The first selection of he test will be a poem.
It will NOT be a Narrative Poem. This means students need to know the difference between a lyric poem and a free verse poem.
The SPEAKER of the poem is the person talking in the poem.
Figurative Language often compares two Unlike things.
The second and third selections of the test are paired passages. The first is a person's fictional diary entry. The second is non-fiction over Juneteenth.
When we see paired passages the questions are going to involve some comparing and contrasting.
For this section students should review: SUMMARY (which kicked their tail ends on the last test), MAIN IDEA, FIGURATIVE LANGAUGE, CONCLUSIONS, COMPARE and CONTRAST, and THEME!
There will be TWO questions on this test over THEME so reviewing it would be a good idea!
The fourth selection is non-fiction in the form of an Internet webpage. Students should know when you click on the tabs at the top of a web page it takes you to information about that topic.
Students should review the way non-fiction can be organized by headings. Students should review text features and how they can help them understand a text.
Students need to understand dictionary entries.
The final selection of the test is a Drama.
Students needs to be familiar with the elements of drama.
The drama includes standard fiction questions about characters, setting, and plot. There is also a LONG summary question so please encourage students to read carefully, take their time, and search for a beginning, middle, and end as well as a problem and solution.
Students will also have a difficult question regarding the DENOUEMENT, or FALLING ACTION of the play. This occurs after the problem has been solved and right before the end of the story.
Students should pay close attention to vocabulary and using context clues.
Make sure they sleep well and eat breakfast in the morning!
Hopefully this will help a little with knowing what to study. All of this information can be found in the blog.
Thanks for all you do!
Monday, December 15, 2014
This week December 15-19
Good morning!
Just a few things today...
Yellow conduct folders and graded papers did go home Friday so make sure you ask to see these.
Also this week will be review and a third six weeks test tomorrow including poetry and drama.
Thursday is Early Release at 11:30 so everyone can go to that STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!
We will not have school on Friday!
In my homeroom class on Thursday we will be having a Christmas party! I am going to allow students to bring something to drink and their favorite treat (enough to share with the class). This will not be anything huge, just snacking and watching Christmas movies. There are 23 students in my homeroom if you choose to send snacks! If you have questions give me a message, email, or call.
Thanks for all you do for our students!
Just a few things today...
Yellow conduct folders and graded papers did go home Friday so make sure you ask to see these.
Also this week will be review and a third six weeks test tomorrow including poetry and drama.
Thursday is Early Release at 11:30 so everyone can go to that STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!
We will not have school on Friday!
In my homeroom class on Thursday we will be having a Christmas party! I am going to allow students to bring something to drink and their favorite treat (enough to share with the class). This will not be anything huge, just snacking and watching Christmas movies. There are 23 students in my homeroom if you choose to send snacks! If you have questions give me a message, email, or call.
Thanks for all you do for our students!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
All About Drama
What students need to know about Drama...
Drama is also referred to as a Play.
When a Drama is written out it is called a SCRIPT.
The SETTING, CHARACTER'S ACTIONS and how the actors should SAY and DO things when they are acting are all included in the drama's STAGE DIRECTIONS. STAGE DIRECTIONS are always written inside parentheses ( ) and are written in italics.
Dramas include a CAST of CHARACTERS at the beginning of the script which indicates how many actors are needed for the play.
Dramas are written in lines as follows:
CARL: (with excitement) Let's go to the zoo!
The character's name is in bold print. It is followed by a colon (:) and then any stage directions the playwright wishes the actor to know. The last thing in the line are the character's exact words. No quotation marks are necessary in a drama because of this special form.
The author of a drama is called the PLAYWRIGHT.
Drama is divided into sections. The larger sections of a drama are called ACTS. Inside ACTS are smaller sections that require a change in set called SCENES.
Sets are the background of the play that gives the audience the idea of another place such as a park or school. This is also called SCENERY.
PROPS are the items the actors use in the play to help act out their scenes.
DIALOUGE is the conversations of the play.
The NARRATOR of the play is not an acting character but someone who fills in the gaps for things the actors cannot act out, such as a passage of time or background information.
Drama is also referred to as a Play.
When a Drama is written out it is called a SCRIPT.
The SETTING, CHARACTER'S ACTIONS and how the actors should SAY and DO things when they are acting are all included in the drama's STAGE DIRECTIONS. STAGE DIRECTIONS are always written inside parentheses ( ) and are written in italics.
Dramas include a CAST of CHARACTERS at the beginning of the script which indicates how many actors are needed for the play.
Dramas are written in lines as follows:
CARL: (with excitement) Let's go to the zoo!
The character's name is in bold print. It is followed by a colon (:) and then any stage directions the playwright wishes the actor to know. The last thing in the line are the character's exact words. No quotation marks are necessary in a drama because of this special form.
The author of a drama is called the PLAYWRIGHT.
Drama is divided into sections. The larger sections of a drama are called ACTS. Inside ACTS are smaller sections that require a change in set called SCENES.
Sets are the background of the play that gives the audience the idea of another place such as a park or school. This is also called SCENERY.
PROPS are the items the actors use in the play to help act out their scenes.
DIALOUGE is the conversations of the play.
The NARRATOR of the play is not an acting character but someone who fills in the gaps for things the actors cannot act out, such as a passage of time or background information.
All About Poetry
Poetry terms and information students should know...
Three forms of poetry:
1. Narrative: tells a story and has characters, setting, and plot complete with a problem and solution.
2. Lyrical: has a specific rhyming patter and rhythm. Lyrical poetry is what we hear in the songs we like.
3 Free verse: free verse poem breaks all writing rules! It does not require a specific rhythm pattern, rhyming words, punctuation, or capitalization.
Other poetry terms:
Poems have LINES not sentences.
Poems are made up of STANZAS (which are similar to paragraphs).
Poetry has METER (the beat) and it can have a musical quality created by the meter.
Poetry often have various RHYME schemes.
REPETITION is a popular technique used in poetry. Repetition of an entire stanza or the last lines of stanzas is referred to as REFRAIN which is like a CHORUS we hear in songs.
REPETITION is also seen through ALLITERATION which is the repetition of beginning sounds of words such as Sally Sells Seashells by he Seashore.
Three forms of poetry:
1. Narrative: tells a story and has characters, setting, and plot complete with a problem and solution.
2. Lyrical: has a specific rhyming patter and rhythm. Lyrical poetry is what we hear in the songs we like.
3 Free verse: free verse poem breaks all writing rules! It does not require a specific rhythm pattern, rhyming words, punctuation, or capitalization.
Other poetry terms:
Poems have LINES not sentences.
Poems are made up of STANZAS (which are similar to paragraphs).
Poetry has METER (the beat) and it can have a musical quality created by the meter.
Poetry often have various RHYME schemes.
REPETITION is a popular technique used in poetry. Repetition of an entire stanza or the last lines of stanzas is referred to as REFRAIN which is like a CHORUS we hear in songs.
REPETITION is also seen through ALLITERATION which is the repetition of beginning sounds of words such as Sally Sells Seashells by he Seashore.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Figurative Language
Figurative Language is important for students to know when reading and writing.
Here is a list of the figurative language we are discussing currently.
Oxymoron- a combination of words that have very different meanings from each other used to describe.
Ex. "pretty ugly" as in "That dog looks pretty ugly to me."
Hyperbole- means an exaggeration.
Ex. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" just means that someone is really hungry not that they could actually eat a horse.
Simile- comparing two unlike things using the words like or as.
Ex. "He was as fast as lightening." or "She was sweet like candy."
Compares a boy's speed to the speed of lightening. Compares the girl's sweet personality to candy.
Personification- giving a non-living thing human traits.
Ex. "The walls have ears!" or "The cloud is crying big tears."
Alliteration- repeating beginning words sounds
Ex. "busy bumbling bee" or "Sally sells seashells by the seashore."
Metaphor- compares two unlike things by saying that one thing IS another thing.
Ex. "The problem was a sledgehammer on my brain." or "She was a graceful swan when she swam."
Idiom- an expression that DOES NOT mean what the individual words mean
Ex. "It's raining cats and dogs." or "The test was a piece of cake."
Onomatopoeia- the use of words that suggest a sense of sound
Ex. Buzz! Bang! Hissss! Clap!
Here is a list of the figurative language we are discussing currently.
Oxymoron- a combination of words that have very different meanings from each other used to describe.
Ex. "pretty ugly" as in "That dog looks pretty ugly to me."
Hyperbole- means an exaggeration.
Ex. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" just means that someone is really hungry not that they could actually eat a horse.
Simile- comparing two unlike things using the words like or as.
Ex. "He was as fast as lightening." or "She was sweet like candy."
Compares a boy's speed to the speed of lightening. Compares the girl's sweet personality to candy.
Personification- giving a non-living thing human traits.
Ex. "The walls have ears!" or "The cloud is crying big tears."
Alliteration- repeating beginning words sounds
Ex. "busy bumbling bee" or "Sally sells seashells by the seashore."
Metaphor- compares two unlike things by saying that one thing IS another thing.
Ex. "The problem was a sledgehammer on my brain." or "She was a graceful swan when she swam."
Idiom- an expression that DOES NOT mean what the individual words mean
Ex. "It's raining cats and dogs." or "The test was a piece of cake."
Onomatopoeia- the use of words that suggest a sense of sound
Ex. Buzz! Bang! Hissss! Clap!
Monday, December 1, 2014
December 1-5
Good morning!
This week we will begin our very fun journey into Sensory Language and Poetry!
Vocabulary words will all be words that appeal to the five sense: sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound. We will practice using these words to be more descriptive when we explain things to others.
Students will have homework over sensory language vocabulary due on Wednesday.
Our focus on poetry this week will be on the ways that poets use sensory and figurative language in poetry to paint a picture in the reader's mind.
Tomorrow we will be going over the different types of figurative language that the students need to be familiar with.
This week will be spent mostly introducing figurative language, sensory words, and poetry.
We will continue with poetry and move into drama over the next two weeks. We will have a third six weeks test that will focus predominantly on poetry and drama before we release for the Christmas break.
Thank you for all you do and I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was blessed!
This week we will begin our very fun journey into Sensory Language and Poetry!
Vocabulary words will all be words that appeal to the five sense: sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound. We will practice using these words to be more descriptive when we explain things to others.
Students will have homework over sensory language vocabulary due on Wednesday.
Our focus on poetry this week will be on the ways that poets use sensory and figurative language in poetry to paint a picture in the reader's mind.
Tomorrow we will be going over the different types of figurative language that the students need to be familiar with.
This week will be spent mostly introducing figurative language, sensory words, and poetry.
We will continue with poetry and move into drama over the next two weeks. We will have a third six weeks test that will focus predominantly on poetry and drama before we release for the Christmas break.
Thank you for all you do and I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was blessed!
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