Protest Posters

On Friday, we rolled our sleeves up and got creative with our protest against civil rights injustices. After exploring the oppressions in ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY, and learning about the voting literacy tests and the Little Rock 9 this week, we had the chance to create protest posters to explore the fight for civi rights.

You each used our vocabulary words from the week to craft original and empowering protest posters--pictures to come soon. I appreciated your thoughtfulness as you worked on this activity, and the ways in which you related it to current day lives and struggles.

Our word of the day from Friday was OBFUSCATE, which means: to cloud, to hide the truth another something, to mask, to lie. An example is: THE LITERACY TESTS FROM LOUISIANA OBFISCATED THE POWER OF THE VOTING RIGHTS OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN AMERICA. 

For homework this weekend, be sure to read (or listen to!) chapters 5 and 6 from ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY. And again: here is the link in case you want to listen to the chapters as you follow along in your book. 

Peace!

Mr. R

Rolling Through Injustice...

Today we discussed Chapter 4 in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and we talked about what we would have done if we were in mam's shoes: would we bring our own children to see Mr. Berry, the burned man, to show our kids what racism looks like? Or would we wait until they were older to show them the terrible force of injustice?

We also had the chance to take the Literacy Test that was given to African-Americans who tried to vote in the 1960's in Louisiana. Click on this link to learn more about the test and how deeply it unjustly kept a civil right from African-Americans. 

Due Monday, be sure to read chapters 5 and 6 in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. If it would be helpful while reading (and I often do this!) try listening to the audio book aloud while you follow along in your book. Here is a link to the free audio version of the novel fro you to listen to while you read!

And here is a photo of some details of some of the characters we've met and discussed thus far:

Our word of the day today is ACCOUNTABLE, which means to be held responsible for...

Have an awesome evening, and peace!

Mr. R

Thunder and the Little Rock 9

Today, we had great conversations about The Logan kids and their decision to fight back against the school bus filled with white students and the bus driver who often tries to run down the Logan children. We talked about what we would have done had we been in the shoes of the Logan children, and predicted what we think will happen because of the hole they dig.

Then, we segued into a clip from the powerful documentary entitled, Eyes on the Prize. We watched s segment that explored and showed us what happened in 1957 when Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas attempted to follow the ruling of Brown vs. Board of Education and desegregate their high school.

We watched the immense courage of the 9 African-American students as they attempted to go to school, and the battle that ensued. Subsequently, we talked about what we felt, learned, and thought.

If you want to watch the clip again, or to watch beyond where we stopped, here is the link to the entire footage from Eyes on the Prize.

Our word of the day today is IRONY, which means the exact opposite of what the words explain, OR a completely unexpected and opposite outcome. The example of IRONY that we explored today is: America's history holds immense irony because this country began with the principle of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness--yet this very freedom has been denied to an entire group (or more) of people.

We also explored how the beauty of America is that it can be changed!

For homework tonight, be sure to read Chapter 4 in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

Peace!

Mr. R

Poetry That MOVES!

Today, we dove into an activity where your mission was the work as hard as you could to piece together a poem by Langston Hughes that had been cut into single words. (Who would ever do such a thing!?). In the process of working in your teams to reconstruct the poem, you began to see the power of a poem to deliver a striking message about racism and equality.

Here are a few snapshots of your poems in progress as you worked in teams:

After we finished with the time in teams, I shared the actual poem, "I, Too," that Langston Hughes wrote in 1945. (Click on the previous link if you want to read the poem again.) This is a key message in the novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: that equal rights will become a reality--and that people must stand up and fight for those rights. 

For tomorrow, be sure to read Chapter 3 in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. 

Our word of the day today was IMPERTINENT, which means rude. And our word of the day from yesterday was VIABLE, which means possible; able to become a reality. 

Have a great evening, and delve into Chapter 3 and be moved by its power!

Peace,

Mr. R

Rolling Onwards!

Today, we began our powerful new novel ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY. We read the start of the first chapter aloud and stopped to discuss some of the key terms and ideas.

For tomorrow, finish reading the first chapter of the book and also study for our creative vocab quiz! Our word of the day today is INTERPRETATION.

Peace!

Mr. R

Civil Rights and a New Book

Yesterday and today in English class, we explored how the civil rights movement transformed (and continues to transform!) this country. We Forsy shared all that we knew, and then discussed the idea of a movement--how and why it starts and how and why it continues.

We discussed two centrl figures: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, and we also explored ways in which the civil rights movement is very much ongoing today.

Tomorrow, we will leap back in the past before the movement of Dr. King's and Malcolm X's time and into the 1930's as we begin our new novel ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY. This is a breathtaking and searing novel that still makes me cry each time I read it, and fills me both with sadness and hope. In 1973, Mildred D. Taylor's powerful novel won the prestigious Newbery Award, and I can't wait to dive into this book together.

Our word of the day yesterday was SUBSEQUENT, which simply means following in order (think: because of or therefore).

Tomorrow, our book reviews are due.

Peace!

Mr. R

Revision Central!

Today in English class, we dove into a peer edit on our book reviews, and then signed onto the iPads and used keyboards to make further revisions on the reviews.

The final drafts of our book reviews are due on either Wednesday or Thursday of this week (December 2 or December 3).

Here is a model middle paragraph, including notes on how to include a quote and thoughts on your topic sentence. For more examples of the first paragraphs, and organizers for how to structure your middle and concluding paragraphs, scroll down through previous posts to find loads of fabulous links!

At the end of last week, before the holiday, we explored the idea of perseverance, and how finishing something is deep[ly powerful--even if it is not as amazing as you had hoped. Here is the powerful Olympic video we watched of Derek Redmond of the 1992 Olympics. 

Our word of the day today is JUXTAPOSE, which means to compare two things side by side. It is also a poetic term that we'll discuss further in the Spring!

Our words of the day from last week that we'll carry over are: THESIS (a formal argument!) and TRAJECTORY (a path forward for a character!)

Peace!

Mr. R

Writer's Workshop

Today, we had an awesome time all working together on our book reviews. We continued to craft our middle (body) paragraphs and our conclusions. (See the links in yesterday's post for all kinds of great organizers, the assignment, and inspirational ways to think about writing a book review or a thesis essay).

For tomorrow, we will be studying our vocabulary words for our next Creative Vocab Quiz! We have seven words this time, however you will only need to use five on the quiz! Our words are: OBLITERATE, COPIOUS, TUMULTUOUS, NEURON, PATHOS, IMPERVIOUS, and TRANSFORMATION. (See in posts below for definitions and examples).

The rough drafts of our book reviews are due Monday, November 23, in a printed out version. And the final drafts will be due Wednesday, December 2.

Peace!

Mr. R

Like Lawyers!

Yesterday in class, we talked about the RHETORICAL TRIANGLE and what it represents. IN one corner, we have pathos (meaning emotion); in the second corner we have logos (meaning logic), and in the third corner we have ethos (meaning credibility and trust).

When a speaker or a writer or a debater or even a company makes an argument, they will often try to get listeners or readers (or shoppers) to be persuaded by making them THINK (logos), FEEL (pathos), and TRUST (ethos) that their argument is a good one.

Here is a graphic of the rhetorical triangle:

We also viewed the final courtroom scene from the film A Few Good Men to better understand and discuss what the rhetorical triangle looks like in action. Here is the clip we watched: A Few Good Men final courtroom scene. 

Our word of the day yesterday was...PATHOS (which is defined above in our rhetorical triangle). 

Today, we are in the library, typing up very rough drafts of our thesis essays. Our goal is to have a working draft of our book review by next Monday, November 23. Then we will begin revisions and editing!

Here is an example of our middle paragraph, as well as the proper heading (title, subtitle, name) to follow within your essay. Notice that this is a great document to checkout to make sure you are citing quotes properly!!

Be sure to look through our blue packet for a reminder of the overview of the assignment, an organizer for the middle paragraph, and another for the concluding paragraph to help you structure your essay. And remember: a rough draft is just that: rough! We will revise and improve our drafts all next week, and the final drafts will be due Wednesday, December 2. 

Peace!

Mr. R

Arguing with Passion and Purpose: Book Review Assignment

Welcome back!

Today, we introduced the book review assignment, now that we have finished reading and exploring Kathryn Erskine's The Absolute Value of Mike.

Here is a link to the actual assignment, which we read through and debriefed in class today. 

You'll notice that is is actually a brief writing assignment--only a single typed page! However, sometimes it is actually more difficult to write a powerful, clear single page than to write five vague ones!

We discussed the differences between informal writing (such as our Quick Write journals and our short story assignment) and formal writing (such as this book review and any thesis essay). Here is a picture of the notes from our board:

As we work though this essay, some other materials we will use are: this model of a book review from The New York Times (by reviewer Gary D. Schmidt); and here is a graphic organizer that we will use for our middle, body, paragraph. 

Our word for the day today is OBLITERATE, which is a verb that means to destroy.

For homework tonight, write a rough draft of your intro paragraph to this book review assignment. Don't worry just yet about making it great! This is a first draft--so we are just aiming to have an argument for our essays.

Some examples of a thesis statement that we created in class are:

EX.1. Mike and Poppy learn to have a great relationship in the novel, The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine.

EX.2. James Frost is a good and effective father in the novel, The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine.

EX.3. This book is great because it teaches a number of powerful life lessons.

These are examples of strong thesis statements. But don't use these. Forge your own in a paragraph tonight!

Peace,

Mr. R

Finding Support!

Today, we spent a lot of time with our noses buried deep in our ABSOLUTE VALUE OF MIKE books! As we prepare to write professional, formal book reviews next week in the library, we worked on collecting quotes that support our ideas.

You all did a great job of finding ideas and passages that affect you and make you think deeply, or make your heart feel in a powerful and vulnerable way.

Our word of the day today is TUMULTUOUS, which means being in an uproar or confusion; a synonym for another of our vocabulary words: boisterous!

The homework for tonight is to finish Ch. 29 in MIKE.

Peace!

Luke

Literature to Life with Tableau

Today, we are exploring the ways in which character sin novel see themselves and how they connect with and communicate with others. As an inception point, we are watching social psychologist Amy Cuddy's fabulous talk on nonverbal communication.

How do the ways in which we carry ourselves, the poses we use, and other forms of body language reveal who we are and how we think of ourselves?

After watching and then discussing Amy Cuddy's talk, we then break up into small groups or via a solo endeavor, we are creating a tableau to demonstrate how a character in the novel shows him or herself.

It is great fun to guess which character we are impersonating, and it's been fascinating to think of ourselves in this light, too.

Our word of the day for today is TRANSFORMATION, which is a noun that means a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance...and consider this: an epiphany can lead to transformation! :)

Peace!

Mr. R