10.31 - Roots Unit Test, Dystopias, and Anthem

We started today's class with the unit test for roots and prefixes sets 1 through 5. Following this, we discussed the work that people had done for the last two classes while I was out. In this discussion we reviewed what work was due so far, which revisions were due, and what people should be working on now. We also talked about the various ways in which people could approach the dystopian fiction writing assignment and what the specific requirements of the assignment are.

In the remaining portion of the class we returned to our exploration of figurative language used in Anthem and how that conveys tone and meaning. We will wrap this discussion up on Monday.

Handouts:
Dystopian writing assignment
Anthem double entry journals

Homework:

Read chapter 12 completing two (2) reading logs.

Work on the rough draft of your dystopian fiction writing (due Wednesday).

10.30 - Dystopian Short Story

I was at a young writer's workshop today with several students and so a substitute was in for me today. In class, everyone completed a model roots and prefixes test to familiarize everyone with the format for our unit test on Friday. The substitute had the answers for the test and reviewed them with the class.

Everyone then had the rest of the period to work on a fiction writing assignment in which they write a dystopian story that uses figurative language in telling the story (see handout below).

Handouts:
Dystopian writing assignment
Anthem double entry journals

Homework:

Read chapters 10-11 completing two (2) reading logs.

Prepare for the unit test on roots and prefixes sets 1 through 5. 

10.29 - Anthem Double Entry Journal

I was out sick today and so there was a substitute in for me. Everyone had time to work on their reading logs for Anthem (they have the assignment sheets for this).

If people were caught up on all of their reading logs, they could work on completing or revising their creative writing piece in which they use figurative language to develop to tone. This piece should be accompanied with an author’s statement explaining how their use of figurative language establishes tone.

If people finished both of these things, they were to work ahead in their reading and reading logs for Anthem.

Handouts:

Anthem double entry journals

Homework:

Read chapters 8-9 completing two (2) reading logs.

10.28 - Figurative Language and Tone in "Anthem"

At the beginning of class today, people wrote sentences using words that feature the roots and prefixes from the first five sets. People then got together and compared sentences with other people who were working with the same sets of roots and selected the best sentences to share with me online. I will be using these sentences to make and share a model test to explain what the test for this unit will look like on Friday.

Next, everyone was paired up with another person in the class and assigned a section of Anthem. With their partner(s), everyone was looking at the various uses of figurative language in this section of the book, how those uses of language develop tone in the story, and what that tone ultimately communicates to the reader about Equality 7-2521 and the world in which he lives (see instructions below). For our class today, we were mostly focused on finding uses of figurative language and then looking at what tones that language creates and develops. We will continue working with this tomorrow.

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Resources and Handouts:

Anthem double entry journals

Homework:

Read chapter 7 in Anthem and complete two reading logs.

10.27 - Roots and Prefixes / Revision

For the first part of class today, we reviewed and discussed the unit one roots and prefixes that we have had so far (see sheet below). People identified all of the words they knew to help them better identify which words they needed to study and then we reviewed all of the correct definitions and words associated with these definitions.

Everyone then had up until the last five minutes of class to work on their reading of Anthem and their reading logs. In the last five minutes of class, we discussed how the book was going so far and what people thought of Equality as a hero.

Handouts:

Unit 1 Roots and Prefix Review Sheet


Homework:

Read chapters five and six of Anthem and complete two reading logs.

10.24 - Anthem Reading Logs

We started today's class with the set 5 roots and prefixes quiz.

Following this, we took some time to discuss the annotations that people had for the first chapter of Anthem. This lead us into a review of our reading plan for Anthem and the double entry journals that people will be keeping for the book. Everyone then received their copies of the book and had the remaining time in the period to begin reading and working on their logs.

Handouts:

Anthem double entry journals

Homework:

Read chapters 2-4 completing two (2) reading logs for chapter 2 and two (2) reading logs for chapters 3 and 4 (that's four reading logs in all).

If our discussion of annotations for chapter one in class today cleared up some confusion around the annotation process for you and you'd like to revise your annotations, do so for homework and have those prepared for Monday.

10.23 - Ayn Rand and Anthem

We started today's class with the following writing prompt which is paired with yesterday's prompt:

Why can't we have nice things?
(That is to say, how is it that we've have civilized society for so long and have yet to realize a utopia? What is it about society or people that keeps utopias from being reality?)

After everyone had a chance to respond to this prompt, we discussed everyone's responses.

Next, we reviewed for our roots and prefix quiz tomorrow by playing language ninja.

We then returned to our work with Anthem by looking first at a short biography for Ayn Rand and talking about how that would influence her ideas in the book. This lead to a comparison between the society in Anthem as we understand it so far and the society in The Giver.

Handouts:
Ayn Rand - Biography and Philosophy
Anthem - Chapter 1 Annotations

Homework:

Review and complete any annotations for the first chapter in Anthem.

Prepare for the set 5 roots and prefix quiz tomorrow.
Roots and Prefixes - Set 5 word list

10.22 - Life Philosophies and Objectivism

We started today's class with the following writing prompt:

Which life philosophy best articulates your view on life? Why?

What would it look like if we were able to realize a society based on this perspective?

(Remember that most utopian visions of society have people that get along and are happy. Why people get along and why they are happy though depends on what it is that is working well in the society).

After everyone had a chance to respond to this prompt, we went through the life philosophies and had people that selected that philosophy talk about what their ideal/utopian world would look like.

Next, we looked at Ayn Rand's description of what her ideal, Objectivist world would look like and discussed whether this would be an individual or collectivist society. In doing this we reviewed, the individualist/collectivist checklist that people received yesterday with their explanation of these philosophies.

For homework, everyone should begin reading chapter one of Anthem and annotating the text for the way in which figurative language and diction are used to affect tone.

Handouts:

Ten Philosophies
Individualism v. Collectivism

Anthem - Chapter 1 Annotations


Homework:

Read and make annotations looking at how tone is affected by diction and figurative language for Anthem - Chapter 1.

Prepare for the set 5 roots and prefixes quiz on Friday.
Roots and Prefixes - Set 5 word list

10.21 - Individualism v. Collectivism

We started today's class with the following writing prompt which people responded to in their writer's journal:

If you were to be associated with a certain type of vehicle, what sort of vehicle would it be and why?

After everyone had a chance to respond to this prompt, people went around and shared their responses.

Next, we looked at the way in which people divided up the $20,000 from yesterday's activity. We focused particularly on the reasons why people divided up the money evenly, according to percentage of work contributed by someone else, and by other systems that individuals devised on their own.

This lead us into a discussion of individualist and collectivist societies. We talked about the U.S. as an individualist society and how that compares to other, collectivist societies (like Taiwan or China).
We will continue more with this work tomorrow.

Handouts:

Individualism v. Collectivism

Roots and Prefixes - Set 5 word list

Homework:

Based on your perspectives gained from class today, complete the individualism or collectivism identification on the back of the "Individualism v. Collectivism" sheet.

Complete the set 5 roots and prefixes identification sheet.

10.20 - Life Philosophies

We started today's class with a writing prompt based in some of the figures of speech that we have been studying that was also meant to start helping us think about the roles that we play in society. Everyone responded to this question in their writer's journal:

Synecdochically and metaphorically speaking, if you were a part of a car, what part would you be and why?

Clarification added to this question in class:

In responding to this question, see how far you can extend this metaphor by creating as many connections as possible between the role you play in your community and the role the car part plays in the function of the car.

In explaining why, provide an example of a time where you exhibited these characteristics.

After everyone had a chance to respond to this prompt, we went around the room and people explained what car part synecdochical metaphor they had created for themselves.

Next, we looked at how the role a person plays in life is also determined by their outlook and overall philosophy of life. To consider this, we reviewed ten major life philosophies (see handout below). We read the quotes exemplifying these philosophies together as a class and then everyone had five minutes to choose and write about a quote. We then discussed what people said about these quotes.

Following this discussion, people sorted themselves into four groups based on general groupings of these philosophies. The groups were as follows (with the common uniting theme):


Nihilism, Absurdism, Determinism - Life has no greater meaning.

Utilitarianism, Epicureanism - The purpose of life is to find joy.

Solipsism, Existentialism, Secular Humanism - Individuals determine the value of life.

Objectivism, Positivism - There is an underlying truth in life discovered by rational thought/science.


In these groups, people then discussed what the purpose of school is and why they come to school when they have this particular life philosophy. The gist of these responses was as follows:


Nihilism, Absurdism, Determinism - We're here because society says we should be, but it is otherwise pointless.

Utilitarianism, Epicureanism - Going to school means we can get a job and earn money to afford us the things we find pleasurable in life (pizza, so many wonderful books)

Solipsism, Existentialism, Secular Humanism - In school we learn about different perspectives and ideas to help us make sense of the world.

Objectivism, Positivism - In school we learn the truths that prior generations have discovered and we begin to build on and refine this knowledge.


Handouts:

Ten Philosophies

Individualism v. Collectivism activity (for homework)


Homework:

Complete the Individualism v. Collectivism activity for tomorrow's class.

10.17 - Figurative Language - You Do It

Today we reviewed the figures of speech that we addressed yesterday (synecdoche, metonymy, and onomatopoeia) and looked at the remaining figures of speech on our analysis sheet (personification, hyperbole, and symbolism).

Everyone then had the rest of the period to put these devices to use in their own writing. We broke the remaining class time up into two portions of writing. One portion was focused on playing with poetry and the other portion was focused on playing with short fiction (stores or vignettes). Everyone could start on whichever style of writing they wanted to and then I called a switch halfway through.

There were activity cards available for people's inspiration throughout the activity. If you'd like to check out some of these activity cards, you can use my activity card Tumblr here.

At the end of class, everyone shared out their favorite use of figurative language from the day's writing.


Homework:

Type or formally write out one of the pieces you wrote today in class.

As you reproduce this piece of writing, feel free to revise any mistakes or make additions that you feel will strengthen your writing.

At the bottom of your polished draft of this piece of writing, provide an author’s statement that identifies how the piece uses figurative language to help develop tone and the overall message.

(100 word minimum)

10.16- Metonymy, Synecdoche, and Onomatopoeia

We started today's class by watching the following clip (see below) from the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (which is an adaptation of the book with the same title).

In this clip, we were most focused on the portion occurring at 1:00 to about 3:30.

This clip provided context for the comic and writing prompt with which we started class (see Drive presentation below). After everyone had time to respond to this prompt, we came back together and people shared out their responses to the writing prompt. This lead us into a presentation on what metonymy, synecdoche, and onomatopoeia are and how they are used in writing (see Drive presentation below).

People then blindly picked a passage that made use of one (or sometimes more) of these devices, found other people that had ended up picking the same passage, and analyzed the passage with the group. Groups had five minutes to identify the figurative device being used and analyze how that device enhanced the tone of the piece. Groups then shared out their analysis and we discussed their responses to help us better understand these devices (the passages can be seen at the end of the Drive presentation).

Presentation: Metonymy, Synecdoche, and Onomatopoeia

10.14 - Grade Reports and Revision

For class today, I introduced everyone to the roots and prefix revision format that we will be using for quiz revisions. Part of this revision process involves completing a comic using words that contain indicated roots and prefixes. To help everyone get familiar with this process, I handed out blank copies of the comic and had everyone fill in the comic to get the feel of the activity.

The basic format for these revisions can be seen here.

To actually revise a quiz, see Mr. Collins for a revision sheet which will indicate which roots and prefixes you should focus on based on your performance with the quiz.

Next, I handed out grade report sheets and reviewed how to read the grade report sheet and which assignments are currently still eligible for revision.

Then, several people helped to return work. This included the work that people had done on the "Neruda Tones" assignment where people looked at either "United Fruit Co." or "Standard Oil Co." by Pablo Neruda to analyze his use of tone.

Everyone had 20 minutes to complete revisions and finish their simile and metaphor practice sheet if they had not done to already.

In the last few minutes of class, people exchanged the simile and metaphor stories that they had written for homework. Partners should do their best to identify the variety of similes and metaphors used in these stories.

Homework:

Identify the similes and metaphors in the story your partner wrote.

Complete revision sheets for set 1, 2, 3 and 4 roots and prefixes quizzes (due Friday).

Complete or revise the "Neruda Tones" assignment as necessary (due Friday).

We will not have class tomorrow due to PSATs 

so this homework is good for the next two days.

10.10 - Extended and Mixed Metaphors

We started today's class with everyone choosing an activity card from my collection of dog-centered activity cards. Then, everyone wrote descriptions of that card using as much figurative language as they could. Different types of figurative language were worth different amounts of "points" and everyone was trying to see how many points they could get in using figurative language to describe the dog card. The point breakdown was as follows:

Simile: +1
Metaphor: +1
Ironic Simile: +2
Implied Metaphor: +2
Extended Metaphor: +3
Mixed Metaphor: +4

Everyone had five minutes to generate as many descriptions of their dog picture as they could using figurative language. People then shared their descriptions with a partner to verify and tally their total number of points. We then had several people share out the descriptions that they came up with in their writing.

Next, we narrowed our focus in on extended and mixed metaphor since these two uses of figurative language proved difficult to people. Several people who were comfortable with these types of metaphor shared examples and we talked about how to write extended and mixed metaphors. The outline boils down to this:

Extended metaphor is a metaphor that keeps on going.
To start, make a comparison between a literal subject (love) and a figurative one (a rose):

My love is a rose.

Then, keep the comparison going to between your literal subject (love) and figurative subject (rose):

My love is a rose that is lifting it's petals to the sunshine and setting down roots in the soil.

The above example connects "love" to a rose in three ways, the initial comparison, petals, and roots.

Mixed metaphor is an extended metaphor that keeps comparing the literal subject to different figurative subjects.

My love is a rose that roars and shines brightly in the universe.

In the example above, "love" is compared to a rose, a lion (or other animal that roars), and a sun.

Next, we had the set 4 roots and prefix quiz.

Handouts:
Figurative Language handout
Practice with Simile and Metaphor

Homework:

Write a short story (half a page to a full page) titled, "A Day that Was Supposed to be Normal" in which you use simile and metaphor in as many ways as possible throughout the story.

On Tuesday we will share and analyze these.

If you were struggling with extended and mixed metaphor, complete those sections on the Practice with Simile and Metaphor sheet.

10.09 - Simile and Metaphor

We started today's class by looking at the "Calvin and Hobbes" comic included below and responding to the following prompt:

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In your writer’s journal:

Which type of figurative language is this comic using (in a visual form)?

Explain how you know.

Identify and explain specific critiques of his typical school day that Calvin is making.

After everyone had a chance to respond to this prompt, we discussed the various answers that people came up with. This discussion lead us back to looking at simile and metaphor which everyone was working with for homework. In class we reviewed similes, ironic similes, metaphor, and implied metaphor.

For homework tonight, everyone should work with extended metaphor and mixed metaphor.

In the last few minutes of class, we reviewed the set 4 roots and prefixes practice answers.

Handouts:

Figurative Language handout

Practice with Simile and Metaphor

Homework:

Complete the extended metaphor and mixed metaphor sections on the Practice with Simile and Metaphor sheet.

Practice with Simile and Metaphor

Prepare for the set 4 roots and prefixes quiz tomorrow.

Roots and Prefixes set 4 - Word List

Roots and Prefixes set 4 - Practice

If you have not done so already, turn in your Neruda Tones analysis for "United Fruit Co." or "Standard Oil Co.".

Neruda Annotation and Analysis Prompt

"United Fruit Co." and "Standard Oil Co" by Pablo Neruda

10.08 - Simile and Metaphor

At the beginning of class today, everyone had a few minutes to work on their set four roots and prefixes practice sheets. We will review these tomorrow in class.

Next, we returned to our work with looking at what elements will contribute to a positive overall class experience. I handed out rectangles of fabric that we will use as contribution flags. With the basic principles of our class in mind, everyone drew two pictures on their flag representing the following:

Picture 1 - what you bring to the class as a person (what contributions you will make)
Picture 2 - what you need from the group for this to be a good learning experience for you
After everyone had time to complete their flag we went around and people shared out the drawings on the flags we created in class yesterday.

Following this we began talking about simile and metaphor. I gave people a sheet to practice different forms of simile and metaphor. We looked at how to come up with examples of these types of figurative language based on the definitions and examples from the figurative language handout (see below). People will be completing the front side of this practice sheet for homework.


Handouts:

Figurative Language handout

Practice with Simile and Metaphor


Homework:

Complete the front side of the Practice with Simile and Metaphor sheet.
Practice with Simile and Metaphor

If you did not do so already, complete the set 4 roots and prefixes practice sheet.
Prepare for the set 4 roots and prefixes quiz on Friday.
Roots and Prefixes set 4 - Word List
Roots and Prefixes set 4 - Practice

If you have not done so already, turn in your Neruda Tones analysis for "United Fruit Co." or "Standard Oil Co.".
Neruda Annotation and Analysis Prompt
"United Fruit Co." and "Standard Oil Co" by Pablo Neruda

10.07 - Basic Principles for a Great Class

We started today's class with everyone responding to the following prompt in their writer's journal:

What was the best class of which you have been a part?
(This can be any group learning experience from pre-K to present day and could involve anything from a hunter safety course to AP Bio).
What was it that made this class great?

Everyone then discussed their response with a partner and identified underlying principles that seemed to contribute to the positive experience of the course. In class, we talked about how rules are different from principles. A rule could be, no running in the halls. The principle behind this rule might be "value your safety and the safety of others".

Next, partner groups got together in small groups and created a common list of these basic principles that could be helpful for us to use to make our class a great experience. Small groups then came together as a class and we used these lists to discuss what basic principles our class would follow.

After generating this list, we discussed what elements of our class we should adapt to fit these principles. Then, I handed out rectangles of fabric that we will use as contribution flags. With the basic principles of our class in mind, everyone drew two pictures on their flag representing the following:

Picture 1 - what you bring to the class as a person (what contributions you will make)
Picture 2 - what you need from the group for this to be a good learning experience for you

We will share out what people drew for pictures tomorrow.

Homework:

Everyone returned their copy of The Giver today. If you did not have your copy with you, please bring it in for tomorrow.

10.06 - Neruda and American Companies

At the beginning of class today, everyone got together with a partner who had read the same poem as them (either "Standard Oil Co." or "United Fruit Co.") and shared their analysis of the poem. Next, people go together with the person who read the poem that they did not read. Working with this partner, partners read their poem to their partner and then their analysis. Partners then discussed the following writing prompt and responded to the question individually in their writer's journal:

What does Pablo Neruda think of American businesses?
Explain your response using examples from the poems.
What do you think of Neruda's perspective?

After everyone had a chance to respond to this prompt, we discussed students' responses. Then, everyone handed in their analysis of the Neruda poem (unless they felt they needed to revisit and revise their response based on our analysis in class).

Everyone then had the remaining time in the period to work on set 4 roots and prefixes (we will have a quiz for these roots and prefixes on Friday).

Handouts:

Roots and Prefixes set 4 - Word List
Roots and Prefixes set 4 - Practice

Homework:

Complete the roots and prefixes sheets (see above) for Wednesday.

If you felt that your analysis of Neruda's poem needed revision before being submitted, complete these revisions tonight for homework.

10.03 - Roots and Diction Quiz, Neruda Analysis

At the beginning of class today, everyone got out their analysis of Pablo Neruda's use of tone in "Ode to My Sox" and responded to the following prompt in their writer's journal:

What are the main strengths in your annotations and analysis of how tone relates to message in Neruda's Ode to My Socks"?

After everyone had a chance to respond to this prompt, we discussed students' answers. Next, I passed out annotations and analysis that I had done of the poem as a model (see below). We looked at the annotations, read the analysis and then everyone responded to the following prompt in their writer's journal:

What strengths do you notice in these annotations and analysis that you could incorporate into your own writing to make your writing stronger?

After everyone had a chance to respond to this prompt, we discussed the strengths that people noticed. Some strengths people noticed included:
      - short quotes that are integrated well into the sentence (quote flow with the writing)
      - quotations are cited (line numbers after each quote)
      - there is a clear relationship between the identified tones and the diction

We then also looked at ways this analysis could be improved. Some things that people noticed included:

      - awkward phrasing in the second to last line with the word "more"
      - the analysis does not discuss the denotation of words (only connotation)
      - the claim that Neruda's feet are an "ocean" element doesn't have enough
               evidence to be strongly supported

The strengths that people identified in their own writing and ways in which they could improve their work are elements that people should keep in mind as they proceed with the diction quiz and analysis of either "United Fruit Co." or "Standard Oil Co." by Pablo Neruda.

We then had the set three roots and prefixes quiz and the diction revision quiz (which people could choose to complete or not based on their previous performance with the diction quiz).

When people had finished these quizzes, they had the rest of the time available to work on their analysis of message and tone in either "United Fruit Co." or "Standard Oil Co." by Pablo Neruda.


Handouts:

"Ode to My Socks" - Model Annotation and Analysis by Mr. Collins

Neruda Annotation and Analysis Prompt
"United Fruit Co." by Pablo Neruda
"Standard Oil Co." by Pablo Neruda

Homework:

If you did not do so in class, complete your written analysis of either Neruda's "United Fruit Co." or "Standard Oil Co."

Class Site Bonus:

For those who chose to analyze Neruda's "Standard Oil Co.", it will be helpful to have a bit of an understanding around how drilling for oil works.

Below is a cut away view of what different drilling operations look like. When this poem was written in 1940, the vertical well would have been the most common sort.

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This video explains the drilling and refining process for oil as it would have been familiar to Neruda when he wrote "Standard Oil Co." (the poem was written in about 1940).

This video shows what the oil drilling process is like today:

10.02 - Diction Practice (cont'd)

Today we reviewed the responses that people had come up with for the diction practice from yesterday's class. We focused on the informal and formal tones as well as the emotional tones. People shared out their responses for each section and we discussed what made responses effective. 

When it came to the emotional tone prompt about bike riding, everyone wrote their own and then swapped with a partner who then crossed out and replaced or added in words to change the tone of the piece. We shared these and identified what tones were being used.

We also reviewed the responses for the set three roots and prefix practice sheet. 

At the end of class, I handed out copies of Pablo Neruda's poem "Ode to My Socks" and read the poem aloud. This poem is for tonight's homework (see below).

Handouts:

Using Diction to Affect Tone exercises

"Ode to My Socks" by Pablo Neruda

Annotation Guide (for use with "Ode to My Socks")

Homework:

Read and annotate Pablo Neruda's poem "Ode to My Socks"

Respond to the prompt at the end of the annotation guide for "Ode to My Socks"

Prepare for the set three roots and prefixes quiz.

Prepare for the diction quiz tomorrow.

10.01 - Diction Practice

At the beginning of class today, I returned the diction quizzes that people took last week. On this quiz, a number of people struggled with having focused discussions on the author's choice of diction. Many people were able to accurately identify tone in the passage provided on part three of the quiz, but then cited full sentences to discuss how tone was established instead of individual words.

Today's warm up activity was to look at the feedback given on this part of the quiz and then come up with a more focused answer. These responses were recorded in people's writing journals. After everyone had a chance to do this revision, we discussed the responses that people had generated. 

Next, we continued this focus on tone and diction with a series of exercises that focused on specific uses of tone (see handouts below). Everyone completed each section individually and then we would come together as a class and people would share their responses and we discussed what it was that made answers effective and what points to be aware of in responding.

Some sample responses from class today included:

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In the "subjective" number 5 above, we talked about how this tone is actually more objective since "arrested" and "citizen" are rather generic terms. A more subjective pairing of words could be "harassed" and "hooligan" since both of those terms involve some judgement on the action and person.

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We did not finish this sheet in class so everyone should look at finishing the final section of the formal and informal tone section.

Handouts:

Using Diction to Affect Tone exercises

Homework:

Finish the final section of the formal and informal tone section and the emotional tone sheet that are part of the "Using Diction to Affect Tone" activity.

Prepare for the set three roots and prefixes quiz on Friday.