Day Twenty-One: Stephen & Friends

 

 

 

What’s on for Today and Why

 

Today, students will be performing the scenes that they set up on Friday.  Give students some time to rehearse and then have them perform in the order that their scene appears in the book.

 

 

What to Do

 

1.  Check the Homework

 

Go around to each student to make sure they have added information to their maps for Chapter Five.

 

2.  Quick Rehearsal

 

Students will be given about five minutes to rehearse their scenes.

 

3.  It’s Show Time

 

Each group will perform their segment of dialogue.  The rest of the class will rate each performance on the effectiveness of the piece in: conveying the emotional response of the characters based on their political or religious stance, the representation of the setting of the scene, the movement of the performers, and the ability of the actors to relate the relationships between the characters.  Students will write these responses to the performers in short letter form.

 

4.  Homework

 

Students will read pages 225-239 of Portrait and continue to work on their maps.

 

 

How Did it Go?

 

Did the performance show:

 

• An understanding of who was speaking and to whom they were speaking?
• Tone and inflection changes depending on what was being said?
• An understanding of the conversation

Day Twenty-Two:  Stephen’s Poetry

 

 

 

What’s on for Today and Why

 

Today, students will have the opportunity to discuss their maps.  Review of the maps will help the class to clarify the events of the novel thus far.  Then the discussion will turn to the poem that Stephen has written about Emma.  This discussion will help the class to see Stephen as an artist.

 

 

What to Do

 

1.  Check the Homework

 

Go around to each student to make sure they have added information to their maps for Chapter Five.

 

2.  Rotating Circles

 

With their maps in hand, have the students stand in two circles, one inner and one outer, so that each student is facing a partner.  Give the students about three minutes to look at each other’s maps from Chapter 5.  Then have one of the circles rotate, so that each student has a new partner.  Repeat this process several times to stimulate an exchange of ideas about the reading between students.

 

3.  Discussion Groups

 

Once the maps have been reviewed, the students should be up to speed on the plot.  Now have the students break up into groups of four and ask them to look at the poem written by Stephen on page 225.  Have them start out by underlining the imagery in the poem.  Then ask the groups what they think this poem is about.  Keep the conversation going by asking questions like:  Why did Stephen write it?  What do you think of Stephen’s writing?

 

4.  Homework

 

Students will read pages 239-249 of Portrait and complete their maps to be handed in the following day.

 

 

 

How Did it Go?

 

Hopefully the class is beginning to see Stephen as a young man who is coming into his own as an artist.  Even if they think this poem is horrible, the class should be able to recognize the fact that Stephen is becoming a writer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day Twenty-Three:  Journal Entries

 

 

 

What’s on for Today and Why

 

The class has complete reading all but the last three pages of Portrait.  Once the maps have been collected, the class will read these journal entries together.  This will allow for the discussion of the significance of these journals, as well as wrap up the novel.

 

 

What to Do

 

1.       Collect the Maps

 

Students should have completed their maps for homework.  Collect the maps and be sure to return them for tomorrow’s class.

 

2.       What is a Journal?

 

To get the class acquainted with the format of the final pages of the novel, tell students to try and write a journal for what they did during the week.  Tell the class to write brief entries with dates, as if they were writing a diary.  Give the students about ten minutes to write.  Then ask for volunteers to read their entries.

 

3.      Reading Stephen’s Journals

 

To wrap up the novel, students will do one last read around session.  This time, students will read one whole entry before they switch readers.  Once all of the journals have been read aloud (pages 249-253), ask the class to consider why the author may have chosen to end the book in this way.  How do these journals relate to the rest of the book?  What do these journals tell us about Stephen?

 

4.      Homework

 

For homework, students will look over the word tracking records that they have been keeping throughout the novel.  Tell students to be prepared to discuss their findings in class tomorrow.

 

 

How Did it Go?

 

Are the students able to discuss the book in terms that go beyond plot?

Day Twenty- Four: Novel Review

 

 

What’s on for Today and Why

 

Tomorrow, students will have an exam.  Today’s class will serve as a review session.

 

 

What to Do

 

1.  Return the Maps

 

Students will need their maps to study for tomorrow’s test.

 

2.      Reviewing Word Tracking

 

Have students discuss the words that they have been tracking.  Ask students what significance they think these words have in relation to the novel as a whole.

 

3.      Question and Answer Session

 

Have students work in groups to discuss any problems they may still be having with the text.  After about ten minutes, have the students share their questions with the class and with the teacher.

 

4.      Homework

 

Have students write one question they would ask on a test for each chapter of the book.  Have them email their questions to you.  Remind them, of course, to study.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day Twenty- Five: Exam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part One of today’s exam will be made up of student questions.  Part two will be in essay form.  See the attached exam for Part II.