1. Reminders You should have your Othello book EVERY DAY in class.
Vocabulary Unit 7 starts next Monday
Pre-Course Reading Essay - Rough Draft due tomorrow
Just write your thesis and 2 body paragraphs
We will review writing intros and conclusions
First Othello (the play) Quiz scheduled for next Friday – it will be over Acts I and II

2. Voice Lesson: Diction #1
Fun with Diction
Looking for the PERFECT word

3. Diction… Diction refers to the author’s choice of words.
Words are the basic tools of the writer. Just as the painter uses color and light or a musician uses sounds and rhythms, a writer uses words.
In order to write well, you have to find the PERFECT word.

4. The Perfect Word… Is clear, concrete, and exact - SPECIFIC
Says exactly what you want it to say
Creates a picture in your mind
Example – You don’t hang around the house; you mope around the house.
Is NOT a dead word; those words are overused, tired, and have lost their freshness.

5. Forbidden Words good nice pretty beautiful fine bad thing really very
terrible
wonderful
a lot

6. Looking Deeper into Words
Words do not just have meaning; they have Denotation and Connotation
Denotation is the LITERAL meaning
Connotation is the FEELING of the word

7. Diction in Action…
Read and Think:
Write About It:
What picture do you get in your mind when you read the second sentence?
How would the meaning of the sentence change if we changed some of the words? For example:
Kate could see her searching through the cabin, emptying drawers, and taking things off of the shelves of cabinets.
A redheaded woman was there with Trout. Kate could see her rummaging through the cabin, dumping drawers, and knocking things from the shelves of cabinets.
-- Louis Sachar, Holes

8. Now it is your turn…
Write a sentence describing a small boy making a huge mess in a restaurant. Choose words that are clear, concrete, and exact.

9. Shakespearean language pre-assessment
First attempt is not for a grade
Second attempt will be for a grade (on your unit test)
This will help me determine groups and other decisions for class activities.

10. Othello
Slightly Cut Script and exploration of intro

11. Characters in Othello
You have received a character list from William Shakespeare’s play ‘Othello.’
Read the character descriptions out loud.
Based on what you can assess from these descriptions, brainstorm a list on a piece of paper of the possible conflicts that you see among these characters, as well as any overarching themes or thematic concepts that you can predict.
*Be prepared to share with the group!

12. Reflection Consider Shakespearean Language and how you approach it.
Things you feel confident about?
Challenges?
How will you face the challenges and work to overcome them?