Literature: Gary Soto's "Oranges"

The following poem has a coming of age theme so that you can use it to dialogue with some of the fiction we read in class and that you may have read on here.  Read the poem and follow the provided annotation guidelines. 

Oranges by Gary Soto with Annotation Guidelines

Then, answer the following questions to build an interpretation. Remember to practice Quotation Sandwich format with these questions.

1. How does the boy feel at the beginning of the story? Choose a quote to support your answer.

2. What did the saleslady know or understand about the boy? Why did she let him pay for the chocolate with the orange? Choose a quote to support your answer.

3. What is the significance of the young couple’s visit to the drugstore? Use this quote to explain your answer: “We entered, the tiny bell bringing a saleslady down a narrow aisle of goods. I turned to the candies tiered like bleachers, and asked what she wanted.”

4. Why is the setting, especially the weather, important to this story? Choose a quote to support your answer.

5. Does the boy come of age at the end of the story? First, define what coming of age means to you. Then, explain whether or not the boy in the story goes through this change. Choose a quote to support your answer. (Try not to repeat a quote that you used already in Questions #1-5.)

Nonfiction: The Black Panthers on Education

 

You read Assata Shakur's Chapter 10, which ends with her going back to school. Here, you can read about her experience in college and with education in Chapter 12, but first, I'd like you to read another text on education from Black Panthers founder Huey Newton. These two chapters are cut down, but they're still both long. So we're going to try a simple annotation strategy. As you read Newton's chapter, I want you to mark the parts where you see a problem in education P and the parts where you see the consequence of the problem C. Then as you read Assata Shakur's chapter, I want you to mark the problem parts in the same way and look for solutions and mark them S.

Huey Newton, excerpt from Revolutionary Suicide.

Assata Shakur, excerpt from Chapter 12 of Assata: An Autobiography

Finally, putting your reading into practice, write a manifesto, a call to action, following this format: Manifesto for Revolutionary Education.

Recommended Viewing: We Need Heroes

This music video "Black Superman" invites people of color to see themselves/ourselves as heroes.  By the way, the singer in this video is a Hostos CUNY Start instructor!! Bet you didn't think Hostos CUNY Start could be this cool. Check it out!

Free-write: Henry David Thoreau

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." 

–Henry David Thoreau

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Literature (Flashback) and Writing Exercise: Richard Wright and the Haiku

You remember our good friend Richard Wright, don't you? You know already and hopefully remember that Richard Wright expatriated to France, where he died.  He spent his last year of life writing haikus.  The Haiku is a Japanese poetic form, a three-line poem where the first line contains 5 syllables, the second line contains 7 syllables, and the third line contains 5 syllables.  Check out these Richard Wright haikus and try writing some of your own.  Maybe submit one as a comment.

I am nobody:
A red sinking autumn sun
Took my name away.


From across the lake
Past the black winter trees
Faint sounds of a flute.


With a twitching nose
A dog reads a telegram
On a wet tree trunk.


Naked to the sky
A village without a name
In the setting sun.


A spring pond as calm
As the lips of the dead girl
Under its water.


A blacksmith’s hammer
Beating the silver moon thin
On a cool spring night.

Sun is glinting on
A washerwoman’s black arms
In cold creek water.


Burning autumn leaves,
I yearn to make the bonfire
Bigger and bigger.


I had long felt that
Those sprawling black railroad tracks
Would bring down this snow.


A sleepless spring night:
Yearning for what I never had
And for what never was.


Scarecrow, who starved you,
Set you in that icy wind,
And then forgot you?


Late one winter night
I saw a skinny scarecrow
Gobbling slabs of meat.

Grammar: Advanced Subject-Verb Agreement Practice #2 (With Prepositional Phrases)

Advanced Subject-Verb Agreement Practice #2

(With Prepositional Phrases)

PRACTICE:     Put parenthesis around the Prepositional Phrases if there are any.  

Circle the subject. Draw two lines under the verb.

Mark SV Errors if there are any. Or mark it “Correct.”

Make corrections.

1. The pen and the paper is on the desk.
2. The box of chocolates are on the shelf.
3.  Every one of the students have practised very hard.
4. The skill of understanding personal communications is crucial to good business.
5. Not many people know the truth about the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

6. The number of people who are mobile phone owners rise every year.

7. Some people believe that learning a new languages wastes time.

8. A great many success stories are due to hard work.

9. The comedy team of Abbott and Costello were world famous.
10. One of us know the answer.

Writing Exercise: Create a story through three questions

In this exercise, you’ll use three questions to stimulate creative thought. You can write these questions yourself, but I’ll give you some examples to show you what to do.

You want to answer the questions as quickly as you can, with whatever ideas pop into your mind. Write as much or as little as you wish, but just allow the words to flow without pondering too much what you want to say.

Example 1:

1.            Who just snuck out the back window?

2.            What were they carrying?

3.            Where were they going?

Example 2:

1.            Who is Tony?

2.            Why is he crying?

3.            What is he going to do about it?

Example 3:

1.            Whose house is Sonya leaving?

2.            Why was she there?

3.            Where is she going now?

Grammar: Advanced Subject-Verb Agreement Practice (With Prepositional Phrases)

Advanced Subject-Verb Agreement Practice (With Prepositional Phrases)

• Often, the subject of a sentence is followed directly by the verb.
• For instance: The dog barks all night.
• However, sometimes a prepositional phrase is between the subject and the verb.
• For this practice, look carefully for the subject and ignore the words that are part of prepositional phrases.

The character in The Arabian Nights is a woman named Scheherazade.

                      subject                                            verb

PRACTICE:     Circle the subject.

Underline the verb that “agrees” or matches the subject.

1. Marvin’s excuses for not having completed his research paper (bore, bores) me.

2. Speeding in restricted zones, especially those near schools, (endanger, endangers) lives.

3. One computer for two or three students (seem, seems) inadequate.

4. The popularity of violent movies (reflect, reflects) the values of our society.

5. Honeydews, one of the favorite melons of consumers, (taste, tastes) clean and sweet.

6. Coaches who are disciplined and who demand discipline from their players usually

(have, has) winning teams.

7. The annual sales of video games in the U.S.  probably (exceed, exceeds) a billion dollars.

8. Small amounts of tar and nicotine (damage, damages) the health of smokers.

9. The women riding in the back seat of the car (was, were) not injured in the accident.

10. Animals which sleep in the day and are active at night (have, has) good night vision.

11. The students waiting in line for tickets to the concert (expect, expects) good seats.

12. A teenager who tries to conform to the expectations of adults (is, are) often ridiculed

by his or her peers.

13. The bark of some trees (have, has) been used to treat certain diseases.
                                                                                   

Adapted from http://faculty.mccneb.edu/mbklocke

Free-write: Carl Sandburg

“Beware of advice—even this.”

Carl Sandburg

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Writing Exercise: Write a letter to your younger self.

 In this exercise, you are writing to yourself at a younger age. It can be your childhood self or yourself just a few years back. You can offer advice, compassion, explanation, forgiveness, or praise. Or you can simply recount an experience you had and how it impacted you as your adult self now. Try to see this younger self as a real and separate person when you write the letter. This exercise helps you think about your reader as a real person. Again, try not to overthink this exercise. Spend a few minutes deciding the core message of the letter, and then just start writing without filters.

Grammar- More Focus: Identifying Prepositional Phrases

More Focus: Identifying Prepositional Phrases

PRACTICE:     Put parenthesis around the Prepositional Phrases.  

Circle the subject. Draw two lines under the verb.

1.  Ramona loves writing texts to her friends.
2. Many students have complained about the new rules.
3. The pot of vegetable soup simmered gently on the stove.
4. My phone takes very clear photographs in all kinds of weather.
5. The concert was canceled with only one day’s notice.
6. The coffee was leaking from my cup onto the carpet.
7. The kitchen in my grandmother’s house smells like vanilla and spices.
8.  The meeting took place during lunch.
9. We ate our dinner in the car.
10. The book of quotes inspired me.
11. The best things in life are free.
12.  The tunnel through the mountain took three years to make.
13.  Our protest against censorship was successful.
14.  One of the most important ideas in the article is that multiasking is harmful.
15.   This reminds me of something.
16.  The best place to eat around here is Sam’s Restaurant.

Free-write: Chairman Fred Hampton

"Because with some things, you have to learn by seeing it or either participating in it…Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, then you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." 

-Chairman Fred Hampton

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Free-write: Hanif Adburraqib

"The truth is, if we don't write our own stories, there is someone else waiting to do it for us. And those people, waiting with their pens, often don't look like we do and don't have our best interests in mind."

-Hanif Adburraqib

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Free-write: Ralph Ellison

"I was never more hated than when I tried to be honest." -Ralph Ellison

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Free-write: James Baldwin

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive."

James Baldwin

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Free write: Zora Neale Hurston

"I have known the joy and pain of friendship. I have served and been served. I have made some good enemies for which I am not a bit sorry. I have loved unselfishly, and I have fondled hatred with the red-hot tongs of Hell. That's living.” –Zora Neale Hurston

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Free-write: Edna St. Vincent Millay

"I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided by it I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes."

-Edna St. Vincent Millay

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Free-write: Jean Paul Sartre

"Freedom is what we do with what is done to us." -Jean Paul Sartre

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Free-write: T.S. Eliot

“We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.” 

T.S. Eliot 

 INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Grammar- Writing Mechanics: The Sentence

WRITING MECHANICS:  The Sentence

                                                           

                                                 

BASIC PARTS OF A SENTENCE:

            A sentence needs to meet 5 basic requirement.

1.      Begin with a capital letter

2.      Have a subject

3.      Have a verb

4.      Express a complete thought

5.      End with terminal punctuation (period, question mark, or exclamation point)

SUBJECTS

            The subject is the topic of the sentence, who or what the sentence is about.  The subject will always be a noun—person, place, thing, or idea.

What is the subject of this sentence?

The President signed the bill.

VERBS

            The verb is the action of the sentence, what is happening in the sentence or what the subject is doing. 

What is the verb in the sentence                                                                     ?

The President signed the bill.

                                               

EXPRESS A COMPLETE THOUGHT

            In some cases a subject and verb alone make a sentence complete.  Sometimes, though, a sentence needs more to make sense. 

One extra thing it might need is an object. 

            There are three kinds of objects: direct object, indirect object, and the object of a preposition.  A direct object is the object that receives the action of the verb.  An indirect object receives the direct object.  The object of a preposition follows a preposition.

In our sentence

The President signed the bill.

‘President’ is the subject because the sentence tells us something about the President, what s/he did.

‘Signed’ is the verb because it is the action the President performed.

Bill is what the president signed, so it received the action of the verb.  It is a direct object.

Now let’s look at the sentence

I gave him the book on the table.

Who or what is the sentence about? 

The sentence is about me so ‘I’ is the subject.

What did I do?

I gave something to someone.  ‘Gave’ is the verb.

What did I give?

I gave a book so “the book” is the direct object.

I gave the book to ‘him’ so  ‘him’ is the indirect object, receiving the direct object.

Practice: For each sentence, identify the subject, verb, direct object, and indirect object.

Max asked Sally a question about the dance.

I have told him the answer several times.

The students ate their lunch in silence.

I saw Alice in the hallway during the class change.

Jim failed English last semester.

TV audiences love reality programs.

Mr. Shelley has inspired many students over the years.

The policeman was shouting directions at the motorists.

Amy had a book from the library in her locker.

I forgot the answer to the question.

Max brought Sally a corsage.

The boy sent the girl flowers.

Mrs. Webb serves her family a hearty breakfast.

A woman in the waiting room asked the man a question.

The teacher sent Alice a note.

The prophet told the audience the future.

He offered me money.

The audience offered the cast thunderous applause.

He sent his girlfriend flowers.

The grocer sold mother some lettuce.

There is a third object known as the object of the preposition. Prepositions are essentially connection words. They bridge words to other words, usually to position the word in time, space, direction, or relationship. The preposition and its object make up a prepositional phrase. The following is a list of prepositions:

The following words are the most commonly used prepositions:

about	below	excepting	off	toward
above	beneath	for	on	under
across	beside(s)	from	onto	underneath
after	between	in	out	until
against	beyond	in front of	outside	up
along	but	inside	over	upon
among	by	in spite of	past	up to
around	concerning	instead of	regarding	with
at	despite	into	since	within
because of	down	like	through	without
before	during	near	throughout	with regard to
behind	except	of	to	with respect to

                                     

Try to locate all the prepositions in the previous practice and identify the object of the preposition.

Free-write: Ray Bradbury

“I don’t believe in being serious about anything. I think life is too serious to be taken seriously.”

Ray Bradbury

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Free-write: Andre Dubus III

"I think the deeper you go into questions, the deeper or more interesting the questions get. And I think that’s the job of art.”

Andre Dubus III

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Free-write: Philip Roth

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.”

Philip Roth

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Free-write: Saul Williams

"We are defined by our ability to resonate and shape sounds.  Word.  Therefore what we say is of the utmost importance.  What we say matters (becomes matter)… We are not powerless.  We do live and speak with the power of determining our realities and affecting our environment both positively and negatively." –Saul Williams

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Free-write: Ernest Hemingway

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”-Ernest Hemingway

INSTRUCTIONS: 

What does this make you think of?  Reflect on it in a five-minute free-write.  Remember you cannot stop writing during the five minutes.  Even if you can't think of anything to write, write "I can't think of anything to write."  

Writing Exercise- Easy Instructions

Think about something you know how to do well. It can be anything from washing the dishes to long division. Write a few paragraphs (or more if you wish) explaining some aspect of how to do what you do. Assume your reader is completely ignorant about the subject. This writing shouldn’t sound like a dry instruction manual. Try to write in a conversational style, as though you’re verbally explaining the process. Break down the steps in a way that makes the reader understand exactly what to do, without using business jargon or buzzwords.

Writing Exercise- Perspective

     In this exercise, you’ll practice writing from another person’s perspective. You can choose a person you know well, or you can write from the point of view of an imagined character. Put yourself in this person’s shoes, see things through their eyes, and react the way they would react. Choose one situation, encounter, or setting, and write what you see, hear, think, and feel about the scenario. Get inside of this person’s brain, and try to be as descriptive as possible. You can write a paragraph or several pages if you’re inspired.

Writing Exercise- Descriptions that come alive

Write a paragraph in which you describe a character (real or imagined) without using adjectives. You can use similes or metaphors.

Example:

Instead of saying “Mike is tall” you could say “Mike stands like a tower and wherever he goes people have to look up at him.”