Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Monday, December 6, 2010
Music Lyrics
- Here are search results that you can use to find your lyrics:
- 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.
Monday, November 15, 2010
7th and 8th Grade LA- Monday, Nov. 15
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.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Language Arts- 7th and 8th Grade
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...
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
When You Are Finished with Franklin Work...
7th Graders
- Use this link and take a few grammar quizzes. Start with the quiz on capitalization.
8th Graders
- Use this link and take a few grammar quizzes. Take the punctuation quizzes in order.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Ben Franklin
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:
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)
- 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:
- 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.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
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?
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