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8TH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS

9.  

Here are the questions for Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Study Questions

Chapter 1

1.  Name the Logan Children from oldest to youngest.

2. Why do the Logan children have to run from the bus?

3. Why do other kids tease Jeremy?

4. Describe the books the Logan children are issued.

5. Cassie and Little Man object to being called “nigras.”  Why does Miz Crocker say “that wat you are.” Is Miz Crocker black or white?

6. What did Mama Logan do about the books? Do you think her actions will have consequences?

Chapters 2 & 3

1. Describe Mr. L.T. Morrison.

2. Why do you think Papa tells his children to stay away from the Wallaces' store?

3. Why does the Jefferson Davis school bus driver like to run the Logan children off the road?

4. Describe how the Logan children get revenge on the bus, its passengers, and its driver.

5. Why does Papa say Mr. Morrison is there? Why is he really there?

6. Describe how Cassie feels when she gets caught outside in the night.

Chapter 4

1. At the beginning of chapter 4, what is wrong with Cassie?

2. Why does T.J. "go back to get his cap" when the other children leave?

3. Explain how the Logan children ended up at the Wallace store.

4. Why won't Mr. Morrison tell Mama about the children being at the Wallace store?

5. Why does Mama take her children to Smellings Creek to see Mr. Berry?

6. What happened to Mr. Berry and his nephews?

Chapter 5

1. Why does Big Ma allow Cassie to go to Strawberry?

2. Why doesn't Big Ma move her wagon to the front so that more people can see what she has?

3. Who is Mr. Jamison?

4. What happens in Barnett's General Store?

5. Describe what happens between Lillian Jean Simms and Cassie.

6. Why does Big Ma make Cassie apologize to "Miz Lillian Jean"?

7. Why does Cassie say “no day in all my life had been as cruel as this one?” 

Chapter 6

1. Stacey tells Cassie that Big Ma had to make Cassie apologize. What does Stacey understand that Cassie does not?

2. Describe Uncle Hammer both in looks and personality.

3. Big Ma does not want Cassie to tell what happened with the Simmses in Strawberry. Why not?

4. According to Mama, why is "white" something?

5. Describe Mama's shoes. What do they tell about the Logan's situation?

6. Why is the coat Uncle Hammer gives Stacey such a good present?

Chapter 7

1. What happens to Stacey's coat?

2. What do the Logan children get for Christmas?

3. Why does Jeremy come to the Logan house o Christmas day?

4. What is happening with the Wallace store and the issue of credit?

5. Describe why Mr. Jamison says Harlan Granger has become the man he is. What is his story?

Chapter 8

1. What does “Cassie Uncle Tomming Lillian Jean” mean?

2.Who visited Mama during her history class? Why did they visit?

3. Who told on Mama for what she did to the school books? Why?

4. What exactly does Cassie do to Lillian Jean?

5. “But Cassie, why? You was such a nice little girl”. What do we know about Lillian Jean from this quote?

6. Why was Cassie banished to the last row in front of the window? How did this turn out to be important?

Chapter 9

1. What risks were people taking by shopping in Vicksburg? Why were they taking these risks?

2. What happened on the trip to Vicksburg with Papa, Mr. Morrison, and Stacey?

3. How and where was Papa hurt?

4. What season was it in chapter 9. List two things going on in nature and why they are important.

5. Who is T.J. hanging around with?

6. What would the money Papa made on the railroad have paid for?

Chapter 10

1. Why don't Mama and Papa notify Hammer of their financial situation?

2. Explain why Mama wants Mr. Morrison to go away.

3. Where does Jeremy say he'll live when he grows up? Why?

4. What does Papa mean when he says the "note's been called" on the Logan land?

5. Why does Papa insist that Mr. Morrison go with Hammer to Vicksburg and to the train?

6. How has T.J. changed?

Chapter 11

1. Read the poem at the beginning of chapter 11. What does it mean?  Why is the title of the book Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry?

2. What do you think Cassie means when she says Mr. Morrison "walks on cat feet"?

3.What happened when TJ went with Melvin and R.W. to Strawberry.

4. Compare the friendship of TJ and R.W. and Melvin to his friendship with Stacey.

5. What do the men do as soon as they arrive at the Avery home?

6. Why does Cassie hesitate to leave Stacey in the woods alone?

Chapter 12

1. Papa takes the shotgun and Mama screams “no”. What does Mama’s victory tell us about the relationship between Mama and Papa?

2. How does the fire change the events of the evening?

3. Why is it interesting that when the fire is out, it is hard even to tell who is who?

4. Answer Stacey's question . . . "Papa . . . what's gonna happen to T.J. now?"

Persuasive Essay

A persuasive essay states an opinion and tries to convince the reader that it “the right opinion.” It can be written in language arts, social studies, or science. It is a multiple paragraph essay and should include the following elements: 

• A strong introduction.  The first sentence should be an ”attention getter”.  It could be a quote, a statistic, or a compelling statement about the topic. The next few sentences should provide the reader with some background knowledge on the subject. The thesis statement must clearly state the opinion of the writer (don’t use I), and frequently mentions at least two reasons that support this opinion.  Often the thesis statement is the last sentence of the introduction.
• Body paragraph one should start with a topic sentence that mentions the first reason for the writer’s opinion.  This should be followed with a fact or two and then quotes, reasons or examples that go with these facts.  End with a concluding statement/transition.
• Body paragraph two should follow the format of body paragraph one but discuss the second reason for the writer’s opinion.
• Body paragraph three must be a counter argument. In order to persuade, you must mention the other side and then convince the reader that they should not be concerned with those arguments. This can be difficult but is very important.  You can start with a statement, “Some people disagree.  They feel that….because… But…is the actual case,” and challenge the viewpoint.
• Conclusion.  The concluding paragraph should briefly review the arguments put forth and summarize why the writer’s opinion is valid.  Be sure to emphasize the most important point. In some cases, the reader may be asked to take action.

For more information, check in The Language of Literature  in the Writing handbook section. R50 for 7th grade, R49 for 8th grade). MLA Manuscripts Guidelines are also included in this section.

On Tuesday, August 26, students received a spiral notebook to use as a "Reader's Notebook." We took quite a bit of time to set up the title pages, mark a tab for the personal word list, and create a page with reading strategies (page 21 in the text) and another with parts of the story (pages 18 - 20in the text).  We then listened to "Checkouts" and responses to the prompts listed in the text.  We have started our vocabulary lessons where we used 3 x 5 cards to write the word, part of speech, syllabication, and definition. We will do an activity with the words next time and the following class session we will have a quiz. I will provide the definition and they receive one point each for: the right word, the correct spelling, and the part of speech. Many students had neither cards nor a ring today and it will simplify things if these materials can be obtained. Thanks.

On our collaboration days we spend a great deal of time discussing test scores and what we can do to help our students all reach a designation of "proficient." You will see an emphasis on grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and word analysis, as a result of this. 

The students take MAp tests and we hope to be able to use our learning lab time to teach specific skills to those students who need them. This may require some shuffling around. It will not start right away since first we'll need to analyze all the data and form groups, and then we'll need to find appropriate materials to teach the skills.

Another decision that came out of these meetings was that all language arts teachers will use a book called Easy Grammar. I've used it for years so I'm excited and one of the first activities will be memorizing 53 prepositions.  look for that in the near future.

 Language arts encompasses many things: reading, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and writing.  All students are expected to read daily during RAM Time (25 minutes) and another 25 minutes at home.  This amounts to 250 minutes per week or at least 125 pages.  Students need to complete reading logs for RAM time.

Help students learn that the present tense verb form utilizes the infinitive.  For   example:
                        to walk
  I           walk          we    walk
you         walk          you    walk
he/she/it  walks        they   walk

Students can practice with any regular verb such as to run, to study, to think, to sleep, to own,  to stay, to belong, to meet, etc.  They seemed more comfortable with the simple past and simple future. These are the notes we started on --

Verb Tenses: Present, Past, and Future