--See if you can find your "Determining Unfamiliar Words--Common Context Clues/What to Look for" halfsheet in your binder. Perhaps its contents will help you successfully complete the task set forth below?
--Open your vocabulary book to page 37. Mindfully complete the "Choosing the Right Word" exercise on pages 37 and 38 quietly and independently.
Transition
--Open your vocabulary book to page 37. Mindfully complete the "Choosing the Right Word" exercise on pages 37 and 38 quietly and independently.
- underline the specific context clues within each sentence that help you determine which word you select (skill-building)
- be prepared to share your logic later in the class block (as several students did on review day during our Unit #2 work)
*I CAN MODEL FIRST WITH #1 TO GET YOU STARTED!*
S. the C.
S. the C.
--goals from half index cards shared
--You should leave class today...
Review -- Vocabulary Unit #3: Choosing the Right Word
--You should leave class today...
- having practiced metacognition with regard to using context clues and, hopefully, better prepared to execute this skill set on the Unit #3 vocabulary quiz next class
- with deeper knowledge and understanding of many of this week's vocabulary words
- with a sense of which words to further study in preparation for the quiz next class
- ready to write a rough theme statement for Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" (and maybe even with a rough theme statement actually written!)
Review -- Vocabulary Unit #3: Choosing the Right Word
--finish mindfully completing the "Choosing the Right Word" exercise--feel free to wrap up with a partner!
--answers shared with emphasis on corresponding pictures (SEE POWERPOINT SLIDES) and context clues
Transition
--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...".
Activity/Discussion -- Traveling the Path to Theme Statements
--beginning with the end in mind--our ultimate purpose for re-reading the short story:
Activity/Discussion -- 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.
--Block 3 BDF: connection made between vocabulary acquisition and "Style" component of academic writing
--Block 2 BDF/Block 3 BDF: 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).
--Block 2 ACE (review)/Block 2 BDF and Block 3 BDF (give): directions given/MODELED for small-group discussions
- Would Karen Russell strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree, disagree, etc. with the life philosophy written on the front board? How do you know?
- If your group determines that Karen Russell would not completely agree or would completely disagree, 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/themes selected/directions halfsheet picked up from the front table ("Crafting a Rough Theme Statement")
--engage in discussion as per directions
- In discussing textual evidence and life philosophies, you are coming closer to crafting a meaningful and complex theme statement for "St. Lucy's..." ("get[ting] at what the author is saying")!
--at the close of your discussion, pick a "spokesperson" to share with the whole class highlights of your discussion as well as your group's rough theme statement
Transition
--re-column the desks/pick up a copy of the "Textual Evidence/Rough Theme Statements--End of Stage 3" sheet from the front table
Closure -- Ball Toss
Transition
--re-column the desks/pick up a copy of the "Textual Evidence/Rough Theme Statements--End of Stage 3" sheet from the front table
Closure -- Ball Toss
- spokespeople share/classmates jot down notes
- At the end of this block of time, one halfsheet per group must be placed in the black basket on the front table.
HW Time
HW (Class Preparation)--Finish preparing for the Unit #3 vocabulary quiz, which will take place at the beginning of NEXT class (Friday, 12/1 [ACE]/Monday, 12/4 [BDF]), bearing in mind your rough goal set during last class block. If you have not already done so, I strongly encourage you to do one or both of the following as part of your preparation process:
- finish and use your "Drawing Study Strategy" sheet from last class block OR use the PowerPoint slides from today's class (available in the stack on the front table)
- complete the rest of the exercises in your vocabulary book, focusing especially on using/underlining context clues whenever the opportunity arises
--Strongly consider working further with your "Textual Evidence/Rough Theme Statement--End of Stage 3" sheet so that you come to class next time with several rough theme statements in mind.
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. Wednesday, 12/6 is the magic day!
