Fri day , Aug. 24, 2012

1. Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 HW: STUDY GENRE NOTES • Opening: Get out Biography Questions (your homework)

2. Biography, Autobiography, & Memoir • What do biographies and autobiographies enable us to do? LEARN ABOUT OTHERS 2. What do they give us insight into? SOCIETY, CULTURE, CUSTOM, PLACE 3. What is a biography? SKETCH OF A PERSON’S LIFE WRITTEN BY SOMEONE ELSE 4. Why might biographies not be 100% accurate? FACTS ARE COLLECTED FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE

3. Biography, Autobiography, & Memoir 5. Beyond facts, what might a biography explore? (2 answers) 1. WHY A PERSON ACTED A CERTAIN WAY 2. DIVE DEEPER INTO PERSON’S LIFE AND TIMES 6. What is the main difference between a biography and an autobiography? AUTO – COMES DIRECTLY FROM THE SOURCE BIO – AUTHOR MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN THE PERSON • What are 5 reasons a person might have to write his or her autobiography? 1. TO EXPLAIN WHY THEY DID SOMETHING 2. HISTORICAL EVENT 3. REVEAL FACTS 4. JUSTIFY ACTIONS 5. OFFER AN INTERPRETATION

4. Biography, Autobiography, & Memoir • While a biography should be balanced and objective, many biographies are written to display the CENTRAL CHARACTER’S PERSONALITY and EXPLAIN WHY CERTAIN EVENTS OCCURRED 9. What is a memoir? SHORT AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITING 10. What does a memoir try to capture? MEANINGFUL MOMENTS

5. Biography, Autobiography, & Memoir 11. List 7 characteristics of the memoir. 1. FOCUS ON BRIEF TIME PERIOD 2. NARRATIVE – LIKE A STORY 3. SOUNDS LIKE FICTION BUT IT’S TRUE 4. DESCRIBES EVENTS THEN TELLS WHY THEY’RE IMPORTANT 5. EMOTIONAL 6. PERSONAL 7. RETELLS EVENT STUCK IN MEMORY

6. Characteristics of Genre Take notes on your handout or Use a piece of notebook paper

7. Poetry • Definition: shortened form of writing • Figurative Language: metaphors, similes, personification, alliteration • Author’s expression of feelings/emotions/opinions • May follow a form/structure: haiku, limerick, sonnet

8. Traditional Literature • Definition: stories passed down for generations by oral storytelling • Myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, tall tales • Foundation for fantasy

9. Fantasy • Characters: talking animals, mythical creatures (dragons, minotaurs, vampires), magic users (wizards, witches) • Setting: often medieval (forests, castles, caves), time travel (magic) • Plot: hero’s journey/quest, often good vs. evil

10. Science Fiction • Characters: mutants, aliens, robots, mad scientists, talking computers • Setting: advanced technology/ futuristic cities, space ships, other worlds, time travel (technology) • Plot: alien attacks/visits, time travel, technology is important, experiments “gone wrong”

11. Realistic Fiction • Characters • Everyday people(students, parents, teens) • Experiencing everyday life (family issues, friends, sometimes dramatic: survival) • Setting • Modern times • Realistic places • Plot • Realistic, believable events

12. Historical Fiction • Characters: • Famous, historical people • Average or significant people • Setting: • 20th century to present • Historical/important places (Philadelphia, Germany) • Plot: • Authentic (true) historical events

13. Mystery • Characters: • Detectives (sleuths), investigators (FBI, CIA), spies • Murderers, thieves • Setting: • Crime scene • Detective agency • May be mysterious place(creepy house, museum, …) • Plot: • Crime or mysterious event • Clues → solution

14. Biography, Autobiography, Memoir • Bio=life - graphy=write • Biography: story of someone’s life written by someone else • auto=self – bio=life – graphy=write • Autobiography: story of someone’s life written by themselves • memoir=memory • Memoir: a short account of the author’s experiences written by themselves

15. Informational • purpose – provides information on a wide range of topics • Nonfiction: writing dealing with facts and real events • Science, crafts, sports, news articles, social studies

16. Mystery Independent Work • Read Book Summary on back or inside flap • Skim the entire book • Read Chapter 1 • Fill in all information about book If you do not finish in class, go online and find a summary of the book to complete your worksheet.

17. Nothing But the Truth • Patriotism or practical joke? • Harrison, NH -- Ninth-grade student Philip Malloy was suspended from school for singing along to The Star-Spangled Banner in his homeroom, causing what his teacher, Margaret Narwin, called "a disturbance." But was he standing up for his patriotic ideals, only to be squelched by the school system? Was Ms. Narwin simply trying to be a good teacher? Or could it all be just a misunderstanding gone bad -- very bad? What is the truth here? Can it ever be known? • Heroism, hoax, or mistake, what happened at Harrison High changes everything for everyone in ways no one -- least of all Philip -- could have ever predicted.

18. Sahara Special • Sahara Jones is going into fifth grade-again. Although she won't be "Sahara Special" anymore (special needs, that is), she doesn't expect this year to be any better than last year. Fifth grade is going to be different, though, because Sahara's class is getting a new teacher: Miss Pointy. From her eggplant-colored lipstick to the strange subjects she teaches, like "Puzzling" and "Time Travel," she is like no other teacher Sahara has ever known. With Miss Pointy's help, Sahara just might find a way to redefine special for herself. The latest chapter in her book unfolds when her mother insists that she be taken out of special Ed. So Sahara is facing fifth grade in the regular classroom, again. But why even try to do the work, Sahara wonders, if everything just winds up in the counselor's file? Enter Miss Pointy, the new fifth-grade teacher. With her eggplant-colored lipstick, and strange subjects such as "Puzzling" and "Time Travel," she's like no other teacher Sahara has ever known. Through Miss Pointy's unusual teaching, storytelling, and quiet support, Sahara finds the courage to overcome her fears and prove which file shows her true self.

19. How Angel Petersen Got His Name WHEN YOU GROW up in a small town in the north woods, you have to make your own excitement. High spirits, idiocy, and showing off for the girls inspire Gary Paulsen and his friends to attempt:• Shooting waterfalls in a barrel• The first skateboarding• Breaking the world record for speed on skis by being towed behind a souped-up car, and then . . . hitting gravel• Jumping three barrels like motorcycle daredevil EvelKnievel, except they only have bikes• Wrestling . . . a bear? Extreme sports lead to extreme fun in new tales from Gary’s boyhood.

20. Ravenmaster’s Secret • Best-selling author Elvira Woodruff's thrilling novel set in 1700s London.It's 1735. Forrest Harper's life inside the Tower of London consists of three ways to pass the time: chores, chores, and more chores. His only friends are the spirited ravens he tends with his father. So when vicious Scottish Rebels are captured, Forrest can't wait to prove himself by standing guard. If only Forrest's prisoner hadn't turned out to be the noble and daring Maddy. And if only Maddy wasn't about to be executed. . . .Now, as Forrest chooses between friendship and family, safety and escape, he and Maddy must flee, somehow navigating the cold, dank corridors of the Tower.

21. Cryptid Hunters After their parents are lost in an accident, thirteen-year old twins Grace and Marty are whisked away to live with their Uncle Wolfe-an uncle that they didn't even know they had! The intimidating Uncle Wolfe is an anthropologist who has dedicated his life to finding cryptids, mysterious creatures believed to be long extinct. Twins, Grace and Marty, along with a mysterious uncle, are dropped into the middle of the Congolese jungle in search of their missing photojournalist parents. The intimidating Uncle Wolfe is an anthropologist who has dedicated his life to finding cryptids, mysterious creatures believed to be long extinct.

22. The Word Eater Life is miserable for sixth-grader Lerner Chanse at her new school, where the MPOOE (Most Powerful Ones on Earth) Club ruthlessly rules over the SLUGs (Sorry Losers Under Ground). Then Lerner accidentally discovers that her pet worm Fip eats paper - with startling results...When he eats a label with the words "Mack's Thumbtacks", all Mack's thumbtacks instantly vanish and papers slip from bulletin boards everywhere! It seems that if Fip eats a word, that item simply disappears from the world - forever. Now that Lerner knows about Fip's magic, she has some extraordinary powers of her own - and some big decisions to make. Should she eliminate crime? Her mean neighbour Bobby Nitz's evil dog? Or simply wipe Cleveland Park Middle School off the face of the earth? Or will destroying anything cause effects that she can't imagine or predict? Lerner soon discovers that extraordinary power brings extraordinary responsibility - but will she learn her lesson in time?