Truth and Reality

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Unit 5

• Truth and Reality/
• Author Study on John Steinbeck

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Looking at the Lessons

• John Steinbeck Author Study

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Background Information

• Helpful Websites
• www.steinbeck.org/MainFrame.html
• www.steinbeck100.org/
• www.weru.ksu.edu/pics/dust_storms/
• www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/
• www.pbs.org/wgbh/ames/dustbowl
• www.life.com/Life
• www.sespe.com/jng/gallery.html
• www.pbs.org/kqed/nobel

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Out of the Dust

• by
• Karen Hesse

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Lesson 1

• Predicting
• Summarizing
• Vocabulary Development

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Predicting

• Predicting draws students attention to the
  sequence of events in a text.
• Teaching students to predict generates valuable
  reading comprehension skills.
• Put emphasis on supporting conclusions with
  evidence from text.
• Use the excerpt from Out of the Dust to make
  three predictions about the remainder of the text.

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Predicting and Questioning

• Having students to create questions about text is
  another strategy that promotes reading
  comprehension.
• Questioning integrates a variety of skills
  rapidly.
• Have students generate questions in response to
  pictures, quotes/ sections from text, or Build
  Background sections.

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Hot Seat SPA

• Select a student to play the role of a main
  character in a text.
• Send the student out of the room.
• Have students generate and record interesting
  questions to ask the character.
• Bring the student back in and seat him on a stool
  (hot seat)
• Have students ask questions
• Afterwards, discuss experience with students.

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Summarizing

• TAKS Objective 1
• Students need explicit instruction in
  summarization.

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Terrific Titles

• This activity is a good strategy to teach the
  concept of summarization.
• Choose a book and decide on an alternate title
  for the narrative. Use the Terrific Titles
  sheet as a guide.

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Vocabulary Development

• The I Know This Word! activity is a great
  routine activity for vocabulary development.
• The more contact students have with a word the
  more likely they are to comprehend it.
• Try the activity for yourself.

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Lesson 2

• Viewing Surviving the Dust Bowl
• PBS Frontline special on this tragic event in US
  history
• Students should answer questions they generated
  in Lesson 1 using a three column note chart.
• This activity is a precursor for other activities
  on citing textual evidence.
• Caution students against becoming overly focused
  on note-taking.

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Lesson 3

• Social Criticism Analysis
• Drawing Conclusions/Citing Evidence

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Drawing Conclusions/ Citing Evidence

• Students need a multitude of opportunities to
  practice drawing conclusions and making
  inferences.
• Explain the need for this skill to students.
• Students will need to cite textual evidence for
  TAKS open-ended reading questions.

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Three Questions

• 1 Literary Response
• 1 Expository Response
• 1 Literary/Expository Crossover

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Crossover Response

• Student Responses Should
• Offer insightful interpretation or prediction
  based on BOTH selections with strong textual
  support
• Offer insightful analysis or evaluation of text
  characteristics in BOTH selections
• Make a meaningful connection across selections,
  show depth of thought and analysis ability

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Types of Acceptable Text Support

• Paraphrase A paraphrase of a text or passage
  restates what the author has said in another form
  or different words. All information is included
  in this new form.
• A paraphrase includes all information from the
  original source while a summary gleans only the
  most important details. Proper paraphrasing
  requires comprehension.

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Types of Acceptable Text Support

• Direct quotation The authors exact words placed
  in quotation marks.

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Types of Acceptable Text Support

• Synopsis Provides a general, succinct statement
  about the contents of the text or passage. It is
  more of an abstract of the general idea.

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Types of Unacceptable Text Support

• Citations with no explanation
• Plot Summaries

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The Questions

• Very subjective intentionally
• May ask for students opinions but must be
  supported by text
• Sample question
• How does the idea of taking a risk apply to both
  Long Walk to Forever and Human Story Machine?
  Support your answer with evidence from BOTH
  selections.

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The Questions

• What is one conflict faced by Newt and Catharine
  in Long Walk to Forever? Support your answer
  with evidence from the selection.
• In The Human Story Machine, has Hurley
  fulfilled his dream of becoming a novelist?
  Support your answer with evidence from the
  article.

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Lesson 4

• Punctuation / Semicolons
• Leads
• Persuasive Writing
• Sounds TAASy but students need to be familiar
  with all modes of writing.
• Dissuade students from falling into TAAS formula
  writing.

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Leads

• Good leads (narrative) or hooks (expository) help
  establish voice in writing.
• Note examples of good leads in Types of Leads
  blackline.
• Create a hook for the article on your table.

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Lesson 5

• Photo Essay
• Encourage students to start gathering photos at
  the beginning of the unit.
• Make arrangements with librarians prior to the
  photo essay workshop.

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Lesson 6

• Prereading / Reading Strategies
• Tone and Audience
• Link to editorial letter

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Lesson 7

• Adverb Clauses
• Authors Style
• Revising and Editing

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Revising and Editing

• Place constant emphasis on revision.
• Encourage students to revise for style and voice.
• Books that help create voice and interest in
  student writing
• Schrecengost, Maity. Writing Whizardry. Maupin
  House.
• Dean, Nancy. Voice Lessons Classroom Activities
  to Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax, and
  Tone. Maupin House

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Lesson 8

• Unit Exam
• Contains open-ended response questions.
• Photo Essay Presentations

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Ideas for Steinbeck
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Reflection

• Look through the lesson and make notes about how
  you will approach teaching it.
• Discuss your ideas with someone near you.