I have committed to blogging more thanks to Kelly Hines. She has created a list of blogging topics that I hope to follow. Below is the challenge list.
Thanks @kellyhines for the 20 day blog challenge: http://t.co/tGfzLpG0ip
— Valerie R. Burton (@MsBisOnline) January 2, 2014
@MsBisOnline I hope you will share your journey. Thank you for joining me!
— Kelly Hines (@kellyhines) January 2, 2014
******* Here is my DAY ONE *******
Favorite book to teach: Ernest J. Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying
I love the book because it is set in Louisiana and the main focus of the book is not whether or not they save an inmate from death row BUT the journey that he takes while on it. Many of them really believe that there is going to be a call from the Governor’s office to stop his execution.
When I teach this book I want to be sure that they ……
- understand the struggles of main characters – two men with different perspectives who are both from the Louisiana in the 1940s and their search for identify and dignity
- identify a thematic focus of the book
- suggest an appropriate symbol
One activity that I have them do is a 4 x 4 which is my take on a literary 3 x 3 (Create three, three-word sentences that state the essence of the work)
Here are some of their responses:
*******
A Lesson Before Dying.
Lessons to be Men.
Lessons to love family
Lessons to know sacrifice.
*******
A Lesson Before Dying
One white, three colored
One colored man breathing
Who’s accused anyway, Jefferson
*******
White man is killed
Grant’s life is over
Wrong place, wrong time
Compared to a hog
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