reliable website, write a short description of why it seems like a good place to complete research.

Example:
Web MD
* This website is a great place to obtain general information about many health conditions. It has useful, up to date articles.

- If you can't get into your blog, complete this on a Word document.

Getting Ready to Write Research Papers

2010-03-30T06:15:00.000-07:00

March 30, 2010

Today's Objectives:
- Practice basic computer skills and Word skills.
- Bookmark medical websites into your account using Google bookmarks or the Firefox/Safari book marks.
- Find examples of medical websites and start evaluating them for reliability.

Procedure:
- Read this entire post before starting today's tasks.
- First, open a blank Word document.
- Save it in your Language Arts folder. Name it - (your last name).docx, for example, Collopy.docx. Call Ms. Collopy over and prove to her that you have saved it in the correct folder.
- It's o.k. to help each other do this properly.
- Then, answer the following questions on the Word document in complete sentences.
1. What is a Works Cited or a Bibliography? Is there a difference between the two?
2. What is the best way to do internet research on a topic that you don't know very much about?
3. How do you know if a website is reliable and has correct information?
4. Why is it NOT acceptable to copy and paste information from a website into your own notes?
5. Why is Wikipedia considered unreliable in most academic areas?
6. What is the difference between closing an application and quitting out of an application? How do you quit out of an application? How do you close an application?

- After you answer those questions, complete the following formatting tasks:
(remember: View, then Formatting Palette to open the helpful formatting palette!)
(also, if you don't understand the icons on the Formatting Palette, you should hover your mouse/cursor over the icon and it will tell you what the icon means)
- number your answers using the bulleting and numbering feature.
- make the first word of each response bold
- make the last word of each response italicized
- put a proper heading at the top of the paper, but align it to the right
- put a title below the heading, but above the answers that says: Research Questions
- center that title
- select the whole text, by using Edit, then Select All or Open Apple/Command A
- make all of the text Courier font
- make all of the text 10 point font
- select the whole/entire text again and double space your whole document (using the formatting palette!)
- Have you saved your document lately? It is a good idea to use the File, then Save command or Open Apple/Command S and save what you are working on periodically.
- Print this document to the MacLab printer. Make sure it isn't being routed somewhere else. Look up to the chalkboard to make sure you have the correct printer name selected.

After you turn this document into Ms. Collopy, please complete the following task.

- Goal: Find ten different websites that would be appropriate for completing research about a disease.
- Once you find a website that you think looks reliable, scroll down toward the bottom and find the organization that maintains it.
- If you think you have found a good website, create a bookmark to keep track of it. Don't just bookmark the website, create a folder (name it Disease Research).
- Do you know how to use Google bookmarks? Feel free to try! These are more reliable and you can access them anywhere.
- You can also just use the bookmarks that Firefox provides.
- If you find ten websites before the end of class, just keep on going and find more! Websites can be specific to diseases if you want.

Direction Reading Bonus:
* If you are still reading this post, come get a post-it from Ms. Collopy and write your name on it for an extra credit bonus!

Word Wall as of February 10

2010-02-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

Word Wall

The Word Wall in Ms. Collopy's room is standing extra credit. In order to earn extra credit, use the following words in meaningful sentences. Meaningful sentences demonstrate a true understanding of the definition and correct usage of the word. Sometimes, it is necessary to write more than one sentence in order to demonstrate this understanding. Each high-quality sentence is worth a possible two points. The maximum amount of extra credit awarded per quarter is 50 points.

Current List:

inundate
traverse
municipal
succulent
fluctuate
synchronize
dilapidated
divulge
enigma
voracious
bipartisan
gregarious
adversary
tenacious
definitive
bicameral
maniacal
degenerate
cartographer
antecedents
invigorate
formidable
bulwark
outlandish
overwhelm

Intel Visual Ranking Project

2010-01-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

Intel Log in for students HERE

Use Collopy as your teacher i.d.

Use the team name as your team name and password that Ms. Collopy gave you in class.

Scroll down to the topic that says "leadership qualities of a captain."

Follow the on-screen prompts and complete the ranking project. Make sure to hit save using the save icon.

Use the worksheet to complete this activity.

"Words to Live By"- Publishing on Your Blog

2010-01-12T05:23:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, January 12

Goals & Objectives:
- To revise and edit your best paragraph onto your blog.

Procedure:
- Log into your edublog.
- www.edublogs.org
- re-read your paragraph before you post it (post in a new post - choose an appropriate title; "Words to Live By", Personal Narrative Essay Excerpt, etc.)
- preface your excerpt by saying something like this....
The following is an excerpt from my personal narrative essay about what is important in my life. I chose to include my second body paragraph for this blog post. Thanks for leaving comments.

- Publish your post.
- Use the links on the side of my blog to read and comment on others' posts.
- Typing should only take 20 minutes of class!

Tomorrow:
- Be ready to write your final draft as an in-class test.
- You must have blue or black ink for the final draft.
- Ask your parents/family for help tonight finishing revisions and editing.
- You will write your final draft and complete a self-evaluation.
- Refer to the earlier blog post (below) for some of the grading criteria.
- Handwriting will be graded on the final draft in addition to the other requirements.

Word Wall

2009-12-18T12:28:00.001-08:00

Here are the second quarter Word Wall words:

(In order to receive extra credit, you must put these words into meaningful sentences. The sentence/sentences must demonstrate that you understand the definition).

forlorn
dwindle
recede
amiss
contemplated
fidget
beckon
persistent
optimistic
gaunt
muster
liberation
intently
legitimate
nuisance
flimsy
resign
intense
despair
idiosyncrasy
interval
coincidence
valedictorian
antagonism
inscription
incriminate
falsify
scheme
drawl
dismay
vile
defiant
flustered
contorted
urgency

*You may write more than one sentence to get the meaning across. You may use other forms of the word.

Friday, December 18

2009-12-17T13:00:00.000-08:00

Day 2 - Friday, December 18
Words to Live By
Preparing to Write the Essay

*If you haven't finished finding your quotes, please review yesterday's directions (below this post).

Objectives:
- show Ms. Collopy 5-6 quotes
- outline essay using hand-out from Ms. Collopy
- locate your "Topic Sentence Packet"
- find new quotes if original quotes don't quite fit (once you get going, the quotes that you found on Thursday might not fit perfectly with the thesis/ideas in your essay)

* After break:
- We will write rough drafts and learn how to write effective introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions.
- We will help each other stay on topic.
- We will write final drafts and publish our essays on our blogs.

Thursday, December 17

2009-12-16T18:05:00.000-08:00

Thursday, December 17
Words to Live By
Personal Narrative Essay
7th Grade Language Arts

Objectives:
- to read all of the directions, objectives, and topic ideas on this blog
- to pick quotes for all paragraphs; **** you must choose 5-6 quotes (minimum) today in order to be prepared for Friday!
- to copy and paste quotes onto a google doc, and e-mail document, and/or a Word document that you save in your LA folder in your school account

Procedure:
- Read this entire post.
- Start using the links to read through as many quotes as you can.
- When you find a quote that you like (must be attributed to a noteworthy person- may NOT be unknown), copy and paste it into a google doc, an e-mail document, and/or a Word document that you save in your LA folder in your school account.
Product:

Write a well-developed essay (5-6 paragraphs) about the most important elements in your life. Not only describe what is most significant/central to you, but also explain how the important people, places, and experiences shape who you are today. Furthermore, connect those elements to quotes that demonstrate the same qualities.

Specific Topic/Guiding Questions:

• Who are you? How would you (and/or others) describe you? What/who is important in your life? Why? How did it become important? What impact do these elements of your life have one you? What specific stories examples show the importance of these elements? What do you hope others believe to be true about who you are and your values?

What will you be graded on?
Introduction
- meaningful; thesis statement; piques interest; not a list; quote included
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Body
- at least three obvious body paragraphs
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Conclusion
- meaningful; satisfying; looks to the future; relates to the rest of the essay
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Sentence Quality/Variety/Fluency
- sentences make sense; sentences show thought and variety
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Use of Quotes
- all paragraphs use quotes; attempt to introduce quotes smoothly (not just “stuck” into paragraph
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Topic Sentences- MUST BE FROM PACKET!!!
- all body paragraphs have a topic sentence from the packet and the author has labeled them accurately
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Ideas- overall
- on topic; clear emphasis on what is important/significant- links to quotes- gives pertinent examples
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Organization- overall
- paragraphs follow a plan
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Word Choice
- interesting; avoids repetition; avoids you, your, thing, stuff, and elements.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CUPS (Capitalization, Usage, Punctuation, Spelling)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

QUOTATION WEBSITES
- Use these websites to start your search for quotes. When you find a quote that you connect with, copy and paste it (including the author) into a google doc, an e-mail, and/or a Word document in your LA folder (school account).

http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/

http://www.famous-quotations.com/asp/categories.asp

http://en.proverbia.net/citastemas.asp?letra=F

http://www.inspirationalquotes4u.com/
- scroll part of the way down the page to see quotes organized by subject/topic

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics.html

http://www.quoteworld.org/browse.php

http://www.quoteland.com/topic.asp

http://www.famousquotes.com/by_category.php?letter=a

http://www.quotationreference.com/subject_index.php

http://en.thinkexist.com/topics/

Homeowork- 12/17
- Find more quotes and be ready to outline essay tomorrow (Friday).

Extra Credit
* If you have read this far, come to me for five points of extra credit (CSK) and tell me three parts of speech.

2009-11-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

Poetry Blog Post- November 17, 2009

Today’s Objectives:

- view/discuss/fix common cosmetic problems on blogs
- comment on other students’ blogs
- check your own comments; possibly reply to a comment that someone made on your blog
- print a second clean copy of your poem for your fluency presentations on Wednesday
- make sure to leave with an evaluation sheet/rubric for tomorrow’s presentations

Commenting on Other Students’ Blogs:

Keep in mind-
- I statements with an explanation of why you feel that way… (give a reason)
o I think
o I feel
o I liked
o I noticed
o I am not sure about
o I loved
o I connected
o I was intrigued by

Try to make comments on:
- literary terms
- mood
- theme
- plot of narrative poems

The Golden Rule applies to these comments:
- make positive comments
- write comments about aspects of your poetry that you’d like to hear about your own writing
- make comments meaningful-
o meaningful- I connected to your poem about baseball because I’ve had similar experiences pitching. I noticed your metaphor too- I wish that I would have thought of that!
- not meaningful- I like your poem.

As always...
- complete sentences
- capital letters
- periods
- correct spelling

If you're still reading, before the end of class come and tell me your favorite holiday... if you whisper it to me, I will give you ten points of extra credit for reading this entire post. If you yell across the room, I won't give you extra credit. Only good on November 17, 2009.

Edublogs/Poetry Project/Last In-Class Work Day!

2009-11-12T06:47:00.000-08:00

Project Reminders and Formatting Notes

* If you work in Safari (look in your applications folder if it's not in your dock) as opposed to Firefox, you can put spaces in between your stanzas, etc.

Formatting Your Poems
- Each poem needs a title.
- Before the text of the poem, write what type of poem it is- e.g., narrative, creative, free verse, etc.
- At the bottom of poems with required literary terms, state what line the literary term is in and re-write the words that show the literary term- e.g., metaphor- rock of courage, line 5.

Introductory Paragraph
- This paragraph should be the last post that you add. Therefore, it will be the first item that I read on your blog.

Grades will be based on:
- Quality of topic/theme
- Required lines
- Poems follow requirements- narrative tells a story, etc.
- Use of required literary terms
- Formatting guidelines followed
- Titles
- Acrostic poem contains lines, not just words
- Poems have appropriate stanza breaks and punctuation
- Ideas
- Content
- Creativity

Do you have a poem for your memorization/fluency presentation?
- See the post from Friday, Nov. 6 for links. See Ms. Collopy for more poems.

Poetry Project Reminders/Due Dates

2009-11-10T07:52:00.001-08:00

Poetry Project Reminders and Due Dates

- Project must be done on Monday, November 16.
This includes:
- all blog posts= six poems = six posts
- introductory paragraph

Remaining in class work time: Today (11/10) and Thursday (11/12)
(I'm happy to write passes for homework club/internet access)

Six Poems (tied together with a common theme/idea/topic):
- Narrative- must tell a clear story; 28 lines
- Acrostic- use a word or phrase; 12 lines
- Creative- any type of poetry that the student chooses; 12 lines
- Haiku
- Free verse- no rhyme; 20 lines
- Diamante

Tips for Success:
- Poetry needs punctuation. It provides logical pauses and stops.
- Poetry's form is different than prose. It should "appear" different too.
- Title your poems creatively or with a clever flair.
- Acrostic Poem:
- the acrostic poem should communicate through lines of poems, not just a brainstorm of words
- for example:

Just a brainstorm of words:
Lilies
Often
Vindicate
Everything

Lines of poetry:
Lilies move my soul
Over the moon,
Villages of hope
Exercising my heart.
*Our goal is to write lines of poetry as opposed to a brainstorm of words!

Introductory Paragraph:
This paragraph will serve as an introduction and short explanation of your writing. It should clearly explain what theme/topic ties all of the poems together. It should also comment on the strengths and weaknesses of your poetry. The paragraph should use a topic sentence from your topic sentence packet. The personal pronoun, I, is totally acceptable because this is a defense of your writing. However, the personal pronoun you should not be used (or other forms of you- your and yours). An effective introduction will range from 5-7 sentences.

Fluency/Memorization Dates:
- November 18 an 19 (all students must be ready on the 18th)
- See post below for memorization options. Please print this as soon as possible! Memorization is hard work.

Edublog Set-Up

2009-11-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

Friday, November 6, 2009
*Show Ms. Collopy your rough drafts
*Carefully review your print-out.

Goals:

1. Create an Edublog account.
2. Change the password on your Edublog account to match your school log-in (look at the G'Day message at the top right of your Edublog- click on your username, scroll down to the bottom of the page and you should be able to change your password).
3. Create at least one post.
4. For this project:
a. One post = one poem
b. Therefore, you will create six posts with poems total.
c. You will have seven posts at the end of the project, because your paragraph will be another post.
5. Pick a poem for your oral fluency/memorization presentation.

Step 1 (please read these directions before clicking on the link below the directions):

Use the link to go to Edublogs website.
Follow the directions to create a username, give your e-mail address, and check the box to "agree" to the terms and conditions of the site.
**** MAKE SURE TO TYPE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS IN CAREFULLY AND ACCURATELY!
Click "next" with the button selected that says "Gimme a Blog."
Follow the on-screen prompts/directions for naming your blog. It must be something school related.
For example: Joe's MSMS Blog
Follow all on-screen instructions including checking your e-mail address for the confirmation e-mail. This might be instant or it might take up to ten minutes. Once you receive that confirmation e-mail, follow the instructions and you will have your own Edublog!
Refer to the list above of goals for the day.

Link is here! Go to Edublogs.

Poetry Memorization Information:
Dates of poetry presentations: November 18 and November 19.

Great article about why memorizing poetry is a useful endeavor.

How to memorize a poem- some good strategies- practical tips.

Some good information about a strong recitation.

Some choices of poems to memorize:
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening
Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love
The Snow Man
Death Be Not Proud
The Road Not Taken
Shakespeare's Sonnet 18
Richard Cory
The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls
Shiloh
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
More poems to memorize

* You may choose your own poem as well, but you need to get approval for other poems from Ms. Collopy.

* See Ms. Collopy for some other options (I have copies available).

Colonial Day

2009-10-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

Nine Men's Morris

1. Answer the questions.
2. Play the game and beat the computer.

Answer the following questions on loose-leaf or a Word document with a proper heading.

*The game will probably work better in Safari. If you have Firefox open, switch to Safari now!

Use this website to find your answers: Nine Men's Morris History *Use the link at the bottom of the page (Merrils Research) to find the answers about rules and other background information.

1. Name three cultures/places where this game has been played.
Now use this link (Merrils Research- referenced above) to find these answers:
Merrile Research- Rules, etc.
2. List three other names the game has been given throughout the years.
3. How many pieces are played?
4. What is a mill and how is it formed?
5. How do you lose?

Once you are done with the written work, play the game using the link below.

Nine Men's Morris

Wednesday, September 16

2009-09-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

Three Goals Today:

1. Print out the Word document from yesterday if not finished. Maximum time to finish: 5 minutes.

2. In-class, typed open "cheat sheet" grammar quiz. Maximum time to finish: 25 minutes!
- In a Word document, type the definitions of the nine parts of speech in complete sentences.

Formatting instructions:
- 1.5 spacing
- proper heading aligned on the right
- title centered- Grammar Quiz
- numbered sentences/definitions (use alignment and numbering in your formatting palette)
- put the part of speech term (noun, etc.) in bold and underlined

Print and turn-in to Ms. Collopy. Select the MSLABHP4200 OR MSCHP printer.

3. Complete the Intel Visual Ranking tool. Start by clicking here. https://educate.intel.com/workspace/student/loginpage.aspx?&LID=en Get a worksheet from Ms. Collopy if not distributed in class. Look on the board for further log-in instructions. Maximum time to finish: 10-15 minutes.

Did you?
1. Finish work from yesterday?
2. Take your grammar quiz, print it, and turn it in?
3. Complete the Intel Visual Ranking tool?

Mac Lab Proficiency Checklist- September 15, 2009

2009-09-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the paragraph that you should read, copy, and paste onto your word document.

Capitalization is fun. I love it. Capitalizing shows that you know how to follow the rules of our language. Not only that, it also demonstrates your intelligence. Intelligent people capitalize correctly. Unfortunately for sad and forlorn language arts (or is it Language Arts?) teachers all over America, text messaging and e-mailing have made capitalization un-cool. Wrong-go-ba-dongo! Capitalization is the coolest thing that you can do besides staying in school! Let's all start this year off well by capitalizing our names, the beginning of every sentence we ever write, and the pronoun I. Got it- we'll get along just fine!

Here's the link for after you are done with the checklist, printing, and turning your work in to Ms. Collopy:

Intel Student Log-In

Teacher I.D.- Collopy
Team I.D.- will be given to you in class
Password- exactly the same as the team i.d. that will be given to you in class

Tech Fair- June 2, 2009

2009-06-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the MSSD14 Tech Fair!

- Student checklists for Word/computer lab success

I use this type of tool before starting work in the lab. The example provided today is very extensive; however, it pays off in the long run. Students prove basic proficiencies once, therefore there's less time spent on simple tasks as the year goes on (hopefully they become life-long skills).
The paragraph that I had them copy and paste is posted on my March 16/17 post (scroll down if you want to see it- totally generic).

Intel Teaching Tools
Overview of:

Visual Ranking Project
Seeing Reasoning Project

Use this link in a different tab:
Student log-in- Intel Tool
Teacher name: Collopy
Team ID: Manitou01 (up to 24; will be assigned to you)
Password: same as team i.d.- it's not case sensitive

Let's try them...

Practice both tools
Visual Ranking
Seeing Reasoning
Come up with your own "factors" for the seeing reasoning project (if you feel like it)
Tips to evaluate student work, etc.

Getting you set up to use the Intel Tools:

Register now and create a simple project before you leave today.
Intel Registration- Teaching Tools
Enrolling teams; try this once.

Monday, May 4- New Reading Logs and OMM Paragraph

2009-05-04T06:05:00.000-07:00

Please read through this entire post. You will find directions about your paragraph and your new reading log.
Of Mice and Men- Theme Paragraph
- final draft

o Type your paragraph.
o Double space your paragraph.
o Italicize and bold your thesis statement.
o Use a correct heading using right alignment.
- Is your paragraph 7-10 sentences long with clear examples and elaboration?
- Did you use personal pronouns? (I, me, you, your). If so, re-write those sentences. You are an outside "expert" or reporter on the subject. It's not about you.
o Do you have at least one supporting quote in the paragraph?
- Final drafts must be turned in before the webquest begins tomorrow on John Steinbeck. Please transport your paragraph electronically- e-mail, thumb drive, Google Docs, etc.
- Print your paragraph either today or first thing tomorrow when you finish!

Also:

o Get a new book from the Media Center.
o Get a stamp on your reading log TODAY!
o Make one side for your independent reading book and the other side for short stories from your literature textbook.

- Procedure for the rest of the year:

1. Keep this stamped reading log until the last week of school.
2. Use the side with an independent reading book for the next ten days (until the Media Center closes).
3. If you finish the book in ten days, you will receive extra credit.
4. On the other side of the reading log, we will keep track of short stories from our literature textbook. Fill in Title: Literature Textbook/ Author: N/A/ Genre: Various/ # of pages: Various.
5. I will give you instructions this week about what short stories you will read from your textbook before the end of the year.

John Steinbeck Webquest

2009-04-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

John Steinbeck Webquest

Essential Learnings:

Students will apply appropriate strategies and skills to understand a variety of texts.
Students will appreciate that literature provides an understanding of human experience.
Students will use critical thinking skills to evaluate a variety of texts.

Background:
- Students have read, discussed, and analyzed Of Mice and Men.

Procedure:
- Students will use suggested websites as well as internet searches to answer the following questions.

Evaluation:
- Students will be evaluated on:

answering questions correctly
answering questions in complete sentences
showing evaluation and synthesis skills for the last question (must be two or more sentences)
writing neatly on loose-leaf with a proper heading OR
typing the answers, double-spaced, NO COPYING AND PASTING (plagiarism)!

Websites:
- The following websites will help with some answers. You may also use search engines (google or yahoo) to find other answers.

http://www.steinbeck.org/MainFrame.html

http://www.infopoint.com/mry/orgs/steinbeck/index.html

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/novella

Answer the following questions:

When was Steinbeck born?
Where did he first attend college?
What was his first novel?
What was his job during WWII?
In what year did he win the Nobel Prize for literature?
Describe Steinbeck’s friendship with Edward Ricketts.
Describe the effect of Steinbeck's relationship with Ricketts (how did this friendship impact Steinbeck?). Give at least two specific examples.
How did Ricketts die?
For what book did he receive the Pulitzer Prize Fiction Award?
What is a novella?
How many times has Of Mice and Men been made into a movie?
Who was Steinbeck’s second wife?
How many times was Steinbeck married?
How many kids did he have? Girls or boys?
What factors, places, and events impacted Steinbeck’s writing most profoundly? (this question must be in answered in more than two sentences)

2009-03-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

Medical Websites- Spring Research Paper

- Students: Please use the following links to start your research. These are all high-quality websites that have been reviewed for you. If you want to use a different website that you find on your own, please ask Mrs. Gaunce, Mr. Goldberg, or Ms. Collopy!

- Searching tips:

Keep searches short and concise.
Do not type in a long question or idea into any search bar; rather, type in one to three key-words that will help you find good information.
All websites are not high-quality. Look at who owns/maintains the website. Be careful of websites that have flashing advertisements and seeem unprofessional.

http://www.medicinenet.com/diseases_and_conditions/article.htm
- scroll down to “browse common topics”

http://www.medicineonline.com/
- Diseases & Conditions
* Allergy * Arthritis * Alzheimer's * Cancer * Cardiovascular Disorders * Cholesterol * Constipation * Diabetes * Eczema* AIDS / HIV
* More Topics...

http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Health/HealthA-Z.shtml
- diseases and health topics alphabetized

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/DiseasesIndex/DiseasesIndex
- very reliable site about diseases; easy links to pages

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthtopics.html
- organized by diseases, systems, etc.

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/common-topics/default.htm
- alphabetical list of diseases and conditions; information about drugs and treatment too

http://www.mic.ki.se/Diseases/index.html
- organized by body system/type of disease

http://www.cdc.gov/DiseasesConditions/
- government website on many diseases- general and specific

http://health.yahoo.com/conditions/
- clear topics here

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter/pub/guide/disease/default.asp?firstCat=3&secondCat=246
- high quality information and research from the Cleveland Clinic about cardiovascular diseases

http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/animations.asp
- 3D animations of how certain diseases and conditions affect the body; may have to be viewed at home due to bandwidth issues, but extremely informative; page links back to a “symptom checker” page

http://www.merck.com/mmpe/index.html
- lists diseases/conditions by category;some drug information available

http://www.stjude.org/stjude/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=bc4fbfe82e118010VgnVCM1000000e2015acRCRD
- information about cancers and rare diseases that affect children

http://edcp.org/
- Maryland Department of Health information about diseases, immunizations, etc.

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH?t=9276
- comprehensive health website; sponsored by Aetna healthcare, but good variety of articles on specific parts of the disease

http://www.healthfinder.gov/scripts/Topics.asp?context=5&keyword=113&Branch=5
- alphabetical by diseases

http://www.medilexicon.com/drugsearch.php
- FDA approved search of drugs

http://www.cancer.gov/
- information about all different types of cancers

http://www.alz.org/index.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer's_disease
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/alzheim/alzheim.htm

- Alzheimer’s information

www.google.com
- in the google search bar, type in the name of the disease you are researching and the word information; for example- lou gehrig's information

http://www.geneticsandhealth.com/2005/07/29/genetics-and-public-health-information-to-trust/
- read about how to evaluate medical websites on the internet
- list of categories with blog entries on different diseases, drugs, and research

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/alzheimers_disease/
- blog with articles about research and Alzheimer’s Disease from a chemist in the industry
- advanced research only
-

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/cancer/
- - blog with articles about research on cancer from a chemist in the industry
- advanced research only
-

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/cardiovascular_disease/
- blog with articles about research on cardiovascular disease and drug research from a chemist in the industry
- * advanced research only
-

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/infectious_diseases/
- blog with articles about drugs for infectious diseases- viral and bacterial
- * advanced research only
-

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/diabetes_and_obesity/
- blog with articles about drugs related to obesity and diabetes
- * advanced research only
-

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/cat_index.php
- complete list of blog topics by this author in categories
- *advanced research only
-

March 18- Citing Internet Sources/Works Cited

2009-03-18T05:54:00.000-07:00

Objective/Goal:
- By the end of the day today (Wednesday), you will create three source cards, three note cards (research cards), and a typed Works Cited.
- The typed Works Cited, source cards, and note cards are due at the end of the period today.

Use tab browsing to refer to the directions on my blog and the websites that you need to visit; keep as many tabs open as necessary.

Skim and scan this entire post before you start working today!

Look at the example of what the basic format of a note card and source card should look like (this is the worksheet from class).

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/migraine-headache/DS00120
o Create one source card. At the top, write- Source 1.
o The author is Mayo Clinic Staff.
o Create one note card.
o At the top, write- Note 1, Source 1.
o Migraines
- now write three bullets of research (phrases) about migraines

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/howprotectkids.htm
o Create one source card. At the top, write- Source 2.
o No author is given.
o Create one note card.
o At the top, write- Note 1, Source 2.
o Vaccines
- now write three bullets of research (phrases) about vaccines

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwh/index.html
o Create one source card. At the top, write- Source 3.
o No author is given.
o Create one note card.
o At the top, write- Note 1, Source 3.
o Safe Water
o now write three bullets of research (phrases) about vaccines

Works Cited

Visit these sites to see directions and examples.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/09/
- list of basic characteristics of citing a Web site correctly

http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citmla.htm
- scroll down to find a clear explanation/example of citing a website.

- You are going to type a short works cited using the three sources from class today.

- The first field/information in a works cited entry is the author; however, these sources don’t have an author given.
- Follow the basic rules on the hand-out that was given to you in class. You should also refer to the websites given in order to do this correctly.
- Important characteristics:
• Works Cited – those words must be centered at the top of the paper.
• Alphabetized by entries (if no author is given, alphabetize by the name of the article).
• Follow the examples exactly for punctuation (periods, commas, brackets).
Use reverse indent. Ask for help if you are having trouble doing this on your computer.
Do not number your entries in the works cited.
Do not type your name on the works cited page.

Mac Lab Proficiency Checklist - March 17, 2009

2009-03-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

Students:

Here is the passage that you should copy and paste according to the directions that I gave you in class:

After spring break, seventh grade language arts students will write a formal research paper. Students will start by researching a disease. This research will occur in science, language arts, and at home as homework. To keep track of their research, students will use source cards. Then, they will organize the information into note cards that correspond to these source cards. After the note cards and source cards are organized, students will outline, plan, and draft the research papers. At the end of two weeks, a final draft with a formal works cited will be due in language arts. At the same time, presentations in science will evaluate student knowledge. Overall, students will acquire the knowledge to be experts on the characteristics of one disease.

Link to Google Docs (through the school's website):
http://www.mssd14.org/middleschool/index.html

Monday, February 9- Lumosity!

2009-02-06T13:11:00.001-08:00

Read this entire post before clicking on the link to the Lumosity website.

Follow the directions to register (SIGN UP) for the free sample. You may use your own personal e-mail address or your Google docs e-mail address- e.g., aecollopy@student.mssd14.org.

On the second screen after registration, fill in your sex and your age. This enables you to compare your results with other people like you. You can skip the other questions/personal information.

Start playing! Try to play at least 8 different memory games (try to vary which category you play as well) and compare your results to other people's. Feel free to challenge a classmate and play the games at the same time (on your own computer).

* You must also go get an independent reading book from the Media Center and get a stamp for your new reading log from Ms. Collopy or Mr. Goldberg.

Go to the following website by using this link:
www.lumosity.com

January 29- Intel Seeing Reasoning Project

2009-01-28T13:11:00.000-08:00

https://ssl.intel.com/EducationUser/student/login.aspx?&LID=en

teacher name: Collopy
team i.d.- team## (given in class)
password- exactly the same as your i.d.

On the Intel website, click on the link (in blue) that says "Jan. 29- TCOCD" on the top of the page in the Seeing Reasoning Projects section.

Intel- Visual Ranking Activity

2009-01-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

https://ssl.intel.com/EducationUser/student/login.aspx?&LID=en

- copy and paste that link into your address bar
- use tab browsing (file, new tab OR command+T) to keep this blog page open for the information

Teacher I.D.= Collopy
Team I.D.- you will receive this in class
Password- same as your team i.d. that you receive in class

Click on The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle- Visual Ranking Project
Order the 13 qualities of a leader by clicking and dragging the colored boxes up and down. Put the most important qualities at the top and rank the other qualities below that.
When you are satisfied with the order of your qualities, hit the save icon to share your information with the rest of the 7th grade class.
Wait for other results to be saved. Then, start using the compare results icon to compare your results to the class average and other teams.
Follow the directions on your worksheet to process and analyze these results.
One worksheet with both names and both students' handwriting must be turned in by the end of the class period.

2008-11-10T14:10:00.001-08:00

POETRY WEBSITES

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/
Poetry 180
- 180 poems chosen by a former poet laureate, Billy Collins

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/poetry/
- Entry point for the PBS poetry focus

http://www.poetseers.org/themes
- notable poems by contemporary and historic authors

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/foolingwithwords/main_poet.html
- Some notable modern poetry

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/58

- Scroll down to find lists of popular contemporary poets and lists of popular historical poets

http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?page=browse&c=amverse
- only use this site if you know the name of the poem or author

QUOTATION WEBSITES

http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/

http://www.famous-quotations.com/asp/categories.asp

http://en.proverbia.net/citastemas.asp?letra=F

http://www.inspirationalquotes4u.com/
- scroll part of the way down the page to see quotes organized by subject/topic

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics.html

http://www.quoteworld.org/browse.php

http://www.quoteland.com/topic.asp

http://www.famousquotes.com/by_category.php?letter=a

http://www.quotationreference.com/subject_index.php

http://en.thinkexist.com/topics/