MP3 NON-FICTION DJ PROMPTS

Please remember to start over with number 1.  Just like we did in Marking Period 1, you may not use the same prompt more than one time in two weeks' time.  

1)  How is the information in your book organized? For example, are questions asked and then answered?  Are two sides of an argument presented?  Are events placed in the order they happened? Are events listed from most important to least important?  Or is your book organized in some other way?  Explain and refer to at least two details from the story to support your response.

2)  Write a description of the topic of your book.  Then summarize the main points for this topic.  Refer to at least two specific places in the book in your explanation to support your response.

3)  Write a paragraph telling four or five things you already knew about the topic before you started reading your book. Tell what you knew about those things and what you learned about them now that you’ve read about them.

4)  Write a paragraph telling four or five things you learned from your book. In your paragraph, refer to at least two specific places in the book.

5)  Write a paragraph where you describe the most interesting thing you’ve learned from your book.  In your paragraph, refer to at least two specific sentences from the book to support your response.

6)  What is the author’s purpose for writing this material?  For example, is it to persuade you of something?  Is it to entertain you?  Is it to inform you? In your paragraph, refer to at least two specific sentences from the book to support your response.

7)  What type of person would you recommend this book to? Describe this person in detail, and explain why a person like this should read this book.

8) How well did this book teach you about the main topic?  Would you say it did a great job, an “o.k.” job, or a poor job of teaching you?  Refer to at least two specific places in your book to support your response. What could have made this book better?

9) Find a sentence from your book that best indicates the main idea of your book.  Copy the sentence and explain your reasoning for choosing this sentence.

10)  The President wants to recommend a book to the nation: tell him one important realization you had while reading this book and why he should recommend it.

11)  Find a poem that relates to one of the topics in your book.  Copy the poem and then provide an explanation of how the poem relates.

12)  Pick the most important word, image, object, or event in one of the chapters and explain why you chose it.

13)  Write a song about the main topic or one of the supporting details for that topic.

14)  Copy the way the information in your book is organized and write a paragraph where you tell about an entirely different topic, using the same style of organization.

15) Compare this topic to another topic you have read about.  What is similar about the two topics?  What is different?  Refer to at least two details from the book to support your response.

MP3 FICTION DJ PROMPTS

Please remember to start over with number 1.  Just like we did in Marking Period 1, you may not use the same prompt more than one time in two weeks' time.  


1)  Is your story told from first person point of view, second person point of view, third person limited, or third person omniscient? How do you know? Refer to at least two details from the story in your explanation to support your response.

2)  From whose point of view is your story told? Name an interesting event that takes place in your story.  Retell this event from the point of view of a different character.

3)  Find a sentence from your story that includes an example of personification, hyperbole, metaphor, or simile.  Copy the sentence and explain what it means.

4)  Use a vocabulary word we’ve studied to describe one of the characters in your book.  Explain your choice and give at least two details from the story to support your response.

5) Who is the protagonist in your book?  In what ways does the protagonist change over the course of the story?  Name at least three major changes. Refer to at least two specific details to support your response.

6)  Who is the antagonist in your book? In what ways does the antagonist interfere with the main character’s wishes or actions?  Name at least three ways the antagonist interferes.  Refer to at least two specific details to support your response.

7)  What is the main conflict in your story?  What are some other conflicts that are important, but less important than the main conflict?  Why are these conflicts less important than the main conflict?  Refer to at least two specific details to support your response.

8)  What are some of the universal lessons, or themes in your book?  Name at least three.  Refer to at least one specific detail for each of your three themes to support your response.

9) What important information does the author provide in the exposition of your book?  Refer to at least three specific details from the exposition to support your response.

10)  Does the author of your book do a good job of creating suspense and a clear rising action?  What part of your story marks the rising action?  How do you know?  Refer to at least three specific details from the rising action to support your response.

11)  What part of your story marks the turning point, or climax in your book?  How do you know?  Refer to at least three specific details from the climax to support your response.

12)  How are the major conflicts in your book resolved?  Refer to at least three specific details from the resolution to support your response.

13) Describe a time in your life when you needed some advice. Which character in your book would you trust the most to give you advice?  Considering the problem you were having, what do you think this character would have advised you to do? Explain your reasoning.

14) What is the most influential factor on your protagonist’s motivation?  In other words, what makes your character want the things he or she wants?  Refer to at least three specific details from the story to support your response.

15)  Write an imaginary interview with friends and family of a character whom they try to help you understand.

16) Write a poem where each stanza offers a different view of a character or chapter.

17) The President wants to recommend a book to the nation: tell him one important realization you had while reading this book and why he should recommend it.

18)  What would happen if the characters traveled out of the book into our class?

19)  Write about how it would change the story if a certain character had made a different decision earlier in the story.

20)  Find a poem that relates to this story.  Copy the poem and then provide an explanation of how the poem relates.

21) Pick the most important word, image, object, or event in one of the chapters and explain why you chose it.

22)  Write a song about the story, a character, or an event in the book.

23)  Using the themes in the story, write your own story, creating your own characters and situation. It does not have to relate to the story at all aside from its theme.

24)  Compare the main character in your book to the main character in another book you have read.  What are some similarities?  What are some differences?  Refer to at least two specific details from the story to support your response.

25) What are some ideas that are likely to be bouncing around in the main character’s head?  Give at least three ideas and refer to at least two specific details from the story to support your response.

Great Words For Writing

Here is a list of words we've studied in 7th grade so far:

adjacent

alight

alliance

animated

available

barren

bewilder

brood

buffoon

cater

controversial

culminate

customary

dishearten

disrupt

dissuade

downright

drone

dynasty

entrepreneur

firebrand

germinate

goad

hazard

homicide

humdrum

hurtle

indifference

indignant

indispensable

indulge

ingredient

insinuate

interminable

interrogate

literate

loom

luster

miscellaneous

mutual

oration

peevish

pelt

plague

poised

recompense

regime

renovate

resume

retard

seethe

singe

sullen

transparent

trickle

trivial

truce

unique

unscathed

upright

verify

vicious

yearn

Goodreads Book Reviews

TASK:  You will write a 10 paragraph book review on a recent book you have read, following one of the two formats provided by your ELA teachers. Choose the Fiction format if your book is fiction, and choose the Non-Fiction format if your book is non-fiction. The two formats are included in this packet, and you can also review the formats on the class blog, at www.7ela256.blogspot.com

If for some reason you cannot access the internet, then you will handwrite your book review for now.  After Thanksgiving break, you’ll have to stay after school to type it into google docs and then post onto goodreads for full credit.


Book reviews are due on the last day of each month and are scored out of 50 points.

To see a sample, go to Ms. Walsh’s books, choose Sammy Sosa, and read Robert Done from 702’s review.

Formats:  Select your format; then begin.

Your fiction book reviews must contain each of the following literary elements:

   Protagonist: description of the main character (one paragraph)

   Antagonist: description of the opposing force or opposing character (one paragraph)

   Conflict: description of the main conflict in the story (one paragraph)

   Theme: the universal lesson (one paragraph)

   Setting: description of the time and place (one paragraph)

   Plot: a summary of the beginning, middle, and end of the book (3 paragraphs)

   Climax: a summary of the major turning point in the book (one paragraph)

   Resolution: a summary of how the major conflicts in the book are resolved (one paragraph)

Your non-fiction book reviews must contain each of the following literary elements:

   Topic:  description of the topic (one paragraph)

   Main Points:  a summary of the main points (three paragraphs)

   Already Knew:  summary of 4 or 5 facts you already knew before reading (one paragraph)

   Facts You Learned:  summary of 5 or 6 things you learned from the book (one paragraph)

   Most Interesting Fact:  a description of the most interesting thing you learned (one paragraph)

   Author’s Purpose:  explanation of the author’s purpose for writing this material (one paragraph)

   Recommendation:  description of the type of person you would recommend to (one paragraph)

   Rating:  explain if the book did a good, o.k., or bad job of teaching you about the topic (one paragraph)

Typing your Book Review:

1)  Go to www.gmail.com

2)  Go to “documents”

3)  Create a new document

4)  Go to the title bar and title your document. Title your document like this:           

Robert Done’s November Book Review  (Use your own name, instead of          Robert’s.)

5)  Type your Book Review. Follow the format EXACTLY.  Your heading should         look like:

                  Robert Done     (your name)

                  November 2011 (Month and year)

                  Sammy Sosa        (Italicized Title)

                  Terri Dougherty  (Author’s Name)

6)  Share your Book Review with your ELA teacher by typing the email addresses that you share with for your DJs

Posting your Book Review on Goodreads:

1)  Go to www.goodreads.com

2)  Go to “Groups” and select the M.S. 256 Reading Group

3)  Go to “My Books”

4)  Type the book title into the search bar and find your book

5)  Rate your book by selecting one, two, three, four, or five stars

6)  Click on “edit my review”

7)  A screen will appear with a big space to type, titled “What did you think?”

8)  Copy your book review from your google docs and paste it into this space. To do this, you can highlight your book report in googledocs, then hold down the command key and hit the “c” key.  Then go to the goodreads screen and put your cursor where you would type.  Hold down the command key and hit the “v” key.  Your document should appear in the box.

9)  Answer all of the questions on that screen

10)  Hit “save”

11)  A screen will appear asking you if you want to take a quiz on the book, and if you want to post your review into your blog or onto your facebook wall.  You can follow the directions and do these things, or you can just hit    “close” on the bottom right side of your screen.

Marking Period 2 Dialogue Journal Prompts

Please remember to start over with number 1.  Just like we did in Marking Period 1, you may not use the same prompt more than one time in two weeks' time.

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1.  Write a “WANTED” add for the antagonist.

2.  Describe a character that you would like to meet.  This doesn’t mean that you think you would like the character, but that you think the character would be interesting.  Then list four questions that you would ask the character.

3.  Describe the major conflict and explain whose side you are on.

4.  Describe the similarities and differences between the main character and you.

5.  Describe the theme (central meaning/message) of your reading.

6.  Describe your least favorite character and explain why.  Then describe your most favorite character and explain why.

7.  Do any of the characters’ feelings change as you’ve read?  Explain why or why not.

8.  List five facts from what you read.  Then list 5 of your personal  opinions about what you read.

9.  Write about a cause and its effect on the main character.  Then write about a second cause and its effect on the main character.  Then write about a third cause and its effect on the main character.  All together, you should have three causes, and three effects. 

10.  If you could talk to the author, what would you want to tell him or her about yourself?  Why?  How does that relate to what you have been reading?

11.  If you were a character in this book, who would you be?  Why?

12.  If you were the author, what would you have happening next?  Why?

13.  In a few sentences, summarize what you have read today.

14.  Is the setting described well enough that it can put a picture of it in your mind?  Why, or why not?

15.  List at least three problems that your character faces.  Which one is the most life changing so far?  Explain.

16.  List the physical characteristics of the main character (clothing, physical features, etc.)

17.  List three new vocabulary words from your reading. Copy the sentences from the book and underline the context clues.  Then look up the words and copy the definitions.  Lastly, explain how the context clues provide hints about the meaning of the words. 

18.  Pretend that you are a talk show host and two characters are the guests on your show.  Which characters would you choose and why?  List two questions that you, the host, would ask each character.

19.  Pretend you are a famous reporter on TV.  Write a story about what you’ve read for the evening news.

20.  Pretend you are the friend of one of the characters.  Write him or her a letter.

21.  Pretend you get to create the music soundtrack for what you’ve been reading.  What five songs would you include?  Write an explanation for each song.  Why would you include it?  How does the song connect to events in the book?

22.  Pretend that you have magical powers and could put yourself into your reading.  Where would you put yourself?  Why?  How would you being there change the story?

23.  Select a quote from your reading that you liked (1-3 sentences long).  What made you pick that quote?  How does it make you pause and think?

24.  Select a quote from your reading passage and respond to it.  How did it make you feel?

25.  Summarize the book in a way that makes me want to read it!

26.  Think of a problem that a character had to face.  Write the problem and tell how the character solved it or is working to solve it.  If you were that character, what would you do differently?

27.  Who is the author?  What do you know about the author?  What do you imagine the author to be like?

28.  Write a quote (1-3 sentences long) from what you are reading that has meaning for you.  Explain why you chose this quote.

29.  Write a quote (1-3 sentences long) from what you are reading that connects to your life.  What did it mean for the book?  What does it mean for your life?

30.  Write the biography for one character.

Week #7: Vocabulary Test

Test Date:  Friday, October 21, 2011


New Words:

interminable
interrogate
recompense
renovate
resume

Previous Units (you may be tested on any of these words, too!):

adjacent
germinate
barren
disrupt
dynasty
foreshadow
alight
humdrum
hurtle
insinuate

TEST FORMAT:  You will have to do all of the following:

Spelling
Connotation
Matching
Fill-in-the-blank
Write original sentences (using context clues!)

Unit #2 Vocabulary: Week 5

Quiz Date:  Friday, October 7


New Words:
1) foreshadow
2) germinate
3)  humdrum
4)  hurtle
5)  insinuate


Don't forget about words from previous units! You may be tested on these at any time!
6)  adjacent
7) alight
8) barren
9) disrupt
10) dynasty
11) definition
12) synonym
13) antonym
14) usage
15) connotation
16) favorable connotation
17) unfavorable connotation
18)  neutral connotation