This week's agenda:

Monday 12/9
Grammar in Context/Editing Practice - Immigration and Ellis Island


Tuesday 12/10
Grammar in Context/Editing Practice - Immigration and Ellis Island
 Hard copy Criterion print out due Wednesday

Wednesday 12/11
Grammar / Sentence Structure Packet
pages 3,15,16,17,18,19 due Thursday

Thursday 12/12
Grammar / Sentence Structure Packet
pages 20.21.22.23.24 due Friday

Friday 12/13
Grammar / Sentence Structure Packet
pages 9.10,11,12,7,8 due Monday

 Use this link:  Criterion (old version)

Immigration and Ellis Island

The greatest mass movement of people in History ocurred between 1870 and 1910.  During that time, more than twenty million people emmigrated from europe to the united states.  People left their homelands for many reasons Historians call these reasons "pushes".  Pushes include natural dissasters crop failures war persecution and poverty.  A push might also be the urge for adventure or the desire for change.  People who emigrate go to places where they think they will have a better happier future for themselves and they're families.   Historians call these reasons pulls.

Between 1870 and 1900 about twelve million people arrived in the United States from other countries.  Most came from europe.  Another nine million arrived over the next decade (three fourths as many as during the prevous three decades).  Most immigrants entered the country through new York.  Before they were aloud into the city they had to go threw the immigration center located on ellis island which is in Upper New York Bay.  The statue of liberty in the bay seemed to welcome the passengers.  Not everyone however were truly welcome.  The inspecters at Ellis Island would decide whom could enter the country

Ellis island was named for its original owner a man by the name of samuel ellis he operated a tavvern for local fisherman on the island.  Before that, the sandy peace of land was known to new yorkers as gibbet island a gibbet was a gallows-like structure from which criminals, such as pirates were hanged.  Occasionally in the 1700s, pirates were hanged from trees on the islands shor.  Earlier the island was known by other names.  The dutch collonists who settled in new york around 1630 called the island oyster island because of the nearby oister beds which had been a souce of food for people in the area for many decades.

the federal goverment took over the island in 1892.  From that time until 1954, when the immigration center clozed, twelve million immigrants past through ellis island:  four fifths of all immigrants enter the country.  Thats astonishing.  So, what was the immigrant expereince like.  First, immigrants entered a huge hall and left they're bags.  Then they lined up and filed passed inspectors.  If rejected, they could be sent back to their home countries.  Most however passed through the center within hours.  Ferries ran back and fourth acround the clock, taking the immigrants to manhattan to start their new lives in america.

This Week's Agenda

Monday, 12/2

Artful Defense Revising / Editing
How to Use Kurzweil Reader
Mini-Lesson on Editing - The Difference between Revising & Editing

Tuesday, 12/3
Editing Lab

Wednesday, 12/4
Editing Review - Quick Check Teacher

Thursday 12/5
Editing Review - Fine Tooth Comb - Whole Class
Review Structure:   Reverse Engineering Compare/Contrast Essay

Friday 12/6
Application:  Writing Comparison / Contrast Essay
New Topic

ON REVISION:

“Revision is about being able noticing the glaring errors that are right in front of your own eyes, listening with your story ears to hear how it would sound best, and seeing with fresh eyes the mistakes you are otherwise inclined to cover up unconsciously.  Be focused, be precise, and be ruthless and tireless in your scrutiny… and you will win the day.”

Revising is…

… like a football coach watching tapes.  Imagine if you could go back to your most important game and, like watching a video after the fact, change all of your team’s errors, fixing the mistakes one at a time.  That’s what revising is like!

… like water breaking on sand repeatedly.  Revising is not a do-it-once and be done sort of thing.  Good writing and revising takes multiple efforts, multiple shapings in order to get it right.  Think of waves breaking upon a beach.

TASK
*Always revise off of your best, most recent version.  (Don’t work backwards)


First Pass, Red Ink Revision on hard copy

Second Pass, Digital Revision using Criterion
Document Comments
Use multiple submissions for Feedback Loop

Third Pass, Backwards Reading.  Read one sentence at a time out loud, starting at the end of the document and moving backwards

Fourth Pass, Digital Listening – Kurzweil 3000
Use the first part of your own account name
example:  “jc14bps"
Create New Account if neccessary

Fifth Pass Natural Listening - Partner Read
Listen as someone else reads it out loud to you while you follow along with hard copy text

HARD COPY DUE ON WEDNESDAY @ Beginning of Class – CRITERION PRINT OUT

Criterion - Copy and Paste

Use this link:  Criterion (old version)

Artful Defense

A martial art is a system of self-defents that can also be a competitive sport.  People practices martial arts for physical fitnes, mental dissiplin, spiritual developpment, and other reasons.  Some martial arts, such as tai chi (ty chee), also teaches healing skills, including deep breatheing and meditation.  Most martial arts practiced tody, including judo, karate, and jujitsu, has their origins in China korea and japan.  In modern times, asian and american moovies have increased the popularity of martial arts.  This essay looks at to popular forms of martial arts:  taekwondo and ku fu

Tawekwondo is a Korean art of unarmed combat.  The Korean word taekwondo mean “methid of kicking of kicking or punching.”  This modern sport has ancient roots but was namely only in 1955.  Thirty milyn people world wide practice this popular sport.  Students of Twekwondo learn to deliver fast powerful and high kicks, sometimes while spinning or jumping.  They also learns to strike with they fists and tto block, or avoid, an oppontents kick or hit.  When partners spar, or practice together, they kick or strike without completely making contack.  That way, they don’t hurt each other.  Indivigiuls can also practice by using a targete.

Like taekwondo, kung fu is mostly an unarmed form of combat.  Kung fu, also called wushu was developed more than 2,000 years ago in china.  The Chinese word kung fu means “skill gained from hard work.”  The original meening refers to any skill, not just to martial arts.  The Chinese word wushu, togh, means martial arts.” 

Kung fu students learn poses and meditation as well as how to kick punch throw jump and roll.   Some techniques imitate the movements of animals such as tigers snakes and leopards.  There are hundreds of kung fu styles; some stiles include wepons such as swords and sticks.

Taekwondo and kung fu are both martial arts but there is many differences between them.  One is Korean, and one is Chinese.  Both has ainshunt origins, but kung fu is older.  Both involves kicking, punching and jumping although kung fu can include weapons.  Both is competitive sports, each with strick rules so participaints don’t get injerd.  Taekwondo have a formal system of ranking, with different belt colors to indecate the level.  What matters most is kung fu is how many years students study and how hard they practice?  Perhaps most important people can practice either of these martial arts for fitness, self-discipline, or iner strength. 

This Week's Agenda

Monday, 11/25
Weekend Check in
Revision Practice - Artful Defense

Tuesday, 11/26
Criterion Revision - Artful Defense
After School Club: Draconus Literary Magazine

Wednesday, 11/27



Break

Thursday, 11/28

Break

Friday, 11/29

Break


Coming Up 
Mini Lessons C, E, R, S,
Self Analysis on CERS

ROTHMC CERS Essay Writing
Scoring / Conferencing on CERS 

Sentence Parts & Grammar Terms Quizlet is up!

Here: 

http://quizlet.com/30979860/sentence-structure-parts-grammar-terms-flash-cards/

Time to get studying, folks!

This Week's Agenda

Monday, 11/18
Roll of Thunder Make Up Tests
Pass Back Old Work
Grammar Pre-Test

Tuesday, 11/19


Make Up Grammar Pre-Tests 
New Seating Chart
Peer Grading:  Grammar Pre-Test
After School Club: Draconus Literary Magazine

Wednesday, 11/20
Pass Back Old Work
Peer Grading Roll of Thunder Final Test
Review & Discuss Roll of Thunder Test Final Items
After School Club: Fantasy RPG & Board Games

Thursday, 11/21
Quizlet.com practice
Development of Video - How Do I Know What to Write?


Friday, 11/22

Introduce paragraph revising and discussion

Coming Up 

Mini Lessons C, E, R, S,
Self Analysis on CERS

ROTHMC CERS Essay Writing
Scoring / Conferencing on CERS 

Advice to Parents of Struggling Students

1)  Focus on effort, not the grade.  The grade is the indicator, but the effort represents a student's desire, standards, and work ethic.  Most grade issues can be resolved with support for increased effort.  It's important that a child not feel shamed or judged or feel like their value is just as a number.  Focus on the whole child.

2)  Appropriate rewards and consequences.  Different kids have different token economies:  video game time, access to social events, etc.  Success in school should translate to an increase in privileges, and poor effort or organization can likewise be translated into consequences and a loss of privilege.  With this strategy it's important to be fair and consistent, with expectations clearly state up front as specifically as possible, as well as whatever system you want to put in place.  If it appears arbitrary, capricious, or made up on the fly inconsistently, the process will fail.  Sometimes it takes a lot of rebellion or avoidance before they "get it," so be prepared to be the rock of consistency.

3)  Keep the positivity up, the negativity down.  A child is not their grades.  Love them, laugh with them, have fun with them... and they will WANT to work hard to please you.  If they always feel ashamed, embarrassed, or under scrutiny and attack, they will simply shut down, avoid, or cover up their mistakes.  It's okay to screw up.  Middle school is all about making mistakes and learning from them.  It's okay to fail sometimes if that failure becomes a tool for understanding and growth.  Middle school is a safe place to take the training wheels off.  Better to fall on your face sometimes here than in high school.

4) Find the right balance between being a hands-off parent and a helicopter parent.  Tweens are a moving target, and last week they might have needed more hands-on and this week may need to straighten up and fly right on their own.  As parents and teachers we need to always do this dance, of modulating our desire to demonstrate our commitment and caring with our need to build up their independence, responsibility, self-advocacy, and self-regulation.  Recognize this as a dance, recognize your own perspective, and find what works.

5)  Keep the focus on the child and not the teacher.  It's great to communicate with me and your kid's other teachers and we welcome the dialog.  However, if the teacher and the parent are doing all of the problem solving over late assignments, needing more time, qualifying expectations, etc., then the most important stake holder is being left out of the loop.  Generally I will walk through a plan or strategy after listening very closely to a parent, but then always, always recommended that the onus of movement, of action, of communication be placed back upon the shoulders of the student.  As adults, we should know how to identify and solve problems, but we don't want to deprive a son or daughter of a chance to develop this skill for themselves.

This Week's Agenda

Monday, 11/11
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Tuesday, 11/12
Book Fair
Substitute Teacher
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Wednesday, 11/13
Book Fair
Parent Teacher Conferences
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Complete Audio Book

Thursday, 11/14
Book Fair
Parent Teacher Conferences
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Finish Audio, Make Up Reading from Absences

Friday, 11/15
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Summary Review and Discussion
Catch up day for absent students



Coming Up 

Review Paired Passages Test
Discussion

Comprehension Test ROTHMC Monday Tuesday
Paragraph Editing

Review CERS - Charlotte Doyle & ROTHMC
Mini Lessons C, E, R, S,
Self Analysis on CERS

ROTHMC CERS Essay Writing

Revising Writing - Comparison Contrast Essay - "Artful Defense"

Copy and paste this rough draft into Criterion and then edit it to perfection:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Artful Defense

A martrial art is a system of self-defents that can also be a competitive sport.  People practices martial arts for physical fitnes, mental dissiplin, spiritual developpment, and other reasons.  Some martial arts, such as tai chi (ty chee), also teaches healing skills, including deep breatheing and meditation.  Most martial arts practiced tody, including judo, karate, and jujitsu, has their origins in China korea and japan.  In modern times, asian and American moovies have increased the popularity of martial arts.  This essay looks at to popular forms of martial arts:  taekwondo and ku fu

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You should be able to find:

4 Capitalization Errors

3 Language Usage Errors

2 Comma Errors

1 Period Error

6 Spelling Errors.

Good luck!

Links

Email Mr. Chappell

Quizlet

Criterion (old version)


Reader Log

Paired Passages Study Guide

This Week's Agenda

Monday, 11/4
Paired Passages Review
Mind Mapping Modeling

Tuesday, 11/5
No School for Students
Staff Development / Grading

Wednesday, 11/6
Paired Passages Final - Part 1

Thursday, 11/7
Paired Passages Final - Part2

Friday, 11/8

Reading of ROTHMC, audio tracing


Coming Up 
Paragraph Editing
Finish reading novel ROTHMC
Review CERS - Charlotte Doyle
Mini Lessons C, E, R, S,
Self Analysis on CERS
ROTHMC Final - Write Like a Dragon CERS


... Grammar and Sentence Structure Unit (next major unit of study)

This Week's Agenda

Monday, 10/28
 NWEA testing
Begin Second Quarter Reading Logs

Tuesday, 10/29
First Quarter Reader Logs Due
Introduction to Nightmare at 20,000 Feet

Wednesday. 10/30
Table reading of Script for Nightmare at 20,000 Feet

Thursday, 10/31
Screening of Nightmare at 20,000 Feet

Friday, 11/1
Finish up NWEA Testing
Reading of ROTHMC, pick up

Pending Deadlines / Due Dates
 Any late work due on Monday 11/4

Coming Up
Pass Back Classwork
Turn in PP Tracking Charts
Finish reading novel ROTHMC
ROTHMC Write Like a Dragon CERS (following week)
Paired Passages Review (next week)
Paired Passages Final (next week)
... Sentence Structure Unit (next major unit of study)

Reverse Engineering Criterion prompt: Inspiration

Anchor Page 6 out of 6

FOCUS ON: STRUCTURE OF WORDS, SENTENCES, AND PARAGRAPHS

How many words are there total?

How many words per sentence?

How many sentences begin with the same word?

How often are the same words repeated in close proximity?

How many “ten dollar” words are used? Which ones?

How many different sentence structure patterns exist? How many paragraphs total?

How many sentences per paragraph?

How is the order of the paragraphs organized?

How is each paragraph introduced (topic sentence)?

How is each paragraph developed with details and elaboration?



STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

FIRST PARAGRAPH – (Introduction Paragraph), Grabber, Background Information, Idea Development, Thesis Statement

SECOND PARAGRAPH – (Body Paragraph), First Main Idea, Transition, , Topic Sentence, Details/ Explanation/ Elaboration / Development

THIRD PARAGRAPH – (Body Paragraph) Secon Main Idea, Transition, Topic Sentence, Details/ Explanation/ Elaboration / Development

FOURTH PARAGRAPH – (Body Paragraph), Third Main Idea, Transition, Topic Sentence, Details/ Explanation/ Elaboration / Development

FIFTH PARAGRAPH – (Body Paragraph), Forth Main Idea, Transition, Topic Sentence, Details/ Explanation/ Elaboration / Development

SIXTH PARAGRAPH – (Conclusion Paragraph), Thesis Statement Reworded, More Backgorund, Commentary, Connection back to Self, Button or Punchline


STRUCTURE IN OUTLINE FORM


1. Introduction

a. Grabber

b. Background Information

c. Thesis Statement


2. Body – First Idea (Importance of Rooting For the Underdog)

a. Transition

b. Topic Sentence

c. Development


3. Body – Second Idea (Any Team Can Win)

a. Transition

b. Topic Sentence

c. Development


4. Body – Third Idea (Importance of Believing)

a. Transition

b. Topic Sentence

c. Development Everyone


5. Body – Fourth Idea Transition (Has a Chance)

a. Transition

b. Topic Sentence

c. Development


6. Conclusion

a. Restated Thesis Statement

b. Commentary and Stray Thoughts

c. Button / Punchline at the End


BREAKING DOWN THE WRITING PROMPT

• The prompt of an essay is your single, greatest tool to be successful.

• Being able to fully understand what the prompt is actually asking you to write about is extremely important.

• Smart writers break down the prompt into a series of questions, sort of a self-made checklist, to see if they fully answered the question. They can either do this in their imaginations, or on a sheet of scrap paper.

• When the smart writer is done, they go over the checklist to make sure that they stayed on topic, and included all of the information.

Example of Self-Made Checklist



_____ Did I stay on the topic about someone inspired me?



Location check: Is there a thesis statement at the bottom of the first, introductory paragraph that addresses a person who was inspirational?



Smart Writer Tip: Flip the prompt into a statement.

Prompt: “… a time when you were inspired or motivated by something someone did or said”

Becomes: “The Card inspired me in many ways; here are some of them.”



_____ Did I give specific details about the actions or words that caused me to be motivated?



Location check: Where in my essay do I explain EXACTLY what the actions or words were? This may be in a single location, or it may be in multiple locations – but it NEEDS to be somewhere.



Smart Writer Tip: Once you’ve picked the person that inspired you, ask yourself what was it about them that motivated you? Was it something they did? Something they said? Be as specific as possible. That answer should be part of your essay.





_____ Did the I fully explain the effect that the words or actions had on me?



Location check: Where in my essay do I explain how I was effected? Is it in one place, or is multiple places. Did I gloss over the way that I was effected, or did I take the time to flush out the effects with several different sentences and examples?



Smart Writer Tip: Break the body of the essay down to either being about three different paragraphs about how the writer was effected. Then, in each paragraph, explain that effect and connect it back to what the inspiring action or words were.



_____ Did I clearly explain how these effects were positive or negative?



Location check: Find exactly where you describe how you were effected. Is it clear, based upon what you wrote, that the effects were a good thing? Were they a bad thing? It needs to be obvious and very clear.



Smart Writer Tip: You don’t have to use the exact word “negative” or “positive,” but use word choices that make it obvious. Words like “successful” or phrases like “for the better” for positive effects, or words like “failure” or phrases like “worse off” for the negative.



_____ Did I use specific details to illustrate how I was inspired?



Location check: Locate in the essay where you wrote about how you were inspired. Make sure that you developed as many details, and as many ways that you were inspired as possible.



Smart Writer Tip: If you structured your body paragraphs around three or four different ways that you were inspired, then within those paragraphs there needs to be lots and lots of well-developed details. Don’t be skimpy. Don’t assume that the reader gets what you mean. Details matter -- the more specific, the better.