The Color of Water By James Mcbride Notes, Guided Reading Activities & Resources

The color of water: Notes Understanding the author’s deliberate choices in how he has presented his autobiography He tells his life story in juxtaposition (side-by- side comparison) to his mother’s

Memoir A collection of short, personal “vignettes” highlighting important experiences to illustrate a critical period in the author’s life; provides highlights or snapshots Characterized by Use of literary devices such as metaphors, hyperbole

A historical account of the author’s life as told by him or her; Autobiography A historical account of the author’s life as told by him or her; Tends to be practical delivery of verifiable facts Characterized by language that is more formal and less “artistic”

Narrative A single scene from the author’s life which clearly illustrates his or her character; Characterized by Rich, imagery-laden, descriptive writing

Pre-Reading Mini CRJ Read the prologue; use evidence from the text to write a CRJ on ONE (1) of the following questions raised by the introduction: What predictions can you make about the content of this text? What inferences can you draw about the author’s purpose for writing? How would you evaluate mcbride’s relationship with his mother? Use clear evidence from the text of this short introduction to support your claim

Reading a Narrative: “The Chase” Read Annie Dillard’s “The Chase” twice: The first time, you should just read the text– consider the author’s purpose for choosing this specific incident to illustrate her childhood. What is she telling you about her self (then as well as now) with this narrative The second time you read the text, you’ll be looking for the prepositional phrases. Identify them by underlining, Circling, or highlighting them. Consider what is left when you’ve eliminated the prepositional phrases Also, consider the author’s purpose for including so many prepositional phrases in her narrative

To Be, or not To Be… -That is the infinitive Verb Phrase!

The Infinitive Verb Phrase: Infinitive verb phrases ARE NEITHER VERBS NOR ARE THEY PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES. They act as nouns, adjectives, & adverbs. TO + Action Verb = Infinitive Verb Phrase (and not a verb or preposition) Prepositional phrases contain a preposition + a direct object (noun) How will you know you’re dealing with an infinitive and not a verb? Remember to look for the “to” before the action. How do you know it’s an infinitive and not a prepositional phrase? If there’s a verb immediately following, then it’s not a direct object

“The Chase”: Collaborative Learning Appoint roles (Scribe, Reporter, facilitator) All members are responsible: Share the prepositional phrases you identified in the text come up with a final tally for your group In a single document, your group will answer the questions at the end under the heading “Journal Writing” & “Questions on meaning” (addresses the author’s purpose)

Amy Tan’s Narrative, “Fish Cheeks” Part I: (on your own, when you’ve finished the quiz) Identify the prepositional phrases in the text. (highlight, underline, or circle). Tally up your results HINT: There are over 50 in the essay Watch for infinitive verb phrases: “to” + verb = infinitive verb phrase and not a prepositional phrase

Narrative Style: Connecting with the text On your own, Think of an occasion when, for whatever reason, you were acutely aware of being different, or not necessarily fitting in: Briefly describe the circumstances of the situation How did you react? Did you try to hide your difference in order to fit in, or did you revel in your uniqueness?

Think-PAIR-SHARE: Narrative Style Part II (With a partner) Think about paragraph 3- why does tan linger over the descriptions of the food? What is Tan’s purpose in writing this essay? Does she just want to entertain readers, or might she have a “weightier” goal? Be prepared to defend your response

Characterization: Characters are primarily described by his or her speech, actions, thoughts and to a lesser extent, their effect on others Personal practice: Think carefully before deliberately selecting three (3) of the best descriptive adjectives to characterize: You Each of your colleagues in your collaborative learning groups you should have six-Nine adjectives total– three for each of you

Practice: Discuss and deliberately select 2-3 adjectives to best characterize our narrators Guarded Strong Cold-hearted Emotionally-tough Courageous Secretive Over-protective Brave Independent Isolated Religious Competitive Mysterious Admirable strict

Practice: Discuss and deliberately select 2-3 adjectives to best characterize our narrators: Ruth Skillful Secretive Discreet Hardworking Open-minded Depressed Closed Transparent Stubborn determined Wise Independent Messy Serious Dedicated Defensive In-love Strict Caring Strong Tough MYSTERIOUS

James CONFUSED REBEL CURIOUS WISE SMART DYNAMIC AFFECTIONATE NAÏVE SENSITIVE PROUD CREATIVE DECRIPTIVE INDEPENDNT CARING DIFFERENT DEPRESSED PASSIVE WONDERING LOST WANDERING DETERMINED COMPLICATED CONFUSED REBEL CURIOUS WISE SMART DYNAMIC AFFECTIONATE NAÏVE SELF-PERSERVING TOUGH INSECURE TALENTED James

James Competitive Curious Compassionate Attentive Intelligent Confused Open-minded Conflicted Determined conscientious

Conscientiously select 2-3 adjective describing characters from The Color of Water Tateh Mameh Andrew “Dennis” mcbride Richie Helen Francis “Jack” Dee dee Dennis Jr. Big Richard Hunter Jordan

Conscientiously select 2-3 adjective describing characters from The Color of Water Tateh (Zach) Mameh (Carlos) Andrew “Dennis” mcbride (Saja) Richie (snober) Helen (Kerah) Francis “Jack” Dee dee (Miguel) Dennis Jr. Big Richard Hunter Jordan (Jordan)

Characterizations Conscientiously select 2-3 adjective describing THE character YOUR GROUP HAS from The Color of Water With your group, identify evidence from the text to act your definitive support each descriptive adjective. Cite the page # & a faithful transcription of the text your group will present your analysis (considering inferences, social relevance, consequences for peripheral characters) to the class

Ruth and Her Children

Literary Devices Tone Diction Syntax Deliberate word choice of an author Relies on audience’s inference toward connotation vs. denotative meaning of words the deliberate arrangement of words in a sentence or group of sentences to set an intentional mood or tone or to place emphasize specific ideas The feeling or mood created by the author’s choice of diction, syntax, punctuation, literary devices and what information is conveyed in a piece of writing

Examples Diction Syntax Tone Examples: House vs. Home, Thoughtful vs. Dreamer, Manipulative vs. persuasive Example: “My mother was very secretive about her past because it was so painful for her.” Vs. “Because it was so painful for her, my mother was very secretive about her past” Example: Consider greeting cards how is the tone of a birthday card different a condolence card? Or consider the difference between a congratulatory card vs. a birthday card. Mother’s day cards vs. Halloween cards What about the role of punctuation? Homework Homework… Homework? homework! Homework?!

More Literary Devices Imagery Figurative Language Descriptive language deliberately selected by an author to illustrate an image in the mind of the reader Similes and metaphors make comparisons between ideas. Symbolism emphasizes & elaborates on a specific idea, often reappearing throughout the text

1st period Practice: Think-Pair-Share (4 mins) On your own, Read the final line on page 91 all the way until the end of the first paragraph on page 96. (5 mins) With an elbow partner, identify specific literary devices (including Imagery and Figurative language) in this selection and Determine the tone of this passage (7 mins) Be prepared to defend your selections and reasons to the class

4th period annotation Practice (4 mins) On your own, begin Reading from the first full paragraph on page 90 all the way until bottom of page 95. As you read, Consider literary elements such as Tone & figurative language (similes, metaphors, personification, symbolism)

Annotation gallery walk (3-4 mins per page of text = 12 minutes total) With the members of your group, Annotate each of the pages mounted to posters by identify specific literary devices (including Imagery and Figurative language) in this selection as well as tone, diction, and syntax Rotate until all six pages have been annotated (7 mins) share out findings with the whole class

Cooperative Learning Groups With your assigned groups, determine explore the text to find examples of literary devices we discussed in class. Assign roles: Facilitator: Keeps the group focused, motivated and on-task, effectively and efficiently manages Time Recorder/Reporter: Documents common response for the group Researcher: Uses the text and all other available resources to conduct necessary research to help develop the most thoughtful response to each prompt for the group

Tone: Narrator Explore the language (consider diction & syntax) used as each of the two narrators tells his or her story What are some notable differences can you detect in way ruth and james each tells his or her story? Consider the role of a narrator: How does Point of View impact the tone of the piece and audience’s perception of events?

Point-of-view What role does point-of-view play in interpreting the text? Consider the perspective of each of the narrators– how would the story be different if told from Richie or helen’s point of view? Why didn’t James choose to include his siblings’ perspective in this story?

Figurative Language: Find (3) THREE examples in the text illustrating McBride’s use of similes, metaphors, imagery, symbols, hyperbole, and/or personification. Please note, Each example you find should illustrate a different element of figurative language For each example you’ve selected, describe the effect it has on the reader

Themes: AN obvious theme for this text is the search for identity, as James and Ruth both share his and her own struggle with establishing a sense of self-worth and value. What are some of the major themes, or reoccurring ideas in the text?

Tone: What is the tone of the piece? Be prepared to defend your explanation with significant examples from the text.