Membean Extra Credit Opportunity

The last Membean practice session grade ends at midnight on Thursday, December 14.  I am offering +5 points on the Vocabulary Quiz Average if you do 60 Membean practice minutes over the break to keep it fresh in your head.

• Minutes will run from 12:01 a.m. Friday, December 15 to midnight Monday, January 1.
• You must have 60 minutes or more - subtracting any "dubious marriage" between those dates; no partial credit will be offered.
• I will run the report on Tuesday, January 2 and add the points as earned before the window to fix grades closes.

Land of my Father's - First Steps

Land of My Fathers Essay

BIG PICTURE: Write a one page (typed, double-spaced, 12 size font) essay in which you describe the culture of one country – other than the USA - that was the home of an ancestor.  Include the six elements of P.E.R.S.I.A. you have learned in Social Studies.

STEP ONE: Select a relative to interview.  The relative you speak to can be “the ancestor” – or someone who can give you information about “the ancestor”. “The ancestor” can be someone pretty close to you like a parent or grandparent – or someone from long ago in the family tree. Family is who you consider family – they do not have to be genetically related to you. This will likely only include one branch of the family.  You might have many cultures to choose from for this project – or only one – depending on your cultural history.

Have them answer as many of the following questions for you as they can:  Be sure to get their full name.

Ø  What country are you/were they from? 

Ø  How would you describe living in that country? 

Ø  What are some of your favorite memories?

Ø  When and why did you leave that country? Did you come directly to American or go somewhere else first? 

Ø  Does your family still have connections to or relatives in that country?

Ø  What current family traditions, foods, or other cultural aspects have been influenced by this country?

Ø  Political – What kind of political system does the country currently have?  If it had a different system when your ancestor was there?  If so, explain what it was and how it has changed.

Ø  Economic – How did the people make money for things they needed? Where did the food come from?  What were important industries?

Ø  Religious – What religions were practice by the people of the country?  Where and how did people practice their beliefs? 

Ø  Social – How was society set up/divided? What are their beliefs about citizens in their society? How did their laws and legal system protect the citizens?

Ø  Intellectual - What was the educational system like?  Who received an education?  What kind of training was most important in the country?

Ø  Artistic - What kind of artistic and beautiful useful things did the people of the country make?  What do we remember them for?  What kind of events did the people of the country have for entertainment?

For the questions they can’t answer, do a little research in the family or online to get “typical” or “representative” answers from the time and place.

STEP TWO:  Type up the answers you got from the interview and research in complete sentences into a document in your SBISD Google Drive and SHARE it with me (Jennifer.Connor@springbranchsid.com).  Give me editing rights.  Please title the document: Land of My Fathers – FirstName LastName by EOC, Thursday, October 19.  This draft will probably be longer than a page.  Do not worry about that.  Just get it all typed up so we can organize, revise and edit in class.

STEP THREE:  I will guide you through revising and editing this essay in class.  We will do all of this on the Google Doc you have created.  You will not need to print the final copy because I will have access to it. The final copy will be graded on content, organization, editing (spelling, capitalization, and complete sentences)

This essay will have three grades associated with it.  One (1) homework grade – that the information is typed and shared with me by the given date.  One (1) daily grade – the revising and editing process I will guide you through. One (1) quiz grade – the final copy of the essay.

Grammar Book Work 2nd Nine Weeks

Page 175: Exercise 1, 1-6; Exercise 2, All
Page 177: Exercise 1, All (please do triple underline); Exercise 2, Odds

Page 178: Exercise 1, 1-10

Page 179: Exercise 1, 1-5

2nd Nine Week Important Dates

10/19 - "Classics Revamp" should be read, in class assessment, quiz grade
10/26 - Membean Quiz
11/1 - Land of My Fathers essay - First draft due B.O.C. - revising and editing in class, final copy is a quiz grade
11/2 - Test over literary elements and devices
11/14 - Secret of the Andes Test
11/16 - Membean Quiz
11/30 - Grammar Quiz  12/5
12/7 - Choice Write Final Draft Due, BOC, major grade  -- let's see what happens
12/14 - Membean  and Greek Roots Quiz


Reminders:

• There shouldn't be as much need to move dates around as the first Nine Weeks, but if anything changes, I will note it on here.
• All three Membean quizzes and the Greek Roots quiz will be averaged together and go in to the gradebook as one grade.
• The Membean minutes for a daily grade will run from 10/9-10/29, 10/30-11/19, and 11/27-12-14 (notice this one is a little shorter).  There will be no Membean expected over the Thanksgiving break.

End of First Nine Weeks Important Dates

We are playing it a little by ear here at the end.  I want to make sure we have at least two grades in the quiz and test categories, but I won't give assessments they are not ready for.

The first Membean quiz would be the ONLY vocabulary quiz grade, so it will go into the average for the second nine weeks. Normally, they would have a vocab quiz grade, a dictionary and capitalization quiz grade, and a literary elements quiz grade.

I may make the dictionary quiz just dictionary skills and not capitalization - depending on how they do with practices early in the week.

So, doing Membean and Dictionary Quiz today, 10/5 - making dictionary quiz open note. 

I'd like to push the lit. quiz back to Friday - but that is not our regular quiz and test day, so I am checking with the other classes to see if there are already two assessments that day.

Other tests and quizzes are scheduled for Friday, so our Story Elements and Literary Devices Quiz will be on Thursday, Oct. 12.

Classically Inspired Book

This semester you will read a “classically inspired” book.  This means the book was inspired by a classical and/or traditional story like a myth, legend or fairy tale. I want you to read something you have NEVER read – something new and interesting! 

• ·         MOST of the books on this list are the first book in a series, or one of a collection of books with a similar theme by the same author.  You are welcome to read ANY book from these series/collections if you have already started the series.
• ·         You MAY be able to read something off the list if you get it approved by me.
• ·         All books on this list are recommended for 6^th grade, 10-12 year olds, but I always encourage kids and parents to check out books on Amazon and Common Sense Media to get more detailed reviews to make sure it’s a good book for YOU.  See footnotes below.
• ·         I have copies of many of these, and our library has even more!  You will need a copy in class on Thursday, Sept. 28. (I can be a little flexible on this date if you are not getting from me or the library.)  You will need to bring the book to class each day.  You will need to finish reading the book by Thursday, October 19.
• ·         I will get assignments to you soon.  Right now, just procure a book!

Anything by Rick Riordan ! ^

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marrisa Meyer + ! ^

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine * 

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman ^

Just Ella  by Margaret Haddix ^

Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School)  by Jen Calonita +

Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer + ! !

Red Rider’s Hood (Dark Fusion Series #2) by Neil Schusterman *

A Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy +

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz *

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin (or Jack or Red) by Liesl Shurtliff *

The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer +

Breadcrumbs   by Anne Ursu and Erin McGuire

Cronus Chronicles by Anne Ursu +

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by L Kessler + (in second book ^)

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Rick Yancey + ! !

Loki’s Wolves by  K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr  +

Middle World (The Jaguar Stones Series) by J & P Voelkel +

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs ^ +

Book of the Dead (TombQuest, Book 1) by  Michael Northrop +

+ first in a series

*part of a set of related books that don’t necessarily need to be read in order

! violent

^ smoochies alert

Membean

Starting today 9/18/17

Each week you are expected to do at least 30 minutes of Membean practice.  Ideally, this will be in two-15 minute practice sessions. You will usually have opportunity to do this in class over the course of the week.

 A week runs from Monday at 12:01 a.m. to midnight Sunday.  Although, I sincerely hope no one is doing Membean any where near midnight!

Weekly Practice will be a daily grade - based on time and at least 70% accuracy during that practice time.

We will have a 15 question, multiple choice quiz approximately every 3 weeks. These quizzes are averaged each 9 weeks and the average goes into the gradebook.  Most nine weeks there will also be a root words quiz averaged in as well.

Quiz dates for the first semester:  10/5, 10/26, 11/16, 12/14.

Welcome and Back to School Information

You're my ONLY LA class this year.  That means you get all the reading and writing goodness! I hope you like fairy tales and myths, because we're going to build our year around cultural texts to support the learning you will do in Social Studies (which you also have me for.)

More information to come!