Homework, 3rd October, 2016

Hello!

This week I would like you to read a short story and answer the comprehension questions that go with it. Unfortunately I only have hard copies so I can't provide you with a link, but everything you need is in your homework folder. 

This is due tomorrow (Tuesday). 

Good luck!

Homework, Monday 19th September

This week I would like you to read the short story, Digging to China, and answer the comprehension questions on the back. Everything you need is in your homework folder. 

This is due tomorrow (Tuesday). 

Good luck!

Homework, Monday 12th September, 2016

I only found out late on Friday that Monday was going to be the homework day for Year 8 English, so I have not had time to prepare any worksheets. 

Therefore, this week, it would be great if you could find an example of a short story and bring it in to share with the rest of the class. It could be in a book, or on a piece of paper, or you could provide a link so that we can find it online. At the very least, try and think of a story you have read which you can tell us about. 

This homework is due tomorrow (Tuesday, 13th September).

Good luck!

Welcome!

Welcome to Mr Quillfeldt's Year 8 English blog. There are already loads of posts on here, but they're from several years ago, so ignore them.

The main purpose of this blog is to keep you up-to-date with homework, so if your son or daughter's homework diary has mysteriously disappeared and/or they tell you there is no homework, you can check.

I will, from time-to-time post other stuff here, like suggested reading, copies of worksheets and maybe even some of the pupils' work (with their permission, of course). I will also keep you up to date with what we are studying in class.

On that note, we will be doing some creative writing this half term, building on the work done on the same topic this time last year. This will involve writing the first draft of a short story of between 300 and 1000 words before spending some time learning about genre, themes, how to structure a story, how to create characters, how to describe settings, how to use dialogue, how to use paragraphs and various other important elements of the creative writing process. The pupils will then revisit their first draft and make improvements to it based on the things they have learnt in lessons so that they end up with a final, finished piece that would make Dickens himself envious. We will also spend some time learning how to answer fiction-based reading comprehension questions using a variety of texts from different genres.

Book review example

The BFG is a book by Roald Dahl which tells the story of Sophie, a girl who lives in an orphanage. She is very lonely and unhappy there, but one night, her world is turned upside when she is visited by the Big Friendly Giant, or BFG for short. When he sees her staring at him out of her window, he scoops her up and takes him with her to his home in Giant Country. At first she is scared, but quickly learns that the BFG is actually quite friendly, as his name would suggest. Some of the other giants in Giant Country aren’t, however, and like to eat children. Sophie and the BFG come up with a plan to stop this happening, and the story becomes a thrilling adventure which involving helicopters, the army, and the Queen of England. 

Overall, I thought this book was very good. It was written in a style I could understand and I liked some of the words Roald Dahl made up, like ‘snozzcumber’, because this made it funny. I also thought that the story was very imaginative and different – I can’t remember reading another story quite like this one.

If I could change one thing about it, I would make it slightly shorter; I thought it was a bit too long, but it’s not a major problem. Some of the bits are quite scary as well, and it’s not really suitable for younger children, so I think there should be a warning on the front of the book.    

I would recommend this book to children, but, like I said, not really young children, but it’s definitely better for young people than for adults. Overall, I give it a rating of 4 out of 5. 

February half term homework

Mr Q’s Year 8 half term holiday homework

You are going to write one more review. It can be of a book you have read, a film or television programme you have seen, or a computer game.

Remember to stick to the following structure:

Paragraph one:

What is it about?

Paragraph two:

What is good about it?

Paragraph three:

What could be improved about it?

Paragraph four:

Who is it aimed at?

You review should be at least 200 words long.

For an example of the kind of thing you need to write, just check the blog (unless, of course, you are already reading this on the blog!).

Good luck!

Homework, 15th January, 2015

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas break and is well rested. 

This term we will be reading the novel Holes by Louis Sachar, and learning how to write reviews. At the end of the unit, everyone will write a review of the book.

This is week's homework task is a reading comprehension one. All you need to do is read the photocopied extract from the book and answer the questions on the other sheet. As always, some of the questions are very simple, while others are slightly trickier. You can do the work on a computer and print it out, or write your answers out by hand on lined paper. 

Good luck!