Dystopian Unit

OTHER SKIES AND THE WORLD OF DYSTOPIA
Big question – What can we learn about our world by reading dystopian literature?
Many ideas from NY Times Lesson Plans Site have been used and expanded upon. Reference: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/the-odds-ever-in-your-favor-ideas-and-resources-for-teaching-the-hunger-games/

BACKGROUNDER… AUTHOR INSPRIRATION…
What inspired or influenced the authors of our Dystopian Novels when writing their books? What is the background of the novels? How humanity survives… Government or Political Structure… The role of "Big Brother" watching you… The use of resources or amount of resources….
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins http://www.scholastic.com/browse/video.jsp?pID=1640183585&bcpid=1640183585&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAFv844g~,BASb5BU03X_L2cn86MC9qSzQHunGEilJ&bclid=1745181007&bctid=1840656769
Book Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TnxXoMpF3c

Movie Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIVKX4Wu77U

Divergent – Veronica Roth
http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.ca/2011/11/divergent-inspiration.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSNoLKbHNeg&feature=relmfu

Book Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu5Erw-posg

Matched – Ally Condie
Book trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaeNWL8rlBI
http://www.matched-book.com/bio.html

Maze Runner – James Dashner
http://yabookscentral.blogspot.ca/2011/02/interview-with-james-dashner.html

http://www.jamesdashner.com/blog/

Book trailer - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790864/

The Eleventh Plague – Jeff Hirsch
http://www.jeff-hirsch.com/?page_id=239

http://article.wn.com/view/2011/11/16/Writer_Jeff_Hirsch_talks_inspiration_and_process_of_The_Elev/

http://www.examiner.com/article/writer-jeff-hirsch-talks-inspiration-and-process-for-the-eleventh-plague

Book Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__f4S0hv1EI


 
Literature Circles – Setting Ground Rules
In the next few weeks you will have the opportunity to read, discuss and share your thoughts on a novel. The purpose of literature circles is that of a book club. You will be expected to not only talk about the book, but respond to a variety of questions that get you thinking and participate in a variety of roles as you read and reflect. As part of journaling, you
will post your reactions to their reading on our class blogging site (kidblog.org).
Ground rules questions:
What kind of behaviours help groups succeed?
What kind of behaviours make meetings a chore or unproductive?
As a group decide on 3-5 common expectations for the Ground Rules. Review, Revise and Reset any rules if needed.
Write down these expectations on this sheet – then one member (the first Discussion Director) will record them on kidblog.org (volunteer please type on your account)…
Reflect on the Ground Rules…

• What rule will be the easiest for you to follow?
• Which rule is gin got give you the most difficulty?
• What plans can you make that will decrease the likelihood of you letting your group down?

*** If needed, review these rules again at the beginning or end of each Literature Circles Meeting.
** As groups review the Dystopian Literature Schedule of Assignments. Review your role for each week, and the deadlines for Journal Blog Responses and Literature Circles Role Assignments.
* Review the Rubrics included with this package/or your teacher will lead you through a rubric making exercise.
Dystopian Literature Schedule of Assignments….
The novels will be divided into 5 sections by groups. Groups will figure out the lengths of each section. You will have Reader's Responses for each section assigned by Ms. SM and a role assignment or task for each week.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Week of May 7th			Handout Novels Start reading	Read & Review Roles and Lit Circle Format & Divide novel into 5 sections	Read Section 1 & Review Response Questions
Week of May 14th	Group Discuss Responses For Section 1 or Read together	Group Meeting – Section 1 due Group Share & work on Responses #1	Read/Work Response #1 – posted on kidblog Start to read Section 2	No School -TPD	No School
Week of May 21st	Read/Work/ Discuss Group Share & work on Responses for #2	Reading for Section 2 due Group Share & work on Responses #2 & Start to read Section 3	Response #2 – posted on kidblog Read Section 3	Read/Work/Discuss Responses	Read/Work/Discuss Responses
Week of May 28th	Reading for Section 3 due Group Share & work on Responses for #3	Response #3 due – posted on kidblog & Start to read Section 4	Group Meeting – Read Section 4	Read/Work/Discuss Responses	Read/Work
Week of June 4th	Response #4 due – posted on kidblog due Start to read Section 5	Read/Work	Read/Work	Read/Work	Reader's Response #5 due – posted on kidblog
Week of June 11th	Response #5 due – posted on kidblog	Final Novel Activities	Final Novel Activities	Final Novel Activities	Final Novel Activities
Week of June 18th	ALL NOVEL ASSIGNMENTS DUE AND POSTED.

Journal Blog
Name:______________________ Date:_______________

Literature Circle – Book Club Journal Blog Assignments…

 

Meeting #1 / Section #1- "Making Predictions…"

1. What's your prediction? Put your novel away. You are going to predict the ending of your novel and include this prediction in your blog. What page are you on? What's the total number of pages in the book?
2. Which character will experience the biggest change? Based on what you've read, which character do you think will experience the biggest change by the end of the book? These changes may include physical circumstances, lifestyle, relationships or thinking/values. Explain what you think is going to happen to this character by the time the story is over. Briefly describe the clues in the story that make you think this.
3. How will the book end? What are the clues? Next, based on what you've read so far, how do you think the book will end? What problems will be resolved? What will happen to the main characters other than the one you discussed in Part 1? Briefly explain the clues in the story that make you think this.
   After you jot note your reactions, share your ideas with your group.
4. How does the setting show a dystopian society or dystopian control? Finally, refer to the "Dystopia: Definition and Characteristics" – What aspects of this section of reading, show the "Characteristics of a Dystopian Society", "Types of Dystopian Controls" or the characteristics of a "Dystopian Protagonist"? Refer to the handout and describe what is shown so far. Discuss this with your group, and include your observations on your copy of this handout.

1^st Assignment: Go to kidblog and blog your responses to the bolded and italicized questions above. Write your response in the form of a kidblog post in numbered or paragraph form.

2nd Assignment: Create a Fakebook Character: As part of this first assignment, you will create a "Fakebook" page on a character from your novel. This "Fakebook" page is a web-based Facebook template that can be edited, saved on the Web (students will need to supply a password to retrieve their saved page; then they will be given the URL/web address to their saved page), and printed.

 

Basically it allows you to really get into the character and explore what his or her life would be like in a dystopian society. The whole point of this assignment is to explore the setting for the novel, character's point of view, interactions with other characters, and explore the theme and author's message in a creative way. In order to create an "authentic" page, you will need to follow the "Fakebook" assignment recommendations. Please refer to the classroom blog or kidblog for more information (or see accompanying handout). In order to allow for collaboration, you will need to POST A LINK TO YOUR "FAKEBOOK" PAGE on KIDBLOG. This will allow for other to comment on your page, and you will be able to go in to Fakebook and make any necessary changes.

 

*Here is the home page link to "Fakebook". http://www.classtools.net/fb/home/page

*See a sample created by Ms. SM at: http://www.classtools.net/fb/11/iUZ5Gh

*Tips and Tools to Guide you in creating the Fake Facebook page...

http://www.classtools.net/main_area/fakebook/helpsheet.pdf

Meeting #2 / Section #2 – "Deep Thinking Questions… Metacognition and Dystopia"

While you are reading, "pay attention to your thinking"; each time you wonder something about the story, write the question on one of the sticky notes and stick it on the page in the text (include the page # on the sticky note). After you finish this selection of reading, complete the following tasks.

 

Deep Thinking Questions I had while I read	Was your question answered in this section of reading? Yes No
Remove one of the sticky notes from the novel selection and paste it here. (Later you will rewrite your question in kidblog. )
Answer the question from the sticky note in sentence form (if the question was not answered in the story write what you think… begin with, "I think……")

 

1^st Assignment:
Post your Deep Thinking Questions in Kidblog, as well as your response to the question if it was answered. If you don't know the answer state what you think the answer is… and why. ** Add responses to reading Strategy questions, "Infer", "Connect" and "Identify" questions (see posts on blog).

 

2^nd Assignment:
Add more detail to your Character Fakebook Page. See if you can incorporate some of these Deep Thinking Questions into your own Character's page, only write them from his or her point of view… Perhaps the Deep Thinking Questions can come from a Comments posted between your character and another character. You can even incorporate videos that make you think from youtube. What would your character comment on that connects to these Deep Thinking Questions? Write your response from your character in the form of a "rant". This will really connect to the character and explore the character's emotions and point of view. *See notes on writing the rant on the blog.

 

Meeting #3 / Section #3 – "Visualizing As You Read"

When you visualize you are using the words you hear or read in a text to create visual images or "movies in your head". As you read, make quick sketches on sticky notes of images that pop into your mind as you read. Examine your image, and explore the characteristics from the "Dystopia: Definition and Characteristics" handout that connect to your image. Share these observations with your group and add to your handout. Write about what you visualized in a blog and explain how visualizing can help you connect with what you read.

1^st Assignment:
Choose one of the questions from the "Four Ways to Respond to Literature".
Write your response to the question giving concrete evidence and explanations from your novel, do this in Kidblog.

 

2^nd Assignment: Add to your Character Fakebook Page.
Add some "memories" that your character remembers about life in their community. You could incorporate videos or image links (actual images cannot upload) that could be from your district. Try to further develop a sense of the setting… and the background for those characters in the novel.

 

 

 

Meeting #4 / Section #4 – "Exploring Characters"

1. On loose leaf, you are going to record jot notes for a double entry journal. On one side, jot note a summary of what you know so far from reading the book, on the other side write your own thoughts and observations.
2. As you read, you are going to infer how the characters have changed throughout the book and why they have changed. Decide on the most likely reason for the change and support it with evidence from the story or your own personal experiences.
3. In groups, explore the following chart, "How and Why Characters Change". Examine how the character changed and what caused the transformation. Discuss the possibilities and support your ideas with evidence from the story or your own experiences.
   
    

Novel:	Author:
Section of Reading – pages:	Character's Name:
At the Beginning the character…	At the End the character…
How the character changed…
Why the character changed…

 

Fakebook Character Assignment: In Section 1 you created a "Fakebook" page on a character. Now in this section, you are going to add details that demonstrate a change in your character and how they have evolved over the course of the novel. In your character's words, try to explain why "you" (as the character) have changed. If your character is no longer key in the novel, create a second "Fakebook" page for another character showing their emotions and how they have changed. If the character is alive, they can start posting with your character showing their thoughts and opinions and how they've changed.

 

BE SURE TO POST A LINK TO YOUR "FAKEBOOK" PAGE. Remember here is the home page link to Fakebook. http://www.classtools.net/fb/home/page

See a sample created by your teacher at: http://www.classtools.net/fb/11/iUZ5Gh

 

 

 

Meeting #5 / Section #5 – "Inferring the Point of View and the Author's Message"

1. Read the information below… on point of view…
   

Before beginning a story a writer must determine the point of view, or perspective, in which the story will be written.

first person	In the first person point of view one character tells the story. This character reveals only personal thoughts and feelings of what s/he sees. The writer uses pronouns such as "I" or "me" or "my." Example: I woke up this morning feeling terrific. I hopped out of bed excited to start the new day. I knew that today was the day my big surprise would come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
second person	With the second person point of view the narrator tells the story using the pronoun "you".  The character is someone similar to you. Example: You jump out of bed feeling really terrific. Then you hop out of bed excited to start the new day. You know that today is the day that your big surprise will come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
third person	The third person point of view is the most commonly used in fiction. When writing in the third person you will use pronouns such as "he", "she", or "it". Example: Brian woke up feeling terrific. He hopped out of bed excited to start the new day. He knew that today was the day that his big surprise would come.

1. What point of view is your novel written in? How do you know? How does the point of view impact the way the story is told?
2. Refer back to the handout, "Dystopia: Definition and Characteristics". Note the overall theme of a dystopian piece of literature. Obviously in every dystopian novel there is a message to our society and something that we can learn. Think about your novel, what is the author's message? What lesson can we learn from this novel? What statement does the author make about our society? What warning messages are evident in this dystopian novel?

1^st Assignment: Post the author's message on kidblog as well as the major theme of the novel. To take your work to a higher level, create a Wordle (wordle.net) and save an image of it in your blog. Incorporate the main theme, as well as other key ideas or themes in your wordle.

2nd Assignment: Fakebook Character Assignment - In your Character Fakebook Entry, find a way of showing the author's message. This can be done using a posting from a "Fakebook" group, which one of the character's joined. This group can comment on a post from your character, provoking your character to state what the author's message is, but in your words. BE SURE TO POST A LINK TO YOUR "FAKEBOOK" PAGE on KIDBLOG.

 
Four Ways of Responding to Literature

The following questions will guide you for some of your Literature Circle Journal Blog Assignments….

1)   Literal sense: What is going on? Describe the events or story. Answer who, what, when, where, why, and how as appropriate. Be specific and descriptive.

 

2)   Emotional triggers: What personal associations do you make? What did the reading make you think of? How did it make you feel? What reaction does it elicit inside you?

 

3)   Intellectual curiosity: What ideas or questions does this section raise for you? What do you think the author is trying to "do" or show in this story? Why do you think he or she wrote this piece?

 

4)   Writer's craft: What did you notice about the way the piece was written? What style, craft, or use of scene/details/character/plot/humor does the author use that you could consider for your own writing? What did you enjoy about this piece? What didn't work so well? How might you revise or change it?

 

 
Literature Circles Log for Dystopian Literature

Group Members: 1)__________________ 2)__________________ 3)__________________ 4)__________________ 5)__________________ 6)__________________

Novel Sections: 1)__________________ Due date: _________________ 2)__________________ Due date: __________________ 3)__________________ Due date: __________________ 4)__________________ Due date: __________________ 5)__________________ Due date: __________________

 

 
Group Roles Rotation:

Section 1: Pages ___________ Discussion Director _______________ Vocabulary and Literary Luminary_______________ Connector_______________ Character Captain_______________ Artful Artist_______________ Intrigue Investigator _______________	Section 4: Pages ___________ Discussion Director _______________ Vocabulary and Literary Luminary _______________ Connector _______________ Character Captain _______________ Artful Artist _______________ Intrigue Investigator _______________
Section 2: Pages ___________ Discussion Director _______________ Vocabulary and Literary Luminary _______________ Connector _______________ Character Captain _______________ Artful Artist _______________ Intrigue Investigator _______________	Section 5: Pages ___________ Discussion Director _______________ Vocabulary and Literary Luminary _______________ Connector _______________ Character Captain _______________ Artful Artist _______________ Intrigue Investigator _______________
Section 3: Pages ___________ Discussion Director _______________ Vocabulary and Literary Luminary _______________ Connector _______________ Character Captain _______________ Artful Artist _______________ Intrigue Investigator _______________

Role Descriptions Overview:
A "Literature Circle" is a structure for talking about a book with your peers as you read it together. Students are in charge of the discussion and for setting reading assignments together (how many pages read before next discussion). There are between 4 -6 members in each literature circle, and each member rotates one of the following jobs throughout the project. The main point of a "Lit Circle" is to talk about books, sort of like a "Book Talk". This means exploring key events, the characters, the tone, imagery, connections to real life, and of course, the author's message. Each role is explained below; note that with each role, there is a "Technological Task" that you must all complete. Each assignment must be handed in or posted by the due date on the "Literature Circles" calendar. Be sure to state your name, role and date. As your postings are sent to kidblog.org, Ms. S-M will quickly check them over and approve the posts if they free of errors.
Discussion Director/Facilitator: This student is responsible for writing down 4-5 thought-
provoking questions for the purpose of group discussion based on that day's reading assignment. As the group Facilitator, it is also this student's job to direct the group discussion, keep track of student work, and rate the group's "Habits of Work" each day the group meets.            Technological Task: Post your groups questions on kidblog.org and share your questions with your group in the Lit Circle meeting. Everyone will incorporate their responses to these questions in their Journal Blog Response (in addition to other comments or observations). In addition to coming up with questions, you must also include your own responses to the questions in your reader's response.
Vocabulary and Literary Luminary/Alternate Facilitator: This student is responsible for choosing parts of the story that he/she wants to read out loud to the group. The idea is to help students remember some interesting, powerful, puzzling, or important sections of the text being read. The Literary Luminary must decide which passages or paragraphs are worth reading aloud, and justify the reason for selecting them. Key passages and words are to be marked with a sticky note. Plus, this student is also responsible for finding especially important vocabulary in the story. Vocabulary selected should focus on words that are unfamiliar, interesting, important, repetitive, funny, puzzling, descriptive, vivid or those used in an unusual way. *Additionally, if the Discussion Director is absent, this student will serve as the Facilitator.                     Technological Task: Remember that the key passages and words are to be marked with a sticky note. Then later, typed in Word and copy/pasted into wordle.net and used to create "word or passage cloud bursts".
Remember the wordle image will have to be printed right away, as they cannot be saved on this site.

Connector: This student is responsible for finding connections between the text his/her group is reading and the outside world. This means connecting the reading to the following: his/her own life, happenings at school or in the community, similar events at other times and places, history or current events, other books or stories, other writings on the same topic, or other writings by the same author.         Technological Task: Post your connections in a post on kidblog.org. Be sure to EXPLAIN the connections FULLY, and include any photos or video/internet links that help to show the connections to your learning. Try to include some visual aspect that will capture your audience's attention. Be sure to cite your sources (where you got the information) with your entry.

Character Captain: This student is responsible for revealing specific personality traits of the character(s) within the novel. This means he/she will find examples in the assigned reading of behaviors/actions that help group members to know the character(s).         Technological Task: Create a voki avatar that speaks on behalf of the character in a mini 60 second podcast. The avatar must explain as a key character (protagonist, antagonist or secondary character) your thoughts, issues that you have with the events or other characters, conflicting feelings, values and beliefs, personal experiences of the character or how the society impacts the character.            *Link your voki avatar to a comment page on your blog. Be sure to include your responses to the role sheet on the page as well. In order to create an avatar, you will need to set up an account at voki.com which means you need an e-mail address.

Artful Adventurer: This student is responsible for sharing an artistic representation of the material read. Avenues for expression may include: artwork in any medium, music, poetry, collage, music, mobile or anything else which represents an aspect of the material read.                                 Technological Task: You are not required to do a technological task if you are creating a piece that can only be made by hand. You can create a collage of images, video and music that connect to the material on glogster.com or on kidblog.org. If you create a piece on glogster, include a link on kidblog.org, so that we can view your creation! Remember that all of you have individual accounts on glogster. In addition to creating a visual, you must provide a written description of what you created and explain how it represents a facet of the assigned reading.

Intrigue Investigator: This student is responsible for finding background information related to the chapters you read. As you are reading the section of chapters, decide what would be something to look up that relates to those chapters read. Using the internet or books, find out information and about the topic, and in your own words, type what you have discovered about the topic. When you meet with your group, explain why you chose that topic and what you discovered when you researched the topic. This assignment needs to be typed.         Technological Task: Post your research in your own words in a post on kidblog.org. Be sure to write in your own words, and include any photos or video/internet links that will connect to your learning. Try to include some visual aspect that will capture your audience's attention. Be sure to cite your sources (where you got the information) with your entry.

Other Technological Tasks You Can Add in Your Journal Blog…
Plot Diagram at Read write think – Interactive tool allows students to plot the elements of a short story or novel. Plot – beginning, middle or end; or exposition, climax, resolution
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/plot-diagram/
Graphic Mapping at Read Write Think… The Graphic Map assists teachers and students in reading and writing activities by charting the high and low points related to a particular item or group of items, such as events during a day or chapters in a book. Students will chart high and low points for a group of items or events within a chapter. Items are graphed, but also organized and explained. Graph will have to be printed right away, as it cannot be saved.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/graphicmap/

Doodle Splash: This online tool combines the process of drawing with analytical thinking by pairing online drawing with writing prompts that encourage students to make connections between their visual designs and the text. Students can visualize what they are reading and create graphic symbols helps them develop as readers.
Literary Doodle As students read a chapter; they "doodle," either in a journal or using an online tool, responding to the text through images, symbols, shapes, and colors. They must be sure to represent all of the elements of the short story (setting, plot, character, point of view, and theme) in their doodles. Students then work in small groups, to construct a graphic of their story on a sheet of newsprint with crayons or markers. When all groups have completed their graphics, they will present them to the class, explaining why they chose the elements they used. Finished graphics can be displayed on a class bulletin board, on walls, or scanned in to a Web page. http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/doodle/index.html

Book cover Creator: Ask students to create new book covers for the books that they explore, using the Book Cover Creator. The tool gives students options to add both text and images to their covers. The tool does not include an option to save the work, so be sure that students do enough planning that they will be able to complete their covers in one session. http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/bookcover/

Assessment and Evaluation…

Group On-Task Evaluation

Literature Circles: To be evaluated by the Discussion Director/or Alternate Facilitator:
Daily Participation Scoring Guide for: ___________________________
Date: _________

Attendance	Was student prepared for day's discussion?
Discussion Director/Facilitator:	Yes No Comments:
Vocab and Literary Luminary/Alternate Facilitator:	Yes No Comments:
Character Captain:	Yes No Comments:
Connector:	Yes No Comments:
Artful Artist:	Yes No Comments:
Intrigue Investigator	Yes No Comments:

Group Standards

1. As a group, assess your work habits for today. Discuss and circle the standard your group met for today. If your group fell into the In Progress or "IP" category, explain what didn't work, and make a plan for what you'll do differently at your next meeting.
2. Using the descriptors provided in your scoring guide, award yourself a grade for your role sheet and your journal entries. Circle the letter that best describes you in each area.

Description	Exceeds Standards		Meets Standards		In Progress
Group Skills: Habits of Work	Group Members: * Worked extremely well * Provided a model for other students * Were supportive of one another's views		Group Members: * Worked well * Were productive * Met all objectives * Planned for next meeting		Group Members: * Did not function well * Failed to meet objectives * Were unable or unwilling to collaborate * Were off-task
Self Assessment	Teacher Assessment		Comments:
Role Sheet:E M IP Journal:E M IP	Role Sheet: E M IP Journal:E M IP
E – Exceeds Standards; M – Meets Standards; IP – In Progress
Name: Individual Grades		Literature Circles Scoring Guide
		Exceeds		Meets		In Progress
Journal Blog – Kidblog.org Pre-group journal response is the response you write about what you have read before you meet with your group members. Post-group journal response is the response you write after you meet with fellow group members and listen to the discussion and insights into the novel selection.		* Has achieved genuine insights as evidenced by insightful interpretations and evaluations of text; completes all the tasks for the Expected Outcomes for the meeting. * Has gained richer understanding of the text through group discussion as evidenced by the depth and clarity of the response * Can evaluate the effectiveness of his /her own contribution to the group discussion		* Has read text carefully * Has grasped the main ideas * Can offer reasonable if sometimes incomplete or questionable interpretations * Has addressed all required prompts or Expected Outcomes for the meeting * Can cite two specific examples that demonstrate a richer understanding of the text after group discussion * Can clearly state his/her contribution to the group within his/her role		* Student has not read text carefully -- unable to identify main ideas or interpret text * One or more of the required prompts have not been addressed - Expected Outcomes for the meeting not explored * Is unable to cite specific examples of growth in understanding the text * Is unable to clearly state the contribution he/she made to the group discussion
Role Sheet		* All of "Meets" * Responses to assigned tasks indicate that student has achieved a superior and /or unique understanding of the material read		* Role tasks are complete complete * Responses to assigned tasks indicate that student has an adequate understanding of the material		* Student is unprepared for "Literature Circle Discussion" -- material was not read or Role tasks were incomplete and unprepared.
Habits of Mind & Work		* Student never needs reminders from the teacher * Acted as a model to other students * Encouraged those around him/her to focus on the task at hand * Highly focused and productive -- took team work seriously		* Texts, journals and Role Sheets are always in hand at the start of class * All deadlines are met, Role Sheets and Journals are complete * Student is usually on-task, and requires little, if any, direction from the teacher * Worked well in group -- productive and cooperative		* Deadlines are not met * Texts, Journals and Role Sheets are often missing * Student needs many reminders to stay on task -- student distracts others * Often not actively involved in group * Lack of productivity resulted in independent study

old grade 8 math

Unit 8 - Integers

Chapter Review8.5 Order of Operations and Integers assignment was due Friday.

Chapter Review for Unit 8 is due Monday. 

Quiz - Monday, April 30th 8.1-8.3 concepts

8.4 p. 309-310 Dividing Integers cont. with numberlines due: Monday, April 30th

A 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 19

B - 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 11-18

C - 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 11-16, 21, 22

8.3 Dividing Integers... p. 302 Show You Know p. 303 Show You Know

Key Ideas... When representing dividing integers with fraction chips, think....

-Total number of chips is the first number in the equation...

-Determine your answer... If there is a positive, then the number of groups will be the positive integer.

p. 300 8.3 Exploring Integer Division due: Weds...

A- 1, 3, 5, 7, 10

B - 1, 3, 5, 7, 10-14

C - 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 14-16

8.2 Multiplying Integers p. 297 due: Friday, April 20th at end of class.

Level A -1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 23, Math Link

Level B- 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 20, 23, Math Link

Level C - 1,2,4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 23, 25-29, Math Link

QR Code Novel Scavenger Hunt

To further celebrate the futuristic nature of our "Other Skies Dystopian Worlds" ELA unit, we are going to implement QR Codes into our Literature Circle study. This lesson will take place next week and the week after...


The Basics of QR Codes...
First off, you may be wondering...

What Are QR codes? 

Reference: http://searchengineland.com/what-is-a-qr-code-and-why-do-you-need-one-27588

They look like this:

or this...

They come to us from Japan where they are very common. QR is short for Quick Response (they can be read quickly by a cell phone). They are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media and put it in to your cell phone. You may soon see QR Codes in a magazine advert, on a billboard, a web page or even on someone’s t-shirt. Once it is in your cell phone, it may give you details about that business (allowing users to search for nearby locations), or details about the person wearing the t-shirt, show you a URL which you can click to see a trailer for a movie, or it may give you a coupon which you can use in a local outlet.

The reason why they are more useful than a standard barcode is that they can store (and digitally present) much more data, including url links, geo coordinates, and text. The other key feature of QR Codes is that instead of requiring a chunky hand-held scanner to scan them, many modern cell phones can scan them. Go to Wikipedia for a more in depth description. 

How does the cell phone read the code?

The cell phone needs a QR code reader, like this one from Kaywa. It takes literally 1 minute for someone with an iPhone or Android phone to find and install the reader.

How do you generate a code?

You can easily generate a QR code using a site like Kaywa.com or you can use the Open Source code to generate codes for you if you have a smart developer on hand. Google also has a tool — see our separate article about that:Close-Up With Google’s New QR Code Generator.

QR Codes are Everywhere! Try it! Create your own QR code!

So before you get started, it's important that you actually check out how to make a QR code and how to   read one with your phone. 

The following is a QR code creation site. There are tons out there! You can even colour code your QR if you like. 

http://www.qrstuff.com/

http://qrcode.kaywa.com/


Did you know you can create a QR code for just about anything?
Really you can! And we are going to use QR codes with learning key concepts about your Dystopian Novel.

As a Literature Circle Novel Study Group, you are going to be divided into "Novel Expert Roles". In your role, you will create a question that relates to your "Area of Novel Expertise" and provide the answer, but do this in the form of 2 separate QR codes (One question QR code, one answer QR code). Members of your group will "read" the QR codes using Smartphones (to accomodate everyone in our class, you will pair up to read the codes with someone else who has a Smartphone).
**All students with Smartphones will have to ensure that they the QR code reader app on their phone.

The "Novel Expert Roles"... These roles relate to important elements of studying novels.
* Protagonist Expert (Who is the protagonist? likes, dislikes? friends? goals? job?)
* Antagonist Expert (Who is the antagonist? There is more than likely more than one... Why are they the Antagonist?)
* Exposition and Initial Incident Expert (The Exposition is the setting of the novel, plus background information about the type of society and tone of the novel. The initial incident is the first incident or event that is key and gets the action moving in the novel.)
* Conflict Expert (Analyze the Internal and External Conflict... Do you remember the difference?)
* Climax Expert (Analyze the Climax... What is the key event that all the action or events have been building up towards? What seems to be the pivotal event that will change everything for the Protagonist?)
* Resolution and Author's Message Expert - (Analyze the ending and message.... How does it all end? What is the author's message or what does he or she want the audience to think about or learn?

Try it! Create your own QR code!
So before you get started, it's important that you actually check out how to make a QR code and how to   read one with your phone.

The following is a QR code creation site. There are tons out there! You can even colour code your QR if you like.
http://www.qrstuff.com/

QR Code Extensions... 
QR Code Blogging... Why not take your blogging to another level? You could generate a message that your character would create to pass along a secret message to another character, or even tell other members of your Dystopian Lit Circle group, what the author's message is via a QR code that you create. Create the code, save it as a jpeg, and post it to your kidblog account.

Other ELA - Arts Ed. Ideas...  Why not write a message about life in the society you are studying, in Dystopian Lit Circles? Type several separate messages, that will become different QR codes. Create QR codes (you can change the colour of these codes), print them in colour (see me, about how to do that at school), then incorporate these messages into your Arts Ed. Dystopian Background for the Dystopian World Installation.

Why do We Love Dystopian Literature?

Tweets for your Dystopian Novel...

Twitter With Dystopia
Ideas I'm considering for teaching with our Dystopian novels...
Being that we are working on our "Fakebook" character pages for our Dystopian novels (or you should be grade 7/8!!), I started thinking about other ways we can integratre Social Media in a way that is futuristic....

So I thought we should explore using Twitter and Tweetdeck to create discussions and debates between characters... This would mean that students will have to create a "Fake Twitter Id" for a character, but we need to know who you are, so incorporate your name into the character's name...
ie: stewieshaymitch (this is obviously my Haymitch id) or
jordanthomasmaze or (Thomas is the protagonist in Maze Runner)
dominicfour or (Four is one of the characters in Divergent)
charmainecassia or (Cassia is the protagonist in Matched)
tintinxander or 
pjgalehungergames ....

Get the idea?? Your first name, your character's first name or last name ...
We need to know who YOU are, who YOUR CHARACTER is... If your id is taken, or the id you create is too long for Twitter, then be creative, just be sure to include your first or even your last name with the name of the character you are representing.

Now in order for your group to get your tweets, you need to categorize them. That is where the #hashtags come into play. Each group will be assigned a hashtag, so that your group can track the responses.... PLEASE REMEMBER TO INCLUDE THE HASHTAG, OR YOUR TWEET WILL GO INTO THE BIG, BIG WORLD OF TWITTER!

ie: stewieshaymitch... type your tweet... then hashtag #smhg (hash tag is the # sign, and the SM stands for Stewart Mitchell and HG stands for Hunger Games...)

*The point of the # hash tag is to categorize your work so we can track the conversation (it blocks out all the "chatter". If you search particular hashtags and your group's hashtag... you will get only those particular group items). If you don't do that, then there is no point to creating the tweet for the class... no one will see it.

https://twitter.com/

So try it! Here are the hash tag codes...
#smhg (Hunger Games Group)
#smmr (Maze Runner Group)
#smd (Divergent Group)
#smep (Eleventh Plague Group)
#smm (Matched Group)

In order to use Twitter, you just need to set up an account, you just need a computer for this. You do not need a phone... It's all free!

Getting Started...
Once you get started, you will see messages like...

The Twitter Teacher1 min

This is a Tweet. Tweets are short messages that have up to 140 characters and can contain links like http://twitter.com.

You will start building a timeline next like this...

Build your timeline.

Follow people to get their Tweets.

Start by following 5

 Follow

Justin Bieber ‏

@justinbieber

 Follow

Sask. Roughriders ‏

@sskroughriders

 Follow

Ariana Grande ‏

@ArianaGrande

Add character.

Upload a photo and describe yourself.

Maximum size of 700K. JPG, GIF, PNG.

Bio

0 / 160

I got the idea from this New York Times site:
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/what-would-your-favorite-fictional-character-tweet/

By the way, to find my account on Twitter, you can send me a message, I am
jstewiestewie or Tweet me @jstewiestewie

My Twitter QR code is... Have no idea what QR codes are? Check out my other Blog post!


Other "Stuff" or items of interest....
Pintrest
Posters that were inspired by The Hunger Games
http://pinterest.com/mrsorman/teaching-the-hunger-games/

Modern Dance that Was inspired by The Hunger Games
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/12/28/2872164/novel-inspires-middle-school-dance.html

Chapter 9 Linear Relations

Please get tests and quizzes signed by parents.

Unit 10 - We have started. This will be a fast paced unit to get students ready for the Math diagnostic.

Unit 9 Linear Relations

Chapter Review and Practice test on blog

Test for Unit 9 - Tuesday, June 5th

9. 3 assignment on blog

9.2 Patterns in Table of Values

Summarize the Key Ideas on p. 347 in your own words.

A: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

B: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16

C:1, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20

Due: end of Thursday's class.

9.1 Analysing Linear Relations p. 339-341

A: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9

B:1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16

C: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 16, 17, 18

Due: Wednesday, May 16th

9.1 p. 332

Review Show You Know and Summarize Key Ideas in your words.

Define using a coordinate grid diagram

a) horizontal axis - which is... x or y?

b) vertical axis - which is .... x or y?

c) coordinate grid

d) quadrants

e) Table of Values - Which is the x side (horizontal part of a grid) and which is the y side (vertical part of a grid)?

Friday's Assignment:

9.1 Analysing Graphs of Linear Relations p. 337 due: Monday, May 14

A: 1, 3, 4, 6, 9

B: 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11-13

C: 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12-18

Police Tour

On Wednesday, May 16th in the afternoon, we will take a tour of the City of Regina Police Open House at the Brandt Center. We will leave at 12:40 and return at 3:15. Students do not have to pay anything or bring anything, unless they want to bring a water bottle.
A big thank you to Mr. McCulloch for organizing this as part of Career Ed.!

Resources, Industry and Economic Development

How can we measure development and wealth?
Reference - adapted from the following site: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/16/g68/richpoor.html
Part 1: Understanding how development is measured 
Take a look at the CIDA map which looks economic conditions in almost all the countries of the world. If you want a close up, a map can be given to student groups. 
Examine the meaning of this data.  Look at the statistics on the map, and  classify each country as rich, poor, or somewhere between the two. Consider the following questions:

• Which indicators did you consider most significant?
• Which indicators did you not consider useful?
• What other information might have been helpful for classifying the standard of living of a country?

Part 2: Understanding how the use and distribution of resources affects a country's standard of living 

Examine the CIDA World Development map and analyze the indicators from both high-income (industrialized) and low-income countries. Use the following questioning format to aid in your example:

• If a country's life expectancy is ___ years, would you expect it to be high-, middle-, or low-income?
• What resources available in that country promote or hinder long life?
• In what ways might that country be dependent on another country for resources related to life expectancy?
• What events might increase or decrease the availability of those resources?

Part 3: Understanding how resources can increase wealth with trade

Create a list of natural and human-made resources that seem to be associated with high levels of development, then  locate the geographic origins of those resources.What is  the role of trade in the distribution of resources among countries?

Closing:

Examine the following photographs of a city or village and determine the general standard of living represented by explaining the economic indicators evidenced in the image and by listing the available resources apparent in the image.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Connections to the ELA Dystopian Unit Novel...

What countries of the world are similar to that of your novel? Give reasons to support your understanding. Why do you choose these countries? What  reasons connect to the setting in your novel? Add this information to Section 2 - The blog on Visualization....

Future Assignment:

View the CIDA economic development map of the world, and use other reference materials as needed (Internet databases on world development). In partners or small groups you will be assigned a region to analyze, and you must do the following:

• Describe the spatial organization of the data (i.e., identify geographic patterns). What factors might explain the patterns or lack of patterns?
• Describe the relationship between the economic status of the countries in the assigned region and the region's environment (e.g., climate or topography).
• Describe the relationship between the economic status of the countries and their population (e.g., total population or population density).
• What other world regions appear to have similar economic status? What factors might explain the similarities?

Bandies, Here's Monday's Math...

The following assignment is due Wednesday! You need graph paper.

9.1 Analysing Linear Relations p. 339-341


A: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9

B:1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16

C: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 16, 17, 18

Due: Wednesday, May 16th
 
If you need help, ask tomorrow. The TEST ON INTEGERS (UNIT 8) HAS BEEN MOVED TO TOMORROW.

Dystopia is in the near future...

What your future is going to be dystopian?? No ... that's just the new unit we are starting in ELA... "Other Skies and Dystopian Literature". We are not only going to read some pretty awesome books, we are also going to make some connections to our current world today and how we manage resources and look at the rights of people and the distribution of wealth around the world... And here you thought we were just exploring fiction!

Here is an introduction to our new unit...

OTHER SKIES AND THE WORLD OF DYSTOPIA

Big question – What can we learn about our world by reading dystopian literature?

Many ideas from NY Times Lesson Plans Site have been used and expanded upon. Reference: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/the-odds-ever-in-your-favor-ideas-and-resources-for-teaching-the-hunger-games/

BACKGROUNDER… AUTHOR INSPRIRATION…

What inspired or influenced the authors of our dystopian novels when writing their books? What is the background of the novels? Are they about, how humanity survives… Government or Political Structure… The role of “Big Brother” watching you… The use of resources or amount of resources….

What is it about the world of the future that should be perfect, yet is not??? What is the controlling force that gets in the way of freedom? How is our world "foreshadowing" the world of the future? Is there a connection between the world of the dystopian novel and an element of these worlds? 

Before we even begin, check out the links below to author interviews, book trailers and fan blogs... Even if you are not assigned the book that captures your interest... you can always read that particular novel after our Literature Circles! Remember you are not LIMITED to reading just one book. BIG BROTHER will not stop you in you quest to read and enjoy books!

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins http://www.scholastic.com/browse/video.jsp?pID=1640183585&bcpid=1640183585&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAFv844g~,BASb5BU03X_L2cn86MC9qSzQHunGEilJ&bclid=1745181007&bctid=1840656769

Book Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TnxXoMpF3c

Movie Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIVKX4Wu77U

Divergent – Veronica Roth

http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.ca/2011/11/divergent-inspiration.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSNoLKbHNeg&feature=relmfu

Book Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu5Erw-posg

Matched – Ally Condie

Book trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaeNWL8rlBI

http://www.matched-book.com/bio.html
Author Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gBf1QBZ1xU&feature=related

Maze Runner – James Dashner

http://yabookscentral.blogspot.ca/2011/02/interview-with-james-dashner.html
http://jamesdashner.blogspot.ca/2009/09/maze-runner-website.html

http://www.jamesdashner.com/blog/

Book Trailer - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790864/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2-zYcD-dDs

The Eleventh Plague – Jeff Hirsch

http://www.jeff-hirsch.com/?page_id=239

http://article.wn.com/view/2011/11/16/Writer_Jeff_Hirsch_talks_inspiration_and_process_of_The_Elev/

http://www.examiner.com/article/writer-jeff-hirsch-talks-inspiration-and-process-for-the-eleventh-plague

Book Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__f4S0hv1EI

WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S THE HYPE WITH DYSTOPIA??? HERE ARE SOME DEBATES, ARTICLES AND ESSAYS ON THE TOPIC FOR TEENS AND THEIR PARENTS!! Seriously, read some of the links below and discuss the issues with your parents... get's you thinking!

WHY DOES DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE CAPTIVATE TEENS? Questions and Answers for Teens and Their Parents…. A selection of Debates, Articles and Essays…

Why are dystopian novels so compelling or engaging for young readers? Everyone is wondering, maybe those who wonder, haven’t read any of the books, so they prefer to wonder…. Anyways the following essay, “Teenage Wastelands” explores some well known dystopian books and reasons for their popularity. I love the fact that the guy who wrote, the non-fiction-turned-fiction novel, A Million Little Pieces, also wrote I am Number Four… Hilarious!! http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/magazine/20FOB-WWLN-t.html?_r=1

The debate, “When Authors Take Risks That’s Not Kid Stuff” really captures my attention and in a couple of the debaters arguments, actually makes my blood boil (imagine that!). Seriously! Check out, “Adults Should Read Adult Books”… This guy, Joel Stein, really ticks me off, as he makes fun of adults who read young adult's books, yet admits he has never read any of them. (Grrr!!!) What a know-it-all, elitist jerk! A good book is a good book! It’s good to read a book for entertainment’s sake and one that is thought provoking. Thank Goodness, there are thought provoking novels for teens! Maybe this is a soft spot for me as a teacher who started reading young adult fiction to find out what to recommend for kids, then found herself enjoying teen fiction just as much as adult fiction…. Anyways, check out the debate, it’s thought provoking and interesting. I need to think about other things before I get too riled up! And for the record, I am not ashamed that I read the Twilight series! (Yes I even said it in print!) Here’s the debate…See what get’s Ms. SM steamed about literary debates…

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/03/28/the-power-of-young-adult-fiction/when-authors-take-risks-thats-not-kid-stuff

Will teen books like The Hunger Games make teens glorify violence? Is The Hunger Games just a book about "kids killing kids"? Is this new craze for dystopian genre which explores "more adult-like" political topics a new thing? Or are political topics in children’s literature something that even Lewis Carroll explored in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland back in the late 1800’s? In the following article, “No More Adventures in Wonderland”, the author examines how serious and sometimes violent concepts in children’s writing is not a new thing, and sometimes just a better vehicle for exploring serious issues and getting the message out there. Is it important to "bubble wrap" and keep kids in the dark, or educate and encourage kids to think about these issues through discussion? Just check out the article...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/opinion/no-more-adventures-in-wonderland.html

 Check out the debate that further explores the issue, “The Dark Side of Young Adult Fiction” from different writers, including the authors of Shipbreaker, Uglies,  and Shiver… http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/12/26/the-dark-side-of-young-adult-fiction

The Great Dystopian Debate…

Why do you think teens are drawn to dystopian literature? Read the debaters points from above, and think about who is right… or why do you think they are right? Get ready for an intense class discussion on the topic, prepare to justify who you agree with most? Why? What is your opinion?

Tests this Week then Toga Day

Tuesday, May 8th - Social Test - Culture Unit (allowed a study sheet)
Wednesday, May 9th - ELA Greek Mythology Test (allowed a study sheet)
Thursday, May 10th - French Quiz (study adjectives, avoir and etre conjugations) - "Knowledge Wall"
Thursday, May 10th - Unit 8 Integers Test grade 8 (allowed a study sheet)
Friday, May 11th - Greek "Feast-Potluck and Toga Day"
Greek Potluck and Toga Day
9:00 Come dressed in toga outfits or as a Greek Mythological Character
9:30 Share myths in small groups (ensure that your myth is on kidblog for comments)
11:30 Greek Feast and Potluck (bring any food item to share at the potluck... Remember it's lunch, so bring some "lunch" type food, not just chips and dip.)
2:30 Share the Student composed myths (or finish sharing) and participate in a ...
Socratic Questioning Lesson - I know you are thinking, "How can an old guy like Socrates teach us to think better? I mean come on, he was from Athens and lived during the time of the Ancient Greeks! What can we learn from him???" Oh lots... actually his method of questioning will become "food for thought for our Dystopian Unit".... Oh the connections you will make to learning....

For more on Socratic Questioning.... You young Greek Philosophers, check out the following sites... http://changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/socratic_questions.htm
http://www.engin.umich.edu/~cre/probsolv/strategy/cthinking.htm


Next week or week and a half...
Religion Test on Sacraments... we will finish this lesson with the videos from Busted Halo (If you have no idea what I'm talking about... Read this blog!!!  )

By the way, we will slightly overlap the Dystopia unit with Greek Mythology this week... just because you are excited to start, as Rolan stated in class one day,
"I've never been so excited to get depressed by the future!" Well said Rolan, I know these Dystopian books are a tad dark and gritty... but they sure make you think about the connections to our present!! I'm pumped to start too!
Stewie