Day 1

1. Day 1 Bellringers & welcome!

2. Day 2 “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main” ~John Donne • Respond to this quote. What might it mean? Try to write at least 5 complete sentences and create a paragraph with your response. • Hint: Think about the idea of “community.” Is our classroom a community? Is it important?

3. Day 3 • Watch Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whTwjG4ZIJg • Write down at least 10 tips you learned from this video-- be prepared to share with the class. • Why are these skills important? • Hold on to the tips you wrote down. They will be of use to you throughout this unit!

4. Day 4 • Very soon, you will be taking the county-wide writing assessment that looks at your knowledge of how to write a persuasive paper. • Pretend you are a preparing to write an essay on why there should be more time in between classes. • Write down 5 reasons you would use to convince your reader that more time is necessary.

5. Day 5 • Please read the worksheet “Introduction to the Student” • Copies are at the front of the room

6. Day 6 • Examine a self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh, a famous artist. Think about how he expresses his voice- his style of personality. Look carefully at the details. • What is he saying about himself? How do you know? • Think about how you would paint a self-portrait. What colors would you use? What expression would you have on your face? How would you be dressed? What is the background of the painting? Make a simple sketch of your own self portrait, and write a few sentences describing what your self portrait would look like.

7. Day 7 Write down the two nouns in each sentence. Some nouns may be compound. • Each February, there is a major snowstorm. • The daisies in the garden are dying. • The children on the merry-go-round were laughing. • There are no longer any animals in that zoo. • Uncle Pete has been studying to become a pilot. • After the party there were dirty plates everywhere.

8. Day 8 • No bellringer

9. Day 9 • In your Language Network book (orange book under your desk) answer questions 1 – 10 on page 5.

10. Day 10 • Listen carefully to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. • What kind of “voice” does this music have? Pretend the music is a kind of self-portrait. Write two statements that capture the voice of this “self portrait.” • Think about tempo (how fast the music goes) and volume. • How does this music make you feel? What is the music trying to convey?

11. Day 11 • In your Language Network book (orange book under your desk) answer questions 1 – 10 on page 10, part A.

12. Day 12 • Copy down these notes: • Diction refers to the author’s choice of words. In order to write well, you have to find the perfect word. • The perfect word is clear concrete and exact. In other words, it says exactly what you want it to say, is specific, and creates just the picture you see in your mind. • Some words are especially overused and tired, certainly not perfect. These words have lost their freshness and impact. Avoid them at all times! • Consider these words “forbidden” and eliminate them from your vocabulary: good, nice, pretty, beautiful, fine, bad, thing, really, very, terrible, wonderful, a lot • Words don’t simply have meaning. Words have denotation and connotation. • Denotation is the literal meaning of the word, and connotation is the meaning suggested by a word, the feeling evoked by a word.

13. Day 13 Fill in each blank with a noun. • The _______ we saw was a _________. • We went to the _____ to see a ______. • _________ is not my favorite _______. • In three ______ the _____ will be over. • Many of the _____ were not ready for the ______. • Put your ______ on the _______. • We must remember that ______ is not a ______. • Walking through the ______, they found a ______.

14. Day 14 A redheaded woman was there with Trout. Kate could see her rummaging through the cabin, dumping drawers and knocking things from the shelves of cabinets. (Louis Sachar, Holes) • What picture do you get when you read the second sentence? • How would the meaning of the sentence change if we changed some of the words? For example: Kate could see her searching through the cabin, emptying drawers and taking things off of the shelves of cabinets. • Write a sentence describing a small boy making a mess in a restaurant. Choose words that are clear, concrete, and exact. Use “perfect” words.

15. Day 15 Write the two nouns from each group and identify them as people, places, or things. • able baby musician • rabbit really chair • Prison mountainside write • Misery rusty success • Only forest swamp • Sailor tiny explored • Hunter nurse into • Bedroom school rough • Lion kindly kite • Tame table dog

16. Day 16 • Free write for approximately 15 minutes. You can write about whatever you want. (Add it to your bellringers sheet). You can make up a story, write about what’s on your mind, or use the time to write down a concept you’ve been learning at school– basically, get in the habit of writing for a set amount of time!

17. Day 17 He spent hours in front of the mirror trying to herd his teeth into place with his thumb. He asked his mother if he could have braces, but he asked at the wrong time. (Gary Soto, “Broken Chain”) • What is Gary Soto implying about the narrator’s teeth when he uses the verb herd in the sentence? • How would the meaning change if the sentence were written like this? He spent hours in front of the mirror trying to push his teeth into place with his thumb. • Fill in the blank with a strong verb that creates a clear picture in the reader’s mind like Soto’s does. Avoid obvious verbs such as brush, comb, or fix. Be creative! She spent hours in front of the mirror trying to ___________ her hair in place for the party.

18. Day 18 Identify each of the following numbered items as a fragment (F), Run-on sentence (RO), comma splice (CS) or complete sentence (S). • The movie Double Jeopardy is about a woman who is unjustly framed for murder. • Because her husband fakes his own murder. • The wife went to jail for six years, her son was taken away from her. • But when she got out of jail. • She went to find her husband she wanted to kill him in revenge for his framing her. • She had already served time for the murder, and she couldn’t be convicted twice. • Illegal to be convicted of the same crime twice.

19. Day 19 Write a short description of a dog (at least 3 sentences). First, decide whether you want to describe a fancy, pedigreed dog or a scruffy mutt. Then capture the dog by using strong diction. Don’t explain that the dog is fancy or scruffy. Instead, use perfect words to create a picture of the dog for the reader.

20. Day 20 There was a scurrying around and then eight of them snatched up their guns, formed into twos, and marched out behind the office. He wheeled his horse about and trotted toward me. I jumped back and plunged for the tavern doorway. • Look at the boldfaced word (snatched) in the first sentence. Notice how clearly you can “see” the action because of that strong verb. How would it change the meaning of the sentence if it read… eight of them picked up their guns? • What does the use of the word plunged in the third sentence tell you about the narrator’s attitude toward the other characters in this passage? • Use the word plunged in a sentence, but instead of having the word express fear and desperation, have it express excitement and happiness. Remember that in many cases the context of the word determines its deeper meaning.

21. Day 21 Use the following instructions to write your own original sentences. • Write a sentence about sports that includes one proper noun and one common noun. • Write a sentence about animals that includes two common nouns. • Write a sentence about an interesting place that includes one proper noun and two common nouns. • Write a sentence about your school that contains one proper noun and one common noun. • Write a sentence about music that includes one common noun and two proper nouns.

22. Day 22 “n you at the ivory-n-ebony crooning “I Left My Heart. .” to momma, winkin n smiling n jazzin n profilin n sangin n sangin n sangin n soundin sweeeeeeeeeeeeeee” (Crystal Williams) • The words in this song imitate the way someone talks. Why do you think Williams uses these kinds of words instead of standard English words? • How would the impact of the passage change if we wrote the lines in formal language? “And you at the piano/ singing to momma/ winking and smiling/ and singing/ and sounding sweet.” • Now write a short poem that captures the way you sound when you talk to your friends. Use slang (no bad words!) and creative spelling to make your poem sound like talking when you read it aloud.

23. Day 23 • Imagery is a type of figurative language which uses words to paint a picture in the reader’s mind & often appeals to the 5 senses. • Directions: Copy the paragraph below and underline the words which “paint a picture” in your mind and/or appeal to the 5 senses. • “I opened one eye when my alarm clock buzzed. My room was still dark, but I could smell coffee. When the scent of sizzling bacon hit my nose, my mouth watered and my stomach rumbled. I knew Mom would cook it until it was brown and crunchy, just the way I like it. My feet met the cold, hard floor as I leaped out of bed. I threw on my fluffy, red sweatshirt and tattered jeans and headed for breakfast.”

24. Day 24 “When smoke crept over a green field. The smoke teased people’s eyes and noses. And it seeped into their clothes. Standing in the smoke were some 5,000 reenactors.” (Winkler, “Fighting for History”) • Write down all the verbs in the sentence. • Are these strong or weak verbs? How do you know? • Write your own sentence using strong verbs.

25. Day 25 • Analogies are logic puzzles. You must look at the words to determine the relationship in the first set and find the matching relationship for the second (incomplete) set. • Copy and start with these simple analogies: • Pistol : weapon :: rose : _______________ • Light: dark :: low: ___________ • Old : new :: beginning : ___________ • Find : lose :: construct : ____________ • Photographer: camera :: doctor : __________

26. Day 26 “Filch hobbled across to his desk, snatched up the envelope, and threw it into a drawer” (Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) • Which words help you visualize what is happening in this passage? • What is the mood of this passage? How are the characters feeling? How do you know? • Create a sentence of your own that helps your reader visualize what is happening. Create a mood and we will try to guess it when you read it aloud.

27. Day 27 Fill in each blank with a proper noun. After much thought, he gave the bracelet to ______. The author she likes least is ______. On _______ there were two new houses being built. We finally decided to buy a _______. Some day I would like to see _______. After a heated contest, we beat _____ by two points. Television isn’t the same without _______. The explores crossed the _______ during their first expedition.

28. Day 28 • What would you do with a million dollars if you had to spend all of it over the weekend? You can’t save any of it- you must spend it all! • Write a 7-9 sentence paragraph explaining what you would do with the money & how you would spend it.

29. Day 29 • Make a stack of your study guides on my desk. • Make a neat stack of your To Kill a Mockingbird books on my desk. • Get out several sheets of paper and clear your desk except something to write with (pencil, blue or black ink pen). • Make sure you have something to do after the test that does not involve talking (reading, puzzle, writing, etc)

30. Day 30 • Copy down these notes: • Detail is what makes writing come alive. • Detail includes facts, observations, reasons, examples, and incidents that a writer uses to develop a subject. Specific details create a clear mental picture for the reader by focusing on particular details rather than random things. • Detail helps the reader understand what you’re writing about exactly as you want him/her to. • Details helps to focus the reader’s attention on important ideas and shapes the reader’s understanding of a topic. • Detail allows the reader to participate as an equal partner in the “world” the writer has created and to follow the writer’s ideas in the way the author intends.

31. Day 31 • Think of a shopping trip to your favorite mall. Think about everything you would look at in the mall. • Now make a list of details you might focus on when writing about the trip to the mall. • Decide your focus: people, clothes, food, stores, things you might find, or specific parts of the mall. You decide. Write your focus! • Now write down your attitude or mood– are you thrilled, critical, neutral, angry, or something else? • List as many details as you can to support your attitude. • Write a paragraph about your experience at the mall using as many details as possible.

32. Day 32 “He was an old man. His blank, heavily wrinkled face was surrounded by a halo of crinkly white hair and whiskers that seemed to separate his head from the layers of dirty coats piled on his smallish frame. His pants were bagged to the knee, where they were met with rags that went down to the old shoes. The rags were held on with strings, and there was a rope around his middle.” ~Walter Dean Myers, “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” • What are all the vivid details of this passage? How do the details help you understand the focus of the passage? • Using this paragraph as a model, write a similar paragraph about an old cat. Use lots of vivid detail.

33. Day 33 “When he ran, he even loved the pain, the hurt of running, the burning in his lungs and the spasms that sometimes gripped his calves. He loved it because he know he could endure the pain, and even go beyond it. He had never pushed himself to the limit but he felt all this reserve strength inside him: more than strength actually– determination. And it sang in him as he ran, his heart pumping blood joyfully through his body.” ~Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War • What is the main idea (topic sentence) or focus of this paragraph? State it as simply as you can. How do the details in this paragraph support the main idea? • The details in the first sentence describe the physical sensation of pain. The next three sentences, however, focus on another characteristic of pain. What is this other characteristic of pain? How do the details of the last three sentences help the reader understand the other characteristic of pain? • Write a simple topic sentence about something you love to do. Then, list all of the details you can think of that would help someone else understand why you love what you do.

34. Day 34 Describe a room that is unbearably hot. In your description, use words that are clear, concrete, and exact. Use a vivid adjective to describe an object in the room. The adjective and object should help your readers understand the feeling of the room. Remember, don’t simply state that it’s hot. Instead, create a picture for the reader, capturing how the heat affects the surroundings.

35. Day 35 “She’s this old wrinkled bat with bad breath, so kids avoid her. I tried to sit downwind of her breath, but it was right after lunch and she kept burpin’ little bursts of garlic.” ~Tears of a Tiger Sketch a picture of this scene. What details are in your sketch? Why are they memorable? Write two sentences about someone you want to sit next to. Use Draper’s sentence as a model, substituting positive details for the negative ones.

36. Day 36 “And his tears could fall unwanted on his sheet, but his sobs were so gentle that they did not shake the bed, so quiet they could not be heard. But the ache was there, thick in his throat and the front of his face, hot in his chest and in his eyes. I want to go home.” ~Ender’s Game • What is this scene describing? How is the character feeling? • Can you relate to this feelings? Write down a specific story from your own life that is similar to this.

37. Day 37 • Metaphors, similes, and personification belong to a class of language called figurative language. • Figurative language is any language that is not used in a literal (meaning exactly what it says) way • We use figurative language because it’s a rich, strong, and vivid way to express meaning. • Using it allows us to say much more using fewer words • When using figures of speech, be sure you are not using cliché, stale and overused phrases (“quiet as a mouse” or “pretty as a picture” for example)

38. Day 38 • Metaphors compare two things directly; similes compare things indirectly, usually using signal words such as as, like, than, similar to, and resembles. Fill out the following practice chart:

39. Day 39 • We discussed similes and metaphors last time (please review your notes). This time, we need to know personification, which is a special kind of metaphor that gives human qualities to something that is not human, such as an animal, an object or an idea. For example, “the tree sighed sadly in the cold.” (a tree can’t sigh like a human!) • Practice writing examples of metaphors, similes, and personification for the terms listed here:

40. Day 39, continued

41. Day 40 “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice” ~MLK • Identify two examples of figurative language in the passage. Are the figures of speech metaphors or similes? How do you know the language is figurative? • What does the figurative language add to the passage? • Rewrite this passage without figurative language. How do the two compare?

42. Day 41 Solve the following analogy puzzles: 1.begin : end : : open : ___________________ 2.detective : inspector : : teacher : _____________ 3. incognito : disguised : : foolish : _____________ 4.insect : mosquito : : dog : ___________________ 5.nose : face : : elbow : ___________________ 6.intelligence : stupidity : : beautiful : ___________ 7.bird : parrot : : vermin : ___________________ 8.tires : ambulance : : knob : ___________________ 9.clue : hint : : cup : ___________________ 10. boy : girl : : day : ___________________

43. Day 42 “He gossips like my grandmother, this man with my face, and I could stand amused all afternoon in the Hon Kee Grocery, amid hanging meats he chops . . .” ~”The Cleaving” • Look at the first line. Is like my grandmother a simile? Explain. • Is this man/ with my face figurative? If so, is it a metaphor or simile? Explain. • Write a poem or several sentences in which you compare yourself to a family member or friend. You should have at least four lines and use one metaphor.

44. Day 43 “The Tangerine Times printed a special pullout section on the Lake Windsor Middle School sinkhole. The photos were spectacular. They had one huge shot of the splintered walkways sticking up in all directions, like Godzilla had just trampled through the store.” • Is the phrase the splintered walkways sticking up in all directions literal or figurative? Explain. • …like Godzilla had just trampled through there is a simile. Why is it a simile and not a metaphor? • Write one sentence that describes a park. First describe it literally (how the park really is), then support your description with the simile. Use this pattern for your sentence: The park ______________________________, like ____________________.

45. Day 44 Directions: Write the word that correctly completes each sentence 1.I would (advise / advice) you to put the chalupa down, sir. 2.The critics’ cruel reviews had a bad (affect / effect) on the play’s financial success. 3.If Y2K causes computers to shut down, we’ll need an (all together / altogether) new system. 4.It is (plain / plane) to see who is the guilty one in this classroom. 5.I don’t know (who’s / whose) handcuffs these are, but they better come up and claim them. 6.(They’re / Their / There) going to see Eminem in concert next Saturday. 7.Ever (sense / since / cents) Elvis died, my life has been empty and meaningless. 8.Will you (accept / except) my marriage proposal? 9.I can’t (bare / bear) another minute of English 9, or I’ll scream! 10. Which (one / won) is the next contestant on The Price is Right?

46. Day 45 “My mother’s hair, like little rosettes, like little candy circles all curly and pretty because she pinned it in pincurls all day, sweet to put your nose into when she is holding you, holding you and and you feel safe, is the warm smell of bread before you bake it, is the smell when she makes room for you on her side of the bed still warm with her skin, and you sleep near her, the rain outside and Papa snoring” ~The House on Mango Street • List the 4 metaphors and similes in this passage. Be sure you can explain why they are what they are. • 2Why doesn’t she simply say, My mother’s hair smelled good? • Write a paragraph describing someone’s hair that you don’t like. Use at least one simile and one metaphor.

47. Day 46 Write down the word that correctly completes each sentence: 11.My wife was (formally / formerly) known as Emily Lee—not Emily Thompson. 12.Grading papers is one of the (principal / principle) ways I spend my time. 13.(Its / It’s) not too late to start shopping for the Christmas Holidays. 14.Rufus is going to the Opelika-Auburn game (to / too / two). 15.Rufus (threw / through / thorough) his puppy into the laundry basket. 16.How many times can Auburn (loose / lose) before the season ends? 17.I can’t (quite / quiet) hear in my left ear, so you’ll have to speak up, sonny. 18. Didn’t you (hear / here) me? I’m stone-deaf in my left ear!!! 19.After vacationing in Siberia, I’ve got a cold, and my voice is (horse / hoarse). 20.The sun (shone / shown) down on the Loachapoka Syrup Sopping Festival.

48. Day 47 “The camp faced a wide cove or white sand and palm trees. The bay was so perfectly blue, it looked like it had been retouched for a tourist brochure. Across the bay stood protective mountains, shoulder to shoulder, across the Concepcion peninsula.” ~Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants • Write the examples of personification in the third sentence. • How would the sentence change if it were written like this: There were mounts across the Concepcion peninsula. • Describe a place you like to go in the summer. In your description use at least one example of personification.

49. Day 48 Directions: Mark each of the following sentences as Formal (F) or Informal (IF). If a sentence is informal, underline what marks the sentence as informal • The test was a piece of cake. • The student did very well on his English test. • You can’t see very well when it’s raining at night. • Don’t tell me that I can’t go to the game! • Idioms are a type of informal language • The dinner jacket was made out of an expensive grade of cotton. • He’s gonna kill that man if he sees him again. • When you take your driver’s test, don’t be nervous. • The quiz covers Chapters 10 through 13. • The waiter spent more time than necessary washing the dishes.

50. Day 49 Please copy down these notes: • We studied similes, metaphors, and personification. Now we will discuss more types of figurative language: hyperboles, symbols, and irony. • These figures of speech are not comparisons, however, their meaning goes beyond what is actually said • A hyperbole is an exaggeration that is based in the truth. For example, “I’m so tired, I could sleep for a week!” This is an exaggeration because no one can literally sleep for a week straight. • A symbol is something that stands for something else– they mean more than they say. For example, a rainbow is a symbol of hope. If a rainbow appeared in a story about shipwrecked children it would symbolize hope. • Lastly, irony is saying the opposite of what you mean. For example, if lunch was really terrible and you say “nice lunch,” you are really implying the opposite of what you mean. Sarcasm is also a type of irony.