Week 6 Syllabus: December 2
THESE LAST TWO WEEKS OF SEMESTER ONE we will dig into The Patron Saints of Nothing. Remember to annotate, for each chapter, using this list of questions/tasks (circle vocab, write out the reader’s questions—theme is your target, but plot questions are fine if those are the questions you have—and address this list. Our focus will be reading and annotating the novel over the next two weeks. Finally, we will review the revision of the “Raymond’s Run” paragraph that you completed before Thanksgiving break. The final will cover both annotation and paragraph writing—two skills we will practice as we ramp up to the final.
TUESDAY, December 3
For independent reading today, we are going to re-read chapter three of PSON. The annotation question, “Why are funerals important?” should help you think about why Jay calls his sister for support and comfort—something she seems unable to give him. While doing that, Ms. Craig will project her annotations, so everyone can see what a teacher notices while reading.
In chapter five, “A Narrower Country than Expected,” Jay begins to discover how little his friend(s) knows about his ethnic and national heritage. What does Jay discover about both his country of origin, and his friendship?
Finally, we will re-read “Things Inside,” and Ms. Craig will point out the vocabulary she’s circled, the questions she’s written, and which passages struck her as important—and, MOST importantly—what she wrote in the margins.
HW: Catch up day. If you have not finished reading and annotating everything up to page 59, use tonight to get caught up. Use the questions online to guide your marginal notes. And you can add the audio to your reading, if that helps.
If you’re already caught up, go ahead and read/annotate the next chapter, “The Strength of My Conviction” on page 60, wherein we see Jay on the flight to the Philippines, contemplating his confrontation with Tito Maning about what happened to his cousin
WEDNESDAY, December 4
Returning to the non-fiction, 7 page handout, “Historical Background of the Philippines,” to review the last 2.5 pages on President Duterte rise to power, political and militaristic war on drugs, and his current status in the Philippines.
We will also look closely at “The Strength of My Conviction,” ending class with silent reading of that (or the next) chapter.
HW: Reading the next two chapters, “A New Silence Arrives,” and “Some Small Rebellion.” (pages 67-89) That’s 10 pages each night!
FRIDAY, December 6
Quiz on last night’s reading.
Discussion of Jay’s arrival in the Philippines, and his aunt/uncle’s house and family. What do you make of their reception of their nephew?
Writing a practice paragraph for the final. Are Jay’s reasons for traveling to the Philippines selfish? Altruistic? Something else?
Returning to the novel, and reading/annotating the next two chapters.
HW: Reading the next four chapters, “Lead the Way," "You Can Hold on to Me If You Need To," "All That It Means" and “A Visit” (pages 111-140) Again, that’s fewer than 10 pages per night.