Contemporary Literature

Week 11 October 29-November 2, 2012

Monday, October 29, 2012

Walk-IN: Take out The World According to Garp.

Learning Objective: Students will use and be aware of the strategies that

they use in order to maintain reading stamina and engagement.

Students will use their meta-cognitive reading strategies to plan for Book Club Discussion

Agenda: The World According to Garp Reading and Prep Day

Due Today:

Homework:Read and prepare for Book

Club # 1 on Tuesday(Page 67)

The World According To Garp: Reading and Preparation Day While reading be conscious or aware of the

strategies you use to improve your stamina and engagement while reading (these are most likely similar to strategies you use to stay involved in the moment in anything new you are learning).

Be aware of the things that distract you. Keep in mind the creative ways in which you

may want to represent you learning, analysis, and reaction to the novel for your Book Club Preparation.

Begin creating your preparation:

The World According to Garp Book Club Book Club Reading and Job Expectations

Calendar and reading expectations. Creative Freedom for Jobs: collage approach to Book Club

Jobs. Students will need to collage or piece together 4 aspects of the

previous six jobs. This may include one passage, a smaller detailed drawing, two level 3 questions, 3 vocabulary words, a character chart on one person, or a smaller synthesis chart. Your choice, just chose 4 of the above and have fun and be creative.

An example will be passed around. You may also use sticky notes to annotate for passages you

want to talk about, characters, scenes, vocabulary, and questions. You will take these sticky notes out as you talk about them in book club and put them on a sheet of paper.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Walk-IN: Sit with your book club group and take out your book, book club job, and a new sheet of paper.

Learning Objective: Students will understand that the quality of group discussions is

proportional to the individual preparation as well as the collaborative efforts of each participant.

Students will assume responsibilities for effective dialogues by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; listening to a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarifying, verifying, or challenging ideas and conclusions; and promoting divergent and creative viewpoints.

You will increase enjoyment and understanding of a novel by discussion questions, passages, characters, vocabulary, artistic interpretations, and areas of synthesis.

Agenda: Book Club # 1

Due Today:Book Club #1 Prep

Homework:Read and prepare for Book Club # 2 (116)

Book Club before discussionSet up header:Book Club #1 Name:Novel: Date:Jobs: (collage or annotations)Pages Read:

Summary Paragraph Write a summary paragraph about what happened in your

book so far. Include information about the setting, characters, conflict, and any other important ideas or events.

When finished, discuss your summaries with your group.

Book Club Discussion

Question Job Procedures

Lead the group in a discussion about each question. Allow everyone in your group to participate before you say anything. Take notes on who said what during the discussion of each question. Once everyone has contributed, share your own ideas about the answer to the question. Repeat with each question

Passage Job Procedures

Direct your group to that passage in the book, and have them read along with you as you read the passage out loud. Allow everyone in your group to comment on your passage before you say anything about it, and take notes on who said what during discussion. After everyone has participated, share your written explanation with the group.

Character Job Procedures

Share your Introduction/Update about each character with your group. After sharing about all characters, lead your group in a discussion about relationships, conflicts, and predictions about each character. Allow all members of your group to participate before you offer your own ideas, and take notes on your chart about discussion.

Art Job Procedures

Present artwork to the group. Allow all members to make observations and ask questions before you say anything about the image, and take notes who said what during discussion. Share your ideas about your image after everyone has participated.

Vocabulary Job Procedures

Identify word/phrase/term and direct group to where it appears in the text. Read the sentence/paragraph in which the word appears out loud with the group. Ask the group to share ideas about the word’s meaning and/or significance to the story, and take notes on who said what. After everyone has participated, share your definitions, explanations with the group. Repeat process with each word.

Synthesis Job Procedures

One example at a time, lead the group in a discussion of each example, how it relates to the question. Allow your group to suggest In-Class and Beyond-Class connections BEFORE you suggest any. Fill out your chart as you discuss with your group. For each question, discuss with your group what how all the examples work together to suggest a common answer to each question, the Emerging Message; this should be written in the form of a theme statement.

Book Club After discussion Reflection Paragraph: Choose one of the

following objectives and explain in a paragraph how you and your group met the objective.

Students will understand that the quality of group discussions is proportional to the individual preparation as well as the collaborative efforts of each participant.

Students will assume responsibilities for effective dialogues by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; listening to a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarifying, verifying, or challenging ideas and conclusions; and promoting divergent and creative viewpoints.

You will increase enjoyment and understanding of a novel by discussion questions, passages, characters, vocabulary, artistic interpretations, and areas of synthesis.

Wed/Thurs October 31-November 1, 2012

Walk-IN: Pick up a white binder and open up to the writing section of your notebook.

Learning Objective: Students will reread and reflect on a variety of texts to

locate examples in order to support conclusions or messages based on their synthesis of a variety of texts.

Students will use meta-cognitive reading strategies to improve reading stamina and engagement in a new and challenging text.

Agenda: Synthesis Essay Work Time The World According to Garp Reading and Prep Time

Silent Reading Expectations Book Club Preparation

Due Today:

Homework:Read and prepare for Book Club # 2

(Page 116)

New Historicism Critical Lens New Historicism 

In other words, history here is not a mere chronicle of facts and events, but rather a complex description of human reality and evolution of preconceived notions.

Literary works may or may not tell us about various factual aspects of the world from which they emerge, but they will tell us about prevailing ways of thinking at the time: ideas of social organization, prejudices, taboos, etc. They raise questions of interest to anthropologists and sociologists.

Critical Lens Synthesis Essay AssignmentOverview: Over the course of this semester, we have explored both fiction

and non-fiction texts to build critical lenses about three issues in contemporary American society: family, violence, and love.

Now it is time for you to look at the semester through a critical lens, and synthesize ideas and examples from multiple sources we’ve looked at this semester to express and support an Emerging Message about an issue. Incorporate as many sources as possible to address ONE of the contemporary issues in our society in a multi-paragraph synthesis essay.

Synthesize evidence from the following sources:

Book Club novel

Class texts (articles, essays, short stories, movie clips, The World According to Garp)

Independent research

Scientific information

Critical essays about your book club book or Garp

Non-fiction articles and essays about your issue

Sources from other classes (i.e. Psychology, Sociology, etc.)

Sources from your own life (i.e. movies, books, people you know, your own life experiences, etc.)

Critical Lens Synthesis Essay AssignmentCritical Lenses (possible questions to consider):Family: What is the purpose of family? What makes a family functional? What

makes a family dysfunctional? What can make a family stronger? What can break a family apart? What problems do modern families face and how might they overcome them?

 Violence: Why do people resort to violence? What is the relationship between

emotional violence and physical violence? What are the underlying reasons why people resort to violence? What are the short term and long term effects of emotional and/or physical violence on both the victim and the perpetrator? How does society view or react to violence and how does this influence the violence?

 Love: What is the difference between love and lust? What is the relationship

between love and lust? What does each require of the individuals? What does each provide for the individuals?

 MasteryDevelop and support an Emerging Message that synthesizes two, or even all

three of our critical lenses.

Critical Lens Synthesis Essay Model Plan

Essay Planning: General Topic: Family

Text 1: 1. Title: “Where are You Going, Where have You Been?” Author: Joyce Carol Oates 2. Genre: Fiction/Short Story 3. Summary of the text: Connie is a fifteen year old girl who lives with her mother, father, and

sister. Connie and her mother do not get along very well because Connie feels her mother is constantly picking on her. Connie’s father does not pay attention to the family. In fact both parents really don’t. They never ask her what she did last night or what she is planning on doing. Connie finds comfort with her friends and the pop-culture image. One Sunday when she does not go to a BBQ with the family Connie is approached by a man named Arnold Friend who pretends to be her age, and dresses like all of the “cool and popular” boys that Connie admires. Arnold friend knows that Connie is vulnerable by herself and he threatens, and eventually, convinces Connie to go with him and sacrifice her life.

4. Quotes or paraphrases from the text that relates to your topic with page #: “Connie’s mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over” (Oates).

5. Explanation/Inference about what message the evidence has about your topic: Connie feels left out, ignored, and under attack from her mother, so she detaches herself from her family to the point where she wishes she or her mother no longer existed. Because she does not feel comfort at home, Connie searches for comfort from the outside world.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with at least two additional quotes from the source. 7. Explanation of the societal ideas/values/reasons/motives that are represented in the text about your

topic. It appears that Joyce sees the conventional family as successful only if they value the home and relationships that they share. When they do not, in a world that is saturated with pop-culture ideals, the members will begin to question their worth, their roles, and may seek comfort outside of the family instead of within.

8. Overall Message: When a family is focused on their own selfish feelings, instead of the emotional well being of each other, it will cause the family to be vulnerable to the cruelties of the world.

Critical Lens Synthesis Essay Work Time Essay Planning:

General Topic: (Family, Violence, or Love and Lust) Text 1:

1. Title: _____________ Author: __________________

2. Genre (non-fiction, fiction or article, short story, or novel)

3. Summary of the text

4. Quotes or paraphrases from the text that relates to your topic with page #.

5. Explanation/Inference about what message the evidence has about your topic.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with at least two additional quotes from the source.

7. Explanation of the societal ideas/values/reasons/motives/trends/beliefs that are represented in the text about your topic.

8. Overall message

Critical Lens Synthesis Essay Work Time Essay Planning:

General Topic: (Family, Violence, or Love and Lust) Text 2:

1. Title: _____________ Author: __________________

2. Genre (non-fiction, fiction or article, short story, or novel)

3. Summary of the text

4. Quotes or paraphrases from the text that relates to your topic with page #.

5. Explanation/Inference about what message the evidence has about your topic.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with at least two additional quotes from the source.

7. Explanation of the societal ideas/values/reasons/motives that are represented in the text about your topic.

8. Overall message

Critical Lens Synthesis Essay Work Time Essay Planning:

General Topic: (Family, Violence, or Love and Lust) Text 3:

1. Title: _____________ Author: __________________

2. Genre (non-fiction, fiction or article, short story, or novel)

3. Summary of the text

4. Quotes or paraphrases from the text that relates to your topic with page #.

5. Explanation/Inference about what message the evidence has about your topic.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with at least two additional quotes from the source.

7. Explanation of the societal ideas/values/reasons/motives that are represented in the text about your topic.

8. Overall message

Critical Lens Synthesis Essay Work Time Essay Planning:

General Topic: (Family, Violence, or Love and Lust) Text 4:

1. Title: _____________ Author: __________________

2. Genre (non-fiction, fiction or article, short story, or novel)

3. Summary of the text

4. Quotes or paraphrases from the text that relates to your topic with page #.

5. Explanation/Inference about what message the evidence has about your topic.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with at least two additional quotes from the source.

7. Explanation of the societal ideas/values/reasons/motives that are represented in the text about your topic.

8. Overall message

Critical Lens Synthesis Essay Work Time Essay Planning:

General Topic: (Family, Violence, or Love and Lust) Text 5:

1. Title: _____________ Author: __________________

2. Genre (non-fiction, fiction or article, short story, or novel)

3. Summary of the text

4. Quotes or paraphrases from the text that relates to your topic with page #.

5. Explanation/Inference about what message the evidence has about your topic.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with at least two additional quotes from the source.

7. Explanation of the societal ideas/values/reasons/motives that are represented in the text about your topic.

8. Overall message

Critical Lens Synthesis Essay Work Time Essay Planning:

General Topic: (Family, Violence, or Love and Lust) Text 6:

1. Title: _____________ Author: __________________

2. Genre (non-fiction, fiction or article, short story, or novel)

3. Summary of the text

4. Quotes or paraphrases from the text that relates to your topic with page #.

5. Explanation/Inference about what message the evidence has about your topic.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with at least two additional quotes from the source.

7. Explanation of the societal ideas/values/reasons/motives that are represented in the text about your topic.

8. Overall message

Critical Lens Thesis Looking back at your plan, it is now time to create a working thesis for

your essay.

Topic: ________Text 1: ________ Message: ___________Text 2: ________ Message: ___________Text 3: ________ Message: ___________Text 4: ________ Message: ___________Text 5: ________ Message: ___________Text 6: ________ Message: ___________

Add your messages together to create a cohesive message about your topic that can apply to humans or society in general. Look for a relationship to structure your thesis: Cause and Effect, Problem and Solution, etcThis relationship will help you go back and decide what texts your are going to organize together in your body paragraphs.

Thesis: _______________________________________________________________

Critical Lens Synthesis Outline Thesis(this will go in your introduction):

Body Paragraph 1 Main Idea that addresses one part of the thesis: Evidence Source 1: Analysis Evidence Source 2: Analysis Mastery Evidence Source 3: Analysis Synthesis

Critical Lens Synthesis Outline Thesis(This will go in your introduction):

Body Paragraph 2 Main Idea that addresses one part of the thesis: Evidence Source 1: Analysis Evidence Source 2: Analysis Mastery Evidence Source 3: Analysis Synthesis

Critical Lens Synthesis Outline Thesis (This will go in your introduction):

Body Paragraph 3 Main Idea that addresses one part of the thesis: Evidence Source 1: Analysis Evidence Source 2: Analysis Mastery Evidence Source 3: Analysis Synthesis

Critical Lens Synthesis Outline Thesis (This will go in your introduction):

Mastery Body Paragraph 4 Main Idea that addresses one part of the thesis: Evidence Source 1: Analysis Evidence Source 2: Analysis Mastery Evidence Source 3: Analysis Synthesis

Synthesis Paragraph Rough Draft In our contemporary society there are more temptations and distractions than ever

before which threaten to tear families apart; and when a family is focused on their own selfish feelings, instead of the emotional well being of each other, it will cause the family to be vulnerable to the cruelties of the world. In the article from Time magazine it states that, “a lasting covenant…can be a vehicle for the nurture and protection of each other, the one reliable shelter in an uncaring world—or it can be a matchless tool for the infliction of suffering on the people you supposedly love above all others, most of all your children” (Flanagan). Many people feel that the purpose of a family is to make them more content with life than they already are; this is a fallacy. If a family is to be successful, a sense of obligation, self-sacrifice, and caring is necessary. In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Connie and her mother have a selfish and volatile relationship. Her mother, embarrassed by what she has become, takes her own anger out on her daughter; this causes Connie to hide her true self from her parents and escape into a world filled with dangers because “Connie’s mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over” (Oates ). This family has become as Flanagan says “a matchless tool for the infliction of suffering, on the people [they] supposedly love above all others,” and it ends up costing Connie her life. When Connie, once again, avoids and escapes from her family obligations, she is left at home to become lost in her thoughts, a pop-culture safe-haven. When an older man, who has been following her, shows up at her house he is able to see the vulnerability in Connie. Literally she is alone because her family is at a barbecue, but she is also alone and hollow on the inside because of the lack of support and love from her family. Arnold Friend, a serial killer, notices this and emotionally breaks her down in order to manipulate her. He says, “This place you are now—inside your daddy’s house—is nothing but a cardboard box I can knock down any time. You know that and always did know it” (Oates). Connie is defenseless, she is lost, without any strength to resist the dangers that await her where she is going, which is why she allows Arnold Friend to convince her to give up her family, her self, and her life and go with him to her death. If Connie and her family had been focused on the obligation to each other, the emotional wellbeing of each other, and the happiness of each other, instead of their own feelings and needs, then she would have been able to avoid the perils that lurk in the world’s harsh reality.

The World According To Garp: Reading and Preparation Day While reading be conscious or aware of the

strategies you use to improve your stamina and engagement while reading (these are most likely similar to strategies you use to stay involved in the moment in anything new you are learning).

Be aware of the things that distract you. Keep in mind the creative ways in which you

may want to represent you learning, analysis, and reaction to the novel for your Book Club Preparation.

Begin creating your prepartion:

The World According to Garp Book Club Book Club Reading and Job Expectations

Creative Freedom for Jobs: collage approach to Book Club Jobs. Students will need to collage or piece together 4 aspects

of the previous six jobs. This may include one passage, a smaller detailed drawing, two level 3 questions, 3 vocabulary words, a character chart on one person, or a smaller synthesis chart. Your choice, just chose 4 of the above and have fun and be creative.

An example will be passed around. You may also use sticky notes to annotate for passages

you want to talk about, characters, scenes, vocabulary, and questions. You will take these sticky notes out as you talk about them in book club and put them on a sheet of paper.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Walk-IN: Sit with your book club group and take out your book, book club jobs, and a new sheet of paper.

Learning Objective: Students will understand that the quality of group discussions is

proportional to the individual preparation as well as the collaborative efforts of each participant.

Students will assume responsibilities for effective dialogues by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; listening to a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarifying, verifying, or challenging ideas and conclusions; and promoting divergent and creative viewpoints.

You will increase enjoyment and understanding of a novel by discussion questions, passages, characters, vocabulary, artistic interpretations, and areas of synthesis.

Agenda: Book Club # 2

Due Today:Book Club #2 Creative

Job

Homework:Read and prepare for

Book Cub # 3(Page )

Book Club before discussionSet up header:Book Club #2 Name:Novel: Date:Collage of Jobs:Pages Read:

Summary Paragraph Write a summary paragraph about what happened in your

book so far. Include information about the setting, characters, conflict, and any other important ideas or events.

When finished, discuss your summaries with your group.

Book Club Discussion

Question Job Procedures

Lead the group in a discussion about each question. Allow everyone in your group to participate before you say anything. Take notes on who said what during the discussion of each question. Once everyone has contributed, share your own ideas about the answer to the question. Repeat with each question

Passage Job Procedures

Direct your group to that passage in the book, and have them read along with you as you read the passage out loud. Allow everyone in your group to comment on your passage before you say anything about it, and take notes on who said what during discussion. After everyone has participated, share your written explanation with the group.

Character Job Procedures

Share your Introduction/Update about each character with your group. After sharing about all characters, lead your group in a discussion about relationships, conflicts, and predictions about each character. Allow all members of your group to participate before you offer your own ideas, and take notes on your chart about discussion.

Art Job Procedures

Present artwork to the group. Allow all members to make observations and ask questions before you say anything about the image, and take notes who said what during discussion. Share your ideas about your image after everyone has participated.

Vocabulary Job Procedures

Identify word/phrase/term and direct group to where it appears in the text. Read the sentence/paragraph in which the word appears out loud with the group. Ask the group to share ideas about the word’s meaning and/or significance to the story, and take notes on who said what. After everyone has participated, share your definitions, explanations with the group. Repeat process with each word.

Synthesis Job Procedures

One example at a time, lead the group in a discussion of each example, how it relates to the question. Allow your group to suggest In-Class and Beyond-Class connections BEFORE you suggest any. Fill out your chart as you discuss with your group. For each question, discuss with your group what how all the examples work together to suggest a common answer to each question, the Emerging Message; this should be written in the form of a theme statement.

Book Club After discussion Reflection Paragraph: Choose one of the

following objectives and explain in a paragraph how you and your group met the objective.

Students will understand that the quality of group discussions is proportional to the individual preparation as well as the collaborative efforts of each participant.

Students will assume responsibilities for effective dialogues by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; listening to a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarifying, verifying, or challenging ideas and conclusions; and promoting divergent and creative viewpoints.

You will increase enjoyment and understanding of a novel by discussion questions, passages, characters, vocabulary, artistic interpretations, and areas of synthesis.