Jump Off
--Pick up a copy of the "Drawing Study Strategy" sheet from the front table as well as a half index card.
--Take out your vocabulary book and open to the Unit #3 word list (page 34). Then, put your book facedown on your desk.
--FYI: I, unfortunately, will be using some of my free block today writing referrals for students from whom I am missing material (e.g., Article of the Week #3).
S. the C.
--agenda/HW
Instruction/Study Strategy Practice -- Vocabulary Unit #3
--Pick up a copy of the "Drawing Study Strategy" sheet from the front table as well as a half index card.
--Take out your vocabulary book and open to the Unit #3 word list (page 34). Then, put your book facedown on your desk.
--FYI: I, unfortunately, will be using some of my free block today writing referrals for students from whom I am missing material (e.g., Article of the Week #3).
S. the C.
--agenda/HW
Instruction/Study Strategy Practice -- Vocabulary Unit #3
--information shared about the "incentive plan"
--"Drawing Study Strategy" MODELED on the SMART Board (word, part of speech, easy-to-remember synonym, and easy-to-visualize drawing)
--reflect upon your performance on the Unit #2 vocabulary quiz one last time and set a rough goal for the Unit #3 quiz on your half-index card
Transition
--Put your vocabulary book and "Drawing Study Strategy" sheet away.
--Turn in your half-index card and your Unit #2 vocabulary quiz to me at the front of the classroom. While you are up there, pick up three Post-its.
--Please take out your copies of the theme tracking documents for both Stage 2 and Stage 3 as well as your copy of "St. Lucy's...". Then, pick three of your highlighted pieces of textual evidence to write on Post-its (one for each theme word). Please write the page number(s) as well. (I WILL MODEL FIRST WITH THREE OF MY PIECES OF TEXTUAL EVIDENCE FOR "COMPASSION/LACK OF COMPASSION".)
Activity/Discussion -- Textual Evidence Dump: Traveling the Path to Theme Statements
--beginning with the end in mind--our ultimate purpose for re-reading the short story:
--"Drawing Study Strategy" MODELED on the SMART Board (word, part of speech, easy-to-remember synonym, and easy-to-visualize drawing)
- split-page notes vs. flashcards
- split-page notes vs. slides
In order to actively engage, a student should...
- put a star next to each of the words that he or she is confident about knowing already
- put a question mark next to each of the words that are "foreign" to him or her (and, therefore, will definitely need to be studied).
- write the words on the lines for each of the sentences
- brainstorm pictures for implementation of the "Drawing Study Strategy".
- AS YOU WORK, I WILL RETURN YOUR UNIT #2 VOCABULARY QUIZ WITH THE ROUGH GOAL YOU SET STAPLED TO IT (BLOCK 2 ACE/BLOCK 2 BDF).*
--reflect upon your performance on the Unit #2 vocabulary quiz one last time and set a rough goal for the Unit #3 quiz on your half-index card
Transition
--Put your vocabulary book and "Drawing Study Strategy" sheet away.
--Turn in your half-index card and your Unit #2 vocabulary quiz to me at the front of the classroom. While you are up there, pick up three Post-its.
--Please take out your copies of the theme tracking documents for both Stage 2 and Stage 3 as well as your copy of "St. Lucy's...". Then, pick three of your highlighted pieces of textual evidence to write on Post-its (one for each theme word). Please write the page number(s) as well. (I WILL MODEL FIRST WITH THREE OF MY PIECES OF TEXTUAL EVIDENCE FOR "COMPASSION/LACK OF COMPASSION".)
Activity/Discussion -- Textual Evidence Dump: Traveling the Path to Theme Statements
--beginning with the end in mind--our ultimate purpose for re-reading the short story:
End-of-Mini-Unit Assessment Writing Prompt:
Write a well-developed paragraph in which you support a meaningful and complex theme statement for Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves." Use at least three pieces of strong textual evidence spanning the entire text, and be sure to tie back to your theme statement often.
--connection made between vocabulary acquisition and "Style" component of academic writing
--column-by-column, stick pieces of textual evidence to the front board under the appropriate theme word
--direct quotation shared so as to share rationale/preview directions:
"As the literary theorist Robert Scholes puts it, reading, conceived "as a submission to the intentions of another[,] is the first step" to understanding what a literary work is saying. For "if we do not postulate the existence of [an author] behind the verbal text," we will "simply project our own subjective modes of thought and desire upon the text." In other words, unless we do the best we can to get at what the author is saying, we will never truly recognize his or her ideas except as some version of our own. Scholes acknowledges that good reading often involves going beyond the author's intention, pointing out contradictions and ideological blind spots, but he argues that we must recognize the author's intention before we can try to see beyond it in these ways" (Graff and Birkenstein, They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, 199).
--directions given/MODELED for small-group discussions (PICK BACK UP HERE IN BLOCK 2 ACE--REVIEWING DIRECTIONS/IN BLOCK 2 BDF, MUST SHARE QUOTE AND GIVE DIRECTIONS)
- Would Karen Russell agree, disagree, etc. with the theme statement written on the front board? How do you know?
- If your group determines that Karen Russell would not agree, what do you think she would say instead? In other words, what seems to be Karen Russell's life philosophy?
- IN ORDER TO EFFECTIVELY ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS, STRONGLY CONSIDER THE EVIDENCE DUMPED ON THE BOARD!
--small groups formed via a drawing of cards
--engage in discussion as per directions
- In discussing life philosophies and textual evidence, you are coming closer to crafting a meaningful and complex theme statement for "St. Lucy's..." ("get[ting] at what the author is saying")!
--before your discussion ends, pick a "spokesperson" to share highlights of your discussion with the whole class
Transition
--re-column the desks
Closure -- Ball Toss
--Begin preparing for the Unit #3 vocabulary quiz, which will take place at the beginning of class on Friday, 12/1 (ACE)/Monday, 12/4 (BDF), bearing in mind your rough goal set during today's class. I invite you to do one or both of the following as part of your preparation process:
- finish your "Drawing Study Strategy" sheet from today's class
- complete the exercises in your vocabulary book, focusing especially on using/underlining context clues whenever the opportunity arises
--Bring your vocabulary book again next class--PLEASE DO NOT FORGET!
--If you struggled on either the Unit #1 or the Unit #2 quiz, take the initiative to meet with me during homeroom or after school so that we can put together a plan of action!
--Strongly consider writing a rough theme statement for "St. Lucy's..." based on today's activity/discussion.
Miscellaneous
--Aim to read at least 10 pages of your free reading book between now and next class. Please consult the "Free Reading--Course Component Fulfillment Options for Marking Periods 1 and 2" sheet for specific information about the forthcoming deadline.
