Specialized High School Exam

I am still waiting for approval from Dr. B (I should have it tomorrow), but once given I will be holding after-school Specialized High School Test Prep in my room on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 2:45 to 4pm starting on this upcoming Friday, October 16th. These classes will run up until the day before the test (Nov. 6th) and will cover the ELA portion of the test and time-management skills to use during the testing.

Please see me tomorrow after lunch to get a permission slip. NO ONE will be permitted to this tutoring program unless they have a signed permission slip from their parent/guardian!

I look forward to working with you.

Homework Assigned for the Weekend (QUIZ WORDS & DEFINITIONS)

This week we went over what a pitch for a magazine is and how a writer needs to constantly think about the target demographic of the magazine. A writer's pitch is used to convince the Editor-in-Chief that his/her article is worthwhile and beneficial to the magazine. To practice, we created a mission statement and pitch for the magazine as a whole and many of our groups did an excellent job pitching their magazine. To practice further, your homework is to read your Independent Reading book over the weekend and create a title, logo and mission statement for your book (What is the purpose of the book, what demographic is it trying to reach? If your book was a magazine, what type of magazine would it be?) For those classes who were given an outline for your pitch, make sure you complete this outline for class next week.

Quiz Words

Pitch: to sell or get approval for something
Demographic: A statistic about a group of people (ex- Women aged 30-60)
Bias: An unfair or unreasonable judgment of someone or something (usually a pattern of judgements found in the news)
Angle: the interesting approach to a general topic of study (the article isn't just about makeup, it's about how makeup should be applied for day or nighttime use)
Objective: A fair or balanced understanding, recognition of the truth without judgment
Caption: Written explanation of a graphic
Graphic: photos, graphs, illustrations used in a magazine
Sidebar: a section of an article separate from but related to the article.

Interviewing Possible Demographics (HW for 831 & 832)

So far in our unit of study on Feature Articles, we have discussed the ways in which a writer will think carefully about their demographic (or their target reader) to figure out the topic and angle of their feature article before writing it. Today, we went over the 7 types of feature articles (listed below) and we worked on figuring out our ideas. However, before we do our research, we should test out our ideas with the public available to us.

SO, 831 and 832 your assignment is to interview one family member and one friend. Tell them your thoughts about your article and ask them what they would like to know about your topic. Why might they seek out an article like this? What type of information would they want to find in such an article? What do they find interesting about the topic and can they tell you anything about the topic that you might not have thought of yet?

Try to get your relative and friend to be as thorough as possible. You want them to talk to you so you can get good information from them.



The 7 Feature Types

THE HUMAN-INTEREST FEATURE

• This is the most common type of feature article. It describes an unusual aspect of the life of the very ordinary -- something that makes this individual interesting to others.

• This type typically reports on someone’s success in spite of great odds.

• It may recall a tragic predicament.

• It may share a continuing struggle supported only by hope and faith.

THE PERSONALITY FEATURE

• The subject of the article may be famous or not so famous but has done something of interest

to others.

• This type usually shows how a person gained recognition.

• The personality feature is very much like a character sketch.

“THE BEST” ARTICLES

• Many magazines have a column that publishes reviews of the “best” products of all kinds.

• This type of article usually includes the writer’s personal experiences with the product.

• It includes proof and examples that the product is the best of its kind.

• The article includes information about where to get the product and how much it costs.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE (THE 1^ST PERSON FEATURE)

• This type of article shares the author’s experience of something interesting or unusual

• It allows readers to do something through the eyes, ears, experiences and reflections of the author

THE HOW-TO / DIY FEATURE

• This article explains how to do something – usually a complex process that most people

would not know how to do.

• The best how-to articles begin by telling the reader why it is important or beneficial for him

or her to know how to do this.

• The article explains the steps of the process in enough detail so that another person can do

this process.

• This article also includes a list of all of the materials needed to do this process.

THE PAST EVENTS FEATURE

• This article focuses on an historical event or historical celebration.

• The article typically includes research but is not like an encyclopedia report. The article

serves as a human interest history lesson.

• This type of writing is usually puts a “human face” on history. In other words, it lets the

reader know something about the people who were part of history.

THE INFORMATIONAL FEATURE

• This type of article shows insightful coverage of a topic.

• It gives detailed information focused on one aspect of a given topic.

• The article often refers to sources of research but is not like an encyclopedia report. Instead,

the writer makes a personal connection to the subject and includes his/her voice.

Homework assigned for the weekend (AND QUIZ NOTICE)

831-32: Read 40 pages of your IR book and write the opening to an objective news story to an event that you read about in your book. Write an outline of the different perspectives found in this conflict. Any Alien Reports not handed in on Monday will receive points off for lateness!

833: Finish your Alien Reports

834: Those of you who haven't handed in Alien Reports must have them handed in on Friday or I will start taking points off! Read 30 pages of your IR book and rewrite a conflict in the book from another character's perspective.

QUIZ COMING SOON: Vocabulary words for the unit at the end of the week!

Demographic
Caption
Angle
Bias
Perspective
Objective (as in this new story is objective)
Pitch
Graphic

Homework Assigned on 9/30

833- Read 15 pages of your IR book and write about the motivations of your character and the conflicts s/he has gotten into.

832- Read 20 pages of your IR book and write about the motivations of your character and the conflicts s/he has gotten into. Watch the news and determine whether the news is biased or not.

Homework Due for 831 and 834 tomorrow October 1st:

831- Read chapters 8 & 9 of Three Cups of Tea

834- Read 20 pages of your IR book and write part of your Alien Report

Alien Report (Some Tips on How to Get an A)

So, you want to write a good report? You'd like to write an amazing Alien Report and start off your first marking period as an 8th grader with a solid A in ELA (notice that B,C,D, and F are not in the intials ELA...coincidence??)

Well, here are a few tips on how to write an awesome report.

1. Write with a mixture of creativity and analysis: You are pretending to be an alien (or if you are already an alien, you are simply using what you know) to make meaningful observations of your human character. So have your alien REACT like an alien observing humans for the first time would act. What feelings do they have? What conclusions would they make? How can this way of seeing the world of the story make the story interesting??

2. Even though I'm encouraging you to write creatively, you NEED to base your reactions and conclusions on the text of your Independent Reading Book. So you MUST have lines from the text to share with your commander. Here is an example from the book I am reading (I am pretending to be an alien here):

• Then my human did something inconceivable. He quit his job and decided to turn away from the help he had received in America, "I leave, knowing I am leaving this job and I am leaving Atlanta...Today I have options" (533) Despite this abrupt decision, this human sees the world open up before him. His determination to quit and move beyond the help of charitable friends is a sign that he is ready to take control of his life, hopefully for the good.

3. You should try to organize your paper to focus on separate behaviors from paragraph to paragraph. For instance, the sample above would work well in a paragraph about confidence and/or self-reliance. So, my alien would have to conclude that humans are successful when they begin to take control of their lives. The other paragraphs of my essay would be focused on other behaviors (being a victim, endurance, prayer...to name a few that I would use from the book I am reading right now).

831- Your paper is due on Tuesday when you get back after the long weekend.

832- Your paper is due on Wednesday

833-34 - Your paper is due on Thursday

The due dates are different only because I handed out the assignment at different times to different classes depending on how far we had gone with our lessons. Enjoy the weekend and remember: Reading is out of this world...

Give a Chance to Others

The following is an edited version of a four page paper that I received from a student who was asked to write about what inspires and represents him. I was completely astounded by the size of his heart:

What motivated me was visiting my country Bangladesh. It changed me into a caring person that thinks that everyone should get an education and a good future that isn't based on how much money you have or what you own.

The day that I started was in February of 2008 during President's Week. My parents and I went to Bangladesh for my mother because my grandmother had passed away. It was my third time to Bangladesh. I was not that excited because I got tested alot when I went there and it was hot...I mean HOT and there are mosquitos, a whole lot of them. I went to Bangladesh to pay my respects to my grandmother.

When I got there it was something that you couldn't imagine in America. It was crowds of people, police officers with AK-47s and the heat was just crazy. But out of all of this drama, the thing that stands out was the poor people. It wasn't like it was one, it was hundreds of them begging for money or food. What shook me the most was that I was as I was getting into the taxi to my Auntie's house, there was a little boy. He was not begging for money or food. He said to me, "Can you take me with you when you go to America, so I can have a good education." I didn't say anything and I just walked away to my taxi.

On the way to my Auntie's house I thought about the kid that was begging. As we were going, I saw a lot more people that were in need. It made me have a feeling that I never had in my life. It was like I lost my heart and replaced it with a new clean heart without anything in it. Staying there a couple of days made me feel like something you can't describe, but it feels good. I spent most of my time playing with my cousin and the poor kids. We played cricket, swam and even caught chickens. As I was playing I learned about so many of these kids. Like most of them don't have parents, they didn't live in a home, they lived outside in the streets. Seeing them just made me feel really bad and I wanted to help them but I couldn't. They didn't have clothes on their backs, no shoes, but one thing that just shocked me was that every one of them wanted to learn. It just made me feel serious about my work. I said to myself, I am going to do this for them and become something. I hope I can go back and give everyone the education so they aren't just hanging around on the street begging without clothes on their backs.

The picture that comes to mind is of three kids that will do anything to learn for school. They don't have money so they hide in the bushes next to the classroom window and write on the ground. It showed me how far kids will go to learn.

I think if every child around the world was helped there will not be so many problems in the world like poverty, hunger, and wars. I believe that if everyone helps each other there won't be any problems in the world.