Mr. Wittman's Page                                      wwittman@slcusd.org

 

Greetings!  I hope this website helps you keep up with what we did, what we do, and what we will do in English this year.  I have made myself a goal of keeping this site up to date.  I’ll see what I might need to add or change at least once a week.  Please understand, however, that once I begin collecting papers, I am on a relentless treadmill and I devote much of my time to carefully critiquing and generating feedback on those papers.  Much of my time.  My first promise is to teach kids how to write powerfully, so the website gets pushed aside sometimes.  Honest communication between student and parent/guardian, and use of the student planner, are the best bets for keeping everyone up to date with what’s happening in class.  If anyone feels that they are not getting all of the information he or she needs from class or this site, email is the best avenue for reaching me with questions/concerns.  The phone is difficult.  Conferences are good.

 

Grades: Check Powerschool link on the Laguna Middle School website please, http://lams.slcusd.org/ .


Update May 8--
8th--

“How to…” Technical Document and Demonstration Gradesheet

 

___ / 5 materials listed; key terms defined (pictures needed?)

___ / 10 steps written in precise language (demonstrator can perform tasks without confusion or additional explanation; can achieve success following only the words on page)

 

___ / 5 cautionary notes are included in appropriate area(s) of document

___ / 10 professional, easy to follow format (picture of final product provided [if product is involved in your process] key elements of process are highlighted with appropriate font, margins, bullet points, borders, icons, illustrations, and or colors—use these well!  Don’t over do it; simple is the rule!)

 

Demonstration

 

___ / 10 all necessary materials are provided and incorporated into demo

___ / 10 demo takes between one and 4 minutes

___ / 10 demo is performed in an appropriate manner (Humor is allowed!  Just make sure it’s appropriate for a mature, educated audience—me!)



Update May 3--

The Outsiders  and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer dialogue assignment

 

Write a dialogue between one major character in S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, and one major character in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Have them discuss the difficulties of navigating the world as a kid.  Include as much specific detail from the readings as you can.  Be clever :-). 

 

Illustrations that enhance and delight will earn you extra credit-- a storyboard, perhaps, or a painting, or collage…  Be clever :-).

 

50 points.  Due ­­­­­_May 10th____



Update April 24--
8th--

Anne Frank letter assignment

 

Consider the history we studied involving Nazism, the holocaust, and Anne’s time in the secret annex.  What are the strongest feelings that come to you?  Write them down (prewriting).  I’m sure that if any of us were directly involved in the horrible mess of Nazi-occupied Europe, he or she would feel a strong urge to change the situation, to help, and if you were to attempt to right any of the wrongs related to this period in our history, language would likely be your best tool.  Use your imagination to brainstorm a list of individuals or organizations that might aid you in making a positive change in Anne’s world (more prewriting) if you were to write to them.   

 

Pretend you are living in Europe during Anne’s time in the annex (1942 – 1944).  You might know Anne, you might not.  You may be a young adult, or you may be older.  You may be an official of some sort, or you may be an average citizen.  Write a letter to the person or organization best able to help you effect positive change.

 

Pay attention to rhetoric: ethos, logos, and pathos (see class notes and/or research these terms again).  Remember that formatting is part of your rhetoric when presenting written work, so use proper business letter formatting.  Check this website for help:

 

http://www.writing-business-letters.com/business-letter-format.html

 

This assignment is worth 30 points and will be graded on depth of thought, appropriateness of tone and content (specifics related to the reading and documentaries we studied should be referenced), and formatting.  Due Fri. May 3rd



Update April 19--


Update April 11-- 7th grade storyboard: I PUSHED THE DUE DATE BACK TO TUESDAY, APRIL 16th


Update April 9--


Update April 4--

 

NOTE-- The district put new software on the computers, and, apparently, it likes to mess with the formatting that the old software used.  Everything below this appears to be kinda messed up!  I don't intend to spend any time trying to fix all of it, but let me know if you need to have something done in order to access anything below this line.

Update March 19—

·         7th—It’s all about The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, and literary analysis projects these days.  I have been helping individuals with thesis statements.  I encourage, but I do not require, all students to drop a thoughtfully drafted (don’t rush a statement and hope I’m going to write it for you!) statement on my desk.  Put your best thinking into the essay NOW!  A good argument on theme needs time to grow, and my help is available now—it won’t be later.  We are exploring Twain and his work as we move forward with lit. analysis—keep up!  We’ll have the vocab test Friday.  The essay exam will be late in the week after break.  We also have a spelling test (#18) on Friday.  Next KBAR due 4/5.

·         8th—We are journeying across Europe and across centuries studying the history of our language.  Pay attention in class, take notes, and try to engage—it’s an interesting, relevant story.  Test on this unit will be late in the week after break.  Check out the study guide: History of English study guide  --Test 11/2/11 .  We also have a spelling test (#18) on Friday.  Next KBAR due 4/5.

 

Update March 7—Tom Sawyer vocab #1 

tom sawyer vocabulary

guile--deceitful cunning; duplicity

vanity--excessive pride in ones appearance or accomplishments

endowed--to provide with property, or income, or a source of income

sagacity--shrewdness and wisdom

unalloyed--not in mixture with other metals; pure--

adamantine--impervious to pleas or reason; unyielding; rock solid in belief or opinion

alacrity--cheerful willingness; eagerness

diluted--made thinner or weaker

splendor--great light or luster

evanescent--disappearing; temporary; fading

immunity--exemption from any duty, office, or tax; freedom form natural or usual liability

ecstasy--the state of being beside one’s self; excessive joy

audacious--bold; daring; spirited; insolent; impudent; characterized by shameless effrontery

sulk--to show sadness, lack of energy, enthusiasm, or motivation; mope

morose--sullen; austere; gloomy

pathos--deep feeling

desolate--having qualities of a wasteland; deprived of inhabitants

blight--a disease in plants, causes them to wither partly or wholly; a categorical dying-off

disconcerted--disturbed composure; frustrated; unnerved

effeminate--womanish or delicate

galled--offended; deeply annoyed

conspicuous--mentally or physical visible; obvious

marred--damaged or disfigured

august--grand; invested with grandeur and dignity

attest--to bear witness to

intrepid--bold; fearless

ostentatious--extravagantly showy

furtive-- stealthy; surreptitious; secret

disconcerted--disturbed composure; frustrated; unnerved

miscreant--an evil person; backstabber; someone lacking proper values/concern

facetious--humorous or jesting; putting on another “face” to prove a point

 

Update March 6—

·         Seventh graders are presenting another round of literary analyses and submitting essays beginning today.  We also just started reading Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Over the next several days, we will split class periods in half, roughly, spending time on presentations and studying the book—it’s a great one!  Pay close attention to Twain’s satire, his use of caustic wit to attack and expose human folly (foolishness) as you read.  NO ONE IS SAFE!  EVEN HIMSELF!  Here is the reading schedule (FINISH chapter shown by that day’s class):

4          

5          4

6          

7          8

8             12

11

12        16

13        20

14        24

15     KBAR due

18

19        29

20        32

21     done

22

·         Eighth graders are finishing up the reading for Jack London’s The Call of the Wild.  We are writing AND DISCUSSING (take notes!) “mini essays” in class that are excellent opportunities to prepare for the in-class essay exam that will happen on the 14th.  50 pts.  We will study excerpts from Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild  over the next few days; at least one prompt for the exam will ask you to compare and contrast details/themes in this work with London’s story’s details/themes.  Remember KBAR due on the 15th, too.

I am grading lots of assignments right now (check Powerschool this afternoon), including research papers—thanks for EVERYONE’S patience.  This is always a tough time of year for me and grading because I have to keep our course moving forward with new assignments, and I have to keep grading that huge stack of research papers.  Thanks for your patience.

 

Update Feb. 20—

·         We are hearing from the final few presenters today, so it’s time to start working on reflections.  This is a 60 point assignment, and it is due Tuesday, Feb. 26th.  At ten points each, each response should be thoughtful, honest, and SUPPORTED BY DETAIL/EXAMPLES from your experiences/work.  You should have a copy of the prompts, either printed on your own from this site already, or copied from the screen when I showed it in class.  Here is the link again if you need it: Research Reflection prompts .  Beyond this assignment, all students have another KBAR due 3/1.

·         7th graders have another “monthly literary analysis” paper or presentation due March 6th (just learned today, 2/21, that the STAR writing test will happen 3/5).  Share your thesis with me this week. Here’s the assignment sheet in case you lost yours.  We will begin reading and studying Mark Twain and his classic, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer next week.

·         8th graders began reading Jack London’s The Call of the Wild yesterday.  Please consult reading schedule below (FINISH chapter shown BEFORE that day’s class):

18      

19

20        1

21

22           2

25

26           3

27         4

28             5

1             6

4

5              7

6

7

8

 

 

Update Feb. 13—

Kids have been showing great courage and skill with their presentations; 5th period students Will C, Andrew M, Shane R, and Greta C all nailed the performance yesterday—woohoo!  Minori J also nailed her speech in 4th period.  Each presentation was delivered in a dynamic way, and the speakers succeeded in building interesting arguments ABOUT the facts of the subject’s story rather than simply reporting those facts.  I loved it.  We will hear from the remaining kids through Friday, then move back into some literature: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain for the 7th graders, and Jack London’s The Call of the Wild for the 8th graders.  No spelling this week, or next.  The next KBAR log is due this Friday, 2/15.

 

Update Feb. 1—

Crunch time!  Fifteen students from each class are expected to submit papers and present the argument of the paper aloud with a visual aid next Weds., Thurs, and Friday.  200 pts.  Some of these students are not ready, and I have done all I can do this week to get them going.  Please check Powerschool grade and note the score you (or your student) have in the book.  If it is a 9, it came to me one day late, 1/24.  If it is an 8, it came two or more days late.  If it is STILL a zero, the past two weeks have been largely wasted; opportunities for me to help you are almost over.  You might need to get help from someone else.  Please consult the post below for help.

 

Update Jan. 29—

Here is the official schedule of due dates for the research project—Paper AND presentation due on the same day (listed below):

Per. One

Per. Three

Per. Four

Per. Five

Per. Six

Weds. Feb. 6th

Weds. Feb. 6th

Weds. Feb. 6th

Weds. Feb. 6th

Weds. Feb. 6th

1.Jenna H

1.Garron K

1.Emily R

1.Jake F

1.Alex M

2.Maddie C

2.Annie S

2.Sarah N

2.Sofia H

2.Karly B

3.Chris N

3.Justin D

3.Amandalyn

3.Zach H

3.Aric S

4.Zachary O

4.Jonny R

4.Kailee B

4.Anna W

4.Breanna C

5.Mel L

5.Ylliana K

5.Elena C

5.Rutik S

5.Audrey R

Thurs. Feb 7th

Thurs. Feb 7th

Thurs. Feb 7th

Thurs. Feb 7th

Thurs. Feb 7th

1.Brayden P

1.Mark C

1.Lukas M

1.Jaqueline M

1.Emma S

2.Lilia R

2.Aidan B

2.Olivia B

2.Anthony J

2.Loveena P

3.Noah H

3.Sidney V

3.Susan R

3.Elias T

3.Jasmine T

4.Brayden C

4.Tomas O

4.Katy E

4.Ellie V

4.Jarrod H

5.Anela B

5.Kevin T

5.Clara L

5.Cami S

5.Jason B

Fri. Feb 8th

Fri. Feb 8th

Fri. Feb 8th

Fri. Feb 8th

Fri. Feb 8th

1.Javier G

1.Kenny F

1.Andrew M

1.Eden R

1.Sarah V

2.Francisco A

2.Marissa P

2.Ellie J

2.Ethan F

2.Maddie J

3.Jasmine W

3.Jenny D

3.Ben M

3.Sienna G

3.Hannah A

4.Cole H

4.Spencer E

4.Gen BP

4.Will C

4.Joe B

5.Tegan R

5.Jacob G

5.Orchid S

5.Andrew M

5.Aurora F

Tues. Feb. 12

Tues. Feb. 12

Tues. Feb. 12

Tues. Feb. 12

Tues. Feb. 12

1.Brendan A

1.Ian R

1.Sophie K

1.Shane R

1.Leah M

2.Nathan T

2.Kyle S

2.Mia L

2.Payton W

2.Vaughn P

3.Nolan L

3.Austine T

3.Sam R

3.Greta C

3.Grace W

4.Carson O

4.Thomas G

4.Cammy P

4.Karla P

4.Christa L

5.Rylie J

5.Kata G

5.Minori J

5.Ollie H

5.Thomas P

Weds. Feb. 13

Weds. Feb. 13

Weds. Feb. 13

Weds. Feb. 13

Weds. Feb. 13

1.Drew S

1.Shelby L

1.Chaela H

1.Eddie S

1.Kendall H

2.Jake W

2.Jailene G

2.Shannyn M

2.Haylee K

2.Kaitlyn K

3.Isaac B

3.Alex H

3.Gus B

3.Eve H

3.Cassady S

4.Stryker S

4.Aaron R

4.Lily D

4.Lily C

4.Derek A

5.Joel R

5.Graham G

5.Luca M

5.Miranda S

5.Derek D

Thurs. Feb. 14

Thurs. Feb. 14

Thurs. Feb. 14

Thurs. Feb. 14

Thurs. Feb. 14

1.Tristen T

1.Aidan F

1.Chris L

1.Lauren R

 

 

 

2.Lily S

2.Khaleb D

 

 

 

3.Kavy NB

3.Talia S

 

 

 

4.Maile S

4.Amber H

 

 

 

5.Andrea O

5.Abby D

 

Fri. Feb 15

Fri. Feb 15

Fri. Feb 15

Fri. Feb 15

Fri. Feb 15

 

 

1.Nicole L

 

 

 

 

2.Caius C

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please note ONLY AN EXCUSED ABSENCE will qualify a student for a later due date.  Project is due upon the student’s return.  If students need to be inserted into the schedule for this reason, all students who have yet to present will be bumped down the necessary number of slots.  This means that your due date could be later than shown on the chart, BUT DON’T COUNT ON THAT!  No due date will ever be bumped up—that would be cruel and unfair!  If a student is not excused for a due-date absence, or if he or she is just not prepared to present or submit a paper, he or she should prepare as soon as possible, and present sometime before the end of the schedule, or shortly thereafter.  The work will be graded, but ½ credit will be issued.  Yes, that’s an F, but ½ of 200 pts. possible is MUCH better than zero of 200 pts. possible—especially at the beginning of the semester.

 

Parents/guardians/tutors/helpers-of-all-sorts: Please refer students to the assignment sheet and related gradesheets/handouts when helping them:

 Research assignment sheet (with step-by-step-instructions)

MLA works cited guidelines

Research Presentation Gradesheet 

Research paper checklist

Research Reflection prompts

Accessing sample papers in class is also a great idea.

 

Update Jan. 15— 

·         All students:  We have a due date!  February 6th.  Five students from each class will submit papers and deliver presentations on the 6th, and five more follow each day after until we are done.  We will make the schedule tomorrow in class using a lottery system.  Please refer to the documents below to see how paper and presentation will be graded.  I will show visual aid samples tomorrow.  I will also check tomorrow for 15 pages of notes and 4 entries on the rough draft works cited page.  The notes should be brief and specific.  I have been showing a sample paper and reminding kids of the strategy necessary-- weaving brief, powerful facts/evidence into paragraphing of their own.  Long quotes are not useful; in fact, they can hurt the coherence of the paper.  They need at least 15 pages of carefully chosen notes before they can draft a decent paper.  One page should have 7 or 8 notes-- skip lines between and respect wide margins-- make it easy to spot individual notes.

·         I would like to help you with your thesis statements as soon as possible.  We are at the stage in this journey where you should be zeroing in on an “angle.”  Think carefully about what others have said and written on your person’s life; think about where you want to go with your paper as you read what others have done with the material.  You must argue a meaningful point ABOUT the person’s importance, not simply summarize a bunch of facts.  The sooner you drop a carefully drafted thesis statement with me, the better, but this statement is due for everyone on Wednesday, Jan. 23rd.  10 pts.

 

Update Jan. 8—

·         All students should be taking notes on research subjects.  Be sure to categorize the information like I showed in class today (start with basic biography sections: Early Life, Mid-Life, Later Life, then get more specific as you zero in on which aspects of the person’s story are most interesting and important—“Ford’s influence on manufacturing,” “Auto’s effect on daily life of middle class” …).  Also be sure to choose fairly short, specific bits of information that will fit nicely into your paragraphing when you draft the paper.  Be careful to choose only useful bits and KEEP TRACK OF SOURCE FOR EACH, DOWN TO THE PAGE #!  You will need to show specific source and page # for EVERY bit of info and EVERY IDEA used in your paper and found in your sources.  DO NOT PLAGIARIZE.

·         Print research-related documents from this page:  

Research assignment sheet (with step-by-step-instructions)

MLA works cited guidelines

Research Presentation Gradesheet 

Research paper checklist

Research Reflection prompts

 

 

Update Dec. 20—

·         All students should be looking into which positive, researchable historical figure they want to begin reading about and taking notes on over the break.  Then, of course, we have KBAR and spelling due Friday, 12/21.

 

·         Happy Holidays.  Enjoy the time with FAMILY :-)

 

Update Dec. 6th-- 

·         7th graders will have another Greek roots test on 12/20, “man” through “sec, sect” on the list (40 roots, 20 pt. test).  We are also involved with lit. analysis presentations and Canterbury Tales-type Tales.  Spelling test #11 and KBAR due tomorrow, 12/7.

·         8th graders will have another Greek roots test on 12/20, “man” through “sec, sect” on the list (40 roots, 20 pt. test).  Spelling test #11 and KBAR due tomorrow, 12/7.  Students should review and revise mini essays from Weds. and today.  The more thorough and thoughtful these pieces of writing are, the better prepared each student ill e for next Wednesday’s essay exam.  Wed. prompt:  Consider the expression, “the devil is in the details” and discuss how it applies to at least two passages in the reading.  Today’s prompt: The problem/conflict in Avi’s Nothing But the Truth has “snowballed,” or grown in size, gained momentum, and involved more individuals and issues.  Examine at least three characters and discuss cause and effect.  How do the motivations and actions of each character contribute to the “snowball” effect.  Do you see any parallels to Paul Zindel’s The Pigman?  I have assigned more reading and pushed the essay exam back one day—see sched. below:

 

Update Nov. 27—

·         7th graders are studying for the Greek roots test #1 Friday, the first 60 on the list.  They will need to match root with meaning on a scantron (multiple choice) form.  They should also be ready for spelling test #10 Friday.  Next KBAR log is due 12/7.  Of course, they should also be digging DEEP and building an interesting argument on the meaning/theme of the lit. analysis book they chose to read this month (what important idea on how life works, on how people work, can I get if I read the book as carefully as you did?).  That paper or presentation (if they presented last month, they turn in a paper, and vice versa) is due Monday the 3rd.

·         8th graders are studying for the Greek roots test #1 Friday, the first 60 on the list.  They will need to match root with meaning on a scantron (multiple choice) form.  They should also be ready for spelling test #10 Friday.  Next KBAR log is due 12/7.  We began reading Avi’s Nothing But the Truth today.  I want them to consider the nature of “truth” as they read and write about this book.  What is truth and where does it live?  What would you say to a person who asserts that there is no such thing as “truth.”  I assigned only the prologues and first chapter (seven pages) and gave them time in class today to read.  Before tomorrow’s class each student should have a detailed response, one pointing to evidence (quotations) from the reading, to the second mini essay prompt today: Identify at least three curious details in the first seven pages.  Explain.  Reading schedule below (finish chapter shown BEFORE that day’s class):

26

27        

28       1

29          4

30         8

3

4           12

5           16 

6           19 (done)

7 “A Nice Old Fashioned…” 201 - 210

10  “The Catbird Seat” 220 - 231

11  

12    in-class essay exam 50 pts.         

13        

14

 

 

Update Nov. 19—

·         7th graders are working on a Canterbury Tale-type Tale of their own that they will share aloud on a “pilgrimage” of our own.  Here’s the assignment:  Have fun writing a “Tale” from the perspective of a recognizable figure from our society—like Chaucer did from figures in his.  Story should take about four minutes to read aloud.  Make it a witty commentary on how our world works (or doesn’t work) today.  Mimicry of Chaucer’s witty style and creativity are encouraged for this one-to-three page story with a “moral” (moral with some satire involved?).  It should be a friendly and adventurous competition.  Winner (voted on by all, but chosen by me, the inn-keeper, ultimately) will get some sort of prize—a turkey leg?).  Due Monday, Nov. 26th.  30 pts.  The next KBAR will be assigned Monday after break.  Kids began studying the first 25 Greek roots (link on my web page) last week.  There will be a matching-type test on these after break.  Students should always be working on the next lit. analysis project (due Dec. 3rd)

·         8th graders worked hard over the past several weeks, preparing for last Friday’s in-class essay exam on Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons.  I will work on the stack over the break and get feedback to them when I finish all classes.  Students began studying the first 25 Greek roots (link on my web page) last week.  There will be a matching-type test on these after break.  The next KBAR will be assigned Monday after break. 

 

Update Nov. 1-- 

·         7th graders will be adding to their portfolios today: short story connection essays, with reflections written on the reverse of the back page (date of reflection, title of piece, a specific writing skill done well and a passage quoted from the essay to support that claim, and a specific writing skill to focus on doing better next time).  The “B” group will also submit their first literary analysis papers, and a few of the “A” group will present their papers aloud to the class.  All must be prepared, as I do not tell the order ahead of time!  I take volunteers first, and the good impression made by showing this kind of confidence usually influences grading positively :-).  If I get no volunteers, I call on students more or less randomly.  We will begin studying an adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales next week, and hear from two or three more presenters each day as we do.

·         8th graders are about half way through Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons  and should be revising/adding to the mini essays we write in class each night as they continue to read.  TAKE NOTES during class discussions so the good ideas we share have a better chance of sinking in and getting used when you write the 50-point in-class, timed essay on the 15th.

As always, keep up with KBAR, next due 11/5.  We’ll also have another spelling test next week, #9 (look up the words now and study for the pretest!  Spelling lists and vocabulary exercises

 

Update Oct. 23—

·         7th graders are presenting their Beowulf adaptations today.  They should be working hard on the lit. analysis project, due Nov. 1, and keeping up with KBAR (next due 11/5) and spelling otherwise.

·         8th graders are beginning to read Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons today.  Reading schedule: Finish chapter shown BEFORE that day’s class

 

 

Oct. 24     4

25th           7

26th       11

29th

30th       16

31st      20

Nov. 1st     23

2nd  no school

5th         29

6th         32

7th        35

8th              39

9th         42

12th

13th      done

 

In-class essay

 

Don’t forget to keep up with KBAR (next due 11/5) and spelling. Too.

 

I have been grading essays as fast and as often as I can and still meet my standards for fairness and quality of feedback—thanks for your patience.  Short story connection essay grades should be in the book by Monday, 10/29.  This was a big stack, and now it is not so big!  I am pleased, overall, with the quality so far :-).

 

Update Oct. 9th—

·         7th-  We are about half-way through Robert Nye’s Beowulf: A New Telling and I am emphasizing themes related to coherence of character, accepting the faults in one’s self and using acknowledged weaknesses to recognize and develop strengths, acting with grace to perform heroically.  The blend of Christian and pagan values and culture in this textual artifact of 9th or 10th century England is particularly interesting.  Beowulf’s power comes from his sensitive and forgiving nature, and from his faith, as much as it derives from his courage and physical strength.  The work’s value lies partly in what it shows us about any good piece of literature’s potential to serve as a window into the culture of the group that produced and consumed it, in this case a blended society of Viking overlords, Anglo Saxon commoners, and Christian converts/worshippers.  Because it is an artifact of our own Western civilization, and because I want kids to have fun exploring the parallels between the ancient culture of England and our modern culture, we are working toward an assignment (Word doc link) that calls upon students to write a modern re-re-telling (yes, re- re-!):  

Beowulf adaptation assignment

Robert Nye’s Beowulf: A New Telling shows an attempt to portray the “root meaning” of the original poem that is now 1000 to 1200 years old.  We see evidence of his concern with “root meaning” in his use of metaphors, symbols, and philosophical speeches.  The story is a classic battle between good and evil, one in which forces of each are represented by somewhat stereotypical characters.  Because of this figurative style, this very old story can be adapted to contemporary terms and circumstances fairly easily.

Your job: 1) Brainstorm possible modern-day characters/forces of our time that might represent the characters/forces of Nye’s version of Beowulf.  Who/what kind of character might you use for Beowulf?  For Unferth?  Queen Wealhtheow?  Hrothgar?  What evil force, monster, or person might represent Grendel?  2) Write a scene in which these characters/forces interact.  Show a conflict and a resolution.  If your scene is chosen by the group of six to 8 students to which you are assigned, you and your group members will adapt the scene to our little stage (in class) and you will perform a three to 10 minute skit.

Final draft of this assignment is due on Oct. 17th.  30 pts.  Extra credit may be awarded if script is accompanied by a storyboard.

Of course 7th graders should also make some progress each day on their lit. analysis project assigned last week and due Nov. 1.  50 pts.

 

·         8th- We are nearing the end of Paul Zindel’s The Pigman.  Today’s mini essay required students to consider the theory of grief’s stages: denial, anger, sadness, and acceptance.  We agreed that the Pigman is stuck in denial, and so are John and Lorraine.  We discussed the temporary benefits of denial in a crisis, the freedom it affords a person in crisis to escape the tragedy facing him or her and function rather than fold/freeze.  Of course, merely functioning does not make for a very fulfilling life, so if progress is halted at the stage of denial/escape, the grieving person’s world will remain very small.  Look carefully at details of each character’s situation and add to your mini essay from today—What conditions and truths are these characters in denial about?  How do they stay in denial?  Does it take some work and/or focus?  What might happen if they stay in this stage too long?  What will it take to progress out of it?  Reviewing and revising past mini essays will help you prepare, too.

I will look for ideas on this issue in the 50-point in-class essay exam on Oct. 18th. 

 

·         All students will be responsible for submitting the next KBAR log on Friday the 19thth.  We’ll also take spelling test #6 this Friday, the 12th.

 

Update Oct. 3--  7th grade only: A number of emails are in my box about trouble with the literary analysis assignment sheet.  I can open it from my computer, and I can’t find a problem.  Sorry it is not working from your side.  Here is the content:

 

Monthly Literary Analysis Papers and Presentations

Authors construct stories using the same set of basic elements: setting, character, conflict, rise of action, climax, and resolution.  They also employ techniques or devices like pace; tone; description; point of view; dialogue; characterization and motivation; irony; figurative language; style; and format.  Different authors, and even the same author with different works, emphasize some of these elements and techniques over others to affect the reader, to deliver the theme of their individual works.

 

The assignment:

FIRST:  Read an approved book carefully enough to analyze its elements and techniques.

SECOND:  Write a complete essay structured according to the guidelines presented on the handout we use all year long, summarized here:

 

Title Reflects Your Subject And The Essay’s Thesis (don’t underline your title!)

 

 

Attention-getter (vivid description, a quote, staggering statistic)

 

Give title, author, BRIEF summary of plot including terminology (name key elements—not all)

transition to thesis statement

Thesis statement on theme goes here (make sure it’s a complete thought)

 

 

 

State point of paragraph (reason thesis is true)

 

 

Support with evidence (properly formatted quotations from the literature)

Explain connections to thesis

 

 

 

 

State point of paragraph

 

 

         Support with evidence

         Explain connections

 

 

 

 

State point of paragraph

 

 

         Support with evidence

         Explain connections

 

 

 

 

LINK to attention getter (remind reader of the essay’s beginning)

 

 

RESTATE thesis and possibly give another example, connect to your own experience?

TWIST—leave reader with an interesting/important/humorous thought relating to your subject—sometimes a quotation works well

 

 

 

Excellent papers and presentations will include discussions of the elements and techniques (see above) that contribute to the work’s effectiveness/development of theme.  I recommend that you provide these discussions in the body paragraphs, amidst your explanations for how specific evidence from the novel supports your thesis.  For example, does the passage you are using as evidence for theme also show the author’s skill and/or emphasis on characterization?  On description?  On figurative language?  On irony?  Does the format of the writing hint to the theme of the story?  Does the author’s choice of P.O.V. enhance the development of theme?  Analyses of the story’s elements can be offered briefly in the body paragraphs dealing mostly with theme, or an additional body paragraph or two analyzing the story’s elements may be added.  Just be sure not to stray from your discussion on theme too long; get back to your thesis after discussing elements.

 

 

Update Oct. 2—

·         8th graders turned in short story connection essays today.  Late papers will be accepted until the last week of the semester for 50% credit.  We also began reading Paul Zindel’s The Pigman.  I read the first two chapters with them and assigned the next two for HW.  They need to read through chapter 5 for Thurs. and 7 for Friday. 

·         7th graders who have not submitted sh. st. conn. essays will do so today.  Late papers will be accepted until the last week of the semester for 50% credit.  We will preview the monthly literary analysis assignment program.  Please see assignment sheet.  We will also begin reading and discussing Robert Nye’s Beowulf: A New Telling.

·         All students will be responsible for submitting the next KBAR log on Friday the 5th.  We’ll also take spelling test #5.

 

Update Sept. 28— EXTRA EXTRA!

Sensing that MANY students were struggling with the short story connection essay assignment, particularly in coming up with a clear, valid thesis statement of the story’s meaning, or even with the concept of a thesis statement in many cases, I pushed the due date back to Tuesday, Oct. 2nd.  Kids who worked hard and applied careful thought each time I prompted them to do so over the last two weeks, kids who managed to produce and submit solid essays by today, got +2 e.c. points added to their score.  I hope this will provide kids who need time with the opportunity, and the MOTIVATION, to improve their piece, make it an essay they are proud of, and submit it without penalty on Tuesday.  Good writing takes time and REVISION.

 

Update Sept 25—

Small potatoes first:  Don’t forget to correct your own spelling pretest #4 and study the words you missed.  Do the vocab. exercises, too.  Test Friday 9/28.  Also, keep up with your KBAR log.

Big potatoes (is that an idiom people actually use?): Both 7th and 8th are working on the Short Story Connection Essay.  It is due Friday the 28th (the day after tomorrow!).  I have helped individual students with thesis statements in class yesterday and the day before.  This is not easy!  Stay fired up and open to learning how to write essays like this; it’s probably new to most of you.  I am posting a sample essay below called “Beyond Borders.”  This is an essay that I wrote with my students years ago for this assignment.  It is longer than I expect from the kids, and it favors my own story too much, but it models some techniques well: integrating quotations from the reading to serve as evidence for the essay’s argument; sticking to that argument (thesis); creating interest by describing scenes, characters, and conversations with dialogue—essay writing does not have to be boring!  It should be fun AND argumentative/academic/rhetorically powerful.  Here is a link to the word document Beyond Borders2.doc.  Here is the essay if you don’t want to deal with the link:

 

Mr. Wittman

Per. 1

Short Story Connection Essay

10/2/00

Beyond Borders

Antonio’s age surprises me.  He’s about my size: five-seven, around one-sixty.  Antonio has grace given his proportions; he lifts a large House Special, loaded with pepperoni, from the back row of the top oven in a fluid motion.  His skinny brother, Pantaleon, swishes by with another order, slipping below the long-handled spatula as Antonio’s pirouette lands the steaming pie safely on the boxing counter.  Antonio beams a quick smile then shakes his head at the near miss.  His countenance suggests a boy of seventeen, but Antonio talks about his three little girls, his pretty wife, Esme, who I met last December at our boss’s Christmas party, and occasionally, very rarely, about his large family back in Mexico.  Antonio’s trials in immigration and the responsibilities he talks about with Esme, echoing some of the conversations of my parents, make it hard believe that he is only two years older than I am.

Antonio lives with, and accepts on a daily basis, the possibility of being plucked from the kitchen of Gina’s Pizza where we work, cuffed and corralled into a  white van marked United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, and deported across the barbed-wire border at Tia Juana.  Antonio’s experiences have shown him a harsh world that coddles some and punishes others with indifference.  My friend, Antonio, and Bridgie, of Paul Darcy Boles’ “The House Guest,” live in a world very different from my own.  Each of these characters has taught me that the world is more complex and unjust than I had thought it was, and they remind me to appreciate the truly important things in life.

I can relate to Mitch, the narrator of Boles’ story.  I drive a car of my own.  I have never been forced to skip a meal.  I do not know war.  Mitch has it good, and he doesn’t find much occasion for reflecting upon how good he has it-- until Bridgie comes for a six-week visit.  “At first it kept on being kind of eggshelly around her[,]” according to Mitch (79).  He wanted to make Bridgie feel welcome and comfortable, but knew he shouldn’t “ask her anything heavy about how things were in the place she’d come from…Belfast” (79).  Not knowing anything about Bridgie’s world makes it hard for Mitch to forge the friendship that he desires.  He offers to help Bridgie at every chance, but she’s independent.  “Nah…Don’t put yourself out for me, Mitch” (81).  Mitch is pleased when Bridgie finally does seek his help.

He cleans out the workshop for Bridgie, and she begins spending all her time there.  The workshop is out back, so Bridgie is isolated, exercising her independence.  She takes walks, explaining, “It’s fine walking where ya please.  Not havin’ to stay in the District…where you and your people stay inside of” (82).  This kind of limitation had never occurred to Mitch.  “I’d never even started to think about how it would be living inside a few blocks and not stepping over a line.  I did then” (82).  Bridgie’s matter-of-fact account of what life is often like for her opens Mitch’s eyes to another reality.  He learns to see things from Bridgie’s perspective, and this instills in him a deep sense of respect for her.  Bridgie helps Mitch gain a more complete understanding of the world around him; she shows him the importance of appreciating the good things he has—like his freedom.

Antonio’s happy-go-lucky personality is an inspiration.  Like Bridgie, he has led a restricted life.  In Mexico, Antonio was poor, and there was little in the way of job opportunities.  He came to the US, along with Pantaleon, hoping to fulfill a dream of prosperity.  I guess you could say he has prospered.  A typical day for Antonio, however, makes a typical day for me look like Club Med.  With two jobs, one with me at Gina’s and one at another restaurant, two infant daughters, and a young wife who doesn’t speak English, Antonio has little time for himself.  This is hard for me, the part-time employee full-time beach rat, to comprehend.  “What are doing on your next day off?” I asked one summer night as we teamed up on the dishes, Antonio piling the steaming metal pots and trays onto the counter faster than I could dry them.

“Day off?” he said, as though I were kidding.

            “Yeah, you know, when you’re not working.”

            “Always working, Weel,” he stated.

            I picked up another heavy, hot metal pot and wiped the white cloth over the edges as I turned it.  What must it be like to be seventeen without a day to yourself, to be always scrambling in one restaurant kitchen or another in order to feed, clothe, and house a family of four?  Seventeen!  As I daydreamed, staring blankly at the block wall above the sink and pondering the world through my friend’s eyes, a tiny, cold wad of pizza dough bounced off of my cheek.

            “Wake up lazy.  We don’ want to go home late tonight!”  Antonio had finished the dishes, leaving me with a mammoth stack on the counter to dry.  He stood smiling by the smooth metal table where we pound the balls of dough into round saucers, tossing them to impress the customers across the plexiglass sneezeguard.

~ ~ ~

            We were short one employee the following Saturday night.  During the week, there had been a raid by the INS at Antonio’s other restaurant and he had joined the rest of the kitchen staff for a one-way trip into Mexico.  “Don’t worry,” his brother, Panta, told me, rolling his eyes.  “He will be back tomorrow or the next day.”  I wasn’t sure what to say, or even if he was serious, so I said nothing.  “Three, four, maybe five days to get back to here,” Panta assured me. 

            “What will it cost him?” I asked.

            “One hundred, one-fifty,” he answered.  I dumped the tray of sliced mushrooms into another tray where we make the pizzas and returned to the walk-in refrigerator for more green peppers. 

            The walk-in is a good place to hide.  I like the cool and to munch on the cheese and salami sandwiches that Antonio had taught me to make—cheese in the center, salami for the bread.  How do Esme and Antonio’s daughters get along while he is fighting to return to this inhospitable second home?  I worry that he might not make it or that he might get into bigger trouble trying.  I picture him sprinting down the trails near the checkpoint in Oceanside, border patrol agents beaming their searchlights over the low chaparral.  What if he is ripped off by a heartless “coyote?”  What if he gives up and fails to return at all?  And if I’m having these terrible thoughts, if I’m this worried about my friend of six or seven months, how must Esme be feeling? 

            I visited Gina’s on Monday to pick up my paycheck and get a slice for lunch.  Sure enough, Antonio was there—all smiles, as usual.  “Antonio!  You’re back!”  My enthusiasm made several other customers turn to look at me.  I didn’t care.

            “Yes, Loco.  You think I not come back?” he asked.

            “No, I mean…yeah!  I mean, yeah, I knew you’d be back.”  He laughed, showing the gold in his teeth.  He rang up my slice and took my dollar-fifty.

            “Here you go, amigo.  Back to la playa, no?” he said, handing me the little white cardboard box.

            “You know it, amigo.  Las olas mas perfecto ahora!”  I shook his hand in the “bro” style, not forgetting to clash knuckles with him at the end.  “See you Wednesday, no?”

            “Si, si,” he replied with another smile.

            I sat in the back seat of my friend’s Suburu wagon on the way back to the beach, chowing down on my slice and checking the figures on my paycheck.  $162.63 for two weeks worth of part-time work—all right, I thought!  Over halfway to a new surfboard, or maybe I’d get some new rims for my mountain bike.  Then I pictured Antonio checking the figures of his check.  If I made $162.63, he must have cleared $700 easily.  But the bills he must have!  Can four people live on what Antonio makes?  What did Esme and her daughters do while he was scrambling north again?  How much did the trip cost him?  What will happen if he is caught again?

            I picture the bills, the cramped apartment they share with Pantaleon and his family, and I see Esme frowning.  But every time I picture Antonio’s face, his smile beams back at me.  “You think I not come back, Loco?” he chides in my memory. 

            No, Antonio.  I know you come back.

~ ~ ~

            I haven’t seen Antonio in many years, but like Mitch believes in Bridgie’s ability to overcome adversity, to maintain a positive perspective through unjust, traumatic, and chaotic times, I believe that he is doing okay.  Antonio and Bridgie are kindred spirits.  They serve as reminders of what life has to offer, of what offering something in return can do for the soul.  Quiet Bridgie, toiling to create her “door key” collars for stray dogs, devotes herself to others despite finding herself in a position that would have many characters feeling sorry for themselves (84).  Why should she be born into a poor Belfast family and Mitch live in relative luxury in the States?  Antonio smiles, working endless hours to support his family and befriending a naïve beach rat that, to him, must symbolize injustice in the same way.  Both characters struggle to make the most of circumstances imposed upon them by the geography of their birth.  They harbor contempt for the word “border,” but refuse to be broken by it.  Because they face their many challenges with optimism, because they do not waiver in their generosity despite having so little, and because their spirits know no bounds, their “District is the world,” and they inspire me to learn from those around me (84).

 

 

 

 

Update Sept. 19—7th Graders responded with a mini essay in class to the prompt: What is the most significant passage in Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “An Hour with Abuelo?” (592).  How does the passage help you understand theme?  They also read “The War of the Wall” by Toni Cade Bambara (110) today.  8the graders had the same prompt with their story, “War Party” by Louis L’Amour (737).  We also had a good discussion on “literary devices, such as characterization (strong in L’Amour’s story), description, and figurative language (metaphor, simile, symbol, hyperbole, personification, irony).  They should read Walter Dean Myers’ “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” (334) by tomorrow’s class.

 

Update Sept 18—If you miss a Monday with a spelling pretest, open the document Spelling lists and vocabulary exercises and complete the vocabulary exercises.  Study the words and take all 20 on Friday’s test in class.  If you miss a Friday with a spelling test, have a responsible person at home dictate the words to you and take the test at home.  The person at home signs the test, you staple it to your pretest and submit both to the in-box upon your return. 

 

I am offering 2 extra credit points to all students who show me a printout of the Short Story Connection Essay assignment sheet BY FRIDAY; this assignment is due Friday, Sept. 28th. 

 

8th graders read Chekhov’s “The Bet” (285) and responded with a mini essay to the prompt: Why is the lawyer so embittered at the end of the story?  We read “War Party” by Louis L’Amour (737) today/tonight. 

 

7th graders read Piri Thomas’ “Amigo Brothers” and responded to the mini essay prompt: How does Thomas’ “Amigo Brothers” show the meaning of the word “honor?”  We read Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “An Hour with Abuelo” (591) today/tonight. 

 

Don’t forget KBAR #2 is due Friday!  We’ll also have spelling test #3.

 

Update Sept. 11—Gradebook is getting fuller!  Check Powerschool and make sure you have credit for the easy assignments we’ve had so far—course outline reviewed, book covered, culture bag sharing.  I am finishing up the first stack of essays and will enter those scores tomorrow; 15 points for an honest effort and a “-“, a check, or a “+” to let you know where the piece of writing falls when measured against the standard.  If you have a blank where a score should be on Powerschool, get that piece in to me by Friday or it will turn to a zero!  Seventh grade read “A Crush” by Cynthia Rylant today in our lit. book, page 68, and 8th read “Born Worker” by Gary Soto (84).  Be ready to discuss the story and complete a plot diagram Wednesday.  We’ll read Piri Thomas’ “Amigo Brothers” Wednesday in 7th, and “The Moustache” by Robert Cormier in 8th.  Next KBAR log is due 9/21.  We’ll take spelling test #2 this Friday, the 14th. 

 

Update Sept. 5—Each group one student in each class is to bring three to 5 items to class Thursday that reflect his or her culture, personality, and/or beliefs.  Be ready to share, and make sure all items are school-appropriate.  Group two Friday, group three Monday.  5 points.

ALSO—First KBAR log is due Friday the 7th.

 

Update:  Aug.24—DAY ONE!  Off to a great start.  I assigned a low-risk piece of writing today, one of only two pieces that will be graded on completion/effort rather than standards.  Have fun with it and let me get to know you a bit (I won’t share anything you write with others if it’s personal).  It’s due next Tuesday, 8/28 and worth 15 pts., which is relative small potatoes points-wise, but a good start for you :-)  Assignment below, and as a word doc:

 

Write a few paragraphs (4-5) on ONE of the following topics:

1)      Describe a meaningful experience and explain why it is meaningful to you.

2)       Describe a scene in which you are performing your favorite sport or hobby, then explain why it is your favorite.

3)      Write a story about a conflict you had with at least one other character (need not be human!).  What happened?  How did it end?

 

I wrote a sample in response to prompt #2 and pasted it below:

 

Living in the Rhythm

 

It’s big.  The horizon goes dark every fifteen minutes with a new set of windswept, cold, and very heavy waves.  The ocean hasn’t given us these kinds of waves since last winter; it’s fall now, a new season, and this morning it’s cold.  My 8’6” feels good slicing through the water, long and sleek, unlike the heavy longboard and skatey little fish I’ve been riding all summer.  My heart thumps against the deck whenever one of these dark sets appears.  My arms dig and I try to settle myself, calm myself down and move into position so I might catch one of these big walls instead of being pounded by it, or worse, missing it when it comes.  Adrenaline makes things click.

 

This set comes in fast.  And it’s big, bigger than anything we’ve seen today.  My buddy, Aaron, is paddling a big board, a 10’0”.  He’s out farther and deeper than any of us; he wants the biggest wave of the set.  Spray and wind blinded him on his last take-off, got up under that big board, and lifted him up and out and off the face as he tried to jump to his feet.  Disconnected, he plummeted down, board spinning up and away from him, into the thick lip of the wave that heaved over him as he fell.  He skipped when he finally hit the face, cartwheeling and tumbling, the long leash attached to his ankle tangling in his limbs.  Now he paddles for another big wave, bigger than the last and windswept and hairy.

 

This dark wall steamrolls toward me.  It’s moving fast and rearing up, the spray issuing from a thick lip and swirling in the heavy offshore winds.  The morning sun paints rainbows in it.  Aaron’s 10’0” glides down the face, his feet firm to the deck in his wide stance.  His hands are low and he’s flying down this mountain, eyes ahead, brow and jaw set.  He’s making this one.  The wave pitches out and over him as he lays into his bottom turn.  His body crouched and his toes digging into the wax on his rail, he sets his edge and that big board projects him forward and up, placing him in the gaping pocket under a thick, heaving lip.  I hoot from the shoulder, but I doubt he hears me.  I’m looking into the maw as Aaron straightens up, stalls the board slightly, and waits for the lip to throw out over him.  Fingertips of his right hand trace a curving line in the wall he’s riding.  The huge sheet of water, that open rolling barrel all around him, thunders and crashes.  A huge smile across Aaron’s face sticks in my mind as the wave slips under me and I descend over the back.  The warm feeling fades quickly, however, as the next dark wall sweeps toward me and I resume paddling, judging, preparing.

 

If there is another activity that involves a person so deeply, so intensely, in nature, I don’t know it.  The feeling, the heightened awareness of the ocean’s power and the communion I feel when my own energy synchs up with the rhythms of that power, make surfing the ultimate pursuit.  Even a good wipe out, when judgment falters or my energy does not synch up with the wave’s, can reward me with insight and exhilaration—and humility, an attitude adjustment.  Just paddling out and feeling the waves and the water can be life affirming.  When this communion is shared with others, when a friend, or one of my three sons is in synch and expressing his or her joy and imagination with the rhythms of the ocean, it is a double communion, a magic time.  I am so lucky to have been raised in the ocean.  I am so lucky to live in it still.

 

Course outline for English 7 Accel.     PARENTS: Please email me, send a short note with your student, or write a note in his or her planner indicating that you read the course outline and reviewed it with your student.  Your acknowledgment of the course outline info is worth ten points to your student-- due Friday, Aug. 31.

Course outline for English 8     PARENTS: Please email me, send a short note with your student, or write a note in his or her planner indicating that you read the course outline and reviewed it with your student.  Your acknowledgment of the course outline info is worth ten points to your student-- due Friday, Aug. 31.

The Short Story Connection Essay.  50 pts.

Spelling lists and vocabulary exercises

KBAR log

Essay Structure and Procedures handout-- the handout that will change your life!

Formatting Model

Short Story Connection Essay

Persuasive Speech Gradesheet

Research Presentation Gradesheet

Research assignment sheet (with step-by-step-instructions)

MLA works cited guidelines

Research paper checklist

Research Reflection prompts

Greek roots

History of English study guide  --Test 11/2/11

Neoclassical thought vs. Romantic thought and dates (for use with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)

Walk Two Moons essay exam prompts

Final portfolio reflection assignment

Lots of good help with writing here (note the paramedic method handouts)--  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/sitemap/
Go to "Academic Writing" > "Strong Thesis Statements"  for help with persuasive speech
Also helpful:  "Academic Writing" > "Essay Writing" > "Argumentative Essays"

The next KBAR log is due 9/7/12.  A new log will be due every two weeks after this date.  I do not accept late KBAR reading logs.  Extra logs are kept in the room by the door, but please be responsible for using the one I give on each due date (SAVE PAPER, TREES, TIME, ENERGY).  You may also print a log using the link KBAR log.

Your grade-- I use Powerschool now, so the Laguna site shows what's in the computer.  I update the computer "book" every two to three weeks.  Track your performance by considering your returned work-- how students did it for hundreds of years before web sites!  Check Powerschool every so often to see if your record of your performances matches mine.  Better yet, don't pay much attention to your grade; focus instead on the learning and go after the assignments with enthusiasm.  I guarantee your grade will be in the top ranks if you do.  Email me with specific questions or concerns.

What can you do to raise your grade?
1.  Keep up during class time; take advantage of every minute because ideas written about and discussed in class are the same ones I'm looking for in essays and exams. TAKE NOTES.  Writing information and ideas forces you to test your understanding; if you can't write it, you have a signal showing when and where to ask the teacher and/or classmates to clarify the material. Be honest in your effort to understand, then feel free to slow me down in complicated discussions where needed. Enter the room ready to absorb as much as possible. Note-taking is one important tool that helps you do this. Careful homework, obviously, helps, too.

2.  Improve the work.  Look over your mini essays and add detail to your responses; extract key quotes from the literature that might strengthen your essays.  Digging through the mini essay prompts, your responses, and the literature will improve your familiarity with the key concepts I'll be looking for in essays and exams.

3.   Make up the work.  Check the postings and turn in any outstanding work.  All assignments EXCEPT KBARs are eligible for half credit up to the final week of each semester.

*Please don't ask me for extra credit.  It is available throughout the year, but will not serve to bail you out.  Some assignments early in the first semester will be 100% "extra credit."  They will be announced as such.  If you are interested in extra credit, take advantage of these opportunities as they crop up.  They are not offered later.  Exceed my expectations on ANY assignment at ANY point in the year, and you will receive extra credit-- read the prompts carefully and GO BIG! (But remember, quantity does not translate to quality; in fact, it often hurts).

Diversions/fun:

academic papers

pics

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