2 MINUTE CHALLENGE
List as many symbols of
freedom in America as
you can think of (i.e. the
American Flag)
Symbolism
 What do you think symbolism is?
 How do you know something is a symbol?
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-F599mU6L4
What are symbols?
 SYMBOLS are things that stand for or suggest
something else
 This happens especially when something visible is a
sign of something invisible:

Gryffindor’s mascot and their well-known trait (lion is usually
symbol of courage)
Merriam-Webster
Why do we need to understand them?
 Reading a symbolic text means that something that
may appear to be unimportant might actually be
giving you a hint about the story!
 In Fahrenheit 451, for example, the firemen’s
helmets are described as black beetles.


In literature, beetles (which have big black horns) are usually
symbols of Satan.
What might this tell us about how we are supposed to see the
firefighters?
On your own…
 Work with the people at your table to skim chapter
10 and create a list of things or people that you think
are symbols within that chapter.
 Silent discussion.
 http://www.shmoop.com/to-kill-a-
mockingbird/mad-dog-symbol.html
 http://www.shmoop.com/to-kill-amockingbird/mockingbirds-symbol.html
Axis of Awesome
 4 chords to success…
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTYrkOZ5nCs
4 chords to body paragraph success…
 Chord 1: Topic Sentence—“baby” thesis statement
 Chord 2: Belief/Point—your claim that’s going to
prove the topic sentence correct
 Chord 3: Evidence—a quote from the book or your
research
 Chord 4: Commentary—explain how your quote fits
the belief you stated earlier.
For example…
 Back to your brochures…
Teen
issue: abortion
THESIS: “Abortion is wrong because
there are other options, it causes
psychological damage, and it can
cause bodily harm to the mother.”
Chord #1
 Topic Sentence
 Take
your first support from your thesis
and write a declarative statement over it.
 “there are other options”
 How could we write this as a topic sentence?
There are other options to abortion.
Chord #2
 Belief/Point
 Make
a claim that proves that your topic
sentence is correct
 We’re saying there are other options…what might
some of those options be?
One of these options is adoption.
Chord #3
 Evidence
A
quote from the book or from your
research that relates to your belief/point
 Quote, statistics, etc.
According to the organization Creating a
Family, 135,813 children were adopted in the
United States in 2008, a 6% increase from
2000.
Chord #4
 Commentary
 Tell
your reader how the quote you just
gave them relates to your belief/point
This shows that adoptions in the United
States are increasing, making it a more
legitimate option for mothers who might have
gotten an abortion.
All together…
There are other options to abortion. One
of these options is adoption. According to the
organization Creating a Family, 135,813
children were adopted in the United States in
2008, a 6% increase from 2000. This shows
that adoptions in the United States are
increasing, making it a more legitimate option
for mothers who might have gotten an
abortion.