Buried Onions Final Project

The final project for Buried Onions was a prompt choice. Five prompts were offered, and students were directed to choose three.

If you were not able to get this assignment in prior to exams, you can download a copy HERE.

Making Prediction Trees

At the end of chapter two in Buried Onions by Gary Soto, Eddie's aunt comes to visit to him to ask for his help in person. Eddie thought she was bringing tortillas as her way of enlisting his help, but this time she brought him a gun.

Make a "Prediction Tree" on your own paper that you will use to consider the possibilities for what could happen next. The trunk of your tree will read: "Eddie's aunt gives him gun." You will fill in the branches with all of the options that you can think of.

Class Novel

We have been reading a class novel, Buried Onions by Gary Soto. This novel must be read - in its entirety - by Monday morning.

Most students have not been able to keep up just by reading at school. If you have not had the opportunity to purchase a hard copy of the book, you can download a digital version HERE for free.

They can also be checked out from the library, or I have a few to check out in the room.

The first novel-linked assignment is a graphic novel. Instructions for this can be viewed here: Graphic Novel In-Class Project.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you missed - or lost - our TURKEY TASK, get your copy HERE! =)

Reminder!

FRIDAY DUE DATE for short story project and for any late work! Clean out those binders, and get your assignments in.

Short Story Project

Summative Grade! 100 points!

1. Read the following:

"The Talk" by Gary Soto
"Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan
"Among Strangers" by Jude Dibia
"Only Daughter" by Sandra Cisneros
"Homeless" by Ovo Adagha
"Growing my Hair Again" by Chika Unigwe

2. Fill out the Plot/Literary Device and the Question Organizers.

3. Illustration a cover for one of the short stories. You may draw it or use a college of online images.

Welcome Back!

Between now and Christmas break, we will be working on a novel: Buried Onions by Gary Soto. This week we have worked on a picture essay assignment pertaining to chapter one. For an online copy of this task, click HERE.

Identity Critical Response

Read "The Myth of the Latina Woman." Compare the societal stereotypes in this story to the one Brent Staples wrote about. Use the organizer to consider how society plays a part in forming our identities.

After it is complete, write an essay that answers the prompt at the top of the organizer. Turn in both the organizer and the essay together.

"Walk On By"

Reread the Staples short story from last week. Refer to your printed copy from class. Highlight Brent Staples's emotions in yellow. Highlight the emotions other people in society are having in any other color.
Use this to fill in the "Walk On By" Organizer - Pages 1 and 2

Page 1 is due November 1
Page 2 is due November 7

Brent Staples "Walk On By"

Read the selection we chunked, read and discussed in class.

Do you think Staples should have changed his behavior to make others feel more at ease?

Imagine Staples's perspective. How would you feel if you were in his shoes?

After imagining all of the feelings, do you understand why Staples made the changes that he did?

(One paragraph per question)

Vocabulary Quiz

If you missed the vocabulary quiz, please follow the link below which includes two pages of vocabulary notes, then a quiz. Print and fill out the quiz, and return it for a grade.

Vocabulary

"A Lifestyle"

Read the first two pages of "A Lifestyle" by Fernando Serrantino. Stop after page two, and write your own prediction for how the story will end.

There is about a page left of the short story, so your ending should be about a page in length as well. After you have finished your ending, read the last page of the story, then compare (write down similarities) and contrast (write down differences) your ending with the actual ending.

Change of Perspective Essay

After reading "Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets," we discussed in class the change of priorities Tom underwent after his ordeal.

Consider a life changing experience that you have had. Describe your life before, then the event, then how it changed your perspective, priorities or both.

(If you completed this essay on the back of the summarizing organizer we used in class, that's fine.)

Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets

This week our essay is based on the short story "Contents of a Dead Man's Pockets." If you lose your copy, you can get one here. (Unfortunately the online version doesn't have the page breaks, but they are about every eight paragraphs.)

We will work on this in class Thursday and Friday. The reading organizer [worth 10 pts.] and the essay [worth 20 pts.] are both due by Monday (October 7). If you need another copy of the assignment, click here.

Vocabulary

This week's vocabulary was assigned yesterday. If you missed it - or lost it - you can download a sheet here. Quiz is FRIDAY! :)

Formalized Essay Due Friday, September 27

Students may choose any of the essays they have written thus far to formalize for this summative assessment. They have had yesterday and today to revise, and they will have Thursday and Friday to type and print.

The requirements for this assignment are more stringent than those of informal essays. While the "ideas" requirement is the same, the grammar and mechanics will be taken more into account, along with organization. Papers must be typed, double-spaced and twelve point font.

Additionally, this essay has a word count minimum [of 300 words]. If students do not have time to finish at school, they must finish this at home, as it is an important grade [worth 50 points in the gradebook].

Please let me know if you have any questions. My email is angela_r_brown@gwinnett.k12.ga.us.

Guess What Day IT IS???

It's READING WEDNESDAY!

Woot, woot!!

Be sure to bring a book to class every Wednesday as this is ongoing. (The only exception is if you have pressing make-up work that needs to be finished prior to reading, but you are still responsible for having a chapter book with you every Wednesday.)

Book Report

If you choose to do your book summary and report over this reading rather than summer reading, that is fine, but you must complete it on your own and get it in to me before Thanksgiving break. If you misplaced your form, click HERE to print one. (This is worth 20 pts.)

House on Mango Street Essay

Reread chapter one of House on Mango Street, then answer the following essay prompt:

The House on Mango Street is autobiographical, although it is not a complete autobiography. Esperanza Cordero's experiences are based on the people and places that Sandra Cisneros knew as a child. She includes character descriptions of the important people in her life, vivid descriptions of the places she lived, and she offers insight into her own reactions, thoughts, and feelings.

Your assignment is to write an autobiographical essay similar to chapter one of the novel that details your own "home" history, the accompanying feelings, and whether or not where you currently live feels like "home."

Remember to proofread your work. 20 pts.

Immigration Today Essay - Should We Go Into Syria?

We had two class days to work on this - Thursday and Friday. If you are not finished, you must complete it on your own. If you have lost the prompt, you can get it here.

Vocabulary

Our first vocabulary quiz is over vocabulary excerpts from the "Why Fear Spanish?" article we read this week. If you lost your study guide (issued Tues. 9/3), look up the definitions of the underlined words in the excerpts below.

The quiz will be 9/13.

“Suddenly, we were accosted by a

spry little old lady.”

“The lady in question was not an eccentric mad woman.”

“The Miami Herald occasionally includes and unsolicited supplement.”

“Hostility does not come from reflection on linguistic homogeneity,

but from an atavistic reaction.”

'I fear foreigners are inevitably

considered barbarians.”

“We quarrel, are jealous, love and hate with certain words.”

“...can have a certain enriching enchantment, because diversity is also an expression of cultural riches.”

“American society spends $$$ every year in attempting unavailingly to get high school and college students to learn Spanish…”

“If this is the rationale, then why ask the bilingual citizens present in the nation to abandon their

use of that other language so covetously sought in educational establishments?”

“The United States is and will continue to be a fundamentally English-speaking nation.”

Official Language Essay

Did you know English is technically not the official language of the United States of America? Many people think it should be, and some go so far as to say English speaking should be a requirement for legal immigration. Others like our country the way it is.

Find and read three articles online about the pros and cons of making English the official language of the United States. Decide which side YOU agree with, then write a persuasive essay explaining why your view is the right view. :)

Use the attached organizer to get started. It is the "draft" page that will be graded. Official Language Prewrite

Immigration Essay

Go back over the articles we read the first week of school (linked in the August 7 post). Then read More Than Just A Shrine by Mary Gordon.

Write an essay describing what it must have felt like to have been an immigrant back in the Ellis Island days, during the Irish potato famine, during Vietnam or during the Cuban refugee crisis. Can you identify with what they must have felt in any way? Under the same circumstances, would you have taken the same risks in order to follow your hopes and dreams for a better life?

Weekly Organizers

These are worth fifteen points every week in the gradebook. Blank ones are handed out every Monday, and completed ones are due every Friday.

Each day, copy the EQ (Essential Question) and LT (Learning Target) from the board, then complete the warm up in the first three spaces provided for each day. You will get initials for being prepared in the fourth space if you have your materials (or book) for the day, and you will get a check for class participation for being on task.

Just do this at the beginning of class every day, and earn 15 points by Friday!

If you lose your copy, you can print a blank form here: Weekly Organizer

Immigration Ticket out the Door (TOD)

Write a paragraph explaining what reasons or opportunities would motivate you to leave your family and/or possibly risk your life to start over in another country? Why? Explain and give examples. (10 pts.)

Immigration: Articles, Facts and Questions

After discussing the definition of immigration as a class, read the following articles:

Mariel Boatlift
Vietnamese Boat People
Reverse Immigration
Parachute Kids

Then copy and paste the following into your blog and complete:

A.      Individual Work

1.       Finish Reading Articles J

2.       For each article, write one FACT and one QUESTION you may have about each article.

a.       “Mariel Boatlift”

                                                                           i.      FACT:

                                                                         ii.      QUESTION:

b.      “Vietnamese Boat People”

                                                                           i.      FACT:

                                                                         ii.      QUESTION:

c.       “Reverse Immigration”

                                                                           i.      FACT:

                                                                         ii.      QUESTION:

d.      “Parachute Kids”

                                                                           i.      FACT:

                                                                         ii.      QUESTION:

B.      Partner Work

1.       Identify CAUSES or  REASONS for each immigrants’ departure (example: war)

a.       “Mariel Boatlift”

                                                                           i.      IMMIGRANT GROUP:

                                                                         ii.      CAUSE/REASON:

b.      “Vietnamese Boat People”

                                                                           i.      IMMIGRANT GROUP:

                                                                         ii.      CAUSE/REASON:

c.        “Reverse Immigration”

                                                                           i.      IMMIGRANT GROUP:

                                                                         ii.      CAUSE/REASON:

d.       “Parachute Kids”

                                                                           i.      IMMIGRANT GROUP:

                                                                         ii.      CAUSE/REASON:

2.       Analyze and Explain the DANGERS each immigrant group faced .

a.       “Mariel Boatlift”

                                                                           i.      IMMIGRANT GROUP:

                                                                         ii.      DANGER(S):

b.      “Vietnamese Boat People”

                                                                           i.      IMMIGRANT GROUP:

                                                                         ii.      DANGER(S):

c.        “Reverse Immigration”

                                                                           i.      IMMIGRANT GROUP:

                                                                         ii.      DANGER(S):

d.       “Parachute Kids”

                                                                           i.      IMMIGRANT GROUP:

                                                                         ii.      DANGER(S):

3.       Analyze and Explain the OPPORTUNITIES each group looked forward to upon arrival.

a.       “Mariel Boatlift”: OPPORTUNITIES=

b.      “Vietnamese Boat People:” OPPORTUNITIES=

c.        “Reverse Immigration:” OPPORTUNITIES=

d.       “Parachute Kids:” OPPORTUNITIES=

Welcome back to NHS!!!

Hopefully you all feel rested, well read and ready to write! (Remember that you do have until August 30 to complete summer reading if you have not done so already.)

For my class, we will be writing quite a bit in a web log like this one. We will use google accounts for everything. The first thing you will need is a gmail address. If you do not have one, go to gmail.com and set up a new account.

Next, open "drive," then under "more" select "blogger." Set up your blogger account, and you are ready to write! In my comments section below, be sure to leave me your gmail address and your url for your blogger.

Your first writing prompt will be a fun one. We all have very different personalities, but interestingly enough, most of us can fit into four categories.

Some call it "true colors," and some call it the "personality compass." Take your quiz here, and write your first journal entry on your results. Do you think this is an accurate description of yourself? Do you think you might be a blend of two types? What other personality type do you think you would work well with, and which one might be a challenge to work with?