8 th grade Bellringers

1. 8th grade Bellringers Mrs. Goble 2013-2014

2. Warm-up #1: • Understanding an Expository Prompt: The cost of gasoline has risen drastically. Think of alternatives to paying such outrageous prices for fuel. Write to explain what alternatives you would use to save money.

3. Warm-up #2: • Understanding a Persuasive Prompt A school board is considering keeping school in session all year. Instead of a long summer vacation, there will be many shorter breaks throughout the year. Think about the effects of a twelve-month school year. Do you agree or disagree that schools should be in session all year? Now, write an essay in which you persuade the reader why this is or is not a good idea. Defend your position with specific reasons supported by several detailed examples.

4. Warm-up #3: Effective Leads/Hooks Prompt: Many high school students hold part-time jobs after school. Think about the effects part-time jobs have on students. Do part-time jobs hinder or help a student’s educational goals? Now write to convince your guidance counselor to accept your view of high school students holding part-time jobs. Directions: • Circle the word that tells whether it’s an expository or persuasive prompt. Underline the topic you are to write about. • Write an effective lead/hook. **No questions

5. Warm-up #4: The principal at your school has been asked to discuss with a parent group the effect of watching television on students’ grades. Think about how watching television can hurt students’ grades. Write to convince your principal to accept the view that watching television hurts students’ grades. Directions: • Circle the word that tells whether it’s an expository or persuasive prompt. Underline the topic you are to write about. • Write an effective lead/hook. **No questions

6. Warm-up #5: Prompt: Technology has become vital in our modern society. It acts as both a source for knowledge and for enjoyment. Think about technology’s role and connection with education. Does it help or hinder? Write to convince the school board to accept your view of technology and its role in your school. Directions: • Circle the word that tells whether it’s an expository or persuasive prompt. Underline the topic you are to write about. • Write 2 sentences of background information(extra info. not related to thesis)

7. Warm-up #6: Everyone has jobs or chores. These may be things people do because they are asked to do them or because doing the job makes them feel good about themselves. Think about one of your jobs. Now write to explain why it is important to have jobs or chores. Directions: • Circle the word that tells whether it’s an expository or persuasive prompt. Underline the topic you are to write about. • Write 2 sentences of background information (extra info. not related to thesis)

8. Warm-up #7: Prompt: Your school has decided to grant your grade level one privilege that the other grades in your school do not have. Think of one privilege that your class does not have that you would now like to have. Now write to convince the administrators of your school to grant this privilege to your class for the rest of the year. Directions: • Circle the word that tells whether it’s an expository or persuasive prompt. Underline the topic you are to write about. What are your (3) reasons supporting? • Write a thesis statement [(1)sentence responding to the prompt containing (3) reasons]

9. Warm-up #8: Writing Situation: Throughout history many important things have been made or invented. Directions for Writing: Before you begin to write, think about an invention that has been important to people. Now, write an essay to explain why this one invention has been important. Directions: • Circle the word that tells whether it’s an expository or persuasive prompt. Underline the topic you are to write about. What are your (3) reasons supporting? • Write a thesis statement [(1)sentence responding to the prompt containing (3) reasons]

10. Warm-up #9: Prompt: Your school board members have been asked to consider banning music playing devices (i.e. MP3 players, CD players) from schools due to distractions they cause in classrooms. Think about the effects of listening to music playing devices in the classroom have on you and your friends. Now write to convince your school board members to accept your point of view on whether music playing devices should be banned from schools. Directions: • Circle the word that tells whether it’s an expository or persuasive prompt. Underline the topic you are to write about. What are your (3) reasons supporting? • Write an introduction paragraph (following the format taught)

11. Warm-up 10: Adding Imagery ( Change bland “telling” sentences into “showing” sentences full of specific and enlightening details) • Telling example: My room is a mess. • Showing example: On patches of my room’s wooden floor, tiny black ants feasted on chocolate cookie crumbs and stray pieces of buttered popcorn. A deck of cards and parts of the Monopoly game teeter-tottered atop mounds of shorts, t-shirts, jeans, sneakers, and stiff, dirty socks. Directions: change the following sentences into “showing” sentences. • The party was great. • Her room was a mess. • The drive in the car was uncomfortable.

12. Warm-up #11: Fixing Grammar – Punctuation, Capitalization, and Spelling Insert the necessary punctuation marks and capitalize words where necessary. Some misspellings may also have to be corrected. Paragraph with Grammatical Errors: the continuing care retirement community CCRC has become one alternative to the impending increase in our elderly population according to estella espinoza professor of gerontology at the university of connecticut. nursing homes are no longer the answer to this social need she said their simply to costly for todays senior-citizens she added. CCRC's normally require a tremendous down payment to buy into a living unit then they require a considerable monthly "maintenance fee." this large initial investment together with the continuing high price of socalled maintenance means that many americans will be excluded from the CCRC of their choice. "its a shame that getting old has to be so expensive" said espinoza there are three things involved here affordability convenience and human dignity

13. Warm-up #12: • Use context clues to determine the meaning of the word and then write your own sentence using that word 1. There was a myriad of M&M’s sprawled out on the table waiting to be eaten. 2. Even after the teacher parsed the lesson, students still had difficulty understanding the material.

14. Warm-up #13: • Effective Transitions- determine in which paragraph and for what purpose is each transition used • Equally important • Furthermore • In addition to • Moreover • Likewise • However • Although • Nevertheless • On the contrary • Be that as it may • Nonetheless • In brief • Finally • In short • In conclusion • All in all • Consequently • Hence • As a result of • Similarly • Accordingly • Therefore • Initially • To begin

15. Warm-up #14: • Point Evidence Explain 1 Directions: create one(1) point and one (1) correlating evidence and explanation for that point Prompt: In recent years, many areas in the United States have experienced natural disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Think about ways young people should respond to help people in other communities that have experienced natural disasters. Write to explain ways young people may respond to help people in other communities affected by natural disasters.

16. Warm-up #15: • Sentence Variety- combine the following simple sentences • John was tired. John was proud of his performance. • Some people prefer fast-food hamburgers. I like to eat hamburgers. I prefer them cooked at home on the barbeque. • Marina has been traveling. Her travels started at the beginning of the week. • The house sold for over a million dollars. The small, white cottage sat on a hill.

17. Warm-up #16: • Directions: create one(1) point and one (1) correlating evidence and explanation for that point • Prompt: Each year, many teenagers are killed or injured by driving under the influence of alcohol or by riding in a car driven by an alcohol-impaired teen. Think about how these alcohol-related deaths or injuries can be reduced. Write to explain solutions to help stop other teens from risking their lives by driving under the influence of alcohol.

18. Warm-up #17: • Directions: create one paragraph that includes (1) point and one (1) correlating evidence and explanation for that point and a closing sentence Prompt: Students are legally allowed to drop out of school after they reach the age of 16. The state is currently considering a bill which will raise this age to 18. Think about the problems or benefits of raising this age to 18. Now write to convince your legislators to accept your viewpoint on the mandatory age for dropping out of school.

19. Warm-up 18: Effective Closing Sentences • Prompt: Teenagers are often influenced by celebrities. Think about a celebrity who positively affects teens. Write to explain how a celebrity can serve as a positive role model to teens.

20. Warm-up #19: • Directions: create a body paragraph using transition, point, evidence, explain, and closing sentence. *Be sure to use sentence variety • Prompt: Celebrities normally get paid many times the amount that fire-fighters, teachers and policemen earn. Think about whether you believe that celebrity salaries should be lowered. Now write an essay to convince the public that your point of view is justified.

21. Warm-up #20: Adding Imagery Directions: change bland “telling” sentences into “showing” sentences full of specific and enlightening details • The store owner was mean. • The lunch was awful. • She is athletic.

22. Warm-up #21: • Directions: Find all sentence fragments and fix Although women's college basketball in Connecticut is a marvelously entertaining and popular sport. It not hard to remember. When it was not so popular. Which is hard to believe. Only a few years ago, my friends and I to go to a women's basketball game. And we could get seats for free near center court. Especially on Sunday afternoons. Of course, that before names such as Rebecca Lobo, JennRizzotti, and Kara Wolters became household words. Lobo's book, HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE, which she wrote with her mother. A best-seller in Connecticut. If more than a couple of hundred fans showed up for a game. It was considered a big turnout. And games were played in practically silent gyms. Because the fans didn't care who won. Nowadays, it almost impossible to buy tickets to a women's game, and you can't get seats. Unless you know someone.

23. Warm-up 22: Directions: use context clues to determine the meaning of the word and then write a sentence using that word • After waiting in queue to enter the Harry Potter ride at Islands of Adventure, we were denied access due to it being over capacity. • The ravenous pregnant woman could concentrate on nothing but food.

24. Warm-up 23: Restated Thesis in Conclusion • Create a thesis statement • Then create a restated thesis (address points in two sentences) Prompt: Obesity is becoming a national health issue. Think of reasons why Americans are gaining weight and becoming obese. Write to explain reasons why Americans are fighting the weight battle.

25. Warm-up #24: Directions: read the following prompts and write a thesis statement. • We all have a special person we like. Think about a person that you like. Now write to explain why you like that person. • You have just found what you believe to be a wonderful pet. Before you begin writing, think about why this would be a wonderful pet to you and think about what you will say to your parents about your pet. Now write to persuade your parents on why you should be allowed to get this wonderful pet.

26. Warm-up #25: Directions: brainstorm ideas for the following prompt then write a thesis statement. The principal of your school does not agree with having students work in groups to do all their school work. Think about the reasons why students should work in groups to do all their school work. Now write to convince your principal whether students should work in groups to do all their school work.

27. Warm-up #26: • Directions: brainstorm ideas for the following prompt then write a thesis statement. Most teenagers have chores. Think about why it is important for teenagers to have chores. Now write to explain why it is important for teenagers to have chores.

28. Warm-up #27: • Directions: brainstorm ideas for the following prompt then write a thesis statement. The principal of your school does not think that having candy and soda machines in school is a good idea. Think about the reasons why having a candy machine in school is a good idea. Now write to convince your principal whether having candy and soda machines in school is a good idea.

29. Warm-up #28: • Directions: Find errors in parallelism and fix • In the restroom, Tishena was brushing her hair, freshened her lip-gloss, and took deep breaths, trying to work up the courage to walk to her first speech class. • Chelsea had to paddle past a school of jellyfish, kicked a small sand shark in the nose, and untangling seaweed from her surfboard before she reached her favorite point break. • Spiders that bite, hissing snakes, and squealing rodents fill the aquariums in Desmond’s basement.

30. Warm-up #29: • Directions: use context clues to determine the meaning of the word and then write your own sentence using that word • Havocensued once the protesters discovered that they would be arrested. • Although the truth hurt, especially since it was coming from my own sister, I appreciated her candor.