Ms. Collopy's LA Class

Thursday, May 5, 2011

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

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".

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!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

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

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

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

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.

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.

Monday, April 25, 2011

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