Final Thoughts - Hard Gold

 

We have officially finished our historical fiction story Hard Gold by Avi. It was an exciting adventure following Early on his journey from Iowa to the gold diggings in Cherry Creek.

 

 

At the end of the story Early finds his Uncle Jesse in Gold Hill. Jesse admits to killing the man who stole his first gold discovery, which angers Early. Early cries to Jesse "But, Jesse, why did you have to do what's wrong" to get the gold. Jesse replies "Hey Early, we ain't little kids no more. Start living what's real!"

 

 

How did Early change from the beginning of the story to the end? Why did he have to grow up so much even though he is still so young? Please use specific examples from the story to support your answer. You should us a RAD Response and write in complete sentences.

 

 

At the end of the story Early decides to go back to the Pike's Peak diggings instead of staying on the farm with his family. Why do you think Early decides to do this? Lizzy had asked Early, "What do you think will happen to Jesse?" What do YOU think happened to Jesse? Explain your answer using specifics from the text to support your prediction.

 

 

There are four questions in this blog post. Make sure you answer all of the questions with your best effort and thinking. This was a great book and I want to see that reflected in your answers. Don't forget to type your answers in your 'Bloggin Document" first so you can go back and edit. Check for spelling, grammar, capitals, and complete sentences before you submit your answers. Take your time with this and show me some wonderful RAD Responses. If you finish you can comment on posts from other people (do that in your 'Blogging Document' as well). Comments should be in complete sentences as well! 

Plot Predictions - Peter and the Starcatchers

(Image from Amazon.com)
The past few weeks have been spent introducing the elements of plot (problem, solution, rising action, climax, and falling action). We have discussed how Peter and the Starcatchers might have multiple "plot mountains" throughout the course of the story. Because we have spent time charting the initial problem and rising action, I want you to make a prediction about what our first climax might be. Based on what we know about the characters and the plot elements so far, what do you think will happen next? Make sure to type your response in your 'blogging doc' first so that you can make changes if necessary before you post. Your prediction should be in RAD format and should have specific text evidence from the story to support it. What from the story supports your prediction, be specific. Please make sure to check your conventions before you publish (spelling, capitals, punctuation, grammar, etc). I am excited to see what you are thinking based on the work we have done so far.

Creating Our Own Precepts - Thanks Mr. Browne

 (Image from: Amazon.com)

Based on our amazing read aloud book Wonder, we are going to channel Auggie's teacher Mr. Browne. We are going to create our own personal precept for the month of October. Mr. Browne defines a precept as "rules about really important things." You can think of them as your words to live by, just like our 'Thought of the Day' everyday in class. Using a research tool in Google Docs, we are each going to pick one precept that best represents us, our words to live by for the month. I want your precept to be something that inspires you to be better this month, and hopefully other students' precepts will inspire you as well. After you have chosen your precept, you will write a paragraph (just like Auggie had to do) explaining what your precept means to you. Your paragraph needs to be correctly formatted (indent, introductions, details, conclusion) and you need to check your writing before you post (aka edit your writing). Make sure to type this in your 'blogging doc' first so you don't lose your work before you are ready to post it.

I want this to be thoughtful, I want this to show me who you are, and I want this to show me what is important to you. Channel Auggie and what he wrote about, thought about, I can't wait to read your precepts!

Georgetown Reflections 2013

Georgetown Reflections:

I want you to think about your time in Georgetown. What were some of the things you really enjoyed? Was there anything about the trip you didn't like? Try and include things that you thought about, felt, smelled, heard, saw, etc. You will use this information to help you plan a Personal Narrative about your time in Georgetown during writing, so the more you can include here, the easier your writing will become. Try and use great word choice, and be as descriptive as possible! Please also be aware of your spelling and grammar. If a word is underlined in red, it is spelled wrong, fix it!

(Image courtesy of google.com)