Useful English Links
Study Skills:
English Practice:
English Zone (Reading Zone Verb Zone Basic Skills Vocabulary Zone)
Grammar Exercises (try ---- Fragments Commas SV agreement)
Vocabulary Fun:
Literary sites:
Reading Strategies:
1. Pay attention Read as if what you are reading REALLY MATTERS. You are intensely interested!
Most people read in the same way that they watch television. They read. in a passive way expecting the words to entertain them or to inform them- like watching the news---just get to the point. A little effort in reading goes a long way.
Reading takes effort, and you must make the effort. It is an interactive activity. (Like the Wii --not like a TV show)
2. Familiarize yourself with the reading. Look at the chapter titles and/or pictures, graphs, maps.
3. Ask Questions:
What is the main idea? Is this fiction or nonfiction? What type of writing is this? What is the author's purpose?
If you are reading an essay based on a person or topic ask yourself a specific question about him or her or it.
example: essay on Benjamin Franklin
a) What did he invent? b) How far did he go in school? c) Was he like me in any way?
d) What kind of family did he grow up in? e) What difference did he make in the world? f) Did he face any obstacles?
Look for the answers to your questions in that reading.
4. Read in word phrases, chunks of words give meaning, not just individual words
5. Don't keep re-reading the same phrases.
6. Speed up and slow down while you read. Don't just go on and on and on at the same pace -zzzzzzzzzz
7. When you are finished reading...
SUMMARIZE SPECIFIC KEY POINTS OR FACTS
Ask yourself: Why did the author write this? What reason or meaning or message about life was in this reading?
If you are reading a question you must answer...read and read it again and again if needs be, and ask yourself: "What exactly do I have to do to successfully answer this question?"
Underline or highlight parts of the question and then use those words in your answer.
Enjoy the activity of reading. It's supposed to be enjoyable.
Don't look at it like work, or it won't work for you.
Final Review Tips:
VOCABULARY
Prefixes&roots:
uni, mono, bi, tri, quad, quart, pent, oct, cent, dec, pre, re, ant, pro,con
gen, scrip, ject, port, spec, vis,vid, ped, pod, man(U), corp, carn, omni, aud,
bene, mal, sym, syn, struc, frag, frac, sect, fore, pel, puls
Vocabulary Terms:
gravely, proprietor, capsize, patriarchal, verify, indigenous, adage, servile, churlish, jostle, grope, vigil, pilgrimage, pensive, decorum, quandary, divulge, minutiae, semblance, penchant, transient, pallid, retention, sympathetically, perimeter, benefactor, coincidence, brigade, pendulum, disintegrate, curriculum, convoy, inconsistent, menacing, prominence, dilapidated, pantomime, retaliate, unanimous, disclosure, unprecedented, deliberately, prostrate, apparition, horticulture, restitution, vehemently, corrugated, amputate, momentum, murky, catapulted, aneurysm, symbiotic, facade, fate, cite, citation, bibliography, macabre, dismal, eccentric, idiosyncrasy, red herring, prosperity, prolific, swanky, congenial, scapegoat, ironic
prophetic, flail, raucous, prowess, enamored, inclination, bildungsroman****additional words for pd4 students
Remember to study the terms as they relate to each other---DO NOT just memorize the definitions
Comma rules--use a comma to separate items in a list (nouns verbs or adjectives)
The boy is building, creating, and constructing a Lego airport.
use a comma in a compound sentence
Marcelino was hungry, so he went to the grocery store.
Use a comma to set off the name of the person you're speaking with
Jesse, carry that wood into the house.
Use a comma to set off an interrupting phrase
Baseball, of course, is Eric's favorite sport.
Use a comma in an appositive
Mr. Massari, the teacher in period three, will travel this summer.
Use a comma correcting in dialogue
Arjan shouted, "Why didn't I get bubble gum too?"
Use a comma to separate the names of cities, states, and countries
My niece is in Paris, France right now.
Study the review sheets which have been given to you!
Find the eight parts of speech in the following sentence.
answer below(don't cheat)
(1) (4) (3) (8) (6) (7) (5) (2)
Gee, I must have stubbed my big toe as I was running carelessly through those dark woods yesterday.
interjection(1) noun(2) pronoun(3) verb(4) adjective(5) adverb(6) preposition(7) conjunction(8)
Action verbs sometimes have a Direct Object: Jimmy will buy a dozen roses for me today! (roses)
sometimes they don't--- She walked (into the woods) (with a handful of popcorn bags )
Linking verbs sometimes have a Predicate Adjective Kateri seems annoyed with me. (annoyed)
sometimes have a Predicate Noun Elizabeth will become a teacher at age twenty-two.(teacher)
*****************Studystudystudystudystudystudystudystudystudystudystudy!********************
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Read Below **Touching Spirit Bear Packet** Read Below
Touching Spirit Bear
By Ben Mikaelsen
Journal entry questions: 6,7,8,9
6. Edwin and Garvey seem to be "bossing" Cole around now. Do you feel that they are being unfair to him? Symbolism is used in this section. What does the water symbolize or represent?…the rock?….the stick
?7.Cole has to become "invisible". How? Explain how he does this.
8.Describe Cole’s Dance of Anger. What does he learn through the dance?
Pp 184-206, 214
9."In nature there are no rewards or punishments…only consequences."
Explain this quote. Give an example in nature and in Cole’s life.
Plot Outline
As you read the novel, Touching Spirit Bear complete the plot outline sections below:
1) Setting/ Mood:
Time-
Place-
Mood-
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
2) Characters:
Characters Characterizations
Main Characters Looks Acts Speaks Feels Mirror Image
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Other Characters:
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Conflicts in Literature
Throughout the plot of a book the main characters face some or all of the conflicts in literature we learned about (see your journal notes). Describe a reading from the book that demonstrates each of the conflicts listed below:
Man Vs. Self -
Man Vs. Man -
Man vs. Nature -
Man Vs. Society -
What do you feel is the main or central conflict of Touching Spirit Bear?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Complete an attribute web for Cole as introduced at the beginning of the book :
Looks (physical)
Speech ((verbal)
Acts (behavioral) Feels (emotional)
Mirror Image
- how others see you
- their perception of the character
Complete an attribute web for Cole as characterized at the end of the book:
Looks (physical)
Speech ((verbal)
Acts (behavioral)
Feels (emotional)
Mirror Image
- how others see character
- their perception of you
Contrast in Character
Write about a situation from the book in which a character shows strength, courage, or confidence on the outside. But, he or she may actually feel anxiety(nervousness) or fear on the inside.
+ Strength
Confidence
Nervous
Unsure
________________________________________________________________________________________
Literary Techniques
Metaphor
A metaphor is literary technique in which two unlike items are compared. The two items or nouns are talked about as though they are equal. This is a direct connection.
Eg. The bare treetops were golden broom bristles sweeping the clouds from the sky.
Find and explain the extended metaphor contained within chapter 14 of
Touching Spirit Bear.
Identify the three metaphors comparing ‘life’ to three different items…
(Hint: two of the situations involve Garvey and one involves Edwin.)
1)
2)
3)
Simile
A simile is literary technique in which two unlike items are compared using "like" or "as." The two items are talked about as if they are only similar, not equal. This is less direct of a comparison.
Eg.. "Tonight, raw feelings have been exposed like plowed up ground," she said.
Raw feelings are like plowed up ground
Find eight more similes in this book and identify the two items being compared.
Pp 3, 9,17,24,42, and 71 will help.
Symbolism
Symbolism is literary technique in which an author uses a concrete object to represent an abstract concept or noun. This technique helps the author to send the meaning, the message, or the theme of the novel to the reader.
Eg. the at.óow (the blanket Garvey gave Cole)
The concrete object at.óow represents the abstract concept trust.
List three more symbols from the book and explain their meanings. Make sure you CLEARLY identify the concrete noun and the abstract idea it represents.
Personification
Personification is a literary technique in which an animal or a non living(inanimate) object is given human characteristics.
The author may use all, several, or only one of the following word strategies to create personification.
*human verbs - dancing, skipping, preaching
*human emotions- joy, anger
*gender (he or she)
*dialogue (the object or animal speaks
Eg. The willow tree gently opened her arms over the meadow and whispered, "Spring is here."
Eg. Curtains of the northern lights over the bay danced wildly under the Big Dipper.
Sometimes abstract nouns are personified too.
How would you personify one of Cole’s dreams?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Sensory details
Use of sensory details is a literary technique in which the author uses the five senses to show the reader the scene or setting. Words that create an image, a sound, a sense of feeling, a taste, and a smell are used to "put the reader there" in the plot with the characters.
Ex. Vapor from the Spirit Bear’s breath puffed in tiny clouds from its wet, black nose.
List four more sentences from the book which would be GREAT examles of sensory details. Underline the sensory words with in the sentences.
After reading the section of the book in which Cole is facing death after being mauled by the Spirit Bear in chapter 8 on pages 71 to 73 complete the sensory detail chart below:
Five senses
Sight *Smell Taste Feel Sounds
Exact/Specific Nouns
Use of exact nouns is literary technique in which specific nouns are used to add detail to the image the writer is trying to convey.
List some exact nouns taken from chapters 9, 10, 11
Graphic Verbs
Use of graphic verbs is literary technique in which strong verbs are used to help the reader "see" or "hear" plot actions more clearly.
List some graphic verbs taken from chapters 9, 10, 11
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Grammar & Mechanics Practice
1) Identify the two parts of a complete sentence. What type of sentence is this?
a. declarative c. interrogative
b. exclamatory d. imperative
2) What is the simple subject in sentence #1?
3) What is the simple predicate in sentence #1 ?
4) What is the prepositional phrase in sentence #1?
5) What is the direct object in sentence #1?
6) Rewrite the following dialogue passages with correct punctuation.
a)Cole must go to jail and get anger counseling somebody said he’s proved he can’t be trusted
- Indians don’t own the trees Edwin chuckled or the right to carve
c) Cole asked could you teach me how to carve like that
______________________________________________________________________________________
Journal entries:
Reflection Question # 1 Cole learns a great deal from nature and animals in this book.
Discuss at least four animals and two nature situations that help
him learn how to live and appreciate his life. Explain clearly
what lessons he learns.
Think of your life and nature or animals. Discuss a time when
Nature or an animal helped you learn a lesson about life.
Reflection Question #2 Cole works hard toward the end of the book to become
"invisible." How does he try and how does he achieve this?
What is the lesson about life he learns?
Reflection Question # 3 Explain the meaning of the verb to "forgive."
Identify three characters in the plot who forgive, and explain SPECIFICALLY who they forgive and why.
How does this theme of forgiveness connect to the original purpose of the Circle Justice program?
Name someone in your life who you forgave or plan to forgive. Explain the situation clearly and tell why.
Reflection Question #4 How is the circle the two boys carve into the totem pole a symbol?
Reflection Question #5 The word ‘crisis’ in the Chinese language means danger and opportunity. How could you explain that meaning and apply it to Cole’s life in Touching Spirit Bear?
For thought...
JEFFREY PAGE
The lost art of reading
e-mail print The Record
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
By JEFFREY PAGE
YOU CAN READ a magazine article on the relationship between mothers and their 18-year-old daughters. Or you could read a poem about it. "Daughter, forgive me for wanting to give you perfect happiness in a glass jar, for wanting to keep you safe until you are at least 110," Maria Mazziotti Gillan writes.
It's one thing to read a woolly dissertation about another, very significant age. But to read F. Scott Fitzgerald is to encounter something far more immediate and recognizable than any treatise on growing older. Here's how he described it in "The Great Gatsby": "Thirty - the promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning briefcase of enthusiasm, thinning hair."
And you can listen to a thousand long-winded essayists go on and on about honor, or you could read Shakespeare who had Mowbray say it all in 18 words in "Richard II": "Mine honor is my life; both grow in one; Take honor from me, and my life is done."
Literature reveals the relationship among all people. It is concise. It is understandable. Usually it's not highfalutin' - and when it is, we can toss that pretentious book aside and pick up another.
A writer's take on a daughter's becoming a young woman, or about the age of 30, or about honor often reveals our own emotional turmoil when we confront these and all the other universal occurrences. Often, someone else's wisdom brings understanding and comfort to us.
On top of that, these observations found in literature come in the form of a story. And what's better or more satisfying than a story so good, so engrossing that it reaches out off the printed page, grabs us by the shoulders, and insists that we read it?
Yet, new information from the National Endowment for the Arts shows that more than half the adult population has given up on reading fiction, poems, and plays. For them, there's nothing to be gained by reading something challenging, but they also anticipate no pleasure in picking up a Sherlock Holmes mystery, a potboiler thriller full of spies and other bad guys, or even one of Ogden Nash's impossibly humorous rhymes ("There are two kinds of people who blow through life like a breeze, And one kind is gossipers, and the other kind is gossipees").
The numbers for non-fiction aren't much better. The Endowment, using statistics collected by the Census Bureau, said slightly more than 56 percent of the population read at least one book in a year. This represents a sharp drop from 1992, when 61 percent of the American people reported reading something.
What's going on here?
We're a nation in a hurry. We get used to our new home computers so quickly that just a few short months after we hook them up, we wonder what is taking them so long. We get annoyed when the kid at the McLunch takes two too many seconds to hand over a meal. And when the guy just ahead happens to hesitate for a fraction of a moment before stepping on the gas when the light changes, we find our hands creeping toward the horn.
And - there's no getting away from it - reading takes time.
Add the self-imposed indolence that comes with planting ourselves in front of the television - seriously, is there anything really worth watching? - and we have created an unreading and ultimately uninteresting and uninterested country for ourselves.
Though reading and watching the tube both involve parking ourselves on a chair, one is passive, one is not. With television we get information shoveled at us. This would include the news, the comedy of a favorite show, and, of course, the never-ending commercials for products such as tomato slicers and the little device that shaves you in generally unshavable places.
To read a story or a poem is to take part in the human adventure, to learn something, and to enjoy the process. If that were not enough, reading exercises the brain the way walking exercises the body. Who knows? Maybe a story a day someday will be proved to be sufficient to stave off the misery of Alzheimer's.
What are you reading this summer?
Record columnist Jeffrey Page also writes the North Jersey column.
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