WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE

Reading Workshop

Jason Stidham / Whitmore Lake High School / English Department

Email: jason.stidham@wlps.net Phone- 734-449-4461 x 3354

Class Description:

Reading workshop is a twelve-week elective literature class open to 9th-12th graders. Students will read at least six novels during this class. Three will be novels that students will choose from a list I provide, and three will be picked strictly on the students' own interests. My list is the American Library Association's ranking of the Top 100 Novels of All-Time. It includes appropriate choices from many genres to provide just the right challenge for every level of student-from an incoming freshman to the college-bound.

Daily assignments will be graded every two weeks upon the completion of the novel. These assignments will require students to interact with the text, prove their understanding of it, and make personal connections. Students understand that the purpose of this class is to take advantage of time given to read for pleasure while broadening their horizons and perhaps exploring a novel or two that they normally wouldn't consider reading on their own.

NOVEMBER 2-16

We'll work on our fifth project which is due Monday, November 16. The resume is worth 50 pts, and the onomatopoeia examples are worth 50 pts as well. The handouts are below; see me or email with any questions BY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12!!

(Project #4 was due on Friday, Oct. 30. Grades for Project #4 are now posted on Powerschool)

Resume Component Checklist

YOUR NAME…………………………………………NOVEL……………………..
Character’s Name Adjectives to describe him/her:
Character’s Address- (as specific as possible)
Character’s Phone Number
Job Objective or Career Goal
Character’s Qualifications
Character’s Education
Character’s Job History
Clubs and Organizations.
Hobbies and Leisure Activities
Personal History
References What makes your character ideal for this job?

Name________________________________Date_________HR___________Novel_____________

INSTRUCTIONS- LOOK FOR EXAMPLES OF ONOMATOPOEIA AS YOU READ YOUR NOVEL. FIND TEN EXAMPLES, AND ON SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER WRITE DOWN THE ENTIRE SENTENCE IN WHICH YOUR EXAMPLE IS FOUND.

TURN IN 10 SENTENCES X 5 PTS EACH= 50 PTS.

EXTRA CREDIT: AS YOU READ, LOOK FOR ONOMATOPOEIA THAT IS NOT LISTED BELOW. EARN 1 PT. EXTRA CREDIT, UP TO 10 PTS, FOR EACH ONE YOU FIND.. INCLUDE THE ENTIRE SENTENCE AND PAGE # FOR CREDIT!

Mechanical Onomatopoeia. Machine noises seem to make up a fair amount of the common onomatopoeia. Examples include: buzz, beep, whirr, click, clack, clunk, clatter, clink. Notice the group of words that begin with cl.

Fast Motion Onomatopoeia. Words that convey the sound of speed seem often to begin with the letter s or z. Boing, varoom/vroom, whoosh, swish, swoosh, zap, zing, zip, and zoom are examples.

Musical Onomatopoeia. Some musical onomatopoeia is associated with specific music instruments — the twang of a banjo or guitar, for example, or oompah for a tuba, or plunk for a keyboard. Others imitate a metallic sound, and these often end in ng: ting, ding, ring, ping, clang, bong, brrrring, jingle, and jangle. Then there are some that clearly evoke wind instruments, like blare, honk, and toot; and another group that seem percussive, like rap, tap, boom, rattle, and plunk. A person making music without an instrument might hum or clap or snap.

Food and Eating Onomatopoeia. In cooking, food may crackle or sizzle and oil may splatter. When we pour something to drink, it may go splash, kerplunk, or gush, but hopefully it won’t drip, and when we open a soft drink, it will probably fizz. When it’s time to eat, we’re likely to nibble, munch, gobble, and crunch.

Fighting Onomatopoeia. The action words that show up in comic books during fighting scenes are onomatopoetic: pow, bif, bam, whomp, thump, smash, zowie, bang, and wham are some of them.

Animal Onomatopoeia. The sounds that animals make are complicated even in English, but it’s important to be aware that — contrary to what one might expect — in different parts of the world, the words used for animal sounds are quite different. Sheep do not universally go baa, nor do ducks quack everywhere in the world.

OCTOBER 19-30

PROJECT #4, "DIARY ENTRIES FROM A CHARACTER'S POINT OF VIEW", IS DUE FRIDAY OCTOBER 30. PLEASE CHECK POWERSCHOOL FOR THE GRADES ON OUR FIRST THREE PROJECTS.

Project #4

Your name___________________________________

Date Due: Friday, Oct 30

Hr._______

"DIARY ENTRIES FROM A CHARACTER'S POINT OF VIEW"

Staple 3 sheets of lined paper to this one.

You will write (5) 100 word diary entries from the point of view of at least 3 different characters

When you feel an event in your novel is "significant", look at it from the point of view of one of the characters participating in the event.

One of the events must be the climax of the novel.

One of the events must explain the resolution.

Write in first person, and use the "voice" of that character.

Your Novel________________________________Author______________________

10 line summary so I get the "gist" of your novel (-20 pts if not completed!)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Diary #1 describes___________________________________________by__________