Preparing for the Greek and Latin Prefixes and Roots Quiz

Preparing for the Greek and Latin Prefixes and Roots Quiz

On Monday, 10/5, the 8^th grade will have a quiz on the Greek and Latin Roots you studied at the farm. The quiz will consist of three parts.

I. Identification and Word Building

a. In this section you will be asked to define a number of the roots and prefixes. You don’t need to know the origin (whether it is Greek or Latin) but you do need to know what each one means. You’ll also be asked to come up with a word using each prefix/root

II. Definitions

a. In this section you will be given several word containing one or more of the prefixes and roots. Come up with a basic definition for these words.

III. Matching

a. For this final section, you will be given a list of words containing one of the prefixes or roots as well as a list of definitions. You will need to match each word to the proper definition.

Tip: The best way to study for this quiz is to know the meanings of each root and prefix well!

"Brownies" Post

Think back to our discussion of theme in class. In your opinion, what is a major theme in this story? Use specific examples and quotes to support your argument.

"Through the Tunnel" Post

The tunnel is central to this story. In what ways does the tunnel work as a symbol? What particularly does it symbolize about the main character?

Additional Farm Week Info

Center

- 8th Grade Wordly Wise 1 Quiz, Monday, 9/21

- 7th Grade Wordly Wise 1 Quiz, Wednesday, 9/23

Front

- 7th and 8th Grade Wordly Wise 1 Quizzes, Tuesday, 9/29

Farm Week Work

English Work for Farm Weeks—Fall 2009

During the fifth floor farm weeks, you will work on several long-term English assignments. This work includes homework for the next few weeks as well as class work both for school and farm. While the amount of work is certainly manageable, it is important that you spread this work out over the two weeks! Please email me if you have any questions at tgrattan@manhattancountryschool.org.

Triplets

• Read the following stories from your Short Story packet: “Brownies,” “Through the Tunnel” & “Mrs. Sen’s” – Due Monday, 10/5
• Answer blog posts for both “Brownies” and “The Tunnel” – Due Monday, 10/5
• Bring in three significant quotes from “Mrs. Sen’s.” Quotes should focus on character, theme or symbol. Due Monday, 10/5
• Write your own memoir piece inspired by Sandra Cisneros’ “Eleven”
• In “Eleven” Cisneros focuses on a particular moment where the eleven-year-old narrator didn’t just feel eleven, but also “ten and, nine and eight and seven.” Write about a time when you felt this way too. Though the Cisneros story is fictional, yours will be a memoir piece focusing on one moment that stood out for you, a moment you felt young and old at the same time. For the narrator of “Eleven” it was the moment when she was forced to take a sweater that wasn’t hers. Reflect on a moment in your life when you felt different your selves surfacing, and turn it into a memoir. Your draft should be between two and three pages long. Due Monday, 10/5

7^th Grade Writing and Grammar

Writing

Your writing work needs to take place at the farm, so be sure to bring your three-subject notebook to the farm with you!

q Take two walks at the farm with your notebook and something to write with. It would be great for you to take these walks at different times of day. It’s amazing how much the farm changes from first thing in the morning to twilight. Find a place at the farm that interests you, a place full of details that stand out.

q During each walk, write a 1-2 page freewrite in your notebook. This is not something that needs to be polished. Focus on finding as many details as you can. Write about the larger, immediate details you observe, but focus on the smaller ones too. The more details you can cull the better. Be sure to move beyond the visual. What sounds and smells make this place unique? What does it feel like to sit where you are sitting?

q After you’ve completed both of the freewrites, look back at what you’ve written. What images seem the strongest? What details from the natural world might serve as a symbol for something else?

q Next, write the first drafts a two poems inspired by the poetry of Robert Frost. The first will be an homage to his poem “October.” Since you will be at the farm primarily in September, however, it should be about September. What are the main symbols in the “October” poem? What does October represent? How can you write your own poem using September to symbolize an idea or emotion?

q The second poem should also incorporate symbolism from the natural world, yet it needs to follow the same rhyme scheme and meter as Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” The actual rhymes don’t need to be the same, but the structure should be. Remember that the rhyme scheme of that poem was AABBCCDD and that each line except for the eighth and last had the same number of syllables. So for this poem, the subject, tone and theme are up to you, but you’re following Frost’s structure.

q Bring both poems to class on Wednesday, 10/7.

Vocabulary

• Complete the Wordly Wise Lesson 2 exercises, Due Monday, 10/5
• Wordly Wise 2 Quiz – Wednesday, 10/7

8^th Grade Writing

Writing

• While you are at the farm, complete a two-page freewrite in the writing section of your notebook about the farm. What memories do you have about your time at the farm? How has the farm changed you? What lessons have you learned there (both positive and difficult ones)? What is your favorite part of visiting the farm?
• After you have completed this freewrite, go through what you’ve written and pick out lines or ideas that seem especially important. Highlight or underline. Expand on the ideas that stand out to you.
• Complete a draft of an essay answering the following question: How have your experiences at the farm been significant for you? Due Wednesday, 10/7
• Many high schools ask you to write an essay as part of the application process, often about a significant moment or place. Writing about the farm could end up as the foundation for one of these high school essays. Even if it doesn’t, it’s good practice at writing a particular kind of essay, a personal essay with an emphasis on self-reflection.
• Some questions and ideas to consider when writing the essay:
• Make it personal. Focusing on the farm in general is fine, but this is about you and how/why it matters in your life.
• What specific moments and examples stand out to you the most? Focus on those. Include a lot of detail and insight. Try to turn those details into a story.
• Connect the farm to your larger experiences. How might your experiences as a NYC resident who has spent several weeks a year at a farm influence who you’ll be in the future? How has it changed you already? Taught you a lesson?

Vocabulary

• Complete the Greek and Latin Roots Sheets. There will be a quiz on Greek and Latin Roots on Monday, 10/5
• Wordly Wise Lesson 2 exercises, Due Monday, 10/5
• Wordly Wise 2 Quiz, Wednesday, 10/7

"Flyboys" Post

"Flyboys" is a story filled with symbols. Identify one symbol you consider to be significant. Explain how and why you see it as a major symbol.

Homework for Week of 9/14

Tuesday

- Read "Girl" by Kincaid

- Write 1-2 paragraphs of "Family Instructions"***

Thursday

- Read "Flyboys" and answer blog post

Friday

- 7th Grade Wordly Wise #1 Quiz

Monday 9/21 (BEFORE LEAVING FOR FARM)

- 8th Grade Greek Roots Sheet

*** "Girl" is a largely a set of instructions passed from mother to daughter. In the story a mother tells her daughter about routines (household and social) as well as expectations she has for her child. Imagine an important adult in your life is passing along routines and exceptions for your family and community. What would they look like?

"My Friend Lucy Who Smells Like Corn" Option C

Tepeyac is largely about memory. How does the narrator feel about the memories she is reliving? What words or phrases give you a sense of the narrator's feelings? 

"My Friend Lucy Who Smells Like Corn" Option B

Choose two symbols in the piece Mericans that you consider especially significant. What do they symbolize and why do they stand out to you as symbols?

"My Friend Lucy Who Smells Like Corn" Option A

What is the mood of the piece Salvador Late or Early? What details convey that mood to you the most? Why?

Homework for Week of 9/10

Triplets

- Read all of the vignettes in "My Friend Lucy Who Smells Like Corn" and answer one blog post option, DUE MONDAY, 9/14

-Send me a current, regularly checked email address at tgrattan@manhattancountryschool.org

8th Grade

- Wordly Wise Lesson 1 Exercises, DUE MONDAY 9/14

7th Grade 

- Wordly Wise Lesson 1 Exercises, DUE WEDNESDAY 9/16

Welcome to English!!

WELCOME TO ENGLISH, September 2009

 

It is going to be a very exiting year in English! In our literature classes, we will explore the relationship between the individual and society in books like A Catcher in the Rye and Persepolis. How is an individual shaped by the society that he or she lives in? How too can an individual influence his or her society? How do societies accept and reject individuals? How do religion, politics, and social norms play a role?

 

Our writing classes will focus on creative and expository writing, as well as vocabulary building and grammar. The 7^th grade writing curriculum includes units on poetry, persuasive essays, and autobiography. 8^th grade will writing focus on persuasive writing as well, along with units on short fiction and journalism.

 

Your effort mark for English will be determined through the following five categories:

 

Participation

Class participation is key, both in our writing and literature classes. Discussion and group work make up a substantial part of our work in class, so please come to class with questions and comments about the readings.

 

Homework

You should expect homework on most nights, often short reading and reading response assignments. While many assignments will be short-term, there will be a number of long-term assignments and projects, particularly in writing. One of the goals in 7^th and 8^th grade is for students to learn how to manage time, so if you are given, for example, two weeks to complete an assignment, that assignment should be worked on a little bit each day for the entire two-week period.

 

Class Journal

This year you have been asked to provide a journal that will remain in class at all times. In this journal I will ask you to respond to a particular idea from the assigned reading.  It is meant to be a place for you to deepen your thinking, so my comments and grades for the journals will focus primarily on the depth of your thinking, the detail with which you answer a question and the thought you give in creating your own arguments.

 

Essays and Formal Assignments

While the journal gives you a chance to figure out your ideas, it is through revision, organization and carefully constructed arguments that each of you will develop your critical and analytical writing skills. Most essays will include numerous drafts, and creative assignments such as character monologues will be written in first and final drafts as well. The focus on revision is key in developing as a writer, so grades for each assignment will look both at the effort you put into the early drafts and outlines, as well as the way in which you use revision to create a strong and thoughtful final draft.

 

 

Quizzes and Tests

There will be quizzes, both announced and unannounced, as well as tests on the books we read and for vocabulary. Please be sure to come to class prepared each day. Tests will be less frequent. For each test, students will be given ample notice as well as in-class review sessions.

 

 

 

Materials

Please be sure to have the following by our first day of triplets:

• Two notebooks
• One 3 subject notebook
• One journal/notebook that will stay in school, at least 100 pages long
• A section in your binder for Literature and one for Writing/Grammar
• An English Folder
• Something to write with!!