Tall Tales - 5 points (4th six weeks)

Davy Crockett and Mike Fink are examples of real people whose adventures were turned into tall tales. Click on the link below to research one or two of their real-life accomplishments.
http://www.classzone.com/cz/books/ml_lit_gr07/page_build.htm?id=resources/jsp/research_links/research_g7_s-u1

Write a paragraph (at least five sentences) to explain the following:
Do Davy Crocket and Mike Fink's real-life roles in the American West resemble the roles they play in "Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind"? How?

Folktales (5 points) - 4th six weeks

We have been reading and discussing some great folktales in class. Go to this site, and find a folktale to read. http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/folk.html

After you read it, come back here and tell us the following:
1. Provide a short summary of the folktale. It should be one to two paragraphs long.
2. What kind of folktale is it? ex: American folktale, African folktale, Cajun folktale
3. What was the morale of the story?
4. Did you like the folktale? Why, or why not?

Greek Myths 4th six weeks (5 points)

We have been reading a few stories from Greek mythology. Go to this site http://www.mythweb.com/gods/index.html and click on one of the Greek gods or goddesses. Take notes on a separate sheet of paper about what you read. Come back to the blog and write a summary of the information you found. Your summary should be AT LEAST one paragraph long.

It's Poetic (5 points - 3rd six weeks)

We have been talking about poetry in class. We discussed that most songs are poems. The letters beside each line in the poem below map out the rhyme scheme.

I'm a Little Teapot (author unknown)

I'm a little teapot ------------A
Short and stout--------------B
Here is my handle-----------C
Here is my spout------------B

When I get all steamed up---A
Hear me shout--------------B
"Tip me over--------------- C
and pour me out!" ---------- B

Go to the site www.lyricsondemand.com and search for a song that you like. Use your mouse to highlight two of the stanzas from your poem. Come back to the blog and right click to paste the words you copied into the comment box. Like I did above with "I'm a Little Teapot," add the rhyme scheme to both stanzas.

***NOTE - Don't click on the ringtone or download links within the site. You should never enter your phone number over the internet without your parents' assistance and permission. They are not really free.

Talk to Santa

As we are about to get out for Christmas break, I thought today's activity could be a seasonal one. Today you can have a chat with Father Christmas, or Santa if you prefer and find out a bit more about him. The aim of this task is for you to practice your personal information questions. These are important as they help you to find out more about people?

You are going to use the 'This is Santa' website to have a text chat with Santa. You'll have to be very careful about your spelling and punctuation though as Santa can only understand grammatically correct sentences.

Task:
1. Before you interview Santa, perhaps you could think of 5 questions that you would like to ask him. (If you have little brothers or sisters they will LOVE to help you with this activity. )
2. When you are ready, go to: http://www.thisissanta.com/ you'll see a picture of Santa and two text fields. Type your questions into the bottom field and then wait for the answers. They should appear in the top field.

3. Once your interview is complete, use your mouse to highlight the entire conversation. Right click on the conversation while it is highlighted and copy the text.

4. Come back to the blog and leave a comment. For your comment you will right click again and paste your conversation into the comment box.

5. Don't forget to leave your name so I know who to give credit to. This activity will be worth 5 points instead of 2.