The Uncanny X-Men in "The Covid 19 Crossover!"-Class 608 Assignments

Based on the latest rumors that have been circulating around, there is a very strong possibility that some, if not all, of NYC students will be taking part in remote learning come September. There is also a big push now for city schools to move ahead with blended learning (basically using Google Classroom, CommonLit, Padlet, etc. in the regular classroom).

What do you think about it? On the attached document, you are to answer the following two questions that will give me ideas on how to shape my instruction for the next school year. Be as descriptive and as honest as you can. This is not to be graded, nor is it going to reflect upon your class average.

It is time to get ready for our final assignment. First thing that you have to do is read the assignment labeled "My One-Scene Play", but UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE NOT TO DO THIS TODAY!!!!!! Next, you are going to complete "Reaction to My One-Scene Play Assignment". That is all.

If you need guidance, simply watch my video.

TNT, channel 37 on my cable network, has been playing the original Star Wars trilogy for at least the last two days, and it just so happens that my wife and I turned on the channel at the very same time on both days and watched The Empire Strikes Back from the very same scene! Mind-blowing, right? I mean talk about serendipity!!!!!

Anyway, the first thing you are to do it look through the "Visual Guide for The Empire Strikes Back". Then you are to read and complete "from The Empire Strikes Back".

This scene has Luke training in a swamp in the Degoba System with Jedi Master Yoda. He has to figure out a way to get his X-Wing star fighter out of the swamp. Now, strap in and read on!!!

"The Force with be with you, always."

Directions: You are to read the following stories, and select one with which you create a very short script. You will follow the model that I have laid out for you, and you will do the very same thing. When you turn it in, I will give you immediate feedback with which you will improve your work. Once this is done, you will be ready for our next big assignment! Have fun with this!

In preparing to adapt a story into a play or movie, the screenwriter or playwright can’t just copy the dialogue when writing the script. They need to first establish the setting of the story. You are on the road to becoming playwrights yourself, so you must examine the setting of Neil Gaiman’s chilling tale, “Click-Clack the Rattlebag”, in order to figure out the important elements that you must get across to your audience. To do that, you will need to answer the following questions. You should use race to help you with this.

I also added a link of Neil Gaiman reading his story.

You have already read "Standing Up by Sitting In" on CommonLit.Org, and you were already supposed to have completed the work there. Now, you are to answer the questions to "Reader's Guide to Understanding Plot Development" on the attached document. Keep in mind that your work MUST be done on this very Google Document. You do not have to use R.A.C.E. to answer these questions; just answer the questions to the best of your ability. Level 2=All seven prompts are correctly answered with plenty of details. Level 1= Up to four of the prompts are answered and/or your answers are fairly detailed.

Log onto CommonLit.Org. There is an assignment waiting for you. Once you have completed it, strike "Mark As Done". Be sure to use R.A.C.E. for question 5, and the guided questions count, so do not guess. This will be graded as a quiz. Take your time, and good luck!

Watch the attached video in which Abbott and Costello perform their 7x13=28 in a different way. I also attached a script that goes along with it. You will notice that the script is color-coded: orange is the exposition, blue is the rising action, red is the climax, and green is the falling action and resolution.

You are going to map out the plot by filling out the attached graphic organizer. Take your time with it, and feel free to email me any questions.

I will be posting a video of me doing this using "Who's On First" later on today.

1. Watch the first attached video in which I introduce and explain today's Do Now assignment.

2. Watch the attached video of actor Al Pacino delivering a monologue from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Feel free to watch it multiple times.

3. Read and complete the attached document.

NOTE: You MUST answer the prompt directly on this very document. I will not accept it if you make a copy of the document nor if you create a PDF of the document.

TO BE DONE IN PADLET. Strike "Mark as Done" once you have done so. BE SURE TO LABEL YOUR COMMENT WITH YOUR NAME IN ORDER TO RECEIVE CREDIT.

Complete the Do Now assignment by answering the two prompts. Keep in mind that you must answer it directly on the Google Doc that I am sharing with you. IF YOU CREATE A PDF OR MAKE A COPY AND EMAIL IT TO ME, IT WILL NOT BE GRADED NOR COUNT, RESULTING IN AN AUTOMATIC ZERO.

Padlet is another avenue that we are going to explore that is going to help us gain a better understanding of drama. What you have to do is click on the following link, watch the video that is there, and respond to the video DIRECTLY UNDER THE VIDEO. Please make sure you type your name in your response in order to get credit. Once you have done so, strike "Mark as Done", and it will be an easy hundred.

Padlet is another avenue that we are going to explore that is going to help us gain a better understanding of drama. What you have to do is click on the following link, watch the video that is there, and respond to the video DIRECTLY UNDER THE VIDEO. Once you have done so, strike "Mark as Done", and it will be an easy hundred.

Copy and paste your rough draft, and then revise as needed. This will be your last poem that you will write for the year. Have some fun with it!

THIS MUST BE COMPLETED AFTER YOUR DO THE BASELINE QUIZ: DRAMATIC TERMS!!!

You are to watch the two videos, and list up to seven things you know about drama. It is really that simple, so buckle up, watch the videos, aaaaaaaand . . . ACTION!!!!! (See what I did there? Yeah, I'm that cool. HA!) (The rubric is in the directions of the assignment page.)

THIS MUST BE DONE FIRST BEFORE THE NEXT ASSIGNMENT!!!

This quiz is to simply see what you already know/understand in regards to our next unit, drama. Simply do the best you can to answer the following questions. Once you are done, I will check it, and you are GUARANTEED 100%, however, the grade that you will see in the Classroom will be the score you achieved on the quiz. Trust me, you will be fine.

Narrative Poem by Thomas J. Napoli

Storytelling is very old, and in many different ways can be told
Believe me, for it is true. Why, I’ve never lied to you
Shakespeare did it via plays; Gaiman by way of novels and short stories
Why then not in verse? Surely there is no way it can be worse.
A narrative poem they call it; includes all parts of a story, every bit!
Some are thrilling, while others exciting!
A few are silly, yet all are quite wonderful, really.
So give it a go! You may actually like it; you never know.

Write a poem of your own, including all the parts of a story that is known.
Theme and setting and protagonist; mood and plot and even an antagonist..
There must be a rhyme, but it doesn’t have to be present all the time.
You need to include some similes, alliteration, and, of course, some rich imagery.
Any questions, do not be delay, for you must do this by next Monday.

Yes, folks, an Attendance Do Now!!!!! Aren't you excited? Boy, I sure am!

In order to get credit for being here, you must read "Casey at the Bat" by Thayer, and listen to an actor with one of the most iconic voices in Hollywood, James Earl Jones, read the poem! Trust me, it's a treat!

Then, BY RESPONDING TO THIS VERY PROMPT, you have to let me know what you think of both the poem and Jones' reading of it in order to get both a 100% in my grade book and credit for being in class.

I will post today's assignment once I am done with the rubric. Also, at 10:00 I will meet with my sixth grade classes on Google Meet, and Class 709 will meet at 11:00. I STRONGLY URGE you ALL to attend.

TO BE DONE AFTER "THE SNEETCHES: THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT" ASSIGNMENT!!!

Dr. Seuss has spent a lifetime of creating some of the most memorable books that have been and will continue to be a part of people's childhoods from all over the world! You are to read his narrative poem, "The Sneetches", and answer the two questions that follow using R.A.C.E. Each response will be graded using a two-point rubric, and I will convert the score into a percentage. Both the rubric and point converter chart is posted with this assignment. Take your time, and good luck.

Directions: First, you are to analyze the picture below of a Star-Belly Sneetch and a Plain-Belly Sneetch. Then, in the table that follows, you are to list three ways in which the two types of Sneetches are the same, and three ways in which they differ. The rubric is attached to the assignment. Take your time, and have fun!

Read Shel Silverstein's narrative poem, "A Boy Named Sue", and answer the following questions. Take your time, and good luck.

Note: Access the poem by following these steps:
1. Go to the very top of the stream, and click on "Classwork".
2. Scroll Down to "Poetry Unit: Materials"
3. Scroll down to "A Collection of Poetry", and click to open it.
4. Scroll down to find Shel Silverstein's "A Boy Named Sue", and click to open it.

You will be expected to pen a poem, polished with alliteration, similes/metaphors, and images, that mirrors Davies “Leisure”. That means that it must have seven stanzas, each stanza is a couplet. It must also have a set rhythm with eight syllables in each line.

This is going to be fun but challenging. Take your time. If you have questions, simply ask.

Read through the Google Slides presentation with the same name, as well as "Leisure" by W. H. Davies. You will need to do this before taking the quiz.

Read Edgar Allan Poe's "A Dream", and complete the work that is attached. I have also attached a video of someone reading the poem. The poetry challenge will count towards your poetry portfolio, and the short response will count as classwork.

I will have a Google Meet tomorrow:
Class 709: 11:00
Sixth Graders: 1:00

This assignment is due 04/27/2020. Click the attached link to access the assignment; on the CommonLit login page, click Log In With Google. Keep in mind that the "Guiding Questions" count just as much as the "Assessment Questions" do. Also, you already know that, for any short response prompt, you are to use R.A.C.E.

Directions: It is time! Aren’t you excited? I know I am! Today is the day that you write your first poem of the school year! It can be about anything that you wish. Keep in mind, there are only three things that I am looking for you to incorporate:

Three quatrains--quatrains are four consecutive lines that rhyme; possible rhyme schemes are a,a,b,b; a,a,a,a;
a,b,a,b; a,b,c,a; a,b,a,a; a,a,b,a, a,b,b,a. (Pick one of these to commit to throughout the entire poem.

Three very strong images that paint a picture that plays to one of your reader’s senses.

Three similes: A simile is the comparison of two or more unlike things using the words “like” or “as”.

Please watch the video in the classroom labeled “Teacher’s Model”. It will go step by step with you on how to create this poem.

1. Watch the video: "A Collection of Poems - Google Docs - Google Chrome . . . " It will demonstrate for you all that you
have to do today. I also posted the "Teacher Model: Images Found in Three Poems" for you to follow.

2. Complete: "Images Found in Three Poems". It has your name on it, so fill it out on this very doc. DO NOT MAKE A
PDF!

3. BEFORE you can do the assignment, however, you need to read some poems that I provided you: "A Collection of
Poems".

If you fill out the chart completely with no more than two mistakes, 2;
If you fill out two-thirds of the chart and/or have up to five mistakes, 1.5
If you fill out 1-third of the chart and/or have more than five mistakes, 1.

Tomorrow, you will be writing a poem that is rich with images. Do not worry. I will post a video on how to do it.

I've decided to take a break from poetry, today, in order to have you respond to something amazing that was reported on yesterday's news.

optimist: (n.) a person who tends to be hopeful and confident about the future or the success of
something.

This pandemic that is going on, the Corona Virus, has really changed the way we do things as of late. People are working from home, if they are lucky enough that they can. Businesses and parks have been shut down. People are under quarantine, staying home, being cut off from family and friends. It’s a scary time.

On September 11, 2001, America was attacked, but no place in this great country of ours was hit harder than New York City.

Now, being an optimist, I do not like to focus in on the negative that is looming over us all, so I don’t ever speak about those tragic events of 9-11. No. Instead I like to talk about the good that came from it.

Soon after the towers had fallen, news reports started to get across to the public about people rising up out of the rubble and the ashes to help others, complete strangers, get to safety. People were rushing to our great city from all over the country to lend a hand.

I can keep going, but this is turning into an essay. Let me cut it here, and introduce the topic at hand.

Actor and director, John Krasinski, (You may know him as “Jim” from The Office or the father from A Quiet Place.) is being optimistic. He is using his quarantine as a way of getting hopeful and happy news out to people via his own YouTube channel, Some Good News. He has people from all over the world reach out to him via social media to report on happy and good things that are happening in the world and in their everyday life, and he reports about it, trying to keep us all optimistic.

Now, in the Classroom Stream, you to watch a clip of a recent episode of Some Good News, in which he had arranged for David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox do something incredible for the medical workers who are on the front line. Plus, AT&T got on board, and offered something incredible for these incredible men and women as well.

YOUR JOB: You are to respond to the attached prompts. Do not use R.A.C.E. Just give me full responses. Remember, one or two sentence responses are not acceptable any longer, and you still need to support what you say with details from the video.

DO NOT CREATE A SEPARATE PDF. DO THIS DIRECTLY ON THE GOOGLE DOC THAT IS ASSIGNED TO YOU BELOW.

This is the start of your first poetry challenge. Keep in mind that, since we have gone over rhyme scheme for most of last week, this assignment will count as a quiz grade. Make certain that, if you have questions, that you ask me via email or by responding to this very assignment.

There will be plenty more work to do with this poem, moving forward, so get ready to work!

We learned the bare bones of poetry (That's a metaphor!). We know what lines and stanzas are; rhyme and rhyme scheme; and couplets and quatrains. Now it's time to learn two more things that are as crucial to poetry as the remote is to your favorite game console (That is a simile!).

First watch the attached video, and then complete the attached assignment. If you're lucky, the first video should just bleed into the next (Another metaphor!). If it doesn't, then click on the second link to watch "Similes and Metaphors" by the Bazillions! If you have questions, please just reach out to me.

Copy and paste twenty lines from a Disney song, and label the rhyme scheme. First watch the attached video, and look over the notes I attached. Then access the document that I posted with your name on it, and open the link titled

Do this with 0-1 mistakes: 2 2-6 mistakes: 1

It's time for us to delve deeper into poetry, and see what it involves. For this, you will need to access your KWL chart from yesterday's lesson, and that is why I didn't want you to "turn it in". See, there is method to my madness. HA!

You are to first play the video I posted labeled "Leisure Model", and I also took the liberty of attaching the notes for the video as well. After watching the video, and taking a look at the notes, you are to work on your KWL chart. Then, you are to listen to Shel Silverstein's poem, "Mr. Grumpledump's Song", and read it as well. Then, you are to answer the questions that follow. You are to turn in the questions for the poem, but DO NOT turn in the KWL chart.

Complete the i-Ready lesson, the very one that I posted, and click, "Mark as Done".

Today, we are going to begin our poetry unit, but, to do that, you need to first figure out for yourself what poetry is. To do that, you need to follow the directions as I lay them out for you.
1. KWL Chart: Poetry: Fill out the first two columns only, listing what you know and what you want to learn.
2. What is Poetry?: Watch the video, and fill out more of the KWL Chart (Now you can start to fill out the third column.).
3. "Sick" by Shel Silverstein: Read the poem, and then listen to the poet read it by accessing the last link! (SO COOL!!)
4. KWL Chart: Fill out at least one more item in each column.

You must follow these directions, and complete it before you go to bed tonight.

DO NOT TURN IN THE ASSIGNMENT. I WILL KNOW IF IT'S DONE WHEN I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING. DO NOT TURN IT IN.

You are to watch the video "Always #LikeAGirl", and answer the questions in the attached file. Be sure to use R.A.C.E. This will require you to go back and replay parts of the video. Use the R.A.C.E. scaffolds posted in the Stream.

The first round of dialogue journals has ended, and it is now time for our second round. Unfortunately, I did not receive a dialogue journal entry from all of you. That is not good. You are depriving yourself of a very easy 100, for it is a low-stakes writing task. Simply read what I wrote to you, and then respond to it directly in the same doc.

Your next one is due this Friday, and you will also have one due next Friday during spring break! Let's make sure to get the work done!

You dialogue journals are in your Google Drives under Shared with Me. Please wait until I have responded to you. I started doing so last night, and got through roughly 20 letters. If I did not respond to yours, then you have to wait until I do.

Respond to the above prompt. Once you are done, you MUST read 3 of your peers' answers, and then respond to them.

Directions: You are going to take part in a different kind of Socratic seminar. This will be as live as it can be IF you are all online at the same time. Regardless, you are to all reread Neil Gaiman’s “Click-Clack the Rattlebag” as well as the attached file, Model Track Characters . . .” Then respond to the following two questions. Your responses can be simply to give your own thoughts about each question, question someone else’s thoughts, or come up with a followup question based upon the conversation. Basically, you are to respond in the very same fashion as we do during Socratic seminars in the physical classroom.

KEEP IN MIND: YOU WILL NEED TO CHECK IN ON THIS DOCUMENT THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF TODAY AND TOMORROW.

A stereotype is a widespread and generalized belief about a large group of people. For example, all Italian men have big noses. All boys are good at sports.

Your assignment is to list five stereotypes that exist about girls. You will receive twenty points per accurate stereotype. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REPLY TO ANY OF YOUR CLASSMATES.

Read Gary Soto's "The Challenge", answering the Guided Reading Questions (Take them seriously, for they will count later on.), and then write a paragraph that summarizes the story.

I know that some of you are going to tell me that you don't like playing any sport, but that is not what the question is asking. It is asking for your to identify the one sport out of all others that you like to play the most.

Once you have your answer, you need to respond to three of your peers' responses. That is the only way to score a 100% on the assignment.

IMPORTANT: THIS MUST BE DONE BEFORE THE DAY'S LESSON!!!!

Answer the above question, and then reply to three of your peers' responses.

Complete the i-Ready lesson. Make certain you get a grade with which you are happy. If you do not know your login information, just make certain to respond to today's "Do Now" prompt. It's not due until Monday morning at 8:00 a.m., so you have time to earn the score that you want.

For some reason, it is not allowing me to add the link, but you know that it's i-ready.com.

I am conducting a little experiment called a dialogue journal, a pen pal system, if you will, between you and me, and in my first entry I wrote you each a letter asking how you have been spending your time.

To access the dialogue journal, simply go to your shared files in your Google Drive. It is titled with your name. Then read my entry, and follow the directions that I laid out for you in the last paragraph. Once you have completed the entry, simply close it up, and strike turn in in the Classroom. I will read it, and post your grade. Enjoy.

YOU MUST STRIKE "TURN IN" IN ORDER FOR ME TO KNOW THAT YOU RESPONDED! IF YOU DON'T, IT WILL COUNT AS A 0%. HIT THE "TURN IN" ICON IN THE CLASSROOM.

Answer the above prompts, and then read and respond to two of your peers' responses. Keep in mind, your response to each prompt is worth 40%, and your response to two of your peers is still worth 10% each. 2(40) + 2(10) = _____.

We are going to put a hold on what we were working on in class before the closing of school. Instead, we are going to head back into poetry due to the fact that next month is poetry month.

First, you are to read through the document labeled "Imagery Mini-Lesson". If you have any questions about it, feel free to write it down as a response to this assignment.

You are to log into CommonLit.Org, and read "East 149th Street (Symphony for a Black Girl)". As you read, do the guided questions. THEY MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY, FOR THEY WILL COUNT AS PART OF YOUR GRADE. Then you are to answer complete the assessment. Remember to use R.A.C.E. when answering any short-response prompt. You can find this with the rubric in the Classroom Stream.

Log into i-Ready.com. If you are able to, respond with "Yes". If not, respond with "No". I will then email you your login information. No sweat!

Make sure that, once you respond to the prompt, you respond to three of your peers' responses. Your response is 70%, and you receive 10% for each of the peers you respond to. No, responding to your own prompt, nor to those who respond to your prompt, does not count.

Okay, X-Men. This is it. Your first mission to help us battle this horrible Covid 19 virus. I hope that you're ready for this.
Attached, you will find three files. The first one is titled "L3 Guided". Open this, and read it to see what it is you are expected to do. Pay very close attention to what is written in orange, for this is what serves as the model. Keep in mind that, should you have any questions whatsoever, make certain that you either post your question on the Stream or in an email.
Next, open up the "L03 Independent.pdf" file, and read the passage. Unfortunately, we are using a pdf, so you are not able to annotate is. If you recall what we did in class the last few weeks of class, we mapped out the text by first looking at the questions (including the short response prompt), and we recorded our findings on loose leaf paper. This is not different. Again, if you have any questions, please ask via the Stream or an email.
Lastly, you are to record your answers on the file that has your name on it. Once you are done, strike "Turn In", and you will then be finished with the assignment.
I also took the liberty of posting the rubric that I will use to score your short response prompt, the very same rubric that I have been using since September.

Respond to the above prompt. Then you are to read three of your peers' responses, and comment on them. If you do not comment, then you are cheating yourself out of a total of thirty points. Your response is worth 70%, and each response that you write for your classmates is worthy 10%.

Respond to the prompt. THIS COUNTS AS YOUR ATTENDANCE AS WELL AS A VERY EASY "DO NOW" GRADE!!!!!!! Once you do so, you are to respond to three other people.
KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU ARE NOT TO RESPOND TO THE QUESTION IN THIS THREAD. YOU ARE TO WRITE YOUR RESPONSE IN THE BOX TO THE TOP RIGHT CORNER OF THIS MESSAGE.