1B
1. Freewrite.
2. We shared 30 second stories about our breaks just to bond as a class.
3. Finishing The Outsiders. We watched the last 20 minutes of the film and took notes on our viewing guides. These were then turned in for a grade.
4. Focused freewrite: What would you say to convince someone who has seen the Outsiders movie to read the book? We wrote on this topic for five minutes and turned it in.
5. Intro to persuasive essays. To prepare students to write a collaborative essay, we thought about persuasion by considering a debatable topic: school uniforms. Students wrote for three minutes about whether or not Grafton should adopt school uniforms (this is only an exercise–not an actual school proposal).
6. Sharing of reasons and interrogation. Students were volunteered to share their responses. We created a T-chart of responses, for and against uniforms. As students gave their reasons, some of them got to respond to Ms. Garvoille’s interrogations when flawed logic was used. We also allowed for rebuttals in our discussion.
7. Paragraph writing. Armed with thoughtful reasons and an understanding of the arguments of the other side, students wrote a paragraph in which they stated their position, provided and elaborated on (gave examples, further explained) three points of evidence, and concluded.
8. Quick share with partner.
9. Notes on Thesis Statements. Students received W8, an introduction to high school-style theses. Download here: Thesis Statements.
Here are the notes to fill in:
What is it? A statement of a position you will prove to be true
Why do I need one? It tells your reader where your essay is going
How long is it? Usually one sentence, up to three sentences [You should only use more than one sentence if you are a very confident writer or if your topic is very complex.]
Where does it go? The last sentence(s) of your introduction before your first body paragraph.
When do you use it? Persuasive essays, i.e. all History and English essays
A good thesis statement has the strength of DADS:
Debatable: Can you have an argument about it?
Analytical: Is it relevant to the field (i.e. English or The Outsiders studies) or is it your random opinion? [Example of your random opinion: If Johnny were a historical figure, he would be Abraham Lincoln. This is random and unrelated.]
Defensible: Can you prove it? Is there evidence?
Specific: Does it answer the questions how and why?
HW: None.
2AB
1. Quick stories from break.
2. Freewrite.
3. The Hobbit oral quiz.
4. Bilbo…Baggins or Took? Every student in class found one quote anywhere in the novel that demonstrated whether Bilbo was more Baggins or Took at a certain moment in the story. We wrote our quotes on a sticky note (green for Baggins, orange for Took) and put them on the board. Here’s what we came up with:
We briefly discussed the trends, but we will talk about it more tomorrow.
HW: None! Catch up on any motif entries you were missing or catch up on reading. You should be done with the whole novel.
4B
1. Stories from break.
2. Freewrite.
3. The Hobbit oral quiz through the end of the novel. If you didn’t get your question right, catch up on the reading. A low quiz score will be waiting for you soon on Edline.
4. Applying the Hero Journey. Students worked in pairs to apply how the Hero Journey (L9) matched up with the novel.
5. Bilbo…Baggins or Took? Every student in class found one quote anywhere in the novel that demonstrated whether Bilbo was more Baggins or Took at a certain moment in the story. We wrote our quotes on a sticky note (green for Baggins, orange for Took) and put them on the board. Here’s what we came up with:
We briefly discussed trends, surprised that Bilbo was relatively consistent throughout the whole novel.
6. Notes on Thesis Statements. Students received W8, an introduction to high school-style theses. Download here: Thesis Statements.
Here are the notes to fill in:
What is it? A statement of a position you will prove to be true
Why do I need one? It tells your reader where your essay is going
How long is it? Usually one sentence, up to three sentences [You should only use more than one sentence if you are a very confident writer or if your topic is very complex.]
Where does it go? The last sentence(s) of your introduction before your first body paragraph.
When do you use it? Persuasive essays, i.e. all History and English essays
A good thesis statement has the strength of DADS:
Debatable: Can you have an argument about it?
Analytical: Is it relevant to the field (i.e. English or The Hobbit studies) or is it your random opinion? [Example of your random opinion: If Bilbo Baggins were a historical figure, he would be Abraham Lincoln. This is random and unrelated.]
Defensible: Can you prove it? Is there evidence?
Specific: Does it answer the questions how and why?
7. Practice revising theses. Students turned their sheet over to the back and, in pairs, worked to make non-DADS theses into DADS theses.
HW: None. Catch up on motif notes and reading if needed (this only applies to a few students).
ALEXA GARVOILLE 