The Introduction Paragraph

Today we went over the requirements for the introduction paragraph:

Intertextuality Essay

The FIRST paragraph: The Intro

For this particular essay, the main point is to compare how two protagonists from different “texts” compare and contrast as they go through the Hero’s Journey.  Now we have to introduce these protagonists to a reader (Mr. Stowell) who is somewhat familiar with the works.

Part 1: Hook

Get your poor, bored, tired teacher something interesting to read that separates your essay on heroes from the other 120.  Start it off with a thought-provoking question about heroism, a bold statement about heroism, or heck, if you if you can find a shocking statistic (make sure you cite your source) … awesome!  Don’t have it go over 3-4 sentences.

Part 2: Background

Remember that I (your teacher) have either read your book and/or watched your movie, or are at least somewhat familiar with them.  You don’t need to tell me everything.  What you do need to do is mention each protagonist, each “text,” and roughly describe what challenge they face and what reward they get as they go through the Hero’s Journey.  This is usually done within 6-8 sentences.

Part 3: Thesis

THIS IS ONLY ONE SENTENCE AND IS THE LAST SENTENCE OF THE PARAGRAPH!

It’s simple, it’s short, and it’s to the point.  It says what the essay is about.  What is the essay about?  It’s about how two protagonists from two different “texts” have some similarities and some differences as they go through the Hero’s Journey.  Don’t say “In this essay, I will show you...” because I’m sick of hearing that.

Homework: Submit a completed introduction paragraph to Edmodo tonight.  All paragraphs need to be "turned-in" to Edmodo, rough draft by Friday.

Intertextuality Essays

On Monday, you will have finished your novels and your movie.  We will begin to compare the two of them for an essay due Friday.

First, we'll go over what belongs in your body paragraphs, then we'll worry about the intro and conclusion paragraphs.

Your essays will be typed at home and turned in through Edmodo.

Homework:  You must come to class Monday with a completed Hero's Journey Worksheet for the movie you chose. You must also submit one of your body paragraphs by the end of the day, Monday to Edmodo.

Honors English class candidates:  You must fill out the form (see the last post) by Monday.

Do you want to be in Honors?

Finishing the Book!

Hi folks,

I expect you to have finished your book by Friday night, and finished watching your movie by the following Monday...because on Monday we will officially begin writing the essay!

However, some of you will be finishing your book tonight, and that means you will have two days to get a jump start on your essays.  Look over the rubric I gave you at the beginning of this unit, and tomorrow in class I'll have some graphic organizers for you to start on your body paragraphs!

Standard:  You will have to do three body paragraphs for three stages of the Hero's Journey.
College Prep:  You have four ... for four stages
Honors:  You have five ... for five different stages!

Continuing Film Study

Today we continued tracking the protagonist's progress through the Hero's Journey cycle.  Be prepared to do "Day 5" in your reading groups tomorrow.  If your movie needs to be finished, we will finish it on Wednesday.

Hero's Journey - Film

Today we began watching a film that follow's the Hero's Journey.  Each class has a different film.  One person in your book group may use that film for your comparative essay (see the rubric I gave you at the beginning of the unit).  Also, The Goonies and Wizard of Oz are also options you may use for the essay.

You are responsible for tracking the protagonist through the steps of the Hero's Journey.  We will finish the film on Monday.

Day 5 of the reading unit will recommence on Tuesday.


Homework:  You only have homework if you are behind for day 4 of the reading unit.  Do not read ahead.  Tuesday we will finish the film for the Hero's Journey progression in preparation for your essays.

Day 4 of 10: Allies, Enemies, and Trials

Today in class we will read, looking specifically for passages that show Allies (including god/goddess), Enemies (antagonist), and trials.

See the video below...

Homework:  On Edmodo, find a passage that shows either an ally, an enemy, or a trial that the protagonist faces.

Rhymes

The human brain is a pattern finding machine...it even tries to create patterns when there aren't any.  Rhyming are repeating sounds...and poets use these repeating sounds to form a pattern...which are therefor pleasing to the ear.

Have lyrics from a song ever gotten stuck in your head?  There's a reason for that, it has either a half-rhyme or a full rhyme or both in it!

Full Rhyme:  when the endings of two or more words sound the same.

                    rhyme, time, crime, dime, slime....all end with an "ai" sound and and "em" sound.

Half-Rhymes: when one part of two or more words sound the same.  There are three kinds of half-rhymes:

• Alliteration: When two or more words begin with the same sound.

                    Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Pepper

• Consonance: When two or more words share a consonant sound in the middle or ends of the words.

                    In basketball, I gave Mike the smackdown!

• Assonance: When two or more words share a vowel sound in the middle or ends of the words.

                    We have a meeting every spring season.

Now, in poetry, full-rhymes and half-rhymes show up in two paces:  at the ends of lines or within a line.

End-Rhyme:  When a rhyme happens at the ends of two or more lines of poetry.

Internal Rhyme:  When a rhyme happens within a line of poetry.

Step 3 of the Hero's Journey: The Refusal of the Call

Steps 1 and 2 of The Hero's Journey

Hi Class,

Today you read the first tenth of your book.  In it, you were supposed to see how your protagonist has felt unsettled with their ordinary world.

Watch the video below.



Homework:

1)  Watch this video (above)
2)  Join your Edmodo class, and reply to the question posted there.

Homework AND Youtube blocked from school

Here is today's homework.  Unfortunately, they just blocked all Youtube videos from school, so you have to watch them from home.

You must diagram the two following sentences:


1)  The crazy sentence on the board isn't really hard.

2)  After their class, the students threw Mr. Stowell a tasty pizza party.

If you have a tough time with this, I'll post a video to give you some hints later tonight.

Diagramming and Literature Unit Discussion

Today we will briefly review indirect objects, direct objects, predicate nominatives, predicate adjectives, prepositional phrases and how do diagram sentences with them!  Don't forget that there is a sentence diagramming video posted right before vacation.

There is a quiz on Friday where you will be given the diagrams for four sentences and have to properly fill in the blanks, and then you will be given three sentence for which you have to draw the diagram completely by yourself.

Afterwards, we will introduce the next unit.  You should have begun reviewing the book talk videos on your own (they are below).  If you haven't finished, do so tonight.  We will pick groups tomorrow.

You need to have a group (within your class) of at least 3-4 people.  You need to decide the level of book you want to read as a group, so you all have to pick the same level.

The level of book you read (standard, college prep., or honors) does not necessarily have to be the level of essay you write.

Homework:
Watch book talk videos if you haven't already.
You need to pick your group by tomorrow in class, and book level.
Books need to be chosen by Friday, signed out or acquired by Monday (or lunch detention)
Sentence diagramming quiz on Friday.

Check out some of the videos below!

So...I just made a bunch of little book talk videos.  Check them out if any of them seem interesting.  You will have to choose one of these (be sure to check the level: Honors, College Prep., or Standard) by Friday (or find your own title).  You will also have to choose your group by Friday.

At the beginning of this List is an overview of the unit...you might want to check it out first!

SL - Rash

SL - Running Out of Time

Standard Level - Tuesdays with Morrie

CP - The Hunger Games Series

Oh yes, we have all three....

CP - Into the Wild

CP - Nothing But the Truth

CP - Ender's Game

College Prep. - Z for Zachariah

Honors - A Break with Charity

Honors - Flowers for Algernon

Honors - Kindred

Honors - Fahrenheit 451

Literature Unit - Watch this first!

I hope you had a lovely vacation!  Below you'll find the intro video for the next unit.  Choices must be made by Friday.  I'll be posting book talk videos for the options we have available tonight!