A Christmas Carol- create a Go Animate illustrating a important literary element in the play

You have finished reading the play A Christmas Carol and worked on analyzing the different literary elements.  Today you are going to create a comic strip using Go Animate.

Go Animate--Then, choose a scene that you feel is very important to the play--it represents the turning point, shows an important character's personality, illustrates a place where Scrooge changes, or  includes part of the theme or the message of the play. 

1.  Create a brief storyboard of this scene, being sure to write the dialogue.
2.  Then go to Go Animate and create this scene there.

Click here to go to Go Animate--Again, you can create an account with Go Animate.  Be sure to write down your account information!.  When you finish your cartoon, embed it in your blog as a new post

Class code:  0wloAkUAm9rjRrlNrLVpT6g

 Click here to view my Go Animate

"The Most Dangerous Game" Survey

Learning about Charles Dickens

Click here to watch a biography on Charles Dickens.  There is an interactive element to the video as well as games to learn more about Dickens. 

"The Lottery" Survey

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"

Before we read Poe's famous poem, "The Raven," watch The Simpson's version in their House of Horrors series.


Click here to read "The Raven" 

Click the image below to read "The Raven"online.  Use the interactive tool to enhance your understanding of the poem.

"The Monsters are Due on Maple Street"

 7th graders-- Today we begin a new play, The Monsters are Due on Maple Street. This is a screenplay, a play that was written for television. It was written as an episode for a show called The Twilight Zone. Ask your parents about it--many of them will remember watching it. We will watch a clip today of the opening scene of every Twilight Zone show. Rod Sterling, the writer and narrator of The Twilight Zone began every show the same way. His opening introductions are a good example of a lead that really pulls you in and makes you want to know more! Click here to watch the epilogue of The Monsters are Due on Maple Street

Reading Log

Introducing the expert of horror: Edgar Allen Poe

EDGAR ALLAN POE

 "Poe is the supreme short story writer of all time."

     ~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"What a strange, though enormously talented writer, that Edgar Poe!"
     ~Fyodor Dostoevsky

"You might call him the Leader of the Cult of the Unusual."
     ~Jules Verne

Today you are going to begin learning about the great American Short Story writer, Edgar Allan Poe. He is best known for his horror stories and his haunting poems.


You can also watch this biography from Scholastic

Use the resources below to complete the Scavenger Hunt.
Scavenger Hunt Worksheet
The Life and Times of Edgar Allan Poe has most of the answers.  DO NOT USE GOOGLE!
 
Resources
Poe Museum Student Page
Poe Museum Poe's Life
Knowing Poe
Life and Times of Edgar Allan Poe 

The Tell Tale Heart-
How well do you know the story?  Click here to take this trivia quiz to find out!

"All Summer in a Day" comparing the story and movie

You read Ray Bradbury's short story "All Summer in a Day." Now you will have the chance to watch the movie version of the same story. As you watch, compare the short story to the movie and complete the graphic organizer. Be sure to include specific examples from the movie in your chart.

Quizlet Links

Quizlet is a great study resource.  You may use sets your classmates have made by belonging to the same classroom..Join by clicking the links below.

1.  Log in to Google
2.  Click on each subject  to join the quizlet class

Social Studies

Science 6

Vocabulary 6

Vocabulary 7

Science 7

Vocabulary 8

Science 8

Ms. Casassa's Language Arts

More examples of Common Craft Videos

Not sure how to start your script? Take a look at a few more Common Craft videos to see how they are made. Remember, your script should be simple, explain the concept through a simple story, but be engaging, fun to watch and thorough. Have fun!

Social Networking in Plain English

 Click here to watch Social media in Plain English 

Libraries in the Internet Age 

Click here to watch Electing a president in Plain English
Click here to watch The Federal Reserve in Plain English (it is long!)

Creating Common Craft-like videos on the Economy

Common Craft videos are made using simple paper cutouts and dialogue that focuses on explaining concepts "in plain English." Pioneered by Lee and Sachi LeFever, this style of video utilizes a white background and will have all elements planned out to make a complex subject simple. Another key to the video style is that it is short, usually around two to four minutes (definition from edutopia).
 For the first tech project of the year, you are going to create Common Craft-like videos to explain the new concepts and ideas you are learning about The Economy in Social Studies class.  Before you begin, however, you need to understand what a Common Craft video is like.  Watch the examples below.
 







Please, no Zombies in your videos!  So...where to begin?
1.  Decide on an idea--get it approved by a teacher!
2.  Create a script--keep it simple and clear!
3.  Create visuals--Keep them simple and eye catchingly BOLD! This is not the assignment for fancy details.  -click here to access the cut-outs from the Common Craft site
4.  Practice!  You want to be able to narrate your script smoothly without mistakes.  You also need to know when to change your props!  The actual video taping should not take more than 10 minutes!
5.  Film your Common Craft-like video
6.  Show the class---and the world. Help people understand how and why the econmoy works!
7.  Have fun!
 More resources:
Making Common Craft Style videos:  Here's a How-to that gives some good tips for making these videos.  You don't have to read everything.  Just take a look at the diagrams.

Welcome to Barnard School Open House

Scope Magazine: "Why are Your Clothes So Cheap?"

 

This narrative nonfiction article reveals the shocking truth about the lives of those who make our clothing and provides important information about the global garment industry and child labor. 

Click here to read this article.  

Log-in: barnardla68

Click here to watch the video about the article
Essential Questions
1.  What does it mean to be a global citizen?
2.  How can individuals affect huge companies?
3.  What is the power of working together?

Student Resources
Vocabulary from story 
Close Reading Questions (we will discuss as class--no need to write out)
Nonfiction Elements worksheet  
Guided Letter Writing 

Collecting Quotes about Reading and Writing

In her book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott says, 

 “For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.”

"Selecting a Reader" by Ted Kooser

"Selecting a Reader" by Ted Kooser

After reading the poem, in the Response section of your R/W Notebook describe what the woman in the poem looks like.  Underline the words that support your description.

Next, underline words or phrases that you noticed as we read the poem.  Place a question mark next to any lines that you are confised by.

Why does the speaker choose this reader?  What type of reader would you choose for your writing?  Explain your answer.

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back!  It was so nice to see all the middle school students today.  Everyone found a book and spent some time reading this afternoon!  I am looking forward to a wonderful year of reading and writing with all of you.  Here's our new and improved classroom library!

Delaney Place--Eclectic excerpts every day from editor Richard Vague

Click here to read today's excerpt from Delaney's Place.

Here's today's excerpt:

gershwin, rodgers, porter, kern, and berlin -- 7/08/15

Today's selection -- from The B Side by Ben Yagoda. In the 1920s, 1930s, and beyond, the America music scene was dominated by five composers -- George Gershwin ("Someone to Watch Over Me"), Cole Porter ("I've Got You Under My Skin"), Richard Rodgers ("My Funny Valentine"), Irving Berlin ("White Christmas"), and Jerome Kern ("All the Things You Are"). The work of these five giants still pervades American music today:

Farewell Class of 2015 by Michael

The Island of the Blue Dolphins

The 6th graders just finished reading The Island of Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell.  After they created timelines of the significant events in the story.  View the timelines below.

Jeopardy Review

It's hard to believe that we are entering the final week of the school year.  This week as a review, you are going to create jeopardy questions for a Jeopardy Review Game.  First we'll brainstorm a list of all the topics we covered this year, and then write questions in the format of a jeopardy game.
Example:
Answer:  Brian used this to create fire.
Questions:  What is a hatchet?
Click here to go to the Jeopardy Lab 
The 6th grade Template is barnardla (username & password)

Click here to play the 6th Grade Jeopardy Game
Click here to play the 7th Grade Jeopardy Game

Example of a Jeopardy game--

Create a Greek God

 Trading Card

 You will be choosing a Greek god to become an expert on.  You will be creating a Trading Card about your god.  You will find information about your god at the sites listed below.

Greek Mythology Resources:                                 

Greek Mythology

Mythweb

Theoi Greek Mythology

Family Tree of the Greek Gods 

Encyclopedia Mythica 

Greek God videos 

Greek God games and actitivies 

Here's your job:

Create a Greek God Trading Card

1.  Choose a god to make a trading card.

2. Use the resources listed below to research your god.  You need to be able to answer the questions below. You may take notes  or complete the graphic organizer.  (Click here to access the graphic organizer)

·      Where do you read or see your god?  What myth?

·      Identify the following character traits:  physical and personality

·      What is your god’s most important thoughts?  Feelings?

·      What is your god’s problem or challenge in the myth?

·      What does your god want to happen by the end of the story?

·      Does your god succeed?

·      What memorable thing does your god say?

·      What is one interesting or important action made by your god?

·      How does your god get along with others?

·      Do you like your god?  Why or why not? 

·      Does your god remind you of anyone?

3.  Find image of your god.  Save image to your desktop

4.  Click here to go the Trading Card Creator and begin creating your Greek god Trading card.  Be sure to complete all the sections!

5.  Click Finish editing when you are done.  Then click Finish.  Save your Trading card so you may access it later.  If you need to edit it be sure to save as draft! 

6.  When you are done (be sure to proofread/edit), take a screen shot of your trading card to upload onto your blog.

7.  Create a new blog post.  Label it Greek God Trading Card.  Upload your image onto the post.  Publish!

8.  Print out a copy of your trading card to share with class.
9.  Click here to view Greek God Trading Card Rubric

Island of the Blue Dolphin

You have finished the Island of Blue Dolphin by Scott O'Dell.  Think about the plot structure and identify at least 10 significant events in the book.  Be sure to have an event in each section of the book:  exposition (introduction, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution (conclusion)).  Complete the graphic organizer identify each event, the significance of the event, page number, section in the plot it occurred, and an image that goes along with the event.  When you finish, create a time line of the major events in the story.

You may use the following interactive timelines:
Tiki Toki
Hstry
myHistro

Graphic Organizer for timeline

Perseus and the Gorgon

Watch the video of "Perseus and the Gorgon" below.  Click here to complete the graphic organizer comparing the three versions of the myth you have read and watched.


Watch Storyteller-Greek Myths - Perseus and the Gorgon in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Creating a Mini-Page

For your final assignment in Writing, you will take your knowledge about a subject you have studied or researched in any class this year and turn it into a newspaper, modeled after the Mini-Page.  A good topic for this assignment would be one you have already researched and know a lot about--you will not have much time to do new research.  You could even use the topic of your Fireside Chat for this project. 

Click here for the Mini Page assignment and Template

Not sure exactly what a Mini Page is.  Look at the examples below. Or visit the Mini Page archive.
Our Fragile Butterflies
Rosa Parks
Political Parties

Oral Traditions--Tall Tales and Fables

We are beginning a new unit!  We will be studying Oral Traditions and storytelling, starting with the study of American Tall Tales and Folklore.  Today you will learn about some of the New Hampshire folklore and some legendary heroes in American Folk history.  Complete the questions on the handout and enjoy learning about some bigger than life heroes!

 Quizlet-  Oral Tradition Flashcards.  Study the definitions of important terms you need to know during this unit.

Complete the worksheet on Folk Heroes (click here for a copy of the worksheet)-  Use the sites below to find the information.

American Folklore-  Use this site to find tall tales from different parts of the country
Tall Tales -the basics  A lot of good links to different tall tales
American Tall Tales-  good site with some videos to watch
Animated Tall Tales- a fun, interactive site to learn more about tall tales
Myths, Folklore and Fairy Tales- Read different myths and legends from around the world
Aesop's Fables- online collection of Aesop Fables

Here are some good resources to learn about American Folk Heroes

"Tall talk, or exaggerated storytelling, began in the 1800s as a way for Americans to come to terms with the vast and inhospitable lands they’d come to inhabit – thick, dark forests filled with bears and panthers; treeless, arid deserts and plains; towering mountains; and uncharted seacoasts.  The heroes and heroines of the tales were like the land itself – gigantic, extravagant, restless, and flamboyant.  Their exaggerated feats of courage and endurance helped the backwoodsman face the overwhelming task of developing such a land."   --American Tall Tales, by Mary Pope Osborne, 1991. 

Tall Tale Heroes  --Links to information and resources on many American Folk Heroes (see left side of page)
Fact Monster- information on Tall Tale characters

A Midsummer's Night Dream

Watch these videos for an overview of the play

8th Grade Holocaust Final Project

William Shakespeare--A Midsummer's Night Dream

Want to learn some interesting facts about Shakespeare to impress your friends and family?  Click here to watch the presentation below.

We will be reading A Midsummer's Night Dream. Click here to use the pdf version or go to the Floger website.

Folger version of A Midsummer Night's Dream
Here's another version of the play 
Read Charles and Mary Lamb's story version of the play

Here's a brief summary so you will understand what's happening:

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, residents of Athens mix with fairies from a local forest, with comic results. In the city, Theseus, Duke of Athens, is to marry Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Bottom the weaver and his friends rehearse in the woods a play they hope to stage for the wedding celebrations.

Four young Athenians are in a romantic tangle. Lysander and Demetrius love Hermia; she loves Lysander and her friend Helena loves Demetrius. Hermia’s father, Egeus, commands Hermia to marry Demetrius, and Theseus supports the father’s right. All four young Athenians end up in the woods, where Robin Goodfellow, who serves the fairy king Oberon, puts flower juice on the eyes of Lysander, and then Demetrius, unintentionally causing both to love Helena. Oberon, who is quarreling with his wife, Titania, uses the flower juice on her eyes. She falls in love with Bottom, who now, thanks to  Robin Goodfellow, wears  an ass's head.

As the lovers sleep, Robin Goodfellow restores Lysander's love for Hermia, so that now each young woman is matched with the man she loves. Oberon disenchants Titania and removes Bottom’s ass’s head. The two young couples join the royal couple in getting married, and Bottom rejoins his friends to perform the play.

Holocaust Memorial for Auschwitz-Birkenau

 Holocaust Memorial for Auschwitz-Birkenau

 The committee that created the New England Holocaust Memorial chose two quotes for each of the six main death camps.  If they had asked you to choose a quotation from Night for the tower that represents Auschwitz-Birkenau what quotation would you have selected?  Identify the quotation and explain why you chose it.  Create a slide on our class PowerPoint with the quote, an image that illustrates the quote and a brief explanation of why you chose it to represent Night.

 Click here to go to the Powerpoint

Poetry Matters--Poet Project

Click here to go to our Poet Project Presentation

Night by Elie Weisel

Watch the video of Elie Wiesel's return to Auschwitz with Oprah Winfrey

Concentration Camps during World War 2

Learning About Concentration Camps during World War 2

Create 2 slides in our Concentration Camp presentation

Your slides should include:

1.  Name of Concentration Camp

2.  Location

3.  Map of Country

4.  Images of Concentration Camp (please don't put images on slide that are excessively graphic)

5.  Date it was opened

6.  Important facts/information about Camp should tell us where the concentration camp was.

 Click here to go to the Presentation 

Camps to Choose from:

Dachau

Buchenwald

Mauthausen

Auschwitz

Chelmno

Treblinka
Bergen-Belsen
Theresienstadt

Create a Fakebook for a character in your book

Click here to go to the Fakebook creation site

Click here to view assignment

After you complete your Fakebook, post it on your blog!

Comparing Books and Movie versions of Literature

Click here to watch The Diary of Anne Frank

Click here to watch The Call of The Wild

Click here to watch The Cay

Learning About the Jewish Faith

Create your own Playlist on MentorMob!

Click here for the Learning about the Jewish Faith worksheet.

World Cultures: Learning about the Mayan Civilization

Today in World Culture Class, you are going to learn about the Ancient Maya Civilization.  (Brainpop login- tmoran1   brainpop)
Click here to view the Brain Pop video
Click here to take the quiz
Click here to make a map
Click here to complete the story online

What was the Maya Civilization?
The Maya was an ancient civilization that thrived between 250 and 900 C.E. in what is now Central America and southern Mexico. The Maya civilization was not governed by a central, powerful authority (like an emperor); instead, it was comprised of a collection of city-states who were united by trade, language, and religious beliefs. During their heyday, they produced remarkable works of art, architecture, and learning. They perfected a calendar system as well as a writing system that used hieroglyphs. Mayan civilization was destroyed by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th Century, but the descendants of the Maya still live in the same area as their ancestors.

Other resources:
Maya Tic Tac Toe 
Online coloring pages
Mayan Kids- want to learn more?  Than visit this site
Maya or Myth-How much do you know about the Mayans?
All About Maya Culture
Maya Number System
Learning about Maya Culture for Kids

Note Taking Practice

Read the article and write three notes that will help your research. Click here to go to the article.

Learning About Anne Frank

The Diary of Anne Frank:  Exploring the Secret Annex:

  Today you will begin to explore The Secret Annex and learn about its inhabitants.  Visit The Secret Annex and answer the questions on the handout.  Please take your time, explore the different sections, watch the videos and read the descriptions.  There are so many interesting things in this site to do and learn about.  Click here to download the worksheet.

 

Click here to visit The Secret Annex

Harriet Tubman: Guide to Freedom

We are going to read Harriet Tubman: Guide to Freedom a story that describes the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman's role in helping free the slaves in the south in the 1800s.  Before we read the story in our textbook, you are going to learn a little about The Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman by watching a video, completing a web quest and completing an interactive journey on The Underground Railroad yourself.

Watch Underground Railroad on PBS. See more from History Detectives.

Click here to watch a video about Harriet Tubman 

Your assignment is to complete the web quest on Harriet Tubman. Follow the directions on the sheet and learn more about Harriet Tubman. You may write your answers on the back of the paper.

Click here to go to interactive Underground Railroad site

Boom Writer

Click here to sign up for Boom Writer

The Cay--Learning about the time period and setting

Click here to begin Web Quest on The Cay

If you have trouble with the link--here's the URL address:
http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=75791
 
You will be working in pairs.  Each group will create slides on two topics from the web quest  on our class Power Point on The Cay.  Go to Google Classroom to access the class Power Point. 

The Call of the Wild

7th graders are about to travel to the Yukon and begin a great adventure with Buck.  Before we actually start reading Jack London's classic novel, The Call of the Wild, we are going to learn a little bit about the Yukon, sled dogs and what it takes to make it rich during the 1800s.

 The Call of the Wild:  Background Information

Skookum Jim Mason, Dawson Charlie and George Washington Carmack found gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory. Their discovery set off one of the greatest gold rushes in history.

All kinds of men (and women too), sold or gave up everything they had, and tried to strike it rich. A few actually did (mostly the early arrivals), some decided to profit from the gold fever of others. Some had to move back to wherever they came from, broke and broken, and many didn't make it at all. The Canadian Mounties (their organization began during this tumultuous time) tried to keep order, but there were scams and hoodlums and all kinds of unsavory characters. You had to watch your back, as well as the weather.

Jack London wrote vividly about life during that time, and the effects the harsh environment and circumstances had on the men and animals who lived through it. Now it's your turn.

(Pic from: University of Washington Libraries, text from http://leckrone321.blogspot.com/2011/05/call-of-wild-webquest.html)

Click here to begin The Call of the Wild web quest. 

If you have trouble getting onto the Web Quest, click here to get to the list of research topics and websites.

The Monsters are Due on Maple Street

 7th graders-- Today we begin a new play, The Monsters are Due on Maple Street. This is a screenplay, a play that was written for television. It was written as an episode for a show called The Twilight Zone. Ask your parents about it--many of them will remember watching it. We will watch a clip today of the opening scene of every Twilight Zone show. Rod Sterling, the writer and narrator of The Twilight Zone began every show the same way. His opening introductions are a good example of a lead that really pulls you in and makes you want to know more! Click here to watch the epilogue of The Monsters are Due on Maple Street