Setting Descriptions

3 paragraphs total:

1.  Familiar: The places familiar to the hero: neighborhoods, buildings, communities, parks, etc.  Because the hero has not yet seen the wider world, the familiar is located within a relatively small area.  The familiar can be located in our world, or it can be located in a fantasy world.

2.   Threshhold: The boundary which is crossed which takes the hero from the familiar to the unfamiliar.  If the familiar is located in our world, the threshhold will be a portal through which the hero travels from our world to a fantasy world.  If the familiar is located in a fantasy world, the threshhold will be a boundary the hero will cross to enter the fantasy world.

3.  Unfamiliar: The wider world, heretofore unknown to the hero.  The fantasy world must resemble our world.  It must contain physical features and bodies of water.  The laws of physics apply.  Describe the topography of the world: mountains, canyons, hills, valleys, etc.  Include important cities and towns, as well as castles, fortresses, and other man-made structures.  The fantasy world is a large world.  Describe it very generally; you do not need to include every detail about the fantasy world.

Quiz Bowl #2

4 questions total.  Each question must be from a different category.  Categories include, but are not limited to: Geography, Science, History, Politics, Literature, Movies & TV, Current Events, Music, Nova, Sports, etc.

Include answers.  Answers may not be multiple choice or true/false.  Each question must have only one correct answer.

Due Wednesday, December 7, in Language Arts.  Use correct punctuation and grammar.

Quiz Bowl #2 will take place on Friday, December 9, in The Trow.  We'll start at about 8:45 and conclude at 10:10.  Interested parents are welcome to watch.

Fantasy Choice Book #3 Journal

1.  Read entire book (or books).
2.  Record 3 interesting vocabulary words: defns. + page #.
3.  Rate the book(s) on a 10 point scale.  Explain why you gave the book this score.  Use examples from the book to support your reasoning.
4.  Write 3 open-ended discussion questions.  Answer each question with a short paragraph (at least 2 sentences).

Fantasy Choice Book Journal #2

1. Locate 3 interesting vocabulary words. Record page # and definition.
2.  What did you think of the 2nd half of the book?  Back up your opinion with examples from the book.
3.  What did you think of the book as a whole?  Will you continue to read the rest of the series?
4. Write 2 open-ended discussion questions about the book.  Do not answer the questions in your journal.

Tough Day: Sounders Lose Riley, Wahl, and Arlo White

James Riley: Wikimedia Commons

Fullback James Riley was selected by the Montreal Impact in the 2011 Expansion Draft.  The Sounders also traded another fullback, Tyson Wahl, to the Impact for allocation money.  Finally, the Sounders play-by-play announcer, Arlo White, has been hired by NBC to be their main voice for national MLS broadcasts.

James Riley has been the Sounders' starting right fullback for all three of their years of existence.  Tyson Wahl was also a starter for most of last year.  Allocation money, which the Sounders received for Wahl, can be used by the club to exceed the salary cap in 2012.  The Sounders will need it, as they will need to replace two defensive fullbacks, as well as their goalkeeper.  The Sounders do have room on their roster for one more Designated Player.  Each MLS team can have up to three DP's, which are players whose salries are not restricted by the salary cap.  The Sounders' current DP's are Fredy Montero and Mauro Rosales.

The Sounders will also need to find a new play-by-play announcer.  Arlo White, originally from Britain, served two seasons as the Sounders' announcer.  While it's a huge loss for fans of the Sounders, choosing White to be their main play-by-play announcer was a smart move by NBC.  White has a passion for the game, and has been a huge supporter of the Sounders and MLS.  He will be hard to replace.

Joshua Mayers reports on the moves in his Seattle Times blog here.

The blog Sounder At Heart comments on the player moves here and the loss of White here.

Fantasy Choice Book Journal #1

1.  Locate 3 interesting vocabulary words.  Record page # and definition.
2.  Rate the portion of the book you have read thus far on a scale of 1-10.  Explain why you gave the book this particular rating. Provide specific examples from the book in your explanation.
3.  Write 3 open-ended discussion questions about the book.  Do not answer the questions in your journal.

African and U.S. Physical Features Quiz

African Physical Features
Rivers: Nile, Congo, Zambezi, Niger.
Lakes: Tanganyika, Victoria, Malawi.
Deserts: Sahara, Kalahari.
Mountain Ranges: Atlas.
Mountains: Kilimanjaro.

U.S. Physical Features
Rivers: Columbia, Colorado, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio.
Lakes: Michigan, Superior, Erie, Ontario, Huron.
Mountain Ranges: Cascades, Rockies, Sierra Nevada, Appalachians.

The Golden Compass, Part II

1.  Vocabulary: Find three interesting words from Part II.  Record the definitions of the words and record the page numbers on which you found the words.

2.  What did you find most surprising in Part II?  Explain your answer.

3.  Compare Part II to Part I.  Which did you like better?  Again, explain why.

Journals for Part II are due in class on Tuesday, November 8.

African and U.S. Cities

African City Quiz: Cairo, Lagos, Kinshasa, Johannesburg, Abidjan, Casablanca, Cape Town, Accra, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Addis Ababa, Dakar.

U.S. City Quiz: Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Phoenix, San Francisco.

Africa Maps

1. Draw Grid. Draw lightly with pencil.

2. Draw outline of African continent.

3. Draw country borders.

4. Draw African islands.

5. Draw Europe and Asia and remaining islands.

6. Label African countries.

7. Label Europe and Asia. Do not draw in individual countries on these continents.

8. Label all islands as labeled on your example map.

9. Label all bodies of water as labeled on your example map.

10. Label the following African cities: Cairo, Lagos, Kinshasa, Johannesburg, Abidjan, Casablanca, Cape Town, Accra, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Addis Ababa, Dakar. Use a symbol to indicate where the city is located.

11. Give map a title.

12. Add a compass rose.

13. Ink everything. This includes all borders, labels, your name (in lower right-hand corner), title, compass rose, one-inch border around map.

14. Erase all pencil.

15. Color in each country. Do not color adjacent countries the same color. Color Europe all one color. Do the same for Asia.

16. Color bodies of water.

17. Color compass rose.

18. Color one-inch border around map decoratively.

The Golden Compass Part I

Read Part I: Oxford by Wednesday, November 2. DO NOT READ PART 2!!!

Monday, October 31, is an independent work day in class. You can read and/or work on your journal.

Journal: Please type or print neatly on a separate sheet of paper. Due Nov. 2.

Geography: A lot of the place names in The Golden Compass are similar to but different from place names in our world. Record 4 such geographic places and then record the corollary place name in our world.

Terminology: There are many terms used in The Golden Compass which are not used in our world. These terms can be types of technology, political institutions, types of customs, or simply objects. Record 3 terms and explain what you think each term means.

Vocabulary: Philip Pullman uses a rich vocabulary. Record 3 interesting words which are English language words but are not commonly used words. Record the page number on which you find the word. Look up the word in a dictionary and record its definition. Many words have multiple definitions. Record the definition which best matches the usage used by Pullman.

Reflection: Give Part I a score out of 10 (10 being the highest). Explain in a complete paragraph why you gave the book the score which you did. Explain what worked and/or didn’t work in the book. Refer to a specific passage from the book to illustrate your point. Be specific and descriptive when explaining why you liked or didn’t like the book.

Quiz Bowl #1 Questions

4 questions total.  Each question must be from a different category.  Categories include, but are not limited to: Geography, Science, History, Politics, Literature, Movies & TV, Current Events, Music, Nova, Sports, etc.

Include answers.  Answers may not be multiple choice or true/false.  Each question must have only one correct answer.

Due Wednesday, October 26 in Language Arts.

Quiz Bowl #1 will take place on Friday, October 28, in The Trow.  We'll start at about 8:45 and conclude at 10:10.  Interested parents are welcome to watch.

Geography Factsheets

Each student assigned 4 different places: an African country, a U.S. state, an African city, and a U.S. city.

For each place, write 5 interesting facts about its geography.  Use your coloring books and the internet as resources.

Factsheets must be typed.  Heading for each group of facts should be type of place (African country, U.S. city, etc.) and not the actual name of the place.

Facts should be numbered from most obscure to least obscure.

Facts may not include the name of the place in the fact (i.e. The Gambia River is located in this country).

Key (actual names of places) and proper heading should be written on back of factsheet in pencil. 

October 17-18, 2011

ELOTD: sp  phenomenal
ELOTD: sp + defn  adjective

GQOTD: What is the easternmost country in Africa?
GQOTD:  What is the tallest mountain in Africa?

Event, Part I passed out Tuesday.  Event Part II due Tuesday, Oct. 25.

Geography Factsheets due Monday, Oct. 24.

The Event Part II: The Dialogue

For Part II, you will be shaping Part I into a new piece. Keep the Event from Part I intact in Part II. For Part II, you will be adding dialogue to the piece. The dialogue should be between the two characters watching the event.

1. Revise Part I so that mistakes are corrected.

2. Add dialogue between the two characters into at least three different points in the story. The dialogue should be interspersed with the description/action. Each point of dialogue must include both characters speaking at least one line each. Remember to start new paragraphs when dialogue alternates between multiple characters.

3. You can change details in Part II from Part I so that the new story makes narrative sense.

4. The maximum page count is 5 pages for Part II. Text must be double spaced.

October 13-14, 2011

GQOTD: What is the capital and largest city of Russia?

Next week's Geo Quiz on SE states will be on Thursday, October 20, becuase of the teacher in-service day on Friday.

October 12, 2011

ELOTD: homophone: capital/capitol

Subject & Predicate quizzes handed back. Nouns handout due Thurs, Oct. 13.

October 7, 2011

GQOTD #13: What Canadian city has the highest population?

Doppelganger rough drafts were returned today.  Final drafts are due Wednesday, October 12, in Language Arts.  See Mr. Gacek on Monday if you have questions about his revision instructions.

October 6, 2011

ELOTD #17: sp  beginning
GQOTD #12:  What is the primary language spoken in Brazil?

Conference Week Independent Reading:  Minimum of 3 hours spent outside of class between Oct. 6 and Oct. 18.  Planners checked in class on Tuesday, Oct. 18, for recording of time spent reading.

September 19--October 5

ELOTD
#4  sp always
#5  defn  subject of a sentence
#6 defn  noun
#7  sp  creativity
#8  sp  beautiful
#9  sp  environment
#10  sp  excited
#11  sp  incredible
#12  defn  predicate
#13  defn  verb
#14  sp  intelligent
#15  homophones  its/it's
#16  sp  excellence

GQOTD
#4  What is the largest ice-free desert in the world?
#5  What large body of water lies between Europe and Africa?
#6  What is the highest mountain range in the world?
#7  What is the southernmost country of continental South America?
#8  What body of water lies east of Africa and west of Saudi Arabia?
#9  What is the most populous city in Michigan?
#10  What is the most populous city in Australia?
#11  What is the longest mountain range in South America?