Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Announcements and Reminders:              Welcome to our Seventh Grade Reading Literature Class.                                                                 This is a class for students who LOVE to read.  If you don't, you will want to consider a different elective.  If you do, you will enjoy this class and do well in it.  Please bring a composition book to use for this class.  Also, remember to bring something to write with every day.         Have back-up pens or pencils in your backpack!  Back to School Pre-Game Dance this Friday! 7th and 8th Graders: bring $2 and come down to the girls’ gym right after school and dance your hearts out until 4. You can make class changes through Friday, August 25 without paying a fee.   4H Clubs begin on Monday, August 28.  The 4H leader will be here August 23rd after school and Friday, August 25 during  both lunches for students to sign up for clubs. School Pictures will be taken during math classes on Thursday and Friday, August 31 and September 1. Cavetime will begin on Tuesday, September 5.  Scholastic Book Orders:  Use our class code when you order online:  GKLJW.

Targets for Today: Read!!!! Utah State Core: Reading Literature Standard 10

Today’s  Agenda: Find your seat on the seating chart.  You'll find a copy on a desk near the front of the room, and another on a desk in the back of the room.  Bell-Ringer:  Be in your seat as soon as possible, reading a book of your choosing.  2.  Time to read and/or peruse the classroom library.  3  Receive a disclosure document.  Read through it, then start filling out the VIP form on the back.  (Remind me to give you your hall passes!)        Reminder to bring a composition book to be left in the classroom.      4.  Write your own reading history. (Use a sheet of lined binder paper -- with NO spiro-bits.)  Write this in sentences and paragraphs.      The following questions are just to jumpstart your thinking!             Did someone read to you before you could read on your own?            When and how did you learn to read?            Do you remember the first book you read?            What else do you remember reading, and how                  did those things affect you?                   picture books?                   chapter books?                   books designed to help children learn how to read?                   longer books?                   nonfiction books?            What else do you read?            Have you had any bad experiences reading?            What are some of your good experiences?            What else should go into a history of your experiences with reading?            What are your favorite books?      5.  Look at the books we could read. The Rithmatist Legend Bud, Not Buddy    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPhuqUm4V1c           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_P0sThuLEo Great Depression --- Reminds me of -- The Watsons Go to Birmingham    Holes     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0wxCje-Z8c Reminds me of --    The Storyteller’s Daughter Summary:   In a faraway kingdom, a king has been betrayed. Deeply hurt and bitterly angry, he vows never to be deceived again. Unfortunately, the king's plan to protect himself will endanger all of the realm's young women, unless one of them will volunteer to marry the king -- and surrender her life.  To everyone's relief and horror, one young woman steps forward. The daughter of a legendary storyteller, Shahrazad believes it is her destiny to accept this risk and sacrifice herself.  On the night of her wedding to the king, Shahrazad begins to weave a tale. Fascinated, the king lets her live night after night. Just when Shahrazad dares to believe that she has found a way to keep her life -- and an unexpected love -- a treacherous plot will disrupt her plan. Now she can only hope that love is strong enough to save her. Reminds me of -- Goose Girl by Shannon Hale Princess of the Silver Woods, Princess of Glass, and others by Jessica Day George S   The Graveyard Book         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_UUVwTaemk Reminds me of  The Jungle Book (watch a movie, too?)   Stargirl Reminds me of --   Chasing Vermeer This novel is a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery, disguised as an adventure, and delivered as a work of art. When a book of unexplainable occurences brings Petra and Calder together, strange things start to happen: Seemingly unrelated events connect; an eccentric old woman seeks their company; an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal, where no one is spared from suspicion. As Petra and Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth, they must draw on their powers of intuition, their problem solving skills, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they decipher a crime that has stumped even the FBI? Reminds me of -- Okay for Now    Touching Spirit Bear      After severely injuring Peter Driscal in an empty parking lot, troublemaker Cole Matthews is in major trouble. But instead of jail time, Cole is given an alternative: a one-year banishment to a remote Alaskan island. This program—called Circle Justice—is based on Native American traditions that provide healing for the criminal mind. To avoid serious jail time, Cole resolves to go. While there, Cole is mauled by a mysterious white bear and left for dead.   Reminds me of -- Deathwatch Never Say Die  Freak the Mighty    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUm_Xg8ZuPo       A Christmas Carol   Gregor the Overlander,        books 1 & 2          In  the first novel of the New York Times bestselling series by Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games, young Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building and hurtles into the dark Underland. This strange world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident. A prophecy foretells that Gregor has a role to play in the Underland's uncertain future. Gregor wants no part of it -- until he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. Gregor embarks on a dangerous adventure that will change both him and the Underland forever.    Witness   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9i-vOhJRco   Trouble Don’t Last    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-9UEchl2CE   Vietnam #1 & 2: I Pledge Allegiance and Sharpshooter      Morris, Rudi, Ivan, and Beck are best friends for life. So when one of them is drafted into the Vietnam War, the others sign up, too - each with a different branch of the US military.      Morris joins the US Navy, and he makes it his personal mission to watch over his friends from the USS Boston. But the Boston itself isn't safe from attack. And although Morris means to keep his friends safe, he may have his hands full just watching out for himself.    Walk Two Moons Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the "Indian-ness in her blood," travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a "potential lunatic," and whose mother disappeared. As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold--the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.   The Midwife’s Apprentice This novel is set in medieval England. The girl known only as Brat has no family, no home, and no future until she meets Jane the Midwife and becomes her apprentice. As she helps the sharp-tempered Jane deliver babies, Brat--who renames herself Alyce--gains knowledge, confidence, and the courage to want something from life: "A full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world." Medieval village life makes a lively backdrop for the funny, poignant story of how Alyce gets what she wants.   The Sign of the Beaver Although he faces responsibility bravely, thirteen-year-old Matt is more than a little apprehensive when his father leaves him alone to guard their new cabin in the wilderness. When a renegade white stranger steals his gun, Matt realizes he has no way to shoot game or to protect himself. When Matt meets Attean, a boy in the Beaver clan, he begins to better understand their way of life and their growing problem in adapting to the white man and the changing frontier. Reminds me of --  Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen    Island of the Blue Dolphins In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. once, Indians also lived on the island. And when they left and sailed to the east, one young girl was left behind. This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Reminds me of --  The Music of the Dolphins    The Invention of Hugo Cabret   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiXkL0bBcjs   There is a movie.    Maniac Magee?   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jroChOAKgWY A Christmas Carol Freak the Mighty    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUm_Xg8ZuPo      Trouble Don’t Last    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-9UEchl2CE  The Invention of Hugo Cabret   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiXkL0bBcjs   There is a movie. You will vote for the top three books you would choose to read. Small Book Groups --  Also be thinking of a book not on this list that you would like to read in a small group.  If everyone in the class  can get together a group of two or  three or four or five students and find enough books for each of you, we will arrange a time for small book groups.   You'll need to have your books approved by Ms. Dorsey,  but I may be able to help you find the books.

If You Were Absent: See above.  Don't forget to bring your composition book as soon as possible.

Vocabulary: