Friday, November 13, 2015

Narrative Practice #2


Assignment:  write another narrative practice using either Option C or Option D.

Due When:  11/27/15 by 3:15 pm

Students may choose either one of the following prompts:

Practice Option C:  Beach Footprints

You have probably read books or seen movies about people shipwrecked or lost by themselves on a deserted island.

In the famous book, Robinson Crusoe, the main character is a castaway who thinks he is alone on an island. However, one day he is surprised to find a set of footprints on the beach. He knows the footprints aren't his.

Imagine you are a lonely castaway on an island and that you notice someone else's footprints on the beach one day.

What will you do?

Tell the story of what happens after you find the footprints.


Or Practice Option D:  Space Visitor

Imagine this situation! A noise outside awakens you one night. You look out the window and see a spaceship. The door of the spaceship opens, and out walks a space creature.

What does the creature look like?

What do you do?

Write a story about what happens next.


Grading:  

6 out of 6 = A = 25 points
5 out of 6 = B+ = 22 points
4 out of 6 = C+ = 19 points
1-3 out of 6 = Incomplete = 0 points


Extra Credit Option

Students may choose to do BOTH essays.  If they get two 6 out of 6s they get 10 points of extra credit.  If they get at least both above a 4, they get 5 points of extra credit.


These are meant to be funny practice exercises to supplement the teacher-grading writing.  Research shows that students who write more often become better writers.  Make sure to stick between 600 - 800 words with 3 to 5 paragraphs broken up by hitting the ENTER key twice in order of create a gap of white space between each paragraph.

Have fun!


Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Outsiders Vocabulary on Quizlet


We will be using the online program called Quizlet.com to study slang vocabulary and cultural references that students will be encountering while reading the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.

It is recommended that students print out their flashcards and study the words that they don't know three times a day for no more than 15 minutes.  This should be done every day up until the test, which is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, 11/19/15.

https://quizlet.com/_1gpu3f



Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Parent Teacher Conferences Make Up Sessions


Due to a conflict beyond my control, I will be unavailable to conference with parents during the night of Thursday, 11/12/15.

So, I'm extending an open invitation to any parents who are unable to attend the first night of conferences on Wednesday, 11/11/15, where I will be present.

Here are the available slots:

___ on Monday through Friday the week of 11/9/15 - 11/13/15 during second hour between 9:14 and 10:09 a.m.

___ on Monday through Friday the week of 11/9/15 - 11/13/15 during REC period between 11:28 a.m. and 12:14 p.m.

___ or on Friday, 11/13/15, after school between 3:14 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Availability is based upon a first come, first serve basis.

If you'd like to schedule a 5-minute meeting, please contact me via email at
jc14bps@birmingham.k12.mi.us.

Thank you in advance for your flexibility,
Mr. Chappell

Monday, November 2, 2015

Printing Summary Paragraphs


The following instructions were given to students wishing to print and publish their summary paragraphs.

PUBLISHING YOUR THE SUMMARY PARAGRAPH

STEP 1 Type up the Header

Title:  Summary Paragraph

by Name, Hour

Center both of them


STEP 2 IMPORTANT FROM CRITERION

Highlight, Copy and Paste from Criterion


STEP 3 FORMAT PARAGRAPH

Remove formatting:  “Keep Text Only”

Align Text Left

Tab first line of paragraph

Highlight Paragraph Highlight all text:  CTRL-A

Line Spacing - 2.0 (double spacing)

Font – Calibri 14 pt

Underline (if needed)


STEP 4 PRINTING

Make sure that you can print to either one of our two classroom printers

They are: (either) DEDR-D205-DELL1720-01 for the desktops
(or) DER –CART14-2350-01 for the laptops



Reading Journal Expectations


The following changes to the reading log policy are going into effect starting immediately for the second quarter.

As per the district policy, students are still expected to read a choice novel for 30 minutes every night that there is school.  This is a flexible night that can be swapped for religious holidays, sporting events, or family emergencies.

The new policy is as follows:

NEXT QUARTER READING JOURNAL

- All of your logs should be kept in one place -- one NOTEBOOK or BINDER.  You may share this with your Sentence Composing work if you like.

- Pens are preferred

- Typing is okay if you include a print out in the journal itself

- At the end of the marking period, be prepared to turn in ALL of your reading journals in one
book

- Starting 2Q:  only half credit will be given for made-up ZAPS, and only half credit if you forgot your work in your locker