Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Today, we discussed the results of your recent M.C. exam and, as a class, decided to re-do it on March 30 (your first day back after holidays). You guys also decided to make it a three essay read instead of a four so that you would have a better shot at reading actively (and therefore, improve your marks).
I then introduced the next unit, which is the novel. Students went to the library and took out the novel The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. I also handed out a biography on her which we read actively (if you were not here, it is in your portfolio), and then I handed out the pre-reading assignment. This is due tomorrow (see attached). While question one cannot really be completed without having the novel, QUESTION 2 AND 4 CAN!!!!!!! So, do them.

Pre-reading ActivityThis assignment has prewriting activities that will not only help you when it comes time to write about Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees, but will also help you get more out of reading the novel. The notes you make will be useful as you read as well as when you have writing assignments.
1. Look at the front and back cover of the novel. From this only, what can you glean
about the novel in way of:

SETTING -(time and place, including any specific settings)
CHARACTERS -(characters I'll meet in this novel, what happens to them, their relationships
to one another and to the setting)
THE SUMMARY-
BARBARA KINGSOLVER'S PURPOSE -
WHAT DO I EXPECT TO GET FROM READING THIS NOVEL? -
WHAT DOES THE TITLE MEAN? -

2. One issue this novel explores is the concept of adoption. Under what circumstances
would you support adoption? (paragraph at least: well supported)

4. What responsibility do you have toward people in society as a whole? (paragraph at
least: well supported)