They Cage The Animals At
Night: 2-2-12
Objective:
• To write a persuasive essay explaining
how three characters in They Cage
the Animals at Night, influence
Jennings more than any other
character in the book. You will choose
three characters and for each
character you will find two examples
from the book that show how these
characters influence Jennings.
• You will choose three characters and for each
character you will find two examples from the
book that show how these characters influence
Jennings.
• Stevie influences Jennings in two ways:
• Stevie influences Jennings by running away. He
shows Jennings that when you face something
terrible (Stevie’s drunk father who abuses him)
that it is okay to run away from it.
• Stevie influences Jennings by showing him that
kids in orphanages shouldn’t make close friends
because it hurts too much when they leave.
• Write down three characters that you think influence
Jennings the most. Underneath each of the characters
write down two ways that they have influenced Jennings.
1. ____________________
a._________________________________________________________________________________
b._________________________________________________________________________________
2. ____________________
a,._________________________________________________________________________________
b._________________________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________
a._________________________________________________________________________________
b__________________________________________________________________________________
Writing a Hook
• A Hook is something that gets your
reader interested in your essay. It
should give the reader an idea of
what your essay is about. It can
be a question or a quote.
Starting your essay off
with a question.
When you start your essay off
with a question, it should not
be a detailed question but it
should interesting and give
your reader an idea of what
you will be talking about in
your essay.
Example questions
1.
How are our behaviors and beliefs
changed by the people around us?
2. What influences us?
3. Who changes our behaviors and beliefs
in difficult situations?
4. How are we influenced by our friends
and family?
Starting your essay off
with a quote.
• When you start your essay off with
a quote, it should be a quote
taken directly out of the book that
you are writing about. Your
quote should be interesting. It
also needs to have something to
do with how one of your
characters influences Jennings.
Example Quotes
• “ ‘Dey told me my fadda was comin’ for me today,’
he mumbled. ‘I aint goin wit him no more.’ He
toyed with the ground beneath his feet. ‘I aint
gonna get hit no more.’ He got to his feet. ‘I’ll see
ya,’ he said and started to walk away.” (pg. 89)
• “Sal told me he was very proud of me for not
holding a grudge. He told me holding grudges was
easier than forgiving. He was right too. I didn’t
really like accepting some of the apologies, but I
did and felt good that I did, later.” (pg. 160)
nd
2
sentence of the
Introduction
• Summarize the book in
one to two sentences.
You will need to
include the name of
the book and the
author.
In your 2nd sentence include the
name of the book and the author.
• The novel, They Cage the
Animals at Night, by Jennings
Michael Burch tells the incredible
true journey of a young boy
named Jennings struggling to
survive in New York City
orphanages. During this time
Jennings is greatly influenced by
the people around him.
In your 2nd sentence include the
name of the book and the author.
• The novel, They Cage the Animals
at Night, by Jennings Michael
Burch __________________________
________________________________
____________________. ___________
_________________________________
_______________________________
Thesis statement
• What traits are you writing
about?
• You need to write a sentence
that includes your strong
opinion about who influences
Jennings the most.
Writing a Thesis
The thesis
statement is
the main idea
of your essay.
Writing a Thesis
Stevie, Sal and Jerome
were people Jennings
knew during this time
that influenced him the
most.
___________, ________
and ________ were
people Jennings knew
during this time that
influenced him the most.
They Cage The Animals At
Night: 2-2-12
Who changes our behaviors and
beliefs in difficult situations? The novel,
They Cage the Animals at Night, by
Jennings Michael Burch tells the
incredible true journey of a young boy
named Jennings struggling to survive in
New York City orphanages. During this
time Jennings is greatly influenced by
the people around him. Stevie, Sal and
Jerome were people Jennings knew
during this time that influenced him the
most.
“ ‘Dey told me my fadda was comin’ for
me today,’ he mumbled. ‘I aint goin wit him no
more.’ He toyed with the ground beneath his
feet. ‘I aint gonna get hit no more.’ He got to
his feet. ‘I’ll see ya,’ he said and started to walk
away.” (pg. 89) The novel, They Cage the
Animals at Night, by Jennings Michael Burch tells
the incredible true journey of a young boy
named Jennings struggling to survive in New
York City orphanages. During this time Jennings
is greatly influenced by the people around him.
Stevie, Sal and Jerome were people Jennings
knew during this time that influenced him the
most.
Introduction: Hook, Summary of the book and
Thesis
Body Paragraph #1: Describe how character #1
influences Jennings. Use TS, T, 2 CD 4CM and
CS
Body Paragraph #2: Describe how character #2
influences Jennings. Use TS, T, 2 CD 4CM and
CS
Body Paragraph #3: Describe how character #3
influences Jennings. Use TS, T, 2 CD 4CM and
CS
Conclusion: Say your thesis in a different way,
summarize your essay, and end with a final thought.
Body Paragraph #1:
Describe how character
#1 influences Jennings.
Use TS, T, 2 CD 4CM
and CS
Describe How Character
#1 Influences Jennings
• Stevie influences Jennings in two ways:
•
Stevie influences Jennings by running away. He
shows Jennings that when you face something
terrible (Stevie’s drunk father who abuses him) that it
is okay to run away from it.
• Stevie influences Jennings by showing him that kids
in orphanages shouldn’t make close friends
because it hurts too much when they leave.
Body Paragraph #1
Stevie influences Jennings in two ways. For example,
on page 89 Stevie says, “ ‘Dey told me my fadda was
comin’ for me today,’ he mumbled. ‘I aint goin wit him no
more.’ He toyed with the ground beneath his feet. ‘I aint
gonna get hit no more.’ He got to his feet. ‘I’ll see ya,’ he
said and started to walk away.” This shows that Stevie
influences Jennings by running away. He shows Jennings
that when you face something terrible that it is okay to run
away from it. In addition, after Stevie leaves, Jennings
says, “It didn’t matter whether you said the word ‘friend,’ or
not. If you felt ‘friend,’ it was all the same. It hurt.” (pg 90).
This shows that Stevie influences Jennings by showing him
that kids in orphanages shouldn’t make close friends. This
also shows how hurt Jennings felt when Stevie left. As a
result Jennings changes his behavior and beliefs because
of Stevie’s actions.
Stevie influences Jennings in two ways. For
example, on page 89 Stevie says, “ ‘Dey told me my
fadda was comin’ for me today,’ he mumbled. ‘I aint
goin wit him no more.’ He toyed with the ground
beneath his feet. ‘I aint gonna get hit no more.’ He
got to his feet. ‘I’ll see ya,’ he said and started to
walk away.” This shows that Stevie influences
Jennings by running away. He shows Jennings that
when you face something terrible that it is okay to run
away from it. In addition, after Stevie leaves,
Jennings says, “It didn’t matter whether you said the
word ‘friend,’ or not. If you felt ‘friend,’ it was all the
same. It hurt.” (pg 90). This shows that Stevie
influences Jennings by showing him that kids in
orphanages shouldn’t make close friends. This also
shows how hurt Jennings felt when Stevie left. As a
result Jennings changes his behavior and beliefs
because of Stevie’s actions.
Topic Sentence
• Stevie influences
Jennings in two ways.
st
1
Transition and
Concrete Detail
• For example, on page 89 Stevie
says, “ ‘Dey told me my fadda
was comin’ for me today,’ he
mumbled. ‘I aint goin wit him no
more.’ He toyed with the ground
beneath his feet. ‘I aint gonna
get hit no more.’ He got to his
feet. ‘I’ll see ya,’ he said and
started to walk away.”
st
1
and
nd
2
Commentary
• This shows that Stevie
influences Jennings by
running away. He shows
Jennings that when you
face something terrible that
it is okay to run away from it.
nd
2
Transition and
Concrete Detail
In addition, after Stevie
leaves, Jennings says, “It
didn’t matter whether you
said the word ‘friend,’ or not.
If you felt ‘friend,’ it was all
the same. It hurt.” (pg 90).
rd
3
and
th
4
Commentary
• This shows that Stevie
influences Jennings by
showing him that kids in
orphanages shouldn’t make
close friends. This also shows
how hurt Jennings felt when
Stevie left.
Conclusion Sentence
• As a result Jennings
changes his
behavior and beliefs
because of Stevie’s
actions.