Rumor has it that "The Masque of the Red Death" ("MRD") was a tad more difficult to read and comprehend than "Raymond's Run". Well, that's good because reading higher level texts is one of the goals of the class. As I mentioned today, a critical common core standard is your ability to read and comprehend literature at the highest end of the 8th grade literacy continuum. "MRD" definitely qualifies in that category. I might have also mentioned how PARCC, the incoming test being used to replace ISTEP, stresses how students actually need to be reading two years above grade level. What was considered an appropriate 8th grade text last year, is being used in 6th grade this year. That means we get to read texts that were aimed at tenth graders in the past. YIPPEE!!
We also discussed what constitutes acceptable reading of texts. It is to be considered a given that if I pass something out to be read, you will text code it/highlight it/annotate it/and basically mark it up in whatever way necessary to show that you have interacted with it in your attempt to understand it at the highest possible level. There is no such thing as a light, quick read when it comes to a piece we will be discussing. Kudos go out to several individuals who went above and beyond in their attempt to understand "MRD". Clare Frederick, however, exemplifies the effort it sometimes takes to comprehend a piece of literature. She worked with her father (thanks, Mr. Frederick) who took the time to read the piece with her and discuss it along the way. Armed with a better understanding, Clare then proceeded to reread the article on her own, further annotating and highlighting it. The effort paid off as she came to class fully prepared to discuss "MRD".
We introduced the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) chart today as well. It's a chart that breaks understanding down to four levels: recall, skill/concept, strategic thinking, and extended thinking. Each level builds upon the previous one, thus, getting more rigorous as we move up the chart. The goal of the enriched class is to spend most of our time at DOK levels three and four. You were assigned to groups of three today and are using the DOK chart to demonstrate your understanding of "MRD" at the various levels. This work, while started today, will carryover into tomorrow's class when we will meet in the IMC.
I want to take a moment to celebrate a few other students. Yesterday, I returned the Writer's Autobiographies. There were several individuals that warrant a shout out for the fine writing they submitted. The following individuals earned a perfect 6 score on the papers:
Peter Rutkowski
Spencer Kilmer
Anna Demel
Rachel Minne
Baker Nasser
Caroline Parker
Keegan Hurst
Hannah Keeler
Nuha Zackariya
Well done, writers! I look forward to future submissions.
One last thing. Passion is one of the most important things you can bring to class. I want to see it, feel it, sense it on every one of you everyday. Little of use has ever been accomplished without it. As Oliver Wendell Holmes says, "As life is action and passion, it is required of a man that he should share the passion and action of his time, at the peril of being not to have lived." Double Archer card signature if you copy the quote down in your language arts notebook and write me an interpretation of that paragraph in the writing section.
Be ready to do some analysis of "MRD" tomorrow!
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