Poem examples

If you decide to blog about your poem, be sure to include the following:

• Name of poem
• Poet’s name
• Enough of the poem to show examples of the terms (at least 5 from the chart)
• Why they are examples

Lovin’ Some Literary Terms

Literary Tips…. I venture that these literary terms fall under the TOP 10 for your EOG reading assessment.  Making sure that we know them, understand them, and can apply them remains essential.  Pick one of the nine literary tips from class, and blog about it.  Be sure to include 1-3 examples from Willow and why they are examples of the literary term.  Use your chart from class.  Record any questions or comments you may have about the selected term or any of the other nine.  Extra opportunity for additional credit on blogs… use your selected term and provide an example from the book you are reading, a favorite TV show, or recently viewed film.  Make certain you include the rationale (why) of the example meeting the literary term.  

Seminar On-line Discussion

 

Let’s continue our seminar discussion from class.  Remember, we are focusing on main idea, theme, and supporting details.  We read the selection “The King and the Shirt” written by Leo Tolstoy.   Here are some guiding questions to help your responding, but feel free to go beyond these parameters.   

What type of selection is “The King and the Shirt”? Why?

How can you differentiate between main idea and details?

What evidence from the selection allows you to infer the theme?  Why?

Why does the reader have to infer the theme to find it?

What are you still struggling with from this Buckle Down Lesson 2?

What would make it more helpful?  OR any other suggestions you have?

 

8^th grade is studying and presenting Buckle Down sections.  At the end of each lesson, they watch a movie clip and apply what they learn from the selection.  Is this something you are interested in, why or why not?

 

 

 

Characterization

Today our literary lesson review focused on characterization.  We examined character traits using the characters from Steel Magnolias.  Remember, characterization is the way the author brings the character to life ~ the way the author develops the character.  Watch a TV show or read a portion of your book and select a character of which to focus.  Identify the physical descriptions, the character’s actions or conversations, the character’s thoughts, and the way(s) other characters respond to him or her.  These four areas are part of characterization, which is the way the author brings the character to life.  Remember, in addition to posting your own characterization blog, you need to respond to someone else’s as well.  

Connotative and Denotative

Today, we discussed denotation and connotation. Denotation is the literal, dictionary defintion of a word. Connotation is the emotional, personal, or social connections you make with a word.

denotations = dictionary 

 connotation = connections or cultural word associations

Find at least two words that have the same or a similar denotation, but might have different connotations. For instance, house vs. home. The denotative meaning of those words is very similar but the two words have very different connotations. When I think of a house, I think of a building or a structure, but when I think of a home, I think of somewhere I am comfortable and loved.

Come up with your own examples of words with similar denotations but different connotations here.

Blog about it….Spring Break

     I experienced Gatlinburg, Tennessee during my spring break.  We explored downtown Gatlinburg with its charming old world feel.  It remained especially endearing as snow covered our cheeks and coats throughout the day.   Things warmed up a bit, and we hit the shops of Pigeon Forge!  My nephew, Michael, and I grew tired of shopping and hit the pool at the resort.  Our nightly entertainment included performances at Country Tonite and Comedy Barn.  If you happen to find yourself in the Gatlinburg area, you cannot afford to miss these extreme events.  Stay tuned for more….

Post your Spring Break happenings here… respond to mine and others… ask questions to find out more

Speech Reflection

Reflect on your speech from Monday. Do you think you did well? Why or why not? What areas do you think you need to improve before you deliver another speech?

If you have not presented your speech, what preparations are you making for presenting your speech tomorrow?  Why? 

Reflection on Partner Style Speech Feedback

Give me your high and your low on Partner Style speech practice.  Any suggestions for improvement?

On line Seminar Discussion

Let’s continue our seminar discussion from class:

1) What did you notice about the contents and conventions of a level 1, 2, 3, and 4?

2) Why did we participate in the writing test boot camp and scavenger hunt?

3) How are you feeling about the North Carolina Writing Assessment?

DPI Writing Assessment Adventure

In class today, we explored the NC Department of Public Instruction website and practiced scoring authentic writing test samples. Reflect on that experience. How well did your scores match the actual scores? Did anything surprise you? Answer these questions and add any other questions or comments here.