> Turn in week's work:
- 4 reading paragraphs
- Pearl vocabulary words

> Read "The Tell Tale Heart"

> Party! Watch "The Nightmare Before Christmas" have fun, and relax . . .
Have a great weekend!

> Writing from a list: "list of lists"

> freewrite / finish informal letters

> Continue reading The Pearl while marking unfamiliar words for vocab. list

> Party tomorrow! I'll bring the pizza, you bring the other goodies . . .

> Writing an informal letter:
list 10 possible recipients
choose 1 and draft an informal letter

> Read and discuss opening pages of "The Pearl" looking for elements of folk tale

> Freewrite: 'luck'

> Text pg. Introduction 10: Folk tales

> Read page 1 of The Pearl, taking note of folk tale elements


Homework: Read 20 minutes and complete 'choice reading' summary paragraph
One due each day Tuesday thru Friday, all to be collected on Friday

> Check - In: What we did and where we went on our week off
> Freewrite: Writing from a list - 7 luckiest things / events

> Quiz on "The Speckled Band"
> library

> Sherlock Holmes video

Due Friday:
> 2 word roots worksheets
> 3 'choice reading' HW paragraphs
> "Speckled Band" worksheet

> Warm up: Word roots='derm'
> Background on "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"
> Keep Evidence / Prediction chart while reading the story in groups

> Bulletin / Monday check-in
> Freewrite
> Word Roots

> Poem:
Emily Dickinson's
"A Narrow Fellow in the Grass"

> Narrative Writing Assessment (both class periods)

Have a great weekend! Get out and enjoy the sunshine . . .

> Freewrite
> work on narrative cover art
> conferences

> Point of View

Homework: Choice Reading paragraph

Reminder: narrative writing assessment tomorrow. Come to class with paper, pencils, and pens, and be ready to write!

> Benchmark Assessment #1

> Continue worksheets on "Charles" p.22

> Begin working on cover art for Narrative Essay

Homework: Choice reading paragraph

> Finish preposition / idiom worksheet
> Complete short story reading guide
> Begin reading "Charles" p.22 and complete worksheets

> Check in/ bulletin
> 'take two' & Freewrite
> 4 types of Conflict: (character vs. character, character vs. self, character vs. society, character vs. nature)

> rules and procedures
> preposition / idiom worksheet
> begin 'short story reading guide'

Homework:
Choice reading paragraph (try to include in your five sentences elements of Setting, Characterization, Conflict, Theme, AND Plot)

> Homophones exercise (there, their, they're, your, you're)
> Freewrite
> Write letter home as the drummer boy (of Shiloh)
> Watch short video of Civil War battle scene
> Read "An Episode of War"

> Do Now: Coordination and Subordination review

> Parallelism examples / exercise

> Library time for reading / essay work

Narrative Essay due tomorrow

>Do Now: "What is the Theme of "the Drummer Boy of Shiloh"?
> Quiz on 'Drummer Boy'

> Work on Narrative Essay, due Friday

> Poem of the day:

The Charge of the Light Brigade
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

“Forward the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Forward, the Light Brigade!
“Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder’d.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel’d from the sabre-stroke
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honor the charge they made!
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

> Read: "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" p.6

> vocabulary handout

> Revision Strategies: "Show, don't Tell"

> Revise Drafts in class

Final Narrative Essay due Thursday

> Quickwrite: "Who or what inspires you?"
> write a brief narrative about an inspiring moment
> Dialogue Rules
> discuss - Civil War
> Short video on civil war in preparation for "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh"

Homework:
REVISE your narrative essay draft. This means you should reread it, making marks on your draft to indicate possible additions or changes you could make (as well as any spelling or punctuation errors). Make sure to bring your essay to class, as we will be working with them.

> Quiz on "The Day I Got Lost"
> Narrative Essay read-around
> Check off completed story drafts

> Grade quiz in-class
> peer review sheet for Narrative Essay

> Review: 'complex' sentences
(unlike 'compound' sentences, these are created by joining an Independent Clause with a Dependent Clause)
Example:
D.C. + , + I.C. (After leaving Language Arts class, I understood how to combine sentences using subordination.)
-or-
I.C. + D.C. (I understood how to combine sentences using subordination after leaving Language Arts class.)

> Poem of the Day:

Jabberwocky
by Lewis Carroll

“Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

> After reading, we translated the nonsense words of the first / last stanza of this poem into standard English (using our imaginations, of course!) It's all about context, after all . . .

> Reviewed "The Day I Got Lost"

> wrote or worked on essay drafts

Homework: Complete 'rough draft' of Narrative Essay (short story) due tomorrow!

> Do Now: write 2 compound sentences about your day so far

> check story drafts (you should have a beginning and a middle by now)
> Freewrite or work on draft

> Subordination notes / exercise

Homework: Plot summary handout (use the events from your narrative essay to fill out this sheet). Due Thursday. No reading homework tonight.

On Friday, a complete rough draft of your narrative essay (short story) is due!

> Freewrite!
> worksheet: "Developing the Characters in your Narrative"
>read "The Day I Got Lost" p.535
> answer questions p.538 #s 3,4,5 and p.547 #s 1,2,8

Homework:
have your narrative rough draft up to 5-8 paragraphs (beginning + middle) for tomorrow.

> Daily Poem:

First Fig
Edna St. Vincent Milay

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends–
It gives a lovely light!

> Coordination (combining simple sentences - independent clauses - with a coordinating conjunction - fanboys - to create a compound sentence

> Formula: I.C. + ( , ) + fanboys (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) + I.C. = compound sentence

Example of compound sentence: It was raining, so I grabbed an umbrella.

Homework: read for 20 minutes as usual, but instead of writing a paragraph, find and write down 5 compound sentences from your reading. Due Tuesday

> Daily Poem:

Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House by Billy Collins

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.

> Check Homework: rough draft of 'narrative essay' (beginning 1-2 paragraphs)

> 'Tense' activity (present to past)
> Symphony of the Redwoods!!!!!!!!!!(they rocked)
> 3-part story activity

> Daily Poem:

When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,
by Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts, the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the learned astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

> Finish "Six Ways to Start a Narrative" handout (due Friday)

> Begin / Continue drafting your narrative (story)

> Visit library to renew / return / check out choice reading books

> In the garden: Finish reading "Raymond's Run" and answer questions

P. 297 1,3,5,8

Homework: Rough draft of your first 1-2 paragraphs of 'narrative essay' due Friday!

> Daily poem: "The Arrow and the Song" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

> Handouts: Six Ways to Start a Narrative
> Continue with Narrative pre-writing / drafting

> Begin reading "Raymond's Run" p.288
- focus on Characterization, Idiom
> Book Fair!

Homework:
Draft of Narrative Essay beginning (first 1-2 paragraphs) due Friday

Back to School Night is Tonight! (hope to see you there . . .)

> finish vocabulary worksheet in class, turn in (finish for homework if necessary)

> narrative pre-writing strategies handouts
> begin pre-writing for your narrative essay (due September 27)

Homework:

Choice reading focus paragraph: Conflict (what problem(s) does the character(s) face int the book?
Due Wednesday

Reminder: Back to school night is tomorrow!

> Writing strategy: "Writing from a list"

> Fill out 'Short Story Reading Guide' based on the two stories we've read so far

Homework:
Read for 20 minutes as usual, but instead of writing a summary:
- pick out five words from your reading that you do not understand (if you understand all the words in your choice reading book, then you'll need to find some text - magazine article, etc.- that uses more difficult terms.
- write the sentence that contains the word, underlining the vocabulary word
- take your best guess at what the word means, and write this definition under the sentence

Make sure to leave 3 spaces between your sentences (we'll be using this in class)
Due Tuesday!

> Write
> Discuss: Elements of Narrative Writing

> Group analysis of "A Retrieved Reformation" in terms of narrative elements

> Warm-up: "What do you remember from yesterday?"
> Finish reading "A Retrieved Reformation"
> Complete plot-line summary chart

Homework: standard summary paragraph

> Write
> Revisit, revise

> Finish vocabulary exercise
> Begin reading "A Retrieved Reformation"

Homework: focus on Setting in your 'choice reading' paragraph

> bulletin / check-in
> hand back homework; discuss grading system
> freewrite
> revisit earlier entries for potential revisions

> Vocabulary:
assiduously (adv), virtuous (adj), retribution (n), unobtrusively (adv), simultaneously (adv), anguish (n)

1) Write down each word, leaving at least two spaces between each one.

2) Without using a dictionary, write a brief definition for each word if you can.
If the word is completely unfamiliar to you, write any words that it sounds like or makes you think of.

3)Share your thoughts with your group and add to your definition

4) Look up the definition in your book and write it in the final space (p.241)

HOMEWORK:
Choice reading for 20 mins. In your paragraph, focus on Character. Describe the main character (and any other relevant characters) with as much detail as you can.

> Finished copying 'Capitalization Rules!' into our notebooks
> Freewrite
> Read "Thank You M'am" by Langston Hughes

> Re-read story using volunteers (thanks to Jesus, Taylor, Nathan, Sam, Giselle, Chantal, Elizabeth, Max, Madeline, and Tyler!)
> Answered 'Literary Analysis' questions on P. 177

Have a great Labor Day weekend! See you Tuesday . . .

> Discussion: 'sibling rivalry'
> Dialogue Rules!
> quick 'freewrite'

> Define and discuss: Theme
> Question: "Have you ever wanted something that you could not get?"

Homework: same as last night - read for 20 mins, write a summary paragraph, discuss with parent / guardian (who will then sign it).

> Literary Genre group presentations
> Handed out 'Choice Reading' homework assignment guide
> Went to school library, checked out FICTION books for choice reading homework
Homework:
Tonight we will begin our weekly homework routine. Read for 20 minutes and write a one-paragraph summary of what you read (think who, what, when, where, why). Discuss the reading with a parent for 3-5 minutes and have them sign off your paragraph certifying that you have done the required reading and discussion.

> Capitalization Rules review / wall chart
> finish outlines, complete posters

> Essay pre-writing / organization strategies
> Language Arts writing pre-assessment

> 'Take One'
> Freewriting
> 'Capitalization Rules!'
> Continue outlining, begin group posters

> Picture presentations
> Outlining lesson
> Continue 'Literature Genre' group work

> 'Freewriting Rules!'
> Begin 'Literary Genres' group projects
> Homework: bring in one picture (photo, artwork, collage, etc.) and be ready to explain its significance to you. Due Friday

> Hand out 'Notebooks' (bring $1 for your composition book - required)
> Go over 'Notebook Rules!', number pages
> 'Writer's Eye' exercise
> "Why do we read?"

> Dress Code review
> Handed out 8th grade welcome letter (keep this for your reference!)
> Dispensed bathroom tokens
> Mindfulness exercise: "Take One"
> Freewrite: "Bullying"

> 'Open Mind' exercise
> Assign: Express Yourself essay (due Friday)

> First day of school!!!
> PBIS exercises in morning
> Overview of class rules
> Discussion of Fear vs. Trust
> Read Autobiography of a Face excerpt, discussed bullying