Wednesday 5/29

Do NOW:  Respond to the quote below:

Excerpt from "Mine on Thursday" -  "To be a man, my father said, wiping his cheeks, "is to look at the wreckage of your life and to confront it all without pity for yourself.  Without alibis.  And to go on.  To
endure."  **Consider the thematic value of this statement as it  relates to the narrator.

1.  Discuss Write.

2.  Examine dynamics of family relationships.

3.  Activity:  Prepare a character "analysis" of Hugh.  Cite specific references to support your work.

*15 mins:  Share.

4.  Analyze end.  Is Hugh Heroic?

5.  Explore Cormier's tone in this narrative.

5/24 - 5/28

Do NOW:  Respond to the quote below:

Robert Cormier

“The possibility that hope comes out of hopelessness and that the opposite of things carry the seeds of birth - love out of hate, good out of evil. Didn't flowers grow out of dirt?”

1.  Discuss write.

2.  Share "Educational" fiction.  Collect.

3.  Character Analysis:  "Mine on Thursdays"

Activity,  With a partner, explore the "triangular relationship" of Hugh, Allison, and their daughter.

10 mins:  Share.

4.  Examine the role of the narrator's father?  Consider the significance.  

5.  Identify theme. 

Wednesday. 5/22

Do NOW:    Respond to the quote below:

“Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.” 

1.  Discuss Write

               2.   Activity:  Meet w/ partner.   Read each other's short fiction.  Identify "educational" themes.   15 mins:  Share.

               3.  Invite students to present to class

               4.  Discussion:  themes; elements of satire

               5.   Robert Cormier's "Mine on Thursdays".  Profile/Read.   

Wednesday. 5/8

Do NOW:  Respond to the quote below:

  

“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” 

― Franklin D. Roosevelt

1.  Discuss Write

2.  Continue rubric designs

3.  Work with partner: generate at least 5 components to assess fiction.    Share w/ class

Tuesday May 7th

Do NOW:  Respond to the passage below:

“But my brain winds and wends. Back and forth. Up and down. It feels like the county fair has inhabited my mind-- complete with sketchy rides, carnies, and sugar-amped kids crying over lost balloons. So loud and disorienting. I want it to pack up and move on to the next town. I want my mind to be an open grassy field again with crickets and dandelions.

1.  Discuss Write.

2.  Task:  Select key passage from dialogue short stories...  Read to class:  Explain what you like most about this particular part of your narrative.

3.  Activity:  With a partner, design a rubric ( at least 3 parts) that can be utilized to assess fiction writing.

**Examine the "relevance" of each section you craft and explain why your creation would be a successful

"assessment tool" for grading fiction.  **15 mins....  Present to class.  

4.  Preview:  Robert Cormier's  "Mine on Thursdays"

10 mins Write:  Describe the last time a loved one disappointed you.  What happened?  How did it make you feel?   Do you still blame them?  Explain.  

Monday May 6th

Freewrite:  Respond to the quote below:

“What better way for a ruling class to claim and hold power than to pose as the defenders of the nation.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Thomas Paine's Rights of Man: A Biography

1.  Discuss Freewrite

2.  Activity:  Read/Share Dialogue Stories.  Write a 5 to 7 sentence synopsis of your partners story.  Be prepared to present to class.  15 mins - Share.

3.  Task:  Select key passage from dialogue short stories...  Read to class:  Explain what you like most about this particular part of your narrative.

4.  Activity:  With a partner, design a rubric ( at least 3 parts) that can be utilized to assess fiction writing.

**Examine the "relevance" of each section you craft and explain why your creation would be a successful

"assessment tool" for grading fiction.  **15 mins....  Present to class.  

5.  Preview:  Robert Cormier's  "Mine on Thursdays"

10 mins Write:  Describe the last time a loved one disappointed you.  What happened?  How did it make you feel?   Do you still blame them?  Explain.