Upcoming Project

Independent Reading Presentation due January 15th

Independent Reading Presentation

Project is due ___________.  You must present your project on a book you have finished between the dates of __________________.  If you have not finished a book by the project due date, you will receive a POW, and 10% will be deducted from your score.  You will still be required to present your project even if it is late. 

Every presentation must include the following:

·         title and author

·         main character(s)

·         compare how two characters from the story are different and/or similar

·         short summary of the story without giving away the ending

·         one challenge the main character(s) face

·         how the main character responds to the challenge

·         theme (main idea of the story)

 

Information must be written on note cards.  Be sure to practice reading in front of someone before presenting.  Try not to read straight from the cards.  Practice and then practice some more.

 

Choose one of the following to include in your presentation:

·         three items in a bag that relate to the story- you must explain how the objects relate to your book

·         movie poster you create that represents an event from the story- you must explain how the movie poster relates to your story

·         two or three PowerPoint slides with pictures that relate to the story- you must explain how the pictures relate to the story (PowerPoint must be saved to a flash drive and brought to class)

·         create a book mobile using a wire clothes hanger- attach at least five pictures (hand drawn or printed from computer) or items that represent the book.  Be prepared to explain how each picture or item relates to the book

 

Below is an example of a book mobile:

 

I would like to keep the book mobiles to hang in the classroom.  Please do not attach anything to the book mobiles that is of personal value. 

Unit Four: America in Conflict

We started our new unit, America in Conflict on Tuesday.  Literacy class will seem more like a History class for the next five weeks.  The following is a brief summary of the Unit.

Brief Summary of Unit: In this unit students read historical fiction and informational texts about Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and his assassin, John Wilkes Booth. In order to gain a deeper understanding about the events surrounding the assassination of Lincoln and the 12 day hunt for his killer, students will also examine a variety of primary resources (e.g. letters, manuscripts, newspapers, pamphlets, government documents, etc.) The culminating activity will be to create an end of unit presentation on their opinion essay about dealing with conflict, or on their response to the overarching essential question, "How are fictionalized characters and real people changed through conflict?" as well as the question, "What can we learn from this unit of study that can help us as individuals when we face conflict?"

READING:



We will read from Assassin by Anna Myers and Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson.






I've attached links to the videos we will view in class.

http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/photos#videos

WRITING:

Students will focus on Persuasive Writing or Opinion Writing.  Students will be given a variety of opinion pieces to read, discuss, and analyze for the structure and techniques that authors use to write an effective opinion essay.  Students will use their knowledge of structure and technique to write an opinion essay dealing with conflict at school.  The final draft for this essay will be typed using WORD.  Students will have time at school to type the final draft.  If a student does not use his/her time wisely or is absent, it will be the student's responsibility to finish the draft either before school or during study hall.  The library is open from 7:30-8:15 each morning.  Students will be working on this essay for the next four weeks.  I will send an update when a deadline for the final draft is decided.