Welcome to class! 
 When you come in…
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Take a seat wherever you like. I will not eat the people in the front row. Maybe.
Get out your shiny, new composition notebook! Write your name on the front!
 Today we are…
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Setting up our new notebooks and familiarizing ourselves with both grading policies and Cornell notetaking
Reviewing the basic elements of literary writing
 Activities…
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Grading Policy quick overview
Notebook set up
Literary writing notes
Start The Most Dangerous Game, if time
 When you leave you should be able to…
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Understand how you will be graded in this course, and the repercussions for turning in late work.
Know how to set up and take Cornell notes in a way that works for you!
Describe and identify the basic elements of literary writing—plot, characters, conflict, theme.
 Homework…
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Sign up for Announcements, Turn It In, Quia, and Edmodo if possible (fill out the Parent Info form
on Edmodo)
Thank you for signing up for Edmodo!!!! 
 I promise that I will catch up with badges this
weekend!
 What can we post?
 ANYTHING related to reading or writing!
Questions/Comments
 Book suggestions
 Interesting articles
 Anything you think might be beneficial to your classmates!
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Library Orientation/SSR/Read Aloud
 I want your opinions!
Quick highlights of the grading policy!
 Your grades are split into two sections:
 Major – 40%
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Big tests, essays, projects
If major assignments are turned in late… (even if you are absent!!)
 One day – 10 pts off (auto 90%)
 Two days – 20 pts off (auto 80%)
 Three to five days – 30 pts off (auto 70%)
 More than five days – maximum grade of 50%
Minor – 60%
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Homework, daily work, quizzes, etc.
If minor assignments are turned in late…
 Maximum grade of 70%
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You can redo any assignment that you score under a 70% on for up to
a maximum score of 70%.
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All assignments are not weighted equally in the grade book. A vocab quiz, for
example, might be worth half of a normal assignment. This means that if you add
up all of your assignments and divide by the total number of assignments, the
number you get will NOT be your grade.
Notebook Sections
 Please split your notebook into five, equal sections. They do not need to be
perfect. 
 You will label these sections:
Writing Strategies
 Reading Strategies
 General Notes
 Literary Devices
 Grammar
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 You can divide your sections by turning down a corner, or by using
little tabs or post-it notes if you have them. It’s up to you!
Cornell Notes
 Is anyone taking AVID this year? If so, you’ll be our expert.
 Cornell notes are simply an organized strategy for note-taking
and studying.
 They are cool because they allow you to individually interact
with your notes, rather than just copying from the board. (this
includes drawing pictures, asking questions—anything that
will help you remember the material!)
 They will also prove to be a useful study tool. You’ll see why in
a moment.
The Basics
 Cornell notes are simple! When
we take notes, you will always
split your page into three
sections.
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Section 1
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Section 2:
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Where you copy down the notes.
Where you interact with your notes!
How you use this section is largely up
to you. You can pull out main ideas,
draw relevant pictures, or jot down
extra information that might help you
remember a point later.
Section 3:
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Where you summarize your page of
notes. This only needs to be between
one and three sentences. When you
flip through your notes, these
summaries should help you to quickly
locate material.
2
1
3
This unit we will focus on literary writing!
 We will be reading and writing short stories! To
practice our Cornell note-taking, we’ll take a few
notes on this type of writing.
 Flip to the General Notes section of your notebook,
and title your notes: Literary Writing
Literary Writing
 Literary writing is writing that is used to tell a story.
 Literary writing is often fictional, but literary
writing can be nonfiction as well—a memoir is an
example of literary nonfiction!
 Literary writing, at the most basic level, is
characterized by having characters, conflict, and
some sort of plot, or a series of events.
Characters and Conflict
 Good literary writing contains interesting, three-
dimensional characters that readers can connect to.
 These characters face two types of conflict:
 Internal conflict
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A mental or emotional struggle that is faced within a character
External conflict
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A struggle between a character and an outside force – not always
another character!
Plot
 A story’s plot can be linear, or written in
chronological order, or nonlinear, which means
that the story is told out of order. (using
flashbacks, for example)
 Today we will focus on linear plot lines.
Climax
Exposition
Resolution
Hey, remember this thing? It’s a linear plot
diagram!
Exposition
 Provides the background information needed to
properly understand the story
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Protagonist
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Antagonist
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the main character (not always a good guy!!)
the person or force which opposes, or goes against, the protagonist
basic conflict
Internal
 External
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Setting
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where the story takes place
Rising Action
 The basic conflict is complicated by new, smaller
conflicts which work to stop the protagonist from
reaching his goal
Climax
 Turning point, which marks a drastic change in either
the internal or external conflict, for the better or the
worse
 Often, but not always, the most dramatic part of the story
 If things were going well for the protagonist, everything
will now go downhill
 If things were going poorly for your protagonist, things
should turn around for the better
Falling Action
 the conflict between the protagonist and the
antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or
losing against the antagonist
 the falling action might contain a moment of final
suspense, during which the final outcome of the
conflict is in doubt
Resolution
 all of the events between the falling action and the
actual ending scene of the story
 serves as the conclusion of the story
 conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the
characters and a sense of catharsis, or release of
tension and anxiety, for the reader
Climax
Exposition
Resolution
What did that look like again?
Lastly, and most importantly…
 A piece of literary writing has a THEME!!!
 A theme is an author’s message about mankind, or the world at
large.
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A theme must be general enough to work outside of a specific work.
A theme must be a complete sentence, not simply a word.
A theme should not be a greeting card cliché (Everything happens for a
reason…)
For example:
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In The Lion King, Simba realizes that he must acknowledge his past in order to be a successful
king.
 Not a theme
Identity
 Not a theme
Because the present is determined by prior decisions, a person can never truly escape their own
past.
 Theme!!
 We will discuss theme throughout the year! It is the most important thing
you will learn (or review) today!