T E A M W O R K Building a Successful Program One Step at a Time

1. T E A M W O R K Building a Successful Program One Step at a Time Round Rock ISD Language Arts Job Alike August 20, 2013 Elizabeth Davis, Westwood High School

2. GOAL: To develop and practice common skills and vocabulary • Writing process • Anatomy of an essay • Short response expectations • Literary devices • Rhetorical devices • Argument terminology • Grammar skills

3. BIG QUESTION = MEANING little question = method Deconstructing the Prompts

4. Deconstruct the prompt… The following passage is a short story by Alice Walker, a 20th Century African-American writer. Read the passage carefully. Then, write a well-organized essay in which you analyze the techniques Walker employs to convey the theme of her story.

5. Background InformationBIG Question / little Question Important Background Information True crime…family murdered…day before…Kansas…1959 BIG Question What is the theme of the story? Little Question What strategies does Walker employ?

6. FACT FINDING - Context #1 Dramatic situation Who? What? When? Where? Why?

7. FACT FINDING – Diction/Word Choice #2 PINK Highlight meaningful word choices Marginally comment on FIVE choices (or designated #) Questions to ask: Connotations? Conflicts? Connections? Significance? Templates for annotations: “conveys…” “shows…” “conveys…” “suggests…” “is fitting because…” “significant because…”

8. FACT FINDING - Syntax #3 YELLOW Highlight the first four words of each sentence Highlight all punctuation (sans periods, commas) Comment marginally on ONE syntactical choice. [make sure you identify the specific device]

9. FACT FINDING – Narrative Strategies and Rhetorical Devices #4 GREEN Highlight at least one narrative strategy and one rhetorical device [figurative language if possible] Templates for annotations: “conveys…” “shows…” “conveys…” “suggests…” “is fitting because…” “significant because…”

10. FACT FINDING - Tone #5 BLUE Bracket two short sections of the text and identify the tone using a precise tone word Justify your choice of tone word by discussing the context and using text for support.

11. FACT FINDING – Thematic Associations #6 RED Divide the passage into 3- 4 sections and give each section a one-word title using an abstract noun. Examples of Level Two Associations: Fear *Excitement * Violence * Chaos* Order * Arrogance *Submission * Confidence * Confinement * Freedom * Benevolence

12. FACT FINDING – Level 3 Method #7 Look at the passage as a whole and identify a method that unifies the passage. Next, explain briefly how this method achieves that unity. Examples of Level 3 Method words: Characterization, contrast, comparison, juxtaposition, analogy, parallelism, repetition, shift, etc…

14. Writing a Thesis Statement Try to write a COMPLEX sentence [includes an independent clause and a dependent clause] Include the meaning in the independent [or MAIN] clause Include the method in the dependent clause

15. Here’s a template In the passage from _________________________ [work] ________________ [author] seeks to ________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ by/through _____________________________________ _______________________________________________ [higher level method].

16. Example Thesis for “The Flowers” Through the stark contrast of the pleasant natural setting and a shocking discovery by the protagonist, Alice Walker, in her short story “The Flowers,” demonstrates that the harsh reality of racism, especially in the segregated South, ultimately results in the loss of innocence for its victims.

17. Taking Inventory of the Essay Before (with a model), during, or after (as a debrief) the writing task, have the students highlight their work to show all required components… • Pink – thesis and topic sentences • Green – evidence and examples • Yellow – explanation and discussion • Blue – reference to the original question or topic (key words) • Orange – transitional words and phrases

18. Highlighting Practice McKay conveys his theme that man grows stronger through adversity by first describing the struggles the speaker must face. The controlling metaphor of the poem describes the speaker’s undergoing a baptism by fire. He will descend into the “weirdest depths of the hottest zone” as he enters the “yawning oven.” Before he leaves, however, he addresses one unwilling to face the challenge because of his “terror of the heat.” This detail adds to the effectiveness of the experience as we see only the bravest souls accept the challenge.

19. Our speaker then must go alone to face the dangers ahead. Through daunting images, McKay compares these dangers to weapons and snakes. In addition, the cacophony of the lines emulates the fierce nature of the challenge. The speaker faces “red aspish tongues” as they “shout wordlessly [his] name” while the oven “spits forth fiery spears.” Here, McKay parallels the violent challenge through harsh and unpleasant sounds of his diction. This combination of imagery, sound devices, and figurative language effectively presents the reader with an image of the struggle the speaker must face.

20. Questions?