Overview from 9/29 and Assignment due 10/6

Today we established what "analyzing" actually is: explaining how evidence proves the point we are making...evidence doesn't speak for itself.

We looked at the P.E.A.s of TDA
P-Point
E-Evidence
A-Analysis.

Every TDA paragraph should have P.E.A.s

We pulled the setting evidence from "The Snow Cave" and "The Sea Wolf" and explained/analyzed how each proved the POINT that was made for this TDA.

The job of the students this week is to actually write "The Snow Cave" and "The Sea Wolf" TDA. I will remind students again that the TDA is not a measure of how well we write, but how well we respond to a text we have read.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

I will collect the TDA packet next week. The TDA should be written in that packet on the last front and back page with lines.

Students can review the pages titled "How Should I incorporate a direct quotes as my evidence?" and "make a claim about the evidence" but they are just to assist them with writing their first TDA.

As always, message me with questions.

Overview from 9/22 and Assignment due 9/29

Today we reviewed how to establish our task in the TDA prompts before going on to the next step: writing a topic sentence.

Students completed the topic sentence page with me, one of which included the prompt and topic sentence for "The Snow Cave" and "The Sea Wolf".

The topic sentence we came up for regarding "The Snow Cave" and "The Sea Wolf" is as follows:

In "The Snow Cave" and "The Sea Wolf" the settings reveal a dangerous mood.

FOR HOMEWORK:
Students are to read "The Snow Cave" and "The Sea Wolf" for a second time, but this time they are to focus their annotations on setting descriptions that contribute to the mood of danger that we stared in our topic sentence. I expect them to highlight or list the examples they find for each story.

Don't forget your packet next week as we will continue to work in it.

Overview from 9/15 and Assignment due 9/22

Today we did our first Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) Workshop. The students were given a packet that they need to bring with them every week until I say otherwise. Forgetting the packet at home will make it hard for them to participate each week, and would cause them to get a zero score on the assignment that is due in the packet that week. 

TDA Prompts have 3 sentences and each sentences serves a purpose:

First sentence: Gives an overview of the text the prompt goes with OR skill needed for the essay

Second sentence: Gives the task (what you have to analyze/write about)

Third sentence: Reminds you to always cite evidence to support your response

We also looked at the difference between Literary ELEMENTS vs. Literary DEVICES. Students took notes on the two. Each TDA task asks students to look at the relationship between Literary elements and devices. They should always box the following in each TDA prompt task sentence:

1. Literary element

2. Literary device

3. The verb that connects the literary element and literary device

FOR NEXT WEEK:

Students are to read and annotate "The Snow Cave" and "The Sea Wolf" in their TDA packets. I will check annotations next week before starting our next assignment where we will use those texts.

FALL 2018 Overview

This Fall we will focus on the following:

1) Text-Dependent Analysis (TDA) writing: This mode of writing is introduced to public school students in 4th grade, and students are required to perform this mode of writing on all PSSA exams they take from that grade level and on. Analysis is a tough skill for fourth grade students to grasp, and a common trend shows that students don't perform this mode well until 8th grade...if they get enough practice. I will spend the first month this Fall scaffolding this skill to students as we look at sample prompts, sample essays, and read short stories we will respond to TDA writing prompts for. If students master this style of writing, they will have success in analytical essays they will be expected to write in independent schools.

2) Nonfiction Signposts of Literature: For the remainder of the Fall semester, I will teach students Nonfiction Signposts. These signposts are things to look for in nonfiction/information text, a type of text students need to become as familiar with as possible considering it will be the most common type of text they will be required to interact with across all courses in their education. They will be taught a new signpost each week that we will look for in a different information text to practice. At the end of the semester, we will look at one text where they can use all signposts for as a summative assessment for the semester.

Please feel free to contact me with questions at:
fameacademy.literacy@famefund.org