Bell Challenge ~ Quick Write Mother to Son By Langston Hughes Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tack in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor- Bare. But all the time I’se been a-climbin’ on, And reachin’ landin’s, And turnin’ corners, And sometimes goin’ in the dark Where there ain’t been no light. So, boy, don’t you turn back. Don’t you set down on the steps. ‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard. Don’t you fall now- For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. This is a famous poem by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. The poem is a letter from a mother to her son. What is the mood of this poem? What is the mother trying to express to her son? For your writing prompt, write about this mothers message and what her message to her son might have meant to her son. Do you think it affect him? What did she want for him? Do you think all mothers what this for their children?

Silent Conversations Today we will watch a short video and conduct a silent conversation. As you watch the video, think about the role family plays in helping us decide who we are. During the video, use the reaction handouts to jot down notes about how the family, others, and the environment pay a role in the development of the young lady. We will watch the video twice. Watch for things in the second showing that you might have missed during the first showing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScL6QNVDnTY

Silent conversation How to…. You will pair with a member of your group. You will simultaneously write a letter to each other about the video. In your letter, discuss the question, “how do our families help us decide who we are?” Include information from the video and from your personal experiences in your letter. Ask questions, make statements, most of all demonstrate your comprehension of the question. You will exchange letters, read the letters, and respond to what your partner has written. Ask them a question, make an argument about something that they wrote, most of all express your understanding of the question to your partner. The letters you are writing are informal. Remember to include a greeting and a salutation. I will be keeping the time and you will switch and respond when I tell you to. If you feel the need to talk during this activity, write it down!

“In Strangers’ Glances at Family, Tension Linger” Vocabulary Sort

Vocabulary Word Sort Copy the following words on to individual post-it note: Discrimination Racial slurs Racism Diversity Ethnicity Indignantly Emblematic Bemoaned Stark Respite

Vocabulary Word Sort Now, study each word and place it on the vocabulary word sort according to your understanding of the word. Can you explain the word and give an example? Can you give a brief description of the word? Have you seen or heard the word but you are not sure what it means? Have you never seen the word and have no clue what the word means?

Vocabulary Sort Small Group Discussion In your group, discuss the words. What words do you have in common that you know? What words do you have in common with your group members that you do not know? If you know the meaning of a word or have background knowledge of the words, please share with your group members. Select three words from the list that you do not know or struggle with the meaning of to share with the whole group.

Vocabulary Word Sort Group Discussion Share the words that your group struggled with If a group has already shared your word, you cannot share it again. Let’s select five words that will be our focus words to learn and use during this lesson.

“In Strangers’ Glances at Family, Tension Lingers” Reciprocal Reading Today we will practice a strategy called reciprocal reading. Reciprocal reading is a reading comprehension group strategy. How the strategy works is that one person in the group is the reader The other members of the group are the listeners and the reciprocators. Reciprocating means that when one person speaks, they other members in the group respond back to that person with an answer. The reader will read a paragraph from the text and stop so the group can discuss and process what they have just read. During each stop, group members will make predictions, clarify what they have read, ask questions, and summarize what the text is saying. This strategy is not easy, and it will take us time to learn how to complete the task. Feel free to stop and ask me questions as you need assistance. Use the 4 anchor charts on the board to help you generate predictions, clarifications, questions, and summaries of the text. Watch as I model how the interactions should go within your groups.

Ticket Out the Door Reading Reflection After reading and discussing the text with your group, reflect back on you original response to the question: “Do our families help us decide who we are?” Has your mind changed? Or, has it remained the same? Write a quick reflection explain how your mind changed from your previous response after reading the text. Or, use the text to explain why your opinion on the question has remained the same.

A Few Reminders… Remember to bring your pictures no later than Tuesday. You will have a test on tomorrow. Don’t worry, you will do great. I will be checking binders tomorrow. Please make sure you have all of your materials present.