English II Agenda: Week of March 3 through 7
Monday, 3/3
IRLA #1: New set/new heading. Last set due now. Review your reference handout “Checklist: Elements of Literary Style.” As you read today and throughout the rest of the week, be aware of your author’s style. Think about what stands out to you. Select a different element each day and formulate a thesis statement (evidence-based claim, controlling idea) about your author’s use of this element—HOW he uses it, to what effect, what the impact is, WHY he uses it. Support your thesis statement with at least three concrete examples that illustrate and support your reasoning.
Remember: All IRLA responses are to be complete, well-supported paragraphs with clear topic sentences and EVIDENCE to support your opinions. This evidence takes the form of quotes and specific references to the events, characters and setting in your novel.
Work Period: Continue working with “High Adventure: A Narrative of Air Fighting in France,” by Captain James Norman Hall.
· Our objective the last time through (purpose for reading) is to answer, in a very specific way, the three guiding questions selected to focus our analysis. These answers are based on your analysis, and each one can be supported by pointing to specific evidence in the text. That makes them EVIDENCE-BASED CLAIMS (or thesis statements).
Wrap-up: Select the strongest of your three EBCs and copy it over to the “Analyzing Details” worksheet. Select the three BEST details from the text that answer your question. (Be sure to note the paragraph/line numbers for your sources.) If you need extra time, you may finish this for homework.
Tuesday, 3/4
IRLA #2: Element of style #2. See above for process.
Work Period: Finish working with “High Adventure: A Narrative of Air Fighting in France,” by Captain James Norman Hall. Form small groups of three-to-four students each. Share your thesis statements and the supporting details you selected. Give all of these statements and their supporting evidence due consideration—study them in the text. As a group, select the top two thesis statements (based on their complexity and supporting evidence) and copy them on poster paper with the paragraph and line numbers only of the supporting details.
Wrap-up: Whole-class share of charted statements. Do we agree that all these statements can be supported with evidence from the text? Are you ready for the “Evidence-based Claims” unit? What questions remain?
Wednesday, 3/5
IRLA #3: Element of style #3. Refer to Monday’s IRLA for directions.
Work Period: Before you begin your first independent reading of the first paragraph of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, review the characteristics of an evidence-based claim:
1. It states a conclusion you have come to based on your interpretation of what you have read.
2. All parts of the claim are supported by specific evidence you can point to.
3. It demonstrates knowledge of, and sound thinking about, your topic
As always, your purpose for reading the first time through is the get the gist of the text. This time, however you will be given specific questions about the text as opposed to formulating your own. Then—again, as always—we will discuss the text together.
Begin your first independent reading of paragraphs 1—5 of the piece. Do a “cold reading” the first time, then reread these paragraphs using these guiding questions below to help focus your analysis. Be sure to annotate your text the second time through with all questions, observations, reactions, etc. that arise during your reading. Use the dictionary as needed. Now listen as I read the paragraph aloud.
· How does King describe the current state of the civil rights movement? (explicit)
· What is nonviolence, according to King? (explicit)
· To what societal (moral and political) debate is King responding? (explicit)
Wrap-up: Discussion of the answers to questions above. Which of these questions is most difficult to answer? Why is that? Which is most interesting to you? Why? Which is most useful in setting up some sort of anticipation about what this text will be about?
Thursday, 3/6
IRLA #4: Due tomorrow upon completion of fifth response. Element of style #4.
Work Period: Continue working with the King text. Study the “Forming Evidence-based Claims” handout, noting the connections between the first section and the second. Let’s try to make an EBC using the answers to the three questions we asked regarding paragraph one yesterday. Save your EBC worksheet and follow along on the SmartBoard as I model the process.
Wrap-up: On a scale of one to ten, how complex would you say this claim is? Is it the sort of claim upon which you could base an essay? And extended response? A paragraph? Discuss.
Friday, 3/7
IRLA #5: Due upon completion of response. Element of style #5.
Work Period: Continue working with the core literature as directed Wedndesday. Begin with a cold reading of paragraphs 6—12, then reread with these guiding questions to focus your reading.
· What does King mean by the “’isness’ of man’s present nature?”
· Where does King use a religious tone in his speech
· What is the “genuine civilization” King as the “audacity” to believe in?
Extension: If you finish early, you may read ahead by previewing the Obama Nobel lecture. I would encourage you to follow the close reading protocol and continue “chunking” the text. During your annotation of the text, see if you can find interesting, related details that you might use for your own EBCs.
If you need additional understanding or are just interested in learning more about Martin Luther King and the Nobel Prize, you may want to check out this site:
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-acceptance_en.html
You don’t need the text found here, but please explore the links in the left sidebar, including MLK’s Nobel lecture.