Monday, May 4, 2015
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
TOLKIEN SCAVENGER HUNT
1.
What do the initials J.R.R. stand for?
2.
What year was Tolkien born?
3.
Where was he born?
4.
What happened in February 1896 that caused the Tolkien family to return
to England?
5.
From a young age, Tolkien showed an affinity for learning this?
6.
What pseudonym did Tolkien occasionally write under?
7.
What was Tolkien's wife's name?
8.
Tolkien served as a lieutenant in what war?
9.
At what university was Tolkien a professor of Anglo-Saxon language and
English language and literature until he retired?
10. What was the name of the literary club both
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien belonged to?
11. Tolkien was a philologist. What does that mean?
12. What happened when Tolkien was 8
years old that estranged his mother and her children from their extended
family?
13. In what year was The Hobbit published?
14. What Walt Disney animated film hit
the theaters in the year The Hobbit was published?
15. What disaster occurred in Lakehurst, NJ in
that same year?
16. Who edited and published Silmarillion and other of J.R.R. Tolkien's works
posthumously?
Monday, February 23, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Word of the Day
We are building vocabulary with Word of the Day. At the beginning of every class, I have a new word and definition written on the white board, the the first thing my students do is add them to their Word of the Day notebook. Then periodically, I quiz them on the words they have learned, or check to see if they have written an original sentence for each word. Words are beautiful and powerful and interesting, and building vocabulary is important for preparing for SAT and ACT tests too.
I have just started adding word etymology also, pointing out the root words, prefixes, suffixes and their meanings.
Here is today's quiz.
tranquility diaphanous scintillating rhapsodic lithe succulent effervescent luminescent
grotesque verisimilitude dulcet assuage ephemeral incandescent mellifluous eloquent
halcyon noxious lachrymose plethora cacophony superfluous acquiesce lackadaisical
Replace the underlined word with one of vocabulary words above.
1. Bubbly soda water can help relieve an upset stomach.
2. Slender and graceful bodies adorned with feathers, beads, ruffles, and shimmering fabric flounced down the fashion show runway.
3. The bride smiled at her groom through the sheer layers of her veil.
4. Fresh off the vine, the tomatoes were deliciously sweet and juicy.
5. The ecstatic expression on his face when he opened the envelope containing tickets to the championship game was priceless.
6. The articulate words of the salesman convinced my dad to try the new product.
7. The reckless way that some wealthy people spend money and treat those less fortunate is considered by some to be disgusting.
8. Susan was weepy as she watched her only son board the plane to leave for his job on the other side of the country.
9. Foreigners are often shocked by the profusion of choices found in an American grocery store.
10. Parents sometimes give in and buy their children candy to avoid tantrums in the check-out line.
11. He was captivated by the author's brilliant ideas and witty style.
12. The couple walked through the scenic grounds around the creek, enjoying the peacefulness of the old oak grove.
13. The volcano belched out steaming lava, clouds of hot ash, and poisonous gases.
14. The glowing face of my phone helped me find my way through the dark alley.
15. The musical sounds of a piano wafted over the patio as the guests mingled and chatted.
16. To appease security concerns, each watch is given its own serial number.
17. The players couldn't hear their coach above the uproar going on in the stands.
18. The thunderstorm was fleeting, starting suddenly and gone within minutes.
19. She wished for the relief of a cool breeze as she squinted up at the white-hot summer sun.
20. With so many people looking for work, the employees knew they could not afford to be lazy and careless in their work if they hoped to retain their jobs.
21. We are a much wealthier nation now than we were even in the idyllic year of 1960.
22. The sweet sounds of his mother's voice soothed the crying baby.
23. Tourists flock to Madame Tousaud's Wax Museum in New York because the extraordinary realism of the statues makes visitors feel like they are meeting celebrities in real life!
24. Use portion control to cut out excess calories from your diet.
I have just started adding word etymology also, pointing out the root words, prefixes, suffixes and their meanings.
Here is today's quiz.
tranquility diaphanous scintillating rhapsodic lithe succulent effervescent luminescent
grotesque verisimilitude dulcet assuage ephemeral incandescent mellifluous eloquent
halcyon noxious lachrymose plethora cacophony superfluous acquiesce lackadaisical
Replace the underlined word with one of vocabulary words above.
1. Bubbly soda water can help relieve an upset stomach.
2. Slender and graceful bodies adorned with feathers, beads, ruffles, and shimmering fabric flounced down the fashion show runway.
3. The bride smiled at her groom through the sheer layers of her veil.
4. Fresh off the vine, the tomatoes were deliciously sweet and juicy.
5. The ecstatic expression on his face when he opened the envelope containing tickets to the championship game was priceless.
6. The articulate words of the salesman convinced my dad to try the new product.
7. The reckless way that some wealthy people spend money and treat those less fortunate is considered by some to be disgusting.
8. Susan was weepy as she watched her only son board the plane to leave for his job on the other side of the country.
9. Foreigners are often shocked by the profusion of choices found in an American grocery store.
10. Parents sometimes give in and buy their children candy to avoid tantrums in the check-out line.
11. He was captivated by the author's brilliant ideas and witty style.
12. The couple walked through the scenic grounds around the creek, enjoying the peacefulness of the old oak grove.
13. The volcano belched out steaming lava, clouds of hot ash, and poisonous gases.
14. The glowing face of my phone helped me find my way through the dark alley.
15. The musical sounds of a piano wafted over the patio as the guests mingled and chatted.
16. To appease security concerns, each watch is given its own serial number.
17. The players couldn't hear their coach above the uproar going on in the stands.
18. The thunderstorm was fleeting, starting suddenly and gone within minutes.
19. She wished for the relief of a cool breeze as she squinted up at the white-hot summer sun.
20. With so many people looking for work, the employees knew they could not afford to be lazy and careless in their work if they hoped to retain their jobs.
21. We are a much wealthier nation now than we were even in the idyllic year of 1960.
22. The sweet sounds of his mother's voice soothed the crying baby.
23. Tourists flock to Madame Tousaud's Wax Museum in New York because the extraordinary realism of the statues makes visitors feel like they are meeting celebrities in real life!
24. Use portion control to cut out excess calories from your diet.
Charles Dickens Scavenger Hunt
Find the answers to these questions about Charles Dickens.
1. When and where was Dickens born?
2. Name 3 places Dickens lived as a boy.
3. What happened to to his father when Charles was young?
4. Where did Charles go to work when he was 12 years old? Why?
5. What job did Dickens have in 1827, when he was 15?
6. What occupation did he have at age 20?
7. Who ruled England during most of Dickens' life? How old was Dickens when she became queen?
8. What was Dickens first book?
9. In what form was his first book published?
10. What was the name of the woman Dickens fell in love with as a young man?
11. Who did Dickens marry in 1836?
12. How many children did they have?
13. What is the name of the actress with whom Dickens became romantically involved?
14. What estate, which he had admired since childhood, did Dickens purchase in 1856 to be his family home?
15. Name five social problems that concerned Dickens during his lifetime.
16. In what magazine was "Great Expectations" first published?
17. Which president of the United States did Dickens meet at the White House?
18. Which novel of Charles Dickens has sold the most copies?
19. When did Charles Dickens die?
20. Where is Dickens buried?
21. Name 15 novels written by Charles Dickens.
http://www.biography.com/people/charles-dickens-9274087
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/dickensbio1.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/dickens_charles.shtml
http://www.notablebiographies.com/De-Du/Dickens-Charles.html
1. When and where was Dickens born?
2. Name 3 places Dickens lived as a boy.
3. What happened to to his father when Charles was young?
4. Where did Charles go to work when he was 12 years old? Why?
5. What job did Dickens have in 1827, when he was 15?
6. What occupation did he have at age 20?
7. Who ruled England during most of Dickens' life? How old was Dickens when she became queen?
8. What was Dickens first book?
9. In what form was his first book published?
10. What was the name of the woman Dickens fell in love with as a young man?
11. Who did Dickens marry in 1836?
12. How many children did they have?
13. What is the name of the actress with whom Dickens became romantically involved?
14. What estate, which he had admired since childhood, did Dickens purchase in 1856 to be his family home?
15. Name five social problems that concerned Dickens during his lifetime.
16. In what magazine was "Great Expectations" first published?
17. Which president of the United States did Dickens meet at the White House?
18. Which novel of Charles Dickens has sold the most copies?
19. When did Charles Dickens die?
20. Where is Dickens buried?
21. Name 15 novels written by Charles Dickens.
http://www.biography.com/people/charles-dickens-9274087
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/dickensbio1.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/dickens_charles.shtml
http://www.notablebiographies.com/De-Du/Dickens-Charles.html
Literary Devices in Great Expectations
Literary Devices used by Charles Dickens in Great Expectations
- Parallelism - The use of identical grammatical constructions in corresponding clauses or phrases.
- In a most irritating manner he instantly slapped his hands against one another, daintily flung one of his legs up behind him (both phrases have adv, past tense verb, prepositional phrase), pulled my hair, slapped his hands again, dipped his head, and butted it (past tense verb, direct object) into my stomach.
- Anaphora - The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several parallel clauses or paragraphs.
- A man with no hat and with no shoes and with an old rag tied around his head.
- Epistrophe - The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several parallel clauses or paragraphs.
- Antithesis - Placing contrasting ideas side by side using parallel structure.
- So new to him; so old to me; so strange to him; so familiar to me.
- Polysyndeton - Using several conjunctions in close succession, especially where they are usually replaced by commas.
- A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, andstung by nettles, and torn by briars.
- Asyndeton - a style that omits conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.
- The winking lights upon the bridges were already pale, the coming sun was like a marsh of fire on the horizon.
- Parallelism - The use of identical grammatical constructions in corresponding clauses or phrases.
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