Identity and the Individual English 9/ Settles

Name: ____________________________________________

Important Unit Information Essential Questions

★ Who am I? ★ What is my identity? What are the various aspects of my identity? ★ What are my passions, interests and goals and how will these impact my life in the future?

Learning Goals

★ Students will utilize various close reading strategies to better understand grade level complex texts. ★ Students will analyze themes in various texts to make connections to their own lives and society. ★ Students will create many types of writing and artwork relating to portray their own identity. ★ Students will produce narrative essays on real or imagined events including details and event sequences. ★ Student will be able to break down the research process and produce a formal research paper and presentation on a

topic of choice. ★ Students will participate effectively in a wide range of discussions with diverse partners while using evidence to

better comprehend texts. Activities

★ Do Nows- Journals, Grammar, Vocab, Games ★ Class Work/IW- In Class Reading and Homework Reading of Screw Ups & Reading Strategies Practice ★ Corners Game- Agree/Disagree Discussion Activity ★ Poems Activities- Reading Poems, Turn & Talk, SIFT Analysis, Group Discussions, Write Identity Poems/Make

Collage ★ Songs Activities- Annotate with Standard, Complete Song/Writing Activity ★ Narratives Activities- Annotate with Standards/DTQs for Discussion ★ Individual Research Paper- Research Process ★ Socratic Seminar

Assessments

★ Independent Work/Reading Strategies ★ Identity Poems/Collage ★ Musical Identity Mini Project ★ Annotations/DTQs for Narratives ★ Personal Narrative ★ Individual Research Project ★ Socratic Seminar ★ Unit Learning Goal Self Assessment ★ Journal Progress

Table of Contents

1. Discussion Activity: Corners Game 2. Poetry Reading/Discussion & Identity Collage 3. Musical Identity Group and Independent Project 4. Narrative Readings/Writing 5. Honors Assignment 6. Independent Research Project 7. Socratic Seminar Materials

Discussion Activity: Corners Game

Directions: Read through the following statements. Write “A” for Agree, “D” for Disagree and “IDK” for I Don’t Know or “NS” for Not Sure. Next to each statement, take notes for discussion. We will complete an activity where you will be moving around to different sides of the room and you will be asked to explain your reasoning for each statement. All of these statements have to do with themes in the book King of the Screw Ups and other texts in this unit, Identity and the Individual.

1) _____I enjoy reading and have liked some of the books I have read in school.

2) _____I have felt that I could relate to a character in a movie or book before.

3) _____It is important that I do well academically in order to succeed later in life.

4) _____I identify with a particular group or clique at school.

5) _____I am not judgemental when it comes to who I befriend, I could be friends with anyone.

6) _____I care more about what my friends think about me than what my family thinks about me.

7) _____I try to please other people over trying to make myself happy.

8) _____Popularity is important in life and will get you somewhere later on.

9) _____Talent is more important than popularity.

10) _____If you aren’t born gifted at something, you cannot become gifted at it.

11) _____Good looks are important in life and determine how people will view you.

12) _____I care about how I look.

13) _____Guys should not care about how they look, only girls should care about how they look.

14) _____Identity is something that can change over time.

15) _____There are a lot of different parts that can make up a part of your identity.

16) _____Stereotypes are always true.

17) _____I believe that I fit into a certain stereotype.

18) _____Relationships are more important than money or material possessions.

Identity in Poetry

Poem #1:

Directions: First, one student will read the poem aloud to the class. Then groups choose one person to reread the poem. Answer the questions individually and then discuss in your groups. Every group will share out to the class. Invisible By Ashley Dumas People scurry around me it’s like I am invisible I am looked over often forgotten the one whose name goes unknown never remembered not matched to a face or a personality even though I am a person. I exist. I matter. I have significance in this world. Questions:

- What is your interpretation of the poem? - What is the tone of the poem? What effect does it have on a reader? - What is the underlying meaning of the poem? - What could a possible theme be for this poem? - What other figures of speech are included in the poem?

Poem #2: Directions: Complete the SIFT Analysis strategy introduced during Class Induction on the following poem with your group. Then answer the discussion questions as a group. Make sure you are talking with your group about both of these tasks. Be ready to share out as a class and take additional notes on the chart.

Identity by Julio Noboa Polanco

Let them be as flowers,

always watered, fed, guarded, admired, but harnessed to a pot of dirt.

I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed,

clinging on cliffs, like an eagle wind-wavering above high, jagged rocks.

To have broken through the surface of stone,

to live, to feel exposed to the madness of the vast, eternal sky.

To be swayed by the breezes of an ancient sea, carrying my soul, my seed,

beyond the mountains of time or into the abyss of the bizarre.

I'd rather be unseen, and if then shunned by everyone,

than to be a pleasant-smelling flower, growing in clusters in the fertile valley,

where they're praised, handled, and plucked by greedy, human hands.

I'd rather smell of musty, green stench

than of sweet, fragrant lilac. If I could stand alone, strong and free,

I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed.

Group Discussion Questions: ● What is your initial reaction to the poem? ● Do you like/dislike the poem? ● What do you believe the poem is about? ● Is there a deeper meaning to the poem? A potential theme?

Poem #3/Identity Collage Directions: Read the I am the One poem with your group and discuss the repetition in the poem. How does this impact the reader? You will create 2 poems, one in History called the “Where I’m From: poem and an “I am the one” poem for English class. You can use one of the templates below or you can feel free to be creative with the structure of the poem. You will type up and print out the two poems (or write neatly) and create an “Identity Collage” filled with drawings, pictures and images that represent your identity along with the two poems. See Ms. Settles’ example! With permission, Ms. Settles would love to display some of these in the English hallway, obviously, you do not have to do this. You will also be asked to share your poem if you would like to do so. I AM THE ONE Anonymous I am the one I am the one who is subject to whispers I am the one who is always being told to be different. I am the one who has to pretend, the one who can’t tell my family, the one who walks alone in the hallway. The one who isn’t sure anymore. I am the one who is afraid I will be the victim of a hate crime. I am the one you are afraid to be seen with. I am the one who is quick to point fingers and laugh, whose friends are on both sides of the line, who conjures assumptions and spreads rumors. I am the one who is surrounded by people Who are all the same. Who wants to stick up for people but doesn’t know how, who wants to say something back. I am the one who just wants to be accepted I am the one who feels powerless I am the one who wants to be set free I am the one who wants my parents to love me for me Who cares inside but is afraid to speak up. Who always wanted to have the perfect life, but doesn’t know what that means anymore. I am the one who is threatened by difference. I am the one who disagrees with my parents,

I am the one who is never safe, who doesn’t know who I can talk to, who avoids the ones that call me names. I am the one who is outraged at the harassment I see in my school. I am the one. Template Option #1: I am the One For the I am the One poem, you should have at least 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. You can just use the I am the One format for all of the lines as shown above or create your own type of format. Template Option #2: I am Poem

I am a (two special characteristics you have) person I wonder ( something you are curious about)

I hear ( an imaginary sound) I see ( an imaginary sight) I want (an actual desire)

I am ( the first line of the poem repeated) I pretend (something you pretend to do)

I feel (a feeling about something imaginary) I touch (an imaginary touch)

I worry (something that really bothers you) I cry (something that makes you very sad) I am ( the first line of the poem repeated) I understand(something you know is true)

I say (something you believe) I dream (something you dream about)

I try (something you make an effort about) I hope (something you hope for)

I am ( the first line of the poem repeated)

Option #3: Be creative with the structure of your poem!

Your identity collage will be self assessed and graded by Ms. Settles in terms of effort. Identity collages should have the 2 required poems and many pictures/images/drawings of interests and

passions. Color and creativity will also be considered.

Musical Identity Project

Directions: Part 1- With your group, choose one of the songs below to annotate and write 1 paragraph together (per person) about how the song relates to the theme of Identity (all students need their own Google Doc, paragraphs may be similar but should show some individual thought). You will take turns reading the song one time together. Next, you should reread the song and annotate using Reading Anchor Standard #3: Determining a central idea of a text and utilizing evidence to back up your ideas. What this means is that your annotations should have to do directly with the theme of identity. Be ready to share out your group annotations and paragraph with the class. Part 2- Then on your own, you will choose an option below and complete the required elements of the mini project on the same Google Doc. Remember to use 7-10 sentences for a paragraph and use evidence in your analysis. Be ready to briefly present your mini project to the class. Please find appropriate versions of songs or *** out swears. Option 1: Choose one song to annotate and write 3 paragraphs about how it relates to your identity. You must use 3 pieces of evidence (lyrics) from the song in your paragraphs. Your finished product will include one annotated song based on Standard #3 and 3 paragraphs with 1 quote each explaining how the song relates to your identity. Be ready to present. Option 1: Create a soundtrack on your own identity with at least 3 songs on it and annotate one song and write 1 paragraph per song about how the songs relate to your identity. You must use 3 pieces of evidence (lyrics) from the songs in your paragraphs. Your finished product will include at least one annotated song based on Standard #3, a list of the songs and 3 paragraphs (1 per song) with 1 quote each explaining how the songs relate to your identity. Be ready to present. Group Activity Songs:

"Try" by Colby Callait

Oooh Oooh

Put your makeup on Get your nails done

Curl your hair Run the extra mile

Keep it slim so they like you, do they like you? Get your sexy on Don't be shy, girl

Take it off This is what you want, to belong, so they like you

Do you like you? You don't have to try so hard

You don't have to give it all away You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up

You don't have to change a single thing You don't have to try, try, try, try You don't have to try, try, try, try You don't have to try, try, try, try

You don't have to try Yooou don't have to try

Oooh Oooh

Get your shopping on, at the mall, max your credit cards You don't have to choose, buy it all, so they like you

Do they like you? Wait a second,

Why should you care, what they think of you When you're all alone, by yourself, do you like you?

Do you like you? You don't have to try so hard

You don't have to give it all away You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up

You don't have to change a single thing You don't have to try so hard

You don't have to bend until you break You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up

You don't have to change a single thing You don't have to try, try, try, try You don't have to try, try, try, try You don't have to try, try, try, try

You don't have to try You don't have to try, try, try, try You don't have to try, try, try, try You don't have to try, try, try, try

You don't have to try Yooou don't have to try

Noooo Oooh

You don't have to try so hard You don't have to give it all away

You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up You don't have to change a single thing

You don't have to try, try, try, try You don't have to try, try, try, try

You don't have to try You don't have to try

Take your makeup off Let your hair down

Take a breath Look into the mirror, at yourself

Don't you like you? Cause I like you

_____________________________________________________________

"She's Country" by Jason Aldean

You boys ever met a real country girl? Talkin, true blue, out in the woods, down home, country girl

She's a hot little number in her pick-up truck Daddy's sweet money done jacked it up

She's a party-all-nighter from South Carolina, a bad mamajama from down in Alabama She's a raging cajun, a lunatic from Brunswick, juicy Georgia peach With a thick southern drawl, sexy swing and walk, brother she's all Country, (shoot) from her cowboy boots to her down home roots She's country, from the songs she plays to the prayers she prays,

That's the way she was born and raised, she ain't afraid to stay, country Brother she's country

A hell raisin sugar when the sun goes down, mama taught her how to rip up a town Honey dripping honey from the hollerin Kentucky, getcha flippin kinda trippie like a Mississippi hippie,

She's a Kansas princess, crazy mother trucker, undercover lover Thick southern drawl, sexy swing and walk,

Brother she's all Country (shoot) from her cowboy boots to her down home roots

She's country, from the songs she plays to the prayers she prays, That's the way she was born and raised, she ain't afraid to stay, country

Nothin but country (Thick southern drawl) (Sexy swing and walk)

(Aw show 'em how a country girl does it one time now) Brother she's country, from her cowboy boots to her down home roots

Nothin but country Yea yea yeaaa

She's country (shoot) from her cowboy boots to her down home roots She's country, from the songs she plays to the prayers she prays,

That's the way she was born and raised she ain't afraid to stay, country Yea she's nothing but country

She's all about the country From the backwoods she's a homegrown, down to the bone, she's country

___________________________________________________________

"Wings" by Macklemore

(feat. Ryan Lewis)

I was seven years old, when I got my first pair And I stepped outside

And I was like, momma, this air bubble right here, it's gonna make me fly I hit that court, and when I jumped, I jumped, I swear I got so high

I touched the net, momma I touched the net, this is the best day of my life Air Max's were next,

That air bubble, that mesh The box, the smell, the stuffin', the tread, in school

I was so cool I knew that I couldn't crease 'em

My friends couldn't afford 'em Four stripes on their Adidas

On the court I wasn't the best, but my kicks were like the pros Yo, I stick out my tongue so everyone could see that logo

Nike Air Flight, but bad was so dope And then my friend Carlos' brother got murdered for his Fours*, whoa

See he just wanted a jump shot, but they wanted his Starter coat, though Didn't wanna get caught, from Genesee Park to Othello You could clown for those Pro Wings, with the Velcro

Those were not tight I was trying to fly without leaving the ground,

Cause I wanted to be like Mike, right Wanted to be him, I wanted to be that guy, I wanted to touch the rim

I wanted to be cool, and I wanted to fit in, I wanted what he had, America, it begins

[Chorus:] I want to fly

Can you take me far away Give me a star to reach for

Tell me what it takes And I'll go so high

I'll go so high My feet won't touch the ground

I stitch my wings And pull the strings

I bought these dreams That all fall down

We want what we can't have, commodity makes us want it So expensive, damn, I just got to flaunt it

Gotta show 'em, so exclusive, this that new s*** A hundred dollars for a pair of shoes I would never hoop in

Look at me, look at me, I'm a cool kid I'm an individual, yeah, but I'm part of a movement

My movement told me be a consumer and I consumed it They told me to just do it, I listened to what that swoosh said

Look at what that swoosh did See it consumed my thoughts

Are you stupid, don't crease 'em, just leave 'em in that box Strangled by these laces, laces I can barely talk

That's my air bubble and I'm lost, if it pops

We are what we wear, we wear what we are But see I look inside the mirror and think Phil Knight tricked us all

Will I stand for change, or stay in my box These Nikes help me define me, but I'm trying to take mine, off

[Chorus:] I want to fly

Can you take me far away Give me a star to reach for

Tell me what it takes And I'll go so high

I'll go so high My feet won't touch the ground

I stitch my wings And pull the strings

I bought these dreams That all fall down

It started out, with what I wear to school That first day, like these are what make you cool

And this pair, this would be my parachute So much more than just a pair of shoes

Nah, this is what I am What I wore, this is the source of my youth

This dream that they sold to you For a hundred dollars and some change

Consumption is in the veins And now I see it's just another pair of shoes

[* Air Jordan IV]

Reading and Writing Narrative Essays Directions: In groups and independently, you will read the following narratives. For each narrative, you will choose 2 Reading Anchor Standards to use to annotate many times throughout the texts. You will choose these at the beginning but you may change/modify them while reading or after reading. At the end of reading each narrative, you will come up with at least 2 DTQs based on these standards. While reading, think about how these narratives can help you write your own narrative. Narrative #1 List Reading Anchor Standards for Annotations:

1) 2)

Staying in the Lines Jerry Spinelli I was neat.

How neat was I? Say I had to cut a rectangle out of a piece of paper. First I would measure a perfect shape with my ruler, then draw it with a sharp pencil. Then with my scissors I would cut it out. But not just cut it out. I would cut precisely along the right edge of the pencil line, or precisely along the left edge, or I would split the line in half and cut precisely right down the middle. Consistently, all the way around the rectangle.

In seventh grade at Stewart Junior High, I astonished my shop teacher, Mr. Rohn, with the precision of my mechanical drawings and the perfection of my hand-lettering.

That same year I won numerous Palmer Method penmanship certificates and was declared the outstanding boy penmeister.

Every Easter Time the merchants of the West End shopping district-- three blocks on Marshall Street-- sponsored a coloring contest. Every day for two weeks line drawings-- color-book-type pictures-- were printed in the Times Herald. Each business had its own picture. Kids were invited to cut out the pictures, color them, and deposit their entries in boxes in the stores.

Unlike most kids, I did not use crayons. I used colored pencils. My frequently sharpened points never-- never-- strayed outside the lines. And my colors were right, too. No green sky or red grass for me.

For me, staying inside the lines was more than a color-the-picture atter. Give me a direction, I followed it. Put a rule in front of me, I obeyed it. In twelve years I never

stayed after school for detention. Once, though, I came close. It happened in the spring of ninth grade. Our homeroom teacher, Miss Busch, announced that our lockers would be reviewed for neatness. Since I kept my locker neat at all times, there was nothing for me to tidy up.

The next morning as the students entered Homeroom 213, we looked to the blackboard for the names of those whose lockers failed to pass muster. Shockingly, my name was among them. The punishment, besides cleaning up the offending locker, was detention.

I told Miss Busch there must be a mistake. She said there wasn’t. I said I wouldn’t be there for detention. It was the only time I ever talked back to a teacher. She said I’d be sorry.

After school that day, as usual, I went to baseball practice. When I arrived at school the next morning, I discovered I was no longer on the team. Nor was I homeroom president. I was stripped of every office and association.

My locker may have been tidy, but suddenly my life was a mess. One day of watching my backup shortstop was enough. I couldn’t stand it. I apologized to Miss Busche, and the picture of my life fell back into place.

I loved routine, repeatedness. To do the same thing twice was to establish a personal tradition. In other words, where there were no lines, I drew my own. It stepped inside and stayed there-- cozy, safe.

Summer Saturdays, for example. In the morning, I walked a mile from George Street to the YMCA. There I played Ping-Pong in the game room with Lee Holmes, Ralph Cottman, and others. Then a screen and projector were brought out, the lines turned off, and we all settled in to watch a black and white movie, usually a Tarzan adventure.

After the movie I walked down to Main Street, past Block’s department store, past the Norris Theatre, to Texas Hot Weiners. The best hot dogs in town were sizzling right there in the front window, daring each passerby not to come in. I sat at the counter and placed my order, always the same: hot dog with mustard and chopped onions, and chocolate milk. I’ve had a lot of wimpy hot dogs since then, hot dogs so soft you can’t feel your teeth go through them, so mushy with fat and cereal you could almost drink them with a straw. Not Texas Hot Weiners. They had spunk. They fought back.

By now it was one o’clock. Across the street I went to the Charrick Theatre and the Saturday matinee double feature-- cowboy movies plus a Flash Gordon or Captain Midnight serial.

Hours later I emerged blinking in the late-afternoon sun. I walked home along Markley Street, past the wet-smelling Wonder Bread plant, the sidewalk dusty with flour, past the Times Herald, over the Markley Street bridge that spanned Stony Creek. I always stopped at the bridge railing to look for sunfish in the sparkling water below. Only when I spotted one would I continue my journey homeward.

Every summer Saturday. The same thing. Needless to say, I was well acquainted with perfect attendance in school. Most years went by

without my missing a day. When I walked, I trained myself to keep my feet pointed straight ahead, not pigeon-toed or

splayed outward. I even fantasized about neatness. I imagined our house had been selected for a visit by

President Eisenhower. I saw myself going from room to room putting everything precisely in its place. On the racks in the bathroom the corners of the towels came together perfectly.

In another fantasy I set out to tidy up the world. Anything I couldn’t fix with hedge trimmers and lawn mower I paved over with asphalt. By the time I was finished, the Amazon jungle looked like the flower beds and crew cut lawns of the North End of Norristown.

I spread my peanut butter evenly over my bread. I never said bad words (unless you count “poop”). I hardly ever laughed out loud. As I said, I was neat. And though I did not think of it this way, I believe that what I was actually

trying to do was to become perfect. Funny thing: For all neatness, my sharp pencil points, my devotion to the right side of the line, I

never won the West End shopping district coloring contest. Every year I tried harder than before, tried to be even neater, and still I lost. I couldn’t figure out why.

Wasn’t neatness enough? Wasn’t perfection possible? No, said my yo-yo. Often I had what seemed to be a perfect day-- 100 on a spelling test,

winning touchdown in a pickup game, a new haircut-- only to come home and find knots in my yo-yo string. I began to think the string had a mind of its own. I imagined it waiting until I wasn’t looking, then rising up like a cobra and looping itself into knots. My paranoia seemed to confirmed one morning when I awoke to find knots that I could have sworn were not there when I went to bed.

When I was eleven and twelve, I played Biddy basketball, the equivalent of Little League baseball. In my final year I made the all-star team, but not because I was a great scorer. The most points I ever scored in a game was twelve, and usually it was half that. I think I made the all-stars as much for what I did not do as for what I did. That is to say, I did not make mistakes.

Playing the guard position, I dribbled a lot and passed a lot. But these were relatively risk-free ventures. Shooting was where the risk was, and I rarely took more than five shots in a game. I wasn’t a bad shooter, but each shot I missed discouraged me from taking more. At home after each game, I neatly entered into a notebook my statistics: assists, shots taken, shots made, fouls. Of course I hardly ever committed a foul. And because I played the game so carefully, I never found out how good a basketball player I might become. Too late I learned that neatness does not serve all endeavors equally well, that what is god for penmanship is not necessarily good for basketball.

A willingness to take risks, to color outside the lines, was slow in coming to me. Some stubborn idea of perfection deterred me from fully extending myself in simple, pure participation. I was too afraid to fail. I did not appreciate the value of a mess.

Not that I wasn’t given the chance. Looking back, I can see now that that’s what the school-locker incident was: an opportunity to grow beyond my own self-imposed limits. And for one day, I did. Falsely accused of having a disorderly locker, I was properly outraged. I defied my teacher. I refused to submit to injustice. I turned my back on detention. I charged across the line. I became a new me.

Then came the consequences-- banishment from the basketball team, from all offices. Did I rise up and cry, “Punish me if you will! I don’t care! I will never capitulate to this injustice”? Did I finish out the year in noble exile, stripped of all honors? Did I stand up for what I knew was right?

No. I caved in. I apologized for protesting an unjust verdict. My life was reinstated. Order was

restored, the mess was cleaned up. I was back inside the lines. Once again I was the old familiar me. Yet even as I publicly conformed in word and deed, a contrary tendency was forming within in.

It showed briefly in sixth grade when I wrote the unassigned poem on Mexico. It showed in my neatness fantasies-- not in the subject matter but in the mere act of fantasizing. It showed in my swooning wonderment over the endlessness of the sky at night.

And it showed most commonly in my own version of the Garrick Theater’s double features. When an event in my life-- say a baseball game-- was over, it was not really over. For that night in bed I would relive it in my head. I would again see the vivid colors and hear the voices and feel the feelings, and the reliving would be, in its own way, as real to me as the first time around. Sometimes it was even better. Sometimes I couldn’t wait for the event to be over and bedtime to arrives so that I could play it back.

As I have said, if you had asked me what I would grow up to be, I would have answered, “A baseball player.” But even as a I oiled the deep, fragrant pocket of my Marty Marion glove and taped the hickory handle of my thirty-three-ounce bat, I was unknowingly developing the tool of another trade. The urge to write a poem, to daydream, to ruminate, to wonder, even my tolerance of solitude-- all became components of a bearing that I would never have guessed would fit me so well, an aptitude that thrives on disorder, that welcomes green sky and red grass, that serves neither master nor homeroom teacher, that respects no line or limit. I speak, of course, of imagination-- a gift that like my Roadmaster on that Christmas morning, waited in another room for my discovery. 2 DTQs with Labeled Standards:

Narrative #2: List Reading Anchor Standards for Annotations:

1) 2)

Fish Cheeks Amy Tan I fell in love with the minister's son the winter I turned fourteen. He was not Chinese, but as white as Mary in the manger. For Christmas I prayed for this blond-haired boy, Robert, and a slim new American nose. When I found out that my parents had invited the minister's family over for Christmas Eve dinner, I cried. What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas? What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners? What terrible disappointment would he feel upon seeing not a roasted turkey and sweet potatoes but Chinese food? On Christmas Eve I saw that my mother had outdone herself in creating a strange menu. She was pulling black veins out of the backs of fleshy prawns. The kitchen was littered with appalling mounds of raw food: A slimy rock cod with bulging eyes that pleaded not to be thrown into a pan of hot oil. Tofu, which looked like stacked wedges of rubbery white sponges. A bowl soaking dried fungus back to life. A plate of squid, their backs crisscrossed with knife markings so they resembled bicycle tires. And then they arrived – the minister's family and all my relatives in a clamor of doorbells and rumpled Christmas packages. Robert grunted hello, and I pretended he was not worthy of existence. Dinner threw me deeper into despair. My relatives licked the ends of their chopsticks and reached across the table, dipping them into the dozen or so plates of food. Robert and his family waited patiently for platters to be passed to them. My relatives murmured with pleasure when my mother brought out the whole steamed fish. Robert grimaced. Then my father poked his chopsticks just below the fisheye and plucked out the soft meat. "Amy, your favorite," he said, offering me the tender fish cheek. I wanted to disappear. At the end of the meal my father leaned back and belched loudly, thanking my mother for her fine cooking. "It's a polite Chinese custom to show you are satisfied," explained my father to our astonished guests. Robert was looking down at his plate with a reddened face. The minister managed to muster up a quiet burp. I was stunned into silence for the rest of the night. After everyone had gone, my mother said to me, "You want to be the same as American girls on the outside." She handed me an early gift. It was a mini skirt in beige tweed. "But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame." And even though I didn't agree with her then, I knew that she understood how much I had suffered during the evening's dinner. It wasn't until many year later – long after I had gotten over my crush on Robert – that I was able to fully appreciate her lesson and the true purpose behind our particular menu. For Christmas Eve that year, she had chosen all my favorite foods. 2 DTQs with Labeled Standards:

Narrative #3: List Reading Anchor Standards for Annotations:

1) 2)

Ike: A Good Friend By Gary Paulsen

Much of my childhood I was alone. Family troubles- my parents were drunks- combined with a devastating shyness and a complete lack of social skills to ensure a life of solitude. This isolation was not natural, of course, especially for a child, most of the time I was excruciatingly lonely. I sought friends whenever I could, but was rarely successful.

When I was very young these times of loneliness were spent making model airplanes, reading comic books or just daydreaming. But when I was twelve, living in a small town named Twin Forks in northern Minnesota, an uncle gave me a Remington .22 rifle he’d bought at a hardware store for ten dollars. I ran to the woods.

It is not somehow “politically correct” to hung, and that is a shame for young boys. For me it was not only the opening into a world of wonder, it was salvation. I lived and breathed to hunt, to fish.

Two rivers ran out of town, one to the north and one to the east, and any day, hour of few minutes I could spare I would run these rivers. The first year I hunted mostly rabbits and ruffed goose-- feeding myself in the process. I scuffled along in old boots with a box of .22 long rifle cartridges in my pocket and the single-shot rifle in my hand. On my back was an old army surplus light pack I’d bought with money from setting pins at the local bowling alley. In the pack I had matches, usually a loaf of bread, salt and an old aluminum pot for boiling water.

There was great beauty in running the rivers, especially in the fall when the leaves were turning. The maples were red gold and filtered the sunlight so that you could almost taste the richness of the light, and before long I added a surplus army blanket, rolled up over the pack, and I would spend the nights out as well. During school-- where I did badly-- I would hunt in the evenings. But on Friday I was gone, and I would frequently spend the entire weekend alone in the woods.

The problem was that I was alone. I had not learned then to love solitude-- as I do now-- and the feeling of loneliness was visceral, palpable. I would see something beautiful-- the sun through the leaves, a deer moving through the dappled light, the explosion of a grouse flying up through the leaves-- and I would turn to point it out to somebody, turn to say, “Look…” and there would be no one there.

The second fall after I’d started living and off the woods I decided to hunt ducks. Miles to the north were the great swamps and breeding groups of literally millions of ducks and geese, and when the migratory flights started south the sky would seem to darken with them. The .22 rifle was not suited for ducks-- was indeed illegal for them-- so I saved my money setting pins and bought an old single-shot Browning twelve gauge shot gun from a kid name Sonny. The gun had a long barrel and a

full choke, and with number four shot seemed to reach out forever. I never became really good with it, but could hit now and then when the ducks were flying at the right angle. Duck hunting soon became my life.

I did not have decoys but I made some blinds six miles out of town where there were cattail swamps. I would walk out there in the dark, leaving the house at three in the morning, nestle into the blinds and wait for the morning flights to come in from the north. Usually I would get one of two ducks-- once a goose-- but some I wounded or didn’t kill cleanly and they would get into the swamp grass and weeds in the water and I couldn’t find them.

It was about then that I met Ike. Ike was a great barrel- chested black Labrador that became one of the best friends I’ve ever

had and was in all ways an equal; not a pet, not something to master, but an equal. I had had other dogs. Snowball in the Philippines, then a cocker spaniel somebody gave me

named Trina. They were sweet and dear and gave love the way only dogs can, with total acceptance, but ike was the first dog I’d ever known not as a pet but as a separate entity, a partner.

We met strangely enough. It was duck season and I was going hunting. I woke up at three and sneaked from the basement, where I stayed when my parents were drunk-- which was all the time-- up into the kitchen. Quietly I made two fried egg sandwiches at the stove. I wrapped them in cellophane (this was well before sandwich bags), folded them into a paper sack and put them in my pack along with a Thermos of hot coffee. Then I got my shotgun from the basement. I dumped a box of shells into the pockets of the old canvas coat I’d found in a truck in the back of the coal room. I put on the knee-high rubber boots I’d bought at army supplies.

I walked from the apartment building four blocks to the railroad, crossed the tracks near the roundhouse yard, crossed the Eighth Street bridge and then dropped down to the riverband and started walking along the water.

The river quickly left settled country and headed into the woods, and in the dark-- there was just the faintest touch of gray on the horizon-- it was hard going. The brush pulled at my clothes and after a mile and a half the swamps became more prevalent so that I was wading in the muck. I went to pull myself up the bank and walk where the ground was harder.

It had been raining, mixed with snow, and the mud on the bank was as slick as grease. I fell once in the darkness, got to my feet and scrabbled up the bank again, shotgun in one hand and grabbing at roots and shrubs with the other. I had just gained the top, brought my head up over the edge, when a part of the darkness detached itself, leaned close to my face and went:

“Woof.” It was that distinct-- not “arf,” nor “ruff,” nor a growl, but the very defined sound of “woof.” I was so startled that I froze, mouth half open. Then I let go of the shrub and fell back down

the mud incline. On the way down the thought hit me-- bear. Something big and black, that sound-- it had to be a bear. Then the word gun. I had a gun. I landed on my back and aimed up the bank, pulled the hammer back and put my finger on the trigger before I realized the gun wasn’t loaded yet. I never loaded it while walking in the dark. I clawed at my pockets for shells, found one, broke open the gun

and inserted a shell, slammed it shut and was going to aim again when something about the shaped stopped me. (It was well it did-- I had accidentally jammed the barrel of the shotgun full of mud when I fell. Had I pulled the trigger the shell would have blown up in my face.)

There was just enough of the dawn to show a silhouette. Whatever it was remained at the top of the bank. It was sitting there looking down at me and was the wrong shape and size for a bear. It was a big dog, a black dog. But it was a dog and it wasn’t attacking.

I lowered the gun and wiped the mud out of my eyes, stood and scraped mud off my clothes. I was furious, but not at the dog. There were other hunters who worked the river during duck season and some of them had dogs. I assumed that one of them was nearby and had let his animal run loose, scaring about ten years off my life.

“Who owns you?” I asked the shape. It didn’t move or make any further sounds and I climbed the bank again and it moved back a few feet, then sat again.

“Hello!” I called into the woods around me. “I have your dog here!” There was nobody. “So you’re a stray?” There were many stray dogs in town and some of them ran to the woods.

It was bad when they did because they often formed packs and did terrible damage. In packs they were worse than wolves because they did not fear men the way wolves did and they tore livestock and some people to pieces.

But strays were shy and usually starved. This dog stayed near me and in the gathering light I could see that he was a Labrador and that he was well fed. His coat was thick and he had fat on his back and sides.

“Well,” I said. “What do I do with you?” This time his tail thumped twice and he pointedly looked at the gun, then back at my face, then

down the side of the river to the water. “You want to hunt?” There, he knew that word. His tail hammered his sides and he stood, wiggling, and moved off

along the river ahead of me. I had never hunted with a dog before and did not know for certain what was expected of me.

But I started to follow, thinking we might jump up a mallard or teal. Then I remembered my fall and the mud and that gun was still loaded. I unloaded it and checked the bore and found the end packed with mud. It took me a minute to clean it out and reload it and before I’d finished he’d come back and sat four feet away, watching me quietly.

It was light enough now for me to see that he had a collar and a tag so he wasn’t a stray. It must be some town dog, I thought, that had followed me. I held out my hand. “Come here…”

But he remained at a distance and when it was obvious that I was ready to go he set off again. It was light enough now to shoot-- light enough to see the front bead of the shotgun and a duck against the sky-- so I kept the gun ready and we had gone fifty yards when two mallards exploded out of some thick grass near the bank about twenty yards away and started up and across the river.

It was a classic shot. Mallards flying straight up to gain altitude before making off, backlist against a cold, cloudy October sky. I raised the gun, cocked it, aimed just above the right hand duck to lead his flight and squeezed the trigger.

There was a crash and the recoil slammed me back. I was small and the gun was big and I usually had a bruise after firing it more than once. But my aim was good and the righthand duck seemed to break in the air, crumpled and fell into the water. I had shot ducks over the river before and the way to get them was to wait until the current brought the body to shore. Sometimes it took most of the morning, waiting for the slow-moving water to bring them in.

This time was different. With the smell of powder still in the air, almost before the duck finished falling, the dog was off the bank in a great leap, hit the water swimming, his shoulders pumping as he churned the surface and made a straight line to the dead duck. He took it in his mouth gently, turned and swam back, climbed the bank and put the duck by my right foot, then moved off a couple of feet and sat, looking at me.

I made sure the duck was dead, then picked it up and tied it to my belt with a string I carried for the purpose. The dog sat and watched me the whole time, waiting. It was fully light now and I moved to him, petted him-- he let me but in a reserved way-- and pulled his tag to the side so I could read it.

My name is Ike. That’s all it said. No address, no owner’s name, just one short sentence. “Well, Ike”-- at this his tail wagged-- “I’d like to thank you for bringing me the duck…” And that was how it started, how I came to know Ike. Duck season soon consumed me and I spent every morning walking and hunting the river. On

school days I would go out and come back just in time to get to classes and on the weekends I stayed out.

And every morning Ike was there. I’d come across the bridge, start down the river, and he’d be there, waiting. After a few mornings he’d let me pet him-- I think he did it for me more than him-- and by the end of the first week I was looking forward to seeing him. By the middle of the second week I felt as if we’d been hunting with each other forever.

And he knew hunting. Clearly somebody had trained him well. He moved quietly, sat in the blind with me without moving, watched the barrel of the gun to see which duck I was going to shoot at, and when I shot he would leap into the water. On those occasions when I missed-- I think more often than not-- he would watch the duck fly away, turn to me and give me a look of such uncompromising pity and scorn that I would feel compelled to apologize and make excuses.

“The wind moved the barrel,” or “A drop of water hit my eye when I shot.” Of course, he did not believe me but would turn back, sitting there waiting for the next shot so

I could absolve myself. When the hunting was done he’d walk back with me to town, trotting alongside, until we

arrived at the bridge. There he would stop and sit down and nothing I did would make him come farther. I tried waiting him out to see where he would go but when it was obvious that I wasn’t going

to leave he merely lay down and went to sleep, or turned and started back into the woods, looking back to see if we were going hunting again.

Once I left him, crossed the bridge and then hid in the back of a building and watched. He stayed until I was out of sight and then turned and trotted north away from the bridge along the river. There were no houses in that direction, at least on the far side of the river, and I watched him until he disappeared into the woods. I was no wiser than I had been.

The rest of his life was a mystery and would remain so for thirty years. But when we were together we became fast friends, at least on my part.

I would cook an extra egg sandwich for Ike and when the flights weren’t coming we would “talk”.That is to say, I would talk, tell him all my troubles, and he would sit, his enormous head sometimes resting on my knee, his huge brown eyes looking up at me while i petted him and rattled on.

On the weekends when I stayed out, I would construct a lean-to and make a fire and he would curl up on the edge of my blanket. Many mornings I would awaken to find him under the frost-covered blanket with me, sound asleep, my arm thrown over him, his breath rumbling against my side.

It seemed like there’d always been an Ike in my life and then one morning he wasn’t there and I never saw him again. I tried to find him. I would wait for him in the mornings by the bridge, but he never showed again. I thought he might have gotten hit by a car, of his owners moved away. I mourned him and missed him. But I did not learn what happened to him for thirty years.

I grew and went into the crazy parts of life, army and those other mistakes a young man could make. I grew older and got back into dogs, this time sled dogs, and ran the Iditarod race across Alaska. After my first run I came back to Minnesota with slides of the race to show to all the people who had supported me. A sporting goods store had been one of my sponsors and I gave a public slide show of the race one evening.

There was an older man sitting in a wheelchair and I saw that when I told a story of how Cookie, my lead dog, had saved my life his eyes teared up and he nodded quietly.

When the event was over he wheeled up to me and shook my hands. “I had a dog like your Cookie-- a dog that saved my life.” “Oh-- did you run sleds?” He shook his head. “No. Not like that. I lived up in Twin Forks when I was young and was

drafted to serve in the Korean War. I had a Labrador that I raised and hunted with, and left him when I went away. I was gone just under a year; I got wounded and lost the use of my legs. When I came back from the hospital he was waiting there and he spent the rest of his life by my side. I would have gone crazy without him. I’d sit for hours and talk to him and he would listen quietly… it was so sad. He loved to hunt and I never hunted again.” He faded off and his eyes were moist again. “I still miss him…”

I looked at him, then out of the sporting goods store. It was spring and the snow was melting outside but I was seeing fall and a boy and a Lab sitting in a duck blind. Twin Forks, he’d said-- and the Korean War. The time was right, and the place, and the dog.

“Your dog,” I said. “Was he named Ike?” He smiled and nodded. “Why, yes-- but how...did you know him?” There was a soft spring rain starting and the window misted with it. That was why Ike had not

come back. He had another job. “Yes,” I said, turning to him. “He was my friend…”

2 DTQs with Labeled Standards:

Writing Our Own Narratives

Directions: You will now write your own narrative, based on a moment/experience you have had in your own life or a fictional event. The point of a narrative is to make the reader feel as if they are in that moment. Your narrative should be at least 3 pages double spaced (1.5 pages single spaced) while longer narratives are encouraged and appreciated. View the tips and outline below to help you write your essay. Also see the checklist/rubric at the end of the assignment for how you will be evaluated on this assignment. The requirements for the narrative are based on the Writing Anchor Standard for writing narratives. The Narrative Writing Anchor Standard reads:” Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.” The following checklist was created directly off of the more detailed writing standards for Narratives. Requirements for the Narrative:

______At least 3 double spaced pages of writing. Typed and turned in on Google Drive on time.

______Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation

______Establish one or multiple point(s) of view

______Introduce a narrator and/or characters

______Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.

______Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

________Use a variety of techniques to move between/transition between events so that they build on one another to create a clear story.

_____Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Show, don’t tell and utilize imagery!

_____Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.

_____Editing/revisions of paper.

Brainstorming for Ideas/Prompts: For some ideas, try the following websites. Copy the URL and insert it into the web browser. http://grammar.about.com/od/developingessays/a/topnarrative07.htm http://www2.asd.wednet.edu/pioneer/barnard/wri/narr.htm http://www.mediasmartphilly.com/top-ten-interesting-and-unique-narrative-essay-topic-ideas Outline: Your narrative does not have to go in this order, but these are parts you should have in your narrative. Introduction should include:

● Hook- something to reel in the reader ● Set the Scene- tell what the situation is, who is involved, where it happens, when it is

happening (past/present) etc. ● Thesis Statement- different from other kinds of essays. Starts the action, tells a

moral/lesson or gives a theme or what is to come.

Body Paragraphs should include: ● Description of event/action ● Show, don’t tell use of details and images ● Supporting “evidence”- your experiences ● The passing of time in some way, either in order or jumping around in a clear way ● Dialogue between characters ● Transitions

Conclusion should include:

● Closing of the action or event ● Some sort of reflection or analysis of what you learned

Checklist/Rubric Each part of the checklist/rubric will be worth 10 points for a total of 100 points. Please use the checklist/rubric below to get the best possible average on your narrative. ______At least 3 double spaced pages of writing. Typed and turned in on Google Drive on time. Creative title, 12 point font Times New Roman, double spaced.

______Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation

______Establish one or multiple point(s) of view

______Introduce a narrator and/or characters

______Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.

______Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

______Use a variety of techniques to move between/transition between events so that they build on one another to create a clear story.

_____Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Show, don’t tell and utilize imagery!

_____Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.

_____Proofreading, editing/revisions of paper.

TOTAL SCORE: ____________

Honors Assignment: Short Story Directions: Honors students have their first additional assignment for this unit. Honors students will do a first reading/annotation of the story St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell on their own time (Please download from Unit 2 Weebly Site). This is a challenging text and will be discussed fully in a few AT Honors meetings. CP Students may also complete the assignment too for an additional grade for the year. Honors students will read the story, annotate it and create at least 2 potential DTQs for discussion. Honors students will also be asked to present the story to CP students after the Honors Meetings and also will discuss the story in the Socratic Seminar later on in the unit.

Independent Research Project

Directions: You will now write a formal research paper and presentation based on the topic of your choice. I want this project to be student-run and guided by the teacher. You will complete a journal entry on the topic, “What do you want to learn about?” as a starting place for your paper. Then you will follow the process below to complete this assignment. See all materials below as well as the rubric/grading system. Process:

1) Consider and learn the real world writing purposes. 2) Brainstorm ideas for your paper below. 3) Complete the topic development worksheet. Create subtopics. 4) Finish the Choosing the Audience questions. 5) Conduct Research. 6) Create Works Cited. 7) Complete Outline for Research Paper 8) Write Rough Draft Paper with Works Cited on Google Drive. 9) Revise/Edit/Improve and turn in Final Draft on Google Drive.

Writing Purposes:

Real World Writing Purposes

Purposes Explanation

Express and Reflect (Narratives, not this project) The writer… -expresses or reflects on his or her own life and experiences -often looks backward in order to look forward

Inform and Explain The writer… -states a main point and purpose -tries to present the information in a surprising way

Evaluate and Judge The writer… -focuses on the worth of person, object, idea, or other phenomenon -usually specifies the criteria to the object being seen as “good” or “bad”

Inquire and Explore The writer… -wrestles with a question or problem -hooks with a problem and lets the reader watch them wrestle with it

Analyze and Interpret The writer… -seeks to analyze and interpret phenomena that are difficult to understand or explain

Take a Stand/Propose a Solution The writer… -seeks to persuade audiences to accept a particular position on a controversial issue -describes the problem, proposes a solution, and provides justification

General Topic Brainstorming: Choose a topic that you want to research and learn about. This topic could be:

● a person, animal, plant, object, idea ● a job/occupation ● a hobby/sport/activity/music/literature ● any topic of interest

Brainstorming:

1)

2)

3) Choose 1 Idea: *

Topic Development After choosing a topic from the brainstorming exercise, you will complete a 1 Topic=18 Topics worksheet to narrow down the purpose and task of your paper. See the example worksheet below and ask for help when you need it. You do not need to fill out the part that says “Express and Reflect” since this is solely for narrative essays. This is a research paper so this category will not be allowed as a topic. Sample 1 Topic=18 Topics Worksheet

Subtopic Development: Now choose 4 subtopics for your paper or aspects of your topic that you wish to research and discuss. These may be in the form of questions or just basic subjects. 1) 2) 3) 4) Choosing an Audience Answer the questions below to figure out who your audience will be for this paper.

1. Who is the general audience I want to reach?

2. Who is most likely to be interested in the research I am doing?

3. What is it about my topic that interests the general audience I have discerned?

4. If the audience I am writing for is not particularly interested in my topic, what should I do to

increase their interest?

Research: Students will develop a 4-5 page research paper with a narrowed down thesis and 4 subtopics. You must include 6 relevant sources including 1 text source, at least 1 website, at least 1 video source, at least 1 audio source and 2 other sources. You must include a minimum of 8 quotes with in text citations and a works cited page. You will also create a presentation for your project. You are also responsible for making a visual representation of your research. It can be a presentation such as Imovie, Keynote or Prezi or if can be a poster or other idea you may have. You must have a section to introduce your topic and a part for each subtopic in your presentation. Visuals and research facts and data are also necessary in your presentation.  

How To Research: The Big 6 1. Task Definition Define the task/problem Identify the information that is needed.

2. Information Seeking Strategies Determine all possible sources of information (brainstorm). What are the best sources to use in this project? 3. Location and Access Locate sources. Find information within sources. 4. Use of Information Engage (read, hear, view, touch) Take out relevant information and quotes 5. Synthesis Organize information from multiple sources Present the information 6. Evaluation Judge the product. Judge the process.  

Researching: Source Evaluation Sheet Evaluating the credibility and validity of a resource can be very difficult, particularly when doing research using the Internet. Below are some basic guidelines to help you select reliable resources and use those to learn accurate information about a given subject. Characteristics of Reliable Sources Authority: Who is sponsoring the information? The URL can provide information about the origin of the resource. The following are examples of ways you can determine the type of organization that is sponsoring the content for a specific website Sites ending in.... .edu are usually educational institutions and generally a good source of information. .gov are government websites and usually good sources for statistical information .org are typically non-profit organizations often set up as a public service. Be on the lookout for political agendas and biases. Visit this site as a class: http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit07/internet07_08.phtml Wikipedia is not a credible source because anyone can edit it at any time. Wikipedia is okay to get an idea of what you want to write about. There may be some helpful links in the references section of each Wikipedia page. Before you begin, please download the sample source sheet, research paper and research paper/works cited from the class website to use as an example for your project. You must fill in the following sheet for your research paper. You need a total of 6 sources and need to take notes on each as well as find quotes for each source. You need at least 2 quotes from each source!

Source Name, Author, Date, Link & any information for citing

Source Type Proof of Credibility/Authority/ Relevance

Quotes for Use

Text Source

Website

Audio Source

Video Source

Other Source

Other Source

  

Works Cited Page You need 6 Sources for your research paper. You need to make a works cited page before writing your outline for your paper. Use the MLA Formatting and Citations Cheat sheet to complete your citations. You may use EasyBib but you should be able to make citations on your own as well. Requirements: Your works cited page should have a centered title “Works Cited”. It should also be formatted as double spaced and sources should be in alphabetical order. Write your citations below and then copy them into a works cited page when you are finished with your paper. This is just a page for planning your works cited. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Research Paper Outline

Please fill out the outline below with as much detail as possible. Cite your quotes as you put them into your outline. This way, you can simply type up your outline as your first draft. Header: Title: ______________________________________________________________________ I. Introduction A. Hook: B. Thesis: C. Introduce Subtopics 1,2,3,4 (Separate sentences): D. Leading Sentence into next paragraph: ______________________________________________________________________ II. Subtopic 1 A. Transition Word: B. Introduce Subtopic (2 Sentences):

C. Quote for Subtopic: D. Analyze/Explain Quote: E. Quote for Subtopic: F. Analyze/Explain Quote: G. Concluding Sentence: ______________________________________________________________________ III. Subtopic 2: A. Transition Word: B. Introduce Subtopic (2 Sentences): C. Quote for Subtopic: D. Analyze/Explain Quote: E. Quote for Subtopic:

F. Analyze/Explain Quote: G. Concluding Sentence: ______________________________________________________________________ IV: Subtopic 3: A. Transition Word: B. Introduce Subtopic (2 Sentences): C. Quote for Subtopic: D. Analyze/Explain Quote: E. Quote for Subtopic: F. Analyze/Explain Quote: G. Concluding Sentence: ______________________________________________________________________

V: Subtopic 4: A. Transition Word: B. Introduce Subtopic (2 Sentences): C. Quote for Subtopic: D. Analyze/Explain Quote: E. Quote for Subtopic: F. Analyze/Explain Quote: G. Concluding Sentence: __________________________________________________________ VI: Conclusion A. Transition word: B. Restate Thesis:

C. Restate Subtopics (Separate Sentences): D. Concluding Thoughts:

Research Paper Rubric

Criteria 4 (A) 3 (B) 2 (C) 1 (D/F)

Topic Worksheet/ Brainstorming Activities

Topic selection sheet is completed fully.

Topic selection sheet is mostly complete.

Topic selection sheet is somewhat complete.

Topic selection sheet is lacking information or is not complete.

Source Evaluation Sheet

Source evaluation sheet is complete and includes adequate information.

Source evaluation sheet is mostly complete and includes good information.

Source evaluation sheet is somewhat complete and includes some information.

Source evaluation sheet is lacking in quality or does not contain any information.

Works Cited Works Cited is formatted correctly and all sources are cited (6).

Works Cited is mostly formatted correctly and most sources are cited.

Works Cited is formatted somewhat correctly and some sources are cited.

Works Cited is not formatted correctly and is missing sources.

Outline Outline is thoroughly completed with all information.

Outline is mostly completed with a good amount of information.

Outline is somewhat completed with some information.

Outline is lacking and does not include necessary information.

Introduction Introduction includes all parts, a hook, thesis and subtopics.

Introduction includes most parts, a hook, thesis and subtopics.

Introduction includes some parts and may be missing some parts.

Introduction is lacking in aspects or does not exist.

Subtopic Development/ Analysis

4 Subtopics have been chosen and developed, adequate analysis of subtopics.

4 Subtopics have been chosen and good analysis of subtopics.

4 Subtopics have been chosen and there is some analysis of subtopics but may be lacking.

4 or less subtopics have been chosen and analysis is weak or does not exist.

Quotes and In Text Citations

8 Quotes are included in paper and all are cited correctly.

7-8 Quotes are included and some may not be cited correctly.

6 Quotes are included and some may not be cited correctly.

5 or less quotes are included and may or may not be cited correctly or the paper is lacking quotes.

Conclusion Conclusion involves all necessary aspects and provides an excellent ending to the paper.

Conclusion mostly involves necessary aspects and provides a good ending to the paper.

Conclusion involves some of the necessary aspects and provides an ending to the paper.

Conclusion involves only a few of the necessary aspects or is completely lacking.

Grammar Usage and Mechanics

There are few to no errors in the paper, proofreading is evident.

There are some errors in the paper, some proofreading is evident.

There are a good amount of errors in the paper, more proofreading is necessary.

There are many errors in the paper, a lot of proofreading is necessary.

Score: _________________ Feedback:

Socratic Seminar: Identity and the Individual Directions: For the Identity and the Individual Unit, we will have our first Socratic Seminar discussion format. We will prepare for the discussion and go over how this discussion format works. Below you will find the Socratic Seminar participation packet, which includes all expectations and rules for the discussion as well as the observation sheet for the outside circle. Students will receive a DTQ packet for the discussion as well.

Socrates is a classical Greek philosopher who is known as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Socratic seminars are named for their embodiment of Socrates’ belief in the power of asking questions, prize inquiry over information and discussion over debate.

Socratic Seminar Texts & Topics to Discuss: ■ Texts for Discussion-

● Poems ● Songs ● Narratives ● Short Story (Honors) ● King of the Screw Ups

■ Topics of Discussion- ● DTQs about texts ● Growth Mindset/Fixed

Mindset ● Stereotypes ● Relationships and Family

Issues ● Gay Rights/Homophobia ● Bullying/School Problems ● Popularity/Societies View ● Other Student Generated Topics

Socratic Seminar Participation Packet

Goal: Your goal during this activity is to speak as much as possible about the DTQs, topics and texts. In order to get credit for this activity, you need to PARTICIPATE in both the inside and the outside circles. Please speak at least 3 times in the inner circle.

Process of Socratic Seminar: 1. Prepare for the first 10 minutes. 2. I will pose a question from one of the DTQs. 3. Inner circle will discuss the initial question and other questions for around 10 minutes. 4. Outer circle will take notes on the Observation Sheet. 5. After the allotted time, I will say it is time for the circles to switch. 6. The new inner circle will discuss the DTQs for around 10 minutes. 7. After, anyone who would like more participation points can review what was said/how it was

said in the discussion. 8. Lastly, students will reflect about the discussion with their groups.

Expectations:

● Everyone must speak during the inner circle and it is optional to speak during the review session after the seminar for additional points.

● No need to raise your hand, take turns speaking. ● Speak loudly and clearly. Think out your ideas before you say them. ● The outer circle must be SILENT when the inner circle is speaking. The outer circle will be

taking notes during the session. ● Provocateurs need to keep the conversation going. You will be told who you are at the start of

the activity. The teacher will not be involved in the conversation. Provocateurs will ask questions when the conversation lags but also need to answer questions.

● Talk to each other not just the provocateur or the teacher. ● Respect each other’s opinions. ● Stick to the topics and texts at hand.

Journal Reflection Prompt:

What did you think of the Socratic Seminar? Did you feel prepared enough for the seminar? What went well? What did not go well? What could you improve on for another discussion format? What did you like/dislike about the seminar? Reflect on the experience of participating in this activity.

Discussion Formats: Language Frames and Question Stems Students sometimes have trouble with participating in class discussions. You may use these language frames and question stems to help you get your discussions going, keep them going or to end the conversation. Problems you may come across in discussions: How to Get Started/Awkward Silence I believe… I notice…

On page___ it says… I see a connection to… Do you think… Why do you think… Including Everyone To build on what ____ said… ________, what do you think? I agree/disagree with what _______ said because Clearing Up Confusion I don’t understand… So, are you saying… What about… What do you mean by… Maybe this means… Finishing Up Can we all agree that… I used to think ______, but now I think… What were the key points of this conversation? What did we talk about? Question Stems (Use these to help come up with questions, you are not required to use these) What do you think about…? How do you feel about…? Can you explain why…? What do you think would happen if…? What is the difference between…? How are ____ and ____ similar? How is _____ related to ____? What did you learn about…? What is a quote that supports _____ and how? Why do you think the author/the character____?

Outer Circle Observation Sheet It is important that you fill out the following sheet while observing the conversation. This sheet is a part of your grade for the Socratic Seminar. Please record who spoke, who used quotes and anything that was said that was interesting or well-said as well as other notes on the conversation. (You do not need to state who said each note.) Who spoke? (List names) Who used quotes? (List names) Note what was said and how it was said.