Third trimester assignments
Discovery Language Arts
Assignments for the third trimester
Eight books (or the equivalent) verified with an acceptable email or participation in a reading group. (note: not conferences) See the schedule and the criteria for the emails below. Students will also complete a check list (see attached) that shows that they have read, 25 books from at least three different genres and by a variety of authors and they have read at least four books by one author, about one subject or in one genre during this school year. (30% of final grade)
Four final drafts, including one informational research report, one formal speech and one response to literature. The fourth final draft may be the student’s choice of any genre. The final drafts will be graded on how well the student used the writing process. The speech, informational research report and the response to literature will also be graded on how well the student presents the speech, based on the attached rubrics. (30% of final grade.)
Grading criteria for the writing process
Item Maximum points
First draft 20 points
Conference notes with a teacher’s initials 20 points
Evidence of trying some changes based on conferring 20 points
Evidence of spelling and grammar checking & proofreading 20 points
Final draft on time 20 points
Language Arts Binder completeness and organization, and Vocabulary/Day book option) and miscellaneous assignments (15% of final grade)
Philosophy question on demand essays (10% of the final grade)
Quizzes (10 % of the final grade)
Class participation and use of class time (5% of the final grade)
Assignment Deadline:
o Book 1 Tuesday, March 17, 2009
o Prepare for PQ 1 Monday, March 23, 2009
o Book 2 Thursday, March 26, 2009
o Final Draft 1 Monday, March 30, 2009
o Book 3 Monday, April 6, 2009
o Prepare for PQ 2 Monday, April 13, 2009
o Book 4 Wednesday, April 15, 2009
o Final Draft 2 Friday, April 17, 2009
o Prepare for PQ 3 Monday, May 4 ,2009
o Book 5 Friday, May 5, 2009
o Book 6 Tuesday, May 12, 2009
o Final draft 3 Wednesday, May 13, 2009
o Book 7 Thursday, May, 21, 2009
o Prepare for PQ 4 Tuesday, May 26, 2009
o Final Draft 4 Monday, June 1, 2009
o Speech By Monday, June 1, 2009
o Informational Report By Monday, June 1, 2009
o Literature Response By Monday, June 1, 2009
o “Choice” writing By Monday, June1, 2009
o Book8 Tuesday, June 2, 2009
E-Mail Reading Verification for Non-Fiction Books
Your e-mail, sent to Mrs. Mainer and cc’d to at least one friend, must be spell checked, capitalized and punctuated correctly and include all of the following:
· Book title (capitalized, spelled correctly, italicized*add a * if your computer will not allow italicizing)
· Author
· If it is in a series, the series name
· A brief description of the topic
You should also pick at least one of the following topics and answer the questions in detailed, complete sentences.
Topic
o What are three interesting things you learned about the topic?
o Why did you decide to read about this topic?
o What was your favorite part of the book? Why?
Author and Style
o What was the style of the book? (quick facts, narrative, reference)
o Do you think the author is an expert on the topic? Why or why not? Do you think the book is up to date?
o Was the book illustrated? How? Were the illustrations helpful? Why or why not?
o What do you notice about the author’s style in terms of sentence length, descriptions, word choice, emphasis, pacing, voice and tone?
E-mail Reading Verification Requirements
For a Fiction Book
Your e-mail, sent to Mrs. Mainer and cc’d to at least one friend, must include all of the following and must be spell checked, punctuated and capitalized correctly:
· Book title (capitalized, spelled correctly, and italicized (*add a * if your computer will not allow italicizing))
· Author
· Genre and if it is in a series, the series name
· Point of view (first or third person)
· Setting—time and place
· A brief summary of the conflict and your analysis of the type of conflict (person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. nature or fate)
You should also pick at least one of the following topics and answer the questions in detailed, complete sentences.
Character:
Describe the character.
Why is he important?
How does the character change through out the book?
Do you relate to the character? Why? Why not?
Theme:
What do you think is the theme of the book?
Why is it important? Does it relate to any bigger ideas in the world?
Plot:
Describe the plot in more detail.
What do you like about the plot?
What would you change about it if you could?
Author’s style:
What do you notice about the author’s style of writing? Think about sentence length, word choice, action, feeling, descriptions, dialog.
Sample fiction reading verification e-mail
Dear Mrs. Mainer,
I just finished reading the book Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. It is the first of four books in the Twilight series. The book was written in the third person because there is no “I” in the story, just Bella, Edward, Jacob etc. It takes place in Forks, Washington. Forks is a tiny town on a peninsula that gets a lot of rain, so it is not sunny very much (perfect for Vampires). In this story, Bella moved to Forks to live with her father. She met Edward and fell in love with him, but he is a vampire. The conflict is that she loves him, but should not be with him because he is a vampire and they are not supposed to love humans. The main conflict is person v. nature although there is person v. person in the book too.
I think the theme of the book is that fate exists. Bella did not choose to fall in love with Edward, and he did not choose to fall in love with her, but once they met, it was impossible for them to deny their attraction. It did not matter what was considered normal or not, it was what happened and was right for them. I liked this because it was a fairy tale set in modern times. This theme seems to relate to the idea that you can fall in love with anyone, and that it is not something that is exclusive to one group of people.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Alyson
Sample non-fiction reading verification e-mail
Dear Mrs. Mainer,
I just finished reading The Guinness Book of World records 2008. It does not have an author. It is published every year and has a list of all of the world records. It has topics like “Amazing Pet Records,” “Awesome Ocean Records,” and “Dangerous Creature Records.” This book is a reference book. It has lots of small bits of information in it that are all about different things. I enjoyed reading this book because I learned some cool facts, like the worlds highest ranking law enforcement camel is a deputy in Los Angeles County named Bert. I thought this was strange, but interesting!
Thanks for reading,
Alyson
Name___________________
Date____________________
Period__________________
Reading Check list
Twenty-five books:
How many books are listed on your yellow sheets?_________
Three different genres:
1.____________________
2.____________________
3.____________________
Four books by the same author, in the same genre or about the same topic:
Author, genre or topic:__________________
Titles:
1._____________________________________________
2._____________________________________________
3._____________________________________________
4._____________________________________________
Writing Rubric – Response to Literary or Informational Text
Commendations Needs
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6 |
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· purpose is clear throughout; strong focus/controlling idea OR strongly stated purpose focuses the writing (PURPOSE & FOCUS/CONTROLLING IDEA) |
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· intentionally organized for effect (ORGANIZATION & COHERENCE) |
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· fully developed details,; rich and/or insightful elaboration supports purpose (ELABORATION) |
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· distinctive voice, tone, and style enhance meaning (VOICE & TONE) |
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· consistent application of the rules of grade-level grammar, usage, and mechanics |
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5 |
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· purpose is clear; focus/controlling idea is maintained throughout |
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· well- organized and coherent throughout |
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· details are relevant and support purpose; details are sufficiently elaborated |
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· strong command of sentence structure; uses language to enhance meaning |
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· consistent application of the rules of grade-level grammar, usage, and mechanics |
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4 |
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· purpose is evident; focus/controlling idea may not be maintained |
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· generally organized and coherent |
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· details are relevant and mostly support purpose |
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· well-constructed sentences; uses language well |
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· may show inconsistent control of grade-level grammar, usage, and mechanics |
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3 |
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· writing has a general purpose |
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· some sense of organization; may have lapses in coherence |
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· some relevant details support purpose |
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· uses language adequately; may show little variety of sentence structures |
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· may contain some serious errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics |
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2 |
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· attempted or vague purpose; stays on topic |
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· little evidence of organization; lapses in coherence |
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· generalizes or lists details |
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· lacks sentence control; uses language poorly |
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· errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics are distracting |
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1 |
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· lack of evident purpose; topic may not be clear |
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· incoherent or underdeveloped organization |
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· random information |
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· rudimentary or deficient use of language |
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· serious and persistent errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics throughout |
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