English 9--12/13/2018 & 12/14/2018

Jump Off

--Please pick up each of the following from the front table:

• 2 ACE: your copy of the "Theme Statement Comprehension Check" from last class block
• your life philosophy (theme statement!) that you wrote down on an index card last class block
• a copy of the "Theme Statements--The Do Nots/The Dos" sheet.

After reading through the "Theme Statements--The Do Nots/The Dos" sheet together, you will work on improving the sample theme statement for "The Best Nest" written up on the whiteboard.

S. the C.
--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 Frank R. Stockton's "The Lady, or the Tiger?"  Use at least three pieces of strong textual evidence spanning the entire text, and be sure to tie back to your theme statement often.

--You should leave class today...

• a deeper understanding of what makes a theme statement meaningful and complex
• the ability to check the meaning and complexity of a theme statement and access to a resource to do so
• with several rough theme statements written for Frank R. Stockton's "The Lady, or the Tiger?"
• with pieces of strong textual evidence in mind (or, better yet, written down!) for use in support of a theme statement for "The Lady..."

--agenda/HW

Activity/Discussion (Phase 1) -- Writing a Meaningful and Complex Theme Statement

--quietly and independently, come up with potential edits/revisions for the sample theme statement for "The Best Nest" written up on the front board
--"anchored in" to the "Compact for Group Work", share your ideas in pairs in preparation for a drawing of cards
--edit/revise the theme statement via a drawing of cards
--Closure

• Take a look at your (2 ACE: theme statement for "The Best Nest" and) your life philosophy (theme statement!) that you wrote last class block.  What edits/revisions would you make based on your understanding of the first part of today's lesson?
• quick whole-class share-out  

Transition
--Please pick up three Post-its from the front table.

--Take out your copy of the theme tracking document for "The Lady, or the Tiger?" as well as your copy of the story itself.  Then, pick three of your highlighted pieces of textual evidence to write on Post-its (ideally one for each theme word you tracked).  Please write the page number(s) as well.  (I WILL MODEL FIRST WITH THREE OF MY PIECES OF TEXTUAL EVIDENCE ["BARBARISM/SAVAGERY", "FAIRNESS/UNFAIRNESS", AND "POWER".)

Activity/Discussion (Phase 2) -- Textual Evidence Dump: Traveling the Path to Theme Statements

--column-by-column, stick pieces of textual evidence to the front board under the appropriate theme word heading

Activity/Discussion (Phase 3) -- Engaging in Reasoning: Traveling the Path to Theme Statements

--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

• Would Frank R. Stockton 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 Frank R. Stockton would not completely agree or would completely disagree, what do you think she would say instead?  In other words, what seems to be Frank R. Stockton's life philosophy?
• IN ORDER TO EFFECTIVELY ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS, STRONGLY CONSIDER THE EVIDENCE DUMPED ON THE BOARD!

--"anchor in" to the "Compact for Group Work"
--small groups formed via a drawing of cards/themes selected/directions halfsheet picked up from the front table ("Crafting a Rough Theme Statement")
--make any necessary edits/revisions using orange marker based on your understanding of the first part of today's lesson
--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 "The Lady..." ("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" 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 (time permitting)

HW (Practice/Take-Home Assessment/Class Preparation)
--Complete 45 minutes of Membean training in three different days before 11:59 PM on Thursday, 12/20 (see the "English Department Membean Routine" sheet).
HW (Class Preparation)
--Move forward with regard to writing a theme statement for your End-of-Unit Writing Piece:

• If you wrote a rough theme statement between last class and today, reread/revise it based on anything that resonated with you during today's class block.  Also, take a look at your "Theme Statements--The Do Nots/The Dos" sheet and use it to check the quality of your rough theme statement, further revising your sentence(s) accordingly.
• Strongly consider working further with your "Textual Evidence/Rough Theme Statement" sheet: 
• Pick a couple of the rough theme statements from today's class block.  Then, use your "Theme Statements--The Do Nots/The Dos" sheet to check the quality of/revise the rough theme statements.

--Read at least 10 pages of your free reading book between now and next class.  ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS!  

• "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one" (George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons).  

On the backburner:

• Using "The Best Nest" as outline and paragraph model