Writing an Essay- How to paraphrase (and not plagiarize)!

We have talked a lot about citing your sources and giving credit to another person's writing and thought.  Before you begin to research and take notes, let's review how to paraphrase by watching this Brain Pop video.

Click here to watch the video


Click here to take the Brain Pop quiz on paraphrasing
Print out a copy of your quiz and hand it in.

Short Story Unit Review

You have your Short Story Unit Test on Tuesday.  Use the quizlet flashcard and review games to learn the Elements of Short Stories.
Click here to go to the quizlet set

Short Story Unit Review

1.  Elements of Short Stories-

Review list and be able to identify elements

2.  Reread the Short Stories- Click title to go to a copy of the story

“Monkey’s Paw”

“The Raven”
interactive version of "The Raven"

“The Tell Tale Heart”

“The Lottery”

“The Most Dangerous Game”

3.  Use Graphic Organizers to study-
Be able to identify main characters

Literary devices/elements

Plot structure

Authors
Review notes and annotations on stories

"The Most Dangerous Game" Pre-reading survey

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson

Click here to read some Background information on Shirley Jackson

Read the New York Times article on "The Lottery"

"The Lottery" Survey

Ray Bradbury's "All Summer in a Day"

Edgar Allan Poe--"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.

Introducing the expert of horror...Edgar Allan 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
 
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!

Creating Tweets about your Reading

Find out what your friends are reading and share your books... in 140 characters or less!
This week your job is to create at least three tweets about the book(s) you are reading.

• What would someone need to know about the book? 
• How could you convince someone to read your book in only 140 characters (a character is a letter or space)?
• Create some catchy hashtags to go along with these tweets. 

Write your tweets on the Twitter Handout.  Be sure to write clearly and neatly and check for spelling.  These will be displayed on the bulletin board.

NOTE:  You are writing your tweets on PAPER and putting them on our classroom bulletin board...not creating a twitter account to post your TWEETS...

Neal Shusterman

Try to see things differently -- It's the only way to get a clearer perspective on the world and on your life. - See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Neal-Shusterman/1531698#sthash.oDgVfAYM.dpuf

"Try to see things differently.  It's the only way to get a clearer perspective on the world and on your life." ~Neal Shusterman

Try to see things differently -- It's the only way to get a clearer perspective on the world and on your life. - See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Neal-Shusterman/1531698#sthash.oDgVfAYM.dpuf

Try to see things differently -- It's the only way to get a clearer perspective on the world and on your life. - See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Neal-Shusterman/1531698#sthash.oDgVfAYM.dpuf

The 8th graders are going to hear Neal Shusterman speak about his writing and books on October 15th at Winnacunnet High School.  To prepare for the field trip, we are going to research Neal Shusterman and his books.  You can view our presentation below.

 Click here to add to our PowerPoint.

National Parks

Today you are going to learn more about our country's National Parks. 

Click here to watch some more video clips from the documentary 

Click to learn more about the Park Profiles-

   
Other Resources:
List of National Parks 
National Parks Timeline 

Your assignment:  Create a slide for our National Parks Presentation.  You will need to find at least one image and five facts about the National Park you chose. Put your information on a Google Drive document and share with Ms. Casassa.  Then use this information to create a Google Presentation as a class. Click here to go to the Google Presentation.