Enriched 09-10-12

Full day today as we reviewed the material covered during the two days I was in meetings last week.

We've been busy analyzing individual paragraphs and the roles they play in the development of a story.  While we are able to identify the important elements of a paragraph we sometimes have struggled clarifying the role it plays in the context of the entire story.      

We've made claims about an author (Toni Cade Bambara) based on the story she wrote ("Raymond's Run").  We've tried to discover what we can about her heritage, traditions, beliefs and attitudes based solely on the story we read.  While almost all of our claims were effectively made, I stressed the need to go beyond the obvious (Bambara likes to run) and to dig deep into the story to uncover some gems (Bambara believes in the importance of being true to yourself).

Finally, we discussed the in class writing prompt from last Friday.  You needed to explain what Bambara would say about two nonfiction articles you had read the night before.  Any grumblings about the topic were quieted when I stressed how much more information the substitute, Mrs. Wenger, offered compared to what I was prepared to offer.  I'll be scoring those over the next few days using a rubric similar to the one used to score ISTEP.

I did return the Writers' Autobiographies today.  Papers were assessed on six traits of successful writing and received an initial score from 0-6.  You either received the point for the trait or you did not.  The 6 point scale was then translated into a 20 point scale as follows:
6=20/20
5=18/20
4=17/20
3=16/20
2=15/20
1=14/20
0=13/20

I stressed, upon return of the papers, the importance of focusing on the topic and responding to the prompt.  The most important trait was descriptive sentences which allowed the reader to fully comprehend the points the author was trying to convey.  This is the category that focuses on full development of the ideas.  I can't stress enough the need for you to support whatever you say with evidence.  Remember what Mr. Howard and Mrs. Randolph said all last year: "Show don't tell."

You then wrote a reflection which allowed you to take a closer look at your strengths and weaknesses.  Remember, this is like the football player who goes home and watches game film after playing.  It's the chance you get to realize the mistakes and avoid them for next time.

I'm terribly excited by the story you are reading tonight.  "The Masque of the Red Death" is a Edgar Allan Poe classic.  I know it's going to push you a little more than "Raymond's Run" did, and that's one of the reasons I selected it.  Yet, even more important are the discussion points it offers.  This is a heavily symbolic story that can be read on the surface and offer one interpretation, but then it can be read at a deeper level and open the door to a wide spectrum of ideas as varied as the colors of the seven rooms.  (I'll sign your Archer card if you tell me the color of the rooms BEFORE class begins tomorrow).  You'll be working in groups tomorrow to demonstrate the depth of your understanding.  Read carefully tonight.  I'm expecting some original insight tomorrow.