Thanks to our Say Yes site coordinator, all eighth grade students will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive presentation about smoking in their ELA class on Wednesday, February 29th. In addition to learning about the health risks of smoking, students will also learn about advertisements used to target their age groups and ways to avoid such marketing.
Beginning next Monday, students will begin preparing for May's NYS ELA exam. Students will spend the week reviewing strategies for all three parts of the exam and will put those strategies into practice by completing a practice exam. Most importantly, students will utilize the rubrics for short and extended responses in order to create successful and complete answers.
Students are reminded that they can earn credit for reading seven (yes, seven) books by simply reading two related books during the third marking period.
Students need to select two books with a related theme or some other element that ties them together (written by the same author, same topic, etc.).
Students then need to complete a summary activity for each book.
Finally, students need to complete a DETAILED Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two books.
In lieu of a traditional exam on the topic of poetry, students were given a take home poetry exam yesterday. The exam covers the vocabulary related to the topic, an analysis of a poem by Langston Hughes, general questions regarding how to analyze poetry and what differentiates poetry from other writing, and the creation of an original poem. Students must turn in their exam by 2:05 PM on Friday, February 17th.
Students will have the opportunity to take their favorite song and through close analysis, prove it is poetry. Students will create a poster using the lyrics of the self-selected song and identify
At least two of the three R’s of poetry
- Write examples of RHYME in green
- Write examples of REPETITION in blue
- Write examples of RHYTHM in red
An example of ALLITERATION – underlined once
At least three examples of FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE (simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, personification, idiom) – circled and identified
At least one example of IMAGERY or SYMBOLISM – underlined twice and explained in margin
Students will also write a paragraph on the back of their poster that clearly explains the theme or message of their song. The paragraph should be five to seven sentences and free of any grammatical errors.
Students will also present his or her findings to the class in a two to three minute presentation. Students will explain the elements of poetry found in the song, its theme, and a final conclusion as to whether or not the song is actually poetry. Students can use music and/or video clips to enhance their presentation.
Project Timeline
Monday, February 13th – Introduce Project
Tuesday, February 14th and Wednesday, February 15th – In-class Work Days
Thursday, February 16th and Friday, February 17th – Presentation Days
