“American History” by Judith
Ortiz Cofer
Ms. Manning
English 9 Periods 3 &4
Mon & Tues May 19 & 20 – 2 hours
Do Now: (10 minutes)
Journal PromptWhat world events, either tragic or
transformational, do you remember best and
why? List them and your reaction to each:
Agenda
Do Now (10 minutes) Journal
Agenda (1 minute)
Direct Instruction (25 minutes)
Vocabulary (30 minutes) Context & definitions
Reading (25 minutes) Continue interacting
Writing (30 minutes) Continue rough draft
Exit Slip (10 minutes)
Standards & Objectives
RL 3 Analyze how complex characters develop
over the course of a text and interact with other
characters.
RL 10 Read and comprehend stories.
L 4a Use context as a clue to the meaning of a
word.
OBJECTIVES: Summarize text, assess characters
and observe prejudice Elena experienced.
Setting – Time Period
1963 – The year President John F. Kennedy was
shot and killed.
Elena was reading “Gone with the
Wind”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrhNPS4nb
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Elena’s mother was heartbroken over
the death of John F. Kennedy.
Characters – How did they react?
ELENA – 9th grade, glasses, loves books, especially
Gone With the Wind, not allowed into Honors class
MR. DEPALMA –short, slick hair, disciplinarian, cried
when President Kennedy was killed
JEWISH COUPLE – garden, argue, woman widowed
ELENA’S MOTHER – Puerto Rican, religous
EUGENE – shy, blonde, tall, Honors classes
EUGENE’S MOTHER – redhead, nurse, from Georgia
Flocabulary
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MByd3H
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Vocabulary in Context
With and elbow partner, try to guess the meaning of each
boldfaced word from its context.
1. soft music and muted conversation
2. hierarchy of command
3. maneuvering the car
4. infatuated and in love
5. vigilant protection
Vocabulary in Context
With and elbow partner, try to guess the meaning of each
boldfaced word from its context.
6. enthralled by the movie
7. distraught at losing her job
8. resigned to failing
9. a dilapidated shack
10. seeking solace in prayer
Vocabulary (20 minutes)
Write definitions for the following words in your notebooks:
dilapidated
distraught
enthralled
hierarchy
infatuated
maneuvering
muted
resigned
solace
vigilant
Vocabulary in Context
Write the letter of the word that is most different in meaning from
the others.
1. (a) spellbound, (b) enthralled, (c) considerate, (d) thrilled
2. (a) cowardly, (b) watchful, (c) observant, (d) vigilant
3. (a) muted, (b) noisy, (c) deafening, (d) boisterous
4. (a) consolation, (b) solace, (c) depression, (d) sympathy
5. (a) rejecting, (b) jockeying, (c) maneuvering, (d) strategizing
Vocabulary in Context
Write the letter of the word that is most different in meaning
from the others.
6. (a) hierarchy, (b) order, (c) religion, (d) classification
7. (a) perplexed, (b) infatuated, (c) surprised, (d) confounded
8. (a) fired, (b) accepting, (c) resigned, (d) submissive
9. (a) enlivened, (b) entertained, (c) amused, (d) distraught
10. (a) dilapidated, (b) antique, (c) decaying, (d) neglected
Reading Time (25 minutes)
Log into CONNECT ED McGraw Hill and complete
reading and writing prompts.
Writing Time (30 minutes)
Spend 25 minutes writing your fiction story in
Step 3 of McGraw Hill Interactive Reader.
(you should have a completed rough draft by
Thursday and Friday)
WEDNESDAY May 28th – 1 hour
Empower 3000 Lexile Level Test
When you are finished, please read quietly or do
wordsearch.
“American History” by Judith Ortiz
Cofer
Ms. Manning
English 9 Periods 3 &4
Thursday and Friday May 29 and
30 – 2 hours
Do Now (10 minutes)
Journal Prompt – Please respond to the
following quote:
“Our problems are man-made, therefore they
may be solved by man. No matter of human
destiny is beyond human beings.” John F.
Kennedy
Agenda
Do Now (10 minutes) Journal Prompt
Agenda (1 minute)
Direct Instruction (25 minutes) Writing Fiction
Vocabulary (15 minutes) Academic Vocab
Reading (25 minutes) Continue Interactive
Writing (30 minutes) Continue rough draft
Newsela (20 minutes)
Exit Slip (10 minutes) Today I accomplished…
Standards & Objectives
RL 3 Analyze how complex characters develop over
the course of a text and interact with other
characters.
RL 10 Read and comprehend stories.
L 4a Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word.
L 5a Interpret figures of speech in context and
analyze their role in the text.
OBJECTIVES: Summarize text, assess characters and
observe prejudice Elena experienced. Finish rough
draft of fiction story.
Writing Fiction
Flocabulary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6I24S72Jp
s
Lecture
Fiction Writing:
Character
Setting
Conflict
Theme
Dialogue
Background
Historical Context When President Kennedy
died, many Americans felt that their chance to
realize the dreams and hopes he had
championed, such as racial equality, died with
him. Why might Cofer have chosen to set
Elena’s story on the day of the president’s
assassination?
Elena’s Character
Elena is far more preoccupied with her private
loss than with the loss affecting the entire
nation. Is this reasonable?
Conflict
Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces. There are two
types of conflict: internal and external
In internal conflict, a character struggles with his or her
opposing feelings, beliefs, needs or desires.
In external conflict, a character struggles against an outside
force such as another character, society or nature.
Conflict
Conflict and the search for a solution are the
mainspring of a story’s plot. The solution,
which usually occurs near the end of a story, is
called the resolution. In some stories, the
conflict is not truly resolved. Instead, the main
character experiences an epiphany, or sudden
flash of insight. Although the conflict is not
resolved, the character’s thoughts about it
change.
DIRECTIONS: “American History” contains a number of conflicts. On
the following lines, briefly describe the story situation surrounding
each conflict. Collaborate with elbow partners and write in notebooks.
1. Elena vs. Gail ______________________
2. Elena and Eugene vs. their classmates _________
3. Elena vs. her mother __________________
4. Elena within herself_________________
5. Elena vs. Eugene’s mother ______________
Great job!
How will you use this in your own story?
How about the ending?
Briefly discuss the story’s ending. Does the
ending contain a resolution that solves the
story’s main conflict, or does it contain an
epiphany, a sudden flash of insight?
Explain your answer by citing details from the
story in your notebook.
(Hint) remember the snow and the color gray….
• contrast • environment • factor •
incorporate • predominant
With a partner, compare Elena’s feelings and
thoughts on the day of Kennedy’s assassination
with those of her mother.
What are their predominant concerns?
What factors lead them to react differently to the
events of the day? Use at least one Academic
Vocabulary word in your discussion. (10 minutes)
Vocabulary Strategy: Idioms
An idiom is a phrase whose overall meaning is
different from the grammatical or logical, literal
meaning of its individual parts. For example, the
narrator of this story says, “That summer, . . . I
kept him company on my fire escape.” “Kept him
company” is an idiomatic expression.
Vocabulary Strategy: Idioms
If you run into an unfamiliar idiom, you can
often use context clues to figure out its
meaning. Otherwise, consult a dictionary. Many
dictionaries list idioms at the end of the entry
for the main word in the idiom. So kept him
company would be explained under keep, as
part of a list like this:
Vocabulary Strategy: Idioms
—idioms: for keeps To hold indefinitely:
He gave me the book for keeps.
Keep an eye on.
To watch over attentively.
Keep (someone) company.
To accompany or stay with.
PRACTICE: Identify the idiom in each
sentence and write a definition of it.
Use context clues.
1. Your advice flies in the face of good sense.
2. Her shoe fell off, so she finished her dance routine on a wing and a
prayer.
3. No one will follow those rules unless you put some teeth into them.
4. Winning this contract will really put him on the map in our
community.
Reading (20 minutes)
Connect Ed – McGraw Hill Interactive Reader
Please see classroom expectations slide.
Writing (25 minutes)
Continue writing your story…
Newsela (15 minutes)
Exit Slip (15 minutes)
Please share with your neighbors and write in
composition book:
Today I accomplished…