The Last Leaf By O. Henry
One of the short stories I like to use to teach irony, foreshadowing, inferencing, characterization, (dynamic, static, flat), symbolism, and suprise endings is "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry. Here is one of the many activites we do to work with this classic short story: I call it BE THE ILLUSTRATOR. I have divided an abriged version of the story up into sections that each require an illustration. Before we start, I let students know that "IF YOU ARE NOT GOOD WITH PEOPLE...DON'T DRAW PEOPLE! Use things that represent the people (good time to talk about symbolism with your students too.). I give them a few class session (maybe three 20 to 30 minutes segments of class) to work on it(where I can help) then what ever is left is for them to finish on their own before the test on the last leaf. Enjoy!
More to come on "The Last Leaf"
Thank You M'am By Langston Hughes
Bio-Cube Langston Hughes
Biographical Information about Langston Hughes
Plot Diagram for Thank You M'am by Langston Hughes
Free Lesson Plan for Thank You M'am by Langston Hughes
Questions for Thank You M'am by Langston Hughes
Audio for Thank You M'am by Langston Hughes
Slide Show to Introduce and Teach Thank You M'am by Langston Hughes
"Thank You M'am" Vocabulary
"Thank You M'am" Questions
Historical Context: The Harlem Renaissance
FUN WAY TO PLOT "Thank You M'am":
FUN WAY TO PLOT "Thank You M'am":
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| Mrs. White's 4th Period's Plot Diagrams for "Thank You M'am" |
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| Mrs. White's 4th Period's Plot Diagrams for "Thank You M'am" |
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| Mrs. White's 4th Period's Plot Diagrams for "Thank You M'am" |
Build Background
The author of “Thank You, M’am,” Langston Hughes, is one of several African
Americans whose artistic and intellectual talents were recognized during a period
in history known as the Harlem Renaissance. Spanning the decade of the 1920s,
the Harlem Renaissance began when blacks living in the heart of New York City,
Manhattan, fled to the northern reaches of the city to escape rising real estate costs
and racial tensions. The northern end of the city was known as Harlem, and this
two-square-mile neighborhood became the epicenter of a cultural explosion among
African Americans.
In Harlem, African Americans, after years of oppression, found their voice
and shared their stories through music, dance, art, theater, and literature. People
like Duke Ellington, Josephine Baker, Countee Cullen, Louie Armstrong, Langston
Hughes, Aaron Douglas, and Sarah Vaughn became well-known both inside and
outside Harlem as these individuals—and many other literary, musical, and visual
artists—fostered pride in the African-American culture and experience.
“Thank You, M’am” tells the story of a boy who tries to steal a woman’s purse. The
woman surprises him by what she does next. Like many stories by Langston Hughes,
this one is about African Americans living in Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City.
When a person does something wrong, such as lying or stealing, should he or she get
another chance? Would you forgive a person who stole from you? Why or why not?
Character
A character is a person or animal in a story. There are only two characters in this
story, Mrs. Jones and Roger. Read to find out what the characters look like, what their
personalities are like, and what they say and do. Keep track of these details in the Venn
Diagram HERE.
A character is a person or animal in a story. There are only two characters in this
story, Mrs. Jones and Roger. Read to find out what the characters look like, what their
personalities are like, and what they say and do. Keep track of these details in the Venn
Diagram HERE.
Dialect: The characters speak in a dialect, a different form of English. For example, they say ain’t
instead of aren’t. Use footnotes for help in understanding the Harlem dialect when you read the story.
The Story Elements
Subject Area: Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 7/8
Duration of Activity: Varies Description of Activity:
The teacher will introduce the lesson using Microsoft PowerPoint to present the different story elements, how they are identified, and what they do. At this point, Handout 1: Story Elements will be presented to the students. The teacher will distribute and use Handout 2: Microsoft PowerPoint Instructions to introduce the students to the use of this presentation software and assist students in analyzing the short story "Thank You M’am" by Langston Hughes. OPTIONAL: In cooperative groups students will write and edit a short story using Handout 3: Story Map. Students then will develop Microsoft PowerPoint presentations of their stories showcasing the story elements.
Objectives:
The students will identify story elements and tell what they do.
The students will analyze the story "Thank You M’am" by Langston Hughes through the use of a story map.
The students will use selected details to create plot, setting, and characters for short stories.
The students will write short stories.
The students will edit the short stories.
The students will publish the short stories.
Only if Optional Objective is Used: The students will create presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint or some other presentation software.
Materials/Equipment:
Copies of the short story "Thank You M’am" by Langston Hughes
Computers with Internet access
Computer software clip art or clip art downloaded from the World Wide Web
Handout 1: Story Elements
Handout 2: Story Map
Handout 3: Microsoft PowerPoint Instructions
Handout 4: Storyboard Form
Prerequisites (skills or background needed):
Some knowledge of accessing the World Wide Web
Procedure:
The teacher will introduce the lesson through the use of a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation
The teacher will distribute Handout 1: Story Elements that includes definitions and examples.
The teacher will assign the short story "Thank You, Ma’am" by Langston Hughes for class reading and use as an example for analyzing the elements in a story.
The teacher will lead whole group discussion of this story.
The teacher will divide the class into cooperative groups of approximately four students each (depending on the size of the class).
The teacher will assign each group a specific short story to read and analyze .
The teacher will create a sample story map using a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.
The teacher will pass out Handout 2: Story Map, to be used in analyzing the story "Thank You M’am," by Langston Hughes
The teacher will allow each group time to fill in the blank story map.
The teacher will distribute copies of Handout 3: Microsoft PowerPoint Instructions for the students to use when creating their presentations
The teacher will distribute multiple copies of Handout 4: Storyboard Form for students to use in planning their presentations
OPTIONAL: The teacher will allow enough time to write their stories in Microsoft Word and complete Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.
The teacher will assist students in completing the assigned activities.
___________________________________________________________________
Integrity and "Thank You, M'am"
PDF Version With Materials
Interactive Reading Guide for "Thank You, M'am"
Based on a lesson by Laurie Wielenga
Interactive reading strategies place the responsibility on students for constructing their own meaning from the text. Teachers or students read the story, stopping frequently to change readers and to have students summarize, predict, make connections, make judgments, ask for clarification, make inference, and ask on-the-surface and under-the-surface questions.
End of paragraph 1
Summarize what has happened so far in the story. If necessary, have the students list what they remember and then ask them to choose the most important five events.
Predict what will happen next. Accept all answers, but ask for grounds for the prediction, as appropriate.
Make connections: What would you do if you were the boy? If you were the woman?
Make judgments: Was it okay for the woman to kick and shake the boy until his teeth rattled? Can you think of a case where the boy would be justified in doing what he did?
A Graphic Organizer for Facts and Inferences
Have students use a donut-shaped graphic organizer for fact and inference responses. Write the character’s name in the donut hole. For example, place the woman in the center of the donut and facts about her around the outside of the big circle. (She carries a very large and heavy purse. She is out at 11:00 p.m. alone. She kicks him and then reaches down and picks him up by the shirt front.) What can you infer about the woman or the boy from this passage? Place inferences on the donut ring some of which may not be accurate. (She is physically strong and the boy is small. She’s a street walker. She’s not afraid.)
End of paragraph 2
Are there any items needing clarification? (If no one asks, ask a student what a pocketbook is.)
What can you infer about the woman from this paragraph?
Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5
Make a judgment: Is the boy being honest? Give evidence.
Should an adult ask the question the woman did and expect an honest answer?
Make connections: What would you do in a situation like this when you are being questioned by an adult?
End of paragraph 9
Make a judgment: Is the boy being honest now? If so, why do you think he is being honest?
End of paragraph 11
Make a judgment: Is the boy now being honest?
Predict: What will the woman do next?
Paragraph 15
Ask for items needing clarification: If students do not ask about the term “willow-wild,” discuss it.
Paragraph 16
Ask for on-the-surface and under-the-surface questions. Someone should ask what she means by “You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong.”
Paragraph 20
Summarize Mrs. Jones’s comments.
What can you infer about her marital status from her name?
Predict what she will do to make the boy remember her.
Paragraph 21
What can you infer about Mrs. Bates marital life, family life, and financial status from where she lives?
Middle of paragraph 24
Predict: What will Roger do when she turns him loose?
End of paragraph 24
Ask for both on-the-surface and under-the-surface questions. Why did Roger go wash his face? (under the surface)
End of paragraph 28
Make a judgment: Is Roger now telling the truth? What is the evidence?
End of paragraph 30
Ask for both-on-the-surface and under-the-surface questions. They should include:
Was Mrs. Bates correct that he was hungry? (on the surface)
Is Roger telling the truth about wanting the blue suede shoes? (on the surface)
What reasons would he have to lie? To tell the truth? (on the surface)
End of paragraph 31
Infer using the same donut at the end of paragraph 1:
What facts do you know about Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones?
What can you infer from these facts?
Ask for questions, which should include, “Is she telling the truth when she tells Roger he could have asked her for blue suede shoes?”
End of paragraph 34
Predict: What do you think Mrs. Jones will say next?
End of paragraph 36
Infer: What do you, the reader, know about her because she says, “Well, I wasn’t going to say that”?
Student-generated questions should include what she means by “neither tell God, if he didn’t already know.” (This is a crucial question.)
Infer: Why does she feed him and have him comb his hair?
Middle of paragraph 37
Infer: What has changed so that Mrs. Jones does not protect her purse or try to keep Roger in her apartment?
Make a judgment: Why does Roger want to be trusted?
Questions the students should ask: What does it mean, “He did not trust the woman not to trust him?”
End of paragraph 38
Infer: Why does Mrs. Bates not have Roger work for his dinner by running an errand for her?
What difference would it make if Roger had somehow “earned” his supper? Why?
End of paragraph 41
Predict how the evening will end when she calls him “son.”
End of paragraph 42
Clarify: “Shoes come by devilish like that will burn your feet.”
Clarify: What does she want (wish) from him?
Predict: Will he give her what she wants?
End of story
Make judgments: Would it have been a better story if she had stayed in his life?
Discussion Questions
These questions can be used for a teacher-led discussion, to guide independent reading, or for a Socratic Seminar:
What do you know about Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones from her name and from what she says?
Why does Roger say he tried to steal Luella Jones’ pocketbook?
Is this the real reason? (inference, not in text)
Why does Luella Jones not lecture the boy about stealing?
Why did Luella not have Roger work for his dinner? (inference, not in text)
Why did she not invite him to come back to see her? (inference, not in text)
Why did she take Roger home and give him the money? (inference, not in text)
Is Luella Jones a person of integrity? Has she always been?
Why does Roger wash his face instead of running away? (inference, not in text)
Why does Roger sit “on the far side of the room where he thought she could easily see him”?
Why did Roger not steal her pocketbook when he was in her apartment and she had gone behind the screen to cook? (inference, not in text)
What does Langston Hughes mean when he writes, “He did not trust the woman not to trust him”? How does this relate to integrity?
Does Roger change in the course of his encounter with Luella Jones? (inference, not in text)
Extension of Lesson
Family Involvement
Use a Family Journal activity with these interview questions:
Tell me about someone you trust to be honest or fair.
Tell me about a time when it was difficult to be honest, fair or to act with integrity.
Teacher Notes or References
Socratic Seminar is an open-forum style discussion in which the instructor does not lecture and students discuss the reading. Students are not to interrupt each other nor criticize each other’s responses. They are to build on each other’s ideas. They should make specific references to the texts rather than generalizations or guesses. Grade them based on the quality of their contributions, the support they cite for their assertions and how well they listen to others. For more information on the Socratic Seminar process go to:
http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/wjhs/depts/socialst/ams/Skills/SocraticSeminar/SocraticSeminarIntro.html
Family journals are designed to include adult family members in the students’ academic and character education. The students interview adult family members and record in their journals what the family members say. Student instructions for completing a family journal are also available.
Lesson: The Purpose of Thank You Ma'm
All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
Resource Links:
Teaching Portfolio-Raindrop Activity
ReadWriteThink
Short Story Lesson Plan-Directed Reading Questions, Theme Worksheet, Metaphor and Simile Worksheet
Wonder You-Extension Activities for the short story
Review of Genres
Definition of Genre
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genres
genre noun
\ˈzhän-rə, ˈzhäⁿ-; ˈzhäⁿr; ˈjän-rə\
Definition of GENRE
1: a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content
2: kind, sort
SUN description Activity
Resource Links:
Teaching Portfolio-Raindrop Activity
ReadWriteThink
Short Story Lesson Plan-Directed Reading Questions, Theme Worksheet, Metaphor and Simile Worksheet
Wonder You-Extension Activities for the short story
Teacher:
Mrs. White
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Class Level:
Average/ Colab/PACE
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Duration:
7 Class Days
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SOL Objectives:
7.1 The
student will give and seek information in conversations, in group
discussions, and in oral presentations.
7.4 The
student will read to determine the meanings and pronunciations of unfamiliar
words and phrases.
7.5 The
student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of fiction,
narrative nonfiction, and poetry.
a)
Describe setting, character development, plot
structure, theme, and conflict.
b)
Compare and contrast forms, including short
stories, novels, plays, folk literature, poetry, essays, and biographies.
c)
Describe the impact of word choice, imagery,
and poetic devices.
d)
Explain how form, including rhyme, rhythm,
repetition, line structure, and punctuation, conveys the mood and meaning of
a poem.
e)
Draw conclusions based on explicit and implied
information.
f)
Make inferences based on explicit and implied
information.
g)
Summarize text.
7.8 The
student will develop narrative, expository, and persuasive writing.
a)
Apply knowledge of prewriting strategies.
b)
Elaborate the central idea in an organized
manner.
c)
Choose vocabulary and information that will
create voice and tone.
d)
Use clauses and phrases to vary sentences.
e)
Revise writing for clarity and effect.
f)
Use a word processor to plan, draft, revise,
edit, and publish selected writings.
7.9 The
student will edit writing for correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation,
spelling, sentence structure, and paragraphing.
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Topics:
Short
Story
Elements
of Fiction
Genre Review followed by Point of View Review
Specifically
concentrating on Science Fiction
Writing-Art
Safari finish up “Rikki Tikki Tavi”
Main
Idea
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Learning Objectives: Student will be able to –
Identify
one genre from another.
Define
Science Fiction
Participate
in pre-planning for a piece of imaginative/creative writing
Create
an original piece of writing from a work of art.
Discuss/summarize
the short story “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury.
Research/Collect
biographical information on an author.
Select
the main idea in a piece of writing.
Select
the topic of a piece of writing.
Select
details that support the main idea in a piece of writing.
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Introduction:
Students
will complete a “DO NOW” on QuizStar to review the topic Main Idea in
preparation for the
SOL
test at the end of the year.
Students
will research Ray Bradbury the author of “All Summer in a Day”.
Students
will research factual information about the planet Venus and the Sun.
Students
will use descriptive imagery to describe the Sun.
Students will read and discuss "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury.
Students will analyze "All Summer in a Day" using the story elements reviewed in class.
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Activities:
Day 1
DO
NOW
Prepare
to read the story with author research-Ray Bradbury and planet research-Venus
and Sun. Students will also view
introductory videos on the planet Venus and the Sun. Links to these videos are posted on the
teacher’s weblog.
Pre-Reading
Activities
Science
Fiction
Use an online dictionary to find the definition of science fiction. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/science%20fiction Definition of SCIENCE FICTION : fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals or having a scientific factor as an essential orienting component — sci·ence–fic·tion·al \ˈsī-ən(t)s-ˈfik-shnəl, -shə-nəl\ adjective Ray Bradbuy http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-bradbury-ray.asp http://www.notablebiographies.com/Be-Br/Bradbury-Ray.html Born: August 22, 1920 Still living 91 years old American writer of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mystery Literary Style rich with Metaphor, figurative language such as imagery, and vivid vocabulary Novels include: Dandelion Wine (1957) Fahrenheit 451 (1953) 2004 President George W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given to artists by the U. S. Government Venus http://www.solarviews.com/eng/venus.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8KrQuPklAw&feature= Sun http://www.solarviews.com/eng/sun.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsoGeq4XcCk&feature=relmf
DAY 2
DO
NOW
Review
of Genres
PowerPoint
review
Definition of Genre http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genres genre noun \ˈzhän-rə, ˈzhäⁿ-; ˈzhäⁿr; ˈjän-rə\ Definition of GENRE 1: a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content 2: kind, sort
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PowerPoint on Genres
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Activity on Genres-worksheet
Review/Finish "All Summer in a Day" is set on Venus, the second planet from the sun. Thanks to advances in space exploration and technology, we now know more about Venus than we did in 1954, when Ray Bradbury's story was first published. How much do you know about Venus? How much do you know about the Sun?
Homework-Genre
Identification Worksheet
Day 3
DO
NOW
Review
PowerPoint Genres
Students will write down answers to
review excerpts
Have
students look over their homework before we go over it.
Review
Homework
Begin
Ray Bradbury's Short Story "All Summer in a Day"
Can
you create the image of the Sun in someone’s mind’s eye? Pretend you will have to describe the Sun
to someone who is blind. Write your
description. Use vivid language…use
your five senses…What does it feel like?
What does it smell like? What
does it look like? What does it sound
like? What does it taste like?
Have
students pair up and read their descriptions.
Read some of aloud to the whole class.
Explain
Quizlet to the class
Go
over vocabulary words for “All Summer in a Day”
Vocabulary
http://quizlet.com/7559141/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/ http://quizlet.com/7554231/all-summer-in-a-day-vocabulary-flash-cards/ http://quizlet.com/2181633/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/ http://quizlet.com/7554120/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
Homework-Genre
Identification Worksheet
Day 4
DO
NOW
Homework-Genre
Identification Worksheet
Review
Vocabulary
Read/Listen
to “All Summer in a Day”
Judgment-What punishment
should be handed down to the children for their actions toward Margot?
Group
activity-have them present their sentence to the class
Worksheet-review questions from short
story
Questions based on the short story
"All Summer in a Day"
http://quizlet.com/7389656/test-zoo-all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
Homework-Genre
Identification Worksheet-A
DAY 5
DO
NOW
Continue
work on descriptive writing activity using imagery-Sun Activity
Review
of Genres-If
needed
PowerPoint
review Practice 1
Worksheet-review
questions from short story
Questions
based on the short story "All Summer in a Day"
http://quizlet.com/7389656/test-zoo-all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
Homework-Genre
Identification Worksheet Identification of Genre, Subgenre and Author’s
Purpose
DAY 6
DO
NOW
Continue
work on descriptive writing activity using imagery-Sun Activity
Check
Homework-Worksheet “All Summer…”
Review
of Genres-If
needed
PowerPoint
review Practice 2
Quiz-Genre
Identification
Homework-Genre
Identification Worksheet
DAY 7
DO
NOW
Continue
work on descriptive writing activity using imagery-Sun Activity
Main
Idea Test-QuizStar
Review
of POINT OF VIEW
PowerPoint
Presentation on POINT OF VIEW
Test
on Genre Identification
Homework-Point of View Identification Worksheet
Day 8
Tie
up loose ends on “All Summer…
Finish
all work on descriptive writing activity using imagery-Sun Activity
Test
on “All Summer…”
Move
on to Drama
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Evidence of Learning (Assessments):
Discussion
Quizzes
Tests
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Wrap-up/Reflection:
Students
will be asked to reflect on the activities they have participated in and
write a reflective journal entry that expresses what they have gained
personally from this unit.
Possibly
a unit project-to be decided
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Comments:
Used this website: http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/genre/genre-activities/
Review Information PowerPoint Review
Lesson 1
•
Genre and Subgenre
•
Categories of Writing
•
Genre = Category
All writing falls into a category or genre.
We will use 5 main genres
and 15
subgenres.
•
5 Main Genres
•
Nonfiction Subgenres
•
Persuasive Writing:
tries to influence the reader
•
Informational Writing:
explains something
•
Autobiography: life
story written by oneself
•
Biography:
Writing about someone else’s life
Latin
Roots
Auto = Self Bio = Life Graphy
= Writing
•
Fiction Subgenres
•
Historical Fiction: set
in the past and based on real people and/or events
•
Science Fiction: has
aliens, robots, futuristic technology and/or space ships
•
Realistic Fiction: has
no elements of fantasy; could be true but isn’t
•
Fantasy: has
monsters, magic, or characters with superpowers
•
Folklore Subgenres
Folklore/Folktales usually has an
“unknown” author or will be “retold” or “adapted” by the author.
•
Fable: short story with personified animals and a moral
Personified: given the traits of people
Moral: lesson or message of a fable
•
Myth: has gods/goddesses
and usually accounts for the creation of something
•
Folklore Subgenres (continued)
Tall
Tale
•
Set in the Wild
West, the American frontier
•
Main characters skills/size/strength is greatly
exaggerated
•
Exaggeration is
humorous
Legend
•
Based on a real person or place
•
Facts are stretched
beyond nonfiction
•
Exaggerated in a
serious way
•
Folklore Subgenres (continued)
Fairytale:
has magic and/or talking animals.
•
Often starts with
“Once upon a time…”
•
Like fantasy but much older
•
Often has a human
main character
•
Fables also have talking
animals, but fables are VERY short
•
What are Dramas?
Stories
written in script form.
Example
Teacher: Everyone take notes.
Student
A: I don’t have a pen.
Drama
Subgenres
Comedy: has a happy ending.
Tragedy: ends in death and sadness.
•
Review
Nonfiction: persuasive writing, informational writing,
autobiography, and biography
Fiction: historical
fiction, science fiction, realistic fiction, and fantasy
Folklore: myth, legend, tall tale, fairy tale, and fable
Drama: comedy and tragedy
Poetry: many subgenres we will not study…
•
Practice
You will be graded on participation and
completion, not on accuracy.
•
1
“Dogs and Cats” by Bob Brady
A
five paragraph essay where the student Bob Brady compares and contrasts dogs
and cats. He provides a lot of
information about both.
Write the genre and subgenre
on your paper.
•
2
Your Science Textbook
Your
science textbook contains much of the human knowledge of Earth and the universe.
Write the genre and subgenre
on your paper.
•
3
In My Own Words by Eva Perón
Eva
Perón writes the story of her life from childhood to her rise in political
power in Argentina.
Write the genre and subgenre
on your paper.
•
4
They Came from the Sun by Tom Mitchell
The
story of a race of aliens that come to enslave the residents of Earth with
their advanced weaponry. Only one
teacher can stop them, but is it too late?
Write the genre and subgenre
on your paper.
•
5
“The
Ant & The Grasshopper” Adapted by Chad Peplum
The
really short story of an Ant who works hard all summer to prepare for winter
and a Grasshopper who just plays.
Winter comes and the Grasshopper freezes to death. The moral is “prepare today for tomorrow’s
needs.”
•
6
The
Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
It
is the fictional story of an African American family living in Flint,
Michigan who go to their grandmother's home in Birmingham, Alabama in the
year 1963. The story is told around the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church
bombing in Birmingham, an actual event in history.
•
7
“Sally
Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind” retold by Tom Cranes
Sally
Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind was the toughest girl in the wild West. Right when
she was born, she looked up and said, "Hello! I'm Sally Ann Thunder Ann
Whirlwind! And I am amazing!" She once made a lasso out of live
rattlesnakes, and then she caught a tornado with that lasso.
•
8
“Going,
Going ... Green!” By Angela Gaimari
In
this essay, Gaimari tries to convince people to do small things to help the
environment. She gives readers many
suggestions on how to live more eco-friendly and asks readers to make the
change.
•
9
Harry
Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
The
first book in the Harry Potter series.
Harry goes to wizard school and becomes a Gryffindor. He learns to play quidditch, a soccer like
game played on flying broomsticks, and he fights an evil within the school
with his newfound magic powers.
•
10
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
In
his first year of middle school, the main character Greg Heffley deals with
“cooties,” learning to wrestle, Halloween, acting in the school play, and
other problems that many middle school students face.
•
Answers
Review Information PowerPoint Review Lesson
2
•
Genres and Subgenres
•
Classifying Stories
•
Genres and Subgenres
Texts
can be separated into groups
called
genres and subgenres.
•
Genres
Fiction: creative or
imaginative writing.
Nonfiction: writing that is
true or factual.
Folklore: stories once
passed down orally.
*Usually
will say “retold by” or “adapted by”
Dramas: plays or scripts.
Poetry:
writing
concerned with the beauty of language.
We
will focus on the first three.
•
Fiction Subgenres
Realistic
Fiction: stories
that could be true, but aren’t.
Science
Fiction: has
aliens, advanced technology, or is set in the future.
Historical
Fiction: a
made up story set around a real event or person from history.
Fantasy:
has
monsters, magic, or super powers.
•
Nonfiction Subgenres
Informational
Writing: provides
facts or information.
Autobiography:
one’s
life story written by oneself.
Auto
= Self Bio = Life
Graphy= Writing
Biography:
one’s
life story written by someone else.
Persuasive
Writing: meant
to influence the reader.
•
Folklore Subgenres
Fable: short story with
talking animals & a moral.
Moral: lesson of the story
(clearly stated).
Myth:
has
gods & goddesses; may account for the creation of something.
Tall
Tale: Funny
story set in the Wild West; main character’s size or skill exaggerated.
Fairy
Tale: has
magic and/or talking animals.
Legend:
a
story that might be true, but is exaggerated.
Usually
says “Retold by” or “Adapted by”
•
Fairytales & Fantasies
Both
have monsters, magic, or talking animals.
What’s
the difference?
•
Fairytales are part of the oral tradition.
•
Usually it will say “retold by” or “adapted by.”
•
Fairytales often start “Once Upon a Time.”
•
Tips for Identifying
•
1
The Lion and the Mouse
Retold by Jerry Pinkney
A Lion was sleeping
when a Mouse woke him up. The Lion was
about to eat him when the Mouse said, “Free me and I shall never forget it:
who knows? I may help you some
day." The Lion laughed so much at
the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he let him go. Some time
later the Lion was caught in a hunter’s trap. The little Mouse happened to
pass by and, seeing the trapped Lion, he gnawed through the ropes and freed
him. Little friends can be a big
help.
•
2
War
Brides
By
Helen Bryan
1939: as Britain
prepares for war with Germany in World War II, the lives of five young women
are about to collide in the sleepy Sussex village. Together they will face
hardship, passion and danger, forming bonds of friendship that will inspire a
desperate plan, And, fifty years later, an act of revenge ...
•
3
The
Adventures of Robin Hood
Adapted
by Howard Pyle
In this work, Pyle
sorts through the many folktales concerning the mythical Robin Hood, who may
have been a real person, and made them suitable for children. Robin Hood's dashing
acts of wealth redistribution (from the rich to the poor) have captured the
imagination and fascination of millions of delighted readers through the
ages.
•
4
The
Best Book of Sharks
by
Claire Llewellyn
This beautiful book
offers insight into the deep-sea lives of one of nature’s deadliest killing
machines. Learn where sharks live,
what they feed on, how they bear their young.
•
5
Escape
From Earth (OASIS)
by
Ivis Bo Davis
LEAVE EARTH OR
DIE– the electromagnetic field around
the Earth is fading away. Soon the planet will burn, and everything and
everyone on the planet will die. Deep Space Vessel Trisznov is the first
human interstellar colony ship, and she is nearly ready to launch in search
of a new habitable planet to colonize among the stars...
•
6
In
My Time: A Personal & Political Memoir
by
Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney
•
7
Pecos
Bill
by
Steven Kellogg and Laura Robb
After falling off his
parents wagon as a baby, Pecos Bill is raised by coyotes. He then becomes the toughest cowboy in the
Wild West by wrestling giant bulls and outrunning a daemon horse.
•
8
Eclipse
by
Stephenie Meyer
The story of Bella
Swan and her vampire love, Edward Cullen. The novel explores Bella's choice
between her love for Edward and her friendship with werewolf Jacob Black,
along with her dilemma of leaving mortality behind in a terrorized
atmosphere, a result of mysterious vampire attacks in Seattle.
•
9
Perseus:
The Hunt for Medusa's Head
Adapted
by Paul D. Storrie
Could a monster whose
very look turns men to stone be too perilous even for the son of Zeus? King
Polydectes wants to get rid of young Perseus. So he tricks the young hero
into performing an impossible task: slaying the snake-haired monster Medusa.
But as the son of Zeus, king of the gods, Perseus has many powerful allies.
Will Perseus' strength and courage allow him to do the impossible?
•
10
A People's History of the United
States
by
Howard Zinn
Zinn tells the untold
history of the United States by focusing on the unrepresented minority
groups: women, Native Americans, and African Americans. He covers the Bill of Rights to Clinton’s
presidency and everything in between.
Practice 1 PowerPoint Information
•
Warm Up
•
1
“Hansel
and Gretel” Retold by Ruth Bevel
The story of a young
girl and boy who get lost in the woods and stumble upon a gingerbread
house. They eat a bunch of it, until
they find out it’s a magical witch’s house.
She enslaves them and cages them, feeding them candy to fatten them up
and eat them.
•
3
Your
History Textbook
Your history textbook
contains much of the known history of civilization.
Write
the genre and subgenre on your paper.
•
4
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
by Christopher Paul Curtis
It is the fictional
story of an African American family living in Flint, Michigan who go to their
grandmother's home in Birmingham, Alabama in the year 1963. The story is told
around the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, an actual
event in history.
•
5
“Going,
Going ... Green!” By Angela Gaimari
In this essay, Gaimari
tries to convince people to do small things to help the environment. She gives readers many suggestions on how
to live more eco-friendly and asks readers to make the change.
Practice 2 PowerPoint Information
•
Identifying Genre
•
Practice 2
•
Practice
•
On a separate sheet of paper, write the following as I
go through the items:
•
Genre and Subgenre.
•
How you got your answer.
•
1
•
Betsy and the Emperor by Staton Rabin
•
Betsy
Balcombe is a 14 year old who must watch famous French general Napoleon
Bonaparte, who is exiled on after his capture at Waterloo. Betsy strikes up
an unlikely friendship with him and the reader is given an interesting look
at the life of one of history's most famous men. Follow Betsy in many thrilling escapades,
from a hot-air balloon flight to a horserace.
An author's note fills in some of the details about the real Betsy
Balcombe.
•
2
•
Containment
by Christian Cantrell
•
As
Earth's ability to support human life diminishes, the Global Space Agency is
formed to protect humanity from extinction. Arik Ockley is part of the first
generation to be born and raised off-Earth. After a puzzling accident, Arik
wakes up to find that his wife is three months pregnant. Since the colony's
cannot support any increases in population, Arik immediately resumes his work
on AP, or artificial photosynthesis, in order to save the life of his unborn
child.
•
3
•
“The Lion and The Mouse” Retold by Jerry Pinkney
•
A
mouse is almost eaten by a lion, but he begs for his life. Being entertained, the lion lets him
live. Later, the lion is caught by a
hunter in a trap. The mouse hears the
lions cries and chews through the ropes of the trap. The moral is that one good turn deserves
another or “what goes around comes around.”
•
4
•
Running Away by Sherri McGuinn
•
A
young girl gets pregnant and finds that her mom is unsupportive. Now she doesn’t know what to do. Should she run away, keep the baby, and try
to get a job, or deal with the blame that her mom puts on her.
•
5
•
Chemistry
Concepts and Problems by Clifford Houk
•
Have
you ever wondered about the differences between liquids, gases, and solids?
Or what actually happens when something burns? This is chemistry. Whether you are studying for the first time
on your own or need a little help for a course, this interactive guide gives
you a fresh approach to this fascinating subject.
•
Identifying Genre
|
WEBLOG ENTRIES
"All Summer in a Day" TEST
"All Summer in a Day"
TEST
Monday, November 21
Tuesday, November 22
_________________________________________________________
SHORT STORY TEXT
Click Here:
http://poster.4teachers.org/worksheet/view.php?id=158908
Or use the short story text below...
_________________________________________________________
All Summer in a Day
by Ray Bradbury
"Ready ?"
"Ready."
"Now ?"
"Soon."
"Do the scientists really know? Will it happen today, will it ?"
"Look, look; see for yourself !"
The children pressed to each other like so many roses, so many weeds, intermixed, peering out for a look at the hidden sun.
It rained.
It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands. A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus, and this was the schoolroom of the children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world to set up civilization and live out their lives.
"It's stopping, it's stopping !"
"Yes, yes !"
Margot stood apart from them, from these children who could ever remember a time when there wasn't rain and rain and rain. They were all nine years old, and if there had been a day, seven years ago, when the sun came out for an hour and showed its face to the stunned world, they could not recall. Sometimes, at night, she heard them stir, in remembrance, and she knew they were dreaming and remembering gold or a yellow crayon or a coin large enough to buy the world with. She knew they thought they remembered a warmness, like a blushing in the face, in the body, in the arms and legs and trembling hands. But then they always awoke to the tatting drum, the endless shaking down of clear bead necklaces upon the roof, the walk, the gardens, the forests, and their dreams were gone.
All day yesterday they had read in class about the sun. About how like a lemon it was, and how hot. And they had written small stories or essays or poems about it:
I think the sun is a flower,
That blooms for just one hour.
That was Margot's poem, read in a quiet voice in the still classroom while the rain was falling outside.
"Aw, you didn't write that!" protested one of the boys.
"I did," said Margot. "I did."
"William!" said the teacher.
But that was yesterday. Now the rain was slackening, and the children were crushed in the great thick windows.
Where's teacher ?"
"She'll be back."
"She'd better hurry, we'll miss it !"
They turned on themselves, like a feverish wheel, all tumbling spokes. Margot stood alone. She was a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain had washed out the blue from her eyes and the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair. She was an old photograph dusted from an album, whitened away, and if she spoke at all her voice would be a ghost. Now she stood, separate, staring at the rain and the loud wet world beyond the huge glass.
"What're you looking at ?" said William.
Margot said nothing.
"Speak when you're spoken to."
He gave her a shove. But she did not move; rather she let herself be moved only by him and nothing else. They edged away from her, they would not look at her. She felt them go away. And this was because she would play no games with them in the echoing tunnels of the underground city. If they tagged her and ran, she stood blinking after them and did not follow. When the class sang songs about happiness and life and games her lips barely moved. Only when they sang about the sun and the summer did her lips move as she watched the drenched windows. And then, of course, the biggest crime of all was that she had come here only five years ago from Earth, and she remembered the sun and the way the sun was and the sky was when she was four in Ohio. And they, they had been on Venus all their lives, and they had been only two years old when last the sun came out and had long since forgotten the color and heat of it and the way it really was.
But Margot remembered.
"It's like a penny," she said once, eyes closed.
"No it's not!" the children cried.
"It's like a fire," she said, "in the stove."
"You're lying, you don't remember !" cried the children.
But she remembered and stood quietly apart from all of them and watched the patterning windows. And once, a month ago, she had refused to shower in the school shower rooms, had clutched her hands to her ears and over her head, screaming the water mustn't touch her head. So after that, dimly, dimly, she sensed it, she was different and they knew her difference and kept away. There was talk that her father and mother were taking her back to Earth next year; it seemed vital to her that they do so, though it would mean the loss of thousands of dollars to her family. And so, the children hated her for all these reasons of big and little consequence. They hated her pale snow face, her waiting silence, her thinness, and her possible future.
"Get away !" The boy gave her another push. "What're you waiting for?"
Then, for the first time, she turned and looked at him. And what she was waiting for was in her eyes.
"Well, don't wait around here !" cried the boy savagely. "You won't see nothing!"
Her lips moved.
"Nothing !" he cried. "It was all a joke, wasn't it?" He turned to the other children. "Nothing's happening today. Is it ?"
They all blinked at him and then, understanding, laughed and shook their heads.
"Nothing, nothing !"
"Oh, but," Margot whispered, her eyes helpless. "But this is the day, the scientists predict, they say, they know, the sun..."
"All a joke !" said the boy, and seized her roughly. "Hey, everyone, let's put her in a closet before the teacher comes !"
"No," said Margot, falling back.
They surged about her, caught her up and bore her, protesting, and then pleading, and then crying, back into a tunnel, a room, a closet, where they slammed and locked the door. They stood looking at the door and saw it tremble from her beating and throwing herself against it. They heard her muffled cries. Then, smiling, the turned and went out and back down the tunnel, just as the teacher arrived.
"Ready, children ?" She glanced at her watch.
"Yes !" said everyone.
"Are we all here ?"
"Yes !"
The rain slacked still more.
They crowded to the huge door.
The rain stopped.
It was as if, in the midst of a film concerning an avalanche, a tornado, a hurricane, a volcanic eruption, something had, first, gone wrong with the sound apparatus, thus muffling and finally cutting off all noise, all of the blasts and repercussions and thunders, and then, second, ripped the film from the projector and inserted in its place a beautiful tropical slide which did not move or tremor. The world ground to a standstill. The silence was so immense and unbelievable that you felt your ears had been stuffed or you had lost your hearing altogether. The children put their hands to their ears. They stood apart. The door slid back and the smell of the silent, waiting world came in to them.
The sun came out.
It was the color of flaming bronze and it was very large. And the sky around it was a blazing blue tile color. And the jungle burned with sunlight as the children, released from their spell, rushed out, yelling into the springtime.
"Now, don't go too far," called the teacher after them. "You've only two hours, you know. You wouldn't want to get caught out !"
But they were running and turning their faces up to the sky and feeling the sun on their cheeks like a warm iron; they were taking off their jackets and letting the sun burn their arms.
"Oh, it's better than the sun lamps, isn't it ?"
"Much, much better !"
They stopped running and stood in the great jungle that covered Venus, that grew and never stopped growing, tumultuously, even as you watched it. It was a nest of octopi, clustering up great arms of fleshlike weed, wavering, flowering in this brief spring. It was the color of rubber and ash, this jungle, from the many years without sun. It was the color of stones and white cheeses and ink, and it was the color of the moon.
The children lay out, laughing, on the jungle mattress, and heard it sigh and squeak under them resilient and alive. They ran among the trees, they slipped and fell, they pushed each other, they played hide-and-seek and tag, but most of all they squinted at the sun until the tears ran down their faces; they put their hands up to that yellowness and that amazing blueness and they breathed of the fresh, fresh air and listened and listened to the silence which suspended them in a blessed sea of no sound and no motion. They looked at everything and savored everything. Then, wildly, like animals escaped from their caves, they ran and ran in shouting circles. They ran for an hour and did not stop running.
And then -
In the midst of their running one of the girls wailed.
Everyone stopped.
The girl, standing in the open, held out her hand.
"Oh, look, look," she said, trembling.
They came slowly to look at her opened palm.
In the center of it, cupped and huge, was a single raindrop. She began to cry, looking at it. They glanced quietly at the sun.
"Oh. Oh."
A few cold drops fell on their noses and their cheeks and their mouths. The sun faded behind a stir of mist. A wind blew cold around them. They turned and started to walk back toward the underground house, their hands at their sides, their smiles vanishing away.
A boom of thunder startled them and like leaves before a new hurricane, they tumbled upon each other and ran. Lightning struck ten miles away, five miles away, a mile, a half mile. The sky darkened into midnight in a flash.
They stood in the doorway of the underground for a moment until it was raining hard. Then they closed the door and heard the gigantic sound of the rain falling in tons and avalanches, everywhere and forever.
"Will it be seven more years ?"
"Yes. Seven."
Then one of them gave a little cry.
"Margot !"
"What ?"
"She's still in the closet where we locked her."
"Margot."
They stood as if someone had driven them, like so many stakes, into the floor. They looked at each other and then looked away. They glanced out at the world that was raining now and raining and raining steadily. They could not meet each other's glances. Their faces were solemn and pale. They looked at their hands and feet, their faces down.
"Margot."
One of the girls said, "Well?"
No one moved.
"Go on," whispered the girl.
They walked slowly down the hall in the sound of cold rain. They turned through the doorway to the room in the sound of the storm and thunder, lightning on their faces, blue and terrible. They walked over to the closet door slowly and stood by it.
Behind the closet door was only silence.
They unlocked the door, even more slowly, and let Margot out.
_________________________________________________________
Practice Vocabulary Activity from "All Summer in a Day"
http://www.mhcentro.com/mc/1295115.html
http://www.quia.com/quiz/145797.html?AP_rand=200220900
_________________________________________________________
Vocabulary Flash Cards
http://quizlet.com/7559141/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/7554231/all-summer-in-a-day-vocabulary-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/2181633/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/7554120/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
Questions based on the short story "All Summer in a Day"
http://quizlet.com/7389656/test-zoo-all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
Monday, November 21
Tuesday, November 22
_________________________________________________________
SHORT STORY TEXT
Click Here:
http://poster.4teachers.org/worksheet/view.php?id=158908
Or use the short story text below...
_________________________________________________________
All Summer in a Day
by Ray Bradbury
"Ready ?"
"Ready."
"Now ?"
"Soon."
"Do the scientists really know? Will it happen today, will it ?"
"Look, look; see for yourself !"
The children pressed to each other like so many roses, so many weeds, intermixed, peering out for a look at the hidden sun.
It rained.
It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands. A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus, and this was the schoolroom of the children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world to set up civilization and live out their lives.
"It's stopping, it's stopping !"
"Yes, yes !"
Margot stood apart from them, from these children who could ever remember a time when there wasn't rain and rain and rain. They were all nine years old, and if there had been a day, seven years ago, when the sun came out for an hour and showed its face to the stunned world, they could not recall. Sometimes, at night, she heard them stir, in remembrance, and she knew they were dreaming and remembering gold or a yellow crayon or a coin large enough to buy the world with. She knew they thought they remembered a warmness, like a blushing in the face, in the body, in the arms and legs and trembling hands. But then they always awoke to the tatting drum, the endless shaking down of clear bead necklaces upon the roof, the walk, the gardens, the forests, and their dreams were gone.
All day yesterday they had read in class about the sun. About how like a lemon it was, and how hot. And they had written small stories or essays or poems about it:
I think the sun is a flower,
That blooms for just one hour.
That was Margot's poem, read in a quiet voice in the still classroom while the rain was falling outside.
"Aw, you didn't write that!" protested one of the boys.
"I did," said Margot. "I did."
"William!" said the teacher.
But that was yesterday. Now the rain was slackening, and the children were crushed in the great thick windows.
Where's teacher ?"
"She'll be back."
"She'd better hurry, we'll miss it !"
They turned on themselves, like a feverish wheel, all tumbling spokes. Margot stood alone. She was a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain had washed out the blue from her eyes and the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair. She was an old photograph dusted from an album, whitened away, and if she spoke at all her voice would be a ghost. Now she stood, separate, staring at the rain and the loud wet world beyond the huge glass.
"What're you looking at ?" said William.
Margot said nothing.
"Speak when you're spoken to."
He gave her a shove. But she did not move; rather she let herself be moved only by him and nothing else. They edged away from her, they would not look at her. She felt them go away. And this was because she would play no games with them in the echoing tunnels of the underground city. If they tagged her and ran, she stood blinking after them and did not follow. When the class sang songs about happiness and life and games her lips barely moved. Only when they sang about the sun and the summer did her lips move as she watched the drenched windows. And then, of course, the biggest crime of all was that she had come here only five years ago from Earth, and she remembered the sun and the way the sun was and the sky was when she was four in Ohio. And they, they had been on Venus all their lives, and they had been only two years old when last the sun came out and had long since forgotten the color and heat of it and the way it really was.
But Margot remembered.
"It's like a penny," she said once, eyes closed.
"No it's not!" the children cried.
"It's like a fire," she said, "in the stove."
"You're lying, you don't remember !" cried the children.
But she remembered and stood quietly apart from all of them and watched the patterning windows. And once, a month ago, she had refused to shower in the school shower rooms, had clutched her hands to her ears and over her head, screaming the water mustn't touch her head. So after that, dimly, dimly, she sensed it, she was different and they knew her difference and kept away. There was talk that her father and mother were taking her back to Earth next year; it seemed vital to her that they do so, though it would mean the loss of thousands of dollars to her family. And so, the children hated her for all these reasons of big and little consequence. They hated her pale snow face, her waiting silence, her thinness, and her possible future.
"Get away !" The boy gave her another push. "What're you waiting for?"
Then, for the first time, she turned and looked at him. And what she was waiting for was in her eyes.
"Well, don't wait around here !" cried the boy savagely. "You won't see nothing!"
Her lips moved.
"Nothing !" he cried. "It was all a joke, wasn't it?" He turned to the other children. "Nothing's happening today. Is it ?"
They all blinked at him and then, understanding, laughed and shook their heads.
"Nothing, nothing !"
"Oh, but," Margot whispered, her eyes helpless. "But this is the day, the scientists predict, they say, they know, the sun..."
"All a joke !" said the boy, and seized her roughly. "Hey, everyone, let's put her in a closet before the teacher comes !"
"No," said Margot, falling back.
They surged about her, caught her up and bore her, protesting, and then pleading, and then crying, back into a tunnel, a room, a closet, where they slammed and locked the door. They stood looking at the door and saw it tremble from her beating and throwing herself against it. They heard her muffled cries. Then, smiling, the turned and went out and back down the tunnel, just as the teacher arrived.
"Ready, children ?" She glanced at her watch.
"Yes !" said everyone.
"Are we all here ?"
"Yes !"
The rain slacked still more.
They crowded to the huge door.
The rain stopped.
It was as if, in the midst of a film concerning an avalanche, a tornado, a hurricane, a volcanic eruption, something had, first, gone wrong with the sound apparatus, thus muffling and finally cutting off all noise, all of the blasts and repercussions and thunders, and then, second, ripped the film from the projector and inserted in its place a beautiful tropical slide which did not move or tremor. The world ground to a standstill. The silence was so immense and unbelievable that you felt your ears had been stuffed or you had lost your hearing altogether. The children put their hands to their ears. They stood apart. The door slid back and the smell of the silent, waiting world came in to them.
The sun came out.
It was the color of flaming bronze and it was very large. And the sky around it was a blazing blue tile color. And the jungle burned with sunlight as the children, released from their spell, rushed out, yelling into the springtime.
"Now, don't go too far," called the teacher after them. "You've only two hours, you know. You wouldn't want to get caught out !"
But they were running and turning their faces up to the sky and feeling the sun on their cheeks like a warm iron; they were taking off their jackets and letting the sun burn their arms.
"Oh, it's better than the sun lamps, isn't it ?"
"Much, much better !"
They stopped running and stood in the great jungle that covered Venus, that grew and never stopped growing, tumultuously, even as you watched it. It was a nest of octopi, clustering up great arms of fleshlike weed, wavering, flowering in this brief spring. It was the color of rubber and ash, this jungle, from the many years without sun. It was the color of stones and white cheeses and ink, and it was the color of the moon.
The children lay out, laughing, on the jungle mattress, and heard it sigh and squeak under them resilient and alive. They ran among the trees, they slipped and fell, they pushed each other, they played hide-and-seek and tag, but most of all they squinted at the sun until the tears ran down their faces; they put their hands up to that yellowness and that amazing blueness and they breathed of the fresh, fresh air and listened and listened to the silence which suspended them in a blessed sea of no sound and no motion. They looked at everything and savored everything. Then, wildly, like animals escaped from their caves, they ran and ran in shouting circles. They ran for an hour and did not stop running.
And then -
In the midst of their running one of the girls wailed.
Everyone stopped.
The girl, standing in the open, held out her hand.
"Oh, look, look," she said, trembling.
They came slowly to look at her opened palm.
In the center of it, cupped and huge, was a single raindrop. She began to cry, looking at it. They glanced quietly at the sun.
"Oh. Oh."
A few cold drops fell on their noses and their cheeks and their mouths. The sun faded behind a stir of mist. A wind blew cold around them. They turned and started to walk back toward the underground house, their hands at their sides, their smiles vanishing away.
A boom of thunder startled them and like leaves before a new hurricane, they tumbled upon each other and ran. Lightning struck ten miles away, five miles away, a mile, a half mile. The sky darkened into midnight in a flash.
They stood in the doorway of the underground for a moment until it was raining hard. Then they closed the door and heard the gigantic sound of the rain falling in tons and avalanches, everywhere and forever.
"Will it be seven more years ?"
"Yes. Seven."
Then one of them gave a little cry.
"Margot !"
"What ?"
"She's still in the closet where we locked her."
"Margot."
They stood as if someone had driven them, like so many stakes, into the floor. They looked at each other and then looked away. They glanced out at the world that was raining now and raining and raining steadily. They could not meet each other's glances. Their faces were solemn and pale. They looked at their hands and feet, their faces down.
"Margot."
One of the girls said, "Well?"
No one moved.
"Go on," whispered the girl.
They walked slowly down the hall in the sound of cold rain. They turned through the doorway to the room in the sound of the storm and thunder, lightning on their faces, blue and terrible. They walked over to the closet door slowly and stood by it.
Behind the closet door was only silence.
They unlocked the door, even more slowly, and let Margot out.
_________________________________________________________
Practice Vocabulary Activity from "All Summer in a Day"
http://www.mhcentro.com/mc/1295115.html
http://www.quia.com/quiz/145797.html?AP_rand=200220900
_________________________________________________________
Vocabulary Flash Cards
http://quizlet.com/7559141/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/7554231/all-summer-in-a-day-vocabulary-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/2181633/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/7554120/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
Questions based on the short story "All Summer in a Day"
http://quizlet.com/7389656/test-zoo-all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
WEBLOG ENTRY
Classwork
Genre and "All Summer in a Day" Wednesday, November 2 and
Thursday, November 3
MAIN IDEA SOL REVIEW
The Main Idea is the essential message of a passage.
Some times the main idea is stated in a passage, meaning you can actually put your finger on a sentence or two expressing the main idea.
Other times the main idea is not stated and you have to determine it from the information in the passage. This is called inferencing.
Supporting details explain and expand upon the main idea.
Supporting details provide more information about the main idea.
Supporting details might me facts, examples, or description.
Test questions about the main idea might ask you what the passage is mostly about or to choose the best summary of passage.
Test questions might also ask you to identify the main idea of a paragraph in the passage.
Test questions may even ask you to identify or correctly interpret important supporting details.
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The Main Idea is the essential message of a passage.
Some times the main idea is stated in a passage, meaning you can actually put your finger on a sentence or two expressing the main idea.
Other times the main idea is not stated and you have to determine it from the information in the passage. This is called inferencing.
Supporting details explain and expand upon the main idea.
Supporting details provide more information about the main idea.
Supporting details might me facts, examples, or description.
Test questions about the main idea might ask you what the passage is mostly about or to choose the best summary of passage.
Test questions might also ask you to identify the main idea of a paragraph in the passage.
Test questions may even ask you to identify or correctly interpret important supporting details.
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Review of Genres
Definition of Genre
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genres
genre noun
\ˈzhän-rə, ˈzhäⁿ-; ˈzhäⁿr; ˈjän-rə\
Definition of GENRE
1: a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content
2: kind, sort
PowerPoint Presentation
PowerPoint Notes given to students
in class-pasted in Journals
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Begin Ray Bradbury's Short Story
"All Summer in a Day"
"All Summer in a Day" is set on Venus, the second planet from the sun. Thanks to advances in space exploration and technology, we now know more about Venus than we did in 1954, when Ray Bradbury's story was first published. How much do you know about Venus? How much do you know about the Sun?
Vocabulary
http://quizlet.com/7559141/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/7554231/all-summer-in-a-day-vocabulary-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/2181633/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/7554120/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
Questions based on the short story "All Summer in a Day"
http://quizlet.com/7389656/test-zoo-all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
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"All Summer in a Day" is set on Venus, the second planet from the sun. Thanks to advances in space exploration and technology, we now know more about Venus than we did in 1954, when Ray Bradbury's story was first published. How much do you know about Venus? How much do you know about the Sun?
Vocabulary
http://quizlet.com/7559141/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/7554231/all-summer-in-a-day-vocabulary-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/2181633/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/7554120/all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
Questions based on the short story "All Summer in a Day"
http://quizlet.com/7389656/test-zoo-all-summer-in-a-day-flash-cards/
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SUN description Activity
Imagine how you would feel seeing he
sun if it had been raining for seven years!
SUN description activity-journal
activity to be used for project
SUN description Project-instruction
in separate Weblog
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Sentencing Activity
You be the Judge and the Jury:
Students will pronounce sentence on
the following characters:
William
Other students in William's class
who watched and did nothing to help Margot
Teacher
Sentence must fit the crime! Use the knowledge you gained through your
attendance of Officer Baxley's presentation to assist you in your sentencing.
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"All Summer in a Day"-Video
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QWmahMdeGU&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1
Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI8A1LOLdkA&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1
Part III
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQfWno_DuB0&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1
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"All Summer in a Day"-Video
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QWmahMdeGU&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1
Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI8A1LOLdkA&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1
Part III
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQfWno_DuB0&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1
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DO NOW
Main Idea VIII
http://quizstar.4teachers.org/indexs.jsp
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Remember:
The main idea of a reading selection tells what the reading selection is all about. Usually the questions, who, what, when, where, why, and how will help you to identify the main idea of a reading selection. The main idea can be found in one of these five places:
-in the first sentence
-in the last sentence
-in the middle of the paragraph
-in two sentences of the paragraph
-not stated in the paragraph directly (implied)
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Extra Practice:
Main Idea
http://www.quia.com/quiz/1169917.html?AP_rand=190039613
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MAIN IDEA TEST
Tuesday, November 29
Wednesday, November 30
Main Idea VIII
http://quizstar.4teachers.org/indexs.jsp
_________________________________________________________
Remember:
The main idea of a reading selection tells what the reading selection is all about. Usually the questions, who, what, when, where, why, and how will help you to identify the main idea of a reading selection. The main idea can be found in one of these five places:
-in the first sentence
-in the last sentence
-in the middle of the paragraph
-in two sentences of the paragraph
-not stated in the paragraph directly (implied)
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Extra Practice:
Main Idea
http://www.quia.com/quiz/1169917.html?AP_rand=190039613
_________________________________________________________
MAIN IDEA TEST
Tuesday, November 29
Wednesday, November 30
Parent Information for Team Meetings
FYI for parents requesting a team
meeting:
For scheduling reasons all teacher meetings are scheduled through guidance. The Hurricane meeting time is 9:00-9:23. At that time you will meet with all your child's core teachers. We take a team approach to addressing your child's needs so it is very important that all teachers are part of the meeting. Please call 733-2740 to schedule a meeting. Thanks!
For scheduling reasons all teacher meetings are scheduled through guidance. The Hurricane meeting time is 9:00-9:23. At that time you will meet with all your child's core teachers. We take a team approach to addressing your child's needs so it is very important that all teachers are part of the meeting. Please call 733-2740 to schedule a meeting. Thanks!
MAIN IDEA TEST
MAIN IDEA TEST
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wenesday, November 30, 2011
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Students will have 10 passages to read and identify the MAIN IDEA. Students have been preparing for this TEST through the daily DO NOWS and MAIN IDEA homework for the past 6-7 weeks. Student can use the QUIZSTAR DO NOWS to review. Just an FYI to parents: Students can easily Login using their username and Password and review previously taken DO NOWs. Students should have written this information in their agendas on the same page as their AR information.
Over the next three weeks each class will continue to have homework and DO NOWs in preparation for this TEST. Please encourage your child to complete his/her homework and review old DO NOWs in preparation for the upcoming TEST.
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HERE IS AN ADDITIONAL TOOL TO USE IN PREPARATION FOR THE TEST:
Extra Practice:
MAIN IDEA
40 MAIN IDEA READING SELECTIONS WITH ANSWERS...
http://www.quia.com/pop/120023.html?AP_rand=363868839
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ANOTHER MAIN IDEA PRACTICE SITE
http://www.quia.com/quiz/259834.html
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Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wenesday, November 30, 2011
_________________________________________________________
Students will have 10 passages to read and identify the MAIN IDEA. Students have been preparing for this TEST through the daily DO NOWS and MAIN IDEA homework for the past 6-7 weeks. Student can use the QUIZSTAR DO NOWS to review. Just an FYI to parents: Students can easily Login using their username and Password and review previously taken DO NOWs. Students should have written this information in their agendas on the same page as their AR information.
Over the next three weeks each class will continue to have homework and DO NOWs in preparation for this TEST. Please encourage your child to complete his/her homework and review old DO NOWs in preparation for the upcoming TEST.
_________________________________________________________
HERE IS AN ADDITIONAL TOOL TO USE IN PREPARATION FOR THE TEST:
Extra Practice:
MAIN IDEA
40 MAIN IDEA READING SELECTIONS WITH ANSWERS...
http://www.quia.com/pop/120023.html?AP_rand=363868839
_________________________________________________________
ANOTHER MAIN IDEA PRACTICE SITE
http://www.quia.com/quiz/259834.html
_________________________________________________________
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