Hopefully after reading your work in the Ensemble Theatre and getting feedback from your classmates you feel better prepared to read this Thursday night.

If you haven't done so already, please take out your headphones and search for videos performances by any of your favorite authors. Don't know where to start? Choose someone we have already discussed in class.

While watching the videos take notes on what choices the authors make. Ask yourself, what does the author do to be effective/reach his or her audience? What can I add to my reading in order to be more effectivce?

After taking notes, please make the appropriate changes to your piece. Feel free to rehearse if you would like.

Finished early? Try your hand at a spooky story for extra credit!

If you have not completed your Demonstration Speech reflection please do so now. I would like that reflection by the end of class.

If you are done please let me know so I can tell you what your next task is. It will be different for each student.

Please STAY PRODUCTIVE throughout the entire class.

Please finish your study guide questions, which were posted on Monday, 10/24. They are due today.

When you finish, please continue to read the novel and/or get started on your next assignment:

Mini Project Choices
Please choose one of the following:
1. Write at least five letters to Nia explaining what is happening with both Bobby and Feather. Be specific!

2. Study the spare, lyrical writing of Angela Johnson and try to write one scene of a story with a similar quality and the same economy of words.

3. Write the dialogue for the scenes that are left "off camera" (like what Nia says when she meets Bobby with a balloon on his birthday).

*This is due next Tuesday, 1/1/11

We are going to continue to reflect on our demonstration speeches today.

Please do the following:

1. Take your answers to the reflection questions given during 3rd period and write a 2 page reflection on how you think your speech went.

2. Please include information on how you plan to improve your performance at the coffeehouse reading on November 3rd at 7:00.

3. Please use specific/concrete information. It is not okay to say, "I think I did a great job!" You need to say exactly what worked and what did not work so that you can make improvements in the future. (i.e. "I did a great job because ______ or when I said ______.")

3. Do not forget to double space your writing and use 12pt. Times New Roman font.

4. Remember, this reflection will help to raise your presentation grade.

HOMEWORK!
If you finish early please continue to prepare your coffeehouse reading selection. You must have this selected and marked up for class on Thursday.

Please answer the following questions in complete sentences. I would like you to type your responses.

The First Part Last 
Discussion Questions:

1. How did Bobby’s parents respond to the news of Nia’s pregnancy (pg. 12)? How did Nia’s parents respond to this (pg. 20)? How would your parents respond to this same announcement?

2. Look at how Bobby’s friends react (pg. 37-40). How would your friends react?

3. What does Bobby mean by saying, “I walk to my room…look around my room and miss me” (pg. 35)?

4. How does Bobby feel about Feather? Would this be different if Nia were awake? (pg 81)

5. What do you think about everyone’s reaction to Bobby and Nia’s decision to put their baby up for adoption?

6. Do you agree with the way Bobby’s parents support (or don’t support) him and Feather?

7. Imagine your room at home. What things would you have to change if you became a full-time parent? What everyday things would you have to do differently?

8. Where do you see these characters five, ten years from now?

Coffeehouse Reading!

 Your first coffeehouse reading is on Thursday, November 3rd at 7:00!

In preparation for this event please read the following article from poets.org:

Read a poem at an open mic
Chances are you've walked by your local coffee shop or neighborhood bar and seen a crowd of people listening to a poet reading his or her work. Usually free or requiring a small cover charge, open mic (short for "microphone") readings are for anyone who wants to read their poetry in a public venue. Sometimes open mic nights have a featured reader or writing workshop, but generally there is a sign-up sheet for anyone interested. Each poet is called to step up to the microphone and read a poem or two. Participating in an open mic reading can be a lot of fun. Some people attend just to listen, others to try out a new poem for an audience, and still others stop by to see if any crazy hijinks will ensue during the reading. It's a great way to meet other writers in your area and find out about your local writing community. Check your local newspaper or library, ask at your local coffee house, or find a writers' group in your area for information. You can also look for events on the Academy's National Events Calendar and National Poetry Map. Even if you drop in just to listen, open mic nights are a great way to celebrate poetry all year long. Here are some general public speaking tips to get you started: DO keep it short. If you see the MC tapping their watch or looking desperate, finish your poem and exit the stage gracefully. DO try to eliminate filler from your speech, as in "um, uh, well, yeah" and do speak clearly into the microphone. (If there is no microphone and you feel uncomfortable speaking loudly, clear diction will help your voice carry.) DO look at the audience when you can. Eye contact will always energize a performance. DO relax and have a good time! If you look comfortable in front of a crowd, the crowd will feel comfortable looking at you.

 Your Task:

1. Please decide what you would like to perform at the coffeehouse on November 3rd at 7:00.

2. Print this selection out and prepare and mark it for performance.

3. Use the notes we have taken in class about effective speech performance. Physically mark where you plan to pause and which words you plan to emphasize.

3. We will be rehearsing our performances and giving one another constructive criticism next week.

The First Part Last

Pre-reading:

How do you think your life would change as a teenager if you suddenly had the

responsibility of raising an infant? Make a schedule of your life as it is now (look at your day planner) and then make a new one based on a life with baby.

Write a one page reflection about this life change and what it would mean for your reality.

Naomi Shihab Nye (1952 - present)
Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet and songwriter born in 1952 to a Palestinian father and American mother. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, Jerusalem, and San Antonio, Texas. Both roots and sense of place are major themes in her body of work.

Half-And-Half by Naomi Shihab Nye

You can't be, says a Palestinian Christian
on the first feast day after Ramadan.
So, half-and-half and half-and-half.
He sells glass. He knows about broken bits,
chips. If you love Jesus you can't love
anyone else. Says he.

At his stall of blue pitchers on the Via Dolorosa,
he's sweeping. The rubbed stones
feel holy. Dusting of powdered sugar
across faces of date-stuffed mamool.

This morning we lit the slim white candles
which bend over at the waist by noon.
For once the priests weren't fighting
in the church for the best spots to stand.
As a boy, my father listened to them fight.
This is partly why he prays in no language
but his own. Why I press my lips
to every exception.

A woman opens a window—here and here and here—
placing a vase of blue flowers
on an orange cloth. I follow her.
She is making a soup from what she had left
in the bowl, the shriveled garlic and bent bean.
She is leaving nothing out.

Hidden by Naomi Shihab Nye

If you place a fern
under a stone
the next day it will be
nearly invisible
as if the stone has
swallowed it.

If you tuck the name of a loved one
under your tongue too long
without speaking it
it becomes blood
sigh
the little sucked-in breath of air
hiding everywhere
beneath your words.

No one sees
the fuel that feeds you.

Poem Activity #1:

After reading Half-and-Half, in a poem, discuss two aspects of yourself (or your personality, belief, culture) that seem on the surface at odds with one another. Describe this topic through a short narrative (story) poem. Embed dialogue in your poem where appropriate.

Poem Activity #2:

After reading Hidden, start a poem with the subordinating conjunction “If…” You may use an “If…then…” statement, if you’d like. Start with a stanza describing a literal or concrete event or fact from nature. Naomi Shihab Nye uses the description of a fern placed under a stone. Your second stanza should be more metaphorical, as Naomi Shihab Nye’s second stanza is as she describes the transubstantiation of a loved one’s name into blood. Finally, end your poem with a wise observation that connects both stanzas.

Poem Activity #3:

Write a poem made up of snatches of conversations you have overheard. For this exercise, you may wish to bring your journal around to lunch period or throughout the day and record what you overhear.

Montana 1948 Essay

Write a formal essay (1-2 pages) on one of the questions below:

1. What does Montana 1948 tell us about growing up?
2. Montana 1948 is a story about the difference between law and justice. Do you agree?
3. What do we learn about power and justice in Montana 1948?
4. In Montana 1948, the Hayden men are torn between justice and family loyalty. How do different men handle this tension?
5. How is racism evident in the behavior of characters in Montana 1948?

Your answers should be written in Standard English and in the style of a formal essay. They could have a clear introduction and conclusion and have three full ideas in paragraphs in between. At the very least your points should be supported by examples from this book. Even better, they should be supported by actual quotations from this book.

Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines!

Part II study guide questions are due today!

You have a grammar quiz on Friday, 10/7. Please study!

Grammar notebooks will be collected on Friday, 10/7

Finish reading the entire novel by Tuesday, 10/11/11 (You have Monday off! Please use that time to catch up on missing work.)

Outlines are due at the beginning of class on Thursday, 10/6/11!

Demonstrative Speech Outline

Here is a demonstrative speech outline template with the basic tips and points to write your own outline. Use this speech outline for a compelling speech topic to show how to do something, how something is done, how to make something, or how something works or to demonstrate a process using props and visual aids.

Demonstrative Speech Outline Sample 

SPEECH TOPIC: What your demonstrative speech is about, the theme or subject of your talk.

 

GENERAL PURPOSE: To demonstrate.

 

SPECIFIC PURPOSE or PURPOSE STATEMENT: This purpose statement is to clearly state your specific goal or purpose. To persuade that ... or to inform on ... Speech outline sample: The purpose of this demonstration speech is to persuade my audience how to pack light for an international backpacking travel trip.

 

CENTRAL IDEA or THESIS STATEMENT: In the thesis statement your describe in one sentence your purpose and speech topic. In our example: Packing light for an international trip will mean freedom.

 

THE SUPPORTING MATERIALS:  List here in the demonstrative speech outline your sources, bibliography and possible visual aids. In our example: Backpack and supplies.

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Get the Attention: Start with a statement that catches the attention of the listeners immediately. For example: Pack and then remove half!

 

How to Greet Them: If they don't know who you are, and you are not being introduced, then you have to introduce yourself at this point in your presentation. And tell why you are the best person to give this demonstration speech.

 

Preview the Main Points: Introduce in one sentence the main topics of your demonstrative speech.

 

Tell What's In It for Them: State why your presentation is useful to your listeners. Offer a benefit. Example: Packing light for an international trip will mean flexibility and can avoid wrinkled clothes.

 

 

BODY SECTION

 

Main Point I: What props, examples, quotes, statistics, reasons, arguments, evidence, visuals can support your main points? Use them to construct your sub points.

 

Sub point 1
Sub point 2
Sub point 3

 

Main Point II

 

Sub point 1
Sub point 2
Sub point 3

 

Main Point III

 

Sub point 1
Sub point 2
Sub point 3

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Summary: Recap the main points, steps or action sequences.

 

Closer: Try to find a original sentence or eye-opener to help the audience remember your demonstrative speech.

 

*Don't forget to use transition sentences, word and phrases. Help your listeners to hop fluently from the introduction text to the body part, and from the body to the concluding part of this demonstrative speech outline.