Contemporary Literature

Week 2 August 27-31, 2012

Monday, August 27, 2012

Walk-IN: Take our your independent reading book and your printed out reading response sheet.

Learning Objective: Students will understand how interacting with the text improves reading comprehension. Students will utilize strategies of their choice in order to interact with the text.

Agenda: Independent Reading Expectations Independent Reading Practice

Due Today:Choice reading book,

and printed out reading response

Homework:Read for at least 20

minutes and complete a reading response

Find an admissions or scholarship prompt and

print it out or copy it down in your Writer’s

Notebook

Independent Reading Expectations Reader’s Notebook: Separate spiral, composition

notebook, or you can staple loose leafs together week by week.

Your expectations for the Independent Reading Assignment are as follows: 5 weeks 5 times per week Read for at least 20 minutes per day. 100 minutes on

Sunday is not the same as 20 minutes every day. Create response during or right after you read. Doing

reading whenever and then creating responses on Sunday is not in the spirit of this assignment.

Journal checks usually on Blockdays

Independent Reading Practice For the remainder of the class you will need

to… Set up the Header for the reading response Read for 20-30 Minutes Students who have their book, and have printed

out or know their response of choice and get started.

For students that do not have their book, set up the header and wait for me to come around.

Reading Response Option 1Reader Diary: Each entry must include: Journal entry number Date and time reading took place The numbers of the pages read (for example: pages 34-46) A summary paragraph that covers the important developments for

the reading session. A personal response paragraph that includes your thoughts,

reactions, connections, interpretations, and questions about what you are reading.

Choose one or more of the questions below. Each entry must include specific details from the book that could only

come from actually reading the book. What do you notice? What do you question? What do you feel? What do you relate to? What are you learning? How does the reading address one or more of our class questions?

Reading Response Option 2Track your reading sessions by dog-earing the page at the end of each session, and write the time and date on the turned-down page corner (if you have borrowed the book,,use sticky note to make tabs at top of page). Complete 5-7 of the tasks below for each reading session.

Annotation Tasks:

1. Underline at least 3 unfamiliar words AND write down a guess about what the word might mean. Identify any clues in the text that help you make an educated guess.

 

2.Write down questions as they occur to you, at least 3 per section. Include level three questions at the end of the chapter.

 

3.Pick out one important passage from each section. Bracket the section in your book, and make a few notes about why you think it is important.

 

4. Identify places where you can make a personal connection to the characters and events you are reading about, a make a note about what it reminds you of in the margin.

 

5. Draw an inference about what is happening “between the lines” based on specific details/clues.

6. Make a prediction about what is going to happen next, or later on in the book, based on specific details/clues.

7. After reading each chapter, write a title for the chapter at its start. Focus the title on the main idea of the chapter—the title you choose should help you remember what the chapter is about.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Walk-IN: Sit in groups of 3 to 4, pick up a white three ring binder and turn to Mentor Text #1, the Hobbies and Interests Essay

Learning Objective:Students will understand that effective communication is

dependent upon close analysis of context, which consists of purpose, subject, audience, and situation.

Agenda: Mentor Text #1: Noticings Chart Transfer and Reflect

Due Today:

Homework:Read for at least 20 minutes

and complete a reading response

Find an admissions or scholarship prompt and print it

out or copy it down in your Writer’s Notebook

Mentor Text # 1: Hobbies and Interests Application Essay

Turn to the Writing Section of your notebook. First Read

During your first read, you will need to record what you notice about… Subject (General Topic and Sub Topics) Purpose (What is their explicit purpose (thesis), what is their

implied purpose (what are they trying to show? About themselves))

Audience (Who is audience and where is the writer aware of the audience?)

Situation (What prompted this person to write, was there another incident outside of applying for admissions?)

Find implicit/explicit examples of each and explain how each aspect of the context is crafted.

Mentor Text # 1: Hobbies and Interests Application Essay

Second Read During your second read, you will need to record what you

notice about… Openings Closings Transitions Precise language Figurative language Punctuation Use of Modes (where is there narration? Exposition? Definition?

Reflection? Etc) Appeal to Ethos (Ethics), Pathos (Emotions), Logos (Logic) What else?

How does the author craft and utilize these techniques to his or her advantage?

Mentor Text #1: Hobbies and Interests Essay

Opening Details Used

Transitions

Word Choice

Punctuation

Modes/Appeals

Closing

Mentor Text # 1: Transfer and Reflect What techniques or skills did you notice from

today’s exploration of Mentor Text # 1 that you feel you could transfer into your writing in order to make it more successful?

Wed/Thurs August 29-30, 2012

Walk-IN: Pick up a three ring binder, sit with your group, and turn a new sheet of paper in the writing section of your notebook.

Learning Objective: Students will understand that effective communication is dependent upon

close analysis of context, which consists of purpose, subject, audience, and situation.

Students will determine which techniques and traits always, sometimes, and never appear in the writing for application genre, based on their close explorations and analysis of mentor texts.

Agenda: Mentor Text #1: Noticeings Chart Transfer and Reflect Mentory Text #2: Noticeings Chart

Due Today:Nothing

Homework:1) Read for at least 20

minutes and complete a reading response

2) Find an admissions or scholarship prompt and print it out or copy it down in your

Writer’s Notebook

Mentor Text #1: Hobbies and Interests Essay

Opening Details Used

Transitions

Word Choice

Punctuation

Modes/Appeals

Closing

Mentor Text # 1: Transfer and Reflect What techniques or skills did you notice from

today’s exploration of Mentor Text # 1 that you feel you could transfer into your writing in order to make it more successful?

Mentor Text # 2: Wellesley Application Essay

Turn to the Writing Section of your notebook. First Read

During your first read, you will need to record what you notice about… Subject (General Topic and Sub Topics) Purpose (What is their explicit purpose (thesis), what is their

implied purpose (what are they trying to show? About themselves))

Audience (Who is audience and where is the writer aware of the audience?)

Situation (What prompted this person to write, was there another incident outside of applying for admissions?)

Find implicit/explicit examples of each and explain how each aspect of the context is crafted.

Mentor Text # 2: Wellesley Application Essay

Second Read During your second read, you will need to record what

you notice about… Openings Closings Transitions Precise language Figurative language Punctuation Use of Modes (where is there narration? Exposition? Definition?

Reflection? Etc) What else?

How does the author craft and utilize these techniques to his or her advantage?

Mentor Text #2: Wellesley Application Essay

Opening Details Used

Transitions

Word Choice

Punctuation

Modes/Appeals

Closing

Mentor Text # 2: Transfer and Reflect What techniques or skills did you notice from

today’s exploration of Mentor Text # 1 that you feel you could transfer into your writing in order to make it more successful?

Mentor Text # 3: Princeton Application Essay

Turn to the Writing Section of your notebook. First Read

During your first read, you will need to record what you notice about… Subject (General Topic and Sub Topics) Purpose (What is their explicit purpose (thesis), what is their

implied purpose (what are they trying to show? About themselves))

Audience (Who is audience and where is the writer aware of the audience?)

Situation (What prompted this person to write, was there another incident outside of applying for admissions?)

Find implicit/explicit examples of each and explain how each aspect of the context is crafted.

Mentor Text # 3: Princeton Application Essay

Second Read During your second read, you will need to record what

you notice about… Openings Closings Transitions Precise language Figurative language Punctuation Use of Modes (where is there narration? Exposition? Definition?

Reflection? Etc) What else?

How does the author craft and utilize these techniques to his or her advantage?

Mentor Text #3: Princeton Application Essay

Opening Details Used

Transitions

Word Choice

Punctuation

Modes/Appeals

Closing

Mentor Text # 3: Transfer and Reflect What techniques or skills did you notice from

today’s exploration of Mentor Text # 1 that you feel you could transfer into your writing in order to make it more successful?

Friday, August 31, 2012

Walk-IN: Grab a Senior Notebook and sit with your genre group.

Learning Objective: Students will understand that effective communication is

dependent upon close analysis of context, which consists of purpose, subject, audience, and situation.

Students will determine which three essays are the most effective in writing in the genre for application, and provide specific support based on their exploration over the past few days.

Agenda: Mentor Text Exploration

Due Today:Nothing

Homework:Read for at least 20 minutes

and complete a reading response

Find an admissions or scholarship prompt and print it out or copy it down in your

Writer’s Notebook

Mentor Text Exploration Popcorn reading and noticings

In your groups, your task is to explore as many texts, from the white binders in the classroom, as you possibly can as a group. You will do so by taking turns reading out-loud as a group.

Each person will read for as long as they like, and when they are finished, someone else will need to pick up where they left off until the application essay is finished.

You can start with whatever essay your group would like.

Mentor Text Exploration What to notice During and After Reading

Discuss and complete the four column chart: subject / purpose / audience / situation.

Look for explicit/implicit evidence for each and “notice” where it is found and how it is crafted. Try to guess what the writing prompt was.

Next, you will need to record what you notice about… Openings Closings Transitions Precise language Figurative language Punctuation Use of Modes (where is there Narrative? Description?

Exposition? Definition? Reflection? etc). Where & how are the modes blended?

Appeal to Ethos (Ethics), Pathos (Emotions), Logos (Logic)

Mentor Text #4: Choice EssayOpening Details

UsedTransitions

Word Choice

Punctuation

Modes/Appeals

Closing

Always, Sometimes, and Never In your groups create an Always /

Sometimes / Never chart in your Writer’s Notebook In order to narrow down techniques and traits

that you will always need to do, sometimes have the option to, or things to avoid, you will need to go over what your group noticed and draw some conclusions about the genre and complete their ASN charts as you discuss.

Application Essay Always, Sometimes, and Never Chart

Organizing Concept

Always Sometimes Never

Ideas and Organization

Craft and Style

Conventions