Reading vs. Listening Essay

Assignment:  write an essay that compares and contrasts reading a story vs. listening to it on audiotape.  How were the experiences similar?  How were the two different?  What parts of reading did you like better, and which parts of listening did you prefer? 

History of Halloween

Mystery Stories Rubric

Here is what you will be graded on for your stories:


Mechanics- grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.
Plot- must have a clear and complete plot graph on the last page.
Length- 2-3 pages, double-spaced, normal font.
Vocab- must include all of this unit's vocab words.

Transitions Practice

Mrs. Devitry's blog

More on Topic Sentences

Topic sentence practice

• Starting topic: Football
• Limited topic: The role that football has played in my education
• Topic sentence: If it hadn't been for football, I might never have taken school seriously.

Note: A topic sentence is always a complete sentence expressing an idea about the limited topic. It is not a title (What football means to me), or an explanation of the writer's plan (I am going to tell you about the role football played in my education.) The more clearly it focuses the reader's attention on the points covered by the paragraph that the writer wants to make, the better.

Now let's talk about how to FIND a topic sentence in a paragraph.  


Topic sentences express the main idea of a paragraph. They are usually stated in the first sentence (Pattern A) or last sentence (Pattern B) of the paragraph.  A topic sentence rarely ever appears in the middle of a paragraph (Pattern C); it is possible to do if there is a good reason for it, but it usually isn’t an effective place for it.


PRACTICE  

Topic Sentences

Creating a Topic Sentence

What is your favorite TV show?  Once you’ve decided what it is, I want you to list 3 reasons why it’s special to you. 

Ex.:  My favorite show is Spongebob Squarepants because…

1. Spongebob is always getting into trouble.

2. Squidward hates everybody.

3. Bikini bottom is an exciting place to live.

Once you’ve come up with your ideas, you need to turn them into topic sentences.  That means that:

1. Topic Sentence #1 goes in Body Paragraph One. Everything written in Body Paragraph One has to be about “Spongebob is always getting into trouble.”

2. Topic Sentence #2 goes in Body Paragraph Two. Everything written in Body Paragraph Two has to be about “Squidward hates everybody.”

3. Topic Sentence #3 goes in Body paragraph Three. Everything written in Body Paragraph Three has to be about “Bikini Bottom is an exciting place to live.”

WRITING YOUR TOPIC SENTENCE #1

At the beginning of your sentence, use the transitional words or phrases: First of all, First, or In the first place…

When writing your topic sentence for Body Paragraph One, look at the first reason you wrote in your thesis statement.

1. Spongebob is always getting into trouble.

Use key words from the prompt or thesis statement to write the first part of your topic sentence.

WRITING YOUR TOPIC SENTENCE #2

At the beginning of your sentence, use the transitional words or phrases: Secondly, Next, or Equally important…

2. Squidward hates everybody.

Use key words from the prompt or thesis statement to write the first part of your topic sentence.

WRITING YOUR TOPIC SENTENCE #3

At the beginning of your sentence, use the transitional words or phrases: Lastly or Finally…

Spooky Classical Poetry

Here is a site that will take you to some spooky classical poetry.  You can choose from any of the poems on the left-hand side.  You will need to be able to recite the poem without hardly looking at your cheat-sheet.  You will only be given about 5 minutes to present, so you may not be able to recite the whole thing, but be able to tell us how it ends!

Spooky Classical Poetry

This site will take you to the Utips test.

Utips