Weekly Agenda: November 9-13, 2009

Monday, November 9
New Vocabulary
Read excerpt of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (pp. 481-487) aloud
Respond to post-reading questions #2-4 → turn in today
Read Angelou’s poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (p.488-489)
- on the same sheet as your post-reading questions, answer post-reading question #6
HW: none, unless you still need to complete any of today’s work

Thursday, November 12
Introduction to writing scenes (showing vs. telling)
- scene-building elements
- scenes in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
- turning scenes into descriptions
- creating scenes out of descriptions (demonstrated using student essay #2)
- practice prompts: turning a narrative into a scene

• write
• trade
• share

HW: Due 11/17: Select an event or memory from your brainstormed list. Instead of summing it up (telling), turn it into a scene (showing). Use the methods for scene-building that we’ve discussed today. Your scene should be 1 page long (no shorter or longer). Be prepared to share it next week.

Also: The vocabulary quiz is Tuesday, 11/17. Remember to review your words!