Christmas Around the World

Christmas Around the World #1--click here
Christmas Around the World #2--click here
Christmas Around the World #3--click here

Poetry Analysis Questions and Poetry Project

 "Pumped Up Kicks"

Poetry Analysis Questions

Directions: Answer the questions below. Use complete sentences. Make sure to answer all parts of the question. 

1. Title: What predictions can you make from the title?
   
2. Paraphrase: Summarize the poem in your own words.
   
3. Connotation:Find examples of imagery, metaphors, similes, etc. and elaborate on their connotative meanings.
   
4. Attitude: What attitude does the poet have toward the subject of the poem?  Find and list examples that illustrate the tone and mood of the poem.
   
5. Audience: Who is the intended audience? How did you get that answer?
   
6. Speaker:  Who is the speaker of this poem? (Remember: the speaker and the author are not the same.) Your description of the speaker should start “The speaker of this poem is a person who…”

Poetry Project 

Commercial and Debate

Today's Tasks

1. Commercial: Directions – Create a 60-second commercial advertising your candidate. This commercial should focus on persuading undecided voters to vote for your candidate. This can be done using any combination of ethos, pathos, and logos arguments. Since this is a political campaign, the commercials can either be positive (highlighting your candidate's accomplishments and ideas), negative (attacking another candidate), or a mixture of both.  You will be turning in a storyboard, script, and final product. Your final product can either be a recorded commercial or one that is performed in class. Since the candidates are fictitious, anyone in the group can portray the candidate for the commercial.

Components:
1. Script – Description of what is happening (stage directions) in the commercial and what is said by the actors.
2. Final product – Your final product can either by a 60 second video or live action skit in class.

How you will be graded:
Script: 20 points
Requirements: 10 points
Persuasiveness: 10 points
Creativity: 10 points
Final: 50 points

Due Wednesday!

1. On Tuesday, there will be a presidential debate in class. Each group will select one person to play the part of the presidential candidate. This person will give a 30-second opening comments that describes who s/he is as a candidate and how s/he will make America better. Then the moderator (Mr. Spivy) will ask each candidate a variety of questions. If a the candidate mentions another candidate, then that candidate will receive a chance to defend him/herself. 

Below are a list of questions that might be asked of the candidates. Each candidate can bring up notes to reference, so it would be wise to write down answer to the questions below. 

You will be graded on how well each question is answered using sound logic (no logical fallacies) and if the answers match up with what your candidate believes. This will be worth 30 points. 

Questions:

1.       What is the best solution for an unwanted pregnancy?

2.       The rate of joblessness has dropped since the beginning of the Obama Administration; what will you do as president to continue this trend?

3.       If you could do one thing as president to assist the economy, what would that be?

4.       The environment in Washington has been toxic for nearly a decade with political parties typically choosing to argue with one another instead of trying to work together. This has led to the shutdown of the government multiple times. How can you as a president help improve the climate of Washington?

5.       How do your propose to balance the budget? Will this be a priority of your administration?

6.        At what point do you believe America should send troops to abroad to fight ISIS?

7.       Within the past two years, the amount of school shootings have multiplied; what is your solution to this problem?

8.       There are parts of Obamacare that have helped many people pay for healthcare that could not afford it before; there are other parts of Obamacare that are hurting the economy and making health insurance unaffordable for many Americans. Is there anything you would do to Obamacare as president? 

9.       What is your solution for the illegal immigration problem?

10.   Would you reform the welfare program?

11.   What would you do within the first year of your presidency? What does America look like when you are president?

12. What is your response to the attacks in Paris on Friday? 

Crises Tasks

Candidate Crisis: 

On NBC’s Nightly News last night, Brian Williams reported on a story about former Mayor Alexander Rubens. In the report, it was mentioned that Rubens had been living with his current wife, Tatiana, for over three years while still being married to his ex-wife, Elizabeth. In fact, even though the couple attended Mayor Ruben’s first mayoral inauguration as husband and wife, Rubens had actually already moved in with the model and had been living with her for over six months. The timeline suggests that even though the former Mrs. Rubens campaigned for her then husband, they were not actually living together and had been planning to divorce throughout the whole campaign. The two remained married for two more years until the right time was determined by the mayor’s staff. When asked for a comment, Elizabeth Rubens (the mayor’s ex-wife) stated, “I only did what Alex asked of me. I was still in love with the man and wanted for him whatever made him happy.” The only source that William’s revealed was an anonymous colleague of the former Mrs. Rubens.

Earlier this week on Fox News, a phone call that had been secretly recorded between Gov. Anthony Di Stefano and a group of top donors was aired during the primetime news hour. In this recording, a voice, which has been identified (but not verified) as Di Stefano can be heard saying, “I don’t get these Solvo people. They talk about being religious and caring for the poor, but they would push a homeless man in front of a moving car if they thought it would save them money. Are these people mentally challenged?” The Council for Disabled Individuals has quickly pulled their support of the governor’s presidential campaign and has decried him as, “a bully who is no better than the nasty kid on the playground.”

In the Los Angeles Times, portions of an essay entitled, “The Problem with Deism,” were published on the front page. This essay was written by Cara Sneed while she was a philosophy student at Oxford University forty years ago. In this essay, Sneed states that, “The belief in God only exists because people need to have something to rely on and that the truth is too difficult for most people to grasp.” She writes that “There can be no afterlife, and that believing in such an idea only occurs because people are gullible and willing to believe in anything that will give them hope.” This essay was written in a class that focused on religion. Many of her supporters have defended Ms. Sneed saying that this was only written for a class and that she was only trying to please a professor. However, many voters within her own party wonder if Sneed is actually an atheist. Sneed has never made mention of her religious beliefs.

The Washington Post reported on an investigation that they had conducted on former Sec. Diane Ellsworth’s time at the Pentagon. While most of this investigation revealed little, there was one piece of information that the investigative reporter found interesting. In the article, the reporter detailed that while Ellsworth was Defense Secretary, she pushed Congress to pass a bill that would allow the Defense Department to purchase new weapons from Titan Defense Supplier. At the time, Congress easily passed the bill which was quickly signed by the president. Nearly $1.5 billion was spent on the new materials, pushing the government into even more debt. It has now been uncovered that one of the largest investors in Titan Defense Supplier was Dr. Richard Wells, who is the younger half-brother of Sec. Ellsworth. As an investor in the company, Dr. Wells receives a portion of the company’s profit; Dr. Wells is also financial supporter of Ellsworth’s campaign. Some are now accusing Ellsworth of nepotism and making deals for the sole purpose of helping her family. While Titan Defense Supplier is one of the leading arms suppliers in the world, the report indicated that Ellsworth did not determine if any other company could provide the same materials for less money.

On MSNBC last night, Al Sharpton reported that while Rep. Ryan Davis was in college, he attended an independent Catholic Church (a church that is not sanctioned by the international church) lead by Father Zachariah Meyers. Meyers has been in the news throughout the decades for making anti-American and racist statements. At times, his comments have been so defamatory that some have accused him of being a traitor and have caused racial tension to rise. These comments include, “America isn’t great. America has never been great. God does not bless America. Why should He? We’re ungrateful. We pray for safety. Why? We’re the terrorists in the world!” The priest has also been known for railing against Jewish people, even stating, “Perhaps Hitler was sent on a mission from God.” This comment was quickly recanted. Rep. Davis attended this church for two years while he was in college.

Tasks:

Today’s Tasks (11/12/15):

1.       Write a speech (minimum one minute) that your candidate (anyone in your group) will give tomorrow at the beginning of class. This speech should address the crisis that your candidate now has to face. Decide if the person will simply apologize, if the person will justify his/her actions, or if this person will deny it. Will your candidate “throw another candidate under the bus” to shift the attention away from him/herself? Will your person own up to it like a decent human being? Make sure that you include logos, pathos, and ethos. If you need help with details, ask Mr. Spivy. –due beginning of class tomorrow

2.       Write a memo to your campaign volunteers throughout the country. In this memo, you need to tell your staff how they should address the crises of the other candidates. Should they be supportive of the other candidates? Should they be critical of the other candidates? Should they just ignore the other candidates’ crises?

Write a paragraph for each about each of the other candidates with how your volunteers should address these crises and the reasoning behind your decision.—due tomorrow

3.       Finish the tasks from earlier this week. That would include the three posters (one generic, one slogan, one issues) and the two issues articles (on abortion, immigration, or gun control). Follow the directions from earlier this week to help you in this endeavor.—due tomorrow

Campaign Day #4

Today’s Tasks:

#1- Finish your announcement speech. Practice this speech in front of another person in your group. Time the speech to make sure it is at least a minute and a half. Make sure that your speech uses logos, pathos, and ethos while avoiding logical fallacies (refer to the board for assistance)- due today during class. Follow the ten steps provided in this website http://wittcom.com/how-to-give-a-speech/.  

#2- If Mr. Spivy has approved your campaign posters’ rough drafts, then create your final campaign posters. Mr. Spivy will provide you with the correct paper and color pencils if you do not already have them- due Friday.

#3- Write two newspaper articles detailing your candidate’s stance on abortion, immigration, or gun control (choose two out of the three). Research the topic before you begin writing so that you have facts to back up your claims. Your articles will be three paragraphs long. The first paragraph should introduce the topic (provide general information or maybe a brief history). The second paragraph should detail your candidate’s views on this topic and why s/he holds these views. The third paragraph should describe the views of at least one other candidate and why your candidate believes that person is wrong. Do not use phrases like “I think” or “I believe” because it makes your argument weak- due Friday. 

Campaign End of Week

Campaign Items due at the end of today:

1.       A completed contract

2.       The discussion notes from your discussion about who your candidate is, why s/he is running, what s/he offers that no one else does, and why your candidate would be a good president.

3.       Your slogan, which has been circled

4.       The rough drafts for your three (or five for Block) campaign signs. Each sign should have the candidate’s name, the political party, and 2016 on them. A rough draft should be almost a perfect replica of what final version will look like.

5.       The press release including who your candidate it, what s/he believes in (do not include every single belief), and why s/he would be the best person to be elected president. Three paragraphs!

Due Monday

1.       One person from each group will give a speech as the candidate announcing his/her candidacy for the presidency. 

Campaign Day #2

Today’s Tasks

1.      If you did not finish step #2 from yesterday, that must be done today.

2.      If you did not create a slogan yesterday, that must be done today.

3.      Finish the rough drafts for your campaign signs. Use the direction from yesterday. If you finish the rough drafts, alert Mr. Spivy so that you can begin working on your final signs. Rough drafts are due today.

4.      Create a press release (short newspaper article) announcing your candidate’s decision to run for president. This press release should include who your candidate is, what s/he believes in (do not include every single belief), and why s/he would be the best person to be elected president-due tomorrow.

5.      On Monday, each group will give a speech announcing your candidate’s decision to run for president. One person in your group will assume the role of the candidate to give this speech (using I, me, we, us). This speech needs to announce to the country why your candidate is running for president, why they would be the best choice, and what makes them qualified. Use all three types of arguments that were discussed in class (logos, pathos, ethos). Research other presidential announcement speeches to help give you an idea where to start. This speech needs to be at least one minute and thirty seconds.

Campaign Day 1 Tasks

Today’s Tasks

1.      Finish the contract. The link is in a previous post.

2.      Discuss why you believe that candidate is running for president—what does s/he offer that no other candidate offers? What would compel them to run for president? If there is one thing that s/he would change about the nation, what would it be? Remember, your whole campaign will be based off of this discussion. This should be a discussion among the whole group. If I ask any person in the group any of these questions later, s/he should be able to answer it. Take notes on this conversation and put it in the folder by the end of class.

3.      After the candidate has been selected, craft a slogan that will define your campaign. The slogan should be connected to your overall message, be clear, and be catchy. Look at the following link to help you generate ideas: http://www.localvictory.com/communications/political-slogans.html Use the i-Pads to research slogans that were used in past campaigns to help you create your own—due today.

4.      Create rough drafts for three different posters. The first poster should be a generic poster. The second should be of the slogan. The third should be about one of the issues that your candidate will be addressing throughout this campaign. Each poster should include the candidate’s name, his/her political party (except for Rubens), and the election year (2016). Research campaign signs and posters that have been used by other politicians to help generate ideas. You will not be allowed to create your final campaign posters/signs until a rough draft has been approved—due by the end of the day tomorrow.

5.      Create a press release (short newspaper article) announcing your candidate’s decision to run for president. This press release should include who your candidate is, what s/he believes in (do not include every single belief), and why s/he would be the best person to be elected president-due tomorrow.

Campaign Project and Contract

Project description:

Congratulations! Your team (table) has been selected to run the campaign for a fictitious presidential candidate. During this campaign, you will be creating campaign signs/posters, political cartoons, speeches, newspaper articles, slogans, and commercials.

You will be employing the different powers of persuasion to convince the American public to vote for your candidate. You will have to tackle issues like immigration, gun control, healthcare, and abortion rights (and, maybe, even have to fight for a position that you do not believe in).

Each day, your team will be given specific tasks that have to be accomplished. If these objectives are not met, then your team could suffer (academically) or you could even be fired. The candidates expects perfection or at least as close to perfection as you can get.

Tomorrow, you will be getting to know the five candidates and then decide which candidate your team will be representing.

Since you are entering into a business agreement with the people in your team, you need to create a binding contract.

Click on the link below to receive instruction on how to create this contract.

click here!

Final Essay/Grammar Exercises

Agenda:
1. Final Essay
2. Bell-ringer
3. Grammar Exercises

Final Essay:

1. Review the directions from Thursday. Follow those directions until you are finished typing your essay. 

2. When you have completed your essay, go to my.hrw.com.

3. Your username is your student ID number. 

4. Your password is the lowercase of your first initial, the uppercase of your last initial @402. 

     Example: Molly Smith's password would be mS@402. 

5. Login to your account on this website. 

6. Once you are logged on, find the square towards the bottom of the screen that says "narrative." 

7. Click on this square to open the assignment. This only works on Google Chrome. If the assignment does not pop-up, let Mr. Spivy know. The automatic pop-up blocker has probably prevented this from happening. 

8. Once you have opened the assignment, copy and paste your essay into the text box.

9. If you need assistance, ask Mr. Spivy.

Bell-ringer:
Directions: Write the sentences and then define the underlined words using context clues and prior knowledge.

1. The dauntless dingo laughed in the face of fear.

2. Her debut performance was so incredible that no one believed it was her first show.

3. Wearing hats will be difficult for Marie now that she is decapitated.

4. The student deceived the teacher with an essay found online.

5. Dr. Stein’s accidental explosion decimated half of his lab.

Grammar Exercises:

Directions: Complete the following grammar exercises. DO NOT rush through these; practice is not beneficial if it is done haphazardly. 

Comma spices and fused sentences--click here

Fragments--click here

Commas--click here

Subject-Verb Agreement--click here

Final Essay

Agenda:
1. Bell-ringer
2. Final Essay

Bell-ringer:

Jerritt wants to buy a car, but it cost $4650; he doesn’t have a job, and the only job he can find will pay him $5.00 an hour. Because he is in school, he can only work 20 hours a week. How many weeks will he need to work before he can buy the car? Show work. No calculator.

Final Essay:

1. Review the directions from yesterday. Follow those directions until you are finished typing your essay. 

2. When you have completed your essay, go to my.hrw.com.

3. Your username is your student ID number. 

4. Your password is the lowercase of your first initial, the uppercase of your last initial @402. 

     Example: Molly Smith's password would be mS@402. 

5. Login to your account on this website. 

6. Once you are logged on, find the square towards the bottom of the screen that says "narrative." 

7. Click on this square to open the assignment. This only works on Google Chrome. If the assignment does not pop-up, let Mr. Spivy know. The automatic pop-up blocker has probably prevented this from happening. 

8. Once you have opened the assignment, copy and paste your essay into the text box.

9. If you need assistance, ask Mr. Spivy. 

Bell-ringer and Agenda

Agenda:
1. Bell-ringer
2. Type final draft of narrative essay

Bell-ringer:
Write the quote and answer the questions that follow.

“I think a lot of times we don't pay enough attention to people with a positive attitude because we assume they are naive or stupid or unschooled.” Amy Adams

1. Why would someone with a positive attitude be perceived as stupid?

2. Why do people with negative attitudes receive more attention?

Final Draft--This is only to be done if you have finished your rough draft. 

1. Open Word or use Word on your Office 365 account. 

2. Select a font that is professional looking and set it to 12-point. 

3. In the top left corner, put your name in the first line, the period below that, and the date below that. 

4. Below your heading, type the title of your essay and center it on the page. 

5. Begin typing your essay. Make sure to indent each paragraph. Do not insert an extra space after each paragraph. 

Mr. Spivy will be around to show you how to double-space your essay. 

Peer Edit Steps

1.      Read your partner’s essay aloud to your partner. Read it exactly as it is written. If there are no pause marks (commas, semicolons) or end marks, then read the essay accordingly.

2.      You may write on your partner’s paper with pencil.

3.      Is there an effective hook? Does it grab your attention? Write if it is good or not. If the hook is not effective, then give a suggestion.

4.      Do the paragraphs flow from one to the next? Are there effective transitions? If not, mark where you become confused by the progression ideas.

5.      Are the characters and setting described with vivid details?

6.      Did they show the story instead of tell the story? Did s/he use strong verbs and vivid descriptions?

7.      Check the mechanics of the essay (capitalization, punctuation, and spelling). Correct homophone issues (there, their, and they’re; your and you’re; its and it’s; to, two, and too).

Dialogue Rules

Ten Rules for Writing Dialogue:
1. Put quotes in quotation marks.
2. Capitalize the first letter of the direct quote.
3. In a split quote, the second part of the quote does not need to be capitalized.
4. In a split quote, a comma follows the first part and another comma follows the speak tag.
5. When a quote begins the sentence, a comma, exclamation point, or question mark comes before the speaker tag. NEVER A PERIOD!
6. If the speaker tag comes at the beginning, a comma follows it.
7. A period and a comma always go in the quotation.
8. Each new quote begins a new paragraph. It should be on a new line and indented.
9. Do not overuse quotations.
10. Give each quote purpose--dialogue should not be boring and pointless. 

Hook Examples

Examples of possible hooks:

Writing Introductions for Narrative Essays

In-the-middle/Action hook:

          We were working at the laundry when a delivery boy came from the drugstore around the corner.  He had a pale blue box of pills, but nobody was sick.  Reading the label, we saw that it belonged to another Chinese family, Crazy Mary's family.  "Not ours," said my father. “That ghost! That dead ghost!” my mother boiled. “How dare he come to the wrong house?"  She could not concentrate on her marking and pressing.  “A mistake! Huh!"

-- from Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts

Dialogue hook:

          “Have you dived in the pass yet?” the manager of the hotel asked the first evening, when we told him that we liked the diving.

          “No,” we said, “not yet.”

          “Ah,” he said, “You must dive the pass. The swiftness of the current, and also there are many fish.”

          “Sharks?” someone asked.

          “Yes,” he said, smiling as if he knew something we didn’t, “usually some sharks.”

-- opening of Michael Crichton’s essay “Sharks” in Travels.

Startling/Disturbing/Surprising Fact or Statement Hook:

          It is not easy to cut through a human head with a hacksaw.

          The blade kept snagging the skin, and slipping off the smooth base of the forehead. If I made a mistake, I slid to one side or the other, and I would not saw precisely down the center of the nose, the mouth, the chin, the throat. It required tremendous concentration. I had to pay close attention, and at the same time I could not really acknowledge what I was doing, because it was so horrible.      

-- opening of Michael Crichton’s essay “Cadaver” in Travels

Character or Setting Description Hook:

          Father was a stern straight man. Straight legs and shoulders; straight side-trim to his beard, the ends of which were straight-cut across his chest. From under heavy eyebrows his look was direct, though once in a rare while a little twinkle forced its way through. Then something was likely to happen. Our family had to whiz around Father like a top round its peg.

-- opening of Emily Carr’s essay “Time” in The Growing Pains: The Autobiography of Emily Carr

Rhetorical Question Hook:

          What did I see that night I peered through the slots of the blinds covering the glass on my grandmother’s door? Was it the eyes of some poor dog or cat stranded in the sudden downpour of the thunderstorm, or was it my own psychic twin here to frighten me into being a more obedient child? To this day, I do not know.

Apt Quotation Hook:

          When I remember what Oscar Wilde wrote in “The Critic as an Artist,” that “there is no sin except stupidity,” I have to admit that my brother is the most sinful person in the world.

          From our earliest days, he was the dupe of the most amazing schemes, but perhaps the most serious and therefore most sinful of all was that incident where he . . .

End-of-the-Story Hook:

          The shackles the police officers had placed around my wrists chilled me farther than the bone—it froze me to the soul. The lifeless body lied next to my feet. Blood still stuck to my feet as I walked out of my home and the freedom I had once taken for granted.

Narrative Essay

Narrative Writing

You will be creating a narrative essay. The purpose of a narrative essay is to tell a story.  Typically, a teacher will ask you to write a personal narrative essay or give you a specific prompt for your essay; I am not going to assign a topic. You will get to determine what your essay will be about and develop your own story. This story can be a personal narrative or this essay can be completely fictional. It is up to you. Regardless of the focus of your essay, it must be completely original—do not reproduce the same ideas from another published work. Must be at least five paragraphs!

Grade Breakdown:

·        4-Square—15 points

·        Rough Draft—15 points

·        Final Draft —50 points

·        Total —80 points

Criteria:

Organization-your essay starts with an interesting hook; one idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions. There is an obvious plot structure.

Characters/Setting- Many vivid, descriptive words are used to tell when and where the story took place. Characters are fully developed.

Format- All formatting requirements (double-space, font size, dialogue, technical aspects) are met.

Creativity-The story contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author uses sensory details, strong descriptive words, and figurative language.

Grammar/mechanics- The story contains no grammatical and mechanical errors

STAR Reading

Directions:
1. Take the STAR Reading Test.
2. Do the bell-ringer (add to your other bell-ringers)
3. Interactive Grammar Exercises


STAR Reading
1. Go the STAR Reading website => click here
2. Your username is the student ID# (9600)
3. Your password is the first letter of your first name and the first letter of your last name (ex: J.T. Spivy would use js as his password)
4. Take the Reading Test for Mr. Spivy
5. Take your time; do your best.

Bell-ringer (the first of the 2nd nine weeks)
We are at the end of the first 9 weeks of your 8th grade year. I want you to go to your LiveGrades account and look over your grades. Then, answer the questions below with complete sentences.

1. Are you pleased with the grades you earned this nine weeks?
2. Which class was the toughest? Which was the easiest?
3. If you could do one thing different (and it does not have to be academics related), what would you do?

Grammar Exercises
Complete the grammar exercises below. These exercises were selected specifically for you based on the essay portion of the test. Do not rush through these; you learn nothing by clicking and moving on!
Fragments--click here 
Apostrophes--click here
Pronoun Agreement--click here
There, they're, their--click here
To, Two, Too--click here
Subject-Verb Agreement--click here

When are finished...
1. You can work on your essay (which is due tomorrow).
2. Go to freerice.com

Bell-ringer and Assignments

Agenda:

1. Bell-ringer

2. The Outsiders WebQuest

3. Free Rice


1. Bell-ringer:

Answer the word problem below. Show your work. You cannot use a calculator.


A test has twenty questions worth 100 points.  The test consists of True/False questions worth 3 points each and multiple choice questions worth 11 points each.  How many multiple choice questions are on the test?

2. WebQuest

click here==> WebQuest

3. Free Rice

click here to donate free rice to people around the world by answering simple vocabulary and English questions==> freerice.com

Tuff Time Journal Entry #4

Answer the following questions in paragraph form (must be at least five sentences). Make sure to answer the specific questions for each paragraph. Be thorough. Be honest.

Paragraph 1: What limits do your parents/guardians put on your freedoms? Which rule do you dislike the most? Why?

Paragraph 2: Why do your parents put these limits on you? Everyone has to follow rules in life (at school, at work, state/federal laws); why were these rules created? What would life be like if these rules did not exist?