Catholic Schoolhouse - Year 2 Rhetoric At Home
Integrated Grammar, Writing, and Literature Study
By Julie Keller
Quarter 3
Week 13
Literature
Literary Devices and Figurative Language Flashcards: As you begin reading Fabiola,
you will notice how Wiseman sets up various characters as foils to each other. A foil is a
character that sharply contrasts another in order for each of the character’s traits to be
better illustrated.
For your Notebook: Define foil. Include examples of characters who are foils in Fabiola.
Additional Literature:
For the first three weeks of this quarter, we will carefully examine the play Everyman. This
is a Medieval drama that is widely available through the Internet. Make certain that you do
a search for a modern translation of the play. It is short, and you will more than likely read
it in one sitting. However, as we examine fiction and the study of the short story, it lends
itself well to illustrating several key elements.
For your Notebook: What is the plot of Everyman? Is Everyman’s journey a heroic one?
How so? Create a plot diagram in your notebook for the play. What is the turning point?
Word Study:
Define derivation. Choose an interesting word and then discuss its derivation in your
notebook.
Composition – The Short Story
For this quarter, you will be writing your own short story. The secret to being a good
writer is being a good reader. Great writers read all the time. Not only that, they are
selective about what they read. Time is short, and you should spend your time with quality
short stories and novels. Each week, we will take a look at a famous short story. In your
notebook, you will be responding to the works as writers, noting what made the story work
and how you can recreate that skill in your own writing. For the works in the public
domain, I have included a link. The ones without a link can all be found online for free but
cannot be linked.
For this week, you may choose to read either “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut or
“Bartleby the Scrivner” by Herman Melville.
As you read consider the following:
What is the conflict of the story?
What is the turning point?
Is the story plot driven? In other words, is the plot the most important element or is the
plot merely supporting the development of the characters or theme?
In your notebook: Create a plot outline for the story (also sometimes referred to as a
mountain map). Also, record the types of conflict that you have found and what characters
or elements represent that conflict (man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. himself, man vs.
society).
Your Turn: Good writers map their stories out before they write. Begin brainstorming your
story. What will be your central conflict? Create a rough plot diagram for the story you
intend to tell. Don’t worry if your final product looks different from this first try. Just start
thinking about what characters you might include and what the main issue will be.
Grammar
Grammar: In class review the definition of a sentence. If time permits, write a short
phrase on the board. Have students take turns making it into a longer and longer sentence.
The only rule is that it must maintain the structure of a good sentence and keep correct
punctuation.
For your Notebook: Properly diagram 5 basic sentences.
Week 14
Literature
Literary Devices and Figurative Language Flashcards: Novelists and some short story
authors use the literary device of authorial intrusion or direct address. This is also
sometimes referred to as breaking the fourth wall, especially in film. Wiseman does this
several times in Fabiola. In fact, it was used often in 18th century literature and carried
over into some early 19th century fiction.
For your Notebook: Include the definition of authorial intrusion. What is your opinion of
this device? Do you enjoy it or does it interrupt the flow of the story? Besides Fabiola,
what other literature have read that uses this device? Have you seen movies or TV
shows that break the fourth wall? Include these as examples.
Additional Literature:
We will continue our discussion of Everyman. This week we will examine the characters.
The names of the characters in this play are the elements of the characters themselves. In
this sense, the Morality play becomes a great deal like a Greek tragedy in the sense that the
characters are representative of just one element of society or people.
For your Notebook: Examine the names of characters in some of your favorite novels. What
is the importance of their names? Is the sound significant? Does the name itself give the
reader any indication of an element of their character?
Word Study:
Define palindrome. Try to list 9 words that are palindromes. What would be the
significance of giving a character a name that is a palindrome?
Composition – The Short Story
Character
Character is essential to any story. Character can be developed in a story in three ways:
what the author says about the character, what the other characters say about the
character, and what the character says about him or herself. Character development
works best when it is shown and not told directly to the reader. For example, if a
character is mad it works better to give examples of the results of that anger rather than
to merely say, “John was mad.” Read the following: “John got up five minutes after the
alarm went off. He had already hit the snooze button three times that morning. He
picked an outfit from the clothes strewn on the floor, gave himself a quick look in the
mirror and rushed out the door.” In that passage the reader can figure out a few things.
First, John is messy. His clothes are all over the floor. He is going to be late that day and
that might be important to our story. He also, at least for this moment in which we
meet him, has poor hygiene: he didn’t brush his hair or his teeth.
For this week, read E. A. Poe’s “The Cask of the Amontillado” or “The Secret Life of
Walter Mitty.” Both are available for viewing for free on various websites. With both of
these stories it is very important to note the striking difference between what the main
characters say about themselves and what the other characters and the author say
about them.
In your Notebook: Make three columns. At the top of the first put what the author says.
Label the second, what the character says about himself. Label the third what other
characters say. Complete this chart based on the story you choose.
On your Own: Continue composing your short story. Take time out to write some
background information for your characters. This writing may or may not make its way
into the final draft but it is important that you know all you can about your characters.
Where do they live? What’s their favorite food? Where do they work? What is their
family like? Include as much as you can in your character sketch. Make it interesting
and creative.
Grammar
Grammar: In class, review the four basic types of sentences. Write a declarative sentence
on the board and have students take turns changing it into imperative, interrogative, and
exclamatory. Play as long as time permits, starting with a different type each time.
For your Notebook: Write and label one sentence of each type. Try to correctly diagram
your sentences.
Week 15
Literature
Literary Devices and Figurative Language Flashcards: Didactic means (according to
the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary) is a : designed or intended to teach b : intended to
convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment. Didactism is
the philosophy derived from this intention to teach. Fabiola is a didactic novel in the sense
that main purpose for Wiseman was to teach a lesson to his readers and not necessarily
write something that was historically accurate. His accuracy was focused on spiritual
accuracy.
For your Notebook: Write the definitions of didactic and didacticism.
Additional Literature:
How are the Medieval morality plays didactic? Is the author’s main intention for Everyman
one of teaching the audience something? Why would teaching vehicles such as this be
important in this time period?
Word Study: Writers have the unique opportunity to coin words. Shakespeare is probably
best known for creating many new words in the English language. Find ten words (or
phrases) that Shakespeare coined and record them in your notebook.
Composition – Short Story
Setting
Where the story takes place can often be almost as important as the characters and the
plot. Julius Caesar for instance, requires the trappings of Ancient Rome for it to be
effective. Larkrise to Candleford and Cranford both get a great deal of their charm from
being set at the beginning of Industrialization in England.
In Fabiola, Wiseman goes to great lengths to explain the settings of the novel, often more
than he gives descriptions of his characters. The setting of Rome and the catacombs are
nearly characters themselves.
In your Notebook: Write a few sentences explaining why the setting of the story is
important.
Your turn: What is the setting of your story? Describe it in detail. You should know it as
well as your own house and town. Write a descriptive paragraph or two about your
setting.
Grammar
Grammar: Review subjects and predicates in complex sentences. Consider the placement
of subordinate clauses.
For your Notebook: Write and diagram 7 sentences that contain introductory clauses and
other subordinate clauses.
Week 16
Literature
Literary Devices and Figurative Language Flashcards: Writers do not write alone in
attics undisturbed by the events going on around him or her. In fact, the genesis of Fabiola
comes not from the events of the early Church, but from the persecution from which
Cardinal Wiseman was shielding the 19th century British Catholic Church. As other authors
have done, he couched his criticism of contemporary society in a historical novel. He could
vent his outrage there and give counsel to his flock without fear of retribution by his
contemporaries. Much like satire, it frees the author to be expressive on subjects that
might get him or her in trouble if they were to speak openly about them.
For your Notebook: Research Catholic oppression in England. Make note of parallels that
can be found in Fabiola. What kinds of persecutions were 19th century Catholics facing?
Additional Literature:
Find a brief, but accurate account of the life of Saint Sebastian. Read it carefully and note
the differences in his historical account and the descriptions in Fabiola.
For your Notebook: Write 1 or 2 paragraphs about the differences in the real Sebastian and the
fictional one. Why do you think Wiseman made these changes? How do these changes help the
plot move forward? How do they develop the theme?
Word Study: For weeks 16-18, choose a word that you like. Using sources like the Oxford
English dictionary, Bartlett’s Guide to Familiar Quotations, and an annotated Bible, trace
the development of that word and write a 3-5 page research paper about the word’s origin.
When did the word first appear? How has its spelling changed? Has the meaning changed
over the centuries? How do poets use the word? Did Shakespeare use or change the
meaning? The Bible? How do we use it today? Turn your paper in and share your findings
with your family at the end of the quarter.
Composition – Short Story
Tone, Symbolism, and Theme
You should almost have a completed short story at this point. As you begin to revise
and complete it, you can now go back and look for ways that you can improve the tone
of the story and add or enrich the symbolism that is already embedded in your tale.
Tone is the overall feeling or mood of the story (hopeful, scary, dark, suspense). For
instance, “Billy Budd” has a tone of hope and the theme is redemption.
For this week, you will read “Rappaccini’s Daughter” by Nathanial Hawthorne.
Hawthorne is a master at making everything in the story point towards his theme
and his overall symbolism. (The names in The Scarlet Letter are brilliant: Hester
Prynne, Roger Chillingsworth, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Pearl. Even if you know
nothing of the story, much can be assumed just by looking at the names.)
The symbolism and tone in “Rappaccini’s Daughter” are simple to find, and they
illustrate the power that tone, symbolism and setting can have on a theme. As you read,
keep these questions in mind:
What is significant about the garden? Why do we only really see Rappaccini’s daughter
there?
How does color work in this story?
How does Hawthorne make use of imagery?
In your Notebook: Record your observations to the questions above. Also answer the
following: Are the characters fully developed? Why or why not? Does this make the
story more of an allegorical tale than a true short story?
On Your Own: Complete your short story. Begin to revise it to develop your characters
and improve your tone, symbolism, and theme.
Grammar
Grammar: By now you have a good understanding of synonyms. Review the definition
and then go back and look at your short story. Are there any words that would be better if
replaced by their synonyms? Write them down and then get your thesaurus. Make a list of
synonyms for those words. Then consider the connotations of the words and make the
revisions to your story accordingly.
Week 17
Literature
Literary Devices and Figurative Language Flashcards: As we begin to conclude our
study of Fabiola, we can begin to look back over what we have read and look carefully for
the use of symbolism in the story. You should already have definition of symbolism in your
notebook. Review that definition before beginning.
For your Notebook: What are some main symbols in this novel? How does this symbol
contribute to the overall theme?
Additional Literature:
Find a brief, but accurate account of the life of Saint Agnes. As with Saint Sebastian, read it
carefully and note the differences in his historical account and the descriptions in Fabiola.
For your Notebook: Write 1 or 2 paragraphs about the differences in the real Agnes and the
fictional one. Why do you think Wiseman made these changes? Is her story closer to fact than
Sebastian? Why do you think he chose to make these characters friends in the novel?
Word Study:
Continue working on your word derivation research project.
Composition – Short Story
Complete your first draft of your short story. Read it and begin shaping it according to
theme and symbolism. Further develop your characters. Next, and most importantly,
share this draft with at least three people whose opinions you trust and who will give
you constructive criticism. Pay careful attention to the questions they have. What
worked for them? What parts did they feel were awkward? Remember, everyone
won’t like your story. I love to read Jane Austen, but some people absolutely avoid her
novels. Does that make her a bad writer? Of course not. It means her style is not to
their taste. I don’t like scary books, but some are written very well. I just won’t read
them. Use the feedback you get and make large revisions. This second draft should not
be just changing punctuation. This draft should be where you take out complete
paragraphs and change them, add dialogue, add character description, and add scenes
that weren’t there before. Be bold!
Grammar
Grammar: Review the different types of phrases (i.e. prepositional phrase, appositive,
gerund etc.) Write a sentence for each type of phrase and then diagram it in your notebook.
Week 18
Literature
Literary Devices and Figurative Language Flashcards: Allusion, as you have noted
before, is when an author refers to another person, place, event, or literary work by way of
a passing reference. It is up to the reader to make the connection and create the
understanding between the two. For example, if one were to say that Sally is another
Mother Theresa in the making the reader would infer that she takes care of others, loves
God above all else, and works for the greater good.
For your Notebook: Review your definition of allusion. Find the Biblical allusions in Fabiloa
and record them.
Additional Literature:
To prepare for The Canterbury Tales, read one of the following:
Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy
Any of the Arthurian legends if you are not familiar with them
Word Study:
Complete and turn in your word derivation research project.
Composition – Short Story
Complete your short story. Revise for grammar and punctuation. Share your story with
your family, friends, and class.
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Grammar
Grammar: Review the definition of homonyms. Locate a list of the most commonly
misused homonyms. Write sentences on the board that utilize the incorrect homonym and
have the students correct the sentence.
For your Notebook: Consider your own writing. Make a list of your own personal most
commonly misused homonyms. Create examples of how to use them correctly.