Paragraph Prep!

Today was our final day to prepare for our guests, who will be arriving on Wednesday (Noam) and Thursday (Janos Benisz, Holocaust survivor).  Students are excited about the visitors, and have planned many thoughtful questions for them.

I also gave out the in-class paragraph writing date: block 3 will write on Monday November 5th, and block 6 will write on Tuesday November 6th.  The topics to consider, in preparation for your in-class expository paragraph, are as follows:

1. A topic/question about relationships in the book.
2. A topic/question about theme in the book.
3. A topic/question about characters in the book.
4. A topic/question about conflicts in the book.
5. A topic/question about connections between the book and your life/the world/other texts.

You will choose ONE topic to write on (the specific topics will be given to you on the day of your write), and you will be evaluated on your ideas and your writing.

Please see me if you have any questions about how to prepare for this in-class writing assignment.

What does it look like, smell like, feel like?

Because so many students had great questions about the Holocaust (block 3), and about gangs (block 6), we spent today's lesson looking at images which helped us understand more about what the world looked like and might have smelled like/felt like, during the time of our books.  These images help us get a better feel for what Bruno's life and DeShawn's life might have been like.

We then spent more time looking at the types of sentences available to us as writers.  We spent time writing the most awesome simple sentences we could... and some of them were pretty awesome.  On to compound and complex sentences next day!

Making Writing More Sophisticated

Today, we began class by finalizing our "What I Know/What I Wonder" charts.  These were submitted to Ms. Barsky.

Then, students worked through the rest of their elements of fiction package.  We discussed the round and flat characters, static and dynamic characters, symbols and themes present in the novels, now that we have finished the books.

Finally, we are going to spend some time thinking about how to make our writing more sophisticated.  One of the goals we are setting as a class is to write with more sentence variety.  We began a mini-lesson on sentences and sentence types today, and we will continue with this next day.

And in the end....

We spent the first part of today's class working to deepen the connections we made last class.  Students found their post-it notes from the board and set to trying to push themselves to make the connections more meaningful.  For example, we talked about how I could deepen this connection:

Pavel is a doctor but is not allowed to be a doctor now that he is a prisoner in Auschwitz.  I have a friend who was a pilot in Iran, but is not allowed to be a pilot in Vancouver.

If I begin to think, "So what?  Why does this connection matter?" then I will begin to deepen the connection.

I think it's an important connection because it helps me understand the reasons why people are judged and persecuted.  Pavel is not allowed to be a doctor because he is Jewish, and Jewish people are being treated inhumanely.  My friend is not allowed to be a pilot because he does not possess the proper qualifications in the eyes of the people who employ pilots in Canada.  In both cases, the men must feel like they are not able to live their lives the way they want to, like they are not able to do the thing they are good at, because someone else won't let them.  I bet this makes them angry, and frustrated, and upset.  Now this, is a deeper connection.  

I collected the students' deepened connections before the end of class.

Then, we finished the book.  What a surprising, and sad, ending!  We continued to record what we know and what we wonder about our book's topic.

At the conclusion of class, I handed back students' practice expository paragraph.  We will focus on improving the variety of sentences we use in our writing in a future class.

Making Meaningful Connections

We began with a mini-lesson on how to make deep, meaningful connections today.  Ms. Barsky used three pages from our book, and modeled how she makes connections while she reads.  Remember that when you think about how your book connects with your own life, the world around you and/or another text, you access pathways in your brain that help you to better understand what you are reading.  Making meaningful connections makes reading an easier process!

Students were asked to write down a connection on a post-it note as Ms. Barsky read another two chapters of the book.  These connections were posted on the white board as students left the classroom. 

Before students left for the day, Ms. Barsky also gave out "What I Know/What I Wonder" graphic organizers, so that students can begin to think about what they would like to know about the Holocaust (block 3) or local gangs (block 6).  Please start to think about what you are wondering, and record those questions on your page. 

Talking through the tough stuff....

We began class with small group discussion of some of the challenging sections from the past few chapters.  Thanks to our collective thinking, we have really begun to figure out some of the details!

Then, we read another chunk of the book.

Remember to submit your expository paragraph (that's the one about Bruno, or DeShawn), as these were due TODAY!

Block 3 has a very special guest coming on November 1st: a Holocaust survivor will join us to share his story.  Students have been asked to think about what they would like to ask our guest.

Block 6 has a very special guest coming on October 31st.  Students have been asked to think about what they would like to ask our guest about teens and local gangs.

Expository Paragraph - First Try!

We spent the first part of today's class discussing the components of successful topic and concluding sentences.  We agreed that it isn't enough to mention the topic to be discussed, but that we should also incorporate some sort of focus or direction for the paragraph.  We created sample topic and concluding sentences and added them to our outlines.

Then, Ms. Barsky read another chunk from the book.  Things are getting CRAZY GOOD!

Finally, students were asked to write an expository paragraph, using the outline as a guide.  This paragraph should be completed for the beginning of next class.

Writing about character

We read a short chunk of the book to start, and then set to our task of learning about expository paragraphs.

We began with an overview of the parts of an expository paragraph, followed by labeling a model paragraph.  We noted that each of the parts described on the overview was represented in the model.  Then, we began to fill out our own outline, using the information we had generated on our character last week.

Students were asked to come with a topic sentence completed for next class.

Personal Response to Reading

We began today's class with a review of the elements of fiction, as they apply in our novel.  We discussed that some of the elements will not become apparent until the end of the novel.  Students were given back their elements of fiction packages and told to keep them handy for when we reach the end of the novel; then we will be able to complete all sections.

Then, we read a short chunk of the novel, and students were asked to complete an assignment where they apply different reading strategies in response to what we have read.  The assignment was collected at the conclusion of class, and Ms. Barsky will evaluate them for accuracy and depth of thought.

Making Inferences About Character

We began class today by reviewing how to make inferences.  We had 4 lovely volunteers from our class act out four emotions, and as a class, we tried to guess what each person was feeling.  We talked about how an inference is made when we take what we already know of people and behaviour (background knowledge) and we add that to what we see in front of us (textual evidence).  Though we practiced this with actors and our observations of their behaviours, we also do this when we read, with respect to characters.

We then read the next chunk of the novel, and we set to work trying to make insightful, accurate inferences about our protagonist.  Students were asked to fill in a character web, with traits to describe the character, plus evidence that proves he possesses each trait.

If you have not yet handed in your elements of fiction package, please do so next class.