M2U2 Lesson 7: Writing the Introduction to a Literary Essay

M2U2 Lesson 7: Writing the Introduction to a Literary Essay

Go to the next slide to see your Do Now.

Do Now:

Watch the videos on the next two slides to review concrete language and sensory details. Then, prepare to answer the question on the next slides.

Open Ended

What is concrete language?

Open Ended

What are sensory details?

Learning Targets

• –– “I can work with a partner to select a focus statement and concrete and sensory language for my literary analysis essay.”

  
  

• –– “I can read aloud an excerpt of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World with accuracy and fluency.”

• You worked with the Painted Essay structure in Module 1. You will be writing an essay using this structure, and today you will begin planning it.

Think about the word structure.

What does the word structure mean when we talk about structure in writing?

Open Ended

What does the word structure mean when we talk about structure in writing?

What is structure?

• Structure means the way a piece of writing is put together, or organized, to better help the reader understand what the author is saying.

Open Ended

Why would we want to analyze the structure of a piece of model writing?

Why would we want to analyze the structure of a piece of model writing?

• We analyze the structure so we can see how to write in this structure.

• It is so we can apply that structure to our own work and make it effective as the model.

Open Ended

How can we use the Painted Essay structure to analyze writing?

How can we use the Painted Essay structure to analyze writing?

• It helps us see how the essay is put together.

• We can identify the different parts and the content of each part, which can help us to structure our own work.

Back in Lesson 6...

In the previous lesson you analyzed the excerpt from pages 41–42 of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World for concrete and sensory language.

In this lesson you will choose some of those quotes to develop the topic of your chosen focus statement.

Learning Targets

“I can read aloud an excerpt of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World with accuracy and fluency.”

What does it mean to read with accuracy and fluency?

Open Ended

What does it mean to read with accuracy and fluency?

What does it mean to read with accuracy and fluency?

To read with accuracy and fluency means to read smoothly, with feeling, and few mistakes on sounding out the words.

You'll need:

--Lesson 7 Materials on Google Classroom

OR

--Page 83-84 in your paper workbook.

Focus Question:

What does the use of concrete language and sensory detail help you understand about the rainforest?

This question was a focus in our work with Beautiful Roof! Notice the similarities between this question and the one we have been investigating.

Listen on the next slide and follow along in your text. Make sure you have read-aloud switched "on".

Model Essay

The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry, is a tale about a man who goes into the rainforest with an ax to cut down a kapok tree. The man falls asleep, and in his dreams, the animals of the rainforest explain to him how losing the tree would affect their lives. Throughout the story, the author uses concrete language and sensory detail to describe events and experiences. Lynne Cherry’s description of things the man hears and sees helps the reader to understand the serious consequences of cutting down the kapok tree.

Model Essay

The book begins with a description of sounds. When two men enter the rainforest, instantly the “sounds of squawking birds” and “howling monkeys” stop and “all was quiet as the creatures watched the two men and wondered why they had come.” The sudden silence lets the reader know that the men are strangers to the forest and that the animals are worried about why they are there. When one of the men lies down to take a nap, the rainforest animals visit him in a dream to explain how the tree is important to them. 

Model Essay

The author tells us that the snake” hissed in his ear,” the tree frog talked in a “squeaky voice,” and the jaguar “growled in his ear,” each explaining what the kapok tree meant to it. Cherry describes the sounds their voices make, as well as what they say, to help us better picture the animals that depend on the tree. Descriptions like this help us to imagine and care about the creatures in the rainforest that will lose their home and food if the tree is chopped down.

Model Essay

 Lynne Cherry also uses description to help the reader “see” the consequences of rainforest destruction. Toward the end of the story, the toucan describes what can happen to the forest once people settle in and set fires to clear the land. He tells the man, “Where once there was life and beauty, only black and smoldering ruins remain.” The author paints a visual picture for the reader, showing vividly what rainforest destruction can look like.

Model Essay

When the man finally awakens from his long dream, the author describes the beautiful, healthy rainforest that he sees: “Spots of bright light glowed like jewels amidst the dark green forest. Strange and beautiful plants seemed to dangle in the air suspended from the great Kapok tree.” Cherry’s description of how the rainforest looks when it is vibrant with life contrasts with the description of how the forest could look if people are not careful. Describing the rainforest in this way helps us understand how beautiful and valuable it is.

Model Essay

In The Great Kapok Tree, Lynne Cherry’s description does more than just show us what the rainforest looks and sounds like. Her description helps the reader to imagine how tragic it would be to lose those sights and sounds.

Finding the Gist

In your Lesson 7 pages either on Google Classroom or pg. 83-84 in your paper workbook, write the gist of each section of the essay out to the side of the paragraph. Let's do the first paragraph together.

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 1 is the introduction.

It answers the focus question: how does the author of The Great Kapok Tree use concrete language and sensory details?

Gist: talks about the story, Kapok Tree, and what the essay will be about: concrete language

Write this gist down out beside paragraph 1.

Paragraph 2: Proof 1

Let's do this one together. Read the paragraph, then check your answer on the next slide. What is this paragraph mostly about?

Paragraph 2: Proof 1

Gist: Talks about the sounds in the rainforest, how the author describes the sounds.

Write this down beside paragraph 2.

Paragraph 3: Proof 2

Great job!

Let's look at this paragraph to figure out the gist.

What is this paragraph talking about the most??

Multiple Choice

What is the gist of paragraph 3? Choose the BEST answer.

• It talks about what you can see.

• It describes what the reader can see in the rainforest in The Great Kapok Tree.

Paragraph 3: Proof 2

Gist: It describes what the reader can see in the rainforest in The Great Kapok Tree.

Write this down out beside Paragraph 3.

Paragraph 4: Conclusion

What is the gist of the last paragraph? Reread the paragraph to yourself, then write it on the next slide.

Open Ended

What is the gist of paragraph 4?

Paragraph 4: Conclusion

Gist: Retells the focus, explains how the author describes the rainforest using sight and sound

Write this down beside paragraph 4.

Time to "paint!"

Now it's time to review the painted essay structure, and break this essay down so we can see how to write one on our own.

Watch this quick review, then go get your colored pencils or highlighting tool on Google Classroom ready!

Your turn!

Take your copy of the model on page 83-84 or on your Lesson 7 Google Classroom copy, and highlight the focus statement green, the introduction red, the proof 1 yellow, the proof 2 blue, and the conclusion green.

Check your answers in the video on the next slide!

Multiple Choice

What type of writing piece is this essay: is it a narrative piece, informational piece, or opinion piece?

• narrative (story)

• opinion

• informational

Open Ended

What in the model essay makes you think it is an informational writing piece?

Answer:

This essay is called a literary analysis: it analyzes a literary text.

In the model essay, the writer analyzes descriptions in The Great Kapok Tree. It talks about how the author describes the rainforest in the story.

Informational Planning Graphic Organizer

This page is on page 85 in your paper workbook, and in your Lesson 7 materials on Google Classroom.

Informational Planning Graphic Organizer

You will be using this graphic organizer to plan your writing. We will learn how to use it over the next few lessons.

Informational Planning Graphic Organizer

Check out the Focus Question at the top:

What does the author’s use of concrete language and sensory detail help you understand about the rainforest?

Remember, the focus statement answers the focus question of the essay.

Multiple Select

In the focus statement, the author makes a claim. How has the author of this essay supported the claim made in the focus statement? Select ALL that apply.

• He tells us his opinion.

• He uses quotes from the text.

• He has reasons that support his claim.

Which quotes did the author pick? Why did he pick them? Look at proof 1 from the model.

Remember, the focus question was "how does the author use concrete language and sensory details to describe the rainforest."

Open Ended

Which quotes did the author pick? Why did he pick them?

Answer:

He chose quotes that include concrete and sensory language—specifically quotes about things the characters can hear and quotes about things the characters can see, as stated in the focus statement.

IMPORTANT!

Remember our prompt:

We are writing about how Kathryn Lasky uses concrete language and sensory details to help the reader understand the rainforest.

We are using pages 41-42 in The Most Beautiful Roof in the World and our Lesson 6 Explaining Quotes graphic organizer to help us plan.

Let's choose a focus statement!

Choose a focus statement to answer

the question for your literary analysis essay.

You should choose a focus statement that you have at least two pieces of evidence to support. Use your Lesson 6 Explaining Quotes graphic organizer to help you.

Focus Statement

Choose one of THESE:

Kathryn Lasky uses concrete language and sensory details to help the reader understand what you can see and hear there. OR...

The author, Lasky, describes the sights and sound of the rainforest using concrete language and sensory details.

Informational Planning

Write your chosen focus statement from the last slide down under Focus Statement on your planning graphic organizer.

Next: let's find evidence!

Look at the picture here or your work from Lesson 6: Explaining Quotes Graphic Organizer.

Find an example of what you can "hear" and "see" from the quotes. Or..find an example of concrete language, and an example of sensory details!

Quote 1

Write your first quote down under "text evidence" on the Proof Paragraph 1 section.

Quote 2

Write your second quote down under "text evidence" on the Proof Paragraph 2 section.

Open Ended

Check both your quotes. Do they support your focus statement? Do they prove your answer to the focus question?

Poll

I can work with a partner to select a focus statement and concrete and sensory language for my literary analysis essay.

Reading Fluency

At the end of this unit, you will read aloud a new excerpt of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World to assess your reading fluency with a new text.

Time to read!

Get your copy of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World and turn to page 28.

Time to read!

You are going to read from “So first the boys show Meg the jade green pool …” to “… thinks his bright blonde hair is a weird flower.”

Listen to me read first. Then, be prepared to write the gist.

Page 28, The Most Beautiful Roof in the World

Be ready to write the gist on the next page.

Open Ended

What is the gist of page 28?

Answer:

The gist is "the boys swim in a green pool, and when James stands up, an owl butterfly lands on his head."

Exit Ticket

Read the excerpt from page 28, starting with "so first the boys" and ending with "...weird flower."

Then, go to this link to record yourself reading.

https://flipgrid.com/64828735