KBowen at Pope: Week 7: September 16-20

Next Wednesday September 25: Georgia High School Writing Test -- parents, please help by getting your students to bed early next Tuesday and by getting them a good breakfast on Wednesday! Attitude and a good frame of mind works wonders! :) Thanks!

Dear parents,
Ms. Lopez, Mr. Wheeler and I have been looking at your students' grades. And we would like to offer a chance for your students to recover low grades on either summer reading or the first unit. We also feel that the course extension program does not always serve the needs of our students in the best way. So we would like to offer a grade recovery extra credit program (once at six weeks and again at twelve weeks) that will replace the course extension program at the end of the semester. We sent a letter home with your students on Thursday September 19 outlining the steps students will need to take. Please refer to the Extra Credit Opportunity Page for more information.

come to terms with why Henry jumps into the river and why Lyman pushes the car into the river
reread the first paragraph and consider the impact of Lyman telling the story in flashback
Consider how the story relates ideas of Native American culture -- this is difficult because Erdrich is subtle. The story seems to be simply the story of two brothers and one who comes back from war changed. But under the surface there is the fact that these brothers are Native American and their lives are impacted by their culture and the the threats to their culture. So, as you work through the Analysis & Synthesis chart, I want to call your attention to the"undercurrent" of subtle details that define how Henry and Lyman define their identity as Native Americans and how they face the prejudices against their culture. Look carefully at the following --

Times in which they are the happiest and think about why -- consider whether these times allow them to express their Native American identity
Times in which they are unhappiest and think about why -- consider whether these times do not reveal the problems that Native Americans face in our society: prejudices, racism, stereotypes, social problems, inequalities, lack of hope and optimism
Their relationship to each other and to other Native Americans
Their relationship to the natural world
Their relationship to America (especially consider how Henry feels about America after he is drafted to Vietnam)

Reflect and revise on practice essay one
Highlight claim and reasons to check for development
Rewrite claim to include strong "because" -- one overarching reason that governs/controls the entire paper to create cohesion
Add specific examples and explanation to make your reasons concrete
New prompt for practice essay 2 -- how to plan for a problem/solution essay

KBowen at Pope