Context Clues

It is imperative that students be able to read complex pieces of texts and use word attack skills to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. If given the proper skills, students will be able to read at an increasingly higher level. Click the below links to go through lessons over Context Clues.

Context Clues Lesson

Mrs. Getty's Context Clues Lesson

Modern Day Slavery and the Holocaust

Often, we find ourselves in this imagined state of a post racial society. But then, we come across a news article, a video or a friend's account of someone calling them a racial slur. In our class, we are learning about the Holocaust as we read the story, Boy in the Striped Pajamas. We will be answer two major questions. How could the Holocaust happen? Could something like the Holocaust ever happen again? Our culminating project for this unit will be to design and publish a magazine or newspaper that is devoted to answering one of these questions. Your newspaper/magazine must have the following components:

Theme (You can use a quote from videos we watch or anything we read to develop the theme of your project)
A combination of 6 Articles/Poems/Fiction/Book Review/Movie Review
6 Photographs
2 Advertisements

As the editor of your newspaper/magazine, the only thing you will write in your project is the Editor's note. You will take submissions of writing from your classmates and you will have to submit writing to your classmates' magazines/newspapers.

Lets begin on the journey of discovering the answers to our questions by watching the below videos.

CNN and The Freedom Project

Understanding Prejudice

Oprah intervies Elie Wiesel

One Clip at a Time

More Figurative Language and Now Imagery

We are going to continue to discuss figurative language throughout the year. Please watch the below videos so that you can get an idea of how to use figurative language.

Imagery or sensory language is the language that appeals to your 5 senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. Please use the below pictures to write a paragraph that is full of imagery or sensory language.

Context Clues

Context clues help us become discoverers of language. By seeking out context clues and using them as the keys to help us unlock the mystery of unfamiliar words, we are equipping ourselves with a skill that will help us in every aspect of our lives. With the ability to look for and utilize context clues, you will be able to read and understand just about anything. Context clues are everywhere in the things we read. Please see the below explanation of the different types of context clues.

There is one other example of context clues that was not included on this sheet. We must also discover the meanings of word parts so that we can put the definitions of the word parts together like a puzzle to figure out what the larger word means.

Unpleasant has 2 word parts. Un is the prefix meaning not and pleasant means friendly. If you put both word parts together you can get the definition of the larger word - not pleasant.

Now it is your turn to use your context clues to help you discover new words.

Generalizations

We are going to begin to discuss making generalizations. A generalization is a broad conclusion that is drawn from several examples or pieces of evidence. A statement of a story's theme is a kind of generalization. Please look at the power point in class to get a better idea of how to make a generalization.

Take a look at the graph below, we will make this graph as we read through "The All-American Slurp."

Main Idea

We are going to start discussing how to find the main idea of a passage and how to support our evaluation of main idea with supporting details from the text. Watch the below video to get a better understanding of main idea.

yo main Idea

Characterization and Inferences

This week, we will discuss, in more detail, how to make inferences while reading. In addition, we will also discuss characterization.  We will read the story, Eleven and see how the writer, Sandra Cisneros, reveals a character's personality through actions and thoughts. Please watch the below videos and prepare to read our story.

Take a look at the below pictures. Write a paragraph describing each character. Are they a villain or a hero? How do you know? In the picture, do they look happy, sad, mad? How do you know?

How does the writer use characterization to differentiate between the 3 little pigs?

Figurative Language

Please see the below definitions for the figurative language we will go over in class. I've included some videos that will help you commit these examples of figurative language to memory.

Simile - The comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as

Metaphor - The direct comparison of two unlike things

Analogy - Drawing a comparison in order to show similarity

Personification - Giving human characteristics to nonhuman things

Idiom - A figure of speech known by an entire culture of people (Break a leg.) 

Alliteration - The repeated use of an initial consonant sound

Hyperbole - A statement that is an exaggeration 

Summarizing

How do you summarize?

Summarizing is a continued focus in our Reading and Writing Classroom. In a fiction and nonfiction piece of text, you can use the same strategies to come up with a great summary after you finish reading.

Summarizing a story means you are telling the most important parts of the story in your own words. Watch the below video to get an overview of the steps you take to summarize a story.

The below video gives you a strategy that you can use to help you write a summary and it also helps you understand the difference between retelling and summarizing.

Could you write a summary of your favorite movie or song? See my example of a summary for Justin Bieber's song, Right Here.

Who: Justin Bieber and Drake

What: Trying to convince a girl that he is interested in that all she needs is him and he promises not to hurt her.

When and Where: Setting has not been established.

Why: The girl in the song has been hurt and appears to be reluctant to date Justin.

Summary: Justin Bieber, with the help of Drake, are trying to convince a girl Justin is interested in that all she needs is him and he promises not to hurt her. The setting of the song is not established. The girl in the song has been hurt and appears to be reluctant to date Justin. 

Can you summarize these songs?

Setting, Plot and Theme

Unit 1 Short Stories

During this unit, we will focus on theme, or the lessons we learn about life from reading.

Setting and Plot are the two major concepts we are learning in our class. We will determine the meaning of plot and setting, then apply our knowledge of these terms to summarize the plot of short stories and describe the setting of each story.

Elements of Setting

Elements of Plot

This is an example of a plot diagram worksheet that we will fill after reading a story. 

Theme is an idea about life that characters, actions and images express.

What is the common theme of the songs below?