Jump Off
--Take out your notebook and open it to the "Terms/Concepts/Tips--A Running List" section. Then, write down each of the following terms/concepts, skipping about five lines after each item.
S. the C.
--During today's discussion, we will continue working on:
--Take out your notebook and open it to the "Terms/Concepts/Tips--A Running List" section. Then, write down each of the following terms/concepts, skipping about five lines after each item.
- aphorism
- dilemma
- fable
- foil
- genre
- interior monologue
- leitmotif
- magical realism
- monomyth (hero's journey)
- motif
- myth
- quest
S. the C.
--During today's discussion, we will continue working on:
- citing strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- participating effectively in a collaborative discussion, building on others' ideas and expressing our own clearly and persuasively. This includes:
- coming to the discussion prepared, having read and researched the material under study and explicitly drawing on that preparation by referring to evidence from the text (as noted above) and additional reading/research to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.
- propelling conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporating others into the discussion; and clarifying, verifying, or challenging ideas and conclusions.
- responding thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualifying or justifying our own views and understanding and making new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
- THIS MULTI-PART STANDARD WILL BE ASSESSED TODAY VIA THE "DISCUSSION CONTRIBUTION RATING SCALE."
- determining a theme or central idea of a text and analyzing in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details.
- analyzing how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
- determining the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyzing the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
- analyzing how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
--list of students needing to revise for the Cumulative Writing Portfolio shared--would anyone like to schedule a meeting for a time slot during my Office Hours?
Transition
--Take out your copy of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. Spend a few minutes reviewing your purposeful Post-its completed in preparation for class three blocks ago. What can you contribute to today’s discussion?
- For example, as an individual tasked to analyze theme in the beginning of the novella, I might share the following information:
- I noticed that Paulo Coelho starts off with a Prologue retelling the story of Narcissus. I know that this myth typically ends with Narcissus drowning due to his obsession with his own beauty, but in Coelho’s retelling, the following text exists in the conclusion on page x: “‘I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.’” I am wondering what Coelho is up to beginning the novella with this “twisted” retelling. Is this the emergence of “selfishness” as a theme?Is this meant to suggest that not only is Narcissus, well, narcissistic, but so is the lake and, therefore, all of nature, humanity, existence, etc.? However, the sentence following the one I just shared says, “‘What a lovely story,’ the alchemist thought.” Why is a story perhaps about “selfishness,” a quality that typically connotes negatively, thought of as “lovely” by the title character? Will Coelho convey some sort of big idea about selfishness as a positive quality? I must attempt to track this throughout the novella!
Circle Discussion -- Article-of-the-Week #6 & Applying Foster's Work to Coelho's Work
--discuss interpretations of Business First rankings
--draw connections between Foster's "list of 18" and the beginning of Coelho's novel/closely read the beginning of The Alchemist
Transition -- re-column the desks
Closure -- Today, I learned...
--Write your name on a scrap of paper.
--Directions: Reflect back upon today's class. Then, complete the sentence-starter above by writing a few specific sentences. Somewhere within what you write, you must properly punctuate/use a nonrestrictive element. Feel free to consult any helpful materials from last week.
--When finished, submit your work.
HW
--Find quality definitions for each of the terms/concepts copied into your notes today during the Jump Off. Consider consulting the following websites:
- https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms.html
- http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nawol3/literaryterms.aspx
--Actively/purposefully read up to the end of page 47 of The Alchemist by the beginning of next class. (See me if you need more Post-it Notes.) Expect to engage in discussion about your thoughts, ideas, questions, etc.
--Expect an assessment of your knowledge and understanding regarding Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist soon (perhaps next class?). Consider the concepts that we have discussed in our circles/small-group discussions and the suggestions for active/purposeful reading. What are some logical questions/prompts that I could use for assessment purposes?
--Article-of-the-Week will return next week (November 10th-November 14th)!
--The due date for submitting a revised Thematic Writing Assignment--Partner Interviews essay for the Cumulative Writing Portfolio is November 17th (two weeks from today)--YOU MUST schedule a meeting with me to go over your revisions; simply handing in the revisions is unacceptable as per the protocol. When time permits, meetings can/will occur during class time.
--Bring your vocabulary book next time just in case we need it. Please do not forget!
--Don't forget about your free reading book. ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS.
Backburner:
- hand out end-of-unit writing assignment (clarity in terms of where we’re headed)
