Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Chicken Dance

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At least one of the English classes will understand why this is here -- especially the ones who need to practice! Notice that there is a pause button!

Extra Credit

Tell me which is which of the two words explained below:

Thanks to Brian P. Cleary
Eminent vs. Imminent? Eminent means noteworthy, or tops in one's field. Imminent refers to something that is about to occur. Example: The EMINENT football coach's retirement is IMMINENT.

Try this:

Brian P. Cleary An anagram is a word or phrase spelled by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase. Like "STOP" can become opts, post, pots, tops and spot. The word "STAPLE" can produce 5 anagrams that all beginning with the letter P. Remember you have to use all the letters in the word STAPLE.  

Ms. Dorsey just did it.  Yes, you may ask parents or siblings for help. 

Friday, December 17, 2010

Merry Christmas from Me and Robert Frost

Christmas Trees
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Robert Frost (1920)
http://poetry.about.com/od/poems/l/blfrostchristmas.htm
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(A Christmas Circular Letter)

The city had withdrawn into itself
And left at last the country to the country;
When between whirls of snow not come to lie
And whirls of foliage not yet laid, there drove
A stranger to our yard, who looked the city,
Yet did in country fashion in that there
He sat and waited till he drew us out
A-buttoning coats to ask him who he was.
He proved to be the city come again
To look for something it had left behind
And could not do without and keep its Christmas.
He asked if I would sell my Christmas trees;
My woods—the young fir balsams like a place
Where houses all are churches and have spires.
I hadn’t thought of them as Christmas Trees.
I doubt if I was tempted for a moment
To sell them off their feet to go in cars
And leave the slope behind the house all bare,
Where the sun shines now no warmer than the moon.
I’d hate to have them know it if I was.
Yet more I’d hate to hold my trees except
As others hold theirs or refuse for them,
Beyond the time of profitable growth,
The trial by market everything must come to.
I dallied so much with the thought of selling.
Then whether from mistaken courtesy
And fear of seeming short of speech, or whether
From hope of hearing good of what was mine, I said,
“There aren’t enough to be worth while.”
“I could soon tell how many they would cut,
You let me look them over.”

“You could look.
But don’t expect I’m going to let you have them.”
Pasture they spring in, some in clumps too close
That lop each other of boughs, but not a few
Quite solitary and having equal boughs
All round and round. The latter he nodded “Yes” to,
Or paused to say beneath some lovelier one,
With a buyer’s moderation, “That would do.”
I thought so too, but wasn’t there to say so.
We climbed the pasture on the south, crossed over,
And came down on the north. He said, “A thousand.”

“A thousand Christmas trees!—at what apiece?”

He felt some need of softening that to me:
“A thousand trees would come to thirty dollars.”

Then I was certain I had never meant
To let him have them. Never show surprise!
But thirty dollars seemed so small beside
The extent of pasture I should strip, three cents
(For that was all they figured out apiece),
Three cents so small beside the dollar friends
I should be writing to within the hour
Would pay in cities for good trees like those,
Regular vestry-trees whole Sunday Schools
Could hang enough on to pick off enough.
A thousand Christmas trees I didn’t know I had!
Worth three cents more to give away than sell,
As may be shown by a simple calculation.
Too bad I couldn’t lay one in a letter.
I can’t help wishing I could send you one,
In wishing you herewith a Merry Christmas.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth, and. . .

Dear Santa and/or Parents and Guardians,

     When you're preparing gifts for the seventh graders at American Fork Junior High, please consider books, and adding some pencils and pens to their stockings.    How about the types of books your seventh grader already loves, and books that could be used for Book-of-the-Month assignments.  Next semester we'll be focusing on historical fiction, and literary (well-written) nonfiction including many biographies, autobiographies, and other informational books.  In fourth term we will probably focus on these two genres: realistic fiction and fantasy.  See our class lists of recommended books.
     We have some students who don't bring their own pencils and pens to class.  Ask your seventh grader if he or she needs to restock.   A few days ago I suggested to a student that he ask for pencils for Christmas.  He answered, "No, I'm not going to ask for pencils."   As I considered what to say in response to that, he went on,  " I'll ask for mechanical pencils."   Santa ought to treat that boy right!
     Whether or not you buy books, consider reading one or more over the holidays -- perhaps as a family. We love to read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Father Christmas Letters, Dicken's  A Christmas Carol, and Jack Schaefers long short story of a lonely cowboy with a big dream and a bigger heart,  "Stubby Pringle's Christmas."
     Have a wonderful Christmas and New Years!

Sincerely,
Ms. Dorsey

P.S.  Magazine subscriptions also make great gifts.  There are many magazines that focus on topics your seventh grader would find interesting.  

____________________________________________________

Recommended Books

Use the search feature (or looks through the archive) on this blog to find some of the posts where I recommend books, such as the following:

Summer Reading Lists

Recommended Historical Fiction Books 

The books used then for book groups may or may be used that way again.

A Reminder for the January Book Assignment -- from 2009


To find our lists of recommended books, go to
http://cavemanenglish.pbworks.com/Recommended-Books

To recommend that a book be added to one of the lists, email me at dorsc405@alpine.k12.ut.us.
Include the title of the book, the author, the genre, and why you recommend it.


Here is a blog about books for  children and young adults:  http://childlitbookclub.blogspot.com/

Monday, December 13, 2010

December 17, 2010

A1:  no class -- Charity Basketball game -- 8:15 - 9:40
A2:  regular class  9:45 - 11:15
A3: regular class (Thornton after 1st lunch?)  11:20 - 12:45
A4: regular class  1:20 - 2:45

Bell-Ringer: Fill in the blanks for a Christmas Mad-Lib.

Finish SSR presentations.

Literature of Christmas.



Recommended books for the January Book-of-the-Month:
Historical or multicultural fiction
Select a book on a topic that you would like to learn more about and would enjoy researching!

Recommended Historical Fiction Books 

Extra Credit: 

Tell me when to use "a while" and when to use "awhile." 

Thanks to Brian Cleary, here's the answer:

A WHILE vs. AWHILE? Rule of thumb: If you’re using a preposition (those words like: for, in, after) you want to use the two words. Example: “I will sit on the train tracks for a while.” Used as an adverb, write the one word form. Example: “I thought about it awhile, and went home before the train arrived.”

 

December 15, 2010

1. Bell-Ringer: Make sure everyone in your family unit is caught up on what happens in the book through the end of chapter 12.
Quiz on Chapters 9-12 of  The Giver

2. Spelling Test on the suffix set    -er, -or    See the Spelling tab above.
3. Receive assignment for January 6 -- test on il- and the words that go with it.
Make the corrections on your handout:  
Correct the date of the quiz.
Change suffix to prefix
Change -il to il-.

Vocabulary/Spelling #7              Test on January 6 
Prefix to study:   il- which means not
1.      illegal
2.      illiterate
3.      illegible
4.      illogical

1.     illegal     -- leg = law   So, illegal means not conforming to  the law  
                     
2.     illiterate   --  literatus,  literally mean. "furnished with letters."  So, if you are illiterate, you are NOT furnished with letters.
3.     illegible -- leg ( ere ) to read + -ibilis   -ible = capable of.  So, illegible means NOT capable of being read.
4.      illogical --  log = word, speech, thought, reason   So, illogical means NOT conforming to reason. 
conform = to fit together                                                                   Learn the underlined definitions for extra credit.


4. Reading Minute:
A1 --- none
A2--  none
A3 --none
A4 -- Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
        

5. More presenting SSR's   -- Finish presenting in class.
More reading The Giver

Reminders:
Hand in your Perfect Paragraph Packet if you haven't.

Make sure you've written and revised your MyAccess paragraphs. 


Giver Reading Packets:

Giver Chapt. 3-6 Questions.doc

Giver Chapters 7-9 Questions.doc

Giver Chapters 10 - 12

Quiz on The Giver chapters 9 -12.doc

Giver chapters 13-16.doc

Reading Road Maps for Chapters 17 - 23

Thursday, December 9, 2010

More Pictures from Symbolic Story Representations











December 13, 2010

Prepare for Spelling Test #6  -- See the tab above for Spelling.
Preparing for Test #6 -- -er, -or  

Reading Minute:
A1 --- Lake of Tears (Deltora Quest) by Emily Rodda
A2-- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
A3 -- The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
A4 -- none

More presenting SSR's   -- Finish.
More reading The Giver

Giver Reading Packets:

Giver Chapt. 3-6 Questions.doc

Giver Chapters 7-9 Questions.doc

Giver Chapters 10 - 12

Giver chapters 13-16.doc

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

December 9, 2010

December 9, 2010

Spelling Test #5  -- See the tab above for Spelling.
Receive the spelling list for Test #6 -- -er, -or  

Reading Minute:
A1 --- The Kidnapping of Christina Latimore by Joan Lowrey Nixon
Once Upon A Crime by Michael Buckley
The Seige -- Kathryn Lasky --Guardians of Ga'Hoole
A2-- The Boy Who Couldn't Die by William Sleator
         Old Yeller by Fred Gibson
A3 -- My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison
A4 --The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman



More presenting SSR's 
More reading The Giver
Giver Reading Packets:

Giver Chapt. 3-6 Questions.doc

Giver Chapters 7-9 Questions.doc

Giver Chapters 10 - 12