Opinion Essay Response to Literature Mrs. Walsh Source: Nancy Fetzer

A response to literature is when you have an opinion about the story.

Response to Literature Your opinion about an aspect of the story such as:  Theme, moral, message  Character/trait  Mood of the setting  Author’s tone, point of view

Turn to your neighbor and tell him or her what a response to literature is.

Learn the Steps!

Step 1 Get organized!!! Repeat out loud…..

“Step 1: GET ORGANIZED!!!”

Make graphic organizer Turn your paper in the landscape position so that the holes are on top. Format your paper with an introduction, a body, and a conclusion….what do you need?

Answer INTRODUCTION BODY CONCLUSION

Get Organized! We are writing a 5-paragraph response to literature we need to use the 5-paragraph organizer to record and organize our writing.

Draw a line over each margin line:

Draw 3 paragraph boxes for the body

Label the introduction: QS= Quick Summary Th = Thesis (opinion) QS: Th:

Introduction Be polite! Give a quick summary. Then your opinion. The “QS” is for a quick summary of the story we are going to write a response. Before giving an opinion about the story, we need to have good manners by presenting a brief summary of the story to our reader. The “Th” is for my thesis statement. The thesis statement reveals what the entire essay is about. It is your opinion.

Quick Summary Example Scott O’Dell wrote the historical fiction novel Island of the Blue Dolphins based on a true story about a young Indian girl named Karana. The story takes place during the early 1800s on an island off the coast of Southern California. In the story, the main character Karana tells about eighteen years of hardships and struggles she faced surviving alone on the island.

The body supports the opinion in a response to literature How many paragraphs in the body?

THREE!!!

Secret formula for the body Call in the …. TEAM

Call in the TEAM! QS: Th: T E A M TEAMTEAM TEAMTEAM

Body The boxes in the middle are for one, two, three main idea paragraphs (1-2-3) about the thesis statement.

Label the conclusion C=Conclusion R=Reflection QS: Th: T E A M TEAMTEAM TEAMTEAM C: R:

Conclusion Finally, the bottom box is our conclusion paragraph. The conclusion should repeat the thesis statement (using different words), and then end with a reflection.

Let’s review all the parts of our response to literature essay.

What are the three parts?

What’s in the introduction?

What’s in the body?

What’s in the conclusion?

Components of a quick summary: Title Author Genre Main character Plot (the gist of the story)

Quick Summary The author, ____________________, wrote Author’s Name a/an _____________________titled ______________________________, which Title of Story took place ________________. Setting: When and Where? In the story, the main character, ______________________________________,________________ __________________________________________________. Problem or Main Event in the Plot = What did the character do? What happened to the character?

Label the parts of the QS QS: Th: T E A M TEAMTEAM TEAMTEAM C: R: Author Title (Genre) Character Plot

Thesis After my quick summary I need to write an opinion about the story. This is called the thesis.

Add your opinion The characters often change in a story from beginning to end. Main characters change in stories because of their actions or reactions to the events. Characters reveal themes through their actions or reactions to the events in the story The theme is usually why they behaved that way or the effect of that

Character Who? Theme circles Actions Reactions to events (conflicts) Why? Reasons and results Of the character’s reactions

Label the theme QS: Th: T E A M TEAMTEAM TEAMTEAM C: R: Author Title (Genre) Character Plot Theme =

Introduction The author, ____wrote _____ about a woman who was the first female African American to orbit around the planet Earth. In the story, one of the major themes was perseverance.

Perseverance Mae Jemison faced many obstacles, but she never gave up in order to reach her goals. Label the theme perseverance

Next Step Body

Call in the TEAM to support the opinion Prove it with evidence!!! T = Transition E = Evidence (direct quote or paraphrase) A = Analyze (explain how the evidence backs up the opinion) M = Make a connection (text-text, text-to- self, text-to world)

Body The body of the response to literature essay may have up to three paragraphs. The purpose of these paragraphs is to prove the opinion(s) stated in the thesis. Each of these paragraphs is organized with four specific components: 1) A paragraph transition and the topic sentence, 2) evidence paraphrased or quoted from the book, 3) an analysis of the evidence, 4) a background connection.

Body The topic sentence identifies the opinion being addressed. Evidence is a direct quote or a paraphrase from the text that supports the opinion. The analysis is an explanation of how the evidence supports the opinion. A connection explains how the students relate to the text to their own backgrounds. Does the text remind them of their own experiences, another text, orthe world?

Find Evidence Search the story for evidence that supports your opinion / thesis

Review The theme of the story was perseverance. This was proven when the author wrote…

Back it Up! Analyze it! Explain how that backs up your opinion!

Make a Connection Text –to –text Text –to –self Text –to -world

Tell your partner what team stands for.

Paragraph Transitions This was proven when the author wrote..

Record Evidence Go to pg. 213 and read “Other adults were not as encouraging…”

Paragraph Transitions After finding evidence and recording the page numbers of the text, students then need to plan each of the paragraph transitions and topic sentences for the three paragraphs in the body of the essay. A paragraph transition should clearly indicate a smooth transition from the last paragraph to the new paragraph. There are three types of paragraph transitions that work well for a response to literature: Topic Sentence, Refer to Thesis Statement, and Repeat & Introduce.

Record Evidence After identifying three pieces of evidence that support the opinion of the essay, the record it as direct quotes or paraphrases. Choosing to quote or paraphrase their evidence from the text requires students to think critically!

Analyze the Evidence provide meaningful explanations of how the evidence (paraphrase or quote) supports your opinion This shows that…. This is because…

Conclusion After recording the evidence, analysis and connections for the body of the paragraph, then the fifth paragraph, the conclusion, is written. The conclusion paragraph includes a restatement of the thesis statement (the opinion or judgment) and ends with a reflection.

Reflection The final part of the response essay is the reflection. The reflection is a careful examination of the essay, its essence.

Talk Like a Writer Listen to me. I’m going to practice forming sentences using the ideas on my organizer. Notice I am not writing, so I can easily add and change words in my sentences. When I feel I sound like a writer, then I will write them down.

Talk Like a Writer Now you try reading your notes. Begin writing your draft.