Vocabulary

In my opinion, vocabulary should be intrinsically linked with reading. Thus, here is my vocab assignment that is due each week. The word square is a 2x2 table. The top left square is the word, the top right is the definition (this is repetitive, yes. Cry me a river), the bottom left is examples of the word, and the bottom right is non-examples. So, if the word were "despot," "A ruler or other person who holds absolute power, typically exercising it cruelly," (examples) "Saddam Hussein, Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin," and (these are non-examples) "President Obama, Queen Elizabeth, Steven Harper."

Vocabulary

List 10 vocabulary words you found in your independent reading that you did not know. Look up the definitions. Write them and the relevant definition. (10 points)


Complete the following word square using one of your ten words. (5 points)

Word

Definition

Examples

Non-examples

Reading Logs

I hate reading logs. To clarify, I hate reading logs whose only purpose is to make kids keep track of their reading minutes, get a parent signature, and learn how to forge the aforementioned parent signature. However, when a reading log is a brief assignment (this one should take 10-15 minutes) that makes the student interact with the text, well, that's a different story (ha! See what I did there?). Here are my three reading logs that help students work with character, plot, and setting. I assign one reading log a week, and prefer to do one of the versions for a month or so, in order for the students to get better at it.


Name:____________________________________ Period:_________

Book:____________________________________________________


1. Describe the plot of the book you are reading. If you only read part of the book, describe just what you read this week. (5 points)


2. What are some of the the CONFLICTS of the book so far? How are they resolved? (5 points)



Name:__________________________________ Period:________

Book:__________________________________________________

Setting:_________________________________________________

1. Describe one of the SETTINGS of the book. Setting includes place, time, and culture. If you have read this book for more than one week, please choose a different setting (Example: Hogwarts, Platform 9 3/4, 4 Privet Drive). (5 points)




2. How does the setting impact the story? What does it add? How would the story be different if it were set in a different place/time/culture? BE SPECIFIC. (5 points)



Name:__________________________________ Period:________

Book:__________________________________________________

Character:_________________________________________________


1. Describe one of the CHARACTERS. What are his/her strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and qualities? What are some of the circumstances of his/her life? If you have read this book for more than one week, please choose a different character. (5 points)



2. In what ways do you relate to the character? (For example, how do you relate to Harry Potter? If you are not an orphan, you may still relate to his family situation if your parents are divorced and you don't get to see one of your parents often, you have an evil stepmother/father, your parents work a lot and are not around for you, or if you feel your parents don't understand you). (5 points)

Writing: Introductions

This is a handout for students when teaching them about introductions. Obviously, the examples are all from the Hunger Games. In my handout, I had the "types of hooks" as a chart.

The assignment would be to create their own example of each type of hook. My suggestion is "The first day of school," but an essay they would actually be assigned to write would be even better.

Introductions
1. Hook
2. Comments and background
3. Thesis sentence

Types of Hooks
Rhetorical Question
What do you think about two children a year being sacrificed for a “crime” that happened 74 years ago?
Sensory Image
The game was played in a deceptively beautiful forest. The aspen trees whispered in the light breeze as the sun rose over the mountains.
Story
I didn’t want to die, but I couldn’t let my sister enter that arena.
Statistic
Since the rebellion 74 years ago, 1702 children had been killed. I had no intention of being one of the next 23.
Quotation
“May the odds be always in your favor!” she said again. Boy was I tired of that phrase.
Figurative language
The children, already turned into wild animals, waited for the gong.
Interesting definition
The arena is a place designed for death.


Comments and Background
This section tells the reader a little about what the essay will say. It gives some background and an overview of the essay.

“Every year each of the twelve districts had to send two tributes - a boy and a girl - to the Capitol for a fight to the death. This year, one of them was me. There would be 23 other children trying to stay alive, and the only way to do that was to kill me.”

Thesis
This is usually the last sentence of the introduction. It is the essay in one sentence.
“I had no intention of dying in that place.”

Assignment: Using the topic “The first day of school,” write seven different hooks, one for each different type of hook.