Thursday and Friday - March 31st and April 1, 2016

The writing STAAR test over,  BUT we still have work to be done. As we prepare for our Reading STAAR test BUT most importantly life in general, we need to review some concepts.

Today's Focus will be POETRY IN MOTION!!

     The link below will take you to our Poetry in Motion webquest document.  It is divided into types of poetry, figurative language, sound devices, types of rhyme and finally dissecting or reading a poem.

     You are to follow the links in the order on the sheet.  READ and COMPLETE all activities.  You will create ONE LONG GOOGLE DOCUMENT and title it POETRY.  You will need to share it with me TODAY only. I need to see how much you actually are getting done. There are activities listed at the end of each type and some are labeled activities actually on the webquest page. Make sure you DO ALL activities.

We are getting ready for our reading test and life.....make this activity count. There has always been poetry on the STAAR test.  It is time to review and understand it.  Work with a purpose.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B68a4O8UC5glbkh3OUpzM3BxMXc/view?usp=sharing

Thursday - March 24th- The desk are turned. Leave them

 

Today's DOLs - There are two of them below in purple. 

Write on the note card on the desk. Three mistakes are OBVIOUS. 

 

Baseball

On a coool spring day in April off the year 1910, William Howard Taft become the first US president to start the baseball season by throwing our the first pitch. He had come to League Park in Washington, D.C. to sea the Senators play the A’s. His tradition has carried on every sinse. What other base ball traditions do you know about?

White House Easter Egg Roll

When Congress put and end to the rolling of Easter eggs on the lawn of the capitol in 1878, president Rutherford B Hayes invited children to role there eggs on the White House lawn. Hayes and his wife, Lucy, started a tradition that continue to day. Famous entertainers and performers attend the White House Easter Egg Roll each year At the end of the event, each child recieves a special wooden egg as a souvenir. 

Thursday....we have a three day weekend.  Enjoy the time with family and friends. However, school does go on and we are still preparing not just for STAAR but for life....We Got This!

Everyone should have their test in AWARE by now. If you don't, make sure you get it done.  If you were absent then this message is for you. If you have completed that task, then  here are some links I want to you to work through. These are the only sites you should be on at this time!

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/adventure/grammar1.htm

In the left side column, work through the grammar activities. Pick level 2.

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/97.html

http://mrnussbaum.com/xsurgeons/

There are several games on this site that will build your revising and editing skills. You may work through any of them on 6th grade plus level!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/english

This site has many games. You may work through any of them on your level that are ELAR related. 

AGAIN, I REPEAT...you are to only be on ELAR practice sites. We take our STAAR writing test on Tuesday. Now is crunch time to remember the basics of revising and editing!

A Last Look....but a Continued Journey

    Wednesday -Friday ...February 24-26, 2016

   As Black History month ends this week, it is always important to understand the past and not want it to be repeated. There is no way to do that than to enrich your lives with knowledge and a purpose.

     We read, study, and learn about people, places and things so we can write about them and effectively communicate our thoughts on them. The MORE we know, the MORE we can write about it.  As a writer, your #1 job in the expository task is to explain something to the reader that many may not know or have thought about in a particular way. 

      For the next few days, you are going to research similarities and differences between two significant historical figures: Fredrick Douglas and Harriet Tubman.  You will need to create notes on a created T-Chart  (sample below) in Google Docs.  You will share the T-Chart with me and title it T-Chart. 

T Chart Sample - Page 1 of the document

You will create your own T-Chart in Google Docs any way you are comfortable with. It needs to be shared with me. 

	Fredrick  Douglas	Harriet Tubman
Vital Statistics	Born                Died	Born              Died
Am I a slave? Where?
Do I know how to read?	Yes or No	Yes or No
How did I learn to read?
Can I write?	Yes or No	Yes or No
How did learn to write?
Did I escape to freedom?
When did I become free?
Where did I live as a free person?
How did I try to help slaves? Be detailed and specific.  It needs to be more than one response.

Page 2 of the document: Slavery Notes

First, I need you to understand how slavery became a part of US history. Take those on a separate page after the T-Chart.

Origins of Slavery in US – History Channel (3:01)

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harriet-tubman/videos/origins-of-slavery

Now, I want you to learn more about two of the most influential people in the Civil Rights Movement: Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman.  Use your graphic organizer (T Chart)  to keep track of your learning.

Frederick Douglass Animation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtKY4bLUxC0&list=PLjnL2NSDUI6bxhLT7Dajl--XkzqUTC8EK

Frederick Douglass Biography for Kids

http://www.ducksters.com/history/civil_rights/frederick_douglass.php

Frederick Douglass Biography

http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324

Frederick Douglass: From Slavery to Freedom

http://www.frederick-douglass-heritage.org/from-slavery-to-freedom/

Frederick Douglass life after escape

http://www.nps.gov/frdo/learn/historyculture/people.htm

Frederick Douglass Pathway to Freedom

http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324/videos/frederick-douglass-path-to-freedom-2080055171

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harriet Tubman Animated Hero Classics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrxYQZzGIlQ

Harriet Tubman Intro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYWRoB6Ucrc

What You Never Knew About Harriet Tubman – Smithsonian Channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ85z9vggYM

Harriet Tubman Bio

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1535.html

Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/tubman/aa_tubman_youth_1.html

Harriet Tubman Bio video

http://www.biography.com/people/harriet-tubman-9511430

Harriet Tubman History Channel

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harriet-tubman

Activities

1. You have to read and write for this activity
2. Create your T-Chart 
3. Take detailed notes on the chart by viewing the websites above and share it with me. 
4. Create another visual comparison of the two individuals through Google Presentation or Prezi.  You must be able to share it with me.  You will need to add additional information than what you wrote on the T-Chart
5. Final Activity ..... another essay. We can't get better unless we practice.  Pick either expository prompt below and write an essay in Google Docs.  Since you have just researched two important people as well as the presidential candidates, you can use them as your real world examples in the essay, but you don't have to. However, their formation is fresh on your mind. 

Prompt #1

Write an essay explaining the importance of hard work. 

Prompt #2

Write an essay explaining the importance of facing your fears. 

Learning About the Candidates

This year’s presidential election is one of the most important in American history. The race is so close between many of the candidates of BOTH parties, that winning the election may literally come down to just a few votes.

Before a person can officially be elected president, they must be given the nomination of their party. This way, there is only one Republican and one Democrat running against each other.

This week, people in Texas will have the chance to vote on who they think these two people should be.

You guys are going to help me make up my mind about who to vote for. This decision is very important, so I need you to work carefully through this process.

First, you need to know how the Republican and Democratic parties are different. Each side is fighting for something different.

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Democrat_vs_Republican

Now, you are going to create a  PRESENTATION IN GOOGLE SLIDES with 12 slides.

You need a slide for: 

Slide #1 Your Name and Class period

Slide #2 Rubio

Slide #3 Clinton

Slide #4 Bush

Slide #5 Trump

Slide #6 Cruz

Slide #7 Sanders

Slide #8 Carson

Slide #9 Kasich.

BUT FIRST...LET’S LOOK AT HOW A PERSON ACTUALLY BECOMES PRESIDENT.

Go to this website:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_peotNv9H8

Now go to this website. This explains this process in a different way.

http://election.scholastic.com/election-central/road-to-the-white-house/

Go to this website and learn more about each candidate.

CLICK ON EACH PICTURE FOR FACTS AND VIDEOS.

Take notes about each of these people. This information has to go on the slides. Are they Republican or Democrat? Where are they from? How long have they been in politics? Do they have a lot of experience? What do they believe is really important?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/fullpage/2016-presidential-candidates-minute-interactive-32571460

http://election.scholastic.com/

Go to the section that says “Get To Know Who Is Running For President”.

Go to this website:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31120958

Go to this website: CLICK ON EACH OF THE AUDIO FILES. I WANT YOU TO HEAR, IN EACH CANDIDATE'S OWN VOICES, WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN.

http://www.npr.org/2016/01/23/463855521/meet-the-candidates-in-100-words-and-60-seconds

Is there any additional information you can add about each candidate?

**Tell me what you think about each of these people. I need THREE positive and THREE negative things about each candidate.* This info can be added to each slide as well.

Go back to the website:

http://election.scholastic.com/home/

Look for the BIG MAP on the front. It says VIEW THE ELECTION MAP.

Click on it.

Click on Texas.

HOW MANY DELEGATES ARE NEEDED FOR A PERSON TO WIN TEXAS?

What is a delegate? Explain this somewhere on your presentation. Slide 10

NOW, WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC NOMINEES?

CANDIDATE #1 SHOULD BE…slide 11

CANDIDATE #2 SHOULD BE… slide 12

And finally, if you want to see more about what it’s like to try to run for president, try this:

https://www.icivics.org/games/win-white-house

Share the presentation with Ms. Beacham TODAY @ ybeacham@irvingisd.net


Final Activity
Write an essay explaining who you believe should become POTUS.
Paragraph 1 - Intro
Paragraph 2 - Reason #1 with evidence to support
Paragraph 3 - Reason #2 with evidence to support
Paragraph 4-  Conclusion 

Type in Google Docs and share with me.