Thursday, January 23, 2014

Thursday and Friday, January 23 and 24---critical lens practice for the ELA Regents


Your exam is on Monday, January 27 at 12:15
Bring pens!

Anyone who did not turn in the questions for the story map graphic organizer, please do so now. I've checked in the ones turned in yesterday and will be returning them to you. There were 51 questions, approximately worth 2 points each.  Nice work; easy A.

If you were absent yesterday, I am handing out the story graphic organizer and the accompanying questions. You will need the organizer to write the essay we are working on in class today and tomorrow; however, do not work on the questions. That is to do on your time.

Anyone who did not take Tuesday's literary terms test, must do so by tomorrow.

Now the spanner in the works: I was just found out yesterday that I cannot count your ELA Regents exam, which you are taking on Monday, as part of your 3rd marking period grade. The grade will show up as a separate line item on your report card, after you take the June Common Core Regents. The higher of the two grades will appear. That's good. I will inform you of this Monday's score, so you know where you stand. (note that if you do not pass the Regents exam on Monday, you will retake it, along with the June Common Core exam.)

So, once again, how will this impact my 3rd period marking grade? As of tomorrow, all our graded work for this marking period is over. There is testing next week. Friday is a regular class day, but there is no new material, of course, being assigned. SO by tomorrow, you must turn in any missing work. This week has been review material: Task 3, question 26 paragraph, story map graphic organizer questions, literary terms test and, due tomorrow, the critical lens essay, which we are working on today and tomorrow in class.

There is ELA review today in room 247, Mr. Wilson's room, immediately after school. You may work on this material then. As well, you get 100 bonus points for making the effort to come after school.

MOVING ON.......................................

Your ELA Regents exam, which you must pass in order to graduate, is once again on Monday, January 27 at 12:15. Please make sure to bring two pens. If you are late, you can be refused admission. Note at this is a state exam; there is no time flexibility.

How exactly is the exam organized?
Four sections:
Part 1: listening passage. You listen twice. Take notes. Answer multiple choice questions.
Part 2: Two different reading passages. You read-CAREFULLY- and answer the multiple choice questions.
            READ THE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS-  FIRST.
Part 3: Two paragraphs- controlling idea essay (we practiced; again follow the strategies we covered) and a paragraph showing how one of the passages the author uses a literary element or technique.  You have that information on the handout from Tuesday. YOU MUST HAVE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE AND AN ANALYSIS STATEMENT. Always ask yourself why something is significant.
Part 4: Critical lens. 

Your task is to write a critical essay in which you discuss two works of literature you have read from the particular perspective of the statement that is provided for you in the Critical Len, that is the quote.. In your essay, provide a valid interpretation of the statement, agree or disagree with the statement as you have interpreted it, and support your opinion using specific references to appropriate literary elements from the two works.

Class handout.
   Steps to Writing a Critical Lens Essay

Critical Lens: Introduction
1. Recopy the critical lens statement (the quote) word for word and leave it in quotation
marks. Be sure to state who said the quote or to note that it was stated by an anonymous speaker.
Examples:

•William Shakespeare once said, “All the world’s a stage.”
•An anonymous speaker once said, “Literature is the building block of life.”

2. Interpret the critical lens. In other words, put the quote in your own words. Use alternative words from the quote. If you need, write more than one sentence. 
Example:
In other words, stories deal with real life problems that real people deal with.
OR
These words may be interpreted as that those experiences one view in the theater parallel occurrences in life.  

3. State whether you agree or disagree with the statement and explain why. NEVER SAY THE WORDS ARE AGREEABLE!
Example:
•This is true in most works of literature because in literature, as in life, the protagonist
is faced with many conflicts against other characters, nature, society and him or
herself.

4. Finally, give the title, author and genre (TAG) of the books you are about to discuss
and the literary elements, and connect them to the quote. Be sure to include proper
punctuation around the title of the story.

Example:
•In the drama, Othello, by William Shakespeare, and the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird,
by Harper Lee, the main characters face many conflicts that individuals struggle
with today, as seen through their development as characters and through the treatment
of the themes.

Now take a look at the sample introduction in its entirety:
An anonymous speaker once said, “Literature is the building block of life.” In other words, stories deal with real life problems that real people deal with. This is true in most works of literature because in literature, as in life, the protagonist is faced with many conflicts against other characters, nature, society and him or herself. In the
drama, Othello, by William Shakespeare, and the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the protagonists face many conflicts that individuals struggle with today, as seen through their development as characters and through the author’s treatment of the themes.

Now you write 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion that is NOT a restatement of the introduction.

What's in the 3 body paragraphs?  Three items from each of the two works you selected that support the quote. You are making a connection between the critical lens and the text, using a literary element: plot, character, setting, theme, point of view

Possible template to use for any critical lens.  For a more sophisticate essay, begin with a hook sentence, a general statement relating to the subject in the quote.

_______________________________ once said, “_____________________. In other words, this means that ________________________________________.
This idea is developed in two works of literature: the _(give genre) (title) by (author) and the (give genre) (title) by (author) through the literary elements of (choose two: characterization, setting, theme, imagery, point-of –view (remember this is the perspective from which the story is told).

YOUR ASSIGNMENT. Due at the end of class tomorrow.
Part 4 Question 28
Your Task:
Write a critical essay in which you discuss two works of literature you have read from the particular perspective of the statement that is provided for you in the Critical Lens. In your essay, provide a valid interpretation of the statement, agree or disagree with the statement as you have interpreted it, and support your opinion using specific references to appropriate literary elements from the two works. 
Critical Lens:
“…although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.”
—Helen Keller   Optimism, 1903
Guidelines:
Be sure to
• Provide a valid interpretation of the critical lens that clearly establishes the criteria
for analysis
• Indicate whether you agree or disagree with the statement as you have interpreted it
• Choose two works you have read that you believe best support your opinion
• Use the criteria suggested by the critical lens to analyze the works you have chosen
• Avoid plot summary. Instead, use specific references to appropriate literary elements
(for example: theme, characterization, setting, point of view) to develop your analysis
• Organize your ideas in a unified and coherent manner
• Specify the titles and authors of the literature you choose
• Follow the conventions of standard written English

            

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