English 9--9/28/2016 & 9/29/2016

Jump Off (3-5 mins.)

--Take out your notebook and date the page in the lefthand margin (9/28/2016 [ACE] or 9/29/2016 [BDF]).  Label this section of your notes as follows: "My Definition of Tone".  After carefully reading the following definition several times, write your own, simplified version of the definition in your notebook.  Complete this task quietly and independently, and be ready to share your definition with a peer and/or the entire class.  Good luck! 

• A writer's tone is the attitude he or she has toward the subject about which and/or audience to which he or she is speaking.  A writer's tone can be described using adjectives such as the following: angry, honest, ironic, etc.

"Hook"/Warm-Up (10-12 mins.)
--pair/share as per the "Jump Off" in order to clarify the definition of tone--add to your notes accordingly!
Tone in Email Correspondence 
--"set the table" for the reading about to be shared
--Your purpose:

• When listening to the return email from me to "Random Student", determine my tone. Remember that a writer's tone is the attitude he or she has toward the subject about which and/or audience to which he or she is speaking. A writer's tone can be described using adjectives such as any of those from the list below:
• angry
• arrogant
• baffled
• depressed
• detached
• formal
• honest
• instructional
• intimate
• ironic
• neutral
• outraged
• playful
• serene
• serious
• tender

--brief discussion as per your purpose--cards drawn if necessary

• What was the subject of my email?
• Who was the audience of my email?
• What was my tone in the email?
• How do you know?

S. the C. (8-10 mins.)

--today's class is an RI.2, RI.3, and RI.4-driven lesson with informal assessments of RI.4 occurring throughout the block

• RI.4: English 9 students can determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact on meaning and tone.
• What does this standard ask students to do?
• What did you just do with the email from me to "Random Student"?!
• On a scale of 1-5+, how would you rate your mastery of this standard? BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF.

--today's class also presents an opportunity to apply standard SL.1 by aiming to participate effectively in a collaborative discussion--you will likely pose and respond to questions, incorporate each other into the discussion, and challenge/verify each other's ideas and conclusions
--agenda/HW

Purposeful Rereading/Informal Assessment/Discussion -- Central Idea and Tone in "Letter One of Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet (20 mins.--STOPWATCH)

--Purposefully reread as much of Rilke's letter as you can in 10 minutes quietly and independently.

• Your purpose:
• Continue jotting down curious questions whenever such questions enter your mind (listen for them!)
• Continue underlining key words/details with RI.2 in mind
• Make connections between the conclusions we drew in class last time and the text, annotating accordingly
• Draw boxes around any words or phrases that help you figure out what Rilke's tone is (RI.4)
• FYI: THESE ANNOTATIONS, IF DONE WELL, WILL COME IN EXTREMELY HANDY DURING THE INFORMAL ASSESSMENT THAT FOLLOWS THIS PORTION OF THE LESSON AND THE NEXT FORMAL ASSESSMENT PERTAINING TO THIS LETTER!

--informal assessment of RI.4 (SEE FRONT BOARD/BELOW):

Hold up a finger or fingers to indicate which word best characterizes Rilke's tone:

1. arrogant
2. detached
3. honest
4. instructional
5. neutral

--share out as per purposeful rereading/address my related questions (cards drawn if necessary)--as I mark up the text on the SmartBoard, do the same on your personal copy of the text

"Cool-Down"/Full-Circle Ending (3-5 mins.)
--let's talk about "Random Student" again and what he's up to now...

• What do you think Rainer Maria Rilke would have to say about this circumstance?  How do you know?

Teambuilding Activity -- Artifact Bags (time permitting)

--I hand a paper bag to a random student--he/she then displays items from the bag one at a time, briefly describing what he/she is seeing
--guess who?!
--owner of bag further describes, explains, and shares an anecdote as a form of introduction to teacher/peers
--REPEAT THE PROCESS...

DEAR -- Free Reading Books (time permitting)

--students without books will read Upfront newsmagazine

HW (Class Preparation)
--Read your free reading book for at least 10 minutes between now and next class.  ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS.  You have up until the first full week of December to finish your book.