Close Reading - Deciphering the Details

When you do a close reading, you are looking deeply into the meaning of a small section of your text.

Directions: On a loose-leaf sheet of paper, write a comment for each numbered sentence(s).

Teacher Model:

1. “You see, Might is not Right. 2. But, there is a lot of Might knocking about in this world, and something has to be done about it. 3. It is as if people were half horrible and half nice. 4. Perhaps they are even more than half horrible, and when they are left to themselves, they run wild. 5. You get the average baron that we wee nowadays, people like Sir Bruce Sans Pitie, who simply go clod-hopping round the country, and doing exactly what they please, for sport. 6. It is our Norman idea about the upper classes having a monopoly of power, without reference to justice. 7. The the horrible side gets uppermost, and there is thieving, and rape, and plunder, and torture. 8. People become beasts.” (p. 247)

As a Class:

1. “Now, what I have thought,” said Arthur, “is this. Why can't you harness Might so that it works for Right? 2. I know it sounds nonsense, but, I mean, you can't just say that there is no such thing. The Might is there, in the bad half of people, and you can't neglect it. 3. You can't cut it out, but you might be able to direct it if you see what I mean, so that it will be useful instead of bad.” (p. 248)

Independent Practice:

1. “My idea is that if we can win this battle in front of us, and get a firm hold of the country, then I will institute a sort of order of chivalry. 2. I will not punish the bad knights or hang Lot, but I will try to get them into our Order. 3. We shall have to make it a great honor, you see, and make it fashionable and all that. Everybody must want to be in. 4. And then I shall make the oath of the Order that Might is only to be used for Right. Do you follow? 5. The knights in my order will ride all over the world, still dressed in steel and whacking away with their swords—that will give an outlet for wanting to whack, you understand, an outlet for what Merlyn calls the foxhunting spirit—but they will be bound to strike only on behalf of what is good, to defend virgins against Sir Bruce and to restore what has been done wrong in the past and to help the oppressed and so forth. Do you see the idea? 6. It will be by using the Might instead of fighting against it, and turning a bad thing into a good.” (p. 248)

Today's Classwork

Work with your reading partner to practice your "Say Something" skills. Try to finish reading the "Parable of Man" in class (pp. 188-194).

Use the sheets provided to you to keep a log of your "Say Something" practice, or you may use a loose-leaf sheet of paper.

"We Think" for "Parable fo Man" reading

During class, you got an index card with a quote on it, walked around the room discussing what it might mean with other students, while also discussing the quotes they had on their own cards. You brought back to your group knowledge of these discussions and created a "We think" paragraph.

You just made some predictions about the text we are going to be reading!

Here are all the quotes that were distributed on index cards to the class:

"I can teach you two things--to dig and love your home."

"Why Man has become the master of the animals."

"How fortunate that you came!"

"It is just the think to top off an education!"

"You may alter yourself into anything you think will be useful to you in later life."

"What yo choose you will grow into and will have to stick to."

"I will stay a defenseless embryo all my life."

"He is the only one who has guessed our riddle."

"You will always remain potential in Our image."

"We are partly sorry for you, Man, but partly hopeful."

"I have sometimes doubted whether [Man] is the most blessed."

"Do you know that Homo sapiens is almost the only animal which wages war?"

"Don't you have courage in warfare, Badger, and endurance, and comrades whom you love?"

Notes for Chapter 10, "The Lobster Quadrille"

- Alice stops herself from saying she has eaten a lobster
  - seems she has finally learned her lesson
    - with the mouse, she kept on about her cat and nearly scared the mouse away
    - with the birds at the caucus race, again she talks about her cat and how she would eat a bird as soon as look at it
- Lobster Quadrille
  - parody of a ballroom dance the Liddell children would have known
- Alice stops herself from saying she has seen a whiting at dinner
- Even though Alice avoids making references to eating animals, the chapter ends with the Mock Turtle singing a song about Turtle Soup

Assignment:


Answer the three questions you came up with for Chapter 10.

Notes for Chapter 9, "The Mock Turtle's Story"

- The Duchess continually tells Alice that there is always a moral if you look hard enough
  - this is a reflection of moralistic education of the early 19th c.
    - like the Busy Bee poem which tells children to work hard and stay out of trouble
  - the Duchess seems to twist the moral she wants, regardless of the conversation
    - ex: "The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours" regarding a conversation about mustard
- The Queen takes Alice to the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle
  - The Gryphon tells us that the Queen never executes anyone - "it's all her fancy, that"
  - The Mock Turtle's sorrow is also "all his fancy"
  - Carroll is trying to tell us that our world is shaped by the attitude we bring to it
- The Mock Turtle's story is a parody of Victorian education
  - took Reeling & Writhing (reading and writing)
    - words that describe suffering
  - took Mystery (History)
  - Drawling, Stretching, and Fainting in Coils (Drawing, sketching, and painting in oils)
  - Laughing and Grief (Latin and Greek)
    - Greeks also taught us about laughing and grief through comedy and tragedy (Greek drama)
    - the Mock Turtle's grief brings the reader laughter through his puns
  - Lessons lessen every day
- Each pun shows an emotion associated with the topic being taught

Assignment:


1. How does the Mock Turtle's use of puns help us understand his attitudes about school?
2. Choose 2 questions you wrote for Chapter 9, "The Mock Turtle's Story," and answer in paragraph form.

"The Mock Turtle's Story"

Read Chapter 9, "The Mock Turtle's Story," and write 5 questions about the chapter. These questions can be about details from the text, themes we have seen in the novel, or any other significant connections you can think of.

Puns and Homophones

Homophone: Two words which sound exactly alike, and may or may not be spelled alike, but which differ in meaning.

Pun: The use of homophones or words that are similar in other ways in order to produce a humorous effect

Class activity: Choose a pun from the list and make a cartoon showing the double meaning in the joke.

1. Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
2. I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
3. He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends.
4. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was a nurse said 'No change yet'.
5. To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
6. What did the grape say when it got stepped on? Nothing - but it let out a little whine.
7. As the shoe said to the hat, 'You go on ahead, and I'll follow on foot'.
8. Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
9. Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda? He was lucky it was a soft drink.
10. When William joined the army he disliked the phrase 'fire at will'.
11. Cartoonist found dead in home. Details are sketchy.
12. There was once a cross-eyed teacher who couldn't control his pupils.
13. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tired.
14. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
15. A prisoner's favorite punctuation mark is the period. It marks the end of his sentence.
16. He didn't tell his mother that he ate some glue. His lips were sealed.
17. A baker stopped making donuts after he got tired of the hole thing.
18. When an actress saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she'd dye.
19. The magician got so mad he pulled his hare out.
20. In the room the curtains were drawn, but the rest of the furniture was real.
21. I used to be a tap dancer until I fell in the sink.
22. He had a photographic memory that was never developed.
23. Math teachers have lots of problems.
24. If you leave alphabet soup on the stove and go out, it could spell disaster.
25. How do farmers make crop circles? With a protractor.

Notes for Alice in Wonderland (Theme: Identity)

- Alice can't answer the Caterpillar's question "Who are you"
   - The reason Alice gives is that she's been "changed several times"
       - grew smaller then larger in the hall of doors
       - grew smaller and fell in a pool of her own tears
       - grows large3r, then smaller in the Rabbit's house
- Her constant change in size leads her to question her identity
  - When she grows large in the hall of doors:
       - she wonders if she has been turned into Mabel
           - checks herself by reciting her Math and Geography lessons
           - tries to recite the busy bee poem but fails, saying the crocodile poem instead
  - When she is small, talking to the Caterpillar:
       - recites "You are Old, Father William" completely incorrectly
            - (a poem about how to live a good life)
       - "It's wrong from beginning to end"
- Alice changes in size again
  - takes from both sides of the mushroom (one to make her larger, one to make her small)
  - she shrinks then grows enormous
  - Alice is mistakes for a serpent by a pigeon
       - the pigeon  doubts she 's a little girl
       - Alice replies that her identity as a little girls "matters a great deal to me"  
- Alice goes back to her normal size at the end of chapter 5
  - half a paragraph later, she's shrinking down to 9 in. high


Write a TEAC paragraph in response to the questions:

1. What is the main reason why Alice questions her identity?
2. How does Alice check to see if she is still herself? Why do you think she has chosen this method?

Writing Body Paragraphs

Directions: Use the TEAC model to rewrite each body paragraph so it supports the thesis statement and uses all the elements necessary in a strong paragraph. Use a loose-leaf sheet of paper.

Thesis: Throughout the novel, the White Rabbit demonstrates that he is anxious, sophisticated, but also rude and inconsiderate in different situations.

1.Underline the topic sentence of each body paragraph.
2.Put a box around sentences that are |examples| in each body paragraph.
3.Double underline sentences that show analysis in each body paragraph.
4.Use a highlighter to highlight the conclusion of each paragraph.

Paragraph 1

When Alice first sees the Rabbit, the first words out of his mouth are “Oh dear, oh dear! I shall be late!” (p. 10). He constantly says he's late, and mentions that the Duchess will be savage, or have him executed for losing the fan and gloves, letting the reader know that the Rabbit is facing a lot of anxiety. He refers to the Duchess, and how she'll be savage if he keeps her waiting (p. 17). This shows that the Rabbit is always anxious and in a hurry. The Rabbit is constantly saying how he's going to be late for something, demonstrating how anxious he is. In chapter two, the Rabbit scurries away when Alice tries to talk to him, dropping the fan and gloves he is so furiously searching for at the beginning of chapter four.

Paragraph 2

When Alice first sees the Rabbit, he's wearing a waistcoat and has a pocket watch. When Alice sees him in the hall of doors, he is “splendidly dressed” as for a special occasion. This shows that the Rabbit is concerned about how he looks, and is ready to socialize with the Duchess, who is part of a royal court. He also carries white kid gloves and a fan and repeatedly mentions that he is meeting with the Duchess. The rabbit is also a sophisticated gentleman, and this is demonstrated by the way the rabbit dresses and how he is described.

Paragraph 3

When Alice grows huge and is stuck inside his house, he also shows how rash and unreasonable he can be by saying that they should burn the house down to get rid of her, when all it took in the end was a shrinking cake to make her grow smaller. Therefore, the rabbit demonstrated through his actions that he is not the most reasonable person to work for. Although the rabbit is a sophisticated gentleman, that doesn't mean that he is particularly nice. When Alice meets him after leaving the animals from the Caucus race, he's quite mean to her, mistaking her for his housemaid, Mary Anne (p. 31). He's also mean to his servants, at one point saying to one, “Do as I tell you, you coward” (p. 34).

There, Their and They're

There, their and they're sound alike, but they mean different things. We're going to discuss some tricks to use when you're trying to figure out which one you need in your sentence.

There

There is about place. You can remember that by looking at the word like this:

T(here)

“There” is like “here” because both show a location. For example:

The park is over there.
They went with him there.
We went there with our friends.

There is also used before the verb “to be.”

There are fourteen of us going.
There is something I have to tell you.
I don't want whatever there is left.
I remember when there were four buildings on this block.

Their

Their is about possession (something that belongs to them). You can remember that by looking at the word like this:

The(i)r

“Their” is like “I” because I is mine and their belongs to them.

Their car was parked by the corner.
I was waiting for their phone call.
How can I get their autographs?
What were their names again?

In each case, notice that their is showing possession.

They're

They're is telling you that they are somewhere. You can look at it like this:

They're = they + are

Whenever you use they're, you should be able to substitute for they are.

They're not going to be late this time.
I don't know when they're coming back.
Did they say when they're planning to eat dinner?
How come they're getting more more than I am?

Directions: Fill in the blanks with there, their and they're as appropriate.

1. ________________________________ never going to come home, are they?
2. When will we go back ________________________________?
3. How's the weather down ________________________________?
4. ________________________________ phone was disconnected yesterday.
5. When will we get ________________________________?
6. ________________________________ are two avocados left.
7. How come ________________________________ are only four of us here?
8. When will ________________________________ phone get fixed?
9. How come ________________________________ not at the party yet?
10. Well, I guess we'll see you ________________________________.
11. When will ________________________________ be ice cream again?
12. They still haven't done ________________________________ homework.
13. Where are ________________________________ exams?
14. ________________________________ not going to stop.
15. What's ________________________________ number again?
16. ________________________________ is too much wrong with the world.
17. ________________________________ too fast for you to catch!
18. ________________________________ is nothing you can do to stop us!
19. We did not steal ________________________________ delicious snacks!
20. What's ________________________________ deal, anyway?

Characterization

Characterization

What a character says, thinks, and does

Characterization is what a character says, thinks, and does.

Authors write all kinds of different characters, but you can always figure out what kind of character you're looking at by analyzing what he or she says, does, and thinks.

Directions: Read the short character descriptions below. Then, use the graphic organizers to analyze each character.

Maynard was ready to go at the beginning of class. He had already written down the journal prompt before the second bell had rung. When Cassandra tried to ask him if he was going to Joey's party next weekend, he only shushed her, meaning he knew that there would be time to talk about it during lunch or after school.

“I'm looking forward to it,” he thought, “especially because Daria will be there.” A small, shy smile crept onto his face as he began to respond to the journal prompt: “write an imaginary conversation you would like to have with someone you're afraid to talk to.” He thought this might help him prepare for his encounter with Daria at Joey's party.

What the character says, thinks or does	What this says about the character	One or two words that sum it up
He's ready for class before the bell rings	He cares about his education, and shows it by being prepared	- prepared - cares about the future

Osa was late to class, as usual. He barged in, talking loudly and high-fiving his friends when he should have taken a seat quietly.

“Osa, sit down and take out your journal. Stop talking; you're already late,” scolded the teacher.

“Oh, my fault,” said Osa, as he dragged his chair across the floor and slammed his backpack loudly on his desk.

“Yo, I need a pencil,” he announced to the class. The teacher shook her head in dismay, as Osa was once again unprepared to learn. Just as Osa took out his journal, and finally wrote down the prompt, the lesson was about to begin.

What the character says, thinks or does	What this says about the character	One or two words that sum it up

Reading Review

Imagining Setting - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Directions: Follow along to the Beatles' song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Imagine that you are in the world the song is describing. Look at the image in your mind. On the other side of this sheet, draw (to the best of your ability) what that picture looks like.


Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

Cellophane flowers of yellow and green,
Towering over your head.
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,
And she's gone.

{CHORUS}
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Ah... Ah...

Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain,
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies.
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.

Newspaper taxis appear on the shore,
Waiting to take you away.
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds,
And you're gone.

{CHORUS}

Picture yourself on a train in a station,
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties.
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile,
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

Vocabulary Classwork and Homework (due 10/6)

Use context clues to define the words in bold.

1. A person of great virtue not only knows what is right, but also does what is right.

2. His bride in her white gown was an angelic vision.

3. The library is a repository of books.

4. While church hymns are considered religious music because of their use in ritual, hip hop and rap are considered secular because they are not about religious ideas.

5. We are all going through a great hardship because of the recession.

6. There are still many isolated Amazonian tribes untainted by modern technology.

7. It's agony when you're late for school and you just miss the bus.

8. It sounds like nonsense that you could use toothpaste to power your radio.

9. There is a lot of potential business in new communications technology.

10. Our parents labor for our well-being by supporting us financially and emotionally.

11. I knew my little brother was up to some mischief when I saw mustard on the dog's nose.

12. My hands were idle as I waited for an idea to inspire my journal for the day.

13. Children need to learn to account for their actions by being responsible for what they do.

14. There is a contradiction when we say we believe something and then do the opposite.

15. The people who lived under Queen Victoria in England during most of the 19^th century are known as Victorians.

16. Some people feel ambivalent towards religion; they may not be sure if they believe in God, or perhaps they don't agree with everything their church tells them.

Homework: use each of the words above in your own sentence.

Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland

Read the passage below and answer the questions on loose-leaf:
Lewis Carroll was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson at Daresbury in Chesire. His father, the Reverend Charles Dodgson, was at that time Curate of the parish. During one picnic – on July 4, 1862, on a blazing summer afternoon – Charles Lutwidge Dodgson began to tell a long story to Alice Liddell (died in 1934), who was the daughter of Henry George Liddell, the head of his Oxford college, where Dodgson was a professor of mathematics. The Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was born from these tales.


Originally the book appeared under the title Alice's Adventures Under Ground. The story centers on the seven-year-old Alice, who falls asleep in a meadow, and dreams that she plunges down a rabbit hole, where finds herself first too large and then too small. She meets such strange characters as Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the King and Queen of Hearts, and experiences wondrous, often bizarre adventures, trying to reason in numerous discussions that do not follow the usual paths of logic. Finally she totally rejects the dream world and wakes up.

1. What is Lewis Carroll's real name?
   
2. What was his profession?
   
3. What was the original title for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? Which title do you prefer? Why?
   
4. What is the basic plot of Alice in Wonderland?
   

The author's life and work has become a constant area for speculation and his exploring of the boundaries of sense and nonsense has inspired a number of psychological studies and novels – and perhaps also the famous English philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. The humor of Joseph Heller's famous war novel Catch-22 (1961) is much in debt to Dodgson. In Catch-22 the story centers on the USAF regulation, which suggests that willingness to fly dangerous combat missions must be considered insane, but if the airmen seek to be relieved on grounds of mental reasons, the request proves their sanity. The same laws dominate the Wonderland: "'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: 'we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.' 'How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice. 'You must be,' said the Cat, 'or you wouldn't have come here.'"

5. Re-read the paragraph above. In your own words, explain the impossible logic of Wonderland using the conversation Alice has with the Cheshire Cat.
   
   

According to Carl Jung, "a typical infantile motif is the dream of growing infinitely small or infinitely big, or being transformed from one to the other – as you find, for instance, in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland." (in Man and His Symbols, 1964) Modern physicist have often compared the world of Lewis Carroll with the incredible phenomena of quantum reality – such as cats that are both alive and dead at the same time ('Schrödinger's cat') or with particles that change their identities for no apparent reason. They are against Alice's common sense: 'I can't believe that!' said Alice. '... one can't believe impossible things. But the White Queen has her own principles: "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.' (from Through the Looking Glass)

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes - and ships - and sealing wax -
Of cabbages - and kings -
And why the sea is boiling hot -
And whether pigs have wings."
(from 'The Walrus and the Carpenter')

6. What does Jung say about Alice in Wonderland?
   
7. What is the Alice connection to modern physics? Do you think those ideas are “against common sense?
   

At the time of their publication, Alice's adventures were considered children's literature, but now Dodgson's stories are generally viewed in a different light. His work has fascinated such critics as Edmund Wilson and W.H. Auden, and logicians and scientist such as Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell. Virginia Woolf remarked, "the two Alices are not books for children; they are the only books in which we become children". In the 1960s rock musicians and hippies were attracted to the surrealistic world of Wonderland, which inspired such songs as Jefferson Airplane's 'White Rabbit' and The Beatles's 'I am the Walrus'.

Dodgson also wrote mathematical works, of which Condensation of Determinants (1866) and An Elementary Treatise On Determinants (1867) established his fame as a significant mathematical theorist. Moreover, Dodgson was a rather exceptional student of Aristotelian logic, and he delighted his friends with games, puzzles and riddles. Dodgson's mock-heroic poem, The Hunting of the Snark (1876), ending with the line "For the Snark was a Bojuum, you see", received mixed reviews when it appeared. The meaning of the poem, which tells of the journey to capture the mythical Snark, has puzzled generations of readers. "I'm very much afraid I didn't mean anything but nonsense!" Dodgson later said.

8. What are some examples of the influence of the Alice books in popular culture?

9. What do you think Virginia Woolf meant by "the two Alices are not books for children; they are the only books in which we become children." What's the difference between a book for children, and a book where we become children?

Themes!

Themes Classwork /8

Mrs. Koza

10^th Grade English

Name:__________________________________________ Section:__________________________

Themes!

An idea you can talk about in lots of different ways

Each set of lines below has a theme. What is it? (3 points)

So, yesterday it was my friend Stacey.

Two days ago I had to get something in my locker.

Three days ago Mr. Rich kept me too long!

But today... I'm late because I didn't hear the bell!

What's the theme?

__________________________________

In Chemistry, Mr. Ap helps us after school.

In English, I get too much of it.

For Geometry, my older brother helps me.

By the time I start on Global, my favorite TV show is on.

What's the theme?

___________________________________

Becky told me it was Marie.

Marie told me it was really Teresa.

Then, of course, Teresa blabbed on Becky.

And in the locker room, I heard it was me!

What's the theme?

____________________________________

Now, make your own!

(5 points)

In this activity, you will work in a group to brainstorm different ideas that fall under the same theme. Be prepared to write your own riddle (like the ones on the other side of this sheet) and share it with the class! (We'll be trying to guess the theme!)

Theme (I will provide this to your group): _______________________

With your small group, brainstorm some different ways you can talk about your theme. Come up with a few examples or situations in which your theme comes up (these will be your clues). What does this idea make you think of?

Now, choose an example and turn them into clues for your riddle:

Line 1:

Line 2:

Line 3:

Line 4:

Journal Project - Due Friday, October 2

Don't forget that Journals will be collected on Friday. This is 40 points towards Classwork and 40 points towards Projects. Work on it tonight!

More Strong Paragraphs

This paragraph is a response to the poem "Against Idleness and Mischief," and addresses the concept of theme, which we discussed in class today.

This is a TEAC paragraph:

Topic Sentence

Examples

Analysis

Conclusion

What is the central theme of "Against Idleness and Mischief?"

 The central theme of "Against Idleness and Mischief" is that hard work is important because it is the key to staying out of trouble. The busy bee is like the ideal individual--hard-working as she collects honey from flowers and builds wax cells to store it. The speaker says that he would also be busy like the bee, warning that "Satan finds some mischief still / for idle hands to do." The busy bee is constantly occupied, and therefore has no time to be idle; therefore, no time for mischief. By following the speaker's example, good children can do the same if they want to stay out of trouble.

Notice that the topic sentence answers the question, stating the central theme of the poem. The next two sentences provide details from the poem that support the central point. The examples show that the bee is good and hard-working. The example also shows that the speaker of the poem believes that working hard is a good thing, and helps keep young people away from "mischief." Therefore, the bee is a model to be followed, since hard work will help keep you out of trouble.

Classwork assignment:

Write a TEAC paragraph answering the following question:

What is the main theme of "How doth the Little Crocodile?" Label each sentence according to the TEAC model (Topic sentence, Example, Analysis, Conclusion).

Journal Rubric

Journal Rubric

Mrs. Koza

10^th Grade English

Name: ________________________________________ Section: ________________________

Your Journal will receive two grades: one for classwork and one project grade. Both are a total of 80 points. Here is how it breaks down:

Classwork (40 points):

	20 points	15 points	10 points	5 points	0 points	Your Points
Do you have all your entries?	All entries are present and some response has been made	At most 2 entries are missing	At most 5 entries are missing	Most entries are missing	There are no entries
Are all your entries one page?	All entries have a response of at least one page	Most entries have a response of at least one page	Half of entries have a response of at least one page	Most entries have a response of less than one page	No entries fulfill the one page requirement
Total:					40 possible

Project (40 points):

For the project grade you will choose 4 entries from your journal and write a 300 word reflection on your writing. Choose your entries according to the following criteria:

Exemplary Entry: This entry is your favorite of all. It is a reflection of what you like about your writing.

Most Challenging Entry: This entry was difficult to write about. It's probably not your favorite, but it shows you struggling with the question, even if you think your response doesn't make sense.

Needs Improvement: This might have been an off day, or maybe your internal editor was at its worst. This entry could use some work.

Most Experimental: This entry reflects you as a no-fear writer. Even though it may not be the best or most creative entry, you certainly let yourself write what was on your mind without reservation.

Reflection:

Each 300 word reflection should cover these areas:

1. Why did you choose it for that criterion?
2. What do you think you did very well for this entry?
3. How could you improve next time?

	10 points	7 points	5 points	3 points	0 points	Your Points
Exemplary Entry	Reflection answers all 3 questions fully, showing that the student has thought about the quality of his or her writing, and is open to and aware of next steps towards improvement.	Reflection mostly answers all 3 questions, showing that the student has thought somewhat about the quality of his or her writing, and shows some awareness of next steps towards improvement	Reflection partially answers all 3 questions, showing that the student has limited understanding of the quality of his or her writing, with limited awareness of next steps towards improvement	Reflection does little to respond to the 3 questions, demonstrating little to no awareness of the student's writing quality, and little to no sense of next steps towards improvement	No reflection has been turned in.
Most Challenging Entry
Needs Improvement
Most Experimental
Total:					40 possible

Writing Strong Paragraphs

We discussed writing strong paragraphs on Thursday. We will continually go over these skills in our class. Each time you are given a writing assignment, practice strong paragraph writing. This will make essays much easier to write, and will strengthen your skills as a critical reader and thinker.

Every strong paragraph contains four essential elements:

Topic Sentence

This sentence tells your reader what your paragraph will be all about. It usually puts forth an argument, which you will support in the rest of your paragraph. If you are responding directly to a question, the topic sentence will address the question, and answer it.

Example

An example is lifted directly from the text you are reading. An example refers specifically to a detail in the text, and may even be a direct quote. The example you choose should support the argument or statement you made in your topic sentence. Remember that paragraphs are one unit of information, and all your sentences need to stick to the same topic!

Analysis

In your analysis, you are explaining to your reader why your example supports your topic sentence. Make sure you refer back to whatever your main idea is, and show the connection to your reader. Why is it that your example supports the point you're making? Show the connection!

Conclusion

Your conclusion ties up any loose ends, and gives a little summary of your points and why you believe them. Again, since a paragraph is one unit of information, your conclusion may also show how all the ideas you discussed fit together. Your conclusion will also refer back to your topic sentence, showing that you have made your point.

Here is the example we discussed in class:

The author is discussing the contradictory attitude the people of Victorian England had about childhood. Although children were a "source of hope, of virtue, or emotion," they also believed that children were "potentially wicked," needing "constant guidance and discipline." This shows that Victorian adults probably had high hopes for their children, but also had deep questions about their children's ability to be "good." In short, Victorians felt torn about the nature of childhood, and felt ambivalent towards their children because of it.

Notice how the topic is repeated throughout the paragraph. The contradiction (that children could be good and bad at the same time) is repeated throughout the paragraph, driving home the argument that Victorians felt torn about their children.