If you have questions, please email me at [email protected]
Welcome to my blog site for my 8th grade language arts class at OJHS! Please check monthly for updates on what we are doing in the classroom as well as pictures of students and their work.
If you have questions, please email me at [email protected]
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Vince Luca is pretty much like any teenage boy. He has a best friend who lives vicariously through him, dating, participating in school sports, and driving a car. However, that's about where his normal life stops. You see, Vince's family has a secret which continues to invade the normal life that Vince craves. His father is the mob boss of a very large mafia family with hopes of Vince soon joining in the business. But Vince has other plans which soon involves a girl and just not any girl. Her father just happens to be the FBI agent that is trying to take down Vince's father. Son of the Mob is an exciting novel that we will be reading for the rest of the quarter. Before we began reading from the novel, students were introduced to a brief history of the Mafia. After learning about the mafia, students were asked to form groups to create their own mafia family and to write a manual for new initiates. They had to choose a crime, a front, new terms for the leader names, 10 target language terms, hits, and a structure of command. Each group had to explain each function and write it out for their mafia manuals. Each manual included pictures and all the information was held within a book cover. Here are a few videos the students viewed during our mafia history discussions. During the month of January, we discussed not only the structure of poetry, but different types of poems: narrative (ballads and epics), lyrical (sonnets, elegies, and odes), concrete, haiku, limerick, and free verse poems. Here is a reading by Johnny Cash of the ballad "The Cremation of Sam McGee" that we read and studied in class. Another ballad that we read and discussed was "Casey at the Bat". Here is the reading of the poem by James Earl Jones that we enjoyed. We also watched Disney's cartoon version of the poem. Next students will spend the next week working on their poetry projects so stay tuned for pictures and updates.
For the past two weeks, students worked in groups of four on this mystery project. The collage consists of a team created mystery essay, pictures of the suspects, pictures (or actual item) of the clues, short bios on each suspect, and any other important pictures or information for their mystery. The project was broken up so that each student was responsible for a portion of the plot as well as the other parts of collage. I distributed a 5'x3' sheet of paper for them to display their information. For bonus points, students were also allowed to bring in any food item or props to share with the with the class that was associated with their mystery. Overall, the project was a success and the students created some wonderful mysteries. During our first quarter, we focused on the use of flashback, foreshadowing and mood in literature. Not only did we look at examples in our recent reading selections, but we also looked at how film directors use these methods in cinematography. Looking at how these methods are used in familiar movies, helps students make connections which leads to further understanding. Below is the use of flashback in the popular movie, Ratatouille. Below is the use of foreshadowing in the popular movie, Jaws. Now, I stopped this clip before the child was attacked. That always results in students loudly protesting and wanting to view more! Below is the use of a positive mood in the Disney classic, Mary Poppins. We only watched the first few minutes of this original movie trailer. Below is the use of negative mood in the Disney classic, Mary Poppins. This recreated movie trailer is an example of how music, lighting, and scene selections can be changed and edited to make what originally viewed as positive to negative. The students always enjoy watching this movie clip. Week 1: The first week went by quickly as we went over classroom expectations, procedures and supplies needed. We also wrote book reviews and shared our recommendations. Week 2: We began the week discussing the "tone" for the school year. This year we are focusing our tone around the book, Wonder by R. J. Palacio. I plan to read from the book or choose students to read at least a few times a week until the book is completed. Once it is complete, students will be able to take an AR test and earn points. Below is a link to a site that will give you an overview of the book. http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/productreviews/fr/Wonder-book-review.htm Along with our discussion of tone and the book, Wonder, we began a short narrative unit focused around the hit song, Titanium by David Guetta featuring Sia. The tone of this song greatly resembles the tone author Palacio has for his book, Wonder. Click on the link to the YouTube website to view the video for this wonderful song. Not only is the song powerful, but so is the video. I told the students to imagine that they are at the Danville Village Mall AMC movie cinema when they stumble into the wrong theater. It's obvious the movie has been playing for a while and is about a weird but special boy. They get to watch for a few minutes until an usher quickly pulls them out and directs them to their right theater leaving them wondering what happens to the boy. This is exactly how you feel when you watch the video. After watching, we spent time inferring on what the video is about which led to great discussions. Next they were assigned to create a short storyboard telling what happened to the boy the rest of that evening. Did he escape? Did someone help him? Was he captured? Stay tuned for pictures of their creations. Welcome to my blog site for my 8th grade language arts class at OJHS! Please check monthly for updates on what we are doing in the classroom as well as pictures of students and their work.
If you have questions, please email me at [email protected] During the month of January, we discussed not only the structure of poetry, but different types of poems: narrative (ballads and epics), lyrical (sonnets, elegies, and odes), concrete, haiku, limerick, and free verse poems. Here is a reading by Johnny Cash of the ballad "The Cremation of Sam McGee" that we read and studied in class. Another ballad that we read and discussed was "Casey at the Bat". Here is the reading of the poem by James Earl Jones that we enjoyed. We also watched Disney's cartoon version of the poem. Next students will spend the next week working on their poetry projects so stay tuned for pictures and updates.
After studying the elements of a mystery and brushing up on our writing dialogue skills, students worked in groups of 4 on a mystery project. Together they had to create a mystery to be solved along with the victim, include 4 clues and suspects, choose the setting and create the main character/detective. Each group member was responsible for writing a specific part to the essay: introduction, interrogation of a suspect (dialogue included), climax, falling action with resolution and bios on each suspect.
Enjoy pictures of the students through out the project including the presentations. |
AuthorThis is my 6th year teaching Language Arts at OJHS. Before coming here, I taught Language Arts for 6 years at Rossville-Alvin Junior High School. Archives
August 2017
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