Tuesday, 12/14: Prepositions, Vocab, 120, Interviews

LINK TO MAUS II ONLINE: https://uniteyouthdublin.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/spiegelman-maus-ii.pdf

“Prepositions, 12/14.” Write the prepositional phrases you find in each sentence. Each sentence has two.
BONUS: What’s wrong with #5?

  1. The family of llamas camped by the lake because it was peaceful.
  2. I found an old photo of a toothless llama in the attic, and Mom made me throw it away.
  3. Llamas live in burrows and under brush, and they are cute.
  4. Llamas have been used for transportation in many places, but that is not a llama.
  5. The llama mailed the letter to his grandma at the post office.

“Vocab, 12/14.”  mesmerize, miser, hypochondria, pandemonium, defray, subjugate, resolute, intercede, disgruntled, wallow, pauper
 Excitement_After_the_Game  Mediator

  1. _____
  2. _____
  3. _____
  4. _____
  5. They took up a collection to help _____ the cost of the party.
  6. Many of you have pretended to be sick to get out of stuff, but a _____(c) actually believes he is sick.
  7. Mala says that, even though Vladek is rich, he still lives like a _____. (Not miser.)
  8. The emperor’s armies _____(ed) the surrounding kingdoms.
  9. Anja was ______ about not giving up Richieu until it was too late to save him.
  10. The prefix of this word means between. _____
  11. The root of this word is the same as its meaning: to roll about.  _____
  12. The roots of this word meant under the yoke. _____
  13. The root of this word meant wretched. _____

120 Seconds.

  1. (1-6) Introduction-Presentation: How well done? Did reader give title, author, and genre of the book and brief setting of the scene? Did reader capture the audience’s attention immediately?
  2. (1-6) Mechanics: Reading Clarity. Is the pacing good? Are words pronounced correctly and easily understood? Are words read slowly enough for the audience’s understanding? Is there enough volume?
  3. (1-6) Stage Presence: Does the reader appear confident? Does the reader establish eye contact with the audience during the intro? Are gestures, if any, natural and appropriate to the reading? Does it look like she/he has practiced?
  4. (1-6) Reading Interpretation: Are characters identifiable/differentiated by your voice? Can you tell when it’s a question? Can you tell when description ends and dialogue begins? CAN YOU AVOID THE MONOTONE DRONE?
  5. (1-6) Quality of Selection:  Is it entertaining, whether dramatic, suspenseful, or funny? Does it make us want to read the book?
  6. (1-6) Audience Appeal: Is the reader holding the listeners’ attention? Overall impression?

Work on Interviews. CHROMEBOOKS! Final Drafts are due Tuesday, 12/21.

  • Introduction: Setting. Description of scene/setting. How it was set up. Why you chose this person. Relationship to this person.
  • Description of person. Show, don’t tell.
    • Looks. (Details.)
    • Voice and choice of words. Delivery.
    • Personality. (Bitter? Enthusiastic? Happy? Lost in memories? Crabby?  What?)
  • The intro/description should be 350+ words.
  • Interview.
    • Questions you asked, followed by answers and follow up.
    • You may summarize their answers, but please include at least three good quotes (word for word, as close as you can get) that use the person’s actual words.
  • Conclusion: Discuss what you learned, most surprising info, most interesting, change in attitude toward older people, etc. About 75-100+ words.
  • Come up with a creative title that sums up the interview.

Examples of Intros:

“Hello Papa. I was wondering if you had time to start the interview right now?” I sent the text to my Grandpa, whom I refer to as Papa. “Sure, that’ll be fine. I’ll get ready” he sent back. I grabbed my notebook and pencils, questions, and tape recorder and headed into the office room. We had set up a week ago to FaceTime; he said he would be glad to answer my questions. The window right next to the computer was making a lot of noise, so I shut it. I logged into FaceTime, and got a call from Papa a few minutes after.

He was FaceTiming me from his iPad camera, situated in the living room. He held the iPad at an upward angle, showing most of the top of his head. I started the recorder and we got started.

Papa has short, dark grey hair that is very soft and thin. He has a large bald spot on the top of his head, and the bald spot always looks shiny. He has yellow looking teeth and a smile that lights up the entire room. Papa’s eyes are a sky blue, protected by square glasses that catch every glimpse of light. His ears are big, so are his smile wrinkles and dimples.

Papa’s voice is deep but smooth, sometimes replaced by coughing. He has a very distinct scent that sticks to all of his clothes. Papa is 75 years old and lives near the sea in San Diego, California. He was originally born in Canada. Papa is fond of traveling to very different places and playing golf with his friends. He is very laid back and chill, and laughs with a smile you can see in his eyes. He is very intelligent and “tech savvy” as well. Papa enjoys to write letters to me, and I enjoy writing back.


Anne Bachmann is 74 years old, and is fit for her age. She swims every day at 5:30 AM for one hour at a swimming club close to her house. She looks like a very kind person, and she is. She has light brown hair that is thin and vibrant blue eyes. Her voice is very inviting and sweet, light but demanding. She has many wrinkles, because she smiles so much. Her smile is amazing. It could easily make anyones day. Her teeth aren’t quite white, but they definitely aren’t yellow.
    I chose this person because she does so much even at her age, and she’s a pretty awesome grandma. I asked her if she would like to do the interview at my great uncles, and she said she would love to, so we scheduled a phone call later the next day. This interview took place over phone. I’m in my room with my pencil, questions, and computer  at the ready. I pick up my phone and dial my grandpa’s and grandma’s home phone because my grandma doesn’t know how to use her Samsung Galaxy S6. I look at the questions and start to right down the first question. “Hi grandma.”
    “Hey there Joey!”
    “Are you ready to start the interview?”
    “Sure, what’s the first question?” And the interview began.

My grandma, who I call Lita, seemed to enjoy being interviewed and showed appreciation for the challenge of remembering what it was like growing up. A few times, she had to really think about a question, and might even ask my grandpa, who I call Lito, who may have the answer to the question. Lito is not as talkative as Lita, so he wasn’t extensively descriptive with his answers. When Lita saw I was taking notes, she would slow down the pace of her talking so I could write. She was thoughtful and kind, and I had a fun time interviewing her.

When Lita is concentrating, she sticks her tongue slightly out of her mouth. I saw her do this multiple times while asking questions. I also noticed that she had a soccer game on in the background and every once in awhile she would turn to Lito and ask if their team had scored.

Lita has light grey, smooth, soft hair. She wears glasses with little nose pads and an oval rim. Her voice is happy and bubbly. When she speaks it is like the room lights up. I love talking to her! Since she lives in Washington, the home state of rain, she usually wears a sweatshirt and jeans, but in the summer she wears nice t-shirts and occasionally a tank top with shorts.