African/Latino American Literature/History

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Post your Poetry Analysis here

It may be necessary for you to post your essay in two parts. Please make sure it is labelled accordingly as Part 1 and Part 2. Make sure your name is included on both parts. If you are using an email account belonging to a friend, remember to indicate that it's your work. Also, make sure you comment on two essays. Read your classmate's work completely before you comment on the work. Please use the rubric from your packet to respond to the work. Saying that the essay was good is not enough. Thank you.

You guys are awesome!

Film Survey

Greetings,

Hope you guys are having a fantastic day. Mr. Mason and I would like to get some feedback about the movies we viewed in this class. Below is a link to our survey. Please complete the survey after we finish watching "To Sir With Love".

Thank you

Ms. Desmangles

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N3PV25D

MLA Works Cited Page: Basic Format

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/

Writing an effective title

http://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/titles.pdf

Reminder: Proper Header

English Composition 1

The Proper Format for Essays

Below are guidelines for the formatting of essays based on recommendations from the MLA (the Modern Language Association).

• Fonts: Your essay should be word processed in 12-point Times New Roman fonts.
• Double space: Your entire essay should be double spaced, with no single spacing anywhere and no extra spacing anywhere. There should not be extra spaces between paragraphs.
• Heading: In the upper left corner of the first page of your essay, you should type your name, the instructor's name, your class, and the date, as follows:
  
  Your Name
  
  Mr. Rambo
  
  ENG 1001-05
  
  30 August 2013
• Margins: According to the MLA, your essay should have a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, left, and right.
• Page Numbers: Your last name and the page number should appear in the upper right corner of each page of your essay, including the first page, as in Jones 3. Insert your name and the page number as a "header." Do not type this information where the text of your essay should be.
• Title: Your essay should include a title. The title should be centered and should appear under the heading information on the first page and above the first line of your essay. The title should be in the same fonts as the rest of your essay, with no quotation marks, no underlining, no italics, and no bold.
• Indentation: The first line of each paragraph should be indented. According to the MLA, this indentation should be 1/2 inch or five spaces, but pressing [Tab] once should give you the correct indentation.
• Align Left: The text of your essay should be lined up evenly at the left margin but not at the right margin. In your word processor, choose "Align Left." Do not choose "Justify."

Putting all of the above together, you should have a first page that looks like the following:

Poetry Analysis

Poetry Analysis Task: Choose a poet from our book Latino Literature and write an essay in which you analyze three poems written by that poet.  You are to analyze the poet’s use of literary elements (parts of the poem and figures of speech) and use this analysis to interpret the meaning of this poem. Challenge yourself by looking for a common theme in the works you choose to analyze.

In other words

What is the poem saying and what literary elements does the author use to demonstrate this message?

Introduction Provide the necessary background information about the poet in 2-3 paragraphs: ·         poet’s name/any relevant biographical facts ·         Geography---Living in a hot climate by the sea will create different experiences then living in a cold mountainous place. ·         Current event---Growing up during a war, fighting in a war, political unrest. ·         Family structure---Eldest who cares for siblings, living with relatives, poverty. ·         State of the economy---Growing up during the depression, living in a poor country. Please refer to the previous post for more information.

Use appropriate transitional words or phrases to begin a discussion of the poet’s work. ·         title of poem ·         Summary of the poem’s subject or topic. Transitional words and phrases https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Transitions.html

Thesis •  In your thesis, identify the literary element(s) to be analyzed and the approach or direction of the analysis. •  What message is the poem sending?

Sample Thesis Statement #1

In “First Lessons,” R. Zamora Linmark uses allusions to describe how not to write a poem, and then he uses imagery and allusions to describe how to write a poem properly.

Sample Thesis Statement #2

R. Zamora Linmark in “First Lessons” uses imagery and verbal irony to describe how a writer can discover his or her topic, then through diction and allusion, tells the writer how to write a poem that will leave a lasting impression on readers.

Sample Thesis Statement #3

In the poem “First Lessons,” R. Zamora Linmark uses allusion and visual imagery in a playful way to teach writers what to avoid and what to incorporate when composing poems based on other literary works. Linmark advises writers that it is okay to borrow, or even steal, from others’ literary works as long as they replace them with works of their own.

Body Paragraphs •  The number of paragraphs will be based on the number of elements you analyze and the number of claims that you make.

Sample Organization #1

In “First Lessons,” R. Zamora Linmark uses allusions to describe how not to write a poem, and then he uses imagery and allusions to describe how to write a poem properly. Sample Organization #1

1.  the author uses allusions to describe how not to write a poem

2.  the author uses imagery to describe how to write a poem properly

3.  the author uses allusions to describe how to write a poem properly

Sample Organization #2

R. Zamora Linmark in “First Lessons” uses imagery and verbal irony to describe how a writer can discover his or her topic, then through diction and allusion, tells the writer how to write a poem that will leave a lasting impression on readers.

Sample Organization #2

1.  the author uses imagery to describe how a writer can discover his or her topic

2.  the author uses verbal irony to describe how a writer can discover his or her topic

3.  the author uses diction to tell the writer how to write a poem that will leave a lasting impression on readers

4.  the author uses allusion to tell the writer how to write a poem that will leave a lasting impression on readers Conclusion

Conclusion •  Your concluding paragraph should begin by echoing your major thesis without repeating the words verbatim. •  It should broaden from the thesis statement to answer the “so what?” question your reader may have after reading your essay. Conclusion •  Reflect on how your essay topic relates to the poem as a whole •  Evaluate how successful the author is in achieving his or her goal or message •  Give a personal statement about the topic Conclusion •  Make predictions •  Connect back to your creative opening •  Give your opinion of the poem’s value or significance

Your essay must be posted to the blog by Wednesday, June 4, 2014 by 1:08pm.

Students will post one essay and give constructive criticism to two. Directions on how to give feedback will follow.

"Dreaming in Cuban"

Today's period will be used to select your electives for next year. Please go to wadleigharts.org and click on students. Scroll down to select your electives.


When you have completed this task, please complete the reading and comprehension activity in preparation for our discussion.

We have been reading Cristina Garcia's "Dreaming in Cuban".

Please finish the reading during 6th Period and answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper. You can use Microsoft word to type out your responses.

I will collect this work at the end of 6th Period. Do not post your answers on this blog.

1. Discuss the conflict experienced by the mother in the story.

2. What are Celia's strengths and weaknesses?

3. What is the role of memory in the passage dealing with Celia.

4. Write your own question:
_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Write your own question that you want to ask the class.

Stay on top of your poetry analysis essay. It is due the first week of June.

Tuesday, May 20th 2014

Greetings Scholars!

Hope you are having a fantastic day. Here's a breakdown of what we will be working on today.

We will use 6th Period to research our poets. If you can't remember the name of the poet you are researching, please ask me. Take out the packet I gave you earlier.

We will use 7th period to discuss the theme of escape in "Small Island." If you haven't already done so, please complete your chart and post your comment on the blog. Turn in a copy of your comment to me for grading. Make sure you have responded to every part of the question.

If time allows, after our discussion, I will give you time to analyze your poet's work.

Now Then

How should you use information found on the internet?

Here are five things you need to keep in mind when you find a website about your poet.

1) Authority

2) Accuracy

3) Objectivity

4) Currency

5) Coverage

Do not assume information on the internet is always true or free.

Give credit to your sources

Avoid plagiarism.

For the essay:

1) Think what you want to know about the poet you chose.

2) Think about the effects of: 

Geography---Living in a hot climate by the sea will create different experiences then living in a cold mountainous place.

Current event---Growing up during a war, fighting in a war, political unrest.

Family structure---Eldest who cares for siblings, living with relatives, poverty.

State of the economy---Growing up during the depression, living in a poor country.

3) Poetry is a reflection of the poet's understanding or interpretation of an experience, and their environment will influence their writing.

4) Begin your research and take notes on your poet to integrate into your poetry analysis.

Small Island

A significant theme throughout the book and the movie “Small Island” is escape.

1.     What do these characters want to escape?

2.   How do these characters try to escape?

3.   How successful are they in escaping their situations and circumstances?

Character	Wants to escape from	By	Succeeds/Fails
Hortense
Gilbert
Michael
Arthur
Queenie
Bernard

What's in a name?

D is for Dutiful, never abandoning responsibilities
U is for Unflappable, nothing keeps me down
L is for Light-hearted, free from worries
Y is for Youth, eternally young at heart
N is for Nutty, full of wackiness
E is for Elegant, an effortless style

Disclaimer: I did not write this. It was written for me. I think it's on point.

What's in your name?

Create your own original poem or check out this link for ideas about your name.

http://www.namepoem.org/

Your First Post

The objective of this lesson is to generate an exchange of ideas about poetry between peers by using blogging as a medium. 

You will read and analyze a poem written by a Latino poet, research the poet's background to better understand the poem, and post the poem, along with your analysis, to a blog for discussion with your classmates.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with blogs, here's how it works.

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1159/blogging.pdf

Let's take a look at an example:

http://business.blogs.cnn.com/

There are a lot of advantages to using technology to communicate.

Answer the following question:

What are three advantages to using this type of forum for communicating?

Welcome 6th Period

Dear Sixth Period,

I am so excited to introduce this new project to you all. To begin, I have never done this before, but I am thrilled to try it with your class. You probably have more experience with blogging than I do, but if you are new to this, YAY!!! We'll have a new experience together.

Here are my objectives for this project:

Students will

• Learn how to appreciate and think critically about poetry and researching Latino poets.
• Increase exposure to Latino poetry by reading about and researching Latino poets.
• Practice research skills and increase their familiarity with databases and reference materials by researching biographical and cultural information on the poet of their choice.
• Refine writing skills through the act of writing their analyses, as well as by making thoughtful comments to peers' analyses and responding to comments made to their individual analysis.
• Understand the public nature of internet communications by practicing proper blogging etiquette and safety.
• Use online blogging to extend their discussions beyond the physical school in order to communicate with a larger community.

I hope you are as excited as I am to try something new.

Sincerely,

Ms. Desmangles