1. B3 Do Now: Hand 3 paragraph response into my basket. Then… We will see Jimit, Kim, Kristina, & Manav’s play the first day I see you after PARCC (Tues, 5/10) Based on the four plays yesterday, vote for your favorite… Actor (1 classmate’s name): Costume/props (title of play): Storyline (title of play): Overall play (title of play):

2. B4 Do Now: Hand 3 paragraph response into my basket.

3. The winning play for best costume/props is…

4. “Zayden Blaze: Son of Chaos”

5. The winning play for best storyline is…

6. “Journey to Heaven” (Special congratulations to the writer: Tyler!)

7. The winner for best actor is…

8. Ankith Golla!

9. And the winner…for the best overall play is…

10. “Betrayal”

11. Debate Take Justin Bieber article from my desk if you did not do so yesterday Read the article, form your opinion, and start coming up with reasons to defend your opinion

12. Debate Structure 5 minutes to confer with your group Opening statements (2 minutes, uninterrupted) x2 Group huddle (1 minute, collect your thoughts) Questioning/rebuttal (3 minutes, back-and-forth) x2 Group huddle (1 minute, collect your thoughts) Closing statements (1 minute, uninterrupted) x2

13. The next time I see you… On Tues, 5/10, bring an independent reading book to class Book MUST be over 150 pages of text and something you have not read before M-R: Independent silent reading for the first 10 minutes of class F: Hand in a reader response journal and hold “book club meetings” where you discuss your reading with classmates

14. Besides independent reading? Do now activities (vocabulary, current events, grammar) Poetry Reading, analyzing, writing our own Major assessments: Poetry Test & Poetry Book

15. PARCC Review What are the three writing tasks that will appear on the PARCC?

16. Narrative Task Read a fictional text Prompt: Either continue/finish the story OR re-write the ending Pay attention to what the prompt is asking you to do! Sometimes they will give you clues! (EX: In the Bahauddin Shah prompt from September, it said “Describe what he finds when he comes out of the cave,” so you knew that your story MUST begin with him coming out of the cave) Maintain character personalities Maintain conflict (if it’s not resolved, resolve it! If it is resolved, what’s another logical conflict it could lead to?) Mention little details from the original text that will let the scorer know that you were reading closely Remember plot structure: a story MUST have a character trying to accomplish something who faces an obstacle that he or she tries to deal with somehow

17. RST (Argumentative OR Informational) Read/examine several non-fiction texts (multi-media) that all relate to the same topic Argumentative: 6 paragraphs Should include a rebuttal paragraph where you acknowledge the opposition and then prove it wrong Informational: 5 paragraphs Introduction (SHORT, 1-2 sentences): Re-state the prompt, state your thesis Body paragraphs: Each must include a specific piece of evidence. Pull evidence from different sources, rather than just using 1 or 2. In-text citations: May refer to sources as “Source 1” (they will be labelled) Your thesis should appear in every single paragraph! Everything must CLEARLY and DIRECTLY connect back to it! Conclusion (SHORT, 1-2 sentences): Re-state the prompt and thesis in new words

18. Literary Analysis Read two related fictional texts Write a compare/contrast essay that responds to the prompt. (It will ask you to analyze a particular literary element: character, conflict, theme, etc. Read the prompt carefully so that you know exactly what you are being asked to do). 5 paragraph essay Introduction (SHORT, 1-2 sentences): Re-state prompt, state thesis Body 1: 1 piece of evidence from text 1, something unique about text 1 Body 2: 1 piece of evidence from text 2, something unique about text 2 Body 3: 2 pieces of evidence, one from each text, that shows something that the two texts have in common Conclusion (SHORT, 1-2 sentences): Re-state prompt and thesis in new words

19. General Tips Get enough sleep and eat during the day! (You won’t be testing until after lunch) Wear comfortable clothes (layers are good in case you get hot or cold) Read the prompts before reading the text so you know what to focus on/look for Annotate while you read so that you already have evidence picked out If you’re not sure on a multiple choice question, just take your best guess. (Try not to leave it blank!) Pace yourself. Pay attention to time.

20. For extra practice this weekend… http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/ Click on Language Arts/Literacy Click on Grade 8 Click on Computer-Based Practice Test Enter your name where it says “Guest” (* you can also practice Math on this site! If you’re feeling ambitious/you’ve already done these practice questions, you can always try the Grade 7 or 9 practice test).

21. Most importantly… The PARCC is not the most important thing in the world. Relax and do your best We’ve had such awesome experiences together these past few months that cannot be measured on a test. I’m proud of you guys no matter what.