8th+-+English

//**Remote School for Thursday, February 26, 2015**//

//**Thursday, February 26, 2015**// //**Good**// **Morning,** Last night, you read "Ode to an Artichoke." I hope you were curious to ask, "What is an ode?' and "Why does an artichoke deserve a poem?" Good questions! An ode is a serious, (mostly) and fairly long, reflective, lyric poem that conveys the speaker's feelings about a person, place, thing. or idea. An ode offers praise and is a tribute to a subject or an idea. An ode is written in a single voice, typically the poets. Task: Create an original ode choosing a subject you feel strongly about. This can be a favorite food, sport, pet, person, or techie gadget. My suggestion is to read several more odes to understand the voice and the quality of extravagant praise (Neruda also wrote "Ode to Socks" and Soto wrote "Ode to Pablo's Tennis Shoes"). 2. Brainstorm how your subject makes you feel and write a list of different adjectives and next to each, explain why the subject makes you feel a certain way. 3. Write 4-5 stanzas fully detailing why you are passionate about your subject. 4. Word-process your poem as an addition to your poetry portfolio. You may add images, original drawings or clip art.

__**Homework: Read Walt Whitman's "O Captain, My Captain"**__

//**Wednesday, February 25, 2015**// Good Morning! We will continue our study of poetry by focusing on our memorization project. Please read "How to Read a Poem Out Loud" by Billy Collins. I have posted the essay on my wiki under Poetry. Using your memorization guide, decide on your poem that you are going to memorize, email me the title, prepare the accompanying art work or musical accompaniment, write down your reasons for choosing your poems, and research the poet and the history of the poem. Before you recite your poem on Wednesday, March 4-5, you will explain why you chose the poem, tell one interesting fact about the poet or poem,share your art or music, and recite. For example, Edgar Allan Poe wrote "Annabelle Lee" and wanted it published as a part of his wedding announcement to Elmira Shelton. Instead, he died ten days before the wedding, and the poem was published at the end of his obituary.

Homework: Please read Pablo Neruda's poem "Ode to an Artichoke." You will find the poem on my wiki under poetry.

Public Speaking:Continue preparing for your Optimist competition on Sunday, March 1 at 2:00 at Johnson and Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 at Lakeview.

Journal entry: Please respond to the following prompt by writing 5 paragraphs in your journal. Your writing should include an introduction, a thesis statement, three body paragraphs with interesting topic sentences, a few transition words or phrases, and a conclusion. Please watch the video by Kari Wilson on YouTube about a thesis statement vs a topic sentence. This should be a review, but it will help guide your writing on this prompt. If you need to review how to use transition words and phrases, watch the Kari Wilson YouTube video segment again. Prompt: If you could have three dinner guests from any time period in history, who would you choose to join you for a evening of lively conversation and why?
 * January 29, 2014

Thursday, January 30, 2014 Today I want you to view a BrainPop movie on the Five Paragraph Essay as a review of your writing experience from Wednesday. When you finish the movie, please take the quiz, select "Classic Quiz", and send the results to mary.casper@lakeviewacademy.org. Reread your Journal essay. Using a colored pencil or highlighter indicate an area which you think needs revising; rewrite or make edits to your essay. Be prepared to explain the weakness and how to improve your essay. Use the 6 trait rubric for suggestions and terminology. Remember no one ever writes a perfect essay on the first try. Be bold in your revisions! Also, be prepared for unit 10 morph quiz on Friday. Check with your partner and share study tips. Phone, text, email.....communicate!! Hope to see you tomorrow:-)

Journal entry for today is a 1 and 1/2 page response to the following: "If money wasn't an issue, I would have an operation to change something I don't like about myself." Be honest, what do you not like about yourself-your nose, height, or smile? Do you agree or disagree that teens should be able to have corrective/enhancement surgeries? Would you agree to a risky operation like Charlie did if there was a chance you could be smarter?
 * Tuesday, February 11, 2014**

Animoto Vocabulary Visual Dictionary due today! Go to the wiki,look for page name Morphs and find directions on how to email me your completed animoto. Then you need to share with other class members. Remember this is a way to study for Morphs Voc.11 quiz on Friday, February 14.

Read //Charly on page 216 in text. Prepare for quiz over material including vocabulary.// Poetry Time!! Please read the following poems: //Introduction to Poetry// by Billy Collins Page 586 textbook //If// by Rudyard Kipling http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/if/ Using the Seven Step Poetry analysis handout, analyze //Introduction to Poetry// and //If//.
 * Wednesday, February 12, 2014**

Poetry Writing: Task: Using Kipling's //If// as a model, write an advice poem to rising 6th graders on how to be successful in middle school. Note how Kipling creates stanzas that share big ideas on how to be successful in life. Practice poetry writing skills such as rhythm, rhyming, and descriptive vocabulary in at least 3 eight line stanzas. Due Date: Friday, February 14 Requirements: Publish ready- Word processed, may choose font and style and may add visual elements.

Please read the following poems: //Willow and Ginkgo// by Eve Merriam Page 584 //Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening// by Robert Frost Page 579 (Appropriate, don't you think?)
 * Thursday, February 13, 2014**


 * **Why would anybody stop in the snow and cold to stare at some trees? We'll find out in this an analysis of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."** ||  ||
 * **This week we are going to read a poem by Robert Frost,** **whose poems are mainly set in New England states.** **Poets and other authors often write about what they know and what they have experienced in their own lives.**
 * Teaching Point.** **The structure of the poem is divided into four stanzas.** **The first stanza is broken into the following rhyme scheme:**
 * a-know**
 * a-though**
 * b-here**
 * a-snow**
 * The rhyme scheme for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th is the following:**
 * aaba, bbcb, ccdc, dddd)** ||  ||

Just as you read with your pen and follow rules of notice in analyzing short stories and novels, the same close reading is required to understand and appreciate poetry. Ask yourself questions, make connections, infer, listen for rhythm and rhymes, enjoy! Using the Seven Step Poetry analysis handout, analyze //Willow and Ginkgo// and //Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening.// //If you would like to begin work on a project (great idea), you will find the details on the wiki-Poetry-Introduction to Poetry Project.// //You may email me your selected poet. Although I do love Dr. Seuss and Jack Prelutsky, I'm expecting age appropriate research and poetry.// What is the tone? Is he really sorry? Apologetic? Triumphant? Smug? Tactful? Amused? Good humored? This means to practice writing poems. I'm sure people have made more than 1 mistake so use these oops moments and craft poems. Yes, write more than 1 and add to your portfolio. Due Date: Tuesday, February 18 Requirements: Publish ready-word processed any font, may add images, color if desired. Poets make decisions how the poem looks on the page. Be creative! You may have guessed we are writing and building a poetry portfolio. Also, be prepared for Morph Unit 11 quiz that was scheduled for Friday and for a quiz over //Flowers for Algernon// and //Charly//.
 * //Friday, February 14, 2014//**
 * //Tonight's poetry reading is......This Is Just To Say by// William Carlos Williams (I know you were expecting a love sonnet.....)**
 * You will find this poem on the wiki-Poetry. Questions to ask yourself...Is this an apology or is this a poem or is it both? What makes it worthwhile?**
 * Poetry Writing Task**: Using Williams' poem as a model, write a poem or three that expresses a mistake and an apology. Experiment with tone and see if you can express yourself in different ways.

Public Speaking Class-Optimist Speech due today!!!!! We will be presenting next week!