Part 1: First Marking Period

Bellwork Please begin the following activity at the bell.

• Read the article excerpt on your desk (one of the following: • STEUBENVILLE RAPE CASE SUMMARY • CNN RAPE VERDICT COMMENTARY

Rhetorical Analysis

• • Listen to a reading of “The Author Who's Teaching Boys How to Talk About Rape” by Jen Doll.

Highlight evidence of and/or answers to the following: • What is the context of the article?

• When was it published and where was it published?

• Who is the author’s intended audience? • What is the author’s purpose? • What did she hope her readers would learn from this article? • Was she attempting to persuade, argue, inform, narrate, or a combination of these?

Free Write Response

Read: Doll writes, “Part of the role of young adult fiction is as a parental or teacher assist, to help teen readers understand what happens to the characters in the books, to help them learn from those experiences without, one hopes, having to experience them themselves.” Respond: Do you agree or disagree with this statement and why? Can literature be powerful enough to encourage, even empower, readers to make particular choices in life? Have you experienced this or known someone who was moved by literature to the degree that it affected their choices and behaviors?

Analyzing Meaning

Respond by highlighting & annotating in the margins of your text.

1. What is the purpose of your group’s chapters? What is their main focus? 2. What are the most important events in these chapters? 3. What do we learn about the main character(s) in these chapters?

4. Highlight and explain evidence of the following themes in your chapters: strength of character, growing up, authority, isolation, friendship, education, violence, guilt/blame, communication.

5. Highlight and explain evidence of the following motifs in your chapters: mirrors, mouths, trees Share answers with the class when called upon to do so.

Analyzing Style

Respond by highlighting & annotating in the margins of your text.

1. How does Anderson use imagery and/or other figurative language? Highlight and explain references to nature and winter.

2. What sentence structure does Anderson use and to what effect? Highlight and explain evidence of poetic elements.

3. What type of diction does Anderson use? Are her word choices effective? Highlight and explain evidence of sarcasm or cynicism.

4. What mood did Anderson want to create with the language she used? What type of reactions did she want? 5. What is Anderson’s tone in these chapters? What is her attitude toward the themes developed, her characters, the situation?

Share answers with the class when called upon to do so.

Conclusion Analysis

Work alone to answer the following question in one paragraph on your own sheet of paper.

Based on your annotations and discussions, analyze one of the following elements of Anderson’s writing style and explain how her use of the strategy helps her to reach her audience and/or fulfill her purpose (e.g., develop themes, motifs, and/or characters): Imagery – Figurative Language – Syntax – Diction – Mood – Tone Note that you’ll need to identify the element of style you plan to analyze AND the audience and/or purpose you are discussing, in addition to explaining how Anderson uses the former to achieve the latter.