English 10 Honors--9/19/2013

Jump Off
--Pick up a copy of the sheet titled "The Alchemist Novel Unit--Genre Notes" from the front table and write your name at the top of the page.

S. the C.
--agenda/HW
--OBJECTIVES:
You should leave class with:

• the ability to effectively use the Post-it Note strategy as preparation for rich discussions
• a better understanding of Marquez' "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"  (Why is the story so "weird"?  What is the point of the story?  Etc.)
• a complete understanding of magical realism as a literary genre/mode  (What is magical realism?  What are magical realist authors "up to"?  Etc.)
• viable predictions about Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist based on our work with magical realism and background information about Coelho
• a copy of Coelho's novel and a "plan of attack" for reading the novel......like a boss

--Mr. Martin hands out flu clinic information (and any magnets in Block 4 to those students yet to receive said magnets)

Instruction (cont.)/Discussion -- The Post-it Note Strategy/Gabriel Garcia Marquez' "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"
--rationale behind strategy (possibilities!)/how the strategy will be used in English 10 Honors (reminder)
--list of potentially "Post-itable" items shared (projected on front board from blog post)--any other ideas now that you've purposefully read a story/tried out the strategy?
--Mr. Martin shares his pg. 281 notes--where do his items "fit" on the list?
--independent work time--process through/add Post-its as preparation for discussion/answer the following question on a blank Post-it:

• What is a potential theme statement for this story?

--engage in discussion (our first one--yippee!)--Post-its/responses to question above--segue into concept of magical realism

Transition -- Mr. Martin assigns numbers (1-3)--each number corresponds with a portion of text from the "The Alchemist Novel Unit--Genre Notes" page

Mini-Lesson -- Magical Realism
*SMARTPHONES ARE ALLOWED DURING THIS BLOCK OF TIME!*
--read assigned "chunk" of text for the gist
--read assigned chunk a second time and annotate--let's set our purpose here!
--in small groups based on like chunk, discuss annotations, looked-up items, etc., considering how "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" fits the bill, so to speak
--whole-group discussion
--Closure

• Reconsider your theme statement (and those shared by others) from earlier in class.  As magical realism, Gabriel Garcia Marquez' story contains elements of fantasy, and yet these elements help provide an insight into the true human condition, the way that real human beings think and act.  How so?  Write your response somewhere on your magical realism notes page--Mr. Martin will be around to take a look.

Transition
--return your short story book and pick up a copy of Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist--write your first and last name and book number on the sheet on the front table/write your first and last name and "Mr. Martin" on the inside cover of the novel
--pick up approximately 6-8 Post-its, the quarter-slip titled "What to put on Post-its," and a piece of Scotch tape--stick the quarter-slip to the inside cover of your copy of The Alchemist
--take a look through The Alchemist--get a feel for it
--take out your notebook and date the page (9/19/2013)--label the page "Paulo Coelho--Author Background"

Notetaking/Novel Introduction -- Paulo Coelho--Author Background/The Alchemist
--as Mr. Martin reads information aloud about author Paulo Coelho, jot down notes--based on your understanding of magical realism and significant information about Coelho, what do you think The Alchemist will be like/about?
--share out

HW Time
--oral reading?

HW
--read up to pg. 33 of The Alchemist, including the Introduction and Prologue--demonstrate your best skill level in reading purposefully via the Post-it Note strategy (or?), and expect both to discuss your ideas and for Mr. Martin to collect your work next class--reading assessment next class as well?
--Block 2/Block 4:  Scratch the above objective.  Instead, make sure that you have "a complete understanding of magical realism as a literary genre/mode  (What is magical realism?  What are magical realist authors "up to"?  Etc.)."  To do so, you might consider re-reading today's notes page in its entirety, looking up sources on the internet pertaining to the mode for additional information, etc.  Good luck! 
--Enjoy the weekend--you only get so many of 'em!