Reading Strategies, Group
Discussions, and
The Woman Warrior
Mr. Josefino Rivera, Jr.
AOSR: AP Language and Composition
September 20, 2010
Homework
Read the rest of “No Name Woman” (pages 8end). Be prepared for card quiz on Friday.
 Complete second page of Reading Log.
 Inside circle of seminar: Seminar Reflection
 optional: revise essay (due 28.9.2010)
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Today’s Objectives
 To
showcase reading comprehension.
 To unpack the complex but latent process of
reading.
 To critically discuss “No Name Woman.”
 To analyze group discussion.
“No Name Woman” Card Quiz
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Maxine Kingston has an aunt who was found…
In 1924, many men of Kingston’s mother’s village sailed to
America. Before sailing, they… in order to…
Her aunt’s “crime” was…
The villagers, in response to her aunt’s crime, did several things
including… (3 students)
Kingston’s mother tells Kingston this secret because she is starting
to…
According to Kingston, the first generation of Chinese emigrants
had to figure out…
Kingston speculates that the man her aunt had sex with…
Kingston suggests that this man and her aunt’s actual husband are
similar because…
In an old Chinese tradition, during the times of famine, the elders
made wrongdoers…
A synonym for marriage in Chinese is “taking in a daughter-in-law”
because…
Daily Journal
Use the following sentence as your opening
line and just write for 10 minutes.
“You must not tell anyone what I am about to
tell you.”
Reading Strategies
“You must not tell anyone,” my mother said, “what
I’m about to tell you.”
In China your father had a sister who killed herself.
She jumped into the family well.
We say that your father has all brothers because it is
as if she had never been born.
Reading Strategies
Pre-reading Strategies
 Survey text
 Examine images
 Read synopsis
 Ask questions
While Reading Strategies
 Summarize
 Analyze author’s
strategies
 Make connections to
text
 Ask questions
Reading Log
Somebody Wanted But So
(plot summary)
Examples of Two Voices
(rhetorical analysis)
Title and Explanation
(thematic summary)
Socratic Seminars

The Socratic method of teaching is based on Socrates’
theory that it is more important to enable students to think
for themselves than to merely fill their heads with “right”
answers. Therefore, he regularly engaged his pupils in
dialogues by responding to their questions with questions,
instead of answers. This process encourages divergent
thinking rather than convergent.
Socratic Seminar:
Inside Circle Norms
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One person speaks at a time.
Connect your comment to the previous comment.
Support a point with evidence from the text.
State your opinions and agree/disagree with the
opinions, not the person.
Ask questions to clarify ideas.
Define abstract terms.
Invite others into the discussion.
Use body language and eye contact to
communicate active listening.
Socratic Seminar Rubric
Key Categories
 Conduct
 Speaking and Reasoning
 Listening
 Reading
Socratic Seminar Reflection
In your reflection, you should discuss the following categories
1. Specific ideas you found particularly interesting and why. Give specific
examples and explain your reasoning. Please include who said the idea (this
shows me you were listening carefully).
 For example, I found _______’s speculation that …. interesting because I had
not made that connection myself. However, I am not sure I agree with this
connection because …. I need more information on this; however, ______’s
comment jumpstarted my thinking on ….
2. Unanswered questions or ideas you are still grappling with regarding the topic.
Explain why you still have these questions or intellectual tensions.
 For example, I question ________’s argument that …. Is…really possible? I
need more evidence suggesting that ….
3. Discussion of why you scored yourself on the rubric for each category the way
you did and specific examples supporting your self-score.
 For example, I responded to … I referred to the …and connected this to ….
This example reflects how I was listening intently to the conversation, following
the ideas, and extending them by providing a relevant example that pushed the
discussion forward, which is why I gave myself an “excellent” in listening and
speaking and reasoning…
Socratic Seminar:
Outside Circle Analysis
Examines how well the inside circle follows
the norms.
 Offers evaluations to make the inside circle
stronger speakers.
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Discussion Questions
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What is the purpose of the first paragraph? Why does Kingston
launch into this story without a prefatory explanation? How would
the impact of the story have changed if Kingston had provided an
“introduction”?
What is the mother’s attitude toward the aunt, as revealed in her
story?
According to the mother, what is the purpose of telling the story?
What does Kingston mean when she says of her mother, “She will add
nothing unless powered by Necessity, a riverbank that guides her life”
(¶ 13)? Why does Kingston capitalize “Necessity”?
Why does Kingston repeat the word “perhaps” throughout paragraph
16? Is she calling her own credibility into question? Explain.
Kingston speculates that her aunt must have been raped because
“adultery was an extravagance” women could not afford. What does
that mean?
What is the purpose of using various voices in her essay?
Exit Card
3 things you’ve learned about “No Name
Woman” from the Socratic Seminar
2 things you’ve learned about group
discussions
1 new reading strategy you will continue to
use throughout the year