First period had a quick mini-lesson on endings, concluding a three-day mini-lesson cycle on the structural development of an essay: good beginnings, tight transitions, and effective endings. Afterward, students continued working on their portfolios.

Second and sixth periods re-tackled the paragraph problem. We’d done some work on the paragraph earlier in the year, but it’s getting close to PASS time, and students’ work indicated a need for this.

Fourth period went over a touchy subject. The Essential Question for the day was, “How does understanding the historical and social connotation of a word impact the meaning for the reader?” We began by unpacking the EQ, determining the most important words (in bold face above). The word was the common pejorative term for African Americans. Harper Lee uses it throughout the book, and it’s important early in the reading to discuss the impact of it and ask the obvious question: does it reflect a racist mentality on the part of the author?

Homework

• First, second, and sixth periods: first drafts of all writings are due Monday, so some students might need to do some writing at home.
• Fourth period:
  • read chapters 9-11 in To Kill a Mockingbird
  • continue working on allusions database. (And be aware that we might increase the minimum entries to three.)