May 18/19 - Jr. American Lit.

You will need:• Pen/Pencil• Notebook paper• Essay

Homework:• Work on your

personal essay• Keep up with the

reading schedule

Agenda:• OPTIC• Intro to O’Brien• Reading Journals• Directions, etc.

• Reading/Journaling• Conferences

OPTIC• OPTIC is a strategy for

analyzing visual media that helps you see how the parts of a visual image contribute to the meaning or effect of the piece as a whole.

• This unit is focused on the art of storytelling and the power of showing instead of telling.

• Photography is one way to start the conversation about how images (both visual and literary) tell a story more powerfully than bland commentary.

• Use your OPTIC student page to analyze the picture that you have been given

• O - Overview: write a brief overview of the photograph ("This photo depicts...")

• P - Parts: note any details that seem important (what the soldiers are wearing, what they carry, what they don't have that you might expect them to have, facial expressions, placement, framing of the picture) What aspects of the soldiers are accentuated?

• T - Title: what is the title of the photograph? What might a good alternative title be? Why?

• I - Interrelationships: how are the parts related to both one another and the overall photograph? Are there any repetitions (parallels or patterns) in the photograph? Any contradictions or ironies? What relationships between the parts does the photograph invite you to make?

• C - Conclusion: draw a conclusion about the photograph as a whole. How do the visual elements (focus, light, line, repetition etc.) and composition (angle, vantage point of the photographer, framing, contrast, central focus, etc.) create an effect or tell a story?

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Intro to O’Brien:• Watch the following video• http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/video/blog/2010/04/aut

hor_tim_obrien_recalls_viet.html

• Was there anything that stuck out to you? Any quotes or ideas that you found interesting or agreed/disagreed with?

Reading Journals• Overview: Tim O’Brien’s honest and perspective-changing

novel, The Things They Carried, reads like a memoir about the Vietnam War, although it is in fact a work of fiction.

• On the copyright page of the novel appears the following: "This is a work of fiction. Except for a few details regarding the author's own life, all the incidents, names, and characters are imaginary."

• Although Tim O’Brien did serve as a foot soldier in the Vietnam War and a character named Tim O’Brien appears in the novel, the author invents soldiers, places, and events to get to the truth of the Vietnam War as he knows it.

• A stunningly realistic tribute to the soldiers’ experience of Vietnam, The Things They Carried was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Reading Journals• Directions: As you read the novel, keep a reading journal of

your thoughts, ideas, impressions, and questions about each reading assignment.

• Writing about what you've read has several benefits: it enables you to remember what you've read; it exposes weaknesses in your understanding; it raises questions you might not otherwise think about; it stimulates observations you might not otherwise have made; it helps you keep a record of characters, events, and themes and thereby helps in studying and reviewing material

Your reading journal will include:

1) At least nine total entries – one for each section (listed as “Reading Assignments” below)

2) A heading for each entry, which includes the reading assignment you’re responding to and the date of your journal-writing

3) Your own reading notes, ideas and questions about each reading assignment.

a. If you are at a loss for something to write about, refer to the reader’s guide questions to get you started

4) Responses to questions and/or writing prompts assigned in class and in the “Reading Assignments”

5) Optional: your own ideas arising from your reading, responses to class discussions, problems you are having with the literature we're reading, connections that you can make to the present day

6) Specific details from the text with page numbers

Format:• Create a Word document or a Google document for your journal. When

you do your first entry, open up a document, put the date at the top, the assignment you are responding to, and begin writing. Save it as a document. When you read more of the book, go back and re-open the document and put a new heading where you left off and continue writing again. At the end, you’ll have a document with multiple entries tracing your journey through the book.

• You will need to have your journal accessible in class, so save it as a Google document, or bring it with you on a flash drive

• Length: each journal entry should be between 250 and 300 words (about a page typed, double spaced.)

• If you wish, you can hand-write notes in a notebook and then type them to a Word document later, but it needs eventually to be typed since you will be submitting it online to Turnitin.com. While the journal does not need to be written in a formal style nor are you expected to revise and edit your journal, correcting all mechanical errors before you submit each entry

Category 3 - Distinguished 2 - Proficient 1 - Emerging 0 - IncompleteEngagement with the Text

Entries show evidence of deep engagement with the text. Commentary is insightful and based closely on the text.

Entries show evidence of engagement with the text. Commentary is sound and based on the text.

Entries show evidence of basic understanding of the text, but fair to little engagement. Commentary is based somewhat on the text. At times, commentary may slip into summary or speculation.

Entries lack evidence of basic understanding or engagement with the text. Commentary is rarely based on the text. Commentary is mere summary, speculation, or off-topic.

Development Ideas are fully developed with commentary and supported with concrete details from the text.

At least 250 words in length

Ideas are somewhat developed with commentary and supported with concrete details from the text.

150-250 words in length

Ideas are somewhat underdeveloped with commentary and concrete details from the text may be lacking.

100-150 words in length

Ideas are underdeveloped with commentary and concrete details from the text are lacking.

Less than 100 words long

Presentation Entries are typed, double-spaced. Your journal is edited for conventions.

There are no errors

Someone else can read your entries easily.

Entries are typed, double-spaced. Your journal is edited for conventions.

There are some errors

Someone else can read your entries easily.

Entries are typed. Your journal is somewhat edited for conventions. Many errors

Someone else can read your entries, although some errors may cause the reader to stumble.

Entries do not conform to the required format and are not edited for conventions. It is difficult for someone else to read your entries.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday/Thursday Friday 5/18-19

Introduction & Reading Assignment 1 – Page 1-26

5/20 Reading Assignment 2 – Page 27-66

5/23 Reading Assignment 3 – Page 67-88

5/24 Reading Assignment 4 – Page 89-116

5/25-26 Reading Assignment 5 – Page 117-136

5/27 Reading Assignment 6 – Page 137-161

5/30 No School – Memorial Day

6/1 Reading Assignment 7 – Page 162-188

6/2-3 Reading Assignment 8 – Page 188-end

6/4 Overall Reflection

6/6

6/7

6/8-9 6/10

6/13

6/14 Finals Week

6/15-16 Finals Week

6/17 Week