Nov 25, 2011

Homework:  Complete reading Animal Farm this weekend:  chapters 7-10

On Monday we will be working on our Charts comparing Soviet history with Animal Farm.

Nov 25, 2011

http://www.slideshare.net/1goalie/animal-farm-propaganda

This is the ppt we viewed yesterday about Soviet propaganda in the early years.  We discussed how events in the Soviet Union are paralleled in Animal Farm.

Nov 23, 2011

HOMEWORK:  Study for Classical Roots #5 Test on Thursday.
                            Read chapters 4 and 5.  Pop quiz Thursday.
                            Complete your descriptive paragraph on the topic of your choice, including analysis.

Today we analyzed our best of the two descriptive paragraphs we have written.  On good copy, for those of you who were sick, please underline or highlight:
        Words which appeal to the five sense
         Good vocabulary words
         Vivid verbs
         Literary devices such as simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia

Note in the margins or with interlinear notes what you have identified.  Eg:  a simile, or sense of sight

If you were sick on Tuesday also, you missed this handout:

The Elements of Descriptive Writing:

Vivid Details

Descriptive writing includes details that show instead of tell. Sensory details allow the reader to see, hear, smell, taste and touch what the writer is describing. "The cat walked down the street," does not include descriptive details. "The gray tabby slinked across the cul de sac" includes details that create a picture in the reader's mind.

Descriptive writing requires vivid, specific, concrete language so the reader can easily visualize the action. The less your reader has to work to visualize the story, the more he grasps the story and can empathize with characters. For instance, the sentence, "It was a nice day," gives the reader no insight into that particular day. Describe why exactly the day was nice. The sun may have been shining indirectly through trees, casting soft shadows and warming the ground, and the crisp desert breeze carrying a smell of clean sand and rain.

Sensory Detail

Descriptive writing relies heavily on sensory detail. The writer relays how a stale slice of bread tasted, including its texture or smell. A character describing how the breeze feels states how it smells and feels. A breeze may be warm and heavy, or crisp and wet, or even icy. It may smell like salt, dirt, jasmine or like the grease trap from the nearby fast-food restaurant. Write down exactly which smells, sounds, tastes and sites you or your character felt during an event.

Figurative Language

Descriptive writing often includes figurative language, or language that employs figures of speech (or Literary terms or devices). Figurative language departs from literal meaning to creatively make a point. This type of descriptive writing includes devices like metaphors, similes and personification. A metaphor compares two unlike things using the words "is" or "are." One of the most memorable metaphors is "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players" from William Shakespeare's play "As You Like It." In contrast, a simile compares two unlike things using "like" or "as." Ernest Hemingway used this device in "The Sun Also Rises" when he wrote: "The cafe was like a battleship stripped for Action." With personification, an inanimate object takes on human qualities. For instance, a tree branch grasps like a pointing finger or a dependable pick-up truck becomes a trusty confidante. 

Another couple of literary devices, which are fun to try to work with in descriptive writing, are alliteration and onomatopoeia.

eg:  peter piper picked a pepper....repetitive consonant sounds

eg:  crash, bang, blam, pitter-patter ...are words that sound like what they mean.

Strong Verbs

Descriptive writing includes as much detail as possible in as few words as possible. Using active verbs makes writing more precise. Linking verbs--"is," "was" and "are"--are not active. Action verbs--"race," "sing" and "dance"--create compelling writing. Instead of writing "she walked slowly," it is more precise to write "she meandered." Using strong verbs draws in the reader.

Writing from Observation

One way to put the reader in the middle of a piece of writing is to write from observation. If you want to write about a basketball game, go to a game and take notes. Write about what you see, taste, touch, smell and feel. If writing a narrative from memory, sketch the setting and all of its objects. If possible, visit the place where the action in the narrative occurred and notice the particulars of the setting.

Dominant Impression and Mood

Descriptive writing always has a uniform or dominant impression that sets its tone and mood. For instance, instead of an author telling her reader she felt safe and comfortable in a particular situation, she conjures up a safe environment through descriptive phrases of the setting, time and perhaps other characters. A happy memory of eating with the family might detail how the author's mother snuggled close to her, how the sweet dessert smelled and how the worn but clean tablecloth set the background for the meal.

Compression

It is important, in descriptive writing as well as in other types of writing, to know what to leave out, and to include only the most notable details of your subject. Rather than listing twenty ways that the character of your piece looked when she smiled, describe as accurately as you can the one smile you remember most. Being selective with your details and paring down excess modifiers and phrases will not only streamline your points, but will also give your reader a definite picture of the place or character instead of a somewhat nebulous, generalized sense.

Read more: Types of Descriptive Writing | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8653644_types-descriptive-writing.html#ixzz1eSaERADJ

Read more: What Should Be Included in Descriptive Writing? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_10018391_should-included-descriptive-writing.html#ixzz1eSaqxKEd

Read more: Features of Descriptive Writing | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8725548_features-descriptive-writing.html#ixzz1eSby2dv1

Nov 21st, 2011

Complete Descriptive Paragraph:  using one of the five senses primarily, at least two fo the Animal Farm vocabulary words, remembering to show, don't tell.  Edit your work please, aiming for something I can imagine that I am seeing, touching, smelling, hearing, or tasting.

Classical Roots Vocabulary Test #5 is on Thursday of this week.

Nov 18th, 2011 Classical Roots

This is a reminder to study your classical roots as I will be giving you test number five next week.....tba.

Nov 18th, 2011

Animal Farm ch 3 Q’s:  Complete for Monday as promised!

1.       Why does Napoleon feel that the education of the young is important?

2.      Snowball and Napoleon argue about almost every issue that arises.  What is the only thing they agree on?

3.      What is Squealer’s explanation of why pigs must be given special food?  Details pls.

4.      How do the animals other than the pigs react to this explanation?  Why?

5.      Continue the chart comparing events and characters in Animal Farm with the history of the Russian Revolution.

Nov 17th, 2011

Complete ch 2 Q's:

1.      The pigs are recognized as the cleverest of the animals.  The three most important pigs are also given distinguishing human traits.  What traits are given to Snowball?  To Napoleon?  To Squealer?

2.     What is Animalism?

3.     How do the animals, other than the pigs, respond to Old Major’s speech?

4.     What is the effect of Moses, the tame raven, and his tale of Sugarcandy Mountain?

5.     What do you think the milk incident foreshadows?

6.     Note down page numbers and selections of quotes that parallel events in the Russian revolution.  See notes given.  Start a chart on a separate page.

Nov 15th, 2011 Homework due Wednesday

Animal Farm ch 1 Questions:

1.       How is Mr. Jones portrayed in the first chapter?

2.      The animals who gather to hear Major’s speech each mirror a single human trait.  What trait is revealed in Clover?  Boxer?  Benjamin?  Mollie?  The cat?  The dogs?  What is significant about the pigs and the raven?

3.      Why has Major called the meeting?

4.      What is the political statement that emerges from Major’s dream?

5.      What is Major’s warning to the animals?

6.      What are the evil human habits against which Major particularly warns the animals?

7.      What is the significance of “Beasts of England?”

Nov 15th Parts of Speech and Clauses practices

If you are struggling with grammar, please do these 15 practice sentences.  Use the same 15 sentences for both sections One and Two.  Answers will be provided upon request.

Section One:   Parts of speech Practice:

Focus particularly on identifying the articles, prepositions and conjunctions:

Label the conjunctions either subordinate or coordinate:

If you’ve done all of the above, try labeling the rest of the parts of speech.

Section Two:  Clauses and Kind of Sentence Practice:

Then see if you can find the subject and verb combinations and their clauses.

Underline main clauses.

Put brackets around (subordinate clauses).

Can you figure out what kind of sentence each one is?

1.       The boy ate a pie while the man waited for his dinner.

2.      I went to the hospital because I was sick.

3.      The teacher gave a quiz and assigned reading.

4.      The boy watched TV but missed the best show.

5.      The cat was hungry, so I poured a bowl of milk.

6.      The emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

7.      The dogs barked until the cows came home.

8.      A blue and grey uniform is an option.

9.      The book has ten chapters but it is easy to read.

10.  I wrote her a letter, yet she didn’t answer me.

11.  A pink or a blue stone is a good choice.

12.  My pants were loose so I wore a belt.

13.  An apple is good but a plum is tastier.

14.  The girls studied, yet she still failed the test.

15.  Neither the boy nor the girl had run a race.

Nov 10th, 2011

Tuesday:  Grammar Quiz on identifying Parts of Speech, subjects and verbs, clauses and kind of sentences.
Tuesday:  Irregular Verbs Quiz on section #2 on the blue handout.
Read chapter one of Animal Farm.

Nov 7th, 2011

Complete Four Kinds of Sentences Practice sheet.

Nov 4, 2011

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/verbmaster.htm

Verb Practice Quiz - finding verbs in sentences with distracting words that look like verbs but aren't acting as verbs.  Happy practicing! 

Nov 3rd, 2011

Complete the third page of the Sentences handout which we were working on in class please. 
Study the Irregular Verbs section one.

Nov 2nd, 2011

Irregular Verbs Quiz #1 on Friday.  Yes, I know volleyball people are away.  They can do this on Monday.