Thursday, January 17, 2013

Stargirl/ Block Day Jan. 17


Stargirl

Do Now: In a group of three, each read the 2000 book review for Stargirl. Together, in your group, answer the following questions with the idea that you will share your insights with the whole group (15 minutes):

  1. What was the initial reaction to the novel?
  2. How does the reaction described differ or connect with your own initial experience with the novel?
  3. How does this novel, and what the articles says, differ from other books you have read, or not?
  4. Identify one or two points related in the article and share your take on it.


Find the title “Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli” on the boardhost.com site and share your answers on there. You should use one group members name to post your comments, but also identify the two members first names at the beginning of your response. 

In Class Today: Figurative Language

Writers use figurative language to make their writing more interesting and effective. By using a simile, metaphor, idiom, or personification, the writer is able to paint a picture in the mind of the reader. Chapters 3 and 4 of the novel contains several examples of figurative language.

a. Idiom-an expression that means something totally different than what it says

Page 14---The rat she brought to school was only the tip of the iceberg.

Draw a picture to illustrate the idiom. 

What does the underlined idiom mean? 

Simile-compares two things using the words like or as

Pages 13-14
We both thought the prickly pear cactus looked like ping-pong paddles with whiskers, and that saguaros looked like dinosaur mittens.

What things are being compared with these similes?

_______________________________and__________________________________


_______________________________and__________________________________

Page15

In our minds we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew.

What is being compared with this simile?

______________________________and___________________________________


Why are these similes effective?

Metaphor- Compares two things by calling one thing another

Page 15

She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl.

Underline the metaphors.

What is being compared with these metaphors?

Personification- Nonhumans are given human traits or attributes

Page 18- The sun lay down behind the mountains.

What is being personified in this sentence? ________________________________

Oxymoron- putting two contradictory words together.

Examples: hot ice, wise fool

Read the following passage.

What could I say? That Parr was a worthy subject precisely because he did nothing, because he was so monumentally good at doing nothing? I had only vague insight, not the words. i just shrugged.

Underline the words in the passage that form an oxymoron.

Write a sentence about one of the characters from the novel using an oxymoron.

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Complete the following chart to examine other examples of figurative language in these chapters.

  
Page #                   Passage                    Type of figurative language        What it means      
  
15                   In our minds we tried to
                       pin her to a corkboard like
                       a butterfly, but the pin merely
                       went through and away she 
                       flew.
                                                     
16                                                                                                              He watches her
                                                                                                                  but does not 
                                                                                                                  interact with her.
17                                                                 Personification
18                                                                 Personification




19         ...I did not realize this until
             years later; he was grand 
             marshal of our daily parade.




  1. Allusion- a literary device that provides a brief reference to a person, event, place, or phrase. The writer assumes the reader will recognize the reference. Allusions in writing help the reader to visualize what’s happening by providing a mental picture. They are commonly made to the Bible, nursery rhymes, myths, famous fictional or historical characters or events, and Shakespeare. they can be used in both prose and poetry.

Here are some examples:

  1. The insurance adjuster was a reliable as George Washington.
The allusion in sentence A is to George Washington. The reader is expected to recognize the reference to George Washington and his honesty.

  1. She was a Scrooge and never spent money on gifts for her friends or family.
This allusion is to Scrooge, a character in A Christmas Carol  by Charles Dickens. He was a stingy man who did not like to spend any money.

Read the following passage:

...While Sun Valley’s team was not as good as ours, they did have one thing we did not: a superstar. A kid named Ron Kovac. He stood six-foot-eight and averaged thirty points per game. our players looked like Davids flailing against Goliath.

What is the allusion to in this passage?______________________________________

The allusion is made to __________________________.

  1. the Bible
  2. a nursery rhyme
  3. Shakespeare
  4. a myth


This allusion also contains _____________________.

  1. a simile              b. a metaphor
  1. personification   d. an idiom

The allusions in the example sentences (both A and B) contain figurative language.

What type of figurative language is used in sentence A? _____________________

What type of figurative language is used in sentence B? _____________________

Write a sentence of your own that contains an allusion.   _____________________ 
  

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