//ps20.jcboe.org/apps/classes/1013306/assignments/ Class Name: Writing Instructor(s): Alicia Vilas en-us SchoolSitePro //ps20.jcboe.org/homeworkItem7687719 //ps20.jcboe.org/apps/classes/1013306/assignments/
State your opinion and support it with reasons. Use your own ideas as well as details from the text. Write a concluding paragraph that restates your opinion.


story: https://stacyteacher.weebly.com/u4--w5-the-gymnast.html
]]> Fri, 14 May 2021 08:30:40 PDT //ps20.jcboe.org/homeworkItem7613267 //ps20.jcboe.org/apps/classes/1013306/assignments/
Directions: For the following activity, type your response in the space provided.  Submit YOUR FIRST SENTENCE ONCE YOU TYPED IT.  Then edit.  By 9:30 I need to see how you started the essay.


You have read two texts about students who feel like they are alone.

• The Stormi Giovanni Club https://stacyteacher.weebly.com/u4--w-4-the-stormy-giovanni-club.html
• Weslandia https://stacyteacher.weebly.com/u4---w1-westlandia.html

If you shut other people out of your life, your feelings cannot be hurt.

Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Write a 4-5 paragraph opinion essay in which you discuss this idea. State your opinion and support it with two or more reasons. Use your own ideas as well as details and examples from the texts. Provide a concluding paragraph that restates your opinion. Remember to follow the conventions of standard English grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
]]> Wed, 05 May 2021 23:21:41 PDT //ps20.jcboe.org/homeworkItem7525928 //ps20.jcboe.org/apps/classes/1013306/assignments/
Directions: For the following activity, type your response in the space provided.  Then after 5 minutes submit your response so I can see how you started the compare and contrast essay.


You have read two texts about changing how others see you.

• "The Art of Mimicry"
• Tripping Over the Lunch Lady

Compare and contrast Jinx in Tripping Over the Lunch Lady and the animals in "The Art of Mimicry." Jinx tries to change a reputation for causing accidents through square dancing and animals change their behavior to increase chances of survival. How are Jinx and the animals alike and different? Write an essay in which you compare the methods used by Jinx and the animals. Introduce the topic in the first paragraph and then develop it with facts, details, and examples from the passages in the body of the essay (paragraphs 2, 3, 4). Link your ideas for comparisons with words such as similarly, in the same way, on the other hand, and after all. Provide a concluding paragraph that sums up your main points (5th paragraph). Remember to follow the conventions of standard English grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
https://stacyteacher.weebly.com/u4-w2-tripping-over-the-lunch-lady.html

Tripping Over the Lunch Lady
by Angela Johnson

Do you know how embarrassing it is to be caught in a locker?

Just ask me.

I'm especially not good with my feet off the ground. I was telling Mr. Deimeister just that, about the time I went flying off the trampoline over Tony Friedman's head yesterday and scared him so bad (he wasn't spotting for me but was talking to Gus Jackson about what they were going to do after school) that he choked on some gum he wasn't supposed to have in his mouth.

Right around the time he was having the Heimlich done on him and Gus was screaming to apply direct pressure (luckily we'd just had a first-aid class the period before gym), I realized that what everybody calls me is probably true.

Jinx.

That's how everyone refers to me. My own parents, even.

Mom thinks it's cute. My uncle Jeff began calling me Jinx when I started crawling backward as a baby and getting stuck in boxes, under tables, and even, the story goes, a pair of my dad's boots.

Dad pats me on the head like an old skunky stray and says Uncle Jeff was just like me.

Yeah, right.

Uncle Jeff drives a Porsche and lives in a cabin in the woods with a hot tub.

I'm too uncoordinated to ever drive a car, and I'm pretty sure a hot tub is just a bad accident waiting to happen. I love Uncle Jeff anyway, though. I guess he might have been a jinx back in the day. But hey, he must have grown out of it, which doesn't necessarily mean I will.

I'm never going to be able to keep my feet together and fly perfectly on the trampoline. I'm never going to be able to make a basket without breaking somebody's bones (the doctors did do a good job on Mr. Deimeister's nose, though). I'm never going to run like my sister or kick a soccer ball like my brother without falling, throwing up, or pulling a muscle on me or somebody else. My dad won't even let me use a steak knife. I still have to cut meat with one of those plastic picnic things that sort of look like a knife.

But a while ago everything changed—my whole life, even, because of something I saw on the Folk Arts Channel. A couple days after that, a picture in an album made it feel exactly right.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, people I've run over, stepped on, and tripped up . . . I am going to be a square dance star.

The dancers on television floated over the floor, arm in arm. They smiled, laughed, and nobody fell into anybody else or sprained anything. They were all so happy and even seemed to really like each other. And then I saw this woman who looked just like my mom. She could have been my mom, she looked so much like her. Then in the middle of a swing around she looked the camera in the eye and smiled at me. Honest, it was as if she looked right at me to say: "You could be me, and look—I can do this."

Wow.

It was a couple of days later when a picture fell out of a photo album I'd just dropped in the fish tank (I rescued everything pretty quick, except now our goldfish hide when I come close to the tank), but there in living color was a picture of my mom arm in arm with this kid with hair way down his back— square dancing.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Art of Mimicry
by Robert Kausal

Many animals know that the best way to prevent becoming a predator's lunch is to appear as dangerous or unappetizing as possible. You may be surprised to learn that there are many animals that specialize in the art of mimicry.

Sticks and Stones
There is a critical difference between animals that use camouflage and animals that mimic. Animals that use camouflage try to "blend in" to their environments to avoid predators. Insects are especially good at this. There are insects that look like sticks, leaves, thorns, pebbles, and even bird droppings!

Animals that mimic model themselves after objects or other animals. Some of nature's best mimics of objects are insects. Many insects have adapted by making themselves look like  other objects in their environments. They adapt by mimicking the sounds, movements, or behaviors of things or animals in their environments. Let's take a look at some of these animals that mimic.

A Master of Disguises
In the tropical waters of Indonesia lives the mimic octopus. This creature is a master of disguises. Most octopuses hide among reefs and rocky areas, but the mimic octopus's environment is muddy and sandy. Since places to hide are scarce, the mimic octopus has learned to trick predators into thinking it is another type of fish.

The flatfish is one of the mimic octopus's most successful disguises. The mimic octopus can change its shape and glide along the ocean floor just like a flatfish. Why a flatfish? For most ocean predators, eating a flatfish is like drinking sour milk. It tastes horrible! The amazing mimic octopus can also imitate a poisonous lionfish and a sea snake. Some divers believe the mimic octopus has other disguises as well.

It's a Dog—It's a Plane—No, It's a Lyrebird!
While many animals mimic other animals to fool predators, the male lyrebird of Australia mimics sounds to attract females of the species. This small brown bird clears a space in the forest, spreads its elaborate tail feathers, and begins a concert of sounds that amazes and fools any listener.

Besides mimicking more than twenty different kinds of species, the lyrebird also imitates some unusual sounds. These include a chainsaw, a camera, a crying baby, a dog, a car alarm, and even musical instruments! This bird is like a one-man band!

Having a Hissing Fit
Snakes might look scary enough to you and me, but sometimes even they need a little help to keep enemies away. The hognose snake is a harmless snake found throughout the United States. However, its pattern of irregular dark spots enables the hognose to look like a venomous rattlesnake.   When threatened, the hognose mimics the behavior of a rattlesnake. It coils up, hisses loudly, and strikes out at its predator, but this is all for show since the hognose doesn't have fangs or venom.

If acting like a venomous snake doesn't work, the hognose will roll over, stick out its tongue, release a foul smell, and play dead. So don't make the mistake of trying to pick up a dead hognose. It's not sterile!

The Last Resort
Sometimes the animal kingdom must rely on the ultimate survival tactic . . . playing dead. Many animals, such as bats, lizards, spiders, and toads, will play dead to fool their predators. This strategy works well. Many predators don't like to eat dead animals. This could be because there is no thrill in the hunt (or in a toad's case, because the animal's body is covered in mucus).
]]> Tue, 27 Apr 2021 02:59:22 PDT //ps20.jcboe.org/homeworkItem7490072 //ps20.jcboe.org/apps/classes/1013306/assignments/
Introduce the topic and then develop it using details from the text as well as your own examples. Group related information in a logical way. Conclude with a sentence that sums up the article.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
https://stacyteacher.weebly.com/u4-w2-tripping-over-the-lunch-lady.html

Tripping Over the Lunch Lady
by Angela Johnson

Do you know how embarrassing it is to be caught in a locker?

Just ask me.

I'm especially not good with my feet off the ground. I was telling Mr. Deimeister just that, about the time I went flying off the trampoline over Tony Friedman's head yesterday and scared him so bad (he wasn't spotting for me but was talking to Gus Jackson about what they were going to do after school) that he choked on some gum he wasn't supposed to have in his mouth.

Right around the time he was having the Heimlich done on him and Gus was screaming to apply direct pressure (luckily we'd just had a first-aid class the period before gym), I realized that what everybody calls me is probably true.

Jinx.

That's how everyone refers to me. My own parents, even.

Mom thinks it's cute. My uncle Jeff began calling me Jinx when I started crawling backward as a baby and getting stuck in boxes, under tables, and even, the story goes, a pair of my dad's boots.

Dad pats me on the head like an old skunky stray and says Uncle Jeff was just like me.

Yeah, right.

Uncle Jeff drives a Porsche and lives in a cabin in the woods with a hot tub.

I'm too uncoordinated to ever drive a car, and I'm pretty sure a hot tub is just a bad accident waiting to happen. I love Uncle Jeff anyway, though. I guess he might have been a jinx back in the day. But hey, he must have grown out of it, which doesn't necessarily mean I will.

I'm never going to be able to keep my feet together and fly perfectly on the trampoline. I'm never going to be able to make a basket without breaking somebody's bones (the doctors did do a good job on Mr. Deimeister's nose, though). I'm never going to run like my sister or kick a soccer ball like my brother without falling, throwing up, or pulling a muscle on me or somebody else. My dad won't even let me use a steak knife. I still have to cut meat with one of those plastic picnic things that sort of look like a knife.

But a while ago everything changed—my whole life, even, because of something I saw on the Folk Arts Channel. A couple days after that, a picture in an album made it feel exactly right.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, people I've run over, stepped on, and tripped up . . . I am going to be a square dance star.

The dancers on television floated over the floor, arm in arm. They smiled, laughed, and nobody fell into anybody else or sprained anything. They were all so happy and even seemed to really like each other. And then I saw this woman who looked just like my mom. She could have been my mom, she looked so much like her. Then in the middle of a swing around she looked the camera in the eye and smiled at me. Honest, it was as if she looked right at me to say: "You could be me, and look—I can do this."

Wow.

It was a couple of days later when a picture fell out of a photo album I'd just dropped in the fish tank (I rescued everything pretty quick, except now our goldfish hide when I come close to the tank), but there in living color was a picture of my mom arm in arm with this kid with hair way down his back— square dancing.
]]> Thu, 22 Apr 2021 21:18:01 PDT //ps20.jcboe.org/homeworkItem7252966 //ps20.jcboe.org/apps/classes/1013306/assignments/
Directions: For the following activity, type your response in the space provided.

You have read three texts about famous people who act with determination and courage.

• "A Job for Michelangelo"
• "A Model Scientist"
• Mahalia Jackson

Think about how Michelangelo, Garfield Minott, and Mahalia Jackson are famous for what they did, and imagine you are famous in your field of work. Do you think being famous would make your life easier or harder? Why? Write a 5 paragraph opinion essay in which you answer these questions. State your opinion (in 1st paragraph) and offer 3 reasons supported by details from the selections and your own ideas. Use transitional words such as in addition to, as a result, and for this reason to connect your ideas. Provide a concluding paragraph that restates your opinion. Remember to follow the conventions of standard English grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

for each of your 3 reasons, refer to a story

2nd paragraph 1st reason, refer to one of the stories to back up your reason

3rd paragraph 2nd reason, refer to the next story to back up your reason

4th paragraph last reason (3rd), refer to the last story to back up your reason

How will you use the life of Michelangelo, Garfield Minott, AND Mahalia Jackson to back up your reasons?

All stories are here:
https://classroom.google.com/c/Mzc3ODY4Mzg0MDha/m/MzAyODUxOTgwMzIx/details
]]> Mon, 22 Mar 2021 08:36:31 PDT //ps20.jcboe.org/homeworkItem7226504 //ps20.jcboe.org/apps/classes/1013306/assignments/
You have read two texts about ways to show things that do not exist.

• Special Effects in Film and Television
• The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins

Compare and contrast the making of the miniature scene in Special Effects in Film and Television and the making of the giant dinosaur in The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins. Write an essay in which you tell how these processes are alike and different. Introduce the topic and then develop it with facts, details, and examples from the selections. Use transitional words such as instead, likewise, on one hand, and in contrast to compare your ideas. Write a concluding paragraph with a statement that sums up your main points. Remember to follow the conventions of standard English grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special Effects in Film and Television
by Jake Hamilton


IN MINIATURE
Special effects (SFX) is the art of making the impossible into a fantastic reality. Special effects has always pushed the boundaries of human imagination. It keeps today's movie and television audiences glued to their seats in starry-eyed wonder.

The art of miniature model-making has always been an important part of special effects in movies. Some movie stories have big, spectacular, action-filled scenes. They may call for fights between dinosaurs, explosions on the Golden Gate Bridge, or an armed force charging through the desert. Movie-makers can save time and money by making models for these scenes. This article tells the story of the building of a miniature landscape for a television show.

1 A General Idea
A special effects team must build a prehistoric world in a workshop. The team's first step is to make a "concept" model of this mini-world. The model will give a general view of what the finished product will look like. [The] model shows that the landscape will include a fallen tree and a circular lake.

2 Getting Larger
The movie-makers study [the] concept model to decide on the size and shape of the finished product. Then they make a larger and more detailed "prototype" model. This gives them a clearer picture of how the finished product will look. The prototype comes in sections that are fitted together like puzzle pieces. The 2 ft × 2 ft (0.6 m × 0.6 m) prototype is fully painted and fitted with bushes and trees. Now the team can work on the final product.

3 Getting Started
The full-size miniature model will be 24 ft × 24 ft (7.2 m × 7.2 m). Building it will take real cooperation among all the SFX team members. The model's base is made of the kind of plastic used in fast food cups and boxes. Model-makers carve the plastic surface to make hills and valleys and rivers and lakes. They use references such as pictures of trees and rocks to guide them. [The] modelmakers [use] photographs of a dry riverbed as a guide.

4 Carving It Out
[Next], the model-makers [cut] out the area of the huge circular lake at the heart of the model. They will then add more surface detail and mark out other features in the landscape.

5 Rebuilding
The model is cut into sections so it can be taken on trucks to the television studio. Since the model is so large and detailed, each section is numbered. That way, when the pieces reach the studio they can be reassembled easily.

6 Foaming the Model
At the studio, the model is put back together, and the miniature trees, rocks, and other surface details are all put in place. Then a technician wearing a special protective suit sprays the model. He uses a light foam made from toxic chemicals. The foam gives the surface of the model a smooth, natural look. He also adds bumps and dips to the surface. This makes it look just like a real landscape.

7 In the Studio
Putting the miniature landscape back together takes a great deal of attention to detail. Every last tree, bush, and rock must be exactly in place. A huge painted backdrop of blue sky streaked with clouds has been placed on the far wall. Lights positioned overhead will give the landscape more texture and shadow.

8 Fixing in Place
Model-makers use a special glue to make sure the sections will not come apart. The glue is carefully dried by hand. Technicians use the same kind of blow-dryer people use on their hair. That way they can aim the hot wind just right so it will not disturb any delicate details on the landscape's surface.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins
by Barbara Kerley


Horse-drawn carriages clattered down the streets of London in 1853. Gentlemen tipped their hats to ladies passing by. Children ducked and dodged on their way to school.

But Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins had no time to be out and about. Waterhouse, as he liked to call himself, hurried toward his workshop in a park south of town. He was expecting some very important visitors. He didn't want to be late.

As he neared his workshop, Waterhouse thought of the hours he'd spent outside as a boy. Like many artists, he had grown up sketching the world around him. By the time he was a young man, he'd found his true passion: animals. He loved to draw and paint them. But what he really loved was sculpting models of them. Through his care and hard work, they seemed to come to life.

Now Waterhouse was busy with a most exciting project: He was building dinosaurs! His creations would prowl the grounds of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's new art and science museum, the Crystal Palace.

Even though the English had found the first known dinosaur fossil many years before—and the bones of more dinosaurs had been unearthed in England since then—in 1853, most people had no idea what a dinosaur looked like.

Scientists weren't sure either, for the only fossils were some bits and pieces—a tooth here, a bone there. But they thought that if they studied a fossil and compared it to a living animal, they could fill in the blanks.

And so, with the help of scientist Richard Owen, who checked every muscle, bone, and spike, that's exactly what Waterhouse was doing. He wanted to create such perfect models that anyone—a crowd of curious children, England's leading scientists, even the Queen herself!—could gaze at his dinosaurs and see into the past.

Waterhouse threw open the doors to his workshop. Nervously, he tidied up here and there. His assistants came, then Richard Owen.

At last, the visitors arrived: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert!

The Queen's eyes grew wide in surprise. Waterhouse's creatures were extraordinary! How on earth had he made them?

He was happy to explain: The iguanodon, for instance, had teeth that were quite similar to the teeth of an iguana. The iguanodon, then, must surely have looked like a giant iguana. Waterhouse pointed out that the few iguanodon bones helped determine the model's size and proportion. And another bone—almost a spike—most likely sat on the nose, like a rhino's horn.

Just so for the megalosaurus. Start with its jawbone. Compare it to the anatomy of a lizard. Fill in the blanks. And voilà! A dinosaur more than forty feet long.

Waterhouse was also making ancient reptiles and amphibians. While Richard Owen could imagine their shapes, it took an artist to bring the animals to life.

Designing the creatures was only the first step. There was still the monumental task of building them.

Waterhouse showed his guests the small models he'd made, correct in every detail, from scales on the nose to nails on the toes. With the help of his assistants, he had formed the life-size clay figures and created the molds from them. Then he erected iron skeletons, built brick foundations, and covered the whole thing with cement casts from the dinosaur-shaped molds.

"It is no less," Waterhouse concluded, "than building a house upon four columns."
]]> Thu, 18 Mar 2021 07:32:09 PDT //ps20.jcboe.org/homeworkItem7175627 //ps20.jcboe.org/apps/classes/1013306/assignments/
• Mahalia Jackson
• Leonardo's Horse

Imagine you are a famous person in your favorite field of music, art, or drama. Write a story for a time capsule, describing the journey of how you became famous. Use details from both texts to help organize an event sequence. Use sensory details and description to develop the events and experiences in your story. Conclude by stating your most important experience from the story. Remember to follow the conventions of standard English grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

_______________________
Mahalia Jackson
by Julius Lester


Mahalia Jackson (1911–1972) was not a blues singer. She sang church songs, gospel, but she knew blues and brought the blues feeling into church music. Other people, like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, grew up singing gospel, too, but they took the gospel feeling and put it into the blues. The words in a gospel song and the words in the blues will be different, but both can make you start moaning like you've just bitten into the best fried chicken anybody ever made. So that's why you have to know about Mahalia Jackson. Even if she didn't sing the blues, she learned a lot from listening to blues singers, and blues singers have learned a lot from listening to her sing gospel.

Mahalia grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, the city where jazz was born and where there is still more good music and good food per block than anyplace in the world. Her father worked on the docks during the day loading bales of cotton on boats, was a barber at night and a preacher on Sundays. When Mahalia was five years old her mother died. Her father took her to live with Mahalia Paul, an aunt who lived nearby and the woman for whom Mahalia Jackson was named. Mahalia never lived with her father again, but she saw him almost every day at his barbershop.

Mahalia grew up loving music, and the person she wanted to sing like was none other than Bessie Smith. But Mahalia's aunt was very religious, and she took Mahalia to church every day. When talking about her childhood, Mahalia said that in her church, "everybody sang and clapped and stomped their feet, sang with their whole bodies! They had the beat, a powerful beat, a rhythm we held on to from slavery days, and [the] music was so strong and expressive, it used to bring the tears to my eyes." It was in church that Mahalia first started singing.

She dropped out of school after the eighth grade and went to work doing people's laundry. Mahalia began hearing stories from relatives and friends about how good life was in Chicago, Illinois. So when she was sixteen, another aunt, Hannah, took her to Chicago to live. Once there, Mahalia joined a gospel group and a church choir while working during the day as a maid in hotels.

It was in Chicago that Mahalia got the chance to see her idol, Bessie Smith, who came to town to put on a show. Years later Mahalia remembered that Bessie "filled the whole place with her voice [and] I never went home until they put us out and closed up for the night."

Mahalia's singing brought her to the attention of Thomas A. Dorsey, who directed a number of gospel choirs in Chicago. Dorsey was the father of gospel music, but earlier in his life he had been the pianist for Ma Rainey, the blues singer Bessie Smith had traveled with. He began taking her to out-of-town churches for concerts and her reputation began to grow almost as fast as you are.

In 1946, Mahalia's first record was released. She would go on to become the most famous gospel singer in the world, and in 1976 she received (posthumously) a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Mahalia was a close friend of Martin Luther King, Jr., and at the March on Washington, he asked her to sing right before he gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Mahalia Jackson had a big voice, and she could go from a high note to a low one as easily as you put one foot in front of the other. She could hold a note until you thought she should run out of breath, and she could put together a lot of notes in a line of music that would take your breath away. And she did it as easily as a cloud floats across the sky.
------------------------------------------
Leonardo's Horse
by Jean Fritz


For a man who liked to ask questions, Leonardo da Vinci was born at the right time—April 15, 1452. Everybody was asking questions then. The age was called the Renaissance, a time of rebirth when people who had forgotten how to be curious became curious again. They were exploring new countries, discovering, inventing, looking at old things in new ways. What was the point, Leonardo asked, in copying what had already been done? He had to bring his own experience into whatever he painted. You wouldn't catch him putting a halo around the head of a saint. How could he? He had never seen a halo.

Leonardo da Vinci turned out to be a famous artist; still, he was not just an artist. He could never be just one thing. He was an engineer, an architect, a musician, a philosopher, an astronomer. Once he fashioned a special kind of flute made of silver in the shape of a horse's head. The ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de' Medici, asked him to deliver it as a gift to the duke of Milan. This was lucky for Leonardo. He had heard that the duke of Milan wanted to honor his father with a bronze horse in front of his palace. And Leonardo wanted to be the one to make it.

This would be his mark on history. Hundreds of years later people would point to the horse. "Leonardo made that," they would say.

So he wrote to the duke, listing all the things that he could do. He could make cannons, lightweight bridges, and covered chariots that couldn't be broken or harmed. On and on he went, but he saved the most important point for the last. He could make a bronze horse. In the end, he didn't send the letter. He simply left for Milan. Never mind that he was in the midst of painting a large religious picture in Florence. Let someone else finish it. He had planned the picture and that was the important part.

Leonardo was thirty years old now, handsome with curly blond hair. The duke gave him the job of working on the horse, but at the same time he was expected to take charge of entertainment in the palace. He had a beautiful singing voice, he could play musical instruments, he could juggle and ask riddles, and he was also asked to stage elaborate plays for special occasions. Whenever he had a chance, he went back to the horse.

He visited the stables, studying how a horse was put together.

He needed to understand everything about his subject. He measured and drew pictures until he knew where all the bones and muscles of a horse were. But you couldn't show all the muscles on a statue, he said, or the horse would look like a bag of turnips. You should show only those muscles the horse was using or getting ready to use.

He visited statues of horses. Many were shown in an amble—left front leg moving at the same time as the left back leg. This was not easy for a horse; he had to be taught to do it. Leonardo saw one horse, however, that he described as free—left front leg and right back leg moving together, in a trot. Moreover, both ears were pointed forward. (Some horses pointed one ear back to hear the rider's orders.)

Leonardo was ready to begin.
]]> Thu, 11 Mar 2021 09:04:35 PST //ps20.jcboe.org/homeworkItem7158761 //ps20.jcboe.org/apps/classes/1013306/assignments/ ]]> Tue, 09 Mar 2021 04:03:05 PST //ps20.jcboe.org/homeworkItem7029963 //ps20.jcboe.org/apps/classes/1013306/assignments/
Introduce the topic in the first paragraph and then develop it using details from the text. Group related information in a logical way. Provide a concluding paragraph that sums up his greatest strength as an artist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leonardo's Horse
by Jean Fritz


For a man who liked to ask questions, Leonardo da Vinci was born at the right time—April 15, 1452. Everybody was asking questions then. The age was called the Renaissance, a time of rebirth when people who had forgotten how to be curious became curious again. They were exploring new countries, discovering, inventing, looking at old things in new ways. What was the point, Leonardo asked, in copying what had already been done? He had to bring his own experience into whatever he painted. You wouldn't catch him putting a halo around the head of a saint. How could he? He had never seen a halo.

Leonardo da Vinci turned out to be a famous artist; still, he was not just an artist. He could never be just one thing. He was an engineer, an architect, a musician, a philosopher, an astronomer. Once he fashioned a special kind of flute made of silver in the shape of a horse's head. The ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de' Medici, asked him to deliver it as a gift to the duke of Milan. This was lucky for Leonardo. He had heard that the duke of Milan wanted to honor his father with a bronze horse in front of his palace. And Leonardo wanted to be the one to make it.

This would be his mark on history. Hundreds of years later people would point to the horse. "Leonardo made that," they would say.

So he wrote to the duke, listing all the things that he could do. He could make cannons, lightweight bridges, and covered chariots that couldn't be broken or harmed. On and on he went, but he saved the most important point for the last. He could make a bronze horse. In the end, he didn't send the letter. He simply left for Milan. Never mind that he was in the midst of painting a large religious picture in Florence. Let someone else finish it. He had planned the picture and that was the important part.

Leonardo was thirty years old now, handsome with curly blond hair. The duke gave him the job of working on the horse, but at the same time he was expected to take charge of entertainment in the palace. He had a beautiful singing voice, he could play musical instruments, he could juggle and ask riddles, and he was also asked to stage elaborate plays for special occasions. Whenever he had a chance, he went back to the horse.

He visited the stables, studying how a horse was put together.

He needed to understand everything about his subject. He measured and drew pictures until he knew where all the bones and muscles of a horse were. But you couldn't show all the muscles on a statue, he said, or the horse would look like a bag of turnips. You should show only those muscles the horse was using or getting ready to use.

He visited statues of horses. Many were shown in an amble—left front leg moving at the same time as the left back leg. This was not easy for a horse; he had to be taught to do it. Leonardo saw one horse, however, that he described as free—left front leg and right back leg moving together, in a trot. Moreover, both ears were pointed forward. (Some horses pointed one ear back to hear the rider's orders.)

Leonardo was ready to begin.
]]> Sat, 20 Feb 2021 09:35:52 PST //ps20.jcboe.org/homeworkItem6959234 //ps20.jcboe.org/apps/classes/1013306/assignments/
You have read two texts about fictional inventions.

• "The Toy Space Shuttle Is Here!"
• The Fabulous Perpetual Motion Machine

Imagine that both inventions are real, affordable, and available in any toy store. Write a 4-5 paragraph review in which you describe both and tell which you think is better and why. State your opinion and offer reasons supported by details from the selections as well as your own ideas. Provide a concluding paragraph that restates your opinion and main reasons. Remember to follow the conventions of standard English grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
-------------------
main selection: https://classroom.google.com/c/Mzc3ODY4Mzg0MDha/a/MjQ3NDAzNTcwNzEz/details
-------------------
The Toy Space Shuttle Is Here!


You've seen the launch of a space shuttle on TV. Now launch one in your backyard!

That's right. The Toy Space Shuttle is an exact replica of a NASA space shuttle. Only it measures just one foot tall and four inches across.

But here's the really big news. The Toy Space Shuttle can do everything that a real space shuttle can do. When you launch the Toy Space Shuttle, it rockets up, up, up into the sky. It keeps soaring until it disappears from sight. That's when you run upstairs to your bedroom. The Toy Space Shuttle comes with its own Mission Control Center, just like the one at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. It is small enough to fit on your desk, but powerful enough to let you track your Toy Space Shuttle while it is in orbit!

You read that correctly. The Toy Space Shuttle can orbit around the Earth!

How do you play with a toy that is so far away? It's easy.

Put on your Mission Control Center headphones. Key in your password. Now that you've logged in, you can see and hear everything that your Toy Space Shuttle is doing. You can even direct your Toy Space Shuttle to take photos of the Earth. It's truly amazing!

Ever wondered what Iceland looks like? Direct your Toy Space Shuttle to fly above it. Punch in the code to tell your Toy Space Shuttle to take some pictures of Iceland. Then download the photos to your computer. Whatever fun you've ever had in your life, there is no way it compares to this!

It's even better if your friend also has a Toy Space Shuttle. Then, you can view each other's shuttle missions. You can even arrange for your Toy Space Shuttles to meet up in orbit! How cool is that?

When you're ready to have your Toy Space Shuttle come back, simply key in the code for HOME. This tells the Toy Space Shuttle to head on home. You can monitor your shuttle's progress from your Mission Control Center. You can even program the Toy Space Shuttle to fly into your bedroom window. Just be sure to leave your window open!

Here's what one happy customer had to say about the Toy Space Shuttle:

"Ever since I got the Toy Space Shuttle, I have been smiling twenty-four hours a day. I rush home from school in order to check in at Mission Control. Will my shuttle be flying near Asia today? or Australia? I can't wait to find out. Because of the Toy Space Shuttle, I have become really interested in space travel. I think I may want to become an astronaut. And I owe it all to this remarkable invention."

Parents will love the Toy Space Shuttle too. One parent who bought it said, "We used to get our children all these fancy toys, which they would misplace or lose. But with the Toy Space Shuttle, we know exactly where that toy is. All we have to do is look at the Mission Control Center."

There is something wonderful about having a toy that can go into orbit. Every time your Toy Space Shuttle comes home, you can give it a hug. It's pretty amazing to have a toy that has flown so high!

In short, if you want to have fun, if you want to learn about space, if you want to be happy, you should run out and buy the Toy Space Shuttle. It is more exciting than any video game. It is more educational than any book about space travel. It is the invention of the century.

So get your Toy Space Shuttle now before they're all gone! For a special price of just $10,000, you will agree that this fabulous and amazing toy is well worth the money.
]]> Thu, 11 Feb 2021 04:44:15 PST