1st Hour - Week of 1-7-13

Hi, kids! :) This week, and for the next several weeks, we're focusing on figuring out words that confuse us while we're reading. Remember that you're trying to practice a specific strategy based on the mini-lesson I taught you on Monday. This week was all about those tricky words that have more than one meaning.

Sometimes a word has more than one meaning and we can be super familiar with some of the definitions of that word, but not understand other ways it can be used. This happened to me when I read the book The Little Ships. On the first page, I read the word "smack", but it wasn't used in a way that made sense to me. The sentence it was in read, "My father, Martin Gates, owned the Lucy, a sturdy fishing smack." The definition I know of smack is "to hit someone or something with your hand" or like the sound you make when you smack your lips. But neither of those definitions of "smack" made sense in that sentence.

To help myself figure it out, I decided to use other information on that page that might tell me more about this kind of "smack". The author said the Lucy smelled of herring and mackerel and cod, which I know are types of fish. Later on the same page, we find out that the narrator's father is a fisherman. From these context clues, I can infer that the Lucy is a fishing boat. I looked it up in the dictionary to make sure, and I was right! It said a smack was a fishing boat, sometimes with a well for keeping live catches. Woohoo!

So now that we know that words we're normally familiar with sometimes have meanings that are completely foreign to us, we can stop ourselves to make sure that we understand the correct definition before we move on. If I had read on thinking the Lucy was a way to hit someone, I would have certainly been confused!

You're ready to do one on your own! Use your vocabulary blog organizer to write a response like the one I did above. Since you guys didn't get to hear the mini-lesson until Wednesday, you only have to define one word. Have fun and let me know if you have any questions!

1st Hour - Week of 12-3-12

Welcome to December, kids! Have fun blogging this week!

1st Hour - Week of 11-26-12

Hi kids! Another week and another ten points to earn. You guys did an awesome job during your extra credit week. I'm very proud of you! There are plenty of organizers available to you over by the globe, so if you're sitting here without one filled out, GO GET ONE!

:)

1st Hour - Week of 11-19-12

I'm in a gift giving mood this week, and I'm sure you'll all be thankful for it. Since we only have one and a half days of school this week, blogging will either:

1. Give you a grade toward a blog you have a zero for, or...
2. Give you extra credit.

If you need an organizer to help you, please take one before you leave for the long weekend. Have fun! :)

1st Hour - Week of 11-12-12

First hour students, please put your reading responses here. Don't forget your four requirements!

1. Title of book, Author of book, topic you plan on discussing (1 point)
2. A 1-2 sentence summary of what is happening in your book right now (3 points)
3. An explanation of why what's happening right now is important (3 points)
4. What the summary plus your thinking help you understand about the book - make an inference or an evidence-based prediction. (3 points)

If you need a reminder of the potential topics to discuss, look here: http://mrsboehlesclass.blogspot.com/2012/09/ready-to-post-start-here-please.html

If you have any questions, just let me know! I look forward to reading what you all have to say! :)

Online Research for Personal Essays

It’s time to find some information about your topic so you can get some evidence to use in your arguments! However, as you know, the internet is full of incorrect and flawed information, so I’m going to try to help point you in a direction that will hopefully help you get some reliable facts.

First things first – if you chose any of the topics from 1-15 of the list I put on the projector yesterday, here’s where I want you to start: http://www.middleschooldebate.com/topics/topicresearch.htm This website has links to articles that will have information you can use.

1. Possible Argument Topics
2. K-12 Schools should ban the sale of junk food.
3. Junior highs and high schools should randomly test their student athletes for drug use.
4. Fast food restaurants do more harm than good.
5. Cell phones should be allowed in schools.
6.  Television is a bad influence on children.
7. All schools should provide students with music and art education
8. Zoos do more harm than good.
9. Homework should be banned.
10. The driving age should be raised to 18.
11. The United States should ban the death penalty.
12. Walmart is good for America.
13. The United States should have a draft for military service.
14. It is unethical to eat meat.
15. Beauty pageants do more harm than good.
16. The President of the United States should be elected by direct vote of the people.
17. The drinking age should be lowered to 18.
18. Year-round school is a good idea.
19. “Scared straight” programs are a good idea. 
20. Banning junk food commercials would make teens healthier.
21. Too much technology hurts kids.
22. Bullies should be treated as criminals.
23. School dress codes are too strict.

 

A lot of you are writing about animal abuse. Here are some sites that you might be able to use:

• http://www.aspca.org/Home/Fight-Animal-Cruelty - General information about types of animal abuse.

• http://www.aspca.org/Fight-Animal-Cruelty/Advocacy-Center/state-animal-cruelty-laws.aspx - Find out what the law says about animal cruelty in our state.

• http://www.peta.org/ - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – lots of info about animal rights

If you have another topic, try going here: http://www.debate.org/opinions/ and typing your topic in the search box. I typed in “bullying” and “child abuse” and got good results with both searches. If you don’t find anything, let me know and I’ll help you come up with search terms that will get you some good results.

So, you’re on a website reading some great info. Now what?

• Open your writing notebook.
• Write down the website you’re on.
• Make a bulleted list of information you found from the website.
• Repeat steps 1-3 for each new website you visit. 

That’s pretty much all you have to do with that information for now. Just find as much as you can during our time today!

1st Hour - Week of 11-5-12

First hour students, please put your reading responses here. Don't forget your four requirements!

1. Title of book, Author of book, topic you plan on discussing (1 point)
2. A 1-2 sentence summary of what is happening in your book right now (3 points)
3. An explanation of why what's happening right now is important (3 points)
4. What the summary plus your thinking help you understand about the book - make an inference or an evidence-based prediction. (3 points)

If you need a reminder of the potential topics to discuss, look here: http://mrsboehlesclass.blogspot.com/2012/09/ready-to-post-start-here-please.html

If you have any questions, just let me know! I look forward to reading what you all have to say! :)