The Giver Movie!!!

Hey there, folks!  I hope all the new 8th graders are ready to go see the new Giver movie!  I have both some good news and bad news.  First, the bad -- I will not be able to make the movies this week.  But... but, but, but BUT, the reason why is the good news.  I am in the middle of moving closer to Oxford!  It's been a hectic summer for me, but I hope you all enjoy the movie and the rest of your summer!

Week 4 of The Giver

Writing:  Students are working on their children's stories featuring coral reef animals.

Reading:  Students will be finishing The Giver this week.  They will start working with their groups to build a utopia.  The Utopia Project is due June 12th.  The project is described below.

Create Your Own Utopia

- Assignment Guidelines

ALL TASKS MUST BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF THE DAY on the below due date:

 Due: June 12^th

¡ I want you to not only use the information you’ve learned about the idea of a Utopia in class but to use your creativity in creating this “ideal” society, while keeping in mind the positives and negatives of the community in The Giver.                       

¡ This assignment must be colorful – you have the necessary materials. You can also use cut outs from magazines and COLOR pictures printed from home as well.

¡ The format of the assignment is up to your group.  It could be mounted on a poster board, printed out as a packet, created through a Powerpoint, displayed as a web page (like in Glogster).

¡ Neatness and effort will be included in the final grade as will spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.  So take pride in your group’s work and proof read each other’s writing.

 

Group Responsibilities:

                        ¡ Make sure EVERYONE in the group has duties and tasks that they are assigned to complete each day. (whether that be writing, coloring, organizing, editing).

                        ¡ Before making a final decision about each task make sure that the WHOLE group agrees with the decision .

                        ¡ If you have group mates absent for the day – YOU ARE STILL EXPECTED TO DO THE WORK AND HAVE THE ASSIGNMENT COMPLETED BY THE DUE DATE.

                        ¡ You will not only receive a grade for the final product but you will also be graded on the amount of work done each day. I will be closely monitoring your progress throughout the week.

                        ¡ You will be graded on your effort as a group member.   If I have to speak to you about your efforts more than once, it will come out of YOUR grade.

 

Assignment Guidelines: Your final product must include ALL of the following components:

                        1. Name of your Utopian society – Choose a creative and appropriate name to represent your new society. Write a meaningful statement that tells why your group chose this name.

                        2. Declaration of Independence – Write an explanation describing the reason why you formed your utopian society. In this statement you must answer the following questions – 1.) What don’t you like about your current society? 2.) How has the current society broken your trust? 3.) Why do you feel the need to form a more perfect society? 4.) How will your society be different? 5.) Does your society have some of the same characteristics as your current society? Describe what is similar if so.   

                        3. Utopian Motto and Seal – Create a slogan or motto that citizens of your society will follow, and draw a utopian seal. Write a brief description that explains the meaning of the motto and seal that you chose.

                        4. List of Rules – Develop a list of 10 rules that all community members must follow. Provide an explanation for each rule.

                        5. Governing Body – How will the government of this Utopian be structured? Will you have a democracy, anarchy, a monarchy, a republic, a dictatorship, or will you have a mixed government (combines elements of all types of government)? How will your government make decisions? Please give an explanation for your choices.

                        6. Holidays and Celebrations – Create 3 or more unique holidays and celebrations that your society will have throughout the year. For each make sure you include a date and a reason why you chose these dates.

                        7. Map – Create a map of your society’s city, village, or country.  Include any important buildings (this may depend on your government you choose).  Think about places people shop (if they shop), go for learning, or where you put those that break the rules.  If you handle these situations differently in your society, do you call your buildings different names?  Or do you not have these buildings at all?

                        8. Advertisement – Develop a written advertisement or flyer for your community. This ad should be complete with pictures that are representative of life in your society. Think of the advertisement techniques we’ve learned over the year

The Giver and M.A.R.E.

The Giver Reading Schedule for Week 3

Tuesday-- Reviewing last week's reading; In Class Chp 14-15; Homework-- Chp 16

 Wednesday-- Review Chp. 14-16; Read Chp 17; Homework- Finish questions in packet up to p.7 (answer all questions for chapters 14-17; much of this was finished in class already)

  Thursday--  Read and discuss Chp. 18 in class

   Friday-- Read and discuss Chp 19 in class

Writing Research Paper Updates

Students will be working with partners this week to create a children's story about their Coral Reef Animal.

The Giver Reading Schedule for Week 2

Monday -- Reviewing last week's reading; If  time, read Chp 7; Homework-- Chp 8

 Tuesday -- Review Chp. 8; Read Chp 9 (start in class, finish for Homework)

Wednesday --  Review Chp. 9; Read Chp 10 in class; Homework Chp 11

Thursday -- Review HW; Discuss images

 Friday -- Read Chp 12; Review Chp 7-12

Writing Research Paper Updates

This week students will be completing an outline and papers this week (the paper is very short -- only 4 paragraphs).  Students are receiving 2 grades.  One grade is for completing all the research process (finding 3 articles, taking notes on notecards, completing an outline, and properly formatting the research paper itself with page #s, a heading, etc.).  The other grade is for the actual paper (the organization, details, information, etc.).  After their trip next week, students will be using their knowledge gained about their coral reef animal to write a children's story.

The Giver Reading Schedule for the Week

Today we will be starting our trek into the world of The Giver.  Unfortunately there is a lot going on this week and some students will be out today as well as Thursday and Friday.  In an effort to keep everyone on the same page (sorry, I couldn't resist!), I wanted to post what we will read and when.

Tuesday (today) -- Chapter 1 in class

Wednesday -- Chapter 2 and 3 in class ; Homework -- Read up to p. 33 (finish Chp 4)
    There will be a brief Reading Check Quiz Thursday on any reading homework.

Thursday -- Chp 5-6 in class

Friday -- Review and compare our society to the one within The Giver

M.A.R.E. and The Giver

Reading: 

We will be starting The Giver this week.  We will continue to discuss dystopian societies and what it is that they truly lack.  Occasionally students will need to bring home their books and their journals for HW.  I will provide them with a folder to hold these items.  Students are expected to keep these items in good condition -- the books are quite small and easily crushed, but they need to last.

Writing:

We will be starting our M.A.R.E. project this week.  This is a two part project that involves a brief research paper, and then a collaborative partner project.  Students will research a specific animal found in coral reefs.  Then, the partner project involves two students developing a creative children's story in which their two animals meet.  The story should have a moral about friendship/diversity/open mindedness etc. as well as teach children a little about the animals featured in the story.


I'm looking forward to starting both these activities with the students! 

Below are some sites students can use to look up and research particular coral reef animals.

http://www.greatbarrierreef.com.au/animals/fish/
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/animals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbwwGUi4uyE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EueBzS3kPe8

NJASK Week

Everyone -- KEEP CALM and TEST ON!  You will all do wonderfully.  Just do your best!  Good luck, my little Deanslavians! ;)