Friday, September 17, 2010

READING


Vocabulary Connections

1. Spread your cards out on your desk.
2. Start looking for CONNECTIONS between words. 
3. (If you can see connections between words, that means you’re really learning them and understanding their meanings.)
4. Make piles of your connections. 

Write down five, like this:

VOCABULARY CONNECTIONS

 Marcella--My ten-year-old brother is a NOVICE at reading books, whereas my sisters and I are CONNOISSEURS.

 Shantelle:  My mom was IMPUDENT to the blackjack dealer when faced with the ADVERSITY of losing a lot of money. 

 When the Twin Towers were attacked, it was an ADVERSITY for the country, and it was the CATALYST for increased security throughout the country.

Now:

When you have your five sentences written, trade them with a partner.

Read over your partner’s five sentences.

Put a star by the TWO sentences you think do the best job using the vocabulary in a sentence.

Sign your name at the bottom of the page.

Give it back to your partner.

Trade one more time.

Now you’re done!  Put it in the drawer!  

 We took a practice quiz when we were done to see how well we know the words.  We will study the words we don't know this weekend to be ready for our vocab test Wednesday.  

Storytelling

• We had storytime in both classes--first block listened to each tell tales; second block listened to me read Skippy John Jones.

Independent Reading

• We read for twenty-five minutes.
• We did a Bookmark Journal for Compare/Contrast.
• We organized our binders and turned them in.
• I talked with people who had finished books.

AP English
They Say/I Say--Writing Instruction

• Everyone showed me They Say/I Say, chapter two.
• We talked about it.

Vocabulary

• We had fifteen to thirty minutes (depending on where we were on the outline) to play vocab sushi.

Essay Writing

• I conferenced with everyone about his/her essay outline.
• People continued working on their outlines, then turned in the typed drafts at the end of the block.

Here's what I put up in class:

Why an Outline?

An outline helps YOU clarify your thinking—and it helps ME help you clarify your thinking.  If I can help you now, before you begin the bulk of the writing on your essay, you and I are both working efficiently.

What Now?

Take a look at Kailee’s outline.  What’s strong--

·      Shows her thinking

·      Shows her position on her examples

·      Shows she’s making some arguments

What Needs to Be Done Today

·      More specificity in some of her arguments

·      Intro

·      Conclusion

So, if you have your outline back from me, continue working on it, until you have it complete.

If you don’t have your outline back from me, play Vocab Sushi until you do.

Goal:

A solid, thoughtful, complete outline that shows the entire skeleton of your essay, by 1:10

Homework for Tuesday:

Directions:

1.     Cut these vocab squares apart.

2.    Define each term using a CLEAR definition that YOU UNDERSTAND!  (The definition goes on the BACK of the card--we're going to use them like flashcards.)

3.    Put them in a ziplock bag.

4.   Write your name in sharpie on the bag.