Homework for Thursday, 5/28

Find a poem (at least 4 lines long) that you like. Copy it into your notebook, and bring it to class. You will read your poem to the class, and be graded on your reading. (Be sure you know what your poem is about!)

Also, you will
HAND IN YOUR NOTEBOOK
tomorrow! Yay!

QUIZ on Tuesday, 5/26!

What will be on the test?

• The vocabulary you were given on Tuesday, May 19. (It's on this blog!)
• Some exercises in parallel structure.

Classwork for anyone who was absent Thursday, 5/21 (the day I was absent)

(Please do this in your notebook.)

I. Rewrite each of these sentences using parallel constructions.

1. My income is smaller than my wife.
2. Geoff is interested in getting his diploma, and not interested in an education.
3. The French, the Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese all enjoy this same dish.
4. The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to study . for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and his motivation was low.
5. The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and to do some warm-up exercises before the game.
6. Phuong Tran has wit, charm, and she has an extremely pleasant personality.
7. In English class, Tashonda learned to read poems critically and she appreciated good prose.
8. He wanted three things out of college: to learn a skill, to make good friends, and learning about life.
9. We found the film repulsive, offensive, and we thought it was embarrassing.
10. Mr. Nguyen kept his store clean, neat, and he made it conveniently arranged.
11. Professor Ali rewarded his students for their hard work on the final project and going beyond the call of duty.
12. There's nothing I like better than finding a good trout stream, setting up camp, and to spend a couple of days fishing.
13. Susan is smart, diligent, and a hard worker.
14. I was happy and my parents happy too when I graduated.
16. I always have and will teach summer school.
17. He described skiing in the Alps, swimming in the Adriatic, and the drive across the Sahara Desert.
18. He liked their courage, stamina, and their style.
19. Travis can't sing well, and neither can he act.
20. Bob's duties include answering the phone, taking delivery orders, and occasionally he drives the delivery truck.
21. Kim practices yoga every day because it's relaxing and for flexibility

II. Should Ben Price have let Jimmy Valentine go free? Why or why not? (1/2 page, notebook)

Homework for Friday, May 22

Just finish Thursday's classwork, if you didn't already.

The question was: Do you agree with Ben Price's decision to let Jimmy Valentine go free? Why or why not? (1/2 page, notebook)

Homework for Wednesday, May 20

1. Look up each of your vocabulary words, and write a brief definition.
2. Write a sentence with each one.
3. YOUR SPEECH IS DUE. IF I DO NOT RECEIVE IT TOMORROW, I CANNOT GIVE IT TO THE COMMITTEE.

IF YOU MISSED TODAY'S QUIZ, I WILL GIVE A MAKEUP QUIZ THIS COMING FRIDAY (5/22).

Homework for Tuesday, May 19

YOUR FINAL SPEECH IS DUE THIS WEDNESDAY!!!! NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!

1. Finish reading "A Retrieved Reformation," Reader's Companion pp. 63-70. Answer questions in blue boxes.

2. At the bottom of this email is a list of new words. Copy the words onto your vocabulary sheet, and fill in the "I think it means" column as you read.

Bring your Companion to class tomorrow!

1. escort (n, v)
2. eminent
3. tasteful
4. rogue
5. similarity
6. elusive
7. perceive
8. cordial
9. flourish (v)
10. sociable
11. saunter
12. implement (n)

"Outspoken" essay - color coded comments

Hey Gang --

This week I'll be emailing back your "Outspoken" essays. I'll put your grade in the re: line of the email, and mark parts of your text in color. Here's what the different colors mean:

• green: good!
• red: grammar error (you figure out which one)
• pink: unclear
• blue: word choice

Homework for Friday, May 15

(If you were in class today)

• Write a bulleted outline for your graduation speech, and complete one paragraph.

If you weren't in class today)

• Write an outline for each of the two graduation speeches below. Then write a bulleted outline for your graduation speech, and complete one paragraph.
  

An outline is a bulleted list of the paragraphs contained an essay, showing the main idea of each paragraph. Here's an example of how a bulleted list might look:

• Welcome
• great memories
• how we've grown
• thanks to teachers/staff etc.
• Welcome and good luck

Your graduation speech can be either a welcome speech (salutatory) or a farewell speech (valedictory). Here are two examples of a valedictory speech. (Both of them were winners!)

Speech 1:

We’ve come to the end of our graduation ceremony as well as our time at this great school. Roosevelt Middle School, I’d like to thank our faculty, family, and friends for attending this ceremony. Bear with me for a few minutes. I promise I won’t make this too boring.

I’m pretty sure that most of us shared the same feelings on the first day of middle school. The air was filled with nervousness and excitement. I scanned the hallways for a glimpse of a familiar face from elementary school. As I met new people, I wondered “How do they see me?” I wanted to figure out which clique I belonged to and cling onto that clique out of fear of being left alone. In the hallways, I felt like I was a tiny speck, zigzagging through the strong current of seventh and eighth graders, who I both feared and admired.

In the three years that we’ve been here, all of us have changed, grown, and overcome challenges. We’ve had to deal with the regular middle school problems: rumors, peer pressure, and bullying. We’ve lost friends, gained friends, and changed our group of friends. We’ve discovered where we belong, socially. We’ve become mature and open-minded, and have listened to find deeper meaning in things. We’ve learned to open up to people, listen to them, and accept them for who they are. We’ve made mistakes, regretted them, realized that we can’t take back what has already happened, and learned from our mistakes. We started this three-year journey as kids, and are about to end it as young adults.

When I really look at the students who make up the Class of 2008, I see potential in everyone. One of us could be the next George Washington Carver, who made over three hundred peanut products. Maybe someone will discover how to “fax" three-dimensional objects, as seen in the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” I wouldn’t be surprised if one of my classmates became the next rising actor, actress, or singer. Twenty years from now, we could be telling our children that we went to middle school with the mayor or governor or president. A future doctor could discover the cure to diabetes, breast cancer, or HIV. We can do something great and change the world.

Let me take this chance to express our gratitude towards the heart of this school, the teachers. We’re grateful for the awesome teachers who really care about how we’re doing, both in and out of class. We admire the teachers that are passionate about their professions. We appreciate the teachers who make us want to pay attention to what they’re teaching and want to understand what’s going on. We value the teachers who come to school every day, knowing that they have to put up with certain pain-in-the-butts. We’re even thankful for the strict teachers who give us a lot of homework and push us to our limits. All of the teachers here have impacted our lives in an unimaginable way.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? That’s the question that we’ve been asking ourselves since the sixth grade. I realize now that it was the journey that was important and not the destination. So, class of 2008, thank you for making this journey memorable. It saddens me to have to say that it’s time for us to go our separate ways. I wish you all the best in the years to come.

Speech 2:

Here we are at the end of the end. We’ve survived our years of middle school, and are soon moving on to things bigger and much scarier. As I look around me, I see all the different people and personalities and styles, and I can proudly say I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else but here, graduating with the Roosevelt Class of 2008.

I remember my first day of school like it was yesterday. Though I was one of those glad to be free of the “little kid” title, I saw people clinging to their mothers for dear life, sobbing “I don’t wanna go!” From sixth graders who ran to every class for fear of being late, we’ve come to be the loud-and-proud eighth graders we are today. It’s amazing to look back and see how much we’ve grown since that fateful first day.

Middle school, as I’ve learned, is full of its ups and downs as well as its sideways and diagonals. We raise money, only to find out that the school’s budget is getting cut (again). We spend hours on a project, only to earn a C+ on it. We finally gather the courage to ask that special someone out, only to learn that they’re taken. But the downs are a worthy price for the ups. We’re glad to pay for the assemblies and spirit days and illegal water fights. We fight obstacles and are rewarded with cherished memories, and I’m glad for the knowledge each has given me.

Though eighth grade is drawing to an end, we’re reminded that life isn’t. Without the experiences middle school has given me, I know I wouldn’t be able to cope with it. Everywhere I turn, I find someone who’s taught me something. Not only have I learned how to solve a quadratic equation and what Columbus was really looking for when he discovered America, but also how to deal with rejections and breakups and what to do when your closest friends are fighting over nothing. You never know what the future will bring, but armed with everything Roosevelt has given me, I’m not afraid to face it.

We leave Roosevelt with both despondent and eager hearts, sad to go, but ready to take on what’s next. We find ourselves thrust into an alien world of teachers, students, and endless hallways. People will change. Friends come and go. High school holds all the suffering, humiliation and shocking drama you can imagine. We’ll all go our separate ways, with the rest of our lives ahead of us. And as life dawns on us with the full force of one of Mr. Blassingham’s pop quizzes, we’re proud to know Roosevelt is a part of it.

About this picture...

Write about your reaction to this painting. (one page, notebook) You can answer such questions as:

• Who are the people in the painting? Why are they there?
• Why do you think the artist uses the colors that he does?
• What emotions do you feel when you look at this picture?
• Is the artist trying to "tell us" anything? If so, what?

Painting" "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper (1940)

SENTENCE COMBINING!

Go to these three sites, and take the "sentence combining quiz" on each site. You'll be asked to create sentences by combining. In your notebook, copy YOUR FAVORITE FIVE sentences you created! We'll share them in class.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/quizzes/combining_quiz2.htm

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/quizzes/combining_quiz1.htm

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/quizzes/primer_quiz.htm


ALSO, COPY THESE NOTES:

Combine sentences using:

• clauses
• parallel structures
• appositives
  

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN COMBINING SENTENCES:

• Meaning. (Is the original meaning clear? )
• Clarity. (Is the sentence clear on the first reading?
• Coherence (Do the parts fit together logically and smoothly?
• Conciseness. (Have you cut out the useless words?)
• Rhythm. (Does the sentence sound good when you read it aloud? It should!)

Homework for Tuesday, May 12 (in notebook)

Answer the following questions in bullet-point form. (list, not complete sentences) Do not copy the questions. Please take this seriously! I will look at this work when I grade your notebooks.

1. List three things you will remember about RMS (your favorite or least favorite teacher, activity or subject).
2. List two things you wish you had done differently at RMS.
3. List two skills or ideas you learned at RMS, that you believe will help you in high school.
4. List three emotions (nouns, plus their adjective forms) you feel when you think about going to high school.
5. List three activities or subjects you want to focus on in high school.
6. Name three people at RMS who have helped you, and how they have helped you.
7. List two hopes you have for your future.
8. List two fears you have about your future.

Homework for Monday, May 11 - copy these notes

vignette

• a brief story that captures a memorable scene in detail
• a "snapshot"
• a fragment - not a complete story
• can be fiction or nonfiction

"An American Childhood" is a vignette from the author's life.

The term "vignette" also has an artistic meaning. Look at the picture on p. 460 of your textbook. Notice how the edges fade out into the white of the page. There's something incomplete about it (just like a literary vignette!).

The Cyclops!

Hey Dramadroids --

If you click on "The Cyclops!" above, it'll take you to the recording of me speaking the words of the cyclops scene.

Please give it a listen. I think you can even download it onto your 'pods!

Yall rock!

Mister B

Classwork for Friday, May 8

BRING YOUR READER'S COMPANION!

• Read "An American Childhood" (pages 95-98) (This is also in the big lit. book)
• Answer the questions in the blue bars in the margins. (Even if you've lost your Reader's Companion, I will expect you to answer these questions!
• We will discuss this assignment on Monday, May 11. Please be prepared!

HINTS for doing your "sentences with clauses" homework

Here are some ways to make really good, interesting sentences:

• Be vivid
• strong verbs and nouns
• idioms
• humor
• strong verbs
• parallel structures
• use your own experience
• specific details
• figurative language
• hyperbole

Letter from Squeaky to Gretchen!

Due: Thursday, May 7
(use the time after you've finished the STAR test for working on this assignment)

Write a one-page (handwritten) letter from Squeaky to Gretchen, asking for Gretchen's help in training Raymond to be a runner.
Write in Squeaky's "voice" to show her character, using such features as:

• slang
• word choice
• fragments
• loooooooooong sentences!
• Use some slang: gonna, wanna, gotta, cuz, hecka, cause, OK, Ima, 'nuf, yo, goin, tryin, thinkin, ain't,
• Show me you understand Squeaky's character and her "attitude," and that you understand how the author created Squeaky's "voice" to get her character across to the reader.
  
  You can create long sentences by using adding long clauses to a basic sentence:

I think you're the best so I'm asking you to help me. (basic sentence)

I think you're the best because you won the race so I'm asking you to help me and give me some advice.

Even though I'm shy about saying it, I think you're the best because you won the race and because you didn't give up especially when I was ahead of you by a nose right at the end of the race, so I'm asking you to help me and give me some advice because I really need some tips on how to make Raymond, loveable but stubborn and hard-to-reach bro that he is, a great runner.

1st period: Give it to me at the beginning of class.
4th period: Put it in my mailbox (across from the main office) or slide it under my classroom door sometime on Thursday.

Writing Assignment - "Outspoken"

Do you think that the play "Outspoken" is needed in our school? Why or why not?

• 1 1/2 handwritten pages; write rough draft in class (or after you've finished the STAR test)
• 4 paragraphs: introduction, 2 body paragraphs, conclusion
• type up (feel free to edit!) and email to me by 9:00 a.m. Wednesday morning (5/6)
• my email address: blassinghamM1@sfusd.edu
• Give me your written rough draft (or slide it under my door) sometime on Wednesday.

FYI, some of the themes of "Outspoken" are:

• being yourself (individuality)
• identity
• labeling
• homophobia
• approval of friends