Reading a new text

Goal: First read of A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings

Agenda:
Read
Update Novel Reading Chart
First read of a new text

Update Novel Reading Chart: 
Open your chart and add what you read today. Don't forget to explain what it means. Implications matter.

Reading: 

• A new text has been assigned to you in GoFormative. 
• You can find the text HERE. 
• Choose "Sign in with Google."
• Read and answer the questions as you read. 

Reminders: 

• Keep reading. You need to finish your group novel by Tuesday 11/7.
• Be sure all your work is up to date in your English Journal.
• Got some extra time? Check your attention. 

Direct and Indirect Characterization

Goal: Understanding and applying direct and indirect characterization

Agenda:
Read
Reading Progress Form
Theme Paragraph Form
Direct and Indirect Characterization

Reading Progress Update: 
Complete the READING PROGRESS FORM.

Theme Paragraph Form: 
Use the form below to answer some questions about the paragraph you wrote on Friday.
These are yes or no questions. You should be saying YES to all of them, but if you need to fix something in your paragraph you can do that quickly.
THEME PARAGRAPH FORM

Direct and Indirect Characterization: 
Authors use direct and indirect characterization to tell readers about the character's in the book.

Consider your group novel. Where does the author tell you about characters?
This could include information about:
-appearance
-personality
-motivation
-their setting

Writing: 
Open your English Journal
Use this paragraph frame to write about direct and indirect characterization in your group novel.

The author of (book title), (author name), shows that  (character name) is  (character description)  using both direct and indirect characterization. For example on page (#) (the author) writes that (evidence from the text). Which shows that.... This is an example of (direct characterization) The reader also knows that (character name) is (character description) because (author) writes...(text evidence)...(page #). In this case the author is using (indirect characterization) because.... Through this evidence we can see that (character name) is....

Example:

The author of Lord of the Flies, William Golding, shows that Ralph is fair haired, agile and selfish using both direct and indirect characterization. For example on page 7 Golding writes that, "The boy with the fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock..." Which states directly that Ralph has blonde hair and he is able to climb rocks. The reader can see that Ralph is selfish because he leaves Piggy behind when they first arrive on the island. "Ralph disentangled himself cautiously and stole away through the branches. In a few seconds the fat boys grunts were behind him and he was hurrying toward the screen that still lay between him and the lagoon." (9) This is an example of indirect characterization because the reader must interpret Ralph's actions and decide for themselves what leaving Piggy behind says about Ralph. Through direct evidence we know that Ralph has light hair and is athletic, and through indirect evidence we can surmise that he is selfish, or at least uninterested in the struggles of others. 

Writing About Theme with Support

Goal: Explain how evidence supports the theme.

Agenda:
Read
Update Novel Reading Chart
Explain how your evidence supports the theme

Update Novel Reading Chart: 
Open your chart and add what you read today. Don't forget to explain what it means. Implications matter.

Explain your Evidence: 

1. Open your English Journal, add today's date at the top. 
2. Open the Theme Organizer document your team was working with on Thursday. 
3. Copy and paste in ONE theme and one set of quotes from your book. 
4. Write a paragraph in which you explain/defend how this theme is relevant to your book. Use the evidence/quotes you found on Thursday to support your points. Explain how that evidence supports the theme. 

Theme Paragraph Frame: (You can change this to fit what you are trying to say.)
An important theme in ...(book title)... is that (....................theme..............) The events of the novel support this theme because............ For example on page ..... it says that ".......(quote from the book)......" This shows that....... because....... Another moment from the book that reveals the theme is when....... Which is why ...... says/does....  ".....(quote)....." All of this means that.... 

Example of a theme paragraph:

An important theme in Lord of the Flies is that betrayal is a part of human nature. The events of the novel support this theme because trust begins to erode between the characters in small ways from the moment they arrive on the island, and eventually this lack of trust reaches a homicidal level. For example on page (10) Ralph betrays Piggy and tells the other kids his nickname which Ralph wasn't supposed to share. It says that “"His real name isn't fatty” cried Ralph “it's Piggy.”” This shows that from the beginning of the book the other boys were betraying each other's trust and that is when things started to go down hill.  Another moment from the book that reveals the theme is when Jack turns on Ralph saying, “There isn’t a tribe for you anymore,” and then throws a spear at him with vicious intent (165).  All of this means that when you can't trust each other you can't live together and that is why the boys’ society fell apart.

Homework: 
Finish reading your group novel before Tuesday the November 7th.
Check the calendar at the bottom of the blog for upcoming assessments.

Be sure all your work is up to date in your English Journal.

Getting motivated about theme

Goal: Learn a bit about character motivation and apply what you learned in your last lesson on theme to the book you are reading as a group.

Agenda:
Read
Reading the Novel Chart
Character Motivation
Review Theme
Theme work with your group

Reading the Novel Chart:
Update your chart with what you read today and the implications of those events.

Character motivation: 
Get motivated to learn more about character motivation.

Theme work with your group:

• Have ONE person in your group get a copy of your theme organizer. 
• That person needs to rename it correctly, share it with everyone in the group, and share it with Mrs. R. 
• Work as a group to complete the organizer. Divide the work evenly. 
• Remember you need evidence to go with your themes. 
• I will look at the revision history to see who completed what.

Reminders: 

Keep reading. 

Look for what your character wants and see how he/she is/or is not achieving those short and long term goals. 

Keep thinking about how all of this supports the theme(s) you worked on today. 

Some Novel Work and an AOW

Goals: Looking for further implications and some analytical reading.

Agenda: 
Read
Update Novel Reading Chart
Article of the Week

Mrs. R is at a teacher workshop today. You still have a lot of work to do. 

1. Update Novel Reading Chart

1. Open your Novel Reading Chart.
2. Update your chart with what you read today and the implications of those events. 

2. Article of the Week: 

1. Read THIS ARTICLE on on Newsela. (Sign in with Google.)
2. Click "open activities" and take the quiz for the article. 
3. Open your English Journal and write two paragraphs. 
4. The first paragraph should be an analytical summary. 
5. The second paragraph is about your thoughts, opinions, etc. 

Reminders: 

Make sure work in your English Journal is up to date. Did you finish the reflective writing from yesterday? 

Inferring, evaluation, reporting and reflecting

Goal: Reading for implications, quiz evaluation, reporting, and reflection. 

Agenda

Read

Add to Novel Reading Chart chart

Evaluate Quizes and Report Scores

Write in English Journal

Add to implications chart: 

Go to "shared with me" in your Google Drive and find the doc called Novel Reading Chart. 

Add an entry about what you read today and what those events could mean. 

Evaluate Quizes: 

Open the quiz your group made last week. 

Discuss how you will evaluate those responses. 

Report your evaluations using THIS FORM. 

English Journal Quick Write: 

Last week you made a quiz, took a quiz, and today you scored a quiz. Write about the process in your English Journal. 

1. What did you learn in that process? 
2. What do you know now about your book, your group, yourself, or assessments in general that you didn't know before? 
3. What will you do differently the next time you take (or make) a quiz? 

Reminders: 

Keep reading

What is the meaning of this?

Goal: Understanding how events in a

book can help us make predictions

Agenda:

• Read for 10 minutes
• Using summaries to make predictions
• Finding the meaning in your novel
• Quiz

Using summaries to make predictions:

• An action or event usually means that something else is important is going to happen later on
• The word so can tell us the meaning of events moving forward. 
• Harry receives his letter from Hogwarts, so that means his life is going be different as a wizard.

1. Complete this Google Form to practice making predictions

Finding the meaning in your novel:

1. Go to drive.google.com

2. Click on Shared With Me on the left side of your screen

3. Open the document called Novel Reading Chart

4. In the left column, write today's date

5. In the middle column, write a brief summary of what you read today

6. In the right column, answer the question: explain what the summary means moving forward

Quiz Today:

Period	Red	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Purple
1	Pul of Gravity	Pull of Gravity	Pull of Gravity	Farenheit 451	Every last Word
2	Saint Iggy	Saint Iggy	Saint Iggy	Pull of Gravity	Every Last Word	Farenheit 451
3	Saint Iggy	Pull of Gravity	Saint Iggy	Farenheit 451	Vivian Apple	Farenheit 451
5	Saint Iggy	Pull of Gravity	Saint Iggy	Saint Iggy	Every Last Word	Every Last Word

Making a quiz based on your group novel

No scantrons. I promise. 

Goal: Creating an online assessment about the book you are reading.

Agenda:
Read
Reading Progress Update
Question Formulation Checklist
How forms work
Quiz making

Reading Progress Update:
Click HERE and update us about your reading progress. Focus on what you read today.

Question Formulation Checklist: 
____ The question can be answered by reading the first 40% of the book.
____ The question seems like something a teacher would ask.
____ There is a question about the main character.
____ There is a question about a setting.
____ There is a WHY question.
____ There is a HOW question.
____ There are 3-4 multiple choice questions. They have 4-5 answer choices.
____ There are 2-3 short answer questions. They require text evidence for their answers. They can not be answered with just a few words.

Making a Quiz: 
With your team you will create a quiz that other students will take about the book your group has been reading.

Quiz Expectations:

• Make your quiz in a Google Form. Name it Period, Color, Title, for example "6 Blue Lord of the Flies"
• Click the three vertical dots in the upper right corner and then "add collaborators" to add your teacher and your group members to the form. 

Quiz Tips: 

• Ask questions about the first 40% of the book.
• Include both multiple choice and short answer questions.
• First question should be NAME.
• Second question should be PERIOD. 
• For multiple choice questions you can have 4-6 answer choices. 
• Use the paragraph question type for short answer questions. 
• Click settings (gear icon) and then "quizzes" to turn your form into a quiz. Go back through your questions and choose "answer key" to mark the correct selection for each question. 
• You won't have 'correct' answers for short answer responses. 

Reminders: 

Keep reading. (I hear you're going to have a quiz to take soon.) 

Setting, Character, Tests, Mood

Goal: Looking closely at how setting tells us about character in our novels.

Agenda: 
Read
Creating a setting
Anticipating test questions

Create a Setting:

1. OPEN your English Journal.
2. CHOOSE a character from your group book that doesn't have his or her own setting, or who's setting is not well described.
3. DISCUSS that character and his/her setting with your group.
4. WRITE a descriptive paragraph about the setting for that character. (In English Journal)
5. EXPLAIN (in a second paragraph) what you are trying to show about the character with the setting you created.

Test Preparation:

• You have another quiz about your book this Friday. 
• You should be about 40% done with your book by then. 
• One way to prepare for a test is to anticipate what questions you might see on the test. 
• Get out a piece of paper. (Just one for your group.)
• Label it period, color, novel title, ex 4 Red Lord of the Flies. 
• Write 5-10 questions you think we might ask you about your book. 
• Include multiple choice questions and short answer questions. 
• Remember, think like a teacher, what would we ask you. 
• Consider that this week we worked on character, setting, and mood. 

Reminders:
Be sure your English Journal is caught up.
Keep up with the reading in your group novel.

Goals: Understanding how setting contributes to mood.

• The term MOOD in literature refers to how the setting of the story makes the reader feel.

• It is the emotional feeling of the place where the events are taking place. 

• Sometimes the mood of the place matches the characters mood and sometimes it is in contrast to it.

• Word choice and the details an author includes help to create the mood of a setting.

She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on,--the other was on the table near her hand,--her veil was but half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on, and some lace for her bosom lay with those trinkets, and with her handkerchief, and gloves, and some flowers, and a Prayer-Book all confusedly heaped about the looking-glass.



Agenda:
Read
Setting and Mood
Review Great Expectations
Setting and Mood in Your Novels

Setting and Mood:

Let's Look at Great Expectations Again:
#1. Watch Great Expectations clip
#2. Check out these passages

We went into the house by a side door, the great front entrance had two chains across it outside,--and the first thing I noticed was, that the passages were all dark, and that she had left a candle burning there. She took it up, and we went through more passages and up a staircase, and still it was all dark, and only the candle lighted us.

She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on,--the other was on the table near her hand,--her veil was but half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on, and some lace for her bosom lay with those trinkets, and with her handkerchief, and gloves, and some flowers, and a Prayer-Book all confusedly heaped about the looking-glass.

Setting and Mood in Your Novels: 

#1. Find a description of setting that creates a specific mood in your novel. 

#2. Create a table (2 wide by 4 down) in your English Journal

#3. In the left column, describe the setting using text evidence.
#4. In the right column, explain what mood the setting creates and why.

Reminders: 
Keep reading

What can setting tell us about character?

Art by: Cate Simmons

Goal: Understanding how setting helps us understand characters.

Agenda: 
Read
Writing about setting
Reading a setting
Reading specifically for setting

#1: Open your English Journal
Start a new entry at the top.

Describe a place you like to be. What does this place say about you as a person? 

#2: Look closely at a setting
CLICK THIS LINK: to view a description of a setting from Great Expectations. We will look closely at what this setting tells us about the characters.

#3: Talk to your group

1. Talk to your group about what's happening in your novel.
2. What is confusing you about the events or characters in your novel? 
3. How has setting played a role so far?
4. What do the settings tell you about the characters? 
5. MARK the places in your book where the setting informs you about the characters.

Homework: 

Keep up with your reading. Be prepared to meet your reading goal for Friday. 

Mastering Short Answer Responses

Goal: Learning about expectations for short answer questions and taking a quiz on the first part of your group novel.

Agenda: 
Read
Expectations for short answer questions
Quiz
Presentations

Expectations for short answer responses:

• Often teachers will ask you to write short written responses. 
• Short answers are just as important as long answers and most teachers have high expectations for your answers.
• We will review these expectations in class.

 Quiz:
Keeping in mind what you know about expectations for short answer responses show us your best work on this QUIZ about your group novel. (The quiz has an entry code. I will give it to you in class.)

Memoir Presentations:
Several people are presenting today.

Reminders: 
Keep up with work in your English Journal.
Keep reading your group novel, unless you are already 1/2 way done, then read another book.)

Exploring Complex Characters

Goal: Begin looking more closely at the complex characters in novels.

Agenda: 
Read
Characters are awesome lesson
Looking closely at one of the characters in your group novel.

Characters are Awesome Lesson: Exploring direct and indirect characterization through textual evidence in group selected novels in a ninth grade English class.




Looking closely at one of the characters in your group novel. 

• Open your English Journal
• Make a STEAL chart about one of the main characters in your group novel. (See the last slide in the deck above.)
• Be sure to use evidence (quotations) from the novel to support your answers.

Reminders: 

Keep reading in your group novel. Bring it to class daily. 

Make sure your English Journal is caught up. 

Return impact aid forms and/or release forms. 

Self scoring and character motivation

Goals: Self evaluate your English Journal, talk to your book group, and listen to some memoir presentations.

Agenda:
Read
EJ Self Score
Book Group Conversation
Memoir Presentations

1. English Journal Self Score:

1. Open your English Journal
2. Review the English Journal Scoring Guide. 
3. Determine how you would score your English Journal. 
4. PASTE this sentence below into the TOP of your English Journal and be sure it is complete. 

October 11, 2017 Self Score:        

I believe I have earned a ______ <<(Your score 1-5) on my English Journal because_______________________ _______________ <<(Your reasons you think you earned that score.) 

2. Talk to your book group: 
Two questions your group needs to be able to answer today. Discuss these questions and be sure you can explain them. Write an answer to ONE in your English Journal below your self score.

1. What does your main character want more than anything? What obstacles stand in his/her way?

2. Who does your character have relationships with? What are those relationships like? 

3. Memoir Presentations: 
If you said last week that you wanted to present your memoir now is your chance.
We will be calling you up in a moment.

Book Groups Select Novels

Goal: Getting started on our reading the novel unit. Choosing books, checking them out, getting organized with a calendar etc.

Agenda: 
Read
Book Groups
Book Selection
Library
Calendar

Reading the Novel:
Today we start a new unit called "Reading the Novel." You have a new group to work with.

The novel you read with your group "counts" as one of your two books for this six weeks. You still need to read another one on your own.

If you are absent your assigned group will be picking a book without your input. Don't miss school.

Homework: 
Read according to your group's first goal.
Make sure you are caught up on work in your English Journal.
Request a regrade if you have revised your written memoir.

All this reading stuff

Goals: Reading progress, work submission and book reviews. 

Agenda:

Read

Reading progress

Turn in Slides

Book "Reviews"

1. Reading Progress Form:

Complete the READING PROGRESS FORM about your current book, which might even be book #3 or #4. 

2. Turn in slides in Google Classroom:

• Go to https://classroom.google.com
• Find the assignment for Visual Memoirs. 
• Turn in your visual memoir slides. 
• (Sorry we forgot to ask you to do this last week.)

3. Tell us about the books you read in the last six weeks: 

• BOOK "Review" FORM

4. Things you need to know for Tuesday:

• We will be going to the library.
• Bring your ID. You will need it. 

Writing about character

Goal: A sneaky lesson about character, while you think you are doing something different.

Agenda: 

1. Read
2. Writing about character
3. Sharing what you wrote about character
4. Voting on your favorite character description
5. Making it even better
6. Submitting it to Mrs. R
7. Reading while she picks the very best one

1. Writing about character:

• Describe a character in the book you are reading.
• Include a physical description, but also consider personality, speech, thoughts, and things other characters say about this character. 
• Adding details about a place the character spends a lot of time helps too. 
• Use interesting, specific, adjectives. 
• Use figurative language, similes work really well here. 

2. Share what you wrote with your table:

• Agree on a favorite
• Give the author some advice to improve it more
• Submit the "winner" at your table HERE. (Only one submission per table.)
• Read or catch up on other work while Mrs. R reviews the entries. 

Visual Memoir Self Evaluation

Goal: Reflecting on our progress, learning, and next steps.

Research shows that the most important thing for learners are the questions we ask ourselves about our own learning. When do you ask yourself these questions:

• Why am I learning this?
• How will I measure my own success? 
• Who with and how might I best succeed? 
• What are my next steps?
• How am I tracking my progress? 

With those questions in mind I offer you the opportunity to reflect a bit on your own progress.

1. Your Visual Memoir Slides: 
Complete THIS FORM and reflect on how your slides are going.

2. 9th Grade Reading Survey: 
We need to know more about what you think about reading and what kinds of books you like.
TAKE THE SURVEY

3. Catch Up Day: 

• Are you caught up on all assignments in your English Journal?
• Is your Visual Memoir done? 
• Do you need to revise your written memoir? 

Reminders:
Open House TONIGHT! See you there. Freshmen parent orientation in the Library at 5:15.
Be sure to keep reading.

Reading Inventory

Goals: District reading inventory assessment.

Agenda: 
Reading inventory assessment
Read

• Today we take a reading inventory assessment. 
• It may take you the whole period, or you may have some time to read your book when you finish.
• It will give us valuable data about how you read. This will not become part of your grade, but you will get your results when you finish. 

START HERE
(If you are absent don't try to take this test at home.)

Reminders: 
Keep reading. You'll be finishing book #2 by Friday.
You can still call in your dramatic reading.
Check your memoir. You can work on revisions.
Visual Memoirs due Thursday 10/5.
Open house Thursday 10/5.

Work on Visual Memoirs

Goal: Make progress on your digital memoir slides.

Read: 
Books out
Planners open

Grades: Don't Panic!

• We have reached that part of the semester when students begin to worry more about their grades. 
• Today we will explain more about how your grade is calculated and what to do if you need to improve your grade. 
• Please note: Extra credit is not an option. However, you can request a regrade on major writing assignments after you revise them. (See Request a Re-grade tab above.)

Work on Visual Memoirs: 

• By the end of class today you should have all the pictures you need in your slides to tell your story. 
• Remember to use pictures from http://photosforclass.com or your own images. 
• Use the slide notes section to write the words you would say to go with the pictures. Don't put words on your slides. 

Reminders: 

• Read. You should be finishing book #2 this week. Its fine if you are starting book #3. 
• Catch up if you didn't finish the AOW from Friday in your English Journal. 
• A few of you still need to call in your dramatic reading. 
• A few also still have release forms to return. 

Screencasting Visual Memoirs

You don't actually need a separate microphone.

Goal: Learn how to make a quick screencast and work more on visual memoirs.

Read: 
Books out
Planners out

Screencasting: 

• Recording your screen and adding your voice is not hard. 
• There are several free sites and apps that do this. 
• We will try Screencast-o-matic. 

• Today we just want you to try it. You won't be making a perfect recording today, just a little practice. 
• Don't practice too much because the free version limits you to 15 minutes of recording. 

Work on your Visual Memoir: 
Remember copyright free images only. Use Photos for Class. 
Visual memoir projects are due Wednesday 10/4.

Reminders: 
Read. You are finishing book #2 this week.
Make sure you finished the AOW assignment from Friday.