Reminder - 421 Only

Class 421 students! ABrT Dress Rehearsal Thursday!

Girls please bring in a black skirt on Thursday! YES! There are places you can go to that sells black skirts. Please note that it should not be tight, spandex, or see through. It should be knee length and enough material in the skirt (A-line cut) that if you were to spin in a circle your skirt would create an umbrella effect. If you live in the neighborhood of the school, please go to Junction Blvd. Stores such as, Danice, Pretty Girl, Rainbow, Mandee (if there is one over there), and other stores like these should sell these types of skirts. Also, if all else fails, you could go to a uniform store such as Cookies or Young World for a black skirt.

Gentlemen- please bring a white button down long sleeve shirt, black belt, black slacks and black dress shoes on Thursday.

Project Based Homework Due 11.30.11

Hello All,

I'm sorry if you came by the classroom to come and see me or ask for something, but as you know I am  sick and I left early to go to the doctor.

Anyhow, the body paragraphs are due tomorrow. I gave everyone only one sheet because that was all that printed. Sorry! However, please write your first paragraph on the worksheet and follow the same format on loose leaf. You could photocopy the worksheet I gave you if you don't want to go through all of that trouble! Thanks Samuel Leon for the idea : ) Whatever is easier for you! Just complete ALL THREE body paragraphs.

If you are having trouble writing it, please let me know! Email me a preview of what you wrote and I will try to help you!

Also, I really heard great introductions in class today. So email your fellow classmates who are "writers in the making" for their advice as well.

Lastly, what is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement:

• tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
• makes a claim that others might dispute.
• is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

For more information about thesis statements, please visit http://writingcenter.unc.edu/resources/handouts-demos/writing-the-paper/thesis-statements

Project Based Homework

Hello All!

I appreciate and admire the responsibility that most of you are showing by emailing me about your uncertainty of the homework. Please write your "fantabulous" "dynamite" engaging introductory paragraph either on loose leaf or in your writer's notebook. This is your draft that we will take a look at as a class with the rubric.

If you are just starting now, start backwards (thesis). First think about what life lesson all three have in common and what is it specifically teaching you about. You simply cannot say that it is teaching you about love. What exactly about love is it teaching you? For example, In Myers' short story "Kitty and Mack: A Love Story" and novel Dope Sick and Palminteri's movie A Bronx Tale, it teaches that true love can withstand every trial and obstacle in life no matter what the social, emotional or physical barriers you may encounter.

The sentence highlighted above is the life lesson that I believe ALL THREE teaches and what specifically about love that I think the author and director wanted me to learn. This should be the LAST SENTENCE(thesis) in your introductory paragraph

What does that mean? All I have to do now is find a lyric to a song, a quote, thought provoking question, or something I created on my own that matches what my thesis is talking about as my FIRST SENTENCE (engaging hook) for my introductory paragraph. Then explain what my hook means in THREE SENTENCES!

Please follow the introductory paragraph example in the Power Point print out  I provided in class today.

Project Based Homework Due 11.28.11

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

By this time, most of you should have already finished or close to finishing the short stories or novels from WDM.

Based on class discussion, the prevalent themes in Walter Dean Myers are love, war, friendship, trust, change, choices, life, perseverance, pride, manhood, sacrifice and hope just to name a few.

For the themes I listed above, please do the following:

• select one theme that you feel is the strongest theme in two of Walter Dean Myers' literature.
• find five quotes online that represent the message or life lesson that Walter Dean Myers is teaching in his stories.
• Your selection of quotes can be funny, serious, thought provoking, a line from one of Walter Dean Myers stories or a line from one of your favorite songs.

For example, if I chose friendship as a main theme in "Kitty and Mack: A Love Story" and Sunrise over Fallujah,  one of my quotes would sound like this "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."

Please note that this is only one quote. You need to have a total of five quotes for one theme only.

For websites with quotes, please visit, http://www.brainyquote.com/, www.friendship.com.au/quotes/  and please feel free to find other websites with quotes or lyrics to songs.

Email me if you have any questions!

Reminder for Next Week's Events

1. Monday, November 21, 2011- All 8th Grade- Cap and Gown Picture day at 9 am sharp. Ladies and Gents be camera ready. : )

2. Monday, November 21, 2011 - Class 8-421 - Trip to The Salvation Army in Queens. Please bring your signed permission slip if you have not done so already. If not, have your parent write a signed letter allowing you to come.

3. Tuesday, November 22, 2011- Class 8-421 - Trip to the Finance Museum with Mr. Forte.

4. Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - remainder of 8th grade classes will be on a trip to The Salvation Army at the following locations (Harlem Location: 8-412, 8-420, 8-461) (Queens location 8-417). Please bring in the signed permission slips if you have not done so already.  If not, have your parent write a signed letter allowing you to come.

5. Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - Last day to submit all high school applications to Mrs. Cruz! Please submit them to her prior to this date. If you wait until the last minute, hand it to her prior to leaving on your trip Wednesday.

Enjoy your weekend! :)

Significant and thought provoking themes in A Bronx Tale

      In Chazz Palminteri's movie, A Bronx Tale, there are many themes that arise from this one hundred and twenty two minute film. One of the main themes I believe is prevelant, is that of trust. Sonny, the protagonist in the movie, develops a trust relationship like none other with Calogero (a.k.a "C") that he does not exhibit with any of this gangsta associates. In the eyes of Sonny, it is either his way or the highway, or at times you are placed "in the bathroom". If you do not meet up with his standards, trust and loyalty, you cannot be a part of his circle. However, "C' wins Sonny over when he does not rat him out during a police line up for the murder of a "bat raged man" in the beginning stages of the plot of the movie.  It was at that moment, that one little nine year old boy, who according to his father, "did a good thing for a very bad man", won the trust of a man of crime. It is also intresting to see how trust plays out in this movie. Calogero falls in love with an African American girl, and Sonny allows "C" to use his car for a date to make a "good impression". As "C" says, "Sonny, you don't let anyone use your car." Although Sonny was not "C's" biological father, he did what any caring father would do for a son after his own heart who is at the age of raging hormones and a love sick heart.

  One of the highlights of the movie, "C" asks Sonny in the car, "Don't you trust anyone?" Sonny, bluntly says no. It was at that pivotal moment that "C's" influence affected Sonny.  He realized that it was not all about him. Sonny thought that he lost his trust in "C" and that he turned on him and wanted him killed when he found a bomb under the hood of his car. Through the sobbing and pleas of Calogero, he realized what he was doing. It was at that moment he turned his thinking from selfish to self less.

By: Miss. Nicholson

Project Based Homework Due 11.21.11

Please do the following:

After watching A Bronx Tale, make a list of 3 major lessons about life that you believe the director is teaching you.

Select one of the three major life lessons you listed. Then write a paragraph using three or more examples from the movie to explain in depth why this life lesson is important in the movie, in the world we live in, and to you.

Please post the above response on the blogspot. Type your name and your response. Do not write it on loose leaf!!!!

Lastly, for book clubs, please do the following:

• 8-421- from the WDM novels you selected in class, please read it from cover to cover. On loose leaf, identify and list three important themes or three similar themes from this novel that we discussed in A Bronx Tale. Explain what it means and its significance to the story by using three pieces of evidence from the text to justify your reasoning.
• 8-412 - please read the following short stories from WDM's 145th Street Short Stories: "Big Joe's Funeral", "The Fighter", "Monkeyman" and "Block Party- 145th Street Style". All page numbers are listed in the table of contents. On loose leaf, identify and list three new themes or three similar themes from these short stories that we discussed in A Bronx Tale. Explain what it means and its significance to the story by using three pieces of evidence from the text to justify your reasoning.

If you have any questions, please email me but please do not wait until the last minute.

PLEASE NOTE THAT HOMEWORK IS STILL DUE EVEN IF YOU HAVE A TRIP!!!!

Project Based Homework Due 11.14.11

There is no written or typed homework due on Monday the 14th. However, I do encourage you to continue reading independently. Pick up a magazine, book, newspaper, iPad, etc. and read, read, read.

Do not forget the vocabulary section of your reading notebook. By the first week of December, you should have a total of 20 words. This should include the words I provide in class as well as the unfamiliar words you have identified in your independent reading books.

To further explore and analyze theme, on Monday, I will hand out a movie permission slip to be viewed later in the week. Please note that the theme essay book review will not be due until I feel you are more prepared for it.

Email me if you have any questions at thereadingcafe@aol.com


Enjoy your weekend! : )

Theme Essay Outline Due 11.10.11

Theme Essay Outline

The theme of a piece of fiction is its view about life and how people behave. In fiction, the theme is not intended to teach or preach. In fact, it is not presented directly at all. You extract it from the characters, action, and setting that make up the story. In other words, you must figure out the theme yourself. For example, one of  the themes in “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” is about the value and worth of a prized possession, in “Kitty and Mack: A Love Story” one of the themes is about love and sacrifice and in Street Pharm, Snitch and Homeboyz you probably can see themes of street survival and trust. I am confident that in all books you have read, there are much more. In your fictional novels that you are reading, try to figure out ONE theme that the author wants you to understand. When you figure that out, support your opinions with three pieces of evidence from the text.

Introduction

• Opener/Attention getter:   Select a quote from a favorite song, a line from a book, or a quote you found online, that represents the theme that you believe the author wants you to understand.
• Explain the quote in two complete and well thought out sentences.
• Thesis:  Using the author’s name and title of their book, briefly state why the theme you have identified is important. Please do not give away too much information. Leave the rest to be further explained in the body paragraphs.

Body paragraph:

• Topic sentence:  Name the first story, give a brief summary, and suggest the theme.
• Concrete detail: Offer a detail from the story that will begin to suggest the theme.
• Commentary: Explain how the detail sets up the theme.
• Concrete detail:  Offer a detail that helps the theme become clear.
• Commentary:  Explain how the detail makes the theme clear.
• Concrete detail: Offer a detail that helps the theme become clear.
• Commentary: Explain how the detail makes the theme clear
• Closure: Be very clear here about the story’s theme and why/how it might be of use of a reader

Conclusion

• Return to theme of the story—restate what you said about your theme in the introduction here.
• Discuss why this is a strong theme—tell why by making connections to your own life experience, something you know happening in our world today, or to another book you have read.
• Attention Grabbing Closing: try to connect the theme you have identified by closing the essay with a thought provoking question related to your theme.

Project Based Homework Due 11.7.11

List 10 life lessons that every teen should know and carry with them throughout their life. For example, every teen should learn how to respect themselves, elders and their superiors, for one day they too may be in a leadership position where they will want that respect in return.  Due Nov. 7.

Reminder: Book Review # 3 is due on Nov. 10th. The focus for book review # 3 will be on theme. You can use Street Pharm, Snitch, or Homeboyz. If you have not finished, you can still write a review based on what you have read thus far.

Book review # 4 will be due on Nov. 21st. The focus will be on tone and you must read a poem. It can be from your favorite poet, a poem you wrote, one of your friends poems, or the lyrics to your favorite song.

Please make sure that you take a book review outline from the tray. In addition EVERYONE SHOULD FOLLOW THE OUTLINE WITH THE LIST OF NAMES AND DATES THAT I HANDED OUT ON DAY ONE. IT CLEARLY STATES WHEN EACH BOOK REVIEW AND VOCABULARY WORDS ARE DUE. IT ALSO STATES THE NAMES OF THE STUDENTS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VOCABULARY WORDS AND THOSE DUE DATES.

PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REMINDING YOU. THAT IS WHY I TOOK THE TIME TO PROVIDE YOU WITH DUE DATES AND THE STUDENT NAMES IN AN OUTLINE. IF YOU DO NOT HAND IT IN ON THOSE DUE DATES YOU WILL LOSE POINTS WHICH MAY RESULT IN A ZERO.