For debate and for persuasive speaking and writing, three important terms to know are claim, warrant and impact.
A claim is your position or argument. For instance, your answer to the following question:
Should American citizens be allowed to own firearms?
Your claim might be: "No, I don't think Americans should own firearms" or "I support the right of American citizens to own firearms."
A warrant is a reason or piece of evidence that supports your claim. For instance, your warrant might be "Americans should not be allowed to own firearms because each year, firearms cause thousands of deaths in America" or "Americans should be allowed to own weapons so that they can protect themselves — what if someone wants to break into your house?"
Impact is something that good that will happen if people listen to you or something bad that will happen if they don't. For instance, your impact might be: "If Americans weren't allowed to have guns, there wouldn't be as many murders in the United States" or "If Americans can't own guns, there will be a crime wave in American because people won't be able to protect themselves."
Click to listen to Lovie's speech on this subject. See if you can write down her claim, warrant and impact.
Claim-warrant-impact
QWEST
QWEST is a strategy for helping you on reading tests and essay questions. It stands for:
Q = Read the QUESTIONS you have to answer
W = WRITE out and label your paper (use RAFFT or another strategy)
E = EACH paragraph should be labeled (write the main idea of each paragraph next to the paragraph)
S = STATE the main idea or the gist
T = TEST it out
RAFFT (example using in-class text)
Q: Explain how 17th century Link Boys and 18th century Mooncussers were alike.
A: Seventeenth-century Link Boys were like 18th century Mooncussers. They both held glims welcoming people and then they robbed them. They also both hate the moon because it made it harder for them to rob people. That is how they are alike.
R/A = Restate and answer the question
Seventeenth-century Link Boys were like 18th century Mooncussers.
F = for example (use a detail from the text) They both held glims welcoming people and then they robbed them.
F = for example (use a detail from the text)
They also both hate the moon because it made it harder for them to rob people.
T = this means (analyze!!) That is how they are alike.
Figurative language
figurative language (n) language that does not mean exactly what it says
Here are some examples from "The Watsons go to Birmingham."
simile (n) a comparison between two things using like or as
He was as stuck as a fly on flypaper. (p. 13)
metaphor (n) a comparison between two things without using like
The fly was still stuck and buzzing. (p. 13)
Students: Create a post like mine, finding two more metaphors and two more similes from chapter 1 of "The Watsons go to Birmingham." Give your post the title: "similes and metaphors."
The writing process
Here's a good graphic (borrowed from another teacher's website) to help you understand the process we're using for written work. Click on the bubbles for more info. Remember, you can go back and forth between any of the steps and you can also do steps more than once!
Poetry notes — 11/17/08
LESSON: Poetry 101 (5 minutes)
Poetry is on the state exam
Usually there are two or three questions
What do students know about poetry?
Simone: I know that poetry rhymes.
Stephanie: It doesn’t always have to rhyme, just sometimes.
Pamela: Sometimes poetry has similes and metaphors.
Raymond: There’s some haikus and couplets.
Egypt: Poetry can be about anything that you want it to be about.
Kiarra: Poems can be in stanzas.
Osiris: Some poems have free verse.
Curtis: Poetry can be singing or rapping.
Someone who shouted out: The blues!
Shaun: There are many different kinds.
Toluwani: There are different types of poetry, and some poetries don’t have to rhyme and they’re called free verse.
Awa: Some poetry has repetition.
Julian: Some poems don’t have a meaning.
Bertram: Some have metaphors and similies.
Nathaniel: They’re not too long and not too short.
Fahtima: Some poems have rules of how many lines and words you can write.
Nicholas: Some poems are about love.
Brandon: Some poems have onomatopoeia.
For the state exam, you need to know:
I. Rhyme Scheme
What is rhyme?
Rhyme is a sound that is repeated in a poem. It can be at the beginning, middle or end of a word. It most often comes at the end of a line but it can also come at any point in the line. The pattern of the rhyme is called rhyme scheme.
I went on a trip to Peru (A)
For some reason I packed some glue. (A)
I opened the case (B)
You should’ve saw my face (B)
The glue was stuck to my shoe. (A)
We could say that this poem has an AABBA rhyme scheme.
II. Personfication
It’s when you give an object or animal a person’s feelings.
The coat is crying.
The rock is mad.
The rock is talking.
The bookbag is scratching.
The cupcakes danced.
The book punched the pages.
Me, the dog and the tree met up and had a conversation.
The clouds cried.
The wind howled in the middle of the night.
III. Simile: a comparison using like or as:
The sky is as blue as the ocean.
The dog was stinky like a pile of garbage.
The road was curvy like a snake.
The basketball was as round as the moon.
Uncle Mike looks like a bike.
The turtle is like an underwater person.
The cake is pink like my dress.
My cat acts as if she was a dog.
IV. Metaphor: a figurative comparison not using like or as.
At the basketball game, the fan was a bullhorn.
The stapler bites into the white flesh with a malevolent look on its face.
On the football field, Refrigerator Perry was a steamroller.
The wave is a blue monster.
The sky is blue and it reminds me of a tear.
She was fatter than two oceans put together.