Octavia Butler's "Bloodchild"

Students read Octavia Butler's science fiction story "Bloodchild," winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards the year it was published. I handed back graded essays that students are welcome to revise for a higher grade, if they wish.

Work Day: Reading, Notes, Vocabulary

Students had the class period to get caught up on story notes, which are due tomorrow, and vocabulary notebooks, which are due on Friday.

Wells Tower's "Leopard"

We discussed motifs--repeated elements--of "Gorse Is Not People." Then students read Tower's "Leopard," a short story written entirely in second person narration. We discussed the story, and students worked on their story notes.
Homework: Story Notes #2 due on Wednesday; Vocabulary Notebook due on Friday

Frame's "Gorse Is Not People"

I discussed some background about New Zealand writer Janet Frame, and showed students how to create a Works Cited entry from an online magazine source. We read and discussed the story. Story notes on the next five stories will be due next week.

Carrier Bag Discussion and In-Class Writing

We discussed LeGuin's theory and tried to apply it to some of the storied we've read so far in this Unit. Then students wrote a short constructed response summarizing the features of the two types of stories.

Discussing LeGuin: Hero Story and Carrier Bag Story

Homework check: t-chart for hero and carrier bag stories. I briefly discussed grades. As a class, we gathered information about the chart. Then students divided into pairs to generate some questions to classify the short stories we are reading.

LeGuin's Theory of Fiction

I handed back the first set of short story notes, which have a completion grade of ten points. Incomplete notes were given five points, but they may be corrected for the same number of points. I gave a little feedback on specific stories, then gave a short lesson on theme. Four clues to an author's theme(s) or message(s) are: title, motifs, symbols, and theme statements.

Students spent the rest of the period on Ursula LeGuin's "Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction." They created a Works Cited entry for the essay, then read the essay. Students will record characteristics and quotes about the two types of stories in a t-chart: the hero story; the carrier bag story. Notes are due tomorrow; I will assign a grade for them.
Homework: Finish reading LeGuin and create the t-chart

Welcome Back!

I returned and briefly discussed the graded Bradford essays, which may be revised for a higher grade, if desired. I handed out Lesson 8 vocabulary, which will be our final Greek lesson. Students used the rest of the period to get caught up on story notes and vocabulary lessons.
Homework: Bradford essay due