10.31.13

Happy Halloween!!

You may be tiny now, but with a growth mindset, you can have a big roar!

Objective:
I can analyze the skills and knowledge necessary for success in this unit.

I can think critically about visual texts, and analyze the performativity of perspectives.

1.  Launch

    1a.  What's the story here?

    1b.  Response Form
2.  Presentation:
   2a.  Unit Overview
   2b.  The Collective Perspective: Powerpoint for Notes
3.  Practice:
   3a.  Take notes
   3b.  Group poster
   3c.  Share out
4.  Exit Ticket

Reminder:
Socratic Seminar is tomorrow!!!

10.30.13

Objectives:
I can work collaboratively with peers to have a discussion about class texts and materials.

1.  Launch
2.  Socratic Seminar Prep:  Putting Together Sources
   2a.  Make a copy of my document
   2b.  Name it: Firstname Lastname Stranger Socratic Prep
   2c.  Make sure you click "Anyone with the link" for the privacy settings
3.  Group Work
   3a.  Your peers are your greatest asset!  Ask three before me.
   3b.  Thought-partner with Ms. G, as necessary
   3c.  Time to prepare!
4.  Exit Ticket - Submission form


Our Socratic Seminar will be on Friday!!!!  You have today and tomorrow to finish preparing for it.  See me or call/text me with any questions :)

10.29.13

Objective:
I can analyze the background and history of a text.
I can analyze the theme's development over the course of a text through character, setting, and plot.
I can work collaboratively with peers to have a thoughtful discussion about class texts and materials.

1.  Launch

2.  Chunk 7 -- read whole class

    2a.  Circle the words "America" and "American."  

    2b.  Consider what the repetition of these words reflects about Baldwin's purpose and audience. 

3.  Chunk 8 -- read whole class

4.  Exit Ticket

Homework:

Write two more entries in your Double Entry Journal, focusing on the readings from yesterday and today. I will be checking for completion during class tomorrow. 

10.28.13

Objectives:

I can analyze a theme's development over the course of a text through character, setting, and plot.

I can analyze the difference in points of view of characters and audience or reader.

1.  Launch
   1a.  When you finish early, review your Double-Entry Journal for Stranger in the Village

2.  Reviewing Chunk 6
    2a.  Whole class reading
    2b. Answer the following questions at the bottom of your Double Entry Journal:

1. Content:  Discuss the new description of the village in which Baldwin is a stranger.  
2. How does Baldwin's diction advance his tone and/or theme?  
3. Craft:  Why is Baldwin's thesis presented in three sentences ( paragraph 14)?  What effect does the syntax of this paragraph have on the reader?

3.  Chunk 7 -- read in small groups

    3a.  Circle the words "America" and "American."  

    3b.  Consider what the repetition of these words reflects about Baldwin's purpose and audience. 

4.  Chunk 8 -- read whole class


Homework:
Socratic Seminar Prep
    

10.23.13

Objective:
I can write a narrative using real experiences, using effective rhetorical devices, and well-structured event sequences.


1.  Launch

2.  Presentation:
   2a.  How do I write a decent intro? Conclusion?

3.  Practice:
   3a. Make sure your document is entitled EA2 Reflective Essay Firstname Lastname
   3b.  Conferences with Ms. G to trouble-shoot
   3c.  Thought-partner with peers as needed

4.  Resources/Reminders:
   4a.  Reflective Essay Rubric
   4b.  Reminder of assignment (which is due TOMORROW by 8AM):  "Your task is to write a reflective essay that illustrates an event in which you or someone you know felt like a "stranger in the village" or was perceived as "strange" by some group.
   4c.  Student Exemplar

5.  Submission Form


Think you're done?  ...well, if you're in class, you're working!! Don't waste instructional time, use every second to make your essay exceptional.
Here are some tips:
    1.  Add dialogue
    2.  Add a quote from the text ("Stranger in the Village" or "Shooting an Elephant") -- reference your Double-Entry Journals for guidance
    3.  Add more sensory detail
    4.  Relate it to Cultural Criticism!

10.22.13

Objective:
I can write a narrative using real experiences, using effective rhetorical devices, and well-structured event sequences.


1.  Launch:
   1a.  Launch

2.  Presentation:
   2a.  Reflective Essay Rubric
   2b.  Reminder of assignment (which is due TOMORROW):  "Your task is to write a reflective essay that illustrates an event in which you or someone you know felt like a "stranger in the village" or was perceived as "strange" by some group.
   2c.  Student Exemplar

3.  Practice:
   3a. Make sure your document is entitled EA2 Reflective Essay Firstname Lastname
   3b.  Conferences with Ms. G to trouble-shoot
   3c.  Thought-partner with peers as needed

10.21.13

Objective:
I can write a narrative using real experiences, using effective rhetorical devices, and well-structured event sequences.


1.  Launch:
   1a.  Dialogue Practice
   1b.  Guiding Question:  How can I utilize dialogue in my Embedded Assessment, to improve it and better convey the feelings I want to express?

2.  Presentation:
   2a.  Reflective Essay Rubric
   2b.  Reminder of assignment (which is due WEDNESDAY):  "Your task is to write a reflective essay that illustrates an event in which you or someone you know felt like a "stranger in the village" or was perceived as "strange" by some group.
   2c.  Student Exemplar

3.  Practice:
   3a.  Reflective Essay Outline
   3b.  Reminder of pre-work completed already (template here)
   3c.  Work time and thought-partner with Ms. G (and peers)
   3d.  Make sure your document is entitled EA2 Reflective Essay Firstname Lastname

Checklist:

10.18.13

Launch:
Turn and talk to a partner about what your reflective essay will be about.  Be ready to share out your final topic.

Presentation:
Reflective Essay

10.17.13

Objectives:
I can understand the background and history of a text.
I can analyze a theme's development over the course of a text through character, setting, and plot.
I can write a narrative using real experiences, using effective rhetorical devices, and well structured event sequences.



1.  Launch
   1a.  Turn and talk - What do we know about the essay so far?  What questions do we have about the text?
2.  Announcements
   2a.  Gay-Straight Alliance
   2b.  College Essay-Writing Boot Camp
3.  Check-in about work completed in Ms. G's absence.
   3a.  Whip around - Activating Prior Knowledge
   3b.  Debrief questions
4.  Continue with Stranger in the Village
   4a.  Chunk 7
   4b.  Chunk 8
5.  Reflective Essay (Benchmark Performance Task)
   5a.  Previewing the Embedded Assessment 2
   5b.  Reminder of pre-work completed already (template here)
   5c.  Student Exemplar
6.  Exit Ticket

10.14.13

Objectives:

I can understand the background and history of a text.

I can analyze a theme's development over the course of a text through character, setting, and plot.



Hello my wonderful seniors!  I miss you guys today!  I am trusting you to be self-directed, so please make efficient use of your time.  We don't have a moment to waste, so try your best to work through Stranger in the Village on your own!

1.  Reread Chunk 5, which we read together.  This section is significant because it begins a shift in Baldwin's emotional reaction to is treatment as a "stranger."  The topic sentence of paragraph 11 begins the shift to his major argument about the black man and the American experience.

Answer the following questions in your Double-Entry Journal:
    1a.  Craft:  What is the effect of the syntactical structure of the last sentence in paragraph 9?
    1b.  Think about the sentence in paragraph 12:  "...the root function of language is to control the universe by describing it."  Make a text-to-self connection with this quote, and mark it in your Double-Entry Journal.
          i.  If you are struggling with what this means, consider that words have power, and the way we                 talk affects the way we view the world.
         ii.  Consider the effect of code-switching...why do we use different language in different                             situations and contexts?  What happens when we fail to code-switch effectively?
    1c.  Remember the example from Friday about Luis Rodriguez's book Always Running (white teacher's slur toward Chicana student).  Consider the last sentence in paragraph 12:  "What one's imagination makes of other people is dictated, of course, by the laws of one's own personality and it is one of the ironies of black-white relations that, by means of what the white man imagines the black man to be, the black man is enabled to know who the white man is."

2.  Read Chunk 6 (paragraphs 14-15), and answer the following questions [both aloud with your peers, and in your Double-Entry Journals]:
     2a.  Content:  Discuss the new description of the village in which Baldwin is a stranger.  Find a quote that exemplifies the shift in tone.
    2b.  Style:  How does Baldwin's diction advance his tone and/or theme?  Quote from the text to support your claim.
    2c.  Craft:  Why is Baldwin's thesis presented in three sentences (paragraph 14)?  What effect does the syntax of this paragraph have on the reader?  Be prepared to share out your thoughts on this paragraph, as we will discuss this aloud together.


Reminders:

• Benchmark tomorrow!  Be well rested, and Ms. G will bring treats!  I believe in you, and I'm proud of you!
• Whatever you haven't finished in class today will be homework.  My expectation is that you have read and annotated through paragraph 15, by class on Wednesday. 
• Come to my SAT prep club tomorrow after school!
• Friday is a minimum day, and you should come to my College Essay Writing Boot Camp afterschool!

10.11.13

Objective:
I can understand the background and history of a text.

I can analyze a theme's development over the course of a text through character, setting, and plot.

1.  Launch:
    1a.  Malala Yousafzai and the White Saviour Complex
    1b.  Response Form (when you finish, proceed to 2a)

2.  Reading "Stranger in the Village"
    2a.  Answer the questions in purple, in the Discussion Guide 
          (you started them yesterday, in your Double Entry Journals)
   2b.  Chunk 4 - Individual
   2c.  Chunk 5 - Whole class

3.  Use your Glossary to double-check words, in addition to using context clues.
4.  Exit Ticket

10.10.13

Objectives:
I can understand the background and history of a text.
I can analyze a theme's development over the course of a text through character, setting, and plot.

1.  Launch: Activating Prior Knowledge
2.  Reading "Stranger in the Village"
     2a.  Chunk #3 - Whole class
     2b.  Chunk #4 - In groups
     2c.  Chunk #5 - Whole class
3.  Use your Discussion Guide to pull out quotes for your Double Entry Journal (personal copy from template).
4.  Use your Glossary to double-check words, in addition to using context clues!
5.  Exit ticket:  Watch this video (Malala Yousafzai leaves Jon Stewart speechless) about cultural clashes going on in our world today!

10.9.13

Objectives:
I can understand the background and history of a text.
I can analyze a theme's development over the course of a text through character, setting, and plot.

1.  Launch:
   1a.  Stranger in the Village Photo Analysis
   1b.  Response Form
2.  Presentation:
   2a.  James Baldwin Background
   2b.  Notes
   2c.  Reading Guide (if you don't know a word, check it out!)
   2d.  Discussion Guide (questions to prompt your analysis!)
3.  Make your annotation journal!
   3a.  Make a copy of my Double Entry Journal with your full name.
          Ex: Sarah Gzesh Double Entry Journal
   3b.  Share it with me
4.  Activating Prior Knowledge
   4a.  Consider Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant."  How did that narrator feel?  What did he do?
5.  Reading Stranger in the Village, beginning on page 69 of your Springboard editions.
    5a.  Chunk 1 - Whole Class
    5b.  Chunk 2 - Mesa Groups
6.  Exit Ticket

Homework:
Read this article in The Atlantic Journal. 

10.8.13

Objective:

I can analyze a theme's development over the course of a text through character, setting, and plot.

I can analyze the difference in points of view of characters and the audience or reader.


1.  Launch:  Live your passions!

2.  Group Essay Jigsaw
   2a.  Group of three
   2b.  Create norms of collaboration, this is an exercise in academic integrity and accountability.  You should all make commitments to one another, and it needn't be moderated by me.
   2c. One person should make a copy of the template, and then share it with me and your group members.

3.  Work time, while Ms. G reviews your homework (Pre-Writing EA2)

4.  Exit Ticket

Homework:

Building Background Knowledge -- James Baldwin
You may complete this assignment either on paper or as a google document.  You should all have internet access, either after school or on your phones, etc.

10.2.13

Objective:

I can analyze a theme's development over the course of a text through character, setting, and plot.

I can analyze the difference in points of view of characters and the audience or reader.

1.  Vocab Quiz
    1a.  If you finish early, review your homework from last night to prepare for group work.
    1b.  If you still have extra time, peruse the materials in the "interesting articles" tab.

2.  Group Essay Prompt
    2a.  Group of three
    2b.  Create norms of collaboration -- this is an exercise in academic integrity. You should all make commitments to one another, and it needn't be moderated by me.
    2c.  One person should make a copy of the template, and then share it with me and your group members.

3.  Work time

4.  Exit Ticket

Homework over the break:

1.  Complete Prewriting Activity for EA2

2.  Preview "Stranger in the Village" by James Baldwin

3.  If you miss our Socratic Seminar, or got a low grade on it:
    3a.  Select one of our prep questions from our Socratic Seminar Discussion Guide
    3b.  Create a five to six paragraph essay with a clear thesis and supporting evidence.
    3c.  Your work is due on October 9th.

10.1.13

Objective:

I can analyze a theme's development over the course of a text through character, setting, and plot.

I can analyze the difference in points of view of characters and the audience or reader.

1.  Launch

2.  Presentation:
    2a.  Pedro Flores -- "Brown Dreams"
    2b.  Read Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell
    2c.  Actual text is in your Springboard Editions, pages 58-64

3.  Double-Entry Journal

4.  Class Discussion

5.  Exit Ticket

Reminder:  CULTURAL CRITICISM QUIZ TOMORROW!

Homework:
Finish reading the story (we left off at 6:55 in the audio recording, top of page 61), and make sure you have a total of five entries in your Double-Entry Journal.