Format

Article posted September 8, 2010 at 03:09 PM GMT-8 • Reads 989

All blogs from Dr. Cornelius will be written in red with a yellow background.  All blogs from Nathan Hale will written in black with a light blue background.  This is so you will know the difference between Dr. Cornelius' Reading Lab and Nathan Hale's Social Studies Parlor class.

 

Character Introduction

Article posted September 14, 2010 at 12:05 PM GMT-8 • Reads 265

Welcome to Dr. Cornelius' Reading Lab.  It is my hope that through in-depth discussions that you can come to appreciate the novels that we will be reading.  Because this is my hope it will be your responsibility to write responses and comments that are throughful and thought provoking.  With this in mind, if your write a response, or comment, that is not thought out I will not allow it to be posted.  So make sure that you put some time and effort into your responses and comments.

For your first posting I want you to introduce your self (your screen name) and write a 4-5 sentence description of your self.  You should say what book you are from, you should also list some of your physical characteristics and personality characteristics.

Thank you and I look forward to reading your posts.

Dr. Cornelius

Introductions Part #2

Article posted September 24, 2010 at 12:05 PM GMT-8 • Reads 228

After you have introduced yourself to the rest of the Reading Lab I would like you to read at least 5 other people's introductions.  You are then to comment on what they wrote.  Remember, your comments need to be thoughtful.  I will not accept comments such as, "I liked what you wrote" or "Great job."  If you do write this, explain what you liked about their introduction.

Also, do not forget to check your blog page.  If someone asked you a question make sure to answer it.  I look forward, as always, to reading your discussions.

Dr. Cornelius

Social Studies Screen Name Biography

Article posted February 22, 2011 at 05:31 PM GMT-8 • Reads 206

Your blog this week for Social Studies will be to focus on the name you chose for blogmeister.  You will be writing a 8-10 sentence research paragraph telling the class about your name.  Below will be an in-depth description of what I expect you to have in your paragraph.

The first sentence of your paragraph will be an introduction to your person.  This introduction can be a description of their: personality, a physcial trait or some well known accomplishment.

The 2nd-8th sentence will be the 'body' of your paragraph.  You will need to choose three of the following six questions to answer about your person.  "When and where was this person born?" "What is this person known for?" "What was this person's first occupation/job?" "What was the happiest and/or saddest moment of their life?" "What was the funniest event in their life?" "What was a big challenge that this person had to face in life?"   Each answer will be a sentence in your paragraph. Make sure, after each answer, to explain your detail a little bit more.

Finally, the last sentence needs to answer the following question to wrap up the whole paragraph, "Is the world a better place because your person lived?"

Nathan Hale

Essay Paragraph Example --- Soc. Stu.

Article posted March 8, 2011 at 12:50 PM GMT-8 • Reads 209

Below is my paragraph essay example for you to look at.  Remember to give further explanation to each of your details.


Main Detail     Explaining Detail

Nathan Hale was a giant among men, in both height and courage.  Born before the American Revolution, Nathan was a school teacher before joining the Continental Army.  In fact, he taught in three different schools before he joined the army.  One of Nathan’s biggest challenges in life was that he never felt satisfied with where he was at.  For example, after teaching at his first school, for a few months, he desired to be in a town with more people.  Once he got to a bigger town, he wanted to go to a school that seemed more upscale.  Hale is most known for being the first American spy and dying a traitors death by being hung by the British.  Some of his last words echoed the feelings of all the Americans at the time that they would rather die than give up their freedom.  The Continental Army would have won the war without Nathan’s sacrifice, but his kind heart, soft spirit and undying love for his country would be sorrily missed had Nathan Hale not walked this Earth.    

Fransiscans: Good or Bad

Article posted November 28, 2011 at 01:35 PM GMT-8 • Reads 208

After discussing the benefits, and negatives, of the Fransiscans relationship with the Natives you need to do decide whether the Fransiscans were good or bad for the Natives.  After you give your opinion make sure you give two details to support your opnion.  Also, make sure to elaborate on your supporting details.  Below is the rubric I will use to grade your paragraphs.

4

-opinion

-2 supporting details with elaborations

-find something that someone could say against your argument, and find a way to refute (say they are wrong) it.

3

-opinion

-2 supporting details with elaborations

2

-opinion with 2 supporting details   OR   - opinion with 1 supporting details that has an elaboration

1

-opinion with 1 supporting details

 

Blog Grading Rubric

Article posted September 13, 2012 at 02:30 PM GMT-8 • Reads 232

4-You answered the question fully, and you have provided specific evidence from the story to support your answer AND based on the answer you gave you have predicted what  may happen next in the story

3- You have answered the question fully, providing specific evidence from the story to support your answer.

2-You answered the question but you did not provide evidence from the story to support your answer OR You did not fully answer the question (you forgot something), but you do have specific evidence from the story.

1-Your answer does not answer the question, you may or may not have specific evidence from the story.

First Things First

Article posted October 3, 2013 at 10:47 AM GMT-8 • Reads 433

Now that Allan has decided to try to survive in the Arctic what should be the first thing/activity he does to try to survive?  Remember to give support for your answer from the book.  Also, look at the grading rubric to see how to get a 4.

Dr. Cornelius

Allan and Faith

Article posted October 10, 2013 at 10:59 AM GMT-8 • Reads 524

Looking back at the short story "Faith and Eddie" how is Faith and Allan, from The Iceberg Hermit, the same?  Remember to look at how they act, talk and think to see what they are like.  Furthermore, how is Faith and Allan different?  You are to give one similarity and one difference.  Finally, if Allan had been in the same position as Faith (learning a new language in a strange country) would he have ran away like Faith?  Remember to include details from the story to support all 3 parts of your answer.

Dr. Cornelius

Allan and Nancy

Article posted October 24, 2013 at 11:07 AM GMT-8 • Reads 531

Your question for this week is this:  Why is it so important for Allan to have Nancy, the bear, with him?  Would he be able to survive without her?  Give details to support your answer.

Dr. Cornelius

Allan's Inference

Article posted November 12, 2013 at 11:16 AM GMT-8 • Reads 558

 

 

An inference is when you think something might be true in a book.  You take what you already know to be true in a book to make an educated guess about something in a book.  You make an inference when you make a prediction, or when you try to understand why a character made a certain choice or action.

Your blog question for this week is:

Which details from our book support the inference that Allan feels like he will never get off the island?  Make sure to explain why you chose these details.

Dr. Cornelius

Different Point of View

Article posted November 26, 2013 at 11:06 AM GMT-8 • Reads 478

Our story is being told from Allan's point of view; the narrator is telling us only Allan's thoughts.  We call this type of writing 3rd person limited.  It is called third person because the author uses the pronoun 'he' 'him' 'she' 'her' 'his.'  We call it limitied because the author only tells us one characters thoughts and feelings; we learn what the other charcters think/feel through their actions and what they say.  So, for example, when Allan does something, or when he experiences something, we immediately know what he thinks. 

Your question, for this week, is how would the story change if the story was told from Nancy's (the polar bear) point of view?  Some ideas to consider while writing your blog include: How would this change the plot of the story?  Would the mood of the story change?  Would certain events be explained more?  Would certain events be explained less (i.e. would Nancy give less detail about when the other ship didn't see Allan?  Would Nancy give more detail about when Allan saw the Eskimo woman?) 

Make sure to give 2-3 ways the story would change.  As always, give details from the story to support your reasoning.

Dr. Cornelius

Surprises from the Iceberg Hermit

Article posted January 10, 2014 at 10:42 AM GMT-8 • Reads 593

Now that we have finished reading The Iceberg Hermit it is time to reflect on the story.  For this blog, I would like you to write about the one event/happening that surprised you the most.  It could be from the beginning, middle or the end of the book.  Don't forget to explain why this event/happening surprised you so much.  Finally, you are to say when you think the climax occured (HINT: remember that the climax is when the problem is about to be solved.)

Dr. Cornelius

Charles Quotes

Article posted January 16, 2014 at 10:52 AM GMT-8 • Reads 442

Laurie was very careful, in the story, to make sure that his parents did not know that it was really him misbehaving in school.  However, no one is perfect, and if we look carefully Laurie may have made a slip up in telling his parents about "Charles."  Find two times in the story where a person might be able to tell that it was really Laurie making the poor choices in school, and not Charles.  You are to quote the details in the story that you find.  Make sure to explain why you chose those details too.

Dr. Cornelius

The Hobbit vs. The Iceberg Hermit

Article posted January 28, 2014 at 10:31 AM GMT-8 • Reads 550

The Hobbit and The Iceberg Hermit are two very different books.  One is realistic fiction and the other is a fantasy.  One book has a young man as the main character, and the other book has a short, hairy-footed Hobbit as the main character.  However, with all of these differences there are some similarities. 

Your blog for this week is to give one similarity between Allan and Bilbo.  Make sure to use specific details from the stories to support your answer (you should have a detail from The Hobbit and one from the Iceberg Hermit).  Finally, to get a 4 you will need to give 2 similarities between the characters.

Dr. Cornelius

Movie vs. Book

Article posted February 13, 2014 at 10:59 AM GMT-8 • Reads 464

 

For this weeks blog we are going to be looking at 3 different sections in The Hobbit: the part in the book where the dwarves clean Bilbo's dishes, where the dwarves sing the song about their Mountain home, and when Bilbo and the dwarves 'fight' the trolls.  Watch the below links and answer the following question (the links will show the movie's rendition of the book)

[LINK]

[LINK] then watch part 2 [LINK]

This is a two part question.  First, how does the movie add to your appreciation of the book?  Even if you do not like the movie, think positive.  How did these 3 scenes help you to appreciate what Tolkien wrote?

Part 2: How does the movie take away from the book?  What parts of these 3 scenes take away from what Tolkien tried to do?

This Week's Assignment

Article posted February 25, 2014 at 11:04 AM GMT-8 • Reads 480

First, if you are finished your blog read the comments that your teacher gave you.  If you have been asked to fix your blog please do that.





Second, comment on at least 6 other blogs.  When you comment I want you to do the following: specifically say one part of the blog that the author did well (and say why they did well), ask the author one question based on their blog.





Third, answer any questions that have been posted on all of your blogs (past and present).





Dr. Cornelius

Article posted March 11, 2014 at 11:12 AM GMT-8 • Reads 28531

For this week's blog you are going to have to explain which reading packet story has been your favorite.  You will also need to say which packet has been your least favorite.  Make sure to give two details, from the story's, to explain why you liked and didn't like thhe packets.

Dr. Cornelius