Monday, April 13

--Took a quiz over ch. 14-18 at the start of class
--We looked back at the literary vocab packet that I gave out last week and reviewed the first 5 words with a quick activity. If you were gone today, the assignment is pasted below so you can complete it on your own.
--Next class, we'll be starting the state writing test, which takes a full three class periods to complete. Because of this, I will NOT be assigning any reading homework for the next 3 classes. So, though you won't have any assigned homework, you should try to complete your photo assignment within this week so you don't have to worry about it at the end of the unit. If you miss class any of the days of the test, you may need to set up a time to finish it with me. Be sure to bring a book or other homework to work on each day if you finish before everyone else, too.
--HW: No reading homework--just work on your photo assignment!


Literary Vocab Practice:
Alliteration, Atmosphere, Connotation, Denouement, Diction

1. Alliteration: The repetition of the same consonant sound, especially at the beginning of words.
Below, write a line with at least 3 alliterative words in it, either an original line or something you’ve heard before. For example, the line: “Miss Mary Mack” alliterates the “m” sound.

2. Atmosphere: The prevailing mood created by a piece of writing.
How would you describe the atmosphere of the following passage, when Kunthi comes to get rice from Ruku? “She came close to me and put her face near mine. I saw the grey, drawn flesh and the hooded eyes, deep sunken in their sockets, and I made to turn away but she held me” (87).

3. Connotation: An implication or association attached to a word or phrase. A connotation is suggested or felt rather than being explicit.
Read the following passage. What is the connotation of the word “white” as it is described here? In other words, what does the color “white” usually symbolize, and why might it be used here to describe the bundle of rice? “I rose at last and went out softly, and looked about me, and went quickly to the hole I had dug, and clawed away the earth until I saw the bundle, white under the starlight” (88).

4. Denouement: The ending of a play, novel, or drama where “all is revealed” and the plot is unraveled.
Write down the denouement of a well-known story. For example, the denouement of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is when the 3 bears discover Goldilocks asleep in Little Bear’s bed.

5. Diction: The choice of words that a writer makes; another term for “vocabulary.”
Find a sentence or two in the reading we’ve just completed, copy them here, and then explain what diction Markandaya uses to create a particular effect. For example: “Sometimes at night I think that my husband is with me again, coming gently through the mists, and we are tranquil together.” The words “gently” and “tranquil” create a soft mood that lets us know Ruku’s relationship with her husband was a good one.