English 9A Syllabus 12/2 – 12/4
English 9A Syllabus
Jane Belton
Mon., Wed., Th., Fri.
Syllabus: December 2009
http://blog.lrei.org/jbelton
Wednesday 12/2
In Class: ALWG, chapters 18 & 19
Homework: Read and annotate chapters 20-21 (193-218)
Thursday 12/3
In Class: Discuss ALWG, chapters 20-21. Why does Beah want us to know his story? Complete Focused Freewrite # 1 and view clip of Beah’s interview with Jon Stewart.
Homework: Complete Reflection 6: ALWG chronicles Beah’s physical and emotional journey through war and transformation. In a 2 page typed reflection, describe your journey of reading this memoir. What was it like for you to read this book? Was it hard to pick up each night? Did you read it voraciously? Why? What did you feel while you read and at what points? Did you feel inspired? Helpless? Sad? Overwhelmed? Surprised? Passionate? At what specific points did you feel these things? Really trace the trajectory of your experience reading the book from start to finish. Refer to specific moments (and at least three specific quotes) in your reflection. Weave the evidence thoughtfully into your paragraphs and use correct parenthetical citation. For this book, just place the page numbers in parentheses. The following is a model of correct parenthetical citations: “The sharp, harsh cry of a woman filled the forest, and I felt the fear in her voice piercing through my veins” (35).
Friday 12/4
In Class: Speech Workshop 1: Share Reflection 6 with a partner (5 minutes). Complete the following Focused Freewrite # 2 in class (15 minutes): At the start of the unit, I asked you to consider different images and texts that have taught you about war and about the various associations you had or have with war. Now that you have read Beah’s memoir, please write a reflection in which you consider the following question: What are the ways in which Beah’s memoir problematizes and makes more nuanced or complex your initial thoughts and understandings of war? In your freewrite, be sure to incorporate at least three pieces of textual evidence (quotes) from the memoir to support your ideas. Remember to use proper citations while incorporating your evidence. Trade responses with a different partner. Dialectical notebook exercise. (10 minutes) Read aloud Beah’s speech and do “choral reading” (15 minutes).
Homework due at exam period: Reread Beah’s speech and Complete Focused Freewrite # 3: What makes Beah’s speech a speech? What are the elements in the speech that make it a speech? What purpose does his specific speech serve? What is his call to action/argument/thesis? Refer to specific evidence from the speech in your freewrite (1-2 pages).
You must bring the following materials to the exam period.
➢ Focused Freewrite # 1
➢ Focused Freewrite # 2
➢ Focused Freewrite # 3
➢ Reflection # 6
➢ Beah’s speech
➢ ALWG
➢ Your English notebook
➢ Pen/Pencil