4 December 2007

Due Tomorrow–Read the 3 short nonfiction pieces from other 8th graders and do the sheet, pasted below.
Due Thursday--Typed up– Montana Journal Entry #5, pasted below.

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8th Grade Core                  Name_______________________

Nonfiction Writing Assignment
You must keep this packet for later use! File under Language Arts.

Part I: Reading
Read the attached samples from 8th grades’ past.  Enjoy!

Part II: Writing and Thinking
Write a question or an observation about each.  Your question or observation should not be about the story itself, but about the writer’s style—a part you liked, a part that struck you, or how each approached the assignment.

“Lemonade Stand”:

“Subway Musings”:

“One More Time”:

Which was your favorite and why?  Use detail in your answer.

Part III: Listing Assignment Criteria    
If these three pieces represent what we are going to write, use them to list elements of what the assignment IS.

In other words, using these pieces as your guide, answer this question: What is this thing we are trying to create?

List at least 3 things that answer the above question.

Example: each is about something that actually happened

1.

2.

3.
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Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
Journal Entry #5, Pages 66-82

Part I. Vocabulary
Remember to look up definitions and parts of speech before you read. It is up to you when you want to write your sentences, one sentence per word; you must have them ready on the day they are due to receive a check mark for your homework assignment. Print your work before class; you may NOT leave class to print your assignment. Your sentences must clearly demonstrate the word’s meaning to someone who has not necessarily read Montana 1948.

1.    Rough-hewn  (68)
2.    Impassively (69)
3.    Bursitis (70)
4.    Teetering (71)
5.    Degradation (82)

You should use the definition of the word in the dictionary that matches its use in the book. This means you should review what you have recorded after reading the assignment to be sure you have the correct definition.

PART II. Reading
Read pages 66-82.

Part III: Writing
Get a blank sheet of lined or printer paper and turn it horizontally (long like a train, not tall like a building). Using the grid format below, draw four columns and label them “Quotation,” “Reflection,” “Response,” and “Change In Thinking.” After you read pages 66-82, choose a quotation from the reading that you find particularly interesting or striking. In the second column, write a short (3-4 sentence) paragraph analyzing the quotation that you chose by discussing the characters or the event you have chosen in a way that further reveals important issues in the novel thus far.  Be sure your name is on your grid; we will be using it in class. Leave the third and fourth columns blank for now.

Quotation         Reflection            Response    Change In Thinking

TO BE DONE
IN CLASS:
LEAVE BLANK