Monday

Assignment for Monday and Tuesday:

Read “Upon Seeing England for the First Time” copies are in students’ emails. And answer study questions on blog. Work on grammar exercises below. If you finish with both of those assignments choose poem for POETRY OUT LOUD!!!! Poetry Out Loud website: POEMS

Question for "Upon Seeing England for the First Time":

How does Kincaid use imagery to contrast the idealized England she was taught to admire with the England she later understands as a symbol of colonial power?

In what ways does the essay critique colonial education? Identify specific lessons, symbols, or classroom moments that shaped the narrator’s early perceptions of England.

How does Kincaid’s tone shift throughout the essay, and what does this shift reveal about her evolving relationship with England?

What is the significance of the map of England in the narrator’s childhood? How does it function as a symbol of colonial influence and identity formation?

How does Kincaid use repetition—certain phrases, images, or ideas—to reinforce the oppressive persistence of British cultural dominance?

Consider Kincaid’s descriptions of food and clothing. How do these details illustrate the everyday ways colonialism infiltrates personal and cultural identity? 

How does the adult narrator reinterpret her childhood experiences? What does this reveal about the lasting psychological effects of colonial rule?

What role does irony play in the essay, especially when the narrator discusses England as something “fantastic” or “special”?

How does Kincaid challenge the notion of England as a cultural ideal? Identify passages where she deconstructs its supposed superiority.

In the final section of the essay, how does Kincaid reassert her own identity and perspective? What rhetorical strategies does she use to reclaim agency after describing the weight of colonial influence?

 

Grammar Exercises: Insert the correct punctuation.

1. Add the missing punctuation (comma, semicolon, or colon):
   The debate team packed three things __ their evidence files their timers and their flow pads.

2. Add the correct punctuation:
   Maya wanted to leave early __ however the bus didn’t arrive until 4:15.

3. Add a comma, semicolon, colon, or dash where needed:
   I know one thing for sure __ we need to start practicing now.

4. Rewrite with the correct punctuation:
   Colin studied for hours __ he still felt unprepared for the exam.

5. Insert punctuation:
   The committee included four students __ Ana, Luis, Mary, and Joel.

6. Add punctuation to clarify the sentence:
   Jared brought his favorite snacks __ pretzels popcorn gummy bears and chocolate.

7. Add a comma, semicolon, colon, or dash:
   We tried everything to fix the broken laptop __ restarting it updating it even hitting it lightly.

8. Fix the sentence using the correct punctuation:
   The weather was perfect for hiking __ warm sunny and just windy enough.

9. Add punctuation:
   Ella kept repeating the same question __ “Are we there yet?”

10. Insert the correct punctuation:
    He didn’t know what bothered him more __ the silence __ or the fact that everyone seemed to be waiting for him to speak.

 

Wednesday

 Today we will have presentations.

Volunteers first.

Tuesday

 Today, if anyone is ready and wants to get their presentation over with, I will take volunteers. Afterwards I will give those of you who are not done until tomorrow to work on essays and presentations. If you are done and want to practice your delivery today, you can do that as well.

The presentation can include or should include 1) A hook, 2) an overview of what you learned reading the book, 3) a overview of what you wrote your essays on, 4) a visual aid, and 5) a conclusion.

You should put your presentation on note cards.  You could also do your presentation as a PPT.

5) THE PRESENTATION:  3 minutes—this should be an overview of your project and what you learned.  It should include a visual aid. 

Scoring Rubric for Presentation:

4 – Presentation is more than 3 minutes and contains more than 1 visual.  Presentation offers analysis on the book and an evaluation on the student’s learning.

3 – Presentation is at least 3 minutes and contains at least 1 visual aid.  Presentation offers insight on the student learning.

2 – Presentation is less than 3 minutes, could be missing a visual aid and/or might not offer insight into the student’s learning.

1 – Presentation is very short, could be missing a visual aid (or visual aid is most of the presentation), and/or fails to offer any insight into the student’s learning.

ORAL RUBRIC

Criteria	Exceeds Standard (4)	Meets Standard (3)	Needs Improvement (2)
Volume: How well you can be heard	Voice is loud and clear without the student yelling.  All words are heard.  Student projects words from their diaphragm.	Voice is loud throughout most of presentation.  One or more words might be lost because of projection of volume, but the idea is still clear.	Voice fades in places so that the listener loses or misses parts of the presentation, or parts of the idea
Pronunciation: How well you say all your words	Words are pronounced perfectly and sentences flow off of tongue	The speaker trips in one or two places either in the pronunciation of a word or in reading a sentence.  The presentation is effected only slightly by the mistakes.	The speaker trips in quite a few places.  The presentation is effected more than slightly by the mistakes.   Mistakes either make the presentation hard to listen to or cloud the ideas of the writing
Tone: Do you vary how you say your sentences	Speaker as Actor:  The speaker’s delivery makes the writing come alive by giving it emotion, character, emphasis, by breathing life into it	Speaker varies most of sentences to express emotion or to emphasis importance of parts, but there are still places when the speaker spoke in a lifeless monotone	Speaker speaks in a monotone that reveals no emotion or does not emphasis any importance on any idea
UHMS or AHS	NONE	1 or 2 but the uhms or ahs do not distract the presentation	3 or more uhms or ahs
Eye Contact: do you look at your audience	The speaker made a point to look at everyone in the room and rarely looked as if they were reading from a paper	Some eye contact is made, but mostly the presenter read off of his or her paper	Little or no eye contact.

 

GRADING SCALE for Book Review/Personal Response:

4 – Book Review reads like a “real book” review but with a personal twist.  Summary is detailed but condensed.  Personal insight into why someone should read this novel.  Insight includes analysis and textual evidence, very few grammar errors in the writing. 

3 – Summary is detailed and condensed.  Personal insight into why someone should read the novel included.  Review might contain some grammar errors but they do not inhibit readability.

2 – Summary included, but could be overtly long or extremely short.  Personal insight into why someone should read the novel might be missing.  Review could contain multiple grammar errors that distracts the reader and/or affects readability.

1 – Brief reference to task. 

3) THE LITERARY ANALYSIS: Choose one literary element of the book and develop a thesis around it.  Back up your thesis statements with proof from the text.  This paper should be at least 3 pages.

Analysis Rubric:

FOCUS (Claims, set-up)	Hook, Thesis Statement, Order of development connects to an n overarching idea of the novel.  Thesis is manageable..  Hook and thesis are connected by idea.   Hook is witty or insightful.	Hook, Thesis Statement is present in the first paragraph. Hook and thesis are connected by idea.  Order of development is present.	There is a thesis statement but either it is not clear, or the order of development and/or hook is missing.	No thesis statement
Examples and Analysis	At least five pieces of evidence from novel.  Evidence is either direct quotation or paraphrases with page # citation.  Commentary explains relationship between evidence and thesis.	4-5 pieces of evidence.  Evidence is either direct quotations or paraphrases with page # citation.  Provides commentary on evidence; however commentary.  Relationship between evidence and thesis may not be thoroughly developed.	3-4 pieces of evidence.  Evidence maybe mere summary w/o connection to the thesis.  Or there are vague references to the text.  References could be vaguely relevant to thesis.  Little or no commentary (analysis).	No Analysis or examples or examples are unclear.  Repeats information already provide or simply restates the thesis as evidence.
Sophistication of Writing	Point of view is evident.  Clear sense of audience.  Ideas are original.  Work is engaging.  Precise, fresh and original words. Sentence variety.  Effective use of rhetorical devices such as parallelism or figurative language.	A sense of audience.  Conveys ideas to reader.  Use of rhetorical devices.  Engaging vocabulary.	Paper lacks energy.  Essay lacks focus and/or doesn’t persuade.  Language relies on repetition of the same words or there is an overuse of “to be” verbs.	Voice is not apparent, or doesn’t necessary seem that of the author.
Mechanics	One to three small mistakes	Three to five small mistakes that do not affect the reading of the essay	Five to ten mistakes	Numerous mistakes that impair reading

4) THE CONNECTION: 1-2 pages connecting the novel to a short story read in class.  You may focus on theme, characterization (think dynamic), or figurative language.

RUBRIC For Connection/Comparison Essay

	4	3	2	1
Thesis Statement	Clear and defendable thesis, hook and order of development connect with thesis	Defendable thesis, hook present	Thesis statement attempted, but might be clunky, wordy, or unclear	No thesis
Evidence	2 pieces of evidence for each point; evidence is analyzed and makes connections between the evidence and the thesis	Two pieces of evidence for each point; some analysis is made between the evidence and thesis but it might be taken out of context, misinterpreted or oversimplified	Evidence form at least two sources.  No analysis is made between the evidence and the thesis.	Body paragraphs either simply restate the thesis or the evidence is unclear or unrelated to the prompt, or less than two sources are provided.
Sophistication of Writing	Effective paragraph structures, high level vocabulary, vivid writing, varied sentence structures and effective rhetorical choices	Some high level vocabulary and some variety of sentence structures.  Some effective rhetorical strategies.	Essay use same words over and over again.  Sentences are wordy and/or clunky.	Student makes sweeping generalizations or comparisons that are oversimplified.  Very little variety in word choice and sentence structure.

Monday

Please work on either your presentations or your essays.

The presentation can include or should include 1) A hook, 2) an overview of what you learned reading the book, 3) a overview of what you wrote your essays on, 4) a visual aid, and 5) a conclusion.

You should put your presentation on note cards.  You could also do your presentation as a PPT.

5) THE PRESENTATION:  3 minutes—this should be an overview of your project and what you learned.  It should include a visual aid. 

Scoring Rubric for Presentation:

4 – Presentation is more than 3 minutes and contains more than 1 visual.  Presentation offers analysis on the book and an evaluation on the student’s learning.

3 – Presentation is at least 3 minutes and contains at least 1 visual aid.  Presentation offers insight on the student learning.

2 – Presentation is less than 3 minutes, could be missing a visual aid and/or might not offer insight into the student’s learning.

1 – Presentation is very short, could be missing a visual aid (or visual aid is most of the presentation), and/or fails to offer any insight into the student’s learning.

ORAL RUBRIC

Criteria	Exceeds Standard (4)	Meets Standard (3)	Needs Improvement (2)
Volume: How well you can be heard	Voice is loud and clear without the student yelling.  All words are heard.  Student projects words from their diaphragm.	Voice is loud throughout most of presentation.  One or more words might be lost because of projection of volume, but the idea is still clear.	Voice fades in places so that the listener loses or misses parts of the presentation, or parts of the idea
Pronunciation: How well you say all your words	Words are pronounced perfectly and sentences flow off of tongue	The speaker trips in one or two places either in the pronunciation of a word or in reading a sentence.  The presentation is effected only slightly by the mistakes.	The speaker trips in quite a few places.  The presentation is effected more than slightly by the mistakes.   Mistakes either make the presentation hard to listen to or cloud the ideas of the writing
Tone: Do you vary how you say your sentences	Speaker as Actor:  The speaker’s delivery makes the writing come alive by giving it emotion, character, emphasis, by breathing life into it	Speaker varies most of sentences to express emotion or to emphasis importance of parts, but there are still places when the speaker spoke in a lifeless monotone	Speaker speaks in a monotone that reveals no emotion or does not emphasis any importance on any idea
UHMS or AHS	NONE	1 or 2 but the uhms or ahs do not distract the presentation	3 or more uhms or ahs
Eye Contact: do you look at your audience	The speaker made a point to look at everyone in the room and rarely looked as if they were reading from a paper	Some eye contact is made, but mostly the presenter read off of his or her paper	Little or no eye contact.

 

GRADING SCALE for Book Review/Personal Response:

4 – Book Review reads like a “real book” review but with a personal twist.  Summary is detailed but condensed.  Personal insight into why someone should read this novel.  Insight includes analysis and textual evidence, very few grammar errors in the writing. 

3 – Summary is detailed and condensed.  Personal insight into why someone should read the novel included.  Review might contain some grammar errors but they do not inhibit readability.

2 – Summary included, but could be overtly long or extremely short.  Personal insight into why someone should read the novel might be missing.  Review could contain multiple grammar errors that distracts the reader and/or affects readability.

1 – Brief reference to task. 

3) THE LITERARY ANALYSIS: Choose one literary element of the book and develop a thesis around it.  Back up your thesis statements with proof from the text.  This paper should be at least 3 pages.

Analysis Rubric:

FOCUS (Claims, set-up)	Hook, Thesis Statement, Order of development connects to an n overarching idea of the novel.  Thesis is manageable..  Hook and thesis are connected by idea.   Hook is witty or insightful.	Hook, Thesis Statement is present in the first paragraph. Hook and thesis are connected by idea.  Order of development is present.	There is a thesis statement but either it is not clear, or the order of development and/or hook is missing.	No thesis statement
Examples and Analysis	At least five pieces of evidence from novel.  Evidence is either direct quotation or paraphrases with page # citation.  Commentary explains relationship between evidence and thesis.	4-5 pieces of evidence.  Evidence is either direct quotations or paraphrases with page # citation.  Provides commentary on evidence; however commentary.  Relationship between evidence and thesis may not be thoroughly developed.	3-4 pieces of evidence.  Evidence maybe mere summary w/o connection to the thesis.  Or there are vague references to the text.  References could be vaguely relevant to thesis.  Little or no commentary (analysis).	No Analysis or examples or examples are unclear.  Repeats information already provide or simply restates the thesis as evidence.
Sophistication of Writing	Point of view is evident.  Clear sense of audience.  Ideas are original.  Work is engaging.  Precise, fresh and original words. Sentence variety.  Effective use of rhetorical devices such as parallelism or figurative language.	A sense of audience.  Conveys ideas to reader.  Use of rhetorical devices.  Engaging vocabulary.	Paper lacks energy.  Essay lacks focus and/or doesn’t persuade.  Language relies on repetition of the same words or there is an overuse of “to be” verbs.	Voice is not apparent, or doesn’t necessary seem that of the author.
Mechanics	One to three small mistakes	Three to five small mistakes that do not affect the reading of the essay	Five to ten mistakes	Numerous mistakes that impair reading

4) THE CONNECTION: 1-2 pages connecting the novel to a short story read in class.  You may focus on theme, characterization (think dynamic), or figurative language.

RUBRIC For Connection/Comparison Essay

	4	3	2	1
Thesis Statement	Clear and defendable thesis, hook and order of development connect with thesis	Defendable thesis, hook present	Thesis statement attempted, but might be clunky, wordy, or unclear	No thesis
Evidence	2 pieces of evidence for each point; evidence is analyzed and makes connections between the evidence and the thesis	Two pieces of evidence for each point; some analysis is made between the evidence and thesis but it might be taken out of context, misinterpreted or oversimplified	Evidence form at least two sources.  No analysis is made between the evidence and the thesis.	Body paragraphs either simply restate the thesis or the evidence is unclear or unrelated to the prompt, or less than two sources are provided.
Sophistication of Writing	Effective paragraph structures, high level vocabulary, vivid writing, varied sentence structures and effective rhetorical choices	Some high level vocabulary and some variety of sentence structures.  Some effective rhetorical strategies.	Essay use same words over and over again.  Sentences are wordy and/or clunky.	Student makes sweeping generalizations or comparisons that are oversimplified.  Very little variety in word choice and sentence structure.

Friday

 

 You should be finishing essay # 2 today and working on essay #3. If you have not finished the analysis essay please do that first.

4) An analysis focusing primarily on the development of one striking element in the novel: symbolism, characterization, figurative language, theme, plot and how that element contributes to the development of the novel’s overall meaning.

	4	3	2	1
Thesis Statement/Opening Paragraph	Hook, Thesis Statement, Order of development are fresh and original, and connected to a theme.  Thesis is narrow and manageable.  Order is precise and helps develop one clear idea.  Hook and thesis are connected.	Hook, Thesis Statement and Order are present in the first paragraph.	There is a thesis statement but either it is not clear, or the order of development and/or hook is missing.	No thesis statement
Evidence	The examples from the source (text) not only back up the thesis but are introduced, explained and analyzed. The analysis shows depth of thought and insight into the text.	The examples used back up the main ideas of the essay.  The analysis offers some insight into the theme, but the depth is not necessary original.	The examples used don’t necessarily back up the thesis.  They are summative in nature and not exact.  The analysis doesn’t offer much if any depth into the text or is merely plot summary.	No Analysis and/or Examples
Structure	Essay has opening paragraph, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.  It reads smoothly and is on one striking element of The Catcher in the Rye	Essay has opening paragraph, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.  It is on one striking element.  The paper for the most part reads smoothly.	Paper lacks energy.  Essay lacks focus.  Missing some part of the essay – conclusion or a body paragraph.	Voice is not apparent.  No structure
Mechanics Length	No mistakes More then 5 pages	One to five small mistakes 3-5 pages	Five to ten mistakes Less than 3 pages	Numerous mistakes that impair reading Less than a page

I. Thesis

What is your thesis?

Order of development: How, Why, in What Way will you prove your thesis (these will be your main points):

1)

2)

3)

Point 1:

Evidence from Text:

Point 2:

Evidence from Text:

Point 3:

Evidence from Text:

Unit Learning goal: Students will be able to create a multi-part literary project that details the following items:

The Literature Project  

Rationale: The purpose of this project is to assess your ability to read, summarize, analyze, and connect pieces of literature as well as assess your writing skills.  This is your chance to show me everything you know and have learned.  This is your chance to dazzle, shine, dance, sing, shout (during your presentation).

Assignment: You will read A Catcher in the Rye .  This final project will consist of five parts. 

1) A reading log revealing your engagement with the literature.  This part should be very thorough and should contain all the things listed below.

2) A creative connection

3) A book summary/personal response paper

4) An analysis focusing primarily on the development of one striking element in the novel: symbolism, characterization, figurative language, theme, plot and how that element contributes to the development of the novel’s overall meaning.

5) A connection—a one page paper connecting the book to a short story or novel read last year by either symbolism or theme. 

6) A presentation (this could be creative—and has to be 3 minutes with visual aids): this is an overview of your project and your understanding of the novel.

POINT VALUES: The analysis is worth 100 points each.  The log, creative connection, personal response, presentation, and connections are worth 50 points each.  Therefore, the total point value is 350 points.  This is nearly your entire project grade for the semester.

 

EXPECTATIONS:

 

THE READING LOG:  The reading log reveals your engagement with literature.  Furthermore, a detailed reading log will significantly aid you in the development of the rest of the project.  After reading each chapter, you should write in your log:

n  A short synopsis of the action and character development

n  Your interpretation of the significant events occurring in the chapter

n  Noteworthy figurative language and other literary elements

n  Vocabulary—unfamiliar words

Please note that the copying of Cliff Notes or Internet Sites is plagiarism.  I want only your thoughts, don’t steal.  Cheating will equal a ZERO. 

THE LITERARY ANALYSIS: Choose one literary element of the book and develop a thesis around it.  Back up your thesis statements with proof from the text.  This paper should be at least 3 pages.

THE CONNECTION: 1-2 pages connecting the novel to a short story read in class.  You may focus on theme, characterization (think dynamic), or figurative language.

PERSONAL RESPONSE ESSAY: 1-2 pages giving a summary of the novel, discussing what you liked about the book and if you would recommend it to a friend. Why or Why not (note, my friends do not read is not a valid reason not to recommend the book).

 
THE PRESENTATION:  3 minutes—this should be an overview of your project and what you learned.  It should include a visual aid.