Want a job???

Fall City Wide Resource Fair 

Saturday October 2, 2010 11:00am - 3:00pm 

 

Come meet a wide range of programs and organizations to make your school year great! Academics, Sports, jobs, internships, art, anything and everything you may want! All grades and ages should attend Madison Park Technical Vocational High School Lower cafeteria 55 Malcom X Blvd. Roxbury, MA 02119

 

  Got questions? Call Morgan Randall at 617-635-1578 or e-mail mrandall@boston.k12.ma.us. 

Jobs at 826 Boston

826 Boston hires four or five teens each year through the Boston Youth Fund to tutor students in our after-school program as paid employees. 

These teen tutors work 3-4 hours each afternoon helping younger kids (ages 7-12) with homework, reading comprehension, writing, and other projects. Through this program, they also become eligible to win college scholarships from 826 Boston ($1000+) and to be nominated for Posse Foundation's full scholarships to private universities. We encourage them to work on their writing by attending workshops at 826 Boston (at no cost) and by working with our staff.

If you know a teen who is at least 15 years of age and interested in tutoring younger students, please encourage them to apply!

Directions are listed below. 

The application deadline is October 15.

www.bostonyouthzone.com/teenzone/employment/byf/

Book Readings!

The BPL at Copley just released their Fall author line up...and it is amazing! I'll get looking for an event to chaperone, and it can be a big old Culture Vulture party.


These author talks and lectures, all of which are free, take place at the Central Library in Copley Square, 700 Boylston St. Author talk events feature questions from the audience and include time for book signings. Additional details are available online at www.bpl.org.
The schedule is as follows:
• October 6, 6:00 pm, Michael Cunningham, author of By Nightfall.
• October 6, 6:30 pm, Neil Miller, author of Banned in Boston.
• October 14, 5:30 pm, Ronald Grim and Paul McDermott, authors of Eye of the Explorer: Views of the Northern Pacific Railroad Survey, 1853-54.
• October 20, 6:00 pm, Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms.
• October 20, 6:30 pm, “Researching the History of Your House” with Marian Pierre-Louis.
• October 25, 6:00 pm, Alexander McCall Smith, best known for his internationally acclaimed No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agencyseries.
• October 28, 6:00 pm, “Heroines: Literary and Super!” featuring Erin Blakemore and Mike Madrid.
• November 2, 6:00 pm, Bill Reynolds, author of Rise of a Dynasty: The ‘57 Celtics, The First Banner, and the Dawning of a New America.
• November 3, 6:30 pm, J. L. Bell on how Bostonians celebrated the fifth of November.
• November 4, 6:00 pm, Dennis Lehane, best-selling, Boston-based author.
• November 10, 6:00 pm, John Ochsendorf, author of Guastavino Vaulting: The Art of Structural Tile.
• November 17, 6:00 pm, Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer.
• Wednesday, November 17, 6:30 pm, Carol Clingan with an introduction to Jewish genealogy.
• November 30, 6:00 pm, The Best American Sports Writing featuring Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan, and Bob Hohler.
• December 1, 6:00 pm, Roger Lowenstein, author of The End of Wall Street.
• December 1, 6:30 pm, Eric Jaffe, author of The King's Best Highway: The Lost History of the Boston Post Road, the Route That Made America.

Homework 9/29

1) Short Story #3
-5 items/dates for a list story
-try out some 2nd person, speak to the reader with "you"

2) ROAR, get some reading done

3) Root Word Quiz #3 on Friday

Homework 9/28

1) READ! "Indian Education"

2) Short Story #3 for Thursday
-select 5 items (shoes, last day of school, math tests) that can tell time
-describe the item, and how it shows a change in the protagonist

3) Root Word #3---> Cycl

Honors Survey

826 Boston wants to know how you view writing and your abilities as a writer!

Let 'em know here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEVLTjJ2TUZubE02cjFYbVNwbmhVa1E6MA

ROAR Exemplars

Here are a few blogs from last year:

http://tdtlwk.blogspot.com/

http://genesisroar.blogspot.com/

http://jvalcin.blogspot.com/

Homework 9/27

1) read! "A Bag of Oranges"

2) Root Word quiz #3 on Friday---> cycl

3) 1st ROAR post due Friday, 5pm (read at least 40 pages of your ROAR book)

and a big well done to all the Culture Vultures at the Jazz fest!

Homework 9/24

1) More thought on "Ms. Turner's Lawn Jockeys"

-5 most important details
-3 quality questions
-1 paragraph on what the story is all about


2) get a start on ROAR reading, 1st post due next Friday

3) enjoy the Jazz Fest!

National Punctuation Day

How did I miss this?

http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/

Homework 9/23

1) Root Word quiz #2--->cardio

2) Read "Ms. Turner's Lawn Jockeys"

3) Begin reading your ROAR book, find a Culture Vulture activity

Beantown Jazz Fest! This Saturday! 12-6pm

All you Culture Vultures!

The Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival is located on Columbus Avenue between Burke Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Boston. It is free and lasts from Noon to 6pm.


Schedule and Map:
http://www.beantownjazz.org/pdf/schedule-map.pdf

Homework 9/22

while your folks are at Open House, here's something to keep you out of trouble!

1) Short Story #2
-2 pages
-a character who wants to hide family/cultural secret from school or lies to gain popularity


2) ROAR blog created, and comment on my post to share its URL

3) Root Words Quiz #2---> Cardi

4) ROAR post #1 due on Sunday, 5pm

Homework 9/20

1) read back through "What Means Switch" and be ready for Socratic Circle tomorrow

2) Root Word Quiz #2 on Friday ---> Cardio

3) Short Story #2 on Thursday
-a lie told by a student to get popular, or something a student wants to hide about their family/culture

4) ROAR blog- create it by Thursday, 1st post by Sunday 5pm

POST YOUR ROAR BLOGS HERE!

Please comment, and leave your blog URL and your name.

Homework 9/18

1) READ "What Means Switch"

2) Select a quality ROAR book, and fill out the proposal sheet

Free Movies!

This Twitter link is just for fun, or will come in handy as we start Culture Vulture!




http://twitter.com/BostonFreeFilms

Homework 9/16

1) Root Word Quiz #1 (a-anti)

2) Read the selection from Bastard out of Carolina

3) Find your ROAR book!

Homework 9/15

1) Short Story #1!

The ___________(insert item of clothing)

-2 pages of writing
-try some personification
-crisp description of clothing
-shift in narrator's tone toward the clothing?

2) Root Word Quiz #1 on Friday

Homework 9/14

1) read "The Jacket" by Garry Soto

2) study your Roots List (a-anti) for Friday's quiz

3) select a ROAR book (due 9/20)

Homework 9/13

1) Bring your ELA materials to class: Binder and Do Now notebook

2) Begin to study your Root Words for Friday's quiz (a-anti)
http://www.learnthat.org/vocabulary/pages/view/roots.html

3) Keep looking for your Term 1 ROAR book. The proposal sheet is due 9/20. Check previous posts for suggestions

4) A Long Way Gone multiple choice quiz TOMORROW

Suggestions for ROAR term 1: Biography/Autobiography

Your ROAR book must meet the following requirements:
1) proper genre- biography/memoir
2) proper difficulty- 200 pages, strong vocabulary
3) proper content- parent signature

The Term 1 ROAR proposal sheet is due Monday, September 20.

Here's a link for student suggestions:

https://sites.google.com/site/roarchoiceselections/written-on-the-body-1/table-of-contents/-auto-biography-memoir



Here are some additional suggestions:

Kaffir Boy
Mark Mathabane
This book specifically focuses on the apartheid South Africa of Mark Mathabane's childhood. Publishers Weekly says the book is "Powerful, intense, (and) inspiring," and I strongly agree.

Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit
Sean Ferrer
No one would have expected a famous actress to ever step foot on the terrains of Africa. But there is one person that devoted her entire life to sharing love and affection to people all around the world; she is the one and only Audrey Hepburn.

Warriors Don't Cry
Melba Pattillo Beals
What was it like growing up as a black student in the United States during the beginning of integration? Melba Pattillo tells her story when she was one of nine African-American children chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School.

No Disrespect
Sister Souljah
A great book for urban teens about Sister Souljah’s life experiences, which can show people the way city people work and the things people do to get money and how love can affect the way others think. Each chapter is about a person in her life who affected her greatly.

Confessions of a Video Vixen
Karrine Steffans
Many girls have the desires and dreams to become the ladies that they watch on television that gets the chance to dance with the stars, gets the chance to be famous
and noticed by the guys. Yet, The true story behind it all might not be that American dream you hoped it to be.

The Road from Home - The story of an Armenian girl
David Kherdian
Everyday, you get up at a certain time in the morning. On the weekdays you go to school, and on the weekends you stay at home or go out with your friends. You go on with your certain routine, not thinking about anything going wrong or changing. But what if it does. What if one day, out of no where, you and your family are told that you have to pack up your things quickly because you are being deported?

Gather Together In My Name
Maya Angelou
In this biography, Maya opens up by giving a description of herself by saying 'I was seventeen, very old, embarrassingly young, with ason of two months, and I still loved my mother and stepfather (Angelou 3).

Chinese Cinderella
Adeline Yen Mah
Not being wanted by her family was complicated. Yen Jun-ling, known in her family as Wu Mei (Fifth Daughter), was born unlucky. Her mother died while giving her birth. "If you had not been born," said Big Sister to her one day, "Mama would still be alive. She died because of you. You are bad luck."

The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dream
Derek Jeter with Jack
One of the best shortstops in the modern era has been Derek Jeter; he is a three time gold glove winner and multiple time batting champ. In his book, he talks about his childhood and lifestyle now. He also tells you his lessons learned as a child from his parents and the world around him.

When I Was Puerto Rican
Esmeralda Santiago
Esmeralda is a girl growing up in Puerto Rico. Life is hard because her family is not that rich. Esmeralda experiences changes that show who she is and where she comes from. It helps show the transition to a new place and new people, how she has to change everything when she has to travel to new places and adapt to her new world. Esmeralda's journey shows her she will always be Puerto Rican.

Rat Bastards
John "Red" Shea
This is the true story of how a boy grew up during a very difficult time in the late 70's, in a predominately Irish neighborhood. He was taught to use his fists because the educational system had let the community down. He learned about respect and loyalty from the very people that would kill you just for pure greed.

Homework 9/10

1) upload your summer reading assignments to Turnitin.com (enrollment information in previous post) by Sunday 5pm


A Long Way Gone
Choice Book
Red Scarf Girl (Honors only)

2) complete your Student Info sheet, and your Requirements & Contract


3) be prepared with graphic organizer for our writing prompt on A Long Way Gone for Monday

Turnitin.com Enrollment Info

Log into Turnitin.com using your e-mail address and password from last year. If you forget your password, please click "Retrieve password." If you are new to Turnitin.com, click

"Create account."

Enroll in the correct ELA section, using the class # and password listed below:

Period 1
3465570
longwaygone

Period 2
3465574
ishmaelbeah

Period 4
3465578
redscarfgirl

Period 6
3465587
jilijiang