Reading 2A (9:30-10:30), 3A (10:30 - 11:30), 6A (12:40 - 1:40), 7A (1:40 - 2:40)

NOTES FROM TODAY, IN CASE SCHOLARS WERE UNABLE TO FINISH IN CLASS:

Connecting The Lightning Thief and the Hero’s Journey

Quote from The Lightning Thief	Quote from “The Hero’s Journey”	Explain the relationship between these two quotes.
“I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C- in my life.”	“Heroes possess some ability or characteristic that makes them feel out-of-place.”	These quotes are related because Percy has characteristics that make him feel out of place, and this is a challenge many heroes face.

 

Quote from The Lightning Thief	Quote from “The Hero’s Journey”	Explain the relationship between these two quotes.
“With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn’t a pen anymore. It was a sword—Mr. Brunner’s bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.”	“Heroes find a mystic (magical) object or discover their world is in danger.”	DON’T WRITE THIS AS NOTES! What is the connection between the quotes? -Make this connection in your own words.

Quote from The Lightning Thief	Quote from “The Hero’s Journey”	Explain the relationship between these two quotes.
“I remember Mr. Brunner’s serious expression, his thousand- year-old-eyes. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.”	“The mentor often gives the hero the means to complete the quest. Some of the time the gift is simply wisdom.”

 

Quote from The Lightning Thief	Quote from “The Hero’s Journey”	Explain the relationship between these two quotes.
“Grover blushed right down to his Adam’s apple. ‘Look, Percy I kind of have to protect you.’”	“Every hero needs a helper much like every hero needs a sidekick. Most heroes would fail miserably without their helpers.”

 

Quote from The Lightning Thief	Quote from “The Hero’s Journey”	Explain the relationship between these two quotes.
“His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes and horns ...”	“As they embark on their journey, the heroes enter a world they have never experienced before. It might be filled with supernatural creatures, breathtaking sights, and the constant fear of death.”

READING 1A: Notes from today's classes & comments on the notices that went home today...

READING 1A: The class I see FIRST THING IN THE MORNING (8:30 AM - 9:30 AM)

On Friday, October 14, 2016, the Reading 1A class will be taking a mid-unit assessment for The Lightning Thief. The students are working on a activity in class that will give them practice on responding to a close reading of a section of the story. This requires that they find quotes from the book to support the answers they give. They have been working on these questions for a few days, and some of the scholars are still having a difficult time. They will have a short amount of time to work on it during class tomorrow morning, but if they do not finish, I will have them take it home with them to finish for Thursday.

Here are the questions. The answers must be in complete sentences. I have also supplied sentence starters for the scholars to use to make sure they give a proper, detailed response.

• Read or review the scene on pages 38 from “Eventually, I got up the nerve…” to page 40 “...and I didn’t want that.”
• Answer the following questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES.

1. What is an example of a challenge Percy faces in pages 38 - 40? How does he respond to these challenges? Be sure to cite evidence from the novel (quotes, detailed explanation using the story, page numbers) to support your answer.
2. What does Percy say that he regrets? What does this tell the reader about him? Cite evidence from the novel (quotes, detailed explanation using the story, page numbers).
3. How does Percy’s mom describe his dad in this scene?
4. At the bottom of page 39, Percy says he is “not normal.” What does he mean? Why does he say it?

Use these sentence starters to make sure you answer in FULL SENTENCES:

1. One example of a challenge Percy faces in pages 38 - 40 is __________. He responds to this challenge by ____________
2. Percy regrets saying ____________. This tells the reader that Percy is _____________
3. Percy’s mom describes Percy’s dad in this scene as _____________
4. By saying that he is not normal, Percy means________. He says this because ______________

Today, notices were went home with those scholars who are in danger of failing reading class. This does not mean that the scholar is done. I am accepting work throughout this week, but the work needs to be completed with pride, and the scholar needs to read and follow all of the directions. If I receive work from a scholar, and the directions have not been followed, or little effort has been put in to doing the best job he or she can, the grade will not change.

Please, be sure to sign the notice and have your scholar bring it back tomorrow.

Thank you for all your support!

Mr. Ridges

A LINK TO ALL ASSIGNMENTS GIVEN THIS QUARTER SO FAR!

Hello 6th Grade Kellar scholar families!!!

Quarter grades will be going out next week. These grades are recorded - i.e. THESE GRADES ARE FOR REAL!!!!!

Our scholars who haven't applied themselves to the fullest have implored that I post assignments that they have missed.

I will post a link to all of the assignments I've given this quarter. If you click here you can access copies of every handout I've given since August.

There are some assignments I've given that aren't in worksheet form. These required attention and work during class time. If our scholar did not put forth the effort to complete the assignment during the class time given, then he or she did not receive a passing grade for that day.

I invite any family member who would like to discuss our scholar's performance at Kellar in Reading (or other classes) to contact me to discuss positive ways we can influence these amazing kids to use their talents.

Thank you so much for your support!

Sincerely,

Mr. Ridges

Vocabulary for Chapters 3 & 4

Muttering (29) Bladder (29) Beeline (29) Theory (29) Barest (30) Blared (31) Twinge (32) Scowled (32) Shears (32) Smothering (33) Expulsion (33) Interrupted (35) Detect (36) Sarcasm (36) Anxiety (36) Ruffled (36) Lug (36) Griping (36) Gesture (36) Hinges (37) Pastel (37) Obvious (45)

Rebellious (38) Streak (38) Misty (38) Hyperactive (38) Outright (39) Resented (39) Regretted (39) Welled (39) Vivid (41) Artillery (41) Bellow (42) Framed (42) Sternly (43) Stammered (43) Muscular disorder (43) Limp (43) Cloven (43) Tabs (44) Bleat (45) Trample (45) Underhoof (45) Satyr (45)

Myth (45) Miffed (46) Minions (46) Glimpse (47) Fluttering (47) Anticipating (47) Peeled (47) Slumped (48) Faltered (48) Lumbering (48) Deliberately (49) Scrambled (50) Draped (50) Chassis (51) Tromping (52) Reeked (52) Bolt (52) Pummeling (53) Dissolved (53) Snuffling (53) High-octane (55) Stern (56)

Reading 2A & Reading 7A Missed Classwork

The students are to do a close reading of the excerpt of "The Hero's Journey" they received today in class - only sections titled Introduction and Act 1: Separation (the first side of the page). They are to do the following:

1. Circle any words that are unfamiliar.
2. After each paragraph, write a gist statement about that chunk of reading. A gist statement is a very brief, one-sentence idea of what the paragraph is about.
3. Annotate (highlight or underline AND provide notes) for questions you may have about the text or information you think is important.

Bring it to class tomorrow, completed.

Thank you!

Mr Ridges

READING 7A

Today was a rough day for this class. It's the last class of the day, so I understand that students are restless to get out of school; however, today's behavior was just disrespectful. There was so much talking and distraction that I could not get to what I needed to teach.

So, I need to make sure the scholars get it down at home.

1. They need to finish reading chapter 5 (pages 73 - 74) and write evidence flags for any interaction that Percy has with another character from 67 - 74 as well as what these interactions tell you about Percy as a character.
2. Write the following notes in your Reading Journal:

The Hero’s Journey

Introduction:

Joseph Campbell, an American psychologist and mythological researcher, wrote a famous book titled The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Campbell discovered many common patterns that are in many hero myths and stories from around the world. He described several basic stages that almost every hero goes through.

The Hero’s Journey - Act 1: Separation

The Ordinary World

Heroes exist in a world that is considered ordinary or uneventful by those who live there. Often people in the ordinary world consider the heroes odd. The possess some ability or characteristic that makes them feel out of place.

We will begin class tomorrow with a brain teaser and a journal entry, then we will discuss these notes and what they have to do with The Lightning Thief.

Happy Sunday!!

Good morning!

I am comfortably seated at the Stuart Sports Complex in Aurora, IL, waiting for my son's U14 boys team for the Kickers Soccer Club to be absolutely trounced  by Oak Forest. Our boys know they are not the better team. They are going to focus on playing a possession game, cutting Oak Forest's scoring chances of scoring, and keeping the ball on heir side of the pitch for a greater amount of time than the last time they played them. For this match, they've realigned (changed) their expectations as a team to focus more on the personal goals of developing as individual players rather than what the final score will be. Sometimes you have to create your own success.

I would like to share an article about the role reading literary fiction plays in developing not only the young person's mind, but the capacity for empathy and compassion. If you click on the word "article" at the beginning of this paragraph, it will take you to the article.

When a 6th grader reads a work of fiction like The Lightning Thief, whether he or she admits it, or can even put into words what is happening, he or she is observing Percy Jackson's responses to the challenges he faces, his thoughts, his feelings... and, the scholar is making judgements based on his or her own experience (both from in life and from what has been read before), thoughts, and feelings. It's the discussions, the written responses, and the THINKING about their reading that facilitates the human growth this article talks about.

We, as influential adults in these young people's lives, have the most important job of developing leaders, in their household, in their chosen profession, on their sports teams, amongst their friends, and in their own lives. In engaging them in conversation about what they read; in encouraging, then demanding that they assert their own thoughts and experience into their side of the conversation; by assuring them that their thoughts, feelings, experiences are VALUABLE, we are helping them believe themselves to be leaders they are.

Again, Happy Sunday!

Mr. Ridges