Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Homework due Thursday, 12/20

Math: None

ELA: Please write the introductory paragraph to your essay about The Outsiders

Today was a wonderful day! Keep up the great work in class! That's MY PPC!

Love,
Ms. Simmons

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

The Range of a Set of Data

Problem: Cheryl took 7 math tests in one marking period. What is the range of her test scores?   [IMAGE]

89, 73, 84, 91, 87, 77, 94
Solution: Ordering the test scores from least to greatest, we get:

73, 77, 84, 87, 89, 91, 94

highest - lowest = 94 - 73 = 21
Answer: The range of these test scores is 21 points.
Definition: The range of a set of data is the difference between the highest and lowest values in the set.

In the problem above, the set of data consists of 7 test scores. We ordered the data from least to greatest before finding the range. We recommend that you do this, too. This is especially important with large sets of data.

Homework due Tuesday, December 19

ELA:
Do a Type 1 writing assignment: Make a list of at least 10 similarities and differences between the movie and the book, The Outsiders.

Math:
Do your worksheet on probability and range


Monday, December 17, 2007

Homework due on Tuesday, December 18

ELA: Write a 5-page essay about your favorite holiday experience ever. Please include sensory details. Skip lines as always.

Math: In your math workbook, please do pages 155-158.

Announcements:
I would love to have a holiday celebration with you like we did for Thanksgiving, but lately, you all have been behaving disrespectfully to your other teachers and me. Please show me that you deserve one by being the real Power Point Class.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Homework due on Monday

Math: Study for your math test on probability

ELA: Study for your WWW quiz

You must know:
the spelling and definitions of your WWW's
define a word using context clues
the different types of conflicts in a story
the components of plot
subject/verb agreement
subject/predicate
parts of speech

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

What is setting?

Today, we learned about the importance of setting in stories. We watched clips from a movie to discuss setting and you all came up with wonderful ideas at how setting helped us make more meaningful connections to the text and how setting helps dictate the mood of the text.

Here are some notes on setting for your reference:

SETTING -- The time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting. For some stories the setting is very important, while for others it is not. There are several aspects of a story's setting to consider when examining how setting contributes to a story (some, or all, may be present in a story):


a) place - geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place?

b) time - When is the story taking place? (historical period, time of day, year, etc)

c) weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?

d) social conditions - What is the daily life of the character's like? Does the story contain local colour (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular place)?

e) mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Is it bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?


Keeping in mind of the setting of a story is important to our understanding of the story. If we know how the setting affects the mood of the story, we gain a better understanding of how the characters in the story are feeling.

Homework due on Thursday, 12/13

ELA:

Do your test corrections for WWW Quiz 11
Write a paragraph using your WWW's
Write a 3-page essay telling me about your behavior when I was not in class yesterday
If you owe me essays, I hope you are doing your writing. Friday is the last day to hand your make-up work to me!!

Math:
Do your two worksheets on experimental and theoretical probability.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Homework due on Wednesday, 12/12

ELA:
Write sentences using your WWWs
Write a 2-page essay letting me know how your day was since I was not in school to see you today. (SKIP LINES)

Math:
Read over your notes

Announcements:
I already know about your unacceptable behavior today when I was away, and I am very disappointed in you.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Word Wall Words #12

Gloomy (adjective)
Anxious (adjective)
Enthusiasm (noun)
Reputation (noun)
Distress (noun)

I will not be providing definitions for you online this week because you all need to learn to look into the dictionary and find the definitions yourselves.

Homework due on Tuesday, 12/11

Math: Please review notes

ELA:
Write you word wall words 10X each
Find definitions for your WWW

REMINDER:
If you owe me make-up work, please don't forget to get WRITING!!!

Experimental Probability

Definition of Experimental Probability
Experimental probability of an event is the ratio of the number of times the event occurs to the total number of trials.

Examples of Experimental Probability
Sam rolled a number cube 50 times. A 3 appeared 10 times.
Then the experimental probability of rolling a 3 is 10 out of 50 or 20%.

Solved Example on Experimental Probability
A coin is tossed 60 times. 27 times head appeared. Find the experimental probability of getting heads.
Choices:
A. 1/27
B. 9/20
C. 1/60
D. 3/30
Correct Answer: B

Solution:
Step 1: Experimental probability = number of times the event occurs / total number of trials.
Step 2: Number of times heads appeared = 27.
Step 3: Total number of experiments = 60.
Step 4: So, experimental probability of getting a head = 27/60. Then, you simplify and you get: 9/20.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Homework due on Monday

ELA:
Please write all the essays that you owe. You could write about whatever interests you.
Study for your WWW quiz. Look below for information you would need to know on your quiz.

MATH:
No homework.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Plot and Conflict

Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows arrangement of events and actions within a story.

Plot Components:

Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts

Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax

Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action

Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax

Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads

Conflict:

Character vs Character:
This type of conflict finds the main character in conflict with another character, human or not human.

Character vs Nature:
This type of conflict finds the main character in conflict with the forces of nature, which serve as the antagonist.

Character vs Society:
This type of conflict has the main character in conflict with a larger group: a community, society, culture, etc.

Character vs Self:
In this type of conflict, the main character experiences some kind of inner conflict.

Characterization

CHARACTERIZATION: The author’s means of conveying to the reader a character’s personality, life history, values, physical attributes, etc. Also refers directly to a description thereof.

MAJOR CHARACTERS
They are almost always round or three-dimensional characters. They have good and bad qualities. Their goals, ambitions, and values change. A round character changes as a result of what happens to him or her.

A character who changes inside as a result of what happens to him is referred to in literature as a DYNAMIC character. A dynamic character grows or progresses to a higher level of understanding in the course of the story.

Protagonist: The main character in the story
Antagonist: The character or force that opposes the protagonist.
Foil: A character who provides a contrast to the protagonist.

MINOR CHARACTERS
They are almost always flat or two-dimensional characters. They have only one or two striking qualities. Their predominant quality is not balanced by an opposite quality. They are usually all good or all bad. Such characters can be interesting or amusing in their own right, but they lack depth. Flat characters are sometimes referred to as STATIC characters because they do not change in the course of the story.

POINT OF VIEW: The identity of the narrative voice; the person or entity through whom the reader experiences the story. May be third-person (no narrator; abstract narrative voice, omniscient or limited) or first-person (narrated by a character in the story or a direct observer). Point-of-view is a commonly misused term; it does not refer to the author’s or characters’ feelings, opinions, perspectives, biases, etc.

THESE ARE POINTS OF VIEW:

First Person
The narrator is a character in the story who can reveal only personal thoughts and feelings and what he or she sees and is told by other characters. He can’t tell us thoughts of other characters.

Third-Person Objective
The narrator is an outsider who can report only what he or she sees and hears. This narrator can tell us what is happening, but he can’t tell us the thoughts of the characters.

Third-Person Limited
The narrator is an outsider who sees into the mind of one of the characters.

Omniscient
The narrator is an all-knowing outsider who can enter the minds of more than one of the characters.

Homework due tomorrow

ELA:

Study for your WWW quiz

On your quiz, you will have to know the meaning of your words and how to spell them correctly.
You will need to know the following:
The four points of view: first person, omniscient, third person limited, and third person objective
The five stages of a story: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
Subject/Predicate
Subject/Verb Agreement
Context Clues
Parts of Speech

Math:
Do your math worksheet

Announcement:

Tomorrow, you will be taking a standardized math test. You all will do WELL! Get sufficient rest.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Independent and Dependent Events

Sometimes one event can effect the outcome of another
There are 3 red candies left in a bag of multicolored candies with a total of 20 candies left in it. The probability that you will get a red one when you reach in is: 3/20.
But what are your chances of getting a red one if you reach in again?
There are now 19 candies in the bag, and only two are
red.
The probability is 2/19.
Taking the first candy affected the outcome of the next attempt.
The two events are dependent.


Now you know that the probability of heads landing up when you flip a coin is 1/2.
What is the probability of getting tails if you flip it again?
It is still
1/2.
The two events do not affect each other. They are independent.


Homework due 12/05

ELA:

Do WWW test corrections
Wrtite sentences using your WWW words
Write a two-page essay where you discuss the following: Why do you come to school each day? What do you get out of coming to school?

Math:
Do your math worksheet

Monday, December 3, 2007

Subject/Verb Agreement

Making Subjects and Verbs Agree

1. When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and, use a plural verb.

She and her friends are at the fair.


2. When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb.

The book or the pen is in the drawer.


3. When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer the verb.

The boy or his friends run every day.


His friends or the boy runs every day.


4. Doesn't is a contraction of does not and should be used only with a singular subject. Don't is a contraction of do not and should be used only with a plural subject.

The exception to this rule appears in the case of the first person and second person pronouns I and you. With these pronouns, the contraction don't should be used.

He doesn't like it.


They don't like it.



5. Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between the subject and the verb. The verb agrees with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.

One of the boxes is open.


The people who listen to that music are few.


The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious.


The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is boring.


The woman with all the dogs walks down my street.


6. The words each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb.

Each of these hot dogs is juicy.

Everybody knows Mr. Jones.

Either is correct.


7. Nouns such as civics, mathematics, dollars, measles, and news require singular verbs.

The news is on at six.

Note: the word dollars is a special case. When talking about an amount of money, it requires a singular verb, but when referring to the dollars themselves, a plural verb is required.

Five dollars is a lot of money.

Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia.

8. Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, and shears require plural verbs. (There are two parts to these things.)

These scissors are dull.

Those trousers are made of wool.



9. In sentences beginning with there is or there are, the subject follows the verb. Since there is not the subject, the verb agrees with what follows.
There are many questions.
There is a question.



10. Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but that are considered singular and take a singular verb, such as: group, team, committee, class, and family.

In very few cases, the plural verb is used if the individuals in the group are thought of and specifically referred to.
The team runs during practice.
The committee decides how to proceed.
The family has a long history.
My family have never been able to agree.



11. Expressions such as with, together with, including, accompanied by, in addition to, or as well do not change the number of the subject. If the subject is singular, the verb is too.


The President, accompanied by his wife, is traveling to India.
All of the books, including yours, are in that box.

Homework due 12/03

ELA:
Study your worksheet on Subject/Verb agreement
Study your WWW's
Write your WWW's 10X
Find definitions using your WWW's
Finish Type 5 Essays

Math:
Write a 2-page essay about some topics with which you have the most difficulty in math.
If you feel you do not have any difficulties in math, what do you like most about math this year?
SKIP LINES

Word Wall Words #11

Significance: (noun) importance
Conceited: (adjective) having an excessively favorable opinion of one's abilities, appearance: being into one’s self
Knowledgeable: (adjective) intelligent, well-informed
Extensive: (adjective): broad, thorough, comprehensive, big
Suspenseful: (adjective): exciting, engaging, cliff-hanging