Welcome to class!

When you come in… Take a seat wherever you like. I will not eat the people in the front row. Maybe. Get out your shiny, new composition notebook! Write your name on the front!

Today we are… Setting up our new notebooks and familiarizing ourselves with both grading policies and

Cornell note-taking Reviewing the basic elements of literary writing

Activities… Grading Policy quick overview Notebook set up Literary writing notes Start The Most Dangerous Game, if time

When you leave you should be able to… Understand how you will be graded in this course, and the repercussions for turning in late

work. Know how to set up and take Cornell notes in a way that works for you! Describe and identify the basic elements of literary writing—plot, characters, conflict, theme.

Homework… Sign up for Announcements, Turn It In, Quia, and Edmodo if possible (fill out the Parent

Info form on Edmodo)

Thank you for signing up for Edmodo!!!!

I promise that I will catch up with badges this weekend!

What can we post? ANYTHING related to reading or writing!

Questions/Comments Book suggestions Interesting articles Anything you think might be beneficial to your

classmates!

Library Orientation/SSR/Read Aloud

I want your opinions!

Quick highlights of the grading policy!

Your grades are split into two sections: Major – 40%

Big tests, essays, projects If major assignments are turned in late… (even if you are absent!!)

One day – 10 pts off (auto 90%) Two days – 20 pts off (auto 80%) Three to five days – 30 pts off (auto 70%) More than five days – maximum grade of 50%

Minor – 60% Homework, daily work, quizzes, etc. If minor assignments are turned in late…

Maximum grade of 70%

You can redo any assignment that you score under a 70% on for up to a maximum score of 70%.

All assignments are not weighted equally in the grade book. A vocab quiz, for example, might be worth half of a normal assignment. This means that if you add up all of your assignments and divide by the total number of assignments, the number you get will NOT be your grade.

Notebook Sections

Please split your notebook into five, equal sections. They do not need to be perfect.

You will label these sections:

Writing Strategies Reading Strategies General Notes Literary Devices Grammar

You can divide your sections by turning down a corner, or by using little tabs or post-it notes if you have them. It’s up to you!

Cornell Notes

Is anyone taking AVID this year? If so, you’ll be our expert.

Cornell notes are simply an organized strategy for note-taking and studying.

They are cool because they allow you to individually interact with your notes, rather than just copying from the board. (this includes drawing pictures, asking questions—anything that will help you remember the material!)

They will also prove to be a useful study tool. You’ll see why in a moment.

The Basics

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Cornell notes are simple! When we take notes, you will always split your page into three sections. Section 1

Where you copy down the notes. Section 2:

Where you interact with your notes! How you use this section is largely up to you. You can pull out main ideas, draw relevant pictures, or jot down extra information that might help you remember a point later.

Section 3: Where you summarize your page of

notes. This only needs to be between one and three sentences. When you flip through your notes, these summaries should help you to quickly locate material.

This unit we will focus on literary writing!

We will be reading and writing short stories! To practice our Cornell note-taking, we’ll take a few notes on this type of writing.

Flip to the General Notes section of your notebook, and title your notes: Literary Writing

Literary Writing

Literary writing is writing that is used to tell a story.

Literary writing is often fictional, but literary writing can be nonfiction as well—a memoir is an example of literary nonfiction!

Literary writing, at the most basic level, is characterized by having characters, conflict, and some sort of plot, or a series of events.

Characters and Conflict

Good literary writing contains interesting, three-dimensional characters that readers can connect to.

These characters face two types of conflict: Internal conflict

A mental or emotional struggle that is faced within a character

External conflict A struggle between a character and an outside force –

not always another character!

Plot

A story’s plot can be linear, or written in chronological order, or nonlinear, which means that the story is told out of order. (using flashbacks, for example)

Today we will focus on linear plot lines.

Hey, remember this thing? It’s a linear plot diagram!

Exposition Resolution

Climax

Rising

Act

ion

Falling Action

Exposition

Provides the background information needed to properly understand the story Protagonist

the main character (not always a good guy!!) Antagonist

the person or force which opposes, or goes against, the protagonist

basic conflict Internal External

Setting where the story takes place

Rising Action

The basic conflict is complicated by new, smaller conflicts which work to stop the protagonist from reaching his goal

Climax

Turning point, which marks a drastic change in either the internal or external conflict, for the better or the worse

Often, but not always, the most dramatic part of the story

If things were going well for the protagonist, everything will now go downhill

If things were going poorly for your protagonist, things should turn around for the better

Falling Action

the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist

the falling action might contain a moment of final suspense, during which the final outcome of the conflict is in doubt

Resolution

all of the events between the falling action and the actual ending scene of the story

serves as the conclusion of the story

conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis, or release of tension and anxiety, for the reader

What did that look like again?

Exposition Resolution

Climax

Rising

Act

ion

Falling Action

Lastly, and most importantly…

A piece of literary writing has a THEME!!!

A theme is an author’s message about mankind, or the world at large. A theme must be general enough to work outside of a specific work. A theme must be a complete sentence, not simply a word. A theme should not be a greeting card cliché (Everything happens for a

reason…)

For example: In The Lion King, Simba realizes that he must acknowledge his past in order to be

a successful king. Not a theme

Identity Not a theme

Because the present is determined by prior decisions, a person can never truly escape their own past. Theme!!

We will discuss theme throughout the year! It is the most important thing you will learn (or review) today!