Vocabulary Game: http://classtools.net/widgets/quiz_5/WNfDH.htm
if you can score over 225 print it out and bring it in for extra credit!
February 5, 2010
Please make sure you are familiar with the following stories:
“The Cask of Amantillado”
http://www.literature.org/authors/poe-edgar-allan/amontillado.html
“The Most Dangerous Game”
http://fiction.eserver.org/short/the_most_dangerous_game.html
“The Birds”
http://estherblodgett.livejournal.com/35929.html
“The Gift of the Magi”
http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/Gift_of_the_Magi.html
“The Necklace”
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Neck.shtml
“The Scarlet Ibis”
Make sure you know the author, theme, narrator, point of view, protagonist, antagonist, tone, mood, and plot of each story.
Good luck!
February 2, 2010
January 29, 2010
January 25, 2010
Here’s the powerpoint from class today (copy and paste it into your browser):
http://www.odessa.edu/dept/english/dsmith/pronoun.antecedent.ppt
January 25, 2010
Test on Friday
ppt of vocabulary:
vocabulary game
http://classtools.net/widgets/quiz_2/tYcng.htm
if you can score over 250 challenge me at: alex.marsh@cobbk12.org for extra credit!
January 21, 2010
January 20, 2010
Here is the powerpoint for Unit 1:
Here is a computer game you can play to test your knowledge. If you score over a 250 challenge me at alex.marsh@cobbk12.org for extra credit on the quiz!
January 15, 2010
There’s a specific formula that newspaper journalists should follow when authoring a news story, and when done correctly, the writer can effectively educate and entertain readers from all walks of life. The “lead” of a news story, typically the first paragraph, should provide a clear and concise overview of the main point(s) (who, what, when, where, how and why), thereby conveying to the reader what he or she will be learning about in the piece.
The content of a news story should be unbiased, and completely fact-based. Sources of the information should be clearly cited and integrated into the piece.
Sentences should be clear, concise and worded in a manner that is appropriate for the audience.
Another important concept to keep in mind when writing a news story is the pyramid format, developed in the early years of broadcasting when reception was often inconsistent. News reporters placed the most important facts at the beginning of the broadcast and additional information was mentioned in order of descending importance so that listeners received the most important information first, even in the event that a listener’s reception was interrupted part-way through the broadcast. Using the pyramid style of reporting ensured that the most important information would be disseminated first.
Today, the pyramid format serves to present the reader the most important facts first, drawing him in to read the remainder of the story. Facts should be mentioned in order of descending importance.
“Quotes can be a wonderful tool for a news writer, when used appropriately,” explained longtime journalist Doug Wood-Boyle, who has worked in the field for over a quarter century.
He added, “Quotations can clearly illustrate opposing opinions. They can also add a human feel to a story, while also providing the writer with an outlet to clearly illustrate a person’s thoughts or opinion on an issue. They’re also perfect when someone says something or illustrates a point more effectively than you, the reporter, can accomplish.”
Here’s an example of pyramid structure and use of quotations:
Across USA, schools get ready for wave of swine flu cases
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
It didn’t take long for swine flu to show up at Vista del Lago High School in California’s Sacramento County: About 10 a.m. on Aug. 10, two hours into the first school day, administrators got a call with news that a freshman who had stayed home that morning had a confirmed case.
“I was hoping we’d make it until at least 11 o’clock,” says Mary Ann Delleney, who oversees health for Folsom Cordova Unified School District.
By Day 2 it was up to eight cases, and by week’s end the number of confirmed cases at the school rose to 14 — a reminder that for many schools and colleges this fall, swine flu, or H1N1, may be a fact of life.
As millions of students and teachers head back to class this month and next, schools are preparing for the return of the new flu strain, which first appeared almost simultaneously last April in Mexico and the USA. But seasonal flu also is making its annual return this fall — a combination that is creating uncertainty and anxiety as medical personnel prepare for both strains.
Now complete the following assignment:
The Birds”
News Report
Your task:
Imagine that you are a reporter for the BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation.
You have been sent from London to the coast to investigate firsthand what has happened
in Cornwall. Write and read aloud a news report in which you retell what has
happened to Hocken and his neighbors. Make your descriptions as vivid as possible, but
stick to the facts as they are known.
7 sentences
2 Unit vocabulary words
no 1st person
1 properly cited quote from story
1st sentence should answer who what where and when
January 13, 2010
Noun powerpoint
NOUN QUIZ:
What is the object of a preposition?
What are a noun’s jobs (3 things)?
What is an indirect object?
What is the subject?
What is an object?
What is a noun (4 things)?
What kinds of objects are there (3 things)
What is the possessive?
What is a direct object?
