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For Tuesday 9/22

As you read the beginning of


Monster, think about genre.
How do you feel about the
unusual form the book
takes? Is it literary or not?
What are your initial
reactions to the style and
content?

Walter Dean Myers: Reading is


not Optional
-Born and raised in Harlem, New York City

-Dropped out of high school at 17 to join the


army; stuck with writing because a high
school teacher told him he was good at it.
Its what you do
-His books depict urban minority teens and do
not shy away from issues of violence, abuse,
prison, etc.
-Received the Margaret Edwards Award (for
significant body of work contributing to YAL)
-Named the Ambassador for Young Peoples
Literature in 2012.

Writing Prompt 9/22


Reflect on the genre of Monster. How do you feel
about the unusual form the book takes (half
screenplay, half journal entries)? What are your
initial reactions to the style and content?

Video Camera Angles


Long Shot

(also
called a Wide shot)

Shows whole body or space.


Purposes: Establish scene or setting,
allow room for action.

Medium Shot

Shows most of body or space.


Purposes: Allows room for movement and
other subjects to enter frame; Allows
connection with subject while providing
room for gestures. Most frequently used
shot.

Close-up

Shows enlarged view of subject or part of


subject.
Purposes: Draws attention to details;
Provides intimate view of subject, focuses

Practice: Close Reading


Most people in our community are decent,
hardworking citizens who pursue their own
interests legally and without infringing on the
rights of others. But there are also monsters in
our communitiespeople who are willing to steal
and to kill, people who disregard the rights of
others (Myers 21).

For Thursday 9/24


Read pages 65-136 of Monster. Pay
attention to the flashback scenes
what is their purpose, and how are
they functioning within the story?
Review my comments on your
close reading assignment. Will you
revise? What can you do to
improve your close reading skills
on future assignments?
Bring in a rough draft of a tentative
thesis statement for Paper 1.

Analyzing Flashbacks
SCENES
Pg. 71-73 (Steve at the
precinct)
Pg. 76-77 (Steve in jail with
other prisoners)
Pg. 117-119 (two women
discussing the robbery/murder)
Pg. 120-121 (news report of the
robbery in the Harmons
apartment)
Pg. 121-126 (Steve is taken in
for questioning)

QUESTIONS
What do we learn about Steve?
How does Myers depict societys
reactions to violent crimes?
What questions do these
depictions raise about the way we
(individuals, groups, law
enforcement, media) think, act, or
feel about violent crime?
How does the setting, camera
shot/angle/technique affect the
scene?

Practice: Thesis Statement


1. CLAIM: What are you arguing about the novel?
(theme)
2. EVIDENCE: How are you going to argue it? (device(s))
3. SO WHAT: Why is your argument significant? (big
picture)

Practice: Thesis Statement


Here are three possible formulas for writing a strong
thesis statement (feel free to modify or create your own
the main thing is to get all three elements into your 1-2
sentences!)

1. Through [how/device(s)], the author


[what/claim]. This suggests that [so what?].
2. The authors use of [how/device(s)] does
[what/claim], which shows [so what?].
3. The author suggests [what/claim] through the
use of [how/device(s)], which [so what?].

Practice: Thesis Statement


Thesis Draft: Walter Dean Myers portrays
the themes of guilt and innocence using
flashbacks in Monster.
Whats missing in this thesis statement?
With a partner: How would you rewrite it?

For Tuesday 9/29


Read pages 137-205 of Monster
(stop after July 14th journal
entry). What do you personally
feel about Steves guilt or
innocence?
Start writing a draft for Paper 1.
For class, bring in a rough draft
of a possible introduction for
your paper (hint: in the genre of
literary analysis, the last
sentence of the introduction is
usually the thesis statement)

Choose Your Own Discussion


Is Steve different from King and Evans and the other inmates?
Why or why not? 128-130, 136, 147, 153, 156, 180, 187, 201-5
What does it mean to be guilty of a crime? Is doing nothing the
same as innocence? What is Steves answer? 115, 128, 182,
140-3, 148, 182, 205
Do you see race playing a role in the trial? Why or why not?
124-5, 145-6, 169, 172-3.
Examine the photographs in this section with a critical eye.
What function are they performing/what effect do they have on
the reader? (You might want to look at the surrounding text to
help contextualizewhy were they placed where they are in
the text?). 126, 158, 198
Choose an issue/question of your choice to examine. Make sure
you look at specific examples from the text as you discuss.

Writing Prompt 9/29


A friend asks you for a book recommendation, and
you think that they would enjoy reading American
Born Chinese or The House on Mango Street.
However, this friend has told you before that she
doesnt like YA/coming of age stories because
they are for kids. Knowing this, how would you
try to convince her to read one of these two
books?

The introduction is where your


reader will formulate their first
impression of your paper. It should
be interesting and provide enough
information to tantalize your reader,
luring them into reading further.

Beginnings Motivate Reading


We read even more attentively when we read not
just about an interesting topic, but about a problem
that is important to us. So . . . Dont imagine your
task as just writing about a topic . . . See yourself as
posing a problem that your readers want to see
solved.
-Joseph Williams

Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 9th Ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007, p. 186.

Sample Introductions
Michael Jordan, a famous NBA player, was once asked
about missing big shots. He responded that he never
looked at the consequenceswhen you think about the
consequences you always think about a negative result.
For whatever reason, society has engrained in us the idea
that consequences are bad. Slogans surround us regarding
negative consequences: Dont drink and drive, the
consequences are too large; Practice safe sex or suffer
the consequence of an STD. Yet, what we seem to be
missing are examples of positive consequences to our
actions, especially when something negative occurs. It is as
if a negative can only equal a negative. Through the
examples in Whirligig of how life goes on after tragedy,

Sample Introductions
If you decided to make your life into a movie, what would you write
about, and what would you gloss over? In the book Monster, Walter
Dean Myers writes as Steve Harmon, a black teen caught in a court
trial due to being accused of being part of a robbery that resulted in
the death of a drugstore owner. While going through this ordeal, Steve
decides to write it all as a movie, claiming it is Told as it actually
happened! In Monster, Walter Dean Myers uses Steves Journal
Entries to display how Steves thoughts about his contribution in the
robbery changed throughout the story. These thought changes that
are written and recorded really show Steves doubt and his trouble
distinguishing truth and untruth, due to the contradicting entries that
are found in the book. Through this, it is easy to see how the court
system has faults with their judicial system.

Sample Introductions
The American Born Chinese is a graphic novel
written by Gene Lune Yang. Some of the novels
themes include: stereotypes and racism, identity,
and transformation. Through the use of diction and
imagery, Gene Luen Yang depicts the stereotypical
Chinese person, Chin-Kee, in an over the top and
over exaggerated way. The purpose of Chin-Kees
character is to get readers to see beyond
stereotypes.

Sample Introductions
According to the NAACP Criminal Justice Fact Sheet, the United States of
America makes up 5% of the worlds population but boasts 25% of the
worlds prisoner population. Americas prison population quadrupled
between the years of 1980 to 2008, reaching a staggering 2.3 million
prisoners. Out of those 2.3 million prisoners, 1 million are African American.
While African Americans make up only about one quarter of the countrys
population. Even more startling is the fact that African Americans are
incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites. Author Walter Dean
Myers addresses those gross racial disparities and the destructive
consequences they have on African American males in his book Monster. In
Monster, Myers uses the metaphor of a monster to argue that the US
corrections system treats African American males unfairly. This leads to a
broken sense of self that in turn creates the behavior that is trying to be
avoided. The metaphor of a monster can be seen most clearly through the
diction of the characters especially those in positions of power

For Thursday 10/1


Bring in a copy of as much
of your Paper 1 draft as
possible (but at least 2
pages PLUS an outline of
your plan for the rest of
the paper).
The copy can be digital, as
long as you dont mind a
classmate using your
device to read it.
Otherwise, print it out.

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