Advice from last year's 8th grade.

In the comment section, tell me about your favorite part of my class. What did you learn? What were your favorite stories? What will you miss about 8th grade English?

Dear 8th grade class of 2010,

Now is your chance to leave behind your advice to the next year's class. What kind of advice would you give the 7th graders who will be here next year? You might tell them what you will miss about my class, and maybe what you definitely won't miss. You may even recommend favorite stories, or test taking strategies. What to do, and what not to do. What rule 536 is, and the number one rule. :-) I will read this to their class the first day of school next year. Sign your post with your adjective name that you got at the beginning of the year. If you can't remember yours, then make up another one. I am going to miss you all, but I know that you are all ready and capable of success in High School. Maybe after next year you can talk your Freshman English teacher into letting you pass on your new found knowledge again. What a neat tradition to start! Along with your comments, we will add a video for the new class. I can't wait to read what you come up with. I am sure it will be quite interesting! Good Luck! Make sure to visit every now and then, and don't forget everything you learned!

Your favorite 8th Grade English Teacher (and not because I'm the only 8th grade English teacher, right?)

Mrs. Ellis

aka English Ellis, or Exuberant Ellis, or Exciting Ellis (you get the picture!)

I've given each of your groups a number. Your job assignments are listed under the group number that you were given. Your mission is to help come up with the rest of the daily double clips for the jeopardy review game. I will review next year's 8th grade class with material that you helped to create! The best way to test your knowledge of a skill is to teach it. Put your creative skills to the test. Just like every group project, you will need to assign specific roles to each group member. Your group members will also evaluate your work and their grade for you will be averaged in with your project grade.

Group 1- Dramatize your favorite story ending. The answer to this Daily Double will be RESOLUTION. This is the last stage of plot. You might choose to act out an ending that had an open ending and film alternate ending that has a resolution. For example: The Lady or the Tiger does not have a satisfying resolution. You may re-write the ending so that the readers will be satisfied and have a clear answer. Use movie maker to record a short ending to be added to the Jeopardy board.

Group 2- Choose an idiom to illustrate literally. You may use the document camera to record a quick example or you might choose to use movie maker. Remember that your clip will be added to the Jeopardy board. The answer will be whatever expression you choose to illustrate.

Group 3- Act out a scene from a story that has an obvious mood. Remember that the mood is how the author wants the reader to feel when they read the story. Use movie maker to create the mood. After watching your clip, students will be asked to identify the mood of the clip. Word choice and description are used in a book, but you will need to use pictures, sound effect, and music to get the right mood.

Group 4- Create a newscast that gives people information about an upcoming event at your school. Your movie maker clip will be added to the board under the catergory of Author's Purpose. In this case, the purpose is to inform. Examples might be; The Six Flags Trip on Friday, JH Graduation. Remember that newscast stories give you information about the 5 W's. Who What When Where Why. and sometimes How.

The scribe or researcher in your group should post your group member's names and concept as soon as you complete your story board. Evaluate other group member's ideas. Feel free to give your ideas on the other assignments if it is not the one your group was assigned.

Your project will be graded on how effective your example is. Other students and myself will evaluate the effectivness and creativity of your clip. Remember: This is part of your legacy that you will leave behind for next year's class. Make it good!

Cause and Effect- one event brings about the other

Characters- the people,animals, or imaginary creatures who appear in stories

External conflict- conflict between a character and another force (another character or nature)

Mood- "atmosphere";a feeling that a literary work conveys to readers

Study the terms below. Choose one of the terms. In the comments sections, give one example of it from the literature we have read this year. You must have a different example from the posts above you. Feel free to comment on other examples stating if you agree or disagree with an example. Be sure to explain why you agree or disagree with someone's example.

Internal conflict- conflict that occurs within a character

Antagonist- a main character or force in conflict with the protagonist

Simile- a comparison between two unlike objects using "like" or "as"

Effect- a result of a cause

Suspense- the feeling of growing tension and excitement

Cause- event that happens first, followed by an effect

Protagonist- the most important character in a novel

minor character- less important character in a novel

Today you will research the day you were born. Look for interesting information from your birthday. Present your information in a slideshow. Title each slide with the following:

Your birthday and year

Your birth month and year

The year you were born

Your birthday and any year

Example of slide titles:

February 11, 1976

February 1976

1976

February 11 (include each year you add facts for)

Look for the following information:

Pop Culture: celebrities, music, movies, books from this time period

World and national events

Inventions: the computer, the internet?

Trends: fashion, brands

Any interesting facts that you might come across.

Have fun! And Happy Birthday!

Post your original constellation myths here in the comments section.

Today you will click on the Constellation Myth/Science Collaboration Entry

You will find a constellation myth and summarize it, giving the same information you gave for the origin myth summary.

Copy and Paste your summary from word to that blog. You will then begin working on your own constellation myth.

Your constellation myth should be about the constellation that you created in Science class.

Copy and paste this original story under the 8th grade Constellation Myths.

Save your word document to your network folder.

Assignment for Friday

You are working on creating your own constellation in Science class. Now that you have experience writing an origin myth, you will write an origin myth explaining how your constellation came to be. To get you started on ideas, I want you to do the same thing we did for the origin myth summaries. Find an origin myth on constellations, summarize it and post it here.

Include:

Title

Culture or Country

Summary

2 sources

After you have posted your summary you will begin working on your own constellation myth. I will post more information before Fiday.

Once you have your rough draft completed, get with a partner to edit and revise your story. You will present your story to the class using power point or open office as a visual aid. I will add a rubric for you to use as a guide.

Title Slide- Story name and author

minimum of 3 slides to tell your story using pictures, words and sound effects.

Minimum of 4 total slides.

Do NOT put your entire story on one slide. You do not have to put the entire story on the power point. You will tell the story and use the powerpoint as a visual aide. Use as few words as possible and use pictures to illustrate the story. Memorize your story, or use key words and phrases in your powerpoint to help you tell the story. Presentations will start tomorrow!

See the attached rubric for grading:

Copy and Paste this quiz into word. Record your answers and email it to me as an attachment.

Vocabulary Quiz

Pandora’s Box

Words to Know

Abominably confer grievously malice radiance

Bade disconsolate inevitable perturbed subtle

A. Identify each pair of words as synonyms or antonyms. Write S in the blank if the words are synonyms. Write A if they are antonyms.

1. grievously- terribly ________

2. subtle-crafty ________

3. perturbed-troubled ________

4. confer-receive ________

5. abominably-beautifully _______

6. malice-kindness _________

7. disconsolate-hopeful ________

8. radiance-gloom _________

9. Bade-invited _________

10. inevitable-preventable _________

B. Complete each sentence with one of the words from the word list.

1. The gods wanted to _______________beauty and wisdom on Pandora.

2. Epimetheus was greatly _____________by this gift from an enemy.

3. Since Pandora was very curious, it was _____________that she would open the box.

4. The box was filled all sorts of evil and ______________.

5. Although Hope was small, it shone with a special __________________.

Pandora’s Box and Aunty Misery

Quiz

1. What gifts did the gods give Pandora, and how did her name reflect this?

2. Why did Pandora think there would be no harm in opening the box?

3. Although Hope was small and frail in body, in what ways was it strong?

4. What kind of person was Aunty Misery? How can you tell?

5. What attitudes toward death does Aunty Misery’s story reveal?

Now that you've explored the world of mythology, it's time to write your own origin myth.

You will need a title, characters, and a natural phenomenon to write about. Your story will explain how that natural phenomenon came to be. Your story should contain supernatural and fantastic elements. Think about the stories you read in class. Nothing is impossible in your story. Next week you will write an origin myth on how your constellation was created, so don’t write one about that today.

Examples to choose from:

Why birds fly.

How the rainbow got it’s colors.

Why it rains.

Where thunder comes from.

Where lightning comes from.

The possibilities are endless. Choose something that interests you and write about that. This is a rough draft and is due today. You will need to type this in word and post in the comment section here. When you have completed your story, you may begin working on a presentation of your story. You may use power point, open office, or movie maker. However you decide to present your story you will need to use visual aides, including graphics, illustrations, videos, or any multimedia we have available. There will be another blog with more details coming soon. I just want you to start drafting your ideas!

Here are two websites that will help you get started. Today is all about drafting and getting ideas out there. So have fun with it.

Attention: New Assignment

Choose an educational article to summarize and one article of your choice.

Today you will be checking out a cool website that I think you are really going to like. There are so many articles on this website you are sure to find something that interests you. The library will be closing soon for inventory so this will help you get your AR points. I will post daily assignments that will be for a grade and will earn AR points in place of reading a novel.

Your first step is to sign up to the web site Tween Tribune. You will create a user name and pass word and connect to my class. I will show you how. Once you are there you will find two articles to read. They can be any two you want. In the comments section you will add the information I ask for below. Your comments will be seen only by me and will be the work that is graded. Be sure to come back to my blog here and let me know what you think about the website. I think you will love it!

For each article you read, include the following:

The 5 W's

Who

What

Where

When

Why

A brief summary of the article and our opinion about what you read.

click on the link to get started!

We have spent the last few days on mythology and specifically origin myths from the ancient Greeks.

Your goal for today is to find an origin myth that we have not covered. It can be another myth from Greece, but it doesn't have to be. Many cultures wrote stories to explain how things came to be here on earth. Once you choose your myth, here are the steps I want you to take in posting it to my blog or linking to your own blog.

1. Type in word or open office and then copy and paste to the comment section under these instuctions. Or you can type your information on your own blog and post a link in the comment section here. If you choose to post a link, I will require additional information stating what you are linking me to. (ie. a brief summary stating what your link contains and where you got the information.)

2. Include the title of your myth

3. Include the country or culture your chosen myth comes from.

4. List the major characters that are in the story.

5. Tell what the myth is explaining the origin of. (ie. How the zebra got it's stripes. Why we have 4 seasons. How the oceans were formed, etc.)

6. Write a brief summary of the myth in your own words.

7. Cite your source. for today I would like you to cite at least two sources. We will practice how to cite sources using text and print materials as well.

8. Copy and paste from word or open office into the comment section here, or add a link to your blog.

This should be completed today before you leave class. Tomorrow we will link to a writing work shop about how to write your own myths! I know you can't wait!

Write a composition about one character in a book whose opinions and attitudes are similar to or different from your own. The character must be from a book-fiction or nonfiction- you have read in 2010. Your paper will describe your own opinions or attitudes, as well as those of the character you choose.

Aviod just retelling the story. Concentrate on one or more opinions or attitudes and be sure to explain your choices.

Your paper needs a title, a controlling theme or idea, and the development of the idea. Be as specific and concrete as you can.

The length of the paper should be appropriate to your grade level. However, do not write more than 500 words nor less than one good paragraph.

Important! Write your name, grade level, your teacher's name, and your school in the top right hand corner on each page of your paper. Add the page number to your second and all other pages. Putting this information on all pages will insure that the pages of your paper will be kept together.

Great job on the Reading and Math TAKS tests! I am so proud of all of you!

Good Luck on your practice test tomorrow! Show me what you know! I believe all of you are ready!

Now that we are finished with the book, Flowers for Algernon, we are going to view the year 2000, made for tv, version. There are certain aspects of the film that I would like for you to pay close attention to, because you will be writing a four paragraph essay about what you see versus what we read.

Here is a list of what you will compare in the book and the movie. A more detailed outline of the project is included in the link.

1. Setting

2. Conflict

3. Climax

4. Character: