You may sit in a group of 3 or 4 of your choice.

However…

So…CHOOSE WISELY… (hint) this is where Ms. Smith sees who can work together well and who can’t. You need to have out your writing journal.

Journal #4 – 9/9/2014

As part of our larger unit on culture, voice, and identity, we will be reading and discussing a text today that deals with issues of race and ethnic identity. In what ways is your racial or ethnic background a part of your personal culture or identity? How does your racial, ethnic, or cultural identity impact your experiences at school or in the classroom? How does race or ethnic identity impact your life in general?

Due: Be prepared to pass up 5 Funny in Farsi analysis questions.

Homework (“MMPQ”) Debrief:

• If they aren’t your words, they go in quotation marks (e.g., “communion cotton”). Even if the question just says “List.”• Be specific. Don’t tell me that an author “includes

language to create an image,” tell me what that image is and why.• When explaining meaning…

DON’T: DO:“The quilts represent something”“These images add emphasis”“This creates meaning”

“The quilts symbolize …”“These images emphasize the relationship between mother and daughter”

How To Create Meaning in Writing… VOICE

DICTION + SYNTAX = TONE

Diction = word choice

Syntax = arrangement; punctuation

Tone = author’s attitude toward the subject

So how do I accurately identify these elements?

DICTION – word choiceDiction refers to the author’s choice of words and create color and texture in writing and reflects the writer’s vision and steers the reader’s thought.

Effective voice is shaped by words that are clear, concrete, and exact. Good writers eschew words like pretty, nice, and bad. Instead, they employ words that invoke a specific effect. Consider the following: • A coat isn’t torn; it is tattered.• The man doesn’t want revenge; he is thirsting for revenge.• A door does not shut; it thuds.

Specific diction brings the reader into the scene, enabling full participation in the writer’s world.

DICTION – word choiceDiction can include a variety of rhetorical strategies as well:

*imagery*detail*simile*metaphor*allusion*personification*alliteration*assonance*dialect*hyperbole

…etc. (see your Sophomore English Handbook)

YOUR TURN…DICTIONIn your small group:

Look through your annotations and in the text of Funny in Farsi. On one of the cards do the following:

1. One one side of the card, quote the sentence in which you have identified meaningful DICTION.

2. On the other side of the card, EXPLAIN how that word choice creates meaning in the text.

HOW: creates TONE (adj.), contributes to character development, plot advancement, THEMATIC ideas…

SYNTAX – arrangement/structureSYNTAX – refers to the way words are arranged within sentences as well as punctuation and sentence length/structure. How writers control and manipulate sentence structure is a strong determiner of voice and it’s what gives writing personality.

Good writer’s shift between conforming to the rules of grammar and also breaking them.

SYNTAX includes:• simple, compound, complex sentences periodic & loose sentences• ellipses, rhetorical questions, anaphora, parallel structure, etc.• semi-colon; colon; dash

YOUR TURN…SYNTAXIn your small group:

Look through your annotations and in the text of Funny in Farsi. On one of the cards do the following:

1. On one side of the card, quote the sentence in which you have identified a meaningful SYNTACTICAL choice.

2. On the other side of the card, EXPLAIN how that SYNTACTICAL choice creates meaning in the text.

HOW: creates TONE (adj.), contributes to character development, plot advancement, THEMATIC ideas…

TONE – expression of attitudeTONE is the writer’s or speaker’s implied attitude toward his subject and audience. The writer creates TONE by selection (DICTION) and arrangement (SYNTAX) of words and through purposeful use of details and images. TONE is the hallmark of a writer’s personality.

Understanding TONE is requisite to understanding meaning by making connections between author’s thought and its expression. TONE is as varied as human experience; familiarity and thought pave the way for understanding.

TONE – expression of attitude•What TONE words (check your list in your Handbook) would you be able to justify for this excerpt from Funny in Farsi? You must use ADJECTIVES when discussing TONE.

•Do you believe Firoozeh Dumas and others can be successful in using humor to bridge gaps and create relationships and foster understanding amongst cultures?

•Have you ever stereotyped someone based on culture? Why do you think people tend to do this?

Close Reading: “Theme for English B”

1) Pre-Reading: What do we need to think about before we read? What does this tell us about the text? What predictions can we make?

2) First Read: What general thoughts, feelings, questions, and ideas does the poem elicit?

3) Second Read: What seems to be the meaning of each individual line or group of lines?

4) Third Read: What strategies is the author using to create meaning? How do these strategies create meaning? (I/M Annotation)

Homework & Housekeeping:

1) Produce 7 (seven) I/M annotations for “Theme for English B” by next class (these must be I/M style)

2) Mandala due next class!

3) Bring Night / Vocab book next class

4) Housekeeping: Quarter 1 Overview