Today: August 31

1. Sticky-note Door Decor: Word Most Likely Forgotten

2. Discussion and Review: The power of word choice

3. Listening and Analyzing: “Wack Writing” (Hannibal Buress)

4. Vocabulary Lesson 16: Fix It! Improve the graphic design of the text.

ASSESSMENT / ASSIGNMENT

1. Analyzing: “Wack Writing” (square + handout)

2. Improve the graphics on the vocabulary packet (pages 227-232): (highlight and underline—see model)

3. Mnemonic Devices + Graphics (yellow sheet): due Wednesday, Sept. 5

4. Shmocabulary! Packet due Friday, Sept. 7

TOPIC: When we say “word choice”

LEVELS: Analyzing

Sticky Note Door Decor

Quick! Like a bunny.

Look through your Lesson 16 packet and find the vocabulary word + definition that you think you’re most likely to forget.

• On your sticky note, write the word and one of its definitions.

• Sign your name—legibly.

• When you finish, silently walk into the hall and post your note on the outside of the classroom door—don’t cover other sticky notes.

• While you’re waiting for others to finish, study and work on Lesson 16.

The Power

of words

Six Traits

• Ideas

• Organization

• Sentence Fluency

• Word Choice

• Voice

• Conventions

Hannibal Buress• Author of “Wack Writing”

• Born in 1983.

• Lives in NYC.

• If Steven Wright, Mos Def and Dave Chappelle had a baby, that would be disgusting, but it would sound like Hannibal Buress.

-- Chris Rock

Listening for word choice

• First time: Just listen. Try to notice the words Buress criticizes.

• Second time: Listen and read. Circle (or highlight) the words Buress criticizes. (Look for the italicized parts.)

Wack Writing

1. diversity

• Inaccurate use of the word—diversity on campus requires more than a single visit by a minority comedian

2. comedic

• Redundant and unecessary (word choice is lazy): all jokes are comedic

3. streets

• Naïve—Buress meant it ironically and the reporter didn’t catch that

4. even food

• Lazy writing: “even” shows surprise about food jokes; “food” requires development

Wack Writing

5. exclamation point

• comparing people to punctuation is bland, uninteresting, and careless

6. price range of $2,000

• idea problem, more than a word choice problem

7. everyone

• Imprecise and totally inaccurate—it’s impossible for everyone to get what they want, especially from one event

On Your Square

1. Reflect on your own word choice. Are you careful about it? Do you care? Explain and give an example.

2. Speculate: For real, how can you improve your word choice? Give an example.

3. Predict: For real, will you think about word choice when you write? In what circumstances? Why?