ELA-ted
Welcome Back - Rhythm, But Not Blues
It's All About Having a Growth Mindset
Recording History as it is Happening
The Cost of Conformity
The Reading Mindset
Themes in the novel THE GIVER
For Everyone by Jason Reynolds
Fig Lang (Figurative Language)
What do we do with a difference?
Amanda Gorman, Poet Laureate
Literary Allusions
In-text Citations
The Scorpio Races
Writing & Performing a MONOLOGUE
Me, Myself, and My Gender
Themes in Literature
Innovating to Solve Real-World Problems
The Design Thinking Process
Book Club & Socratic Seminar
One Community; Six Words
North Olmsted's African American History
North Olmsted's First Settlers from CT and VT
North Olmsted's Geologic & Natural History
North Olmsted's Native People
North Olmsted's Veterans
North Olmsted's Women
Conducting Research Like a Boss
The Three Types of Irony
​The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
I. Building Background Knowledge Before We Read
To build the background we need to get the most out of our reading of THE SCORPIO RACES, click on the Google Doc link below. Make a copy of the Doc in your Google Drive, and get started. You may work with a friend.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_eoRazEjfBRHK3g8jBXOY7wwi9A1qDZc0si744t1s2c/edit?usp=sharing
Click on the links below to visit Maggie Stiefvater's webpage to learn more about her and her novel, The Scorpio Races.
1. https://www.maggiestiefvater.com/the-scorpio-races/the-scorpio-races/
2. https://maggiestiefvater.com/
A Word About Horses
Click on the link below to help you better understand the horse and riding related vocabulary used in this novel. Also, use this doc as a key for your matching activity.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SzxOUCF85a4-ayyglTitQTdWSu-QD1sglkljim_sZdQ/edit?usp=sharing
Read what the New York Times has to say about Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/books/review/the-scorpio-races-by-maggie-stiefvater-book-review.html
Glossary of Novel Term
Need to know the meaning of some of the words in the novel?
Open the file below. Terms are organized by chapter.
scorpio_races_glossary_of_terms.pdf
Watch these video clips to help you imagine situations
​and settings (time and place) from the novel.
II. A Lesson in Point of View
P.O.V. can be understood in two different ways:
In answer to "Who is telling the story?"
As a term synonymous with the word "perspective"
When it comes to storytelling, stories can be told in FIRST person, SECOND person, or THIRD person. View the slide show called "Teaching Point of View" to learn more.
Pay attention to the difference between SUBJECTIVE and OBJECTIVE narration.
As readers of THE SCORPIO RACES, we have the opportunity to experience both definitions of the term "point of view" as we listen to the voices of both Puck and Sean as the narrators of their own stories and as we see, feel, hear, smell, and taste life on the island of Thisby from each of their perspectives.
III. Applying Active Reading Strategies
How are we going to read THE SCORPIO RACES?
The great American poet Walt Whitman describes reading as an exercise akin to a "gymnast's struggle." As readers, he exhorts us to "do something" for ourselves in order to make or construct meaning from what we read. Whitman says that the text itself is just the start; it is the reader who has to make sense of it all.
Obviously, meaning making like this requires us to read with our minds fully engaged. Active readers are always...
Visualizing scenes and moments from the text
Evaluating what we like or dislike, agree with or disagree with
Monitoring our own comprehension of the text, and adjusting our reading for better understanding
Questioning the choices of the author or the characters, actively wondering why and how
Inferring about people, places, and things by "reading between the lines"
Understanding Language, whether it is new words we encounter or interesting figurative and other descriptive language
Summarizing central or main ideas (in longer and shorter summaries)
Predicting what might happen next based on what has come before
Personalizing by connecting to the text in some way, whether it's text-to-text, text-to-self, or text-to-world
Maggie Stiefvater's young adult novel THE SCORPIO RACES is richly detailed and artfully written, with a compelling, fantastical setting, fast-paced plot, and admirable and relate-able narrators who tell their stories in alternating chapters. As such, this novel provides us as readers with a wonderful opportunity to practice our active reading strategies.
To this end, we will keep in our Reading Response Logs a Double Entry Diary (D.E.D.) of our active reading strategies. The tool below is meant to coach you in the formation of your D.E.D. responses to the assigned chapters from this novel. You will also have access to a paper copy of this VEM-QUISPP Quick Reference.
Check out the slide show below to learn more about each of
the VEM-QUISPP reading strategies
How are we going to record our responses to THE SCORPIO RACES?
As readers we will record our responses in our reading logs (a composition notebook dedicated to this purpose) in the form of Double Entry Diaries, or D.E.D.s. A double entry diary, sometimes called dialectic journal, consists of two column charts (think T-chart) on which students record, in the left-hand column, the evidence from the text that supports their observations, including, in this case, the chapter title (Puck or Sean), chapter number, page number and the particular text selection under observation, and in the right-hand column the reader's response based on the VEM-QUISPP Active Reading Strategy Model.
To view an sample for THE SCORPIO RACES, see the embedded document below. You have access to paper copies of this tool as well.
How are my D.E.D.s going to be scored?
D.E.D.s will be scored according to the Scoring Guide embedded below. It is suggested that you use the scoring guide as a checklist of sorts to make sure your responses include all of the required elements. Please ask your teacher for help if you are uncertain about how to construct your response.
You will have access to paper copies of this tool as well.
If you cannot find a passage (text evidence) to write about, use the resource on our Google Classroom for chapter excerpts and response suggestions.
If you don't have access to a computer with Internet at home, we will print these resources for you. Just ask.
IV. Answering Essential Questions as a Way to Better Writing
Writing about THE SCORPIO RACES?
As writers we will respond to the novel in a number of ways. One way is by answering essential questions. Click on the file below to learn more about what essential questions are and to view the questions we will respond to in our Writing Logs.
Our Essential Questions for the SCORPIO RACES by Claudia Bestor on Scribd
V. Comprehension Checks Along the Way
Comprehension Check 1 (Use after Chapter 13)
Review of the characters, setting, and conflicts in THE SCORPIO RACES?
Click on the Google Slide Show linked below and MAKE A COPY.
Then complete each slide. Use your novel as needed.
docs.google.com/presentation/d/12xdHDG29_JXriX7qJQlwv05KuzN4JQz3q9zePXxh8Ag/edit?usp=sharing
ELA 8 -- At least 3 characteristics (physical or emotional) for characters; 3 details about setting (place); and 2 conflicts each narrator is facing so far
HONORS ELA 8 -- At least 5 characteristics (physical or emotional) for characters; 3 details about setting (place); and 2 - 3 conflicts each narrator is facing so far
Scoring Guide for T.S.R. Comprehension Check #1
Character Slide
​12 points; 20 points (H)
Student identified and described each narrator1. Sean Kenndrick
3 specific and detailed descriptive sentences with text evidence
HONORS CLASS: 5 specific and detailed descriptive sentences supported with text evidence
2. Puck (Kate) Connelly
3 specific and detailed descriptive sentences supported with text evidence (anecdotal)
HONORS CLASS: 5 specific and detailed descriptive sentences supported with text evidence (anecdotal)
Conflict Slide
4 points; 6 points (H)
Student identified and was able to explain at least 2 (3 for Honors) conflicts each narrator is facing; specific details explaining the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the conflicts is provided
Setting Slide
Student is able to identify the month in which the story is set and explain how they determined that
Student is able to predict and support with text evidence whether the novel is set in the past, present, or future
Student is able to describe at least 3 unique physical features of the island on which Puck and Sean live, including its name
Comprehension Check 2 (Use after Chapters 17 & 18)
What does I.A. Richards have to do with chapters 17 and 18 in T.S.R.?
He's actually created an analytical framework we will use to break these chapters down like the brilliant readers and thinkers we are!
Your interpretation, or what you get out of their literary work (novel, play, poem, short story) is what matters most to writers. Getting to your interpretation takes close and careful reading, including analyzing the text at each layer of its meaning. On our way to becoming thoughtful readers, able to discuss and interpret literary works, we're going use the analytical framework of a man named I.A. Richards to analyze the layers of meaning in chapters 17 - 18 (Sean's perspective) of THE SCORPIO RACES. Use the link below for the Google Doc you will need to record your thoughts.
​docs.google.com/document/d/1jVIvY72d9F0adE2JKg-Tpawxns8rB3qqJK7CkZzSvOY/edit?usp=sharing
HONORS CLASS ONLY!
Writing the Mini Essay for the Layers of Literature Analysis
Use the Google Doc below to help you format your mini theme essay. The Doc is embedded for you to see, but you will need to make a copy for yourself from the link right here>>>>
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W0FLVQR03qFBKIDD8R7HgvLjJvcnb5060NLXWkh1-Nw/edit?usp=sharing
A note about citing text evidence:
You can either PARAPHRASE text evidence. An example would be this: At the end of chapter 18, Sean says that he has to leave Fundamental behind (115).
Or you can QUOTE the text evidence directly. An example would be this: On page 115, Sean says of Fundamental, "I have to leave him behind."​
Comprehension Check 3.1 (Use with chapter 32)
View the "Anatomy of a Scene" slideshow below. Then answer the questions posed in the slideshow on the digital handout by the same name, which you can access by clicking on the link on the first slide below. Follow the directions on the top of the digital handout, and get started. You will have to toggle back and forth between the handout and the slide show, so keep both tabs up.
Comprehension Check 3.2 (Use with chapters 35 & 36)
Your Learning Task: You will learn how begin a resilient person is super important, especially in today's rough and tumble world. You will then apply what you've learned about the characteristics of resilient people as you evaluate the resiliency of Sean and Puck from TSR.
Learning Task Directions: First, read the article below to learn more about resilience. Then read chapters 35 and 36 in THE SCORPIO RACES. Next, use a copy of the Google Doc linked below the article to take notes on Sean's and Puck's resilience as they face their respective conflicts in chapters 35 and 36. Finally, write a paragraph in response to the prompt listed at the end of this comprehension check (3.2).
Google Doc for analyzing Sean's and Puck's resilience: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HD9KijF-VxPvtY2HUxVx6SwcnP2cqVzpC7Xm1orvOGw/edit?usp=sharing
Use the "Fill In The Blank" Google Doc embedded below to get a sense of how to pattern your response. To make sure you have completed your best writing, use the scoring guide on the handout you were given or on the electronic handout (Google Doc) linked above.
Your Learning Task: You will compare two monsters, one from Native American tradition called the Windigo and the other our favorite flesh-eating water horses, the Capaill Uisce. To meet and then compare these two monsters we will read the Louise Erdrich poem "Windigo" followed by chapter 37 (through the first paragraph of page 233). After our comparison, we will write a poem from the first person perspective (POV) of a monster, whether it's one of the two we compared, one from the list of 40 Monsters In The Night, or one of your invention.
Learning Task Directions:
1) First we will listen to and read along with the poem as it is read on Youtube. The reader in this video is not the poet, Ms. Erdrich, but the voice is perfect for the poem just the same. Your teacher will give you a copy of the poem, but you can also access it using the following link: https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/windigo/
2) Now let's listen to or read chapter 37 in TSR.
3) Next, we will compare these two monsters using the Venn Diagram your teacher will give you. You can also view the Venn Diagram below.
4) Now, using the scoring guide embedded below (You will also get a hard copy from your teacher), begin writing your own monstery poem. Keep in mind that deciding how to begin your first person poem will depend a lot on where you see your monster in your mind's eye as you begin the writing process. Is the monster on the move, resting, about to attack, thinking, eating, and so on? Also, consider the monster's voice. Is your reader to be terrified of your monster like we were when we read "Windigo" or is there a way to make your audience sympathize with it? Perhaps your monster has a sense of humor even!
Can't think of a monster? Visit this web page and meet 40 Monsters of the Night & Where to Find Them.
https://www.dreams.co.uk/sleep-matters-club/40-monsters-and-where-to-find-them/
Comprehension Check 4 (Use with chapter 53)
Your Learning Task: Re-imagine the scene in chapter 53 from Mutt's perspective. Begin on page 342 when Sean meets Mutt at Corr's stall right as Mutt is getting ready to harm Corr. Include the long list of grievances (bad feelings) Mutt has with Sean, beginning with the events of chapters 40 - 52 when Mutt attempts to make Corr his own. Pay attention to the events that follow this attempt, the actual costs of it. Also pay attention to the interaction among George Holly, Benjamin Malvern and Sean in chapter 49 (HINT: The blood doesn't always come through, a reference to an earlier converstation between Holly and Malvern on the bottom of page 215.). Use these moments to get into Mutt's head, to see the world the way he sees it, to feel the red hot hate he holds for Sean Kenndrick, his arch enemy.
Include in your writing the following:
2 (4 for HONORS) examples of figurative language you invented
2 (4 for HONORS) really well chosen, precise vocabulary terms (Example: Instead of angry use furious; instead of nervous use jittery),
3 sensory details (5 for HONORS) Remember, sensory details are words/phrases/sentences that help your reader see, hear, smell, taste, or feel the scene, the moment
3 (5 for HONORS) exchanges of dialogue between Mutt and Sean or among Mutt, Sean, and Benjamin Malvern
Want to see a finished sample? Click below to see what Bob Burrell and Bianca Sako imagined!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10W5TEPBnjB4UaMUDjTcw_p_NIeMq0h7YWBXSffFp__M/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CIOCFyvXEHIgRIQ-bd-8O3zHhthn4Eqs-Sw5ZEiN7_w/edit?usp=sharing
Learning Task Instructions: In the novel THE SCORPIO RACES, we get to see the world through Puck's and Sean's eyes, but what would this same world look like through Mutt's eyes? Let's give it it try!
To try on Mutt's perspective in this next learning experience embedded below. Follow each step, but do so on the Google Doc linked below. It is an exact copy of the activity as it presented in the embedded document.
Here's your Google Doc link, so you can get started!
docs.google.com/document/d/1_vUU6r00qkRjg2ErdNOkczgvlffmW_8QcaffpJvE2Ho/edit?usp=sharing
Narrative Writing_ Character Perspective (SCORPIO) by Claudia Bestor on Scribd
Need help getting together your ideas for this comprehension check?
Click on the link below for a guide.
docs.google.com/document/d/1yq6Ap1qXtGhjmusOxrRxoxYmKHdSM1FgvSpl27je2_I/edit?usp=sharing
Also, if you are looking for a PRECISE word, check out the
​synonyms you can find on Thesaurus.com
Comprehension Check 5 (Use after concluding the novel)
Your Learning Task:
ELA 8: You will write a mini THEME essay for THE SCORPIO RACES. A mini theme essay will consist of 1 paragraph in which you sum up one of the main themes of the novel.
Honors ELA 8: You will write a 5 paragraph THEME essay for THE SCORPIO RACES.
To help you identify themes, visit SHMOOP at this link: https://www.shmoop.com/the-scorpio-races/themes.html
Here's the thing about SHMOOP, though. They suggest themes are single-worded things when in fact those single-worded things are called motifs. For our purposes, we will begin with the single word, but we will elaborate so that if "fear" is the motif, the theme might be "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" (in the words of FDR) or "if you can overcome that thing which you fear, you can overcome anything" and so on.
Check out the SCORING GUIDE below to make sure you've got all of the elements of a great MINI THEME ESSAY (really, it's just a chunky paragraph, so you can do it, right?).
Comprehension Check 6 (After we finish the novel)
You will write a "This I Believe" essay as Kate (Puck) Connelly or Sean (Horse Whisperer) Kendrick.
To get started, review your DED entries to rediscover who your chosen character is.
Take a look at your "This I Believe" essay to see how you structured it.
Look to the right of this text box to see the TIB document you first used to plan, organize, and write your own essay.
Focus on applying the language skills we've been working on in our mini lessons, including figurative language, precise words (adjectives and verbs), and sensory-rich imagery as you enter into Puck's or Sean's mind and write what it is they believe.
So in 300 - 500 words, tell us what you believe using at least 3 ABC ideas from the text with specific supporting details from the character's life for each (though you don't have to cite page numbers) and your best prose (lovely language).
To see my TIB sample (I write as Finn) click here:
V. Mini Lessons to Improve our Understanding of Language and Literary Devices
In addition to the learning experiences above, we will be sharpening our language skills using the mini lessons in the attached booklet. You will be a given a booklet in class, but if you need to print yourself another, open and download the file below.
Onomatopoeia Mini Lesson Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yGr92_xaPrVrNSQplvdUCQoEb6lfh41SfBAcyk2oN3c/edit?usp=sharing
Honors Only! ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response)
According to Wikipedia "Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is an experience characterized by a static-like or tingling sensation on the skin that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine. It has been compared with auditory-tactile synesthesia and may overlap with frisson," or sensory excitement. ASMR is one of today's latest Internet crazes. One can find all kinds of interesting ASMR videos on You Tube like the one embedded below.
For our next set of assigned chapters in THE SCORPIO RACES (chapters 34 - 47) you will create a series of ASMR inspired sounds associated with a particular chapter or section of a chapter from among those assigned. We did this in class for chapter 33, and the list of sound possibilities is also embedded below.
For your project, plan to identify and create a repository, or collection, of 5 (or more for extra credit) sounds associated with the chapter. To do this you will need to list and create sound files or links to sound files for each sound. You may create the sounds yourself or find them already created online.
This project is due on Tuesday, October 30. You may work with others (up to a team of 3) or individually.