The Color of Water 3 levels of questions - discussion

The Big Question: How does POINT OF VIEW reveal the speaker or the narrator?

Rules for Whole Class Discussion Students address each other use analytical verbs consult teacher only when they are stuck respect each other pay attention to Ms. Teref’s grading profile rubric

Intro Steps Assign student facilitators Facilitators: ensure smooth transitioning from one student to another, summarize discussion to move it forward, monitor student engagement; redirect student off-task behavior

Ms. Teref’s updated version of “Tips for Facilitating Whole Class Discussion”

Foreword – Level 1 Questions – 4 min Read the paragraph first. 1.Lines 1-2: How many things didn’t McBride know about his mother? What are they? 2.What did she say about where she was from? 3.How does Ruth describe her skin color? 4.What does she do after she describes her skin tone? 5.Who never knew her maiden name until later? 6.Which 2 facts does McBride unearth after 14 years? 7.Why did Ruth reveal the 2 facts? 8.What is the memoir about? 9.What will we find “betwixt and between the pages of her life?” 10.How many dashes are there in the passage? 11.SUMMARIZE BY RELATING TO HOW POV REVEALS THE CHARACTER.

Level 2 1.What is revealed about the narrator and his mother based on the first two lines? (Reinforcing the central/essential question: HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 2.What is revealed about Ruth when she says that God made her? (Reinforcing the central/essential question: HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 3.What is revealed about Ruth when she identifies herself as being “light skinned?” (Reinforcing the central/essential question: HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 4.What is the function of the first dash? Why is it placed where it is? (Reinforcing the central/essential question: HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 5.What is revealed about Ruth based on lines 4-6? (Reinforcing the central/essential question: HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 6.What is the function of the second dash + conjunction “yet?” (Reinforcing the central/essential question: HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 7.Analyze the placement of the other 2 dashes and their meaning? 8.What is implied by the last sentence? (Reinforcing the central/essential question: HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?)

Level 3 Why would parents keep secrets from their children?

“Dead” – p. 2, “My family mourned me… to He was hard as a rock” Level 1 Questions: 1.When did Ruth’s family mourn her? 2.How many lines does Ruth spend describing her family mourning her? 3.What are “kaddish and sat shiva?” 4.What are 4 actions Jews perform when saying “sat shiva?” 5.What didn’t Ruth’s family ever say? 6.What “things” did they say to each other? 7.What was Ruth’s father’s profession? 8.What ability did he have? 9.What was he a “fox” about? 10.What was his “uniform?” 11.What 3 adjectives describe his pants? 12.Summarize and connect to the essential question.

Level 2 Questions: 1.What is implied by Ruth’s family mourning her? (Reinforcing the central/essential question:HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 2.Why does Ruth spend a few lines describing her family mourning her? (Reinforcing the central/essential question:HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 3.What is implied by Ruth’s family never saying “I love you” to each other? (Reinforcing the central/essential question:HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 4.What is implied by Ruth’s father being a rabbi who got married in an arranged marriage? (Reinforcing the central/essential question:HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 5.What does his ability to” slick himself out of anything” imply about him? (Reinforcing the central/essential question:HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 6.What was he a “fox” about? (Reinforcing the central/essential question:HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?) 7.What is implied by the description of his clothes, esp. by his pants? (Reinforcing the central/essential question:HOW DOES POV REVEAL NARRATOR?)

Level 3 Why do people get converted to other religions?

Facilitation Schedule –look up new words Group 1: The Bicycle: p.12: from “One afternoon as we walked…” to “End of discussion” on p. 13. Group 2: Kosher: p. 16: from “I enjoyed my grandparents” + 20 lines. Group 3: Black Power:p.35 from “’Look at that white bitch”+20 lines. Group 4: The Old Testament: p. 42 from “Of course I had something to run from.” + 20 lines Group 5: The New Testament: p.50 from “It was the only time I ever saw her cry” + 25 lines Group 6: Sam: p.62 from “He got bar mitzvahed when he was thirteen” to the end of chapter. Group 7: Shul: p. 81 from “When I was in the fourth grade…” + 20 lines. Group 8: School: p.94 from “The question of race was like the power of the moon…” + 20 lines. Group 9: Boys: p.111 from “I loved that boy to death and he loved me.” + 20 lines Group 10: Daddy: p.124 from “I thought my stepfather was odd.” + 20 lines Group 11: New York: p.129 from “My mother knew I was pregnant…” + 20 lines. Group 12: Chicken Man: p. 139 from “My grades plummeted …”+ 20 lines. Group 13: Graduation: p. 157 from “On graduation day Dee-Dee…” + 20 lines. Group 14: Lost in Delaware: p.188 from “Ma wanted me out of Delaware…” + 20 lines. Group 15: Finding Ruthie: p. 261 from “Most of my friends and the women I dated…” + 20 lines. Group 16: Finding Ruthie: p.266 from “There were two worlds bursting inside me…” + 20 lines