Literature Circles Break

We will be having a break from our literature circles until the week of June 2. Please read the rest of your novel. It will be your last meeting, so be ready.

The T-Shirt Logo Project

What's the project?

Design a logo which represents the grade 7 2013-2014 school year at BAPS. The entire grade will vote on which logo should go an a t-shirt that all grade 7s will be able to order. Any logos that tie for first will go on a t-shirt.

Why No Evaluation Rubric?

7S and 7L will create the evaluation rubric after studying logos.

What must I hand in at the end?

You must hand in your final digital or hand-drawn logo as well as at least 4 different sketches of versions you considered.

When is it due?

Friday, May 16. If you hand it in later, your logo will not be considered for the t-shirt.

Where should I do my drawings?

In your thinking book.

If I'm doing my final version in digital form, what app will I use?

Sketchbook Pro.

What are the design requirements of the logo?

The logo must use a maximum of 2 colours, and be designed for a white background.

Click here for our Logos iBook.

The Meaning of a Song Project

Written Assignment Due: Friday, April 11

Presentations Begin: Monday, April 14. Click here for order.

Get ready to write and speak about a song that means something to you. Click the image below for the project description.

Mr. Lee's Example 1
Song: Karma Police
Performing Artist: Radiohead
Songwriter: Radiohead
Click for lyrics and song
Description:
Karma Police hits me deep in my stomach. As soon as I hear the sound of the A minor chords from the piano, guitar, and bass, I feel like I'm falling down a gorgeous hole in a dream. I first heard the song while travelling in Europe and would hit rewind constantly on my Sony Walkman (this was before the iPod and MP3s). I'll never forget the feel of being on a bus in Ireland, looking out the window at the Irish rain and bright green rolling hills, with Thom Yorke singing "I lost myself" over and over again. I believe the song is about the joy of being different and not fitting in, and how horrible it is when people try to force you to be something you are not. The lines about a girl with a "hitler hairdo" and a man who "talks in maths" appear to make fun of them, but I believe the song is trying to express their beauty. Karma Police is a song for outsiders who don't fit in and don't mind.

Mr. Lee's Example 2
Song: Killing Me Softly
Artist: Fugees (originally performed by Roberta Flack)
Songwriter: Charles Fox and Norman Gimble
Click for lyrics and song
Description:
There may not be a singer in the world like Lauryn Hill. Her voice feels high, low, and in-between to me. It expresses joy, sadness, and anger all in the same breath. I heard this song for the first time while walking through a shopping mall. I remember thinking, "What is that voice? It's giving me an intravenous hit straight to my veins." The funny thing about this song is it's a song about loving a song. It's almost like Lauryn Hill is singing exactly what you're feeling about her while she sings it to you. Although there have been many versions and covers of this track, including Roberta Flack's great original, I love this one best because of the addition of some fresh hip hop beats and flavour. It's a song you can lie in bed and cry to, or drive your sleek sports car to on the freeway

Mr. Lee's Example 3
Song: Live it Out (acoustic version)
Artist: Metric
Songwriter: Metric
Click for lyrics and song
Description:
Metric's "Live it Out" can be listened to in both their electric and acoustic versions. The great thing about both is how different one sounds from one another. My favourite one is the acoustic because you can hear the melancholy in the song much more definitively. It's not too hard to figure out what this song is about. To me, the track is a call to arms to everyone in the world. Emily Haines wants us to live our lives to their fullest and to not have any regrets. This song always reminds me to do that in my life. I love the lines "No concrete adversity/Only traps of our own actions" which always makes me think about the importance of not letting your fears rule your life, to avoid trying to make your life perfect and comfortable, and to seek passion and challenges instead. It's also a special song for me because it makes me contemplate the love I have for my wife and family when she sings "But I don't want to live it alone". "Live it Out" makes me want to reach for the stars and climb every mountain with the ones that I love.

When you are ready, use the form below to hand in your assignment. If you have trouble seeing it, click here.

Literature Circles Begin This Week

We are beginning literature circles this week, a great way to read and talk about books. See the links below.

7L Schedule and Roles

7S Schedule and Roles

What To Do

Evaluation Rubric

Self/Peer Assessment

Listen to the Grade 7 Roundtable

What a great series of Grade 7 Roundtable discussions. Click below to download and listen!

Persuasive Roundtable Discussion

Click the image below for the project description.

Click here for the schedule.

OWA Persuasive Writing Task

Due: Monday, Feb 24

Click here for the project description.

Click here for the exemplar persuasive essays.

Click here for our notes on persuasive writing.

Persuasive Argument Discussion: Flappy Birds

Please read these articles in order. Take notes of the facts vs. opinions in your thinking books.

First Read: Interview with the creator.

Second Read: Why we should believe him.

Third Read: There's something fishy going on.

Be ready to share your thoughts on this debate.

Leave your 3-5 sentence persuasive statement in the comments about whether we should believe him or not.

Technology and Health Movies

Our classes made some provocative short videos about technology and its impact on health. Check them out on the link below using the usual password.

Divergent Week 5 Feature Page Questions

There are 8 weeks in our Divergent Thinking Book Novel Study. Every week, you must:

• read at least a chapter a day from Monday to Friday (5 chapters in total)
• complete 1 of the 5 chapter questions which will be posted daily as a feature page in your Thinking Book.

Therefore, at the end of our 8 week novel study, you should have at least 8 feature pages ready to hand in.

Choose and complete 1 of the 5 below in your Thinking Books:

Week 5 Chapter 21
Design a feature page which summarizes this chapter.

Week 5 Chapter 22
Tris continues to learn more and more about Four. Design a feature page which describes what Four is like as a person.


Week 5 Chapter 23
Wakes up next to Four, likes him, in spite of the way he is. Explain the feelings Tris has for Four in a feature page.

Week 5 Chapter 24
Eric says Al was courageous for what he did. Tris believes he was a coward and prideful. Compare the two different ways of looking at Al’s death in a feature page.

Week 5 Chapter 25
Why is Tobias called Four? Explain in a feature page.

Reading Assessment Breakdown - The Far and the Near

You can find the results of you 2nd reading comprehension assessment of the year in your evaluations folders.

Click here for all the files from the assessment. See below for the breakdown in which I explain the assessment.

Divergent Week 3 Feature Page Questions

There are 8 weeks in our Divergent Thinking Book Novel Study. Every week, you must:

• read at least a chapter a day from Monday to Friday (5 chapters in total)
• complete 1 of the 5 chapter questions which will be posted daily as a feature page in your Thinking Book.

Therefore, at the end of our 8 week novel study, you should have at least 8 feature pages ready to hand in.

Choose and complete 1 of the 5 below in your Thinking Books:

Week 3 Chapter 11
Design a feature page which predicts what's beyond the city's fence.

Week 3 Chapter 12
What if the Dauntless initiates had plaed a different game in this chapter? Choose a game that would be a great one for Dauntless, describe how you think the rules of it would be for their faction, and explain what you think would have happened in a feature page.

Week 3 Chapter 13
What message or lesson was Four trying to send to Tris in this chapter? Explain in a feature page.

Week 3 Chapter 14
In what way has Tris changed in this chapter? Explain in a feature page.

Week 3 Chapter 15
Design a feature page which summarizes this chapter.

Divergent Week 2 Feature Page Questions

There are 8 weeks in our Divergent Thinking Book Novel Study. Every week, you must:

• read at least a chapter a day from Monday to Friday (5 chapters in total)
• complete 1 of the 5 chapter questions which will be posted daily as a feature page in your Thinking Book.

Therefore, at the end of our 8 week novel study, you should have at least 8 feature pages ready to hand in.

Choose and complete 1 of the 5 below in your Thinking Books:

Week 2 Chapter 6
Design a feature page which explains the action sequence of Beatrice and the train.

Week 2 Chapter 7
Design a feature page which summarizes this chapter.

Week 2 Chapter 8
If you were to change your name and get a tattoo like Tris, what name and tattoo would you get? Design a feature page which explains it.

Week 2 Chapter 9
Design a feature page which explains the meaning of friendship like the kind Tris feels in this chapter.

Week 2 Chapter 10
Why do you think Dauntless makes initiates fight? Explain in a feature page.

Divergent Thinking Book Novel Study

We are going to read Veronica Roth’s Divergent together as a class.

You can read it:

Online for free at www.divergent.cc;
Or using a class or personal copy.

How much/fast do I have to read?

You must read at least a chapter per day (5 chapters per week; Monday-Friday).

What do I have to do in my Thinking Book?

Starting Monday, January 13th, there will be a new question posted on bapslee.com every day for 39 days (total chapters in the book).

Every week, you must complete at least one of the chapter questions.

Each weekly assignment must be completed as a feature page using one full page of your Thinking Book. There are 8 weeks, so you will end up with at least 8 feature pages.

So…

1. You must read at least 5 chapters per week.
2. You must complete at least 1 of the chapter questions from each week as a feature page in your Thinking Book.
3. You must be done reading and working on your chapter questions by March Break.

Click here for the evaluation rubric.

Best Stories Ever!

Click the image below to watch our Best Stories Ever. New videos will be added daily all week!

Get your own copy of Divergent!

We will begin a class novel study on Veronica Roth's Divergent. You will be able to read it for free online, or borrow one of a few class copies. If you want your own, buy it for sale on the iBookstore here or get it from a bookstore.

How to Submit Your Movie to Mr. Lee

If using iPod or iPad:

1. Go to the main menu of iMovie where all the projects are.
2. Click the arrow pointing right at the bottom of your project.
3. Share movie to Camera Roll.
4. Choose the HD option.
5. Bring the device to Mr. Lee.

If using Mac:

1. In your project file click SHARE.
2. Click EXPORT MOVIE...
3. Choose HD and save it somewhere on your computer like your Desktop.
4. Log in to Google Drive, click the upload button (upwards arrow) next to the CREATE button.
5. Find the movie on your computer and upload it.
6. Share the movie file with bapslee@gmail.com.

If using PC/Windows Moviemaker:

1. Click the button at the top left corner.
2. Click SAVE MOVIE.
3. Choose For high definition display or For computer and save it somewhere on your computer like your Desktop.
4. Log in to Google Drive, click the upload button (upwards arrow) next to the CREATE button.
5. Find the movie on your computer and upload it.
6. Share the movie file with bapslee@gmail.com.

Best Story Ever Presentations

Click here for the project description.

Presentations begin Monday, December 16.

Compare Mr. Lee's examples below. Which one is better? Why?

Click here for Mr. Lee's example written Best Story Ever. See below for the video.

Practice Spelling List 10

Click here to practice this week's spelling list. Also study the homonyms list.

7L Test Date: Tue Dec 3
7S Test Date: Thu Dec 5

Thinking Book Evaluations Round 2

We will start our second set of Thinking Book evaluations on Monday, January 6th (new date).