Current Homework Assignments and Due Dates
9th grade honors English:
Due Friday, November 20
Turning your timed write into a 5 part paragraph
1. Read over each of your three timed writes. Decide which you will rewrite as a five part paragraph. Consider: Which topic do I like the most? Which has the most original ideas?
2. Use a highlighter to highlight anything in your timed write that could become parts of a five part paragraph. Highlight: topic sentence ideas, main points, CD (concrete details are quotes or paraphrased examples of things the book says or things that happen in the book), CM (commentary refers to your own ideas that analyze CD and how they prove your points), concluding ideas.
3. Go back and look at which parts you don’t have. For example, you may not have a clear topic sentence, 3 main points, etc.
4. Begin working on a graphic organizer. Fill in what you have already and start thinking about writing the missing parts.
5. Use your graphic organizer to write a five part paragraph (preferably typed, double-spaced.) DUE WITH A COMPLETED GRAPHIC ORGANIZER ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20.
6. Complete the checklist and make a plan for revising your five part paragraph in class on Friday.
7. Final draft (typed, double-spaced) due with all other materials (previous draft, checklist, graphic organizer and original, highlighted timed write) due Monday, November 23.
Topic Sentence:
· Includes title and author
· Not too broad: for example, only cover one “mockingbird” and one theme the motif exemplifies.
· Is something that can be supported with each of your main points.
· Must be approved in class today! Don’t start your paragraph before you get it approved.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Students will be annotating the novel as they read. Annotation assignments and further information can be found on the syllabus for this unit.
To Kill a Mockingbird Syllabus
To Kill a Mockingbird Reading Schedule, chapters and due dates
Outside Reading: Due Monday, October 12
Five Part Paragraph, due Friday, October 2
Example using "The Road Not Taken"
TWIST
TWIST
A method for generating a thesis in response to a prompt that refers to literature
T: Tone
• Tone is the attitude of the author or speaker toward the subject
W: Word choice/Diction
• Word choice and diction are terms referring to the specific words or clusters of words in the selection that are loaded with connotation, associations or emotional impact
I: Imagery and Detail
• Imagery is when the author creates a mental picture with words
• Images may be those of sound, touch, taste, smell or sight
• Detail refers to facts or objects
S: Style
• Style is a term referring to the author’s characteristic use of language and the tools of a writer
o figurative language
o point of view
o literary techniques
T: Theme
• Theme concerns the meaning of the passage, the insight, both particular and universal, that an author has to offer about life itself and has to do with the overall effect or impact of a piece of writing
• It is the core of the work, its reason for being
After you have analyzed the piece using the TWIST method, decode the prompt before generating your thesis.
Decoding the Prompt:
1. Define or identify the task
2. Consider what needs to be addressed
3. Decide how best to respond to the prompt
More on TWIST
Theme.
The last “T” is for theme. Rather than stating what you think is the main idea of the piece, write a statement that reveals the author’s intended message about that idea.
Example:
Idea: Power
Theme statement: Power becomes dangerous when it goes to a person’s head.
• Read over your annotations and notes on TWIS and reread the piece before you attempt to write a theme statement.
• The theme statement cannot merely quote the piece.
• The theme statement should reveal the meaning of the piece and should be incorporated into your thesis.
Thesis.
Should do the following:
• Include title and author of the piece.
• Address all aspects of the prompt
• Clear and not repetitive
• Carefully worded, insightful, eloquent.
Grading Expectations:
• Annotate the piece for TWIST
• Make an evaluation of each part of TWIST, separate from the annotations.
o T: Informative – words/images meant to teach instruct on the topic etc.