Monday, September 12 - Thursday, September 15

Thursday

1. Library to get term novel
2. The Dumka - look at responses that got a 6, 2, 1
3. Yes, No, But video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O-YbCBblhk  start at :15sec   food for thought before you launch into your stand alone text response about "Nerd Alert”
4. The response is due Friday, September 16. Don’t forget to hand in or you will have to come see me the following Friday!

Wednesday

1. Blending quotes
2. "Nerd Alert: Reading is Good for Your Health” - review what makes a quality “close reading” and annotation. Why are we doing this??? Look at the blog for some tips on close reading. RE-read the text and add more depth and detail to your annotation.
3. "Reading a good book can help you connect with your fellow human beings.”Make an assertion about the text / this idea. Collect three quotes that support your assertion. 
4. You are going to write a response to “Nerd Alert” - but before you do that: what are the criteria for a quality stand alone text response paragraph? We talked about including a hook, a thesis, PEE, quotes, and a conclusion, but is that it? What else? You will look at some student paragraphs and score them as a provincial exam marker would - as we do this, you will build a rubric that we will use to assess one another’s paragraph responses to “Nerd Alert.” https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/exemplars/en_standalone/en12-stand-alone-text.pdf

 When you read, do you stop to ask questions? Do you challenge the writer? Do you search your soul for what you really believe about the topic at hand? And once you've begun writing, do you ever go back to the text? Maybe you go back to find a piece of evidence that will support your claims, but do you ever do the kind of re-reading that will force you to reconsider the text and your own position on it? If you answered "no" to most or all of these questions, then perhaps you are reading passively. Your thinking will not go as far as it might, and your papers will suffer accordingly. 

 Trust Your Gut  - 

Is the argument coming apart? Are there too many details? Not enough? Is the writer a misogynist? bigot? liberal? conservative? jerk? Pay attention to your own responses. They might be the seeds for your paper. 

Enter the Conversation 

In order to enter the conversation fully as a writer, you must first enter the conversation fully as a reader. Pay attention to the text. Take note of how you feel about what the author is saying. Then consider the argument that she is presenting to you. Are there gaps in her argument? Do you want to challenge these gaps? Do you want to fill them in? Do you want to acknowledge the validity of her argument and then apply it to things that she hasn't seemed to consider? All of these questions move you beyond your own reactions to a consideration of the argument. Your conversation with the writer has begun. 

Use the Margins 

You can ask questions in the margins. You can draw arrows, establishing obscure connections in the text. You can note patterns of imagery or language as you see them. You can locate contradictions. You can get feisty, even, and call the author out for a debate. 

Look up difficult terms or concepts or names and keep a running list. 

Pay close attention to the rhetorical features of the text, the figures of speech, repetitions, imagery, and word choices. How does the language itself work in the text? 

Moving Outside the Text 

One important idea to understand when you read is that every text has a context. Remember that every writer is in conversation: with other writers, with history, with the forces of her culture, with the events of his time. It is helpful, for example, to read Karl Marx or Sigmund Freud with some knowledge of their moment in history. 

One word of caution: context needs to be examined with care. Don't assume that the context of your own class or gender or culture is informing you correctly. Read context as actively and as rigorously as you read text! 

 an ability to understand the general content of a text even when you don’t understand every word or concept in it. 

 an ability to spot techniques that writers use to get their ideas and feelings across and to explain how they work. 

 an ability to judge whether techniques the writer has used succeed or fail and an ability to compare and contrast the successes and failures of different writers’ techniques. 

Tuesday

1. Banned book - any questions, thoughts, concerns?
2. Return stand alone texts. Go back to “Ordinary Life” discuss close reading in general and close reading specifics for poetry - see below. 
3. blend quotes
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fs536umh8M - start part way thru 1:30 - 4:45
4. Non-fiction text for today: Nerd Alert: Reading is Good For You - Before reading - Give One, Get One - on the recipe card write down your name and the name of the best thing you have ever read and why, or something that you read recently that was remarkable and why. During reading - annotate using the suggestions mentioned at the beginning of the class - they are available on the blog. After reading - response question: Evaluate the statement:"Reading a good book can help you connect with your fellow human beings.” Try the  "yes, no, but…” strategy. Short video to watch -  start at  :15 -   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O-YbCBblhk

Here are some general tips for success when reading informational text:

• Scan the passage quickly to see how it is organized. Are there headings?

How a passage is organized can help you find information quickly when

answering questions.

• Look ahead and read the written response topic before you read the text.

• Now read the passage carefully. Don’t skim the reading the fi rst time

through. You can skim later when you’re looking for specifi c information for

an answer.

• Read with a pen in your hand. Underline or circle any words or passages

that stand out to you. These marks will make it easier for you to fi nd the

details you are looking for when you go to answer the questions.

• Notice the stylistic and persuasive techniques used.

• Read the questions carefully and respond (try yes, no, but)

Poetry

Many students do not read poetry regularly, and so they are not especially

familiar with how poems may be read. However, when you write the provincial

exam you are still expected to be able to demonstrate your understanding of

a poem’s content, structure, and style, including the use of literary and poetic

devices.

Here are some general tips for success when reading poetry:

Pay attention to the title. You may fi nd a clue • to the theme or meaning.

• If a context statement is provided, read it carefully. It will be important to

your understanding of the poem.

• Read the questions, including the written response topic if there is one,

before you read the poem. This will help to focus your reading.

• Don’t skim or scan the poem the fi rst time through. You can do this later

when you’re looking for specifi c information.

• Take the time to read the poem twice, as this will help you to understand it

better. Poems are generally short, so you will have the time to do this. Pay

attention to:

· Diction—the language that the poet uses

· Structure—how the poem is organized (e.g., stanzas)

· Form—what kind of poem it is (e.g., free verse)

· Poetic devices—fi gurative language the poet uses (e.g., imagery,

metaphors, sound devices, etc.)

• Read with a pen in your hand. In general, the test is yours to mark up, so

underline, or make note of key lines or sentences.

• Read the questions carefully and respond. (Go back to Section 3 in this

booklet and look at the tips for answering multiple-choice questions.)

• Remember, if you have a planning page for your written response, use it!
Monday

1. Quote blending “trends for fall/winter 2016” - what’s in / what’s out - make a t-chart with a partner.
2. New blending quotes practice. Review what makes a quality blended quote. Assess how well the quotes on the sheet have been integrated. Comment on those that do not meet proper blending quote etiquette.
3. “Spend $100-” - come up with the elements of a quality response paragraph. Think about the strengths I pointed out in the class’ papers that I projected on Thursday. For each element of the paragraph, give it a dollar value. For example, a response paragraph should have a conclusion - it is really important, so you might give it a value of $20. Continue in this way giving all the various elements of a quality response paragraph a value. Things we came up with in class for a quality stand alone response paragraph were: hook, thesis statement, PEE x 3, blended quotes, conclusion
4. Look over the response you wrote. Identify what you did well in one colour (according to our quality list) and what is lacking in another colour. Hand your papers back in to me.
5. Banned book term assignment and daily reading. Look at details on the class blog. View a short video. Please have your novel in class by next Monday.