Monday, October 29

Agenda: 

Today we finished the third installment of the story, "Where are you going, where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oates. Students were to listen for diction that either suggested a tone for a character or created a mood for the audience and then write a sentence that elaborated on the intention of the word choice by the author. Student work was evaluated and posted on whiteboard as either "Got it!" if the students sentence successfully examined word choice, "Needs clarification" if the language of the sentence did not point directly to word choice, and "Do over" if the sentence intended to probe the diction did not do so whatsoever. So far, our board looks like so:

If you were able to turn in a post-it you corrected during class and it made it to the "Got it!" category, congrats. You have one less assignment tonight. If not, please correct the sentence paying special attention to our discussion about diction, including your notes taken during an in class Powerpoint Presentation.

An example of a stellar sentence about how diction can convey mood/tone is the following:

Arnold Friend takes on a menacing tone when he says to Connie, "This place you are now--inside your daddy's house--is nothing but a cardboard box I can knock down anytime."  Arnold Friend's aim is to intimidate Connie and he does so by likening her house, the one barrier that stands between her and her antagonist, to the collapsible nature of "a cardboard box". The claim that he can "knock [it] down anytime"thereby eradicates any sense of safety she may have had within the house.

Homework: 
1. Edit the post-it you took home (if you did) and correct it to include both x and the subset of x.

2. Unfortunately, blogger will not let us post pictures in comments. Despite my best efforts to change the html codes, I was unsuccessful. So, instead of posting your picture on my blog, comment below on my blog with the link to your blog where you've posted your picture and also included a 100-150 explanation of what your items may or may not say about you.

Here's an example of mine:

Evident by the things I carry, someone might make the assumption that I am a teacher since I carry my name badge, a stapler and multi-color pens. Additionally, one might assume that I am vigilent of time since I have a watch. They may also note that I am tech-savy as I carry around my laptop charger. They might think that I am interested in food, since my have a stamp coupon from my favorite burger place, Burger B's in HongDae. Someone also might infer that I am married and since I have keys to a house and a wedding band. They might also inquire about my health as I carry bandaids, cough medicine, have recently been prescribed antibioitics and have chapstick. One might also wonder if I put must investment in my appearance since I carry lipstick. An inference might also be made based on what is absent here, such as pictures of family or children or the absence of large quantities of cash or my phone (although in this case I had to use the phone to take the picture).

 Include a description of both what the items themselves may "say" about you as well what the absences of certain items that might also be common among a student your age.

3. Read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien with a pen in hand! An electronic copy can be found on Edline in the Short Story Unit folder of the contents box. While reading, look for repetition, those "stop and think" moments, interesting diction choices made by the author.