Aim: How can active reading be applied to interpret writers' choices that create a narrative voice?
DO NOW: What does it mean to you when you hear the phrase: "to come of age"?
For this DO NOW, we had a whole class discussion. The two things that came to mind when I saw the phrase was capability and responsibility. Usually, when I hear someone say that they have “come of age,” I assume that they have reached the age where they can do something that they could not have done before. For instance, driving is something that you would have to “come of age” before doing because as you age, you grow more responsible which is very important when it comes to driving. This does not only apply to driving, but also many other responsibilities in life, such as living by yourself or owning your own bank account.
When we discussed this topic as a class, many of the responses revolved around the idea of maturity. Everyone had similar beliefs and added on to each other's responses.
Double-Entry Journal
Next, the class was introduced to the Double-Entry Journal. A Double-Entry Journal is a note-taking strategy that many people use when actively reading a text. In the journal, students analyze quotes and phrases from the text and connect personal experiences with characters from the passage. We went over some sentence starters that you would use in a Double-Entry Journal such as “I really like / dislike this part because…” and “This reminds me of the time when I…” I find this strategy very helpful as it helps me gather my thoughts as I am reading a book. As Mrs Peterson had said during the lesson, it does not matter how fast you read the book if you do not understand what you are reading.
Narrative Voice
After the introduction to the Double-Entry Journal, we watched a three minute video about narrative voice. The video was brief, but it mentioned many important points. It went over three different types of narrative voice that writers create. Sometimes, the writer would make the narrator a character in the story. In this case, the narrative voice is in first person. Other times, the writer would make the narrator an observer who is not a part of the story. This would be known as third person narration. In the video, there isn’t much information disclosed about second person narration. However, at the end of the video, the pronouns used in second person were displayed along with the pronouns used in first and third person.
Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHl7mDZzfDw&ab_channel=mistersato411
Next, we read an excerpt from the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. In the excerpt, it is the first day of high school for the narrator, Melinda. As we read together, each student was responsible for highlighting quotes that they believed were significant. Students paid particular attention towards diction, imagery, and syntax used in the text.
On my document, I chose to highlight quotes that were related to diction green, imagery purple, and syntax blue. Anything else I found that I related to or was significant in general, I highlighted yellow.
From Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson
1 I find my locker after social studies. The lock sticks a little, but I open it. I dive into the stream of fourth-period lunch students and swim down the hall to the cafeteria.
2 I know enough not to bring lunch on the first day of high school. There is no way of telling what the acceptable fashion will be. Brown bags—humble testament to suburbia, or terminal geek gear? Insulated lunch bags—hip way to save the planet, or sign of an over involved mother? Buying is the only solution. And it gives me time to scan the cafeteria for a friendly face or an inconspicuous corner.
3 The hot lunch is turkey with reconstituted dried mashed potatoes and gravy, a damp green vegetable, and a cookie. I’m not sure how to order anything else, so I just slide my tray along and let the lunch drones fill it. This eight-foot senior in front of me somehow gets three cheeseburgers, French fries, and two Ho-Hos without saying a word. Some sort of Morse code with his eyes, maybe. Must study this further. I follow the Basketball Pole into the cafeteria.
4 I see a few friends—people I used to think were my friends—but they look away. Think fast, think fast. There’s that new girl, Heather, reading by the window. I could sit across from her. Or I could crawl behind a trash can. Or maybe I could dump my lunch straight into the trash and keep moving right on out the door.
5 The Basketball Pole waves to a table of friends. Of course. The basketball team. They all swear at him—a bizarre greeting practiced by athletic boys with zits. He smiles and throws a Ho-Ho. I try to scoot around him.
6 Thwap! A lump of potatoes and gravy hits me square in the center of my chest. All conversation stops as the entire lunchroom gawks, my face burning into their retinas. I will be forever known as “that girl who got nailed by potatoes the first day.” The Basketball Pole apologizes and says something else, but four hundred people explode in laughter and I can’t read lips. I ditch my tray and bolt for the door.
7 I motor so fast out of the lunchroom the track coach would draft me for varsity if he were around. But no, Mr. Neck has cafeteria duty. And Mr. Neck has no use for girls who can run the one hundred in under ten seconds, unless they’re willing to do it while holding on to a football.
8 Mr. Neck: “We meet again.”
9 Me:
10 Would he listen to “I need to go home and change,” or “Did you see what that bozo did”? Not a chance. I keep my mouth shut.
11 Mr. Neck: “Where do you think you’re going?”
12 Me:
13 It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.
14 Mr. Neck makes a note in his book. “I knew you were trouble the first time I saw you. I’ve taught here for twenty-four years and I can tell what’s going on in a kid’s head just by looking in their eyes. No more warnings. You just earned a demerit for wandering the halls without a pass.”
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After reading this passage, I found that I related to Melinda. I was put in a similar situation in third grade where it was also my first day of school as a transfer student. I hardly knew anyone, but everyone else knew each other. I acted very quietly, often rambling in my mind about what would happen if I did something embarrassing.
Breakout Room Activity
We were tasked with filling out a Double-Entry Journal using four of the quotes they highlighted in the passage. Then, we would share their document with their teammates and comment on each other's quotes. Our team consists of two girls and three boys so we decided to split the team into a duo and a trio. Coincidentally, we were given four quotes to comment on, so we were able to split the work evenly as a trio.
The Double-Entry Journal should end up looking similar to this:
Individual Activity
For this individual activity, students had to choose three quotes that represented a typical teen’s voice. These are the quotes I chose and why I thought they fit this description:
Quote #1: “It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.”
The quote demonstrates the moodiness and crankiness teens usually have when they talk to an adult such as their parents. The aggressive tone Melinda uses is one of the aspects that makes this quote a representation of a teen’s voice. Melinda is expressing her anger in this scene as she chooses not to speak considering the fact that the teacher probably wouldn’t care either way.
Quote #2: “Would he listen to “I need to go home and change,” or “Did you see what that bozo did”? Not a chance. I keep my mouth shut.”
The informal diction that Melinda uses is a major aspect that makes this quote important. The use of the word “bozo” to describe the boy who threw mashed potatoes at her also shows the aggressiveness in her tone. Additionally, this quote is an example of the many times she has been shown thinking about what she should do in a particular situation. This expresses her insecurity, a common problem that teens usually face.
Quote #3: “I will be forever known as “that girl who got nailed by potatoes the first day.”
The wording in this quote suggests that Melinda probably cared much about her image to others. This links back to insecurity because she is afraid that people will begin to make fun of her for something that she could not control.
After we chose three quotes, we had to answer two questions based on the narrative voice the author created. Below are the questions and my thoughts about them.
Does Melinda’s sarcastic interior monologue seem authentic? Why or why not?
Melinda’s sarcastic interior monologue seemed authentic. The way she frantically thought about what she should do to avoid attention from other students demonstrates her fear of a bad reputation amongst students. This goes back to insecurity as she is constantly scared of people making fun of her. Additionally, the sarcasm adds to the traditional teen behavior since teens use sarcasm in jest often.
What inferences can students draw based on her voice? From her voicelessness?
I think it is safe to say that Melinda is a very shy person. Throughout the excerpt, she barely spoke to anyone and tried to avoid social interaction. In addition, students can infer that Melinda probably cares a lot about her image. Based on her voice, you can tell that she was very humiliated when she was hit with a lump of potatoes. Not only does her voice show the importance that she places on her reputation, her actions do as well. For instance, she bolts out the door as fast as she can to avoid further embarrassment.
Reflection
Through Speak, I was able to use active reading strategies to understand the author’s choices as they created a teen’s voice in the story. The Double-Entry Journal definitely assisted me in doing so; it was a great way for me to organize my thoughts on different parts of the text. By using the Double-Entry Journal, I was able to make inferences about the author’s choices as they created a narrative voice. For instance, I was able to conclude that the narrator was a very timid character based on the diction and word choice used. These are all things I noted on my journal as I was actively reading. Another strategy that we used to organize our thoughts was annotating/highlighting. By highlighting words or phrases in the text, I was able to pick out the quotes that I thought were most important. This made my job easier when it came to writing my thoughts down on the journal. Furthermore, it directs my attention to the parts that signify the writer’s use of diction, imagery, syntax, or generally anything else that I found interesting.
To conclude, this lesson has taught me the importance of active reading and how it should always be used. In the case where you do not actively read, the text may seem boring and monotonous. In the future, I plan to continue to annotate and utilize the Double-Entry Journal as I read other passages.
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