Do now: 1. Work on the “Do now”. 2. Have your homework out on your desk

(reading log)3. You need your journal and a

copy of STJ.4. Read independently when finished.

• The Boxtop competition begins this week and will continue till Spring Break/Intercession.

• This is a grade level competition, and there will be a prize.

• There are collection boxes in the LMC for each grade level.

Goals for today:

• Make a plan for how we want to learn skills for the rest of the year.

• Grade our own projects

• Memorize a poem

• Read STJ and identify one skill we need to learn

• We have 7 weeks until the end of April

• That is approximately 35 days of class

• What can we learn in 35 days?

• How do you want to learn new skills?

• It what ways do you like to learn?

Reading Skills to learn: • Implied vs. stated theme• Inference/conclusion• Fact vs. opinion• Prediction• Cause/effect• Speaking/listening• Asking and answering questions from the passage• Reading charts and graphs• References sources for research & Citations• Media, author’s purpose and audience• Prewriting, graphic organizers • Instruction sequence• Revising text: confusing vs. clear• Genre• Figurative and sound language

Language Arts skills to learn: • Writing letters• Pronoun use• Subject verb agreement • Adjectives and adverbs• Context clues• Spelling• Root words, suffixes, and prefixes• Compound words• Abbreviations• Contractions and possessives• Sentence fragments and run-ons

Do now:

• Find 3 texts that your concept is related to, write down the title and page number

• Then, take the quiz off my homepage

• Return to your seat and quick write about how your concept is connected to the world.

• For every skill: You need a fiction and non-fiction text

• We need science, social studies, complicated and simple texts

• We will also need to write expository and persuasive texts (informational papers and speeches to convince people)

Rubric for Spirit of Endurance Project

Skills: Cause/Effect 10ptsCharacter Traits 15ptsPoint of View 10ptsVivid Language "the boat was being crushed like a nut in a nutcracker" 25ptsSummary 20pts Sequence of Events 50ptsVocabulary 10pts

  

Presentation: Clear (make sense)  10ptsFluent (speak clearly and loudly) 20ptsNeat/organized/correct grammar/punctuation/spelling 10ptsOn time/teamwork 20pts

I want you to takeInto consideration

The fact that weHad a formation

Of people inA confederation

Who were greatAt communication

And never hadAn altercation

They waved helloIn salutation

Always eager forPeer cooperation

This class hadThe best reputation

“I've traveled the world twice over,Met the famous; saints and sinners,Poets and artists, kings and queens,Old stars and hopeful beginners,I've been where no-one's been before,Learned secrets from writers and cooksAll with one library ticketTo the wonderful world of books.”

― Janice James

WhatifLast night, while I lay thinking here, Some Whatifs crawled inside my earAnd pranced and partied all night longAnd sang their same old Whatif song:Whatif I’m dumb in school? Whatif they’ve closed the swimming pool?Whatif I get beat up?Whatif there’s poison in my cup?Whatif I start to cry?Whatif I get sick and die? Whatif I flunk that test?Whatif green hair grows on my chest?Whatif nobody likes me?Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?Whatif I don’t grow taller?Whatif my head starts getting smaller?Whatif the fish won’t bite?Whatif the wind tears up my kite?Whatif they start a war? Whatif my parents get divorced?Whatif the bus is late?Whatif my teeth don’t grow in straight?Whatif I tear my pants? Whatif I never learn to dance?Everything seems swell, and thenThe nighttime Whatifs strike again!

What makes a poem a poem?

• The lines are short

• They often have a rhyme scheme

• They are often set in stanzas

• They often use certain tools to make them more interesting……

• These are called “devices”

Rainy Days Let the summer slip awayLet dark days start to fallLet the blue give way to grayI long to hear the call.

It sounds just like a tune to meIt waters me with songIt always is good companyAt night or all day long.

Rain-wearing shoes go pitter-patRain dips and dives and dancesRain drips and drives, this way and thatUpon the roof it prances.

On metal roofs it rat-a-tatsOn wooden roofs it drumsOn windows It just splitter-splatsWhen at last it comes.

Down on leaves it splashesDown wooden trunks it poursDown to the earth it dashesCalling me outdoors.

*Think about your thinking. What literary devices do you notice in this poem? On your team, identify at least 3 literary devices the author uses. What time of year does this poem take place? How do you know?

Rainy DaysLet the summer slip awayLet dark days start to fallLet the blue give way to grayI long to hear the call.

It sounds just like a tune to meIt waters me with songIt always is good companyAt night or all day long.

Rain-wearing shoes go pitter-patRain dips and dives and dancesRain drips and drives, this way and thatUpon the roof it prances.

On metal roofs it rat-a-tatsOn wooden roofs it drumsOn windows It just splitter-splatsWhen at last it comes.

Down on leaves it splashesDown wooden trunks it poursDown to the earth it dashesCalling me outdoors.

1. Which line from the poem contains an example of onomatopoeia?

a. Let dark days start to fallb. It waters me with songc. At night or all day longd. On windows it just splitter splats

3. These lines show an example of:a. Simileb. Alliterationc. Hyperboled. Repetition

2. Which line lets readers know that this poem is written in first person? a. Let the blue give way to gray b. It sounds just like a tune to mec. It always is good companyd. On wooden roofs it drums

Rainy DaysLet the summer slip awayLet dark days start to fallLet the blue give way to grayI long to hear the call.

It sounds just like a tune to meIt waters me with songIt always is good companyAt night or all day long.

Rain-wearing shoes go pitter-patRain dips and dives and dancesRain drips and drives, this way and thatUpon the roof it prances.

On metal roofs it rat-a-tatsOn wooden roofs it drumsOn windows It just splitter-splatsWhen at last it comes.

Down on leaves it splashesDown wooden trunks it poursDown to the earth it dashesCalling me outdoors.

4. Choose the line that best describes the time of year when the poem takes place.

a. Let the blue give way to grayb. At night or all day longc. Down on leaves it splashesd. Let the summer slip away

5. Rain dips and dives and dances

Which literary device does the line use?

a. Hyperboleb. Metaphorc. Personificationd. simile

Rainy DaysLet the summer slip awayLet dark days start to fallLet the blue give way to grayI long to hear the call.

It sounds just like a tune to meIt waters me with songIt always is good companyAt night or all day long.

Rain-wearing shoes go pitter-patRain dips and dives and dancesRain drips and drives, this way and thatUpon the roof it prances.

On metal roofs it rat-a-tatsOn wooden roofs it drumsOn windows It just splitter-splatsWhen at last it comes.

Down on leaves it splashesDown wooden trunks it poursDown to the earth it dashesCalling me outdoors.

1. Which line from the poem contains an example of onomatopoeia?

a. Let dark days start to fallb. It waters me with songc. At night or all day longd. On windows it just splitter splats

2. Which line lets readers know that this poem is written in first person? a. Let the blue give way to gray b. It sounds just like a tune to mec. It always is good companyd. On wooden roofs it drums

On your team, come up with an example of each:

• Onomatopoeia

• Alliteration

• Rhyme & Rhythm

• Repetition

• Hyperbole

• Simile

• Metaphor

• Personification

The SmoothieWrrrr wrrrr

The blender starts to spin

The blueberries get pulverized

Pineapples sliced and thinned.

Mmmm mmmm

A banana slice or three

strawberries for flavor

Finish that smoothie quick for me!

Slurp slurp

I gulp the delicious drink down

The daylight seems even brighter

It’s impossible to try to frown

The SmoothieWrrrr wrrrr

The blender starts to spin

The blueberries get pulverized

Pineapples sliced and thinned.

Mmmm mmmm

A banana slice or three

strawberries for flavor

Finish that smoothie quick for me!

Slurp slurp

I gulp the delicious drink down

The daylight seems even brighter

It’s impossible to try to frown

1. Which literary device does this poem use?

a. Simile b. Repetitionc. Personificationd. Onomatopoeia

2. Why does the author use rhyme?

a. To establish a rhythm. b. To make the reader laugh. c. To create a picture in the

reader’s mind. d. To create stanzas in the poem.

3. Which line from the poem contains an example of alliteration?

a. The daylight seems even brighterb. A banana slice or threec. Pineapples sliced and thinned. d. I gulp the delicious drink down

The SmoothieWrrrr wrrrr

The blender starts to spin

The blueberries get pulverized

Pineapples sliced and thinned.

Mmmm mmmm

A banana slice or three

strawberries for flavor

Finish that smoothie quick for me!

Slurp slurp

I gulp the delicious drink down

The daylight seems even brighter

It’s impossible to try to frown

4. How can the reader tell that “The Smoothie” is a poem?a.There is a plot with a climax, a setting, and characters. b.The story tells about the author’s real life experiences. c.The story of the smoothie makes the reader feel happy. d.The lines are short, have a rhyme scheme, and are set in stanzas.

5. Choose the line that best describes the time of day in which the poem takes place. a. The blender starts to spinb. It’s impossible to try to frown c. The daylight seems even brighterd. I gulp the delicious drink down

6. Which line lets readers know that this poem is written in first person?a.The blueberries get pulverizedb.Finish that smoothie quick for me!c.It’s impossible to try to frown d.The blueberries get pulverized

untitledSlowly slithering Down the lawnKids playing Unharmed

SlitherSlither

Slithering fasterKeep out of sightWant to go onNot stand and fight

Slither Slither

On it’s bellyNo feet to walkThe snake slithersAs if to stalk

Slither slither

Why does the author use the onomatopoeia “slither” repeatedly throughout the poem?

a. To provide a repetitive rhythmb. To hide the fact that it is a snakec. To fill in empty spaced. To alternate the length of stanzas

Two Sunflowers Move in the Yellow Room.

"Ah, William, we're weary of weather,"said the sunflowers, shining with dew."Our traveling habits have tired us.Can you give us a room with a view?“

They arranged themselves at the windowand counted the steps of the sun,and they both took root in the carpetwhere the topaz tortoises run.

William Blake

"Miss Twining teaches tying knotsIn neckerchiefs and noodles,And how to tell chrysanthemumsFrom miniature poodles.“

-Dr. Seuss

Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!

Curious Cats

Curious cats crouch on the window sillWatching unwaveringly through the glassAs blue birds fly by.Curious cats areAlmost two headed in a sensitive sense,Still alert and awareOf the running, rotten rats behind them.

The Wonderful Wind

The wonderful wind whistles Repeated reminders throughout the dayTelling tales of what is comingPredicting and preparing us to pray.The wise wind sometimes whispersThe secrets that have been secretly hid.

Slowly slithering

Down the lawn

Kids playing

Unharmed

Slither

Slither

Slithering faster

Keep out of sight

Want to go on

Not stand and fight

Slither

Slither

On it’s belly

No feet to walk

The snake slithers

As if to stalk

Slither

slither

Which line contains an example of alliteration?

a. The rafters are open to sun, moon, and star

b. The voices are silent, the bustle and din

c. He tramps through the darkness of shelter to win

d. The dining room is dark and the stable is still

Harlem by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry upLike a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore –And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over –

Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

The Peace of Wild ThingsBy Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in meand I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear if what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Lawnmower-Valerie Worth

 The lawnmowerGrinds its teethOver the grass,

Spitting out a thickGreen spray;

 Its head is too full

Of iron and oilTo know

What it throws Away:

 The lawn’s whole Crop of chopped

Soft, Delicious

Green hay.   

untitledSlowly slithering Down the lawnKids playing Unharmed

SlitherSlither

Slithering fasterKeep out of sightWant to go onNot stand and fight

Slither Slither

On it’s bellyNo feet to walkThe snake slithersAs if to stalk

Slither slither

untitledSlowly slithering Down the lawnKids playing Unharmed

SlitherSlither

Slithering fasterKeep out of sightWant to go onNot stand and fight

Slither Slither

On it’s bellyNo feet to walkThe snake slithersAs if to stalk

Slither slither

Why does the author use the onomatopoeia “slither” repeatedly throughout the poem?

a. To provide a repetitive rhythmb. To hide the fact that it is a snakec. To fill in empty spaced. To alternate the length of stanzas

Lawnmower 

The lawnmowerGrinds its teethOver the grass,

Spitting out a thickGreen spray;

 Its head is too full

Of iron and oilTo know

What it throws Away:

 The lawn’s whole Crop of chopped

Soft, Delicious

Green hay.  

-Valerie Worth  

Which line from the poem contains an example of personification?

a. The lawn’s wholeb. Crop of choppedc. To know d. Grinds it’s teeth

Which line from the poem contains an example of alliteration?

a. The lawn’s wholeb. Crop of choppedc. To know d. Grinds it’s teeth

Robert Burns'The Slave’s Lament—' (1792)It was in sweet Senegal that my foes did me enthrall   For the lands of Virginia-ginia O;Torn from that lovely shore, and must never see it more,   And alas! I am weary, weary O!      Torn from &c. All on that charming coast is no bitter snow and frost,   Like the lands of Virginia-ginia O;There streams for ever flow, and there flowers for ever blow,   And alas! I am weary, weary O!      There streams &c. The burden I must bear, while the cruel scourge I fear,   In the lands of Virginia-ginia O;And I think on friends most dear with the bitter, bitter tear,   And Alas! I am weary, weary O!      And I think &c.

What literary devise does the author use to give the poem rhythm?

Two Sunflowers Move in the Yellow Room.

"Ah, William, we're weary of weather,"said the sunflowers, shining with dew."Our traveling habits have tired us.Can you give us a room with a view?"

They arranged themselves at the windowand counted the steps of the sun,and they both took root in the carpetwhere the topaz tortoises run.

William Blake

April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss youLet the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid

dropsLet the rain sing you a lullabyThe rain makes still pools on the sidewalkThe rain makes running pools in the gutterThe rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at

nightAnd I love the rain. - Langston Hughes -  

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy EveningBy: Robert FrostWhose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village, though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queerTo stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shakeTo ask if there is some mistake.The only other sound’s the sweepOf easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.

The Road Not TakenBy: Robert FrostTwo roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.

"What the Wood Fire Said to the Boy" by Frank Lebby Stanton

What said the wood in the fireTo the little boy that night,The little boy of the golden hair,As he rocked himself in his little armchair,When the blaze was burning bright?

The wood cried, "See, How they've destroyed me!I stood in the forest, a beautiful tree,And waved my branches from east to west, And many a sweet bird built its nestIn my leaves of green,That loved to leanIn the springtime over the daisy's head.

Everyone speaks procedure:

• Each person in the group will get a token.

• This is what you will use when you talk about what you picked and why.

• You many only speak using your token.

• Once you speak, you cannot speak again until everyone has gone.

• You can wait to use your token if you are unsure of the answer.

Sentence starters:

• I think……

• What if…..

• I predict…..

• If I could change…

• A confusing part…

• I noticed….

I never imagined it could happen in my lifetimeAs my mind turns back the hands of crimes to a time whenwe were rattled in chainsCaptured in segregation's painBut we've climbed our way up the mountainside andclaimed our prizeOur eyes refused to lose focus

Drawing back the shades of history that have eclipsed ourpast we've now brightened our future

Now able to ring a bell that once refused to toll for theeRed white and blue plasteredBut we've mastered our own destinies

Reaching heights of dreams deeply rooted in the minds ofkings that withered the storms from sea to shining seaNonviolently we're respected by any meansSwimming in endless possibilitiesOur arrows of opportunities can hit any targets within thereach of our mind frameWhile the country is filled with elationIt's way past time for a change

Hugs and cheersWarm embraces from total strangersSmiles on facesCries and tears

Barack Obama's inauguration is a dream come trueHe is the anticipated rain of a village suffering through aneight-year drought

Night Fall Sun Rise

by Etan Thomas

• Certificate of Matrimony for Joseph and Mary Province of Nashville, Tennessee

• Certificate of Matrimony for Joseph and Mary Province of Nashville, Tennessee, 02/26/1866 (ARC Identifier: 595017); Freedmen's Marriage Certificates, 1865 - 1869; Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861 - 1879; Record Group 105; National Archives.