Agenda Voice Lesson: Syntax #3 Vocab Unit 10 – intro #11-20 & draw Waiting for Superman OPTIC DVD cover analysis Begin watching Waiting for Superman Handout – Film Analysis Project (review tonight and come with any questions)

Reminders Outliers Reading Schedule – Keep up with it! Upcoming Chapters 6-7 due Friday Upcoming Vocab Unit 10 – Pic Quiz will be Monday Rhetorical Analysis #1 – Go ahead and finish your revision and have it done. Tomorrow, Rhetorical Analysis #2 will be assigned.

Voice Lesson: Syntax #3

Read and Think: But once I spread my fingers in the dirt and crouch over the Get on Your Mark, the dream goes and I am solid again and am telling myself, Squeaky you must win, you must win, you are the fastest thing in the world, you can even beat your father up Amsterdam if you really try. And then I feel my weight coming back just behind my knees then down to my feet then into the earth and the pistol shot explodes in my blood and I am off and weightless again, flying past the other runners, my arms pumping up and down and the whole world is quiet except for the crunch as I zoom over the gravel in the track. -- Toni Cade Bambara, Raymond’s Run (Creative Short Stories) Look at the first sentence in this passage. The sentence is made up of many short clauses in a row, each clause separated by a comma. Read the sentence aloud several times and think about it. A comma indicates a short pause…why do you think the author wrote the sentence this way instead of dividing it into separate sentences? In other words, how does the sentence structure emphasize the meaning of the sentence? Both of these sentences start with conjunctions (but, and). What is the purpose of a conjunction? Why do you think the author has chosen to start these sentences with a conjunction?

Responses The author uses short clauses joined by commas in order to imitate the experience of running. There’s a breathless quality to the sentence, as if the words themselves were running. The use of the series of short clauses increases tension, quickens the pace, and intensifies the feeling. It allows the reader to experience the run. Note also that the narrator switches from first person (I) to second person (you) within the sentence. This also intensifies the focus of the sentence. The narrator moves from sharing the experience to actual engagement in the experience. He moves from talking about what happens (“I spread my fingers in the dirt and crouch, I am solid again”) to being there (he tells himself: “you must win, you are the fastest thing in the world, you can even beat your father”)

Responses A conjunction is used to connect ideas. These conjunctions are coordinating conjunctions, used to connect ideas of equal weight, usually two or more parts of a sentence. Here they start each sentence. The effect of using conjunctions to start these sentences is to set the stage for each sentence that follows. The conjunction but in the first sentence indicates contrast. It tells the reader that everything in the sentences is in contrast to what has been said before. The and in the second sentence serves to connect the second sentence to the first, as part of the run. Just as the run is fluid and intense and fast, so is the sentence. Starting with a conjunction gives the sentence a breathless quality that reinforces the meaning of the passage.

Vocab Unit 10 #s 11-20 & Draw

Visual Text Analysis: Waiting for Superman Today, we will be viewing Waiting for Superman, and the goal is to analyze and evaluate the director, Davis Guggenheim’s argument throughout the documentary. OPTIC Analysis of Cover Art As you watch the documentary, keep track of the use of ethos/pathos/logos and how Guggenheim uses it.

Intro to Film Analysis Presentation Do some initial google searching on the directors. We will choose directors Friday – come prepared with your top 3 choices and any questions.