homework week of 10/13/08

Middle School Humanities and Language Arts Homework
Week of October 13, 2008


History
Read and highlight pages 28 through 36 in “A Hindu Reader”.
6th graders do questions on page 29.
7th and 8th graders do questions on page 29 and 36.
All due in first block next week

Language Arts
6th grade
1. Write a book review of an approved book you have read since school started. See back for details. Due on Friday, October 17th.
2. Grammar will be assigned in class on Tuesday.


7th grade
1. Wordly Wise unit 2 due Wed., October 15th.
2. Planning sheet for a farm school essay --- due on Friday, Oct. 17th.
(note: we will start this in class on Wed. Do NOT begin ahead of time)
3. All farm school work from your group is due on Friday, Oct. 17th.
4. Write a book review of an approved book you have read since school started. See back for details. Due on Friday, October 17th.

8th grade
1. Farm school essay due on Monday, October 20th. Planning sheets due on Friday, October 17th. The topic is Eighth Grade Farm School. Think about your expectations, what it meant to you to work with Russ and Arlene, the 4 archetypes, the building of the stairs, your night at the pond, your relationships in the group, the ending of farm school (yes, there will be a reunion at some point) and anything else of importance to you.

2. Write a book review of an approved book you have read since school started. See back for details. Due on Friday, October 17th.

Book Reviews

A book review is different from a book report. It is usually shorter and its goal is to interest the reader in a particular book (or in the case of a negative review, to imply that reading this book may not be of interest). These sample reviews (to be handed out in class) are all positive reviews and that’s your goal too, to write about a book you think others may like.


Steps in Writing
1. Brainstorm first. You will turn this in, attached to your review. It will not be accepted as a complete assignment without the brainstorming.

2. Write a rough draft of your review. When you’ve completed the draft, read and edit it for content first (are you saying what you want to, does it make sense?). Then proofread it for punctuation and spelling. Give it to an adult for a final proofreading. Turn in you rough draft with your final. All 3 parts, brainstorming, rough draft and final need to be attached together with a paper clip.


Form
Your final review will be on an 81/2 by 11 piece of paper. Across the top you will put the title (underlined), the author and your name:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee reviewed by Elena Dillon

Paragraph #1 The Introduction----notice that the attached reviews find an interesting way to grab the readers’ attention.

Paragraph #2 Expands the thoughts introduced in the introduction, often using quotes and examples from the book.

Paragraph #3 The Conclusion---usually gives a recommendation and the reviewer’s opinions. Sometimes quotes or examples are used as well to entice the reader to read the book.