Happy Holidays from Mrs. Cook
This is a one-time only, extra credit project for Intensive Reading class. You must complete this project by Friday, January 9, 2008. NO LATE PROJECTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. You must complete this project entirely on your own; plagiarism will result in zero credit.
In order to complete this project, you may want to look back over the text of this story. You may find a copy at your local library or look online. Here are some web sites where you can view the text and summaries of the text:
- text online
- Wikipedia
- Sparknotes
For your project, you must complete the following activities. Put them together in a stapled packet or folder and turn them in to Mrs. Cook. This project will be worth 50 extra credit points.
A. First Task: Draw the Pentangle
When Gawain’s armor is described in the story, it is said that on his shield he has a pentangle, or a 5-pointed star representing the five virtues of knighthood. These virtues are:
(a) free-giving (or generosity)
(b) friendliness (or brotherhood)
(c) chastity (or purity)
(d) chivalry (or courtesy)
(e) piety (or compassion)
For this part of the project, you must draw a shield (on paper or on the computer) that represents these five virtues in a modern way. Use drawings and symbols to represent the virtues on the shield. It should be full-color and accurately depict what a knight’s shield would look like.
B. Second Task: Modern Gawain
Think about how the modern man or woman might represent these five virtues of knighthood. For each virtue, choose someone (famous or someone you know personally) who represents that virtue well. For example, you might choose a person who does a lot for charity for the first virtue, or someone who helps other people for the last one. Write out a short paragraph (2-4 sentences) for each virtue, explaining who represents that virtue and how they represent it in a modern way.
EXAMPLE – You may not use this one:
Mrs. Cook is an extremely compassionate person. She is so nice, that she let us complete this extra credit project as a way to improve our crappy grades in her class. I have never known a teacher as nice as Mrs. Cook, and this is why I am choosing her to represent piety, or compassion.
You must complete BOTH PARTS of the project in order to earn any points. You will be graded on effort, creativity, and understanding of the text.
Class Work for December 15-19
Here is the work we will complete this week. If you are absent, you must make up this work in a timely fashion.
Monday – We listened to the song, “Hands Held High,” by Linkin Park and chose four main lyrics from the song.
Tuesday – We will discuss our chosen lyrics and work in small groups to write a summary of the song.
Wednesday – We will discuss how the main idea of a passage can also be the author’s message to his/her audience. We will read our IR books and write a response about the following:
a) What is one message your author is trying to convey (different from the last message you chose)?
b) What are three examples/quotes from your book that show this message?
Thursday and Friday – We will work on building up our Odyssey assignments and reading more of our IR books.
REMINDER: All books are due back by Friday, December 19, 2008. If you took them without permission or checked them out with permission, Mrs. Cook needs them back before the break. PLEASE return the 10 missing library books as soon as possible!!!
Kaplan Testing This Week
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 begins our second round of Kaplan Testing. The students in Intensive Reading 11 will take the 10th grade Baseline Reading test. This test will be sent off to the Kaplan company for scoring, and I will record that score in my grade book as a test grade.
The students don’t like to take tests, so I thought I would post the rationale for this particular test here.
Q: Why do we have to take the Kaplan test?
A: Because …
1. It gives Mrs. Cook a way to measure your progress - did you do better or worse on the second test than you did on the first? Are you making learning gains or falling behind?
2. It tells Mrs. Cook your strong and weak areas in reading so she can plan lessons to help you improve your weaknesses.
3. The Kaplan is supposed to be an indicator for the FCAT. This means that if you do well on the Kaplan, you will do well on the FCAT; and if you do poorly on the Kaplan, you may do poorly on the FCAT. So your Kaplan score helps Mrs. Cook see how far you need to go before you will be successful on the FCAT.
4. The Kaplan helps you practice for the FCAT. Sometimes the hardest part of the FCAT is just having to sit there and take a boring test. The Kaplan helps you practice the test-taking skills and strategies you will need on the FCAT, only with fewer questions and less time.
So, try your best on this test! Make sure you are here for the rest of this week to finish your test, because it will go in the grade book!
New Weekly Grade System
From this point forward, I will be assigning regular weekly grades. The grades will be in three separate categories:
1. Class Work (25 points)
- Be in class every day, working on assigned work.
- This may include taking notes, participating in discussions, or completing group and individual work.
- Absent students may make up the 5 daily points they miss by making up written work for those days.
2. Independent Reading (25 points)
- Read your book every time Mrs. Cook assigns you to do so.
- Complete a weekly, written, active reading assignment about your book.
3. Odyssey (25 points)
- Work toward completing your Odyssey Reading Path assignments.
- Each week, you will earn points for making progress in your reading path during that week.
This means that students will earn at least 75 points per week, just for completing the assignments that week to the best of their abilities. Additional grades will be added for individual assignments, as they come up.
Assignments for the Week of Dec. 1-5
Here are the assignments for this week:
Monday -
1. Odyssey Reading Path Assignments
- Log onto http://odyssey.polk-fl.net
- User id = Student id (without 5300)
- Password = 4-digit birthday
- Click Lang. Arts Assignments, Test and Reading Path, and then Explore FL 8 Reading Path. Keep clicking the first folder that appears until an assignment starts. Work your way through all of the assignments.
2. Independent Reading
- Read your IR book for 10-15 minutes.
Tuesday
1. Wall-E vs. The City of Ember
- Finish your compare/contrast diagrams and write one active reading note comparing the movie to the book.
2. Independent Reading
- Read your book for 10-15 minutes.
Wednesday
1. Odyssey Reading Path Assignments
- Log onto http://odyssey.polk-fl.net
- User id = Student id (without 5300)
- Password = 4-digit birthday
- Click Lang. Arts Assignments, Test and Reading Path, and then Explore FL 8 Reading Path. Keep clicking the first folder that appears until an assignment starts. Work your way through all of the assignments.
2. Independent Reading
- Read your IR book for 10-15 minutes.
**INTERIMS OUT TODAY – MRS. COOK WILL INCLUDE A LETTER WITH SOME OF THEM.**
Thursday
1. Portfolio Update
- Mrs. Cook will hand back your graded assignments, and you will update your portfolio with the major assignments.
- Write a one-paragraph response about your progress in class so far this year, comparing and contrasting your goals with your performance. Turn in to Mrs. Cook, and then add it to your portfolio.
2. Independnet Reading
- Read your book for 10-20 minutes
Friday
1. BOOK FAIR!
- We will attend the book fair in the media center. If you want to buy books, please bring money.
2. Independent Reading
- Read for 15 minutes.
- Compose a response to the following AR questions:
a) Compare and contrast two characters in your book. Write it out in 3-4 sentences.
b) Compare and contrast your book to another book or movie. Write it out in 3-4 sentences.
