Throughout the Year

See book list for ideas when selecting texts.

Reading Log

Keep an analytical record sheet in which your record of all reading you do throughout the year. This can be reading for other subjects or events as well.

The follow texts will be required for you to read. You will see more information on this in Topic #0. Change texts as needed on a student to student basis. Reading may be done in conjunction with other subjects.

• x
• x
• x
• x
• x

Writing

In the topics below you will be asked to complete and submit a variety of writing projects. As you work I will give you feed back and direction in the following areas.

Writing Strategies

• Gather information and summarize ideas.
• Know your purpose and audience.
• Analyze good writing and develop criteria to help you write well.

Drafting/Composing strategies

• Use lots of sources for informational writing.
• Organize ideas before writing by using lists, outlines, or graphic organizers.
• Write initial drafts and proof read to improve them.

Revising, editing and publishing work

• Check that your writing accomplishes your intentions and aims.
• Proofread and revise until your work is error free.
• Create neat, polished and professional final pieces.

Employ the following literacy activities/questions before, during and after the reading two of the following texts. Change texts as needed on a student to student basis.

• I Heard the Owl Call my Name
• Out of the Silent Planet
• Wuthering Heights
• Silas Marner
• The Merchant of Venice
• Speeches by M.L.Kjr, and Winston Churchill and C.S. Lewis

Before reading:

• List your prior knowledge of this book/chapter/verses.
• Research the author, writing form and time period.
• What is the context of this writing?
• Predict, based on your research above, what you think this reading is going to be about.

During reading:

• What is happening?
• What do you think is going to happen?
• What questions do you have mid way through?
• Discuss any uncertainties or confusions.

After Reading:

• What happened? What was this about?
• Was the outcome as you predicted?
• How did the style of writing help or hinder the message?
• In one sentence summarize the main point of this writing.

Items to turn in

For each novel, speech you read complete one of the following writing activities and email to me when completed.

• Research the author and present a Biography of their lives and writing. Pay special attention to why they wrote this particular work.
• Research the time period and events this writing focuses on. Create an introduction that sets the scene for what is about to be read.
• Create a personal response to what you have read. How did it make you feel? How did it make you want to act? What have you learned from your reading.
• Create a prequel or sequel chapter to this book.
• Simplify the main point or moral of the story into a poem. (See the Sample link in the learning plan column for more ideas.)

• Record the following words and definitions (syntax, diction, rhetorical devices, nonverbal communication, style, tone).
• Explore ways to speak well by observing speakers in various settings, from news announcers, live theatre performers, to friendly conversations. Analyze what makes a good speaker or a poor speaker and make a list of different attributes of each.
• Select an article or short story to read aloud to your siblings or parents. Read through the material a few times to get familiar with it and to help you read it aloud fluently. Design a listening test to administer to the listeners after you've read to them to test how much of the information they retained. Read them the article/story and give them the test. Analyze the results.
• Discuss what makes a good listener in various settings (conversations with friends, at a lecture or church service, in a group setting, at a play or musical performance...). Make a list of these skills and employ them in various settings. Write a summary of what you learned and how using these techniques helped your listening skills.

Items to turn in

• List of good and poor speaker attributes.
• Results of your listening test (summary of your observations/thoughts) and a sample of the test questions you used.
• List of good listening skills.
• Summary of your observations as you practiced using good listening techniques.

Play the following game through multiple times with a group. In this game you will practice expressing ideas and concepts in words using various methods of description. On a slip of paper write the following and put into a bowl.

• Put the idea in a story
• Respond with conviction
• Explain the idea
• Describe the idea
• Recall how the idea relates to a past experience
• Argue or persuade an ideas worth
• Support the idea
• Critique the idea
• Make the idea humorous

Next on slips of paper write down a number of People, places, things or ideas. (Elephants, mercy, Captain Vancouver, courtship...) Place these in a second bowl. Each person will take turns drawing a slip of paper from each bowl. They will then have to use the instructions from the first slip to talk about the concept on the second strip.

The other team members will then score the speaker using the following scale. Take the average scores given. The first person to 19 points wins. (You may adjust this scoring chart as needed)

• 0 points - speaker did not make any sense.
• 1 point - speaker made sense but it was dull or went off topic.
• 2 points - speaker was easy to listen to and stayed on topic.
• 3 points - speaker was exciting to listen to and gave meaning to the topic.

Items to turn in

• After you have played this game summarize the events in a letter to me. Record how the game worked, who participated, and any highlights (laughs or tears) that resulted. Make the report in the form of a letter to a fictional friend whom you wished could have been there to participate.

Watch, listen to and read the some of the following types of communications: movies, and documentaries, TV. shows, newspaper articles, advertisements, magazine articles, news broadcasts, sports games, websites, performances... Record the answers to the following questions for at least one audio, one visual and one written source.

• What is the purpose of this communication?
• What is its message?
• How is it presented?
• Who is the intended audience and how does that dictate how it is presented?
• What are the results or effects of this communication on the viewer/listener?
• Is there bias? Who is benefiting?

Select one type of communications you have experienced. Write at least a one-page essay exploring the topic of how communication can be used to influence people.

Write your own advertisement in which you use descriptive language and persuasiveness of make a product appealing to a viewer/reader.

Items to turn in

• Answered questions for audio, visual and written communications.
• Essay on how communication can be used to influence people.
• Advertisement

Select a topic that you feel strongly about (could be anything from wolves to the death penalty). Answer the following questions and obey the instructions in the order they are given. Record your answers.

Research the topic exploring at least three different sources.

• How do you feel about what you have learned?
• Write a paragraph on your opinion of the topic using support from the sources you explored.
• List any questions that you still have about this topic.

Analyze/Evaluate

• What are the main ideas?
• Who is writing about this? Why?
• Is there bias or discrepancies between the different sources you explored?
• What is the historic, cultural or social context of the information you read?

Sum it all up
Write at least a one page essay on your opinion of how the information was presented. Was it effective, entertaining, boring...? Include what you think could have been changed, added too or left out to make the communication of this material more effective. If it was effective explain the strengths that made it so.

Items to turn in

• List of your topic and the sources you analyzed (names, titles, types of media).
• Your opinion essay.

Select a controversial topic that has multiple viewpoints to research. Do research on the topic, keeping a list of your findings and the sources where you discovered the information. (You must use at least 4 different sources to find your information).

• First: Do your research, take notes and be sure to record source information for your bibliography.
• Next: Look over the information you have discovered and come to a position on the topic. For example if your topic was junk Mail, you could come to the position that "while junk mail may seem wasteful, it is an effective way for young people to earn an income by delivering it door to door." Make a position statement (like mine above). This statement will be used as the cornerstone of your presentation.
• Now prepare an oral presentation based on your position statement. Write an outline for your presentation and if you wish write out the presentation itself. Practice your presentation and make any necessary adjustments. Be sure that you clearly express your position statement and support that statement with persuasive arguments and evidence.
• Give your presentation to me(via phone or skype).

Items to turn in

• Email an outline of your presentation with a bibliography.

Record the following words and their definitions (form, genre, literary elements , literary devices , literary techniques , use of language, fiction, non-fiction, visual and artistic devices) Glossary of Terms

Find examples of the features above in written texts and create your own example in a similar way. For example explore alliteration and then create your own alliteration. Select at least 15 different features of written language to report on. Showcase an example of each feature that you have found in a text and also an example you have created.

Make a book, powerpoint presentation or other display of your words and examples. Be creative in how you create this display of your learning. If you have an idea of a different way to display your words and examples please email me.

Items to turn in

• Showcase of 15 features of the English language, along with your example and an example created by another author.

• Take the Grammar pretest . Email a copy of the completed pre-test to your teacher. (Copy and paste the completed pretest into an email).
• Use these links for further Grammar Practice:
  • grammar and conventions quizzes
  • grammar and conventions teaching videos

To watch the mini grammar lessons click on Grammar and Conventions Teaching Videos. This will take you to a page that lists different lessons you can watch. Look through the list and select lessons that will be beneficial to you.

• Then you can go to the other link - Grammar and Conventions Quizzes - and take a quiz over the material.

You may want to look at the list of quizzes so you know what teaching videos to watch.
This is the list of quizzes:

• Finding Subjects and Verbs Quiz
• Subject and Verb Agreement Quiz
• Pronouns Quiz
• Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever Quiz
• Who, Whom, That, Which Quiz
• Adjectives and Adverbs Quiz
• Problems with Prepositions Quiz
• Affect vs. Effect Quiz
• Lay vs. Lie Quiz
• Advice vs. Advise Quiz
• Their vs. There vs. They're Quiz
• More Confusing Words and Homonyms Quiz 1
• More Confusing Words and Homonyms Quiz 2
• Effective Writing Quiz 

Finally

• Take the grammar mastery test and email results to your teacher.

Read through and complete the Thinking Toolbox. Report weekly on your progress.

When you have completed the book write a summary of what you learned in the The ThinkingToolbox including:

• The valuable lessons I learned from this book were....
• I will use the lessons I learned from this book in the following ways....
• I would recommend this book to a friend for the following reasons ....

Items to turn in

Summary

Participate in continuous self-assessment throughout the course in discussions with parents, siblings and teacher. This will take place through revision of work, setting criteria and goals, and evaluation of progress/performance.

Take Final Self Assessment that your teacher will send to you.