Students, you are about to put some of the skills you've been learning to practical use! Welcome to Literary Groups. Class of 26= 6 groups of 4
Here are the books you can choose from:
Iceberg Hermit Johnny Tremain Rules
Walk Two Moons Maniac Magee Flying Solo
Things Not Seen Star Girl Batboy
On a scrap of paper, write down your top 5 book choices, with #1 being your most favorite, and #5 being just ok. Make sure you write your name on your paper!
Once you get into a group, you'll be assigned one of four jobs for the week. They rotate in this order:
1- RARE response: what was the main idea of the pages you read this week?
2- Complex question: write a complex question about what you read this week. *Remember, there should be at least two possible answers to your question, or it's not complex enough.
3- Inference: tell me one thing you know from your reading that you got by making an inference. Then, tell me one thing you know that was explicitly stated in the book.
4- Vocab in context: write down three words you don't know and what you think they mean, based on the context of the story. On Friday, use a dictionary to define the words.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
NF- Secret Messages
Students, write one fact question and one guess question to go with this passage.
SECRET MESSAGES
Would you and your friends like to write secret messages to each other? If you read this article, you will soon know how to do it.
Secret codes have been used throughout history to send messages. A code
gives special meanings to symbols, words, or even a nod of the head. Codes
can be difficult to learn. Some codes can be used only by people who have
the same code book or computer program.
For secret messages that you write to your friends, it is best to use a cipher.
Unlike a code, a cipher uses the regular meanings of words. The words look
funny, though. Each letter has been changed to something else. It might be
another letter, a number, or a symbol. Words written in cipher are easy to
read once you know the key. Here is an example:
1) Write the alphabet in one row. Under it, write the alphabet backwards. Place each letter directly under a letter in the first row.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Z Y X W V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F E D C B A
2) To write a message, use the letters in the second row to stand for the letters you really mean. For example, the word YOU would be BLF.
3) To read the message, change each letter back. If BLF is in the message, find B in the bottom row. You can see that it stands for Y.
4) People who want to know your secrets might try to figure out the key to your cipher. To make the cipher harder to figure out, change the spacing of the words. You can put letters in groups of five: HVXIV GNVHH ZTVHX ZMYVU FM. Using the key, it becomes SECRE TMESS AGESC ANBEF UN. Put the spaces in the right places. Now it says, “SECRET MESSAGES CAN BE FUN.”
SECRET MESSAGES
Would you and your friends like to write secret messages to each other? If you read this article, you will soon know how to do it.
Secret codes have been used throughout history to send messages. A code
gives special meanings to symbols, words, or even a nod of the head. Codes
can be difficult to learn. Some codes can be used only by people who have
the same code book or computer program.
For secret messages that you write to your friends, it is best to use a cipher.
Unlike a code, a cipher uses the regular meanings of words. The words look
funny, though. Each letter has been changed to something else. It might be
another letter, a number, or a symbol. Words written in cipher are easy to
read once you know the key. Here is an example:
1) Write the alphabet in one row. Under it, write the alphabet backwards. Place each letter directly under a letter in the first row.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Z Y X W V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F E D C B A
2) To write a message, use the letters in the second row to stand for the letters you really mean. For example, the word YOU would be BLF.
3) To read the message, change each letter back. If BLF is in the message, find B in the bottom row. You can see that it stands for Y.
4) People who want to know your secrets might try to figure out the key to your cipher. To make the cipher harder to figure out, change the spacing of the words. You can put letters in groups of five: HVXIV GNVHH ZTVHX ZMYVU FM. Using the key, it becomes SECRE TMESS AGESC ANBEF UN. Put the spaces in the right places. Now it says, “SECRET MESSAGES CAN BE FUN.”
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Emporer's New Clothes- Interpretive Excersize
Read everything FIRST!
Choose any two of the following questions to answer.
An interpretive question has more than one possible answer, and each answer is supported from the story. Your job is to write two completely different answers to each of the questions you choose to answer, and you must use information in the story to prove your two answers.
Use RARE to answer the questions.
Choose any two of the following questions to answer.
1. Why are the swindlers successful?
2. Why is it a little child who first says what everyone else is only thinking?
3. Why do people repeat what the child said, rather than deny it?
4. Why do people whisper that the Emperor has no clothes on before they shout it out?
5. Why does the Emperor decorate the swindlers and make them knights?
6. Why are we told immediately that the two weavers are really swindlers?
7. Why does the Emperor send “two nice old officials” to see how the weaving is coming along?
8. Why does the author make the townspeople eager to know if their neighbors have faults, but not eager to test themselves?
9. Why does the Emperor go through with the procession even after the people have cried out that he has no clothes on?
10. Why doesn’t the Emperor know immediately that the people are right when they shout that he has no clothes on?
11. Why is someone who has many clothes seen at the end of the story without any clothes on at all?An interpretive question has more than one possible answer, and each answer is supported from the story. Your job is to write two completely different answers to each of the questions you choose to answer, and you must use information in the story to prove your two answers.
Use RARE to answer the questions.
Type of Questions- Complex Excersize
Evaluative Questions
3) Evaluative – Questions of evaluation ask us to think about something in the piece based on our own knowledge, values or experiences of life, to decide if we agree with the author’s point of view.
- Evaluative questions do help us understand the piece better.
- Evaluative questions have answers based on the reader’s schema of the way the world really works (not just unsupported opinions)...The answers can be supported from real experiences.
- Evaluative questions are important because they help us relate the experiences of the piece to our own life and the real world.
Shoemaker… Evaluative Questions
- When the shoemaker received the letter from the rich man, why did the shoemaker go “at once”?
Evaluative Questions - Your Turn
Write one evaluative question about the story on the piece of scrap paper you received.
-?
Interpretive Questions
4) Interpretive – A question of interpretation asks readers to look carefully at what happens in the piece and consider what it means—what the author wants us to think about.
- Interpretive questions do help us understand the piece better.
- Interpretive questions are important because they help the reader focus on the piece, always digging into it instead of wandering off track (unlike
evaluative questions which tend to turn into “what if…” and “maybe…” answers which then lead into opinions not based on any support).
- Interpretive questions have more than one reasonable answer which can be supported from evidence in the text—answer based on the piece (you can “prove” it from the piece).
- There should be genuine doubt about the answers to interpretive questions—any of the supported answers may be true.
Shoemaker… Interpretive Questions
- Why did the rich man think that giving the man gold would stop his singing?
Interpretive Questions - Your Turn
Write one interpretive question about the story on the piece of scrap paper you received.
-?
Evaluative vs. Interpretive
Interpretive and evaluative questions are closely related to each other. The easiest way to figure out which type of question it is, is by looking at the type of answer you get.
A question could be either evaluative or interpretive:
- If the answer is supported by real life experiences, it is an evaluative answer.
- If there are at least two different possible answers, and both of them can be supported by the story, then it is an interpretive answer.
It is usually harder to find evaluative questions than fact and guess questions. It is hardest of all to find interpretive questions.
3) Evaluative – Questions of evaluation ask us to think about something in the piece based on our own knowledge, values or experiences of life, to decide if we agree with the author’s point of view.
- Evaluative questions do help us understand the piece better.
- Evaluative questions have answers based on the reader’s schema of the way the world really works (not just unsupported opinions)...The answers can be supported from real experiences.
- Evaluative questions are important because they help us relate the experiences of the piece to our own life and the real world.
Shoemaker… Evaluative Questions
- When the shoemaker received the letter from the rich man, why did the shoemaker go “at once”?
Evaluative Questions - Your Turn
Write one evaluative question about the story on the piece of scrap paper you received.
-?
Interpretive Questions
4) Interpretive – A question of interpretation asks readers to look carefully at what happens in the piece and consider what it means—what the author wants us to think about.
- Interpretive questions do help us understand the piece better.
- Interpretive questions are important because they help the reader focus on the piece, always digging into it instead of wandering off track (unlike
evaluative questions which tend to turn into “what if…” and “maybe…” answers which then lead into opinions not based on any support).
- Interpretive questions have more than one reasonable answer which can be supported from evidence in the text—answer based on the piece (you can “prove” it from the piece).
- There should be genuine doubt about the answers to interpretive questions—any of the supported answers may be true.
Shoemaker… Interpretive Questions
- Why did the rich man think that giving the man gold would stop his singing?
Interpretive Questions - Your Turn
Write one interpretive question about the story on the piece of scrap paper you received.
-?
Evaluative vs. Interpretive
Interpretive and evaluative questions are closely related to each other. The easiest way to figure out which type of question it is, is by looking at the type of answer you get.
A question could be either evaluative or interpretive:
- If the answer is supported by real life experiences, it is an evaluative answer.
- If there are at least two different possible answers, and both of them can be supported by the story, then it is an interpretive answer.
It is usually harder to find evaluative questions than fact and guess questions. It is hardest of all to find interpretive questions.
Types of Questions- Simple Excersize
Two Categories of Questions
Some kinds of questions are better at helping us comprehend than others.
Simple Questions
- have simple answers (takes a few words to state)
- are limited (find an answer and move on)
- focuses on objects/things
Complex Questions
- are unlimited (can lead you to think of more questions)
- have layered answers (takes paragraphs to explain)
- focuses on ideas
Four Types of Questions
Simple Questions
- Fact
- Guess
Complex Question
- Evaluative
- Interpretive
Factual Questions
1) Fact – A question of fact has only one correct answer and can be answered directly from information given in a source. (When dealing with fictional material it may not be “true” information, but you can look in the story and find the “correct” answer.)
- Factual questions don’t help us specifically understand the meaning of the piece any better.
- Someone has already done the thinking for you, all you have to do is find out what they wrote.
- Factual answers are usually short.
- Factual questions check to see if we remember details from a story.
- These are the types of questions you are usually asked on tests.
The Rich Man and the Shoemaker
by Jean de La Fontaine
Once upon a time there lived a poor but cheerful shoemaker. He was so happy he sang all day long. The children loved to stand around his window to listen to him.
Next door to the shoemaker lived a rich man. He used to sit up all night to count his gold. In the morning he went to bed, but he could not sleep because of the sound of the shoemaker’s singing. One day he thought of a way of stopping the singing. He wrote a letter to the shoemaker asking him to come by.
The shoemaker went at once, and to his surprise the rich man gave him a bag of gold.
When he got home, the shoemaker opened the bag. He had never seen so much money before! He sat down at his bench and began, carefully, to count it. The children watched through the window.
There was so much there that the shoemaker was afraid to let it out of his sight. So he took it to bed with him. But he could not sleep because he was worrying about it. So he got out of bed and went to hide it in the attic, but he was not sure if that was a good place.
Very early in the morning he got up and brought his gold down from the attic. He had decided to hide it up the chimney instead. But after breakfast he thought it would be safer in the chicken house. So he hid it there.
But he was still uneasy, and in a little while he dug a hole in the garden and buried his bag of gold in it.
It was no use trying to work. He was too worried about the safety of his gold.
And as for singing, he was too miserable to sing a note. He could not sleep, or work, or sing—and, worst of all, the children no longer came to see him.
At last the shoemaker felt so unhappy that he seized his bag of gold and ran next door to the rich man.
“Please take back your gold,” he said. “Worrying about it is making me ill, and I have lost all my friends. I would rather be a poor shoemaker, as I was before.”
And so the shoemaker was happy again and sang all day at his work.
Shoemaker… Factual Questions
- The shoemaker was so happy he did what all day?
- Who lived next door to the shoemaker?
- What did the rich man give to the shoemaker?
Factual Questions - Your Turn
Write three factual questions about the story on the piece of scrap paper you
received.
-?
-?
-?
Guess Questions
2) Guess – These types of questions could have any answer with no way of knowing if the answer is true or false.
- Guess questions have answers based on opinion.
- Guess questions do not help us understand the piece better.
- Guess questions lead us away from understanding the piece because we are distracted with unnecessary things.
Shoemaker… Guess Questions
- What color was the shoemaker’s hair?
- Where did the rich man work?
- What were the names of the kids who watched and listened to the shoemaker?
Guess Questions - Your Turn
Write three guess questions about the story on the piece of scrap paper you
received.
-?
-?
-?
Some kinds of questions are better at helping us comprehend than others.
Simple Questions
- have simple answers (takes a few words to state)
- are limited (find an answer and move on)
- focuses on objects/things
Complex Questions
- are unlimited (can lead you to think of more questions)
- have layered answers (takes paragraphs to explain)
- focuses on ideas
Four Types of Questions
Simple Questions
- Fact
- Guess
Complex Question
- Evaluative
- Interpretive
Factual Questions
1) Fact – A question of fact has only one correct answer and can be answered directly from information given in a source. (When dealing with fictional material it may not be “true” information, but you can look in the story and find the “correct” answer.)
- Factual questions don’t help us specifically understand the meaning of the piece any better.
- Someone has already done the thinking for you, all you have to do is find out what they wrote.
- Factual answers are usually short.
- Factual questions check to see if we remember details from a story.
- These are the types of questions you are usually asked on tests.
The Rich Man and the Shoemaker
by Jean de La Fontaine
Once upon a time there lived a poor but cheerful shoemaker. He was so happy he sang all day long. The children loved to stand around his window to listen to him.
Next door to the shoemaker lived a rich man. He used to sit up all night to count his gold. In the morning he went to bed, but he could not sleep because of the sound of the shoemaker’s singing. One day he thought of a way of stopping the singing. He wrote a letter to the shoemaker asking him to come by.
The shoemaker went at once, and to his surprise the rich man gave him a bag of gold.
When he got home, the shoemaker opened the bag. He had never seen so much money before! He sat down at his bench and began, carefully, to count it. The children watched through the window.
There was so much there that the shoemaker was afraid to let it out of his sight. So he took it to bed with him. But he could not sleep because he was worrying about it. So he got out of bed and went to hide it in the attic, but he was not sure if that was a good place.
Very early in the morning he got up and brought his gold down from the attic. He had decided to hide it up the chimney instead. But after breakfast he thought it would be safer in the chicken house. So he hid it there.
But he was still uneasy, and in a little while he dug a hole in the garden and buried his bag of gold in it.
It was no use trying to work. He was too worried about the safety of his gold.
And as for singing, he was too miserable to sing a note. He could not sleep, or work, or sing—and, worst of all, the children no longer came to see him.
At last the shoemaker felt so unhappy that he seized his bag of gold and ran next door to the rich man.
“Please take back your gold,” he said. “Worrying about it is making me ill, and I have lost all my friends. I would rather be a poor shoemaker, as I was before.”
And so the shoemaker was happy again and sang all day at his work.
Shoemaker… Factual Questions
- The shoemaker was so happy he did what all day?
- Who lived next door to the shoemaker?
- What did the rich man give to the shoemaker?
Factual Questions - Your Turn
Write three factual questions about the story on the piece of scrap paper you
received.
-?
-?
-?
Guess Questions
2) Guess – These types of questions could have any answer with no way of knowing if the answer is true or false.
- Guess questions have answers based on opinion.
- Guess questions do not help us understand the piece better.
- Guess questions lead us away from understanding the piece because we are distracted with unnecessary things.
Shoemaker… Guess Questions
- What color was the shoemaker’s hair?
- Where did the rich man work?
- What were the names of the kids who watched and listened to the shoemaker?
Guess Questions - Your Turn
Write three guess questions about the story on the piece of scrap paper you
received.
-?
-?
-?
Introduction to Questions
Read and discuss these points as a class.
What is “Comprehension”?
-What is “comprehension”?
-Why is it important?
-When do you need to comprehend things?
Questioning
-What is the purpose of questions?
-Is there such a thing as a “dumb” question?
-When do you usually have to answer questions at school?
-What kinds of questions do you usually have to answer?
Questioning for Comprehension (Meaning)
Questioning is a good strategy for comprehending a piece because… (throw out some ideas).
-it slows the reader down long enough to use other good reading
comprehension strategies as well.
-it makes the meaning clear by focusing on parts that are hard to
understand.
-it helps figure out the author’s purpose by focusing on important parts.
-it help us get off the surface and into the meat of the material.
-it prompts us to research and find out more.
What is “Comprehension”?
-What is “comprehension”?
-Why is it important?
-When do you need to comprehend things?
Questioning
-What is the purpose of questions?
-Is there such a thing as a “dumb” question?
-When do you usually have to answer questions at school?
-What kinds of questions do you usually have to answer?
Questioning for Comprehension (Meaning)
Questioning is a good strategy for comprehending a piece because… (throw out some ideas).
-it slows the reader down long enough to use other good reading
comprehension strategies as well.
-it makes the meaning clear by focusing on parts that are hard to
understand.
-it helps figure out the author’s purpose by focusing on important parts.
-it help us get off the surface and into the meat of the material.
-it prompts us to research and find out more.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
The Shopping Trip- Break Apart the Apostrophes
The Shopping Trip
The boys and girls decided to go to town for a look round because there wasn't much to do at home. John's coat was torn, so he borrowed his sister's. She wasn't going with them.
"Let's go round the shops," said Susan's brother Stephen. The children's parents had given them some money to spend.
"Don't you lose it," Richard's father had said to him, so Richard's money was in his pocket when he set out, but Alan's had a zip so he ended up carrying Richard's money as well as his own so they couldn't lose it.
In the shop, Alan's zip got stuck, but Lucy's skill got it open again.
"That's good," said Alan, "both Richard's and my money's in there. Now it's
OK and we can't get into trouble."
The boys' money came to more money than the girls', but they'd decided to share it equally. Then some of the boys said they wouldn't share it and the girls said they'd broken the agreement.
"Share it out," said Anne. "It's what you said you'd do!"
"No, can't," said David.
"Perhaps we'd better," said Richard, "It's what we said we'd do."
"OK," said David, "I expect you're right but I'm not very happy."
The boys' money and the girls' money was all put in John's coat pocket because none of the girls' coat pockets were deep enough.
The children's afternoon was spent looking round, but they couldn't find anything they all wanted to buy, so in the end, the boys and girls went off to their homes.
"Wow!" said John's sister. "What's all this money doing in my coat pocket. I'm rich!"
The boys and girls decided to go to town for a look round because there wasn't much to do at home. John's coat was torn, so he borrowed his sister's. She wasn't going with them.
"Let's go round the shops," said Susan's brother Stephen. The children's parents had given them some money to spend.
"Don't you lose it," Richard's father had said to him, so Richard's money was in his pocket when he set out, but Alan's had a zip so he ended up carrying Richard's money as well as his own so they couldn't lose it.
In the shop, Alan's zip got stuck, but Lucy's skill got it open again.
"That's good," said Alan, "both Richard's and my money's in there. Now it's
OK and we can't get into trouble."
The boys' money came to more money than the girls', but they'd decided to share it equally. Then some of the boys said they wouldn't share it and the girls said they'd broken the agreement.
"Share it out," said Anne. "It's what you said you'd do!"
"No, can't," said David.
"Perhaps we'd better," said Richard, "It's what we said we'd do."
"OK," said David, "I expect you're right but I'm not very happy."
The boys' money and the girls' money was all put in John's coat pocket because none of the girls' coat pockets were deep enough.
The children's afternoon was spent looking round, but they couldn't find anything they all wanted to buy, so in the end, the boys and girls went off to their homes.
"Wow!" said John's sister. "What's all this money doing in my coat pocket. I'm rich!"
Monday, December 2, 2013
Cache Humane Society 4 Principles
1.License and identification for animals
2.Spay and neuter
3.training/socialization, diet/medical care.
4.Eliminating bad bahavior.
2.Spay and neuter
3.training/socialization, diet/medical care.
4.Eliminating bad bahavior.
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