An Author's Motive?

Last Friday, we had our 3rd Socratic Seminar of the year, using these questions as a guide. As always, it was VERY hard for me to bite my tongue as I heard fascinating and intriguing connections and ideas from you all--some of you were flipping pages in your novels so fast to try and prove your points. And I love that there were so many powerful articulations of what occurred in the novel and how it relates to our lives.

Remember: English is all about finding out what you really think and believe (and sometimes changing that in the face of a powerful story or approach), supporting your ideas, and then connecting them to life to make a difference. 

Today, we continued reading Mockingbird in class as we prepare for Kathy Erskine's visit on April 4th. We also did a Quick Write and handed in our Nothing but the Truth novels.

Our word of the day today was SUBSIDE,. which means to lessen or decrease; to grow smaller. An example of the word in a sentence is: when I got that huge split lip as a kid, it took two weeks before the swelling subsided. Another example is: I hope your love of reading and writing never subsides.

For tonight, share a few sentences in response to this question: why do you think an author writes a novel?  What do you think drives and sustains the author to complete the book and see it through until publication?

Preparing for Socrates!

Today, we talked about your synthesis essays and you received them back with loads of blue notes on them from me! Blue! We love blue!

We also began reading aloud from Kathryn Erskine's National Book Award winning novel Mockingbird as we look forward to welcoming Kathy to our school for a visit on April 4th!

We will begin preparing for our Socratic Seminar by working on this preparation sheet tomorrow in class.  On Friday, we will then hold our THIRD SOCRATIC SEMINAR of the year, about which I am thrilled.

Our word of the day today is APLOMB, which is a noun that means quiet self-confidence; poise. And yesterday's word was DISDAIN, which is a verb OR a noun that means to look down on someone (verb) or the feeling that someone else is unworthy.

Peace!

Mr. R