1. Vocab pair activity, review game “snap”
students make own cards
C.Think about dangerous situations, what would you
do? (watch videos of regular heroes.)
1.An animal is hurt in the street
2.An angry person is yelling or hitting a person or
animal next to you
3.A typhoon floods your home
4.A person needs help swimming
5.There is an earthquake
6.There is a fire
7.An old person falls down and is not awake
D. Group Reading: Main concepts,
fill out beginning of plot handout
E. Homework guide
F. Watch a short video on rescue
workers. Now write a narrative nonfiction paragraph about rescue workers. Think about ways people work together in dangerous
situations.
This is for advanced English, for my G8A class week 9. I think we will just analyze the first 3 stanzas. If they could memorize the first, I'd be happy.
Who is
Edgar Allen Poe? Poe was an American author. Hecontributed greatly to the
genres of horror and science fiction. Poe is now considered the father of the
modern detective story and highly lauded as a poet. Poe’s
psychologically thrilling stories, examine the depths of the human psyche
earned him much fame during his lifetime and after his death. His own life was
marred by tragedy at an early age (his parents died before he was three years
old) and in his oft-quoted works we can see his darkly passionate
sensibilities—a tormented and sometimes neurotic obsession with death and
violence and overall appreciation for the beautiful yet tragic mysteries of life.
(Source: The Literature Network)
The Raven
By Edgar Allan Poe.
Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore -
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this and nothing more."
pondered = thought
lore = story
rapping = knocking
muttered = said
Ah, distinctly I remember it
was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; -vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow -sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.
bleak = sad, black and cold
ember = burning piece of wood glowing orange
wrought = presented
morrow = the next day
maiden = woman, girl
And the silken sad uncertain
rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me -filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;
This it is and nothing more.
rustling = movement that
makes noise
entreating = asking for
Presently my soul grew
stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," I said, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you" -here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there and nothing more.
implore = ask for
scarce = hardly
Deep into that darkness
peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word "Lenore!"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word "Lenore" -
Merely this and nothing more.
peering = looking into
gave no token = gave no sign
Back into the chamber
turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping something louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window
lattice;
Let me see, then, what threat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more!"
window lattice = frame around
the window
Open here I flung a shutter,
when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not an minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched and sat and nothing more.
flung = threw open
flutter = movement of wings, noise
stately = magnificent
obeisance = gesture of deference, respect
mien = manner of
perched = how a bird sits
Then this ebony bird
beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure
no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore!"
beguiling = charming
countenance = bearing, manner
crest = head
thou = old English for you
art = are
craven = cowardly, mean-spirited
thy = old English for your
Much I marvelled this
ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning -little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such a name as "Nevermore".
marvelled = was surprised
ungainly = ugly
fowl = bird
discourse = speech
bore = contained, had
But the Raven, sitting lonely
on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing farther then he uttered; not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered: "Other friends have flown before
- On the morrow he will leave me as my Hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said "Nevermore".
placid = peaceful
uttered = said
Startled at the stillness
broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of `Never -nevermore'."
aptly = well
stock and store = repeated phrase
dirges = sad songs
But the Raven still beguiling
all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust, and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore".
betook = moved myself
fancy = here used as noun meaning imagined story, thought
yore = from the past
croaking = the sound a frog makes, usually a very ugly sound coming from the
throat
This I sat engaged in
guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
bosom = chest, heart
divinig = guessing
Then, methought, the air grew
denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried "thy God hath lent thee -by these angels he
hath sent thee
Respite -respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore".
methought = old English for
"I thought"
censer = a container for burning incense
wretch = horrible person
hath = old English for has
thee = old English for you
respite = rest from
nepenthe = a drug providing a way of forgetting something
quaff = drink quickly or recklessly
Quoth = quoted
"Prophet!" said I
"thing of evil! -prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate, yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted, -tell me truly, I implore -
Is there -is there balm in Gilead? -tell me -tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore".
Tempter = Satan
tempest = storm
balm = liquid that eases pain
Gilead = biblical reference
"Be that word our sign
of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting -
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! -quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore".
parting = separation, leaving
fiend = monster
shrieked = shouted, screamed
plume = type of feather
quit = leave
And the Raven, never
flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that is floating on the floor
Shall be lifted -nevermore.
Teacher Guide to "The Raven"
How might students use storyboards to demonstrate and to extend their learning?
Check the resources here. Includes essential questions, plot diagram, TP-CASTT
approach to writing, literary elements, key themes, symbols, and motifs,
vocabulary, post-reading project, more. Note: Storyboard That helps
sponsor this site.
Edgar Allan Poe: Nevermore
Video biography (1:05) from biography.com. This episode discusses the overnight
fame created by publication of "The Raven" and mentions that Poe
earned only $14.00 from it.
Edgar Allan Poe
Poetry Readers Theater
A fun project that serves as a good introduction to both Readers Theater and
four poems by Poe: "The Raven," "The Bells,"
"Eldorado," and "Annabel Lee."
The Interactive
Raven
As students work online through each stanza, they learn alliteration,
assonance, and internal rhyme. Vocabulary words are also indicated.
"The Raven"
Background analysis and emphasis on vocabulary.
"The Raven"
Video of actor John Astin in period costume reciting the poem.
"The Raven"
Voice Artist Bob McGraw's dramatic reading of the poem. The video features
lithographs by 19th century artist Gustav Dore. It resides at YouTube.
"The
Raven"
This YouTube video (9:56) of Christopher Walken reading the poem includes the
lithographs by Dore and the text of the poem as captions.
"The
Raven"
Actor John De Lancie reads the poem. Video runs 8:54.
"The
Raven" vocabulary
Words are presented in context and with definitions. Click on a word for
pronunciation, synonyms, examples of use, more.
"Edgar
Allen Poe" [sic]
1909 film by D. W. Griffith, the first to feature Poe as a character. The film
depicts an imaginative inspiration for writing "The Raven": Poe needs
money for his sick wife, Virginia. Students may need to be reminded that this
depiction is not historically accurate. This black-and-white "silent"
film runs 7:06; a piano soundtrack is provided.
Repeat After Us
Audio files of "Annabel Lee," "Eldorado," "Sonnet - To
Science," "The City in the Sea," "The Raven," "To
Helen." A good site for LD students, ELL students, and for those who read
well and might like to record and contribute. Files are in alphabetical order
by poet; scroll down.
Because of the 10/10 holiday, they had no homework. We did their homework in class the following week.
Week 7: We reviewed last week's lesson on Mixtures, and made a fruit shake experiments. A fruit shake is a yummy and healthy example of a mixture.
Drinking our solutions and mixtures
Week8: review and Midterm
Week 9: We are beginning a new chapter on Matter in Motion (page 362-364). The goal for this week is for the students to be able to describe motion and how something has moved using the vocabulary words, position, motion, friction, lever, repel and speed. The ESL lesson will also reinforce position words: in, on, under, next to, near, left, right. Here is a link to study their vocabulary with various online games.
On this week, Halloween falls on our Friday so I want to do a fun Halloween experiment with them. We will make green slime and dancing ghosts.
Elmer's glue
(most kinds of white craft glue will work)
2 disposable
cups
Food coloring (you
pick the color)
Water
Borax Powder
(available at most large grocery stores near the laundry detergent)
A plastic spoon
(for stirring)
A tablespoon
(for measuring)
Fill one small
cup with water and add a spoonful of the Borax powder and stir it up. Then
set it aside.
Fill the other
small cup with about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of the glue.
Add three
tablespoons (20 ml) of water to the glue and stir.
Add a few drops
of the food coloring and stir it up until mixed.
Now the fun
part...Add one tablespoons of the Borax solution you made earlier and stir
well. Watch the slime form!
After the slime
forms let it sit for about 30 seconds and then pull it off the spoon and
play with it!
Tip: Keep your slime in a tightly closed plastic bag when
you are not playing with it, and keep it away from carpet and your little
sister's hair.
Now for the SCIENCE part.... This POLYMER is
unique because it has qualities of both a solid and a liquid.
It can take the shape of its containers like a liquid does, yet you can hold it
in your hand and pick it up like a solid. As you might know, solid molecules
are tight together, liquid molecules spread out and break apart (drops) POLYMER
molecules CHAIN themselves together (they can stretch and bend like chains) and
that makes them special. Jell-O, rubber bands, plastic soda bottles, sneaker
soles, even gum are all forms of polymers. The polymer you made should be kept
in a sealed plastic bag when you aren't playing with it. Also, be sure to keep
it away from young kids or pets who might think it's food. Have fun!
The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment,
you can try to answer these questions:
1. How can you make the polymer stretch the farthest? 2. Does the amount of Borax added change the slime? 3. What method of storage will make the polymer last the longest? 4. What brand of glue makes the stretchiest polymer? 5. Does the amount of water added to the glue affect the gooeyness
of the slime?
Children with nutritionally balanced diets are smarter and there is science to back that up. A national nutrition survey in Taiwan and an Australian study show that children who regularly eat fatty, sugary and salty foods are significantly more at risk of performing poorly in school and having lower IQs.
Researchers from Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University conducted a study from 2001 to 2002, titled “A National Investigation of Nutritional Health for Elementary School Students,” which included 2,222 students throughout Taiwan, analyzing basic family characteristics, frequency of consumption, dietary habits and overall academic performance at school.
The study defined 13 types of nutritional foods (vegetables, fruits, dairy, yogurt, fermented milk, cheese, meat, fish, seafood, offal, eggs, soymilk and soybean products) and nine types of foods with little or no nutritional value (fried foods like French fries, fried chicken, fatty foods such as instant noodles, cakes and pastries, fatty snacks like potato chips and corn chips, as well as crackers and cookies, ice cream, ice pops, desserts and sugary drinks). Students and parents provided which types of foods they ate each week and how frequently they ate the foods, while teachers provided data regarding the overall performance of students in school.
The results of the study showed that the more frequently students ate foods with high nutritional value on a daily basis, the more likely they were to perform well in school, while students eating too many sweets and fried foods were more likely to perform poorly in school.
Students are more at risk of performing poorly in school the poorer their diet is. Even after eliminating factors such as gender, age, geographical location, where one’s parents come from and socioeconomic status, if a child has three or more poor nutritional factors in their diet, they are considerably more at risk — as much as three times more than average — of performing poorly in school.
For my elementary students week 8 is midterms, so we are
busy reviewing and testing. Its all serious business. Reality is scary enough. But if by chance we have
some time at the end of testing, say just 5 minutes, then I’d like them to get
them moving. I love wii Dance, kids love it too. Check out a timeless classic
made into a dance, just in time for Halloween. “Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!”
During their oral exam, Grasshopper class illustrated their costumes and watched The Nightmare before Christmas. I will give them a group reading and do some rhyming of Halloween vocabulary. If we have time we can play some online interactive games with the vocabulary. Here are some links: Halloween Monsters Memory Game Halloween vocabulary Memory Game Matching Quiz
For my G7B class we have been studying Genre and Fantasy as an introduction to their unit on JRR Tolkien. I am also
giving my G8A a break from their book this week. So I’ve dedicated this week to
learning Halloween vocabulary and a lesson on Stephan King.
Halloween Vocabulary List 1:
costumes, “ In Halloween kids wear costumes.” "Let’s see
some costumes."
My Junior High kids are interested in scary movies, and one way to link this to contemporary American literature is introducing them to author Stephen King. Reading any of his stories in English is beyond their level right now, but at least they can be exposed to some of his more famous works through film adaptations.
Top 10 Stephen King Adaptations:
#10. The Dead Zone
Johnny Smith wakes up from a coma with psychic powers.
#9. The Stand
This story is Stephen King’s own “Lord of the Rings.”
#8. It
About a scary clown
terrorizing a small town.
#7. The Mist
A monster movie and survivor story. A fog brings in scary
creatures that prey on town folk.
#6. Carrie
The shy Carrie is bullied at school. She realizes she has
psychic gifts.
#5. Stand By Me
A coming of age story about a group of boys traveling to see a
dead body.
#4. Misery
After crashing his car,
an author is taken care of by his biggest fan.
#3. The Green Mile
A spiritual story about a black, simple, mystical prisoner,
who is wrongly killed.
#2. The Shining
REDRUM is backwards for____________. This movie is about cabin
fever.
#1 The Shaw Shank Redemption
A convicted killer finds friendship.
In one of my Junior High classes, I want to celebrate “Vocabulary
day” based on Debra Frasier’s book, “Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster.”
Students choose a word from our massive vocabulary list, and design a creative
interpretation of that word for their costume. I think we would only have time
to sketch a costume. When thinking of a creative costume, students must be able
to define the word in a creative manner. For example, if a student chose the
word “miscellaneous,” he can interpret this word into a costume by placing a
collection of unrelated objects onto his clothing.
During our 3 day 10/10 weekend, I read a couple of relevant articles on learning. Both were in the New York Times. The first article was a book review of, " How We Learn, the Surprising Truth About When, Where and Why It Happens" by Benedict Carey. It shows the most efficient and effective ways to learn and study for different tests. Its a must read for every parent or educator.
For example, studying for a test on a foreign language, its best to go to bed early the night before the test, and wake up in the morning to review, while for a math test, its better to review right before sleep. He also questions the whole "cramming for tests" as students don't learn or retain anything and he criticizes sitting for long periods of time studying as its an inefficient way to absorb and retain information. He recommends short periods of study in different environments as, "the brain likes variety." To read the full review click here.
I'm all for more time efficient studying and relevant testing so kids have more time with their families and more time to exercise. To support my previous blog on exercise promoting academic excellence (see The Case for More P.E.) the Times had another article called, "How Exercise Can Boost Young Brains" which reiterates old and new studies that if children take a walk before a math or reading test, their scores improve. The latest tests prove exercise (in this case 70 minutes of moderate to intense playing after school) improved the part of the brain that controls executive functioning, as well as their ability to pay attention and block out unwanted distractions (everything a teachers wants from students).
Maybe instead of private tutoring with a teacher after school, it would be holistically beneficial to have them run, kick a soccer ball or swim laps with their teacher.
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