Point of View
Shogga grabbed the sheep by its neck skin and raised it in the air. "Perhaps we will eat sheep tonight," Shogga grunted. Tugo looked at Shogga and said, "No. The shaman protects him. This sheep is to be our luck." Shogga scoffed and said, "Shogga does not believe in magic. Shogga believes in eating." Tugo gently grabbed the stone axe that Shogga was holding and lowered it toward the ground. Then he said, "We need the shaman now, Shogga. We eat later." Shogga grimaced.
Third Person Objective
Good Witch by Roberta Beckwood
Being a teenager is tough on everyone, but it's even tougher when you have a big secret to hide. Shaliyah Brooks is like most teenagers: she likes to hang out with her friends, watch scary movies, and talk on the phone. But unlike most teenagers, Shaliyah comes from a long line of witches. Shaliyah promises her mother and grandmother that she will not use her powers at school, but when a friend gets into serious trouble, Shaliyah breaks her promise. Now her secret might get out and Shaliyah is faced with a tough choice.
Fiction/ Fantasy
Why Do We Have Schools?
Education in our society serves many purposes, but there are three main functions. First, students learn skills that will help prepare them for society. Writing, reading, and mathematics are essential in today’s workplace and many people learn these skills in school. Second, schools serve communities. Whether by functioning as polling locations during elections, or providing safe havens for students in temporary living situations, public schools add value to communities. Third, public schools provide a structured environment for children to engage in productive activities during many days of the year while their adult caretakers may be working. In other words, public schools also provide day care. These are three of the primary reasons why we have schools in our society.
Cause and Effect
Your beauty was a web of frail delight.
Metaphor
Claustrophobia
Fear of small spaces.
Jean sat in the back of the blues club. He wasn't there to listen to music. He wanted to see Tia. So he sat at a table by himself and waited for her to come to him. "Can I get you something?" said Tia when she finally approached. Jean smiled and said, "Let me get a tonic and a date with you." Tia had heard that one before. She had heard all of them before, but she lived on tips so she smiled and laughed instead of telling him how she really felt.
Third Person Omniscient
Fragmented by Maxwell Morton
November 22, 1963: In one of the most stirring moments in American history, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through downtown Dallas. While the nation is grieving, ex-federal agent Nicholas Lively is called to duty to investigate the assassination. But as Lively starts following the threads, he is led to places controlled by powerful people, and asking the questions that Lively asks is dangerous. Will Lively get the answers to his questions or will he get something much worse? Find out in this exciting and imaginative novel.
Fiction/ Historical Fiction
Milestones
In 1821 the first public high school in the United States was started in Boston. By 1900, 31 states required children to attend school from the ages of 8 to 14. As a result, by 1910 72 percent of American children attended school. Half the nation's children attended one-room schools. In 1918, every state required students to complete elementary school. In 1954, the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education unanimously declared that separate facilities were unconstitutional and desegregation began.
Chronological
"Whenever someone's in trouble, Captain Adventure comes on the double!" Shouted Captain Adventure from the rooftop, right before he dropped onto the purse-snatcher. The old woman recovered her purse and said appreciatively, "Thank you, Captain Adventure! You saved the day." Captain Adventure posed and offered to carry the woman's groceries upstairs. She politely accepted, and Captain Adventure handcuffed the purse-snatcher to a lamppost. Then he followed the old woman upstairs. As he put the grocery bags onto her counter, Captain Adventure saw something that made him jump onto the kitchen table. He started squealing in a high-pitched voice, "EWWWWW! Icky! Icky! A big bug." As he did this, he was pointing at an average sized ladybug that was on the floor about ten or fifteen feet from him. Seeing his terrified reaction to this small bug, the old lady scooped the insect onto her finger and guided it out the window. Captain Adventure was immediately relieved and said with genuine appreciation, "Thank you. I guess we're even now."
Situational Irony
Anarchy
Total absence of government.
Butch dug his spurs into his horse and she kicked up dust. "Giddy up!" he said. I was riding right behind him, but my horse wasn't as fast as his and I was a much less capable rider. "Butch, could you wait up for me?" I asked. He didn't. I kicked my horse and tried to get her to move faster. She whinnied and then bucked me off her. As I landed with my posterior in a mud puddle, Butch laughed. Then he kept riding. "Butch!" I shouted, "Wait up!" He didn't.
First Person
Pecos Bill and the Mountain Lion retold by Pat Belding
What do you mean you haven't heard of Pecos Bill, the roughest, toughest cowboy in the whole Wild West? Well, old Bill wasn't like most other cowboys. He generally didn't ride a horse, as he could run faster than most of them anyway. One day Bill was taking his cattle out to graze when he heard a growling coming from behind a cactus. When Bill peaked behind it, he saw a full-grown mountain lion. The mountain lion pounced on Bill in a way that would have killed most men, but Bill just laughed, that being because the claws and jaws of the mountain lion were tickling Bill. Well, Pecos Bill wasn't one to lose anything, yet alone a tickling match, so he tickled that mountain lion behind its ears and under his chin until it laughed so loud that it done scared Bill's cattle away. Bill got a little bit upset about that. Hoping to regain Bill's good favor, the mountain lion let Bill ride on his back to round up the cattle and from that day on Bill and that mountain lion were as close as fence posts.
Folklore/ Tall Tale
Have a Great Day
There is more than one way to have a successful school day, but a great way is to be well prepared. The first thing you should do is complete your homework the night before. Don’t try to do your work in the morning, it will be too stressful and you may not have enough time. Next, you need to go to bed at a reasonable time. If you stay up too late, you will not be able to focus on assignments or instruction as well and you may even fall asleep during class. Lastly, you should wake up early. This will give you time to get ready and feel good about yourself, and you’ll also be able to get something to eat before the day begins. So remember, one way to have a successful school day is to do your homework the night before, go to bed early, and wake up early. Have a great day.
Sequence
"Jones, they've got other offers on the table, bigger offers. We've got to move on this thing now while we've got our foot in the door." Pat Meier was working him over. Mr. Jones wasn't sure about buying the house, but he trusted Pat and he wanted to do right by him, so he agreed. Later that night, as he talked it over with his wife, Mr. Jones grew less and less certain. The phone rang. Mr. Jones politely answered it, "Hello. Jones' residence and with whom am I speaking?" At first there was no reply, and Mr. Jones heard someone laughing at a distance, "Ha-ha... The place has got mold in the attic and the basement!" Mr. Jones recognized the voice as belonging to Pat Meier. He continued listening, "The walls are an inch thin. Trains pass by every fifteen! You wouldn't believe this garbage dump, Bernie." Mr. Jones figured that Pat must have called him from his pocket on accident. Just as he was about to hang up, Mr. Jones remembered that Pat was trying to get him to buy a place right next to a train station. "I only let him look at the place for ten minutes at a time. I'm telling you, Bernie, this Jones idiot is going to pay twice what that dump is worth." Mr. Jones had heard enough. He ended the call. The next day Pat waited eagerly a long time for Mr. Jones to show up to the closing.
Dramatic Irony
Meticulous
Extremely careful.
Dr. Brando examined the fusion reactor. He knew that one false move could cause the whole system to explode, so he worked carefully. Suddenly, Dr. Manheim walked into the reactor room. Dr. Manheim was just out of college. He neither understood nor appreciated the pressure under which Dr. Brando was working. Dr. Manheim snuck behind Dr. Brando and said, "What's up, Doc?" It was a terrible Bugs Bunny impression. This did not escape Dr. Brando, as he simultaneously focused on keeping everyone in the plant alive.
Third Person Omniscient
Mountain Lions by Walter Fitzgerald
The mountain lion, also known as the cougar or puma, is a large cat native to the Americas. Mountain lions range from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes of South America. In this authoritative text, Fitzgerald delves into the secretive world of the nocturnal predator. He returns with lots of facts and observations about the hunting behaviors, social structures, habitats, and life cycle of this majestic feline.
Nonfiction/ Informational
Attendance
Having good attendance is important because attendance determines the school’s funding. Some students have poor attendance, and the school has tried many ways of addressing this: teachers have talked to parents on the phone and the school has mailed letters. Yet, some students still maintain poor attendance. Next, the staff will attempt to schedule parent/teacher/administrator conferences with students who are habitually absent. Hopefully, this will help more students get to school everyday.
Problem and Solution
Define Connotation/Denotation & provide an example.
Denotation: Dictionary Definition
Connotation: The feeling a word gives- positive or negative
Slim vs. Skinny
Prudent
You are awoken suddenly by a large crashing noise. You look toward the mouth of the cave and see that several boulders have fallen in front of it. More boulders are falling. "Crash!" The light is slowly vanishing. This rockslide has put you in danger of being sealed in this cave. It already may be too late. "Crash!" The opening to the cave is half covered by large boulders now. You can hear more boulders sliding down the mountain face.
Second Person
For the Family by Cathy Spangler
Katie's best friend is her kitty named Catty. Katie takes Catty everywhere she goes in a little wagon. Catty is such a nice cat that she lets Katie dress her up in cute little outfits. The two are inseparable, but when Katie's sister Kelly's eyes get puffy, red, and itchy, the family learns that Kelly is allergic to Catty. What a catastrophe! Now Katie is being asked to let go of Catty, for the family. Can she do it? Find out in this short novel.
Realistic Fiction
Are Charter Schools Harder Schools?
These days, students and their caretakers have more choices when it comes to selecting a public school. In addition to the traditional neighborhood schools, Charter schools have popped up in major cities across the country. Both charter schools and neighborhood schools fill traditional roles like providing instruction, serving lunch and other meals, and administering the state tests. But charter schools and neighborhood schools differ in many important ways. One key difference is the amount of time students spend in school. In Chicago, students who attend neighborhood schools do so for around 180 days in a year, and each day is slightly over six hours long. On the contrary, students who attend charter schools do so for around 200 days in a year, and most charter school days are over eight hours long. While both neighborhood and charter schools provide free public education to students meeting enrollment criteria, students who attend charter schools spend much more time in class.
Compare and Contrast
Draw the plot diagram on the board and explain each part.
Answer should not vary.
Amiss
In a wrong or imperfect way.