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?