Informational Texts: Long Island Express/ Hurricane '38 & Hurricane Carol 1954
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This page has been updated for the 2011-2012 academic year.
8.RL.1 Pose and answer questions in order to show accurate literal understanding of ideas, characters, settings, events and organizational elements in literary works.
8.RL.7 Analyze the beliefs and assumptions of the narrator/speaker in a literary work, or a central character in a film and provide details to support the analysis.
8.RL.8 Provide relevant evidence and examples to support an interpretation of a text, performance, or film.
8.RL.2 Explain explicit references to elements of social, cultural, and historical context in a literary work, a documentary, or a film.
8.RL.9 Research the historical period in which an author or illustrator lived in order to draw supported conclusions about his or her choice of topics, themes, and settings.
2. Elements of Non-FIction and/or Informational Texts/Documentaries
8.CI.1 Write accounts of varying length based on personal knowledge that have a clear focus, logical organization (e.g., chronological, compare/contrast, cause/effect, or problem/solution) and explain a topic in sufficient detail with skillful use of vocabulary. For example, students write chronological accounts of humorous events they were a part of in each of the middle-school years and enhance them with digital images.
19.20 Write poems using poetic techniques (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme), figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification), and graphic elements (capital letters, line length, word position
8.CI.5 Use appropriate images, text, graphics, music, and/or sound in order to enhance meaning and to promote the purpose of the task for the intended audience.
4. Layout and Design
Massachusetts Frameworks
SL.8.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.
8.CI.6 Compose multi-media messages with a clearly identifiable purpose, using straightforward visual, audio, and/or graphic effects and interactive media features.
8.CI.7 Make purposeful stylistic choices that further the purpose and effectiveness of the writing or media production
1. Follow directions and open your journals to the following pages:
1a. Pages - layout and design
i. author's page
ii. copyright page
iii. title page
iv. prologue (song lyrics)
1b. Pages - hinged
genre graphic organizer
elements of fiction graphic organizer
character and character development definitions
character adjectives
imagery and figurative language definitions
1c. Table of Contents: Update your table of contents. Include all pages beginning with Roman Numerals.
Appendix - MLA Citation
2. Complete the rubrics for your journal pages.
Include the grade you believe you earned according to the original expectation identified in the rubric.
Homework:
If your journal is complete than you have no homework.
If you journal is incomplete, than complete the pages before you come to class tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 20
1. What is the Essential Question for our class this year?
2a. Identify three strategies the film-makers used when producing the film documentary, A Place at the Table.
2b. What was the main topic discussed in the film documentary, A Place at the Table.
2c. What was the main theme expressed in the film documentary, A Place at the Table. (Use your theme resource.)
Last few minutes of class:
1. Journal Entries:
What is a double-column journal entry? It is a more mature form of a T-chart. A dialectical journal is another name for a double-column journal. Using a double-column or dialectical journal is a strategy for taking notes during class and taking notes when you read. The left column identifies specific information you should know and the right column is the space for you to enter the information.
It is a journaling strategy that you can use to take notes.
Double-column journal entries guide your preparation for writing assignments and class discussions.
Write the entry into your journal and bullet information that you would use to answer the journal entry.
The example below should remind you of double-column journal we have used in class this year.
Strategies to determine a Central Idea
Identify the Elements of Nonfiction Provide an example from the film/text
a. Identify "Main Topics and Ideas"
as you watch the documentary film.
b. Identify the "Connections to People and Places"
as you watch the film.
Note: Oftentimes you must identify the people and
places before you can make connections to the
people and places.
c.
Identify the "Central Idea."
To determine the "central idea," first analyze
the many topics and ideas you wrote down
as you watched the documentary film.
Which one seemed to repeat all through the documentary.
The one you wrote down the most is usually the "Central Idea."
Now go back and check the "Connections to People and Places."
If these connections to the people and places found in
the documentary film are the same or similar to the central idea,
than you have more proof that the central idea you choose is the correct one.
Strategies to determine the Author's Point-of view and the Author's Argument and/or Purpose.
Identify the Elements of Nonfiction Provide an example from the film/text
d. Identify: Author's Point-of-view
e. Identify: Author's Argument/Purpose
f. Identify: An Opposing Point-of-view
Note: Go back to the main ideas and the connections to people and places.
What was the author trying to teach you with all this information?
When you figure that out, you will also know the author's point-of-view
and you will begin to understand the author's argument and/or purpose
in developing this documentary film.
Note: Why is it important to understand the "Opposing Point-of-view?"
Understanding the
"Opposing Point-of-view" is one way to better
understand the "Author's Point-of-view."
Example: You are in a discussion with your parents about
visiting with some friends on a Friday night.
You might call this visit with friends a "party."
You are certain your parents will say, "No,"
when you ask for permission to go to the party.
You understand you and your parents have "opposing point-of-view."
You strengthen your own argument to go to the party
by better understanding your parents opposing point-of-view
for not letting you go. When you speak with your parents, you do
so with a "purpose" and "knowing the opposing point-of-view."
Media, Mood/Tone, and Stye:
Identify the Elements of Nonfiction Provide an example from the film/text
g. Identify: Media Used (Film, Advertisement, Text)
h. Vocabulary: Identify Mood, Tone and Meaning
i. Writing Style: Identify Paragraph Structure
Example: A few days ago I made an effort to raise
the" mood and tone" of our 8th grade English class
by repeating a sentence from a journal entry that we were reading.
The sentence was, " And they [journals] are ubiquitous to the
point of invisibility." (Jennifer New) I could have said, "Journals
are so common that people don't notice them any more." However,
I chose to raise the "mood and tone" of this class by using language
that will prepare you for high school. I chose many years ago
to develop a teaching "style" that mirrors the style of teaching you
will encounter at the high school, so you will be better prepared for high school.
You will also notice that I choose to use many formats of "media" to present
information to you because I know each student learns differently.
"Media," "Mood, Tone, and Meaning," and "Style" are part
of the ways in which we present ourselves to one another each
and every day. This year in class we will take time "to notice"
how these strategies make an effect on the ways in which
we understand the world around us.
Period B Supercore :
Use sensory information to recall a weather-related memory.
What is sensory information? Think. Sensory... Senses... to see, to hear, to smell, to taste, to touch -
Make five columns on two journal pages. Each of the five columns is titled with one of your five senses.
Bullet this sensory information in your journal. Fill the pages.
Homework:
Note: Homework prepares you for the activities in class the next day.
Find the topic sentence and the thesis statement in David McCullough's introduction to the documentary, Hurricane of '38.
Wednesday, September 22
Class
Watch the PBS documentary of the Hurricane of '38.
First page: Previewed in class Tuesday and previewed again for homework.
Second and third sides: Graphic organizer to help you take notes when you watch the documentary.
Last page: This page will be used tomorrow during our class discussion.
Ma Frameworks: Detailed
8.RL.1 Pose and answer questions in order to show accurate literal understanding of ideas, characters, settings, events and organizational elements in literary works.
8.RL.7 Analyze the beliefs and assumptions of the narrator/speaker in a literary work, or a central character in a film and provide details to support the analysis.
8.RL.8 Provide relevant evidence and examples to support an interpretation of a text, performance, or film.
8.RL.2 Explain explicit references to elements of social, cultural, and historical context in a literary work, a documentary, or a film.
8.RL.9 Research the historical period in which an author or illustrator lived in order to draw supported conclusions about his or her choice of topics, themes, and settings.
Homework
Review your class notes.
Due Friday: Find an image of something in nature that is ubiquitous to the point of being invisible.
Note: Jennifer New is credited with the original statement: "And they [journals] are ubiquitous to the point of being invisible."
Personify
the animal, sunset, habitat, etc. that you chose.
a.Write
a letter to the animal, sunset, habitat, etc. Wonder, dream about world in fifty
years.Will that animal, sunset,
habitat be flourishing or struggling in fifty years?How? Why?or
b.Write
a poem about the animal, sunset, habitat, etc. Wonder, dream about life in fifty
years. or
c.Dialogue
with the animal, sunset, habitat.Wonder, dream about life in fifty years.
Ma
Frameworks:
SL.8.5. Integrate
multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information,
strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.
SL.8.6.
Adapt
speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating
command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grade 8 Language standards 1 and 3 on page 65 for
specific expectations.)
Specific skills and strategies:
8.CI.1
Write accounts of varying length based on personal knowledge that have a clear
focus, logical organization (e.g., chronological, compare/contrast,
cause/effect, or problem/solution) and explain a topic in sufficient detail
with skillful use of vocabulary. For example, students write
chronological accounts of humorous events they were a part of in each of the
middle-school years and enhance them with digital images.
19.20
Write poems using poetic techniques (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme),
figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification), and graphic elements
(capital letters, line length, word position
8.CI.5
Use appropriate images, text, graphics, music, and/or sound in order to enhance
meaning and to promote the purpose of the task for the intended audience.
8.CI.6
Compose multi-media messages with a clearly identifiable purpose, using
straightforward visual, audio, and/or graphic effects and interactive media
features.
8.CI.7
Make purposeful stylistic choices that further the purpose and effectiveness of
the writing or media production
Monday, September 26
Class
A. Class work/homework assessment:
Hurricane of '38 - assessing note-taking skills: 20 points
"Find something in nature that is ubiquitous to the point of invisibility." - assessing vocabulary, topic, theme, media format
"Find something in nature that is ubiquitous to the point of invisibility." letter or poem or descriptive paragraph draft
B. Discussion:
Interpreting the Elements of Fiction: Hurricane of '38 class notes
8.RL.2 Explain explicit references to elements of social, cultural, and historical context in a literary work, a documentary, or a film.
Super Core Period E Journal Entry: Weather-related memories
a. Oral tradition stories are shared in the documentary, The Hurricane of '38. What can we learn about the ways in which these people choose to "create a self" or "inherit a self" as we listen to the stories? Interpret the essential question based on the following quote: “You’re here to build a self. You create a self, you don’t inherit it.” (Denby. Page 31.)
b. Predict: While Dorothy faced a twister in L. Frank Baum's Wonderful WIzard of Oz, we face hurricanes in New England.
Do people who face fierce storms have similar preparation strategies?
How do people prepare for fierce storms? Is attitude important?
Is it coincidence or irony? The Hurricane of '38 was called the Long Island Express after the train, the Long Island Express. Tornadoes are often predicted when the people in the midwest hear what sounds like a roaring train in the distance.
Homework:
1. Due Tuesday: Complete anything you did not complete during class.
2. Due Wednesday: Read Oz Intro Study Guide (You received this in class today.)
3. Study Summer Reading Literary Terms (??? Quick Quiz soon)
Note: Many students were looking for their Theme Cheat Sheet during class today. It was helpful in answering the author's point of view for the Elements of FIction study guide we worked on during class today. Find yours. Hinge it into your journal. Add it to your Table of Contents.
Tuesday, September 27
Class:
Complete: Interpreting the Elements of Fiction: Hurricane of '38 class notes
explicit references to elements of social, cultural, and historical context in a literary work, a documentary, or a film.
Homework:
Read the Prologue and Chapter 1. Use the resource you received in class yesterday (Monday, September 26).
Glue the copy of David McCullough's introduction to the Hurricane of '38 into your journal.
Review the class discussion:
Reading Informational paragraphs and writing informational paragraph's"
T B E A R
T = topic sentence
B = Background Information
E = examples and/or evidence
A = argument (thesis statement) - if you are writing a persuasive paragraph
analysis (thesis statement) - if you are writing an expository paragraph
R = Remind your audience why your wrote this paragraph by re-phrasing the topic sentence
Homework:
Read Introduction/Preface and Chapter 1 in the study guide you received in class.
Wednesday, September 28
Class: Review Hurricane of '38 and prepare for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
We reviewed the following three videos.
Note-taking strategies:
1. Identify the topic discussed during class. Most topics are presented as an open response question.
Today's Open Response Question:
Why have we used the informational film, Hurricane of '38, as an introduction to the novel by L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?
2. Listen to the suggestions shared by your classmates during the discussion and add these suggestions to your notes.
3. Listen to the strategies discussed for writing a topic sentence. Add these strategies to your notes.
4. Listen to the strategies discussed for writing a thesis statement. Add these strategies to your notes.
5. Watch the video resources used to help you remember topics, themes, and factual data. Take notes while you watch, which means you will have to figure out your learning style and make it work for you.
6. NO EXCUSES! This is your education:)
7. Set aside time in the next few days to draft your answer to the question. If you draft your answer in the next few days, then the information is fresh in your mind and you will have most of the work done before the final assessment.
Note: These questions discussed during class will be used on the final unit assessment.
1. September 28, 2011 Hurricane Irene
NASA video shows progress of Hurricane Irene (Published August 24, 2011)
This Informational clip produced by NASA is an example of the 2011 technology. Think about the differences in 1938.
How would the outcome of the Hurricane of '38 been different if the meteorologists had 2011 technology?
Know that when you answer the previous question you are completing a "comparative analysis."
This page has been updated for the 2011-2012 academic year. 
