To Kill A Mockingbird chapter 3

• Who is Calpurnia? What is her place in the Finch household?
• What is Walter Cunningham like? What does his behaviour during lunch suggest about his home life?
• What do you think of the way Atticus treats Walter?
• Does Scout learn anything from Walter's visit? What do you think this is?
• Atticus says that you never really understand a person “until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”. What does this mean? Is it an easy thing for Scout to learn? (In the last chapter of the novel, Scout repeats this, but she changes “skin” to “shoes” - this is probably not a mistake: Harper Lee suggests that Scout cannot clearly recall exactly what Atticus said and when, but the reader can check this!)
• What do you learn in this chapter about the Ewells?

To Kill A Mockingbird chapter 2

Note: the structure of this novel is episodic (told in episodes) because the author, Harper Lee, originally wrote the books as a series of short stories.  Her friend, Truman Capote, helped her revise it into a novel.  Atticus is based on Harper Lee's father.  Dill was based on Truman Capote.  NOTE - Harper revised a short story collection into a novel. Think about this when you start revising your expository essays.  Because it is episodic the incited event will not come until chapter 8.  The first part of this book deals with the mystery of Boo Radley.  Here are some themes to consider as you read:

Prejudice and how it works in society (all types of prejudices can be found in this novel)
Appearance vs. Reality (are things truly as they look?)
The Meaning of Duty (to oneself, to one's family, to one's community and society)

The book is a bildungsroman novel (you should look up the term).  The protagonist is Scout. 

As you read, think about the following questions, then when your done, answer them.  We will discuss them in class:

• Why is Scout so looking forward to starting school?
• Why does Jem not want anything to do with Scout at school? Is his behaviour typical of an older child?
• What do you think of Miss Caroline Fisher as a teacher? Can you find qualities which would make her good or not so good at her job?

Tuesday 2/25

Today, I want you to work on putting together your in-text citations and start on you works cited page.  If you have trouble with this go here (there is also a MLA works cited generator that you can use: go here or here

If you get down with your in-text citations and work cited, pick up a copy of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD on my desk and read the first chapter.  Below are questions you will eventually need to answer:

• What do you learn in this chapter about Maycomb, Atticus Finch and his family?
• What do you learn about Dill's character?
• What, briefly, has happened to Arthur “Boo” Radley.
• Why does the Radley place fascinate Scout, Jem and Dill?
• What do you notice about the narrative voice and viewpoint in the novel?

MLA FORMAT

For MLA format go HERE

Essays

We are going to look at some National Orations and discuss the INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH. 

Remember the introductory paragraph should have 1) a HOOK; 2) a Thesis Statement (with connecting sentences in-between); 3) an order of development. 

Listen closely.  We you have this down we'll look at conclusions.  What does a good conclusion do?

1) Restates the topic and sums up what has been said. 2) It returns to the hook in a new and interesting way.  3) It leaves the reader/listener with something new to ponder.


If we get through both of these things we'll look at MURRAY'S FEEDBACK - where you'll listen to peer essays and give some feedback notes. 

Expository Essays

Today - you need to work on your introductory paragraphs of your essay.  Make sure you have a thesis statement written by the end of class.  I will check this tomorrow. 

Expository Essays

Expository Essay:

An expository essay is an essay that informs or explains something to the reader.  You could explain how snow forms or compare the culture of two different cities.  You could inform the reader about religious practices, or how a nuclear reactor works.  The essay needs to be 3-5 pages in length (double-spaced) on a topic of the author’s choice (the teacher will need to approve it).  The essay must have a hook, a thesis statement, and a conclusion.  Further, it will go through three drafts, which will include teacher and peer reviews. 

Strategies:  Suggested strategies include using specific examples to reinforce ideas, concrete details, comparisons and contrasts, research and analyzing ideas. 

The writer will be required to turn in a prewrite before beginning the actual essay.

Draft 1 will be due March 20^th. 

This essay will be presented orally to the class.

Some links - for help: go here for steps to write an expository

or here for a basic overview

Topic ideas go here

 Expository Essay Rubric

	Thesis	Organization	Evidence (Concrete Details)	Analysis (Commentary)	Style/Audience	Conventions
5	The thesis statement is clear, well-developed and relevant to the topic.	Transitions within and between paragraphs flow smoothly.	There are four well chosen, concrete details from the text in each paragraph.  **The concrete details support the thesis.	All commentary synthesizes concrete details and supports the thesis statement.**	The style is engaging and effective.	The essay contains few if any errors in the conventions* of the English language.  (Errors are generally first-draft in nature.)
4	The thesis statement is clear and relevant to the topic.	The structure within paragraphs is clear and easy to follow.	There are four concrete details from the text in each paragraph.  The concrete details support the thesis.	All commentary explains concrete details and supports the thesis statement.	The style is appropriate for an academic paper.	The essay contain some errors in the conventions* of the English language.  (Errors do not interfere with the reader’s understanding of the essay.)
3	The thesis statement is somewhat relevant to the topic and/or somewhat clear.	There are clear introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs.	There are two to three concrete details from the text. AND/OR Some concrete details from the text support the thesis.	Some or most commentary explains the concrete details and supports the thesis statement. AND/OR Commentary re-states concrete detail.	The style is sometimes appropriate for an academic paper.	The essay contains several errors in the conventions* of the English language.  (Errors may interfere with the reader’s understanding of the essay.)
2	The thesis statement is not clear.	The essay is missing an introduction, body or concluding paragraph.	There are some concrete details.	Some or all commentary is unclear or irrelevant and does not support the thesis statement.	The style is rarely appropriate for an academic paper.	The essay contains serious errors in the conventions* of the English language.  (Errors interfere with the reader’s understanding of the essay.)
1	The thesis statement is missing or off topic.	There is no organization to the essay.	There are no concrete details.	The writer does not include commentary.	The style is never appropriate for an academic paper.	The paper is incomprehensible because of the number of convention* errors.

Class work for Monday

Study vocabulary words for tomorrow's quiz