ELA+Quarter+Three+Assignments

= Eighth Grade ELA - Assignments from Quarter Three, 2013 - 2014 School Year =

1) Finish reading your choice book. Make note of the signposts that you encounter in your reading. 2) If your opinion of your choice book changes after you finish reading it, revise the rating section of your Choice Book Review Sheet accordingly. (see electronic version below). Choice Book Template - 3) Find a picture of the cover of your choice novel online. 4) Share your typed Choice Book Review, and the image of the cover of your novel, with Mrs. Bandeian on Google Drive.
 * For Friday, April 4, 2014 -**

1) Type up all of the information that you have included on your Choice Book Review Sheet (see electronic version below). Choice Book Template -
 * For Wednesday, April 2, 2014 -**

2) Find a picture of the cover of your choice novel online. 3) Share your typed Choice Book Review, and the image of the cover of your novel, with Mrs. Bandeian on Google Drive.

1) If you have not already done so, complete the Choice Book Review Sheet that we have been working on in class (see electronic version below). Choice Book Template -
 * For Tuesday, April 1, 2014 -**

2) Continue reading your choice book. Make note of the signposts that you encounter in your reading.

1) Review the signposts that you have noted in your choice novel. Utilizing the handout that you received in class on Friday (electronic copy available below), copy down three quotes that show evidence of the signposts in your novel. __**NOTE:**__ You may only have noted examples of two different signposts, so far. It is completely acceptable to use two different quotes that reveal the same signpost in your novel, and a third quote that reveals evidence of a different signpost. For example, you may have two different quotes that fall into the category of "Words of the Wiser" and one that is an example of a "Memory Moment". As long as you have three different quotes from your novel that show evidence of the signposts you have noted, it will be fine.
 * For Monday, March 31, 2014 -**

2) After you have copied down the three quotes described above, write a two to three sentences explanation for each quote (that's six to nine sentences total, __not__ two to three sentences for all three quotes combined). Your explanation should summarize why each quote, and its associated signpost, is important in your novel so far. Choice Book Template -

3) Continue reading your choice book. Make note of the signposts that you encounter in your reading.

1) Rate your choice novel on the five star rating system that we discussed in class today. Include at least three reasons that explain/justify your rating. Be honest!
 * For Friday, March 28, 2014 -**
 * Five Stars** = One of the best books I have ever read.
 * Four Stars** = A very good book, but not one of the best I've ever read.
 * Three Stars** = A good book, but it could be better.
 * Two Stars** = An okay book. It could be worse.
 * One Star** = This book is pretty bad.
 * Zero Stars** = I feel bad for anyone who has to read this book.

2) Continue reading your choice book. Make note of the signposts that you encounter in your reading.

1) Create a schedule that you can follow in order to complete your choice book by Friday, April 4th. 2) Respond to the following prompt for your choice book: Look over the list of reading signposts and, in a well developed paragraph of at least five sentences, predict which two you feel you are most likely to encounter as you read your choice book. Explain why you feel that these particular signposts might appear in your reading. In your response, you might consider things such as: the genre of your book, the description on the back of your book, the cover art, or any sections of your novel that you have already read. __NOTE: there is no specific right or wrong answer. Pick two signposts that you feel could be reasonable and justify your choices.__
 * Due Wednesday, March 19, 2014 -**
 * Notice and Note Reading Signposts:** [[image:notice-and-note-signposts.png]]

- It should be a chapter book - It should be appropriate for an eighth-grade reader (it should not be a book designed for an elementary school reader) - It CAN be a book that you have read before, or a book that you are currently reading
 * Due Monday, March 17, 2014 -** Select a book as your "choice novel" for our next unit, and bring a copy of your book to class on Monday. Your book should meet the following criteria:

Writing should be completed each day, but entries will not be checked on a daily basis. Please write in a manner that is comfortable for you. Some students have decided to type their writing each day, others prefer to hand write, there are very few requirements governing how or where you write, just write! However, please make sure that you can submit your writing to Mrs. Bandeian on a regular basis either electronically or in hard copy. On school days when we have designated time for free writing during class, you may use our in-class writing time to compose that day's entry.
 * Daily, until Friday, March 14, 2014 -** Complete your daily entry for the __Thirty Day Writing Challenge__. Guidelines can be found below or by clicking this link: @Thirty Day Writing Challenge

__Each entry for the Thirty Day Writing Challenge should be:__ - Your own creative writing composed on or after Wednesday, February 12th, 2014. - Roughly 250 - 500 words long (or longer, if you wish). __A NOTE ABOUT LENGTH__: Mrs. Bandeian will not be counting each and every word in each and every journal entry. Make a good faith effort to reach the 250 - 500 word mark. Two sentences will not be sufficient for a daily entry. A page to a page and a half of average handwriting per day is perfectly fine. Most people typically write about 250 - 500 words in about ten minutes of continuous free writing. Set a timer for ten minutes, write without stopping until the timer stops, then call it quits for the day.


 * Due Thursday****, February 27, 2014 -** Read chapters thirty-three to thirty-five (p. 209 – 228) in __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain. Annotate all readings (shoot for six to eight annotations per chapter), then, complete the activity below.


 * Click Here to access the resource page for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Including audiobook links/files, links to electronic versions of the text, and reading response prompts.**

You may submit your response in hard copy (in class), via email (to Mrs. Bandeian at dbandeian@longmeadow.k12.ma.us), or by typing your response into a Google Document and sharing it with Mrs. Bandeian on Google Drive.
 * __Reading Response Prompt #9:__**
 * Chapters 33 - 35:** Throughout the course of the novel, we have seen Tom Sawyer develop and change as a person. Looking back over the final ten chapters, pick a moment where you feel that Tom makes a critical decision that proves he is transitioning into a more mature young man instead of a child. In a well-developed response of at least three paragraphs of four sentences each, compare Tom in the moment you chose to Tom at the beginning of the novel. What is Tom concerned with now that he wasn't interested in during the first few chapters? How has he grown? Cite relevant and specific evidence from the text to support your analysis.


 * Due Tuesday****, February 25, 2014 -** Read chapters thirty to thirty-two (p. 188 – 209) in __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain. Annotate all readings (shoot for six to eight annotations per chapter), then, complete the activity below.

You may submit your response in hard copy (in class), via email (to Mrs. Bandeian at dbandeian@longmeadow.k12.ma.us), or by typing your response into a Google Document and sharing it with Mrs. Bandeian on Google Drive. Is Huckleberry Finn a coward who avoids danger because of his fear, or is Huck a brave young man who reveals his bravery by acting in spite of his trepidation? Each paragraph in your response should be no fewer than five sentences long, and should reference specific quotes (including page numbers) from the novel.
 * __Reading Response Prompt #8:__**
 * Chapters 30 - 32:** Some people believe that Huckleberry Finn gets scared too easily, and that Tom Sawyer is actually braver than his friend Huck. Nelson Mandela once said "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." Taking this quote into consideration, and using relevant and specific evidence from __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__, write a two paragraph response to the question below.


 * Due Wednes****day, February 12, 2014 -** Read chapters twenty-six through twenty-nine (p. 166 - 188) in __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain. Annotate all readings (shoot for six to eight annotations per chapter), then, complete the activity below.

You may submit your response in hard copy (in class), via email (to Mrs. Bandeian at dbandeian@longmeadow.k12.ma.us), or by typing your response into a Google Document and sharing it with Mrs. Bandeian on Google Drive. At the end of chapter twenty-eight, (on page 180) Tom asks Huck Finn where he plans to sleep for the night. Huck replies, "'In Ben Roger's hayloft. He lets me, and so does his pap's niggerman, Uncle Jake. I tote water for Uncle Jake whenever he wants me to, and any time I ask him he gives me a little something to eat if he can spare it. That's a mighty good nigger, Tom. He likes me, becuz I don't ever act as if I was above him. Sometimes, I've set right down and eat with him. But you needn't tell that. A body's got to do things when he's awful hungry he wouldn't want to do as a steady thing.'" Based upon these quotes, write a two paragraph response (of at least five sentences per paragraph, or ten sentences total) that answers the following questions: 1) What does Tom believe that the social structure is in the town? Does he believe that Huck is his equal or that Huck is beneath him? 2) What does Huck believe about the social structure in the town? Whom does Huck feel is socially beneath him? 3) Which character, Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn, do you think treats people with more respect? Why?
 * __Reading Response Prompt #7:__**
 * Chapters 26 - 29:** At the end of chapter twenty-seven, (on page 176) the narrator tells us, "Tom was off at once, He did not care to have Huck's company in public places."


 * Due** **Mon****day, February 10, 2014 -** Read chapters nineteen through twenty-five (p. 133 - 166) in __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain. Annotate all readings (shoot for six to eight annotations per chapter), then, complete the activity below.

You may submit your response in hard copy (in class), via email (to Mrs. Bandeian at dbandeian@longmeadow.k12.ma.us), or by typing your response into a Google Document and sharing it with Mrs. Bandeian on Google Drive. Blank Search History Sheet -
 * __Reading Response Prompt #6:__**
 * Chapters 19 - 25:** If Tom Sawyer had his own computer, what websites would he visit? What topics might he research? Using the document below, or the hard copy that Mrs. Bandeian provided during class, create an internet search history for Tom Sawyer based on his activities in chapters nineteen through twenty-five. For this activity, pretend that Tom has used, and is comfortable using, his computer and all related accessories (mouse, keyboard, etc.). Each entry in the search history that you create for Tom should be supported by a corresponding quote from pages 133 - 166 in __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__. You should end up with ten search history entries and ten supporting quotes, total. Your entries do NOT need to be in the form of actual web addresses (example: http://www.webpage.com). Instead, your entries can be phrases or topics that Tom might be interested in based upon his activities in chapters nineteen through twenty-five. Feel free to be creative! Follow the format below.

** (NOTE: all entries are completely made up. The quote does not actually correlate to a section of the text): ** Google Search – What do pirates wear? || “I reckon pirates don’t wear fancy sweatpants.” ||
 * Search History Format Model**
 * ** Search History **
 * Entry ** || **Site 1:**
 * ** P. # **
 * 525 ** || **Quote 1:**


 * Due** **Thursday, February 6, 2014 -** Read chapters sixteen through eighteen (pages 111 - 133) in __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain. Annotate all readings (shoot for six to eight annotations per chapter), then, complete the activity below.

You may submit your response in hard copy (in class), via email (to Mrs. Bandeian at dbandeian@longmeadow.k12.ma.us), or by typing your response into a Google Document and sharing it with Mrs. Bandeian on Google Drive.
 * __Reading Response Prompt #5:__**
 * Chapters 16 - 18:** Mark Twain uses a variety of metaphors in __The Adventures of Tom__ __Sawyer__. Find two uses of metaphor in chapters sixteen through eighteen (two metaphors TOTAL, NOT two per chapter). In a well-developed paragraph of no fewer than six sentences, explain why you think that Mark Twain used these two metaphors. What does each comparison reveal about the character(s) or contribute to the story?


 * Due** **Tuesday, February 4, 2014 -** Read chapters ten through fifteen (pages 76 - 111) in __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain. Annotate all readings (shoot for six to eight annotations per chapter), then, complete the activity below.

You may submit your response in hard copy (in class), via email (to Mrs. Bandeian at dbandeian@longmeadow.k12.ma.us), or by typing your response into a Google Document and sharing it with Mrs. Bandeian on Google Drive. In chapters ten through fifteen, Tom Sawyer runs away from home. After reading the text from __Where the Wild Things Are__ by Maurice Sendak (available in plain text and audiobook formats at the links below), create a "T" chart in which you compare Tom Sawyer's adventures in chapters ten through fifteen to Max's adventures in __Where the Wild Things__ __Are__ (WTWTA). Your chart can contain comparisons between information such as: descriptions of scenery, character dialogue, key events, etc. There should be at least five entries in your "T" chart, each comparing a quote or excerpt from chapters ten through fifteen of TAOTS to a corresponding quote or excerpt from WTWTA following the format modeled below.
 * __Reading Response Prompt #4:__**
 * Chapters 10 - 15:**

__Where the Wild Things Are__ by Maurice Sendak - plain text - http://gadflypoetry.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/where-the-wild-things-are/ __Where the Wild Things Are__ by Maurice Sendak - audiobook (version 1) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnJn3567UMo __Where the Wild Things Are__ by Maurice Sendak - audiobook (version 2) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cOEFnppm_A


 * T - Chart Format Model**
 * (NOTE: all entries are completely made up and do not actually correlate to specific sections of either text): **
 * **__The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain** || **__Where the Wild Things Are__ by Maurice Sendak** ||
 * **Entry 1:** On page 572, Tom describes his frustration with his aunt saying, "I've had it with that woman! I'm gonna run super far away, and live on a farm with my best friend Tim Timmerson."


 * Entry 1 Comparison:** In each of these quotes, the main characters express frustration with family members. || **Entry 1:** Max is angry with his mother after she takes away his iPad and responds to her by saying, "Oh no you didn't! We are SO not friends right now!" ||


 * Due** **Thursday, January 30, 2014 -** Read chapters seven through nine (pages 58 - 76) in __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain. Annotate all readings (shoot for six to eight annotations per chapter), then, complete the activity below.

There are two physical fights that take place in chapters seven through nine. In a well-developed paragraph of five or more sentences, compare and contrast the first fight (between Tom and his friend) with the second fight (between the men in the graveyard). Your response should include at least three similarities and two differences between the two fights. Make sure to cite your references to the text using page numbers and quotes (where appropriate).
 * __Reading Response Prompt #3:__** Read the prompt below, then write or type a response. You may submit your response in hard copy (in class), via email (to Mrs. Bandeian at dbandeian@longmeadow.k12.ma.us), or by typing your response into a Google Document and sharing it with Mrs. Bandeian on Google Drive.
 * Chapters 7 - 9**


 * Due Tuesday, January 28, 2014 -** Read chapters three through six (pages 25 - 58) in __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain. Annotate all readings (shoot for six to eight annotations per chapter), then, complete the activity below.

What do each of the following images have to do with what happens in chapters three through six of __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain? Provide a two to three sentence summary of the importance of the item(s) in each picture (two to three sentences per picture, or twelve to eighteen sentences total), and cite relevant and specific quotes (at least one per picture, or at least six total) from the text to support your responses.
 * __Reading Response Prompt #2:__** Look at the images below, then write or type a response to the associated question. You may submit your response in hard copy (in class), via email (to Mrs. Bandeian at dbandeian@longmeadow.k12.ma.us), or by typing your response into a Google Document and sharing it with Mrs. Bandeian on Google Drive.
 * Chapters 3 - 6**

Item List: 1) a pansy flower, 2) red, yellow, and blue tickets, 3) a "pinch bug", 4) a tooth on a string, 5) a tick, and 6) a peach.


 * Due Friday, January 24, 2014 -** Read the preface (p. 3), and chapters one and two (pages 11 - 25) in __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain. Annotate all readings (shoot for six to eight annotations per chapter, and two to three annotations for the preface), then, complete the activity below.

What does this clip from the TV Show "The Big Bang Theory" have to do with what happens in Chapter One of __The Adventures of Tom Sawyer__ by Mark Twain? @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV_2vrY3UKE
 * __Reading Response Prompt #1:__** Watch the video clip below and write or type a one paragraph response to the associated question. You may submit your response in hard copy (in class), via email (to Mrs. Bandeian at dbandeian@longmeadow.k12.ma.us), or by typing your response into a Google Document and sharing it with Mrs. Bandeian on Google Drive.
 * Chapter 1**