[0:08]Yesterday, I gave you guys some guided annotations, things that you were going to be looking for as you were reading through the text. What were some of the things I asked you to do as you were reading? What were some of the techniques or specifics? Let's see, Tress, give me one. Uh, we had to find five words that we thought were most important. We had to find five words that we thought were most important. Let's see, um, okay. Josh. Three important sentences. Three important sentences. So five important words, three important sentences. Okay. Shifts in the text. Shifts in the text. What kind of shifts are we looking for? Can you give me one? Tone shifts. Tone shifts. Actually, could you give me another one? Oh, we also had to find three dominant strategies. We also had to find three dominant strategies. Now that's going to be kind of the final step, right? The final step, analyzing the types of things that he is using, Barry is using in order to argue his purpose or his themes. Okay, so before we start talking about what you guys put in the box, your most important words of the text, I want to review just a little bit. Now, we know that context is important. We know context is key in nonfiction text. Yes? Okay, somebody tell me what context is. Somebody raise your hand and tell me what context is. We talked about it in reference to the soapstone, we called it occasion, but what is context? Okay? The setting around which an event happens. The setting around which the event happens. Absolutely. So what is our situation? What's going on? And think about why that's important with nonfiction. Why is it so important with nonfiction to understand context, what our situation actually is. Can you kind of expand on that for me a little bit, Andrew? That way we can understand like the time period in which it happened, like social, uh, status quo of that time. Very good. We have to understand why the writer is writing it, right? What is the situation surrounding it? So let's, let's talk about that before we move to the text itself. What does the prompt, because we're looking at AP essay prompt, right? And I told you that that introductory material is really, really important. We looked at that yesterday. So what is our situation? Somebody raise your hand and tell me. What is the situation of the text? Okay. It's when the Great Influenza, it's when that happened in 1918, the flu epidemic. Okay. So if we think about that, how could that give us insight to audience? Now, it doesn't tell us anything about audience, does it? No. So what could we infer about audience? Okay, Erin. There would be people in that time who don't want to get the flu. Yeah, they definitely don't want to get it. Okay, good. What else could we kind of infer? Okay? Like they want a cure like immediately. They want to Yeah, they're getting probably getting pretty impatient, right? They want it immediately. So that could possibly be a characteristic of our audience. Could we add anything to that? Okay? Like what's being done or uh, how far are they going into to uh find the cure? Very good. What's being done at that point? What is the process? Jana, is that kind of what you were going to say or can you add? Well, like people who are fearful for themselves or their families that they would get it. Very good. All very good answers. Okay, so if we think about that, and again, it doesn't state it directly. What can we potentially infer would be the overall purpose? What does Barry's overall purpose? What is he trying to achieve with his text? And again, we don't, we haven't talked about this yet, so there's no right or wrong answer. We're just again, making educated guesses. Okay? Kind of like reassure people that uh, they are working as hard as they can, and you can expect that this will help them eventually. Okay, okay. So potentially setting up an expectation. Yes, we are working and we're trying to get there. But maybe not immediately, right? If we're going to what Kevin said, okay, very, very good. All right, so let's look at what you guys deem to be the most important words. Now, I told you to look for strong nouns to drive, to drive our analysis, right? Why would it be nouns? Because these most important words will most likely be our what? Well, part of it, right? Which is what? What do we determine first before we even move to theme? What are the? Subject. Subjects, very good. What are the subjects? And that becomes our first simple step. When we're, when we're faced with a difficult text, if we get lost in it, we can find those most important words, right? Okay, so, now the scary part, which you guys put in the box. All right, let's see. I'm going to get a volunteer, or actually, I'm going to pick someone. Let's see. Matt, will you come write these words on the board for me? All right. Let's see what we uncovered. All right, unknown, the unknown. Will you write that on the board for me?
[5:03]That's a verb. Strength, very good. Strength. Okay.
[5:15]Courage, so we have some that are somewhat overlapping and that's okay. Ooh, I like this one. Creativity. Very good. And some of these are overlapping and that's okay. Obstacles. Obstacles.
[5:40]Ooh, I like this one. Pioneer. Pioneer. I told you that you could not use which words by the way? Certainty and uncertainty. Certainty and uncertainty. Because those become our surface level subjects. We kind of get that right from the get go. But we're not necessarily looking for just those. We want to go a step above that, right? Not just surface level theme, but our underlying themes too. So let's put pioneer up there and let's also put certainty and uncertainty and we'll talk about this too together, since I told you you couldn't use them. What else did I tell you you couldn't use? Scientists. Science and scientists, or science and scientists. And, and we're going to see those words kind of creep into our themes and that's okay, right? Certainty, uncertainty, science and scientists because those again are the main, main, main subjects, but we want to go a step further. All right, let's get a couple more out of here. Ooh, I like this one. Confidence. Very good, confidence. All right, so we have a good start. We have a good start. These are all potentially, thanks, Matt. These are all potentially subjects, main subjects of the piece. So that is step one. Now, what we want to do is take it a step further and that's what you guys are going to be doing in your groups. So quickly, I want you to move to your groups and in those groups, here's what I want you to do. Wait. Here's what I want you to do. Look at these words. We have nine pretty strong nouns up here. And I want you in your group to choose three. Three that you think as a group are most important. Now, I'm only going to give you a couple minutes to do that. So move to your group, decide and then we're going to move forward.
[7:35]Let's go ahead and document those in that first column.
[7:58]All right, guys. So at this point, we should have decided. Are we all there? Yes. Okay, so that becomes step one, right? We have identified our main subjects. Okay, so let's take it to the next step. We want to extend beyond the subjects. And so we want to answer the question, what do we learn about those subjects? What does Barry, our author, right? What does he want us to learn about the subjects? And the answers to that question become our what? Theme. Themes, right? Let's say together. Our what? Themes. Yeah, our themes. Notice we have three. So can there be three themes that exist in one piece of text? Yes. Absolutely, absolutely. In fact, we've already been talking about the surface level versus the underlying. So we know that multiple themes can exist. Okay, quickly though, before I let you guys loose on answering this question, give me some elements of a theme. What did we talk about had to be present in order for it to truly be a theme? Somebody raise your hand and tell me one thing. Okay? A universal idea about life. It has to be a universal idea about life. Very, very good. Okay, can someone raise your hand and tell me another one? It has to be supported by textual evidence. Okay, that one is really important. We can say all day that a theme exists in a work, but unless you can prove it, it's not there, right? So you have to give me some specifics. Very good. Somebody else. Okay? It has to be the essential unifying idea of a work. Has to be the central unifying idea. Guys, remember, that is one of the main things we're going to talk about today. Yes, all these things, themes exist, but they are actually, they interact together. They unify the entire work to achieve the author's overall what? Purpose. Very good, to achieve the author's overall purpose. That's what we're going to be talking about. Okay, give me one more thing. Okay? It has to be a complete sentence. Yes. It has to be a complete sentence. A lot of times you guys will say, I'll say what's the theme and you'll go love. Well, that's not the theme. What do we learn about love? Has to be, it has to extend beyond those subjects. All right. You guys got them all. Very good. Okay, so those are our four themes. As you're working in your groups and coming up with these themes, answering that question, what does Barry want the reader to learn about the subjects, keep those four things in mind. I want you to now evaluate your three words and choose two and write a theme using that word. So we're going to have two themes. Whether it be confidence or the unknown. Tell me what we learn about those subjects in the piece. Okay. So, I'm going to give you just about five to 10 minutes to do this and then we're going to check in and see where we are. In fact, I'm going to come around and I'm going to pick one of your themes for you to share with the class. Okay? All right, so five to 10 minutes, let's work. So what do we learn from them being a pioneer? Obviously, the extended metaphor. Pioneers. Don't they like cello to the unknown? And really go back to that first paragraph, right? What does it tell us about certainty and uncertainty? They don't know. What is he telling us? Exploring the unknown can help what? Research and our research, it's all for. Yeah, like advancements, medical, technological, it doesn't have to just be science, but just advancements in general. Good. That's what drives progression, right? Very good.
[11:36]Okay, guys, so at this point, I've come around. We all have at least one good theme that we're going to share at this point. And here's what one thing I want you guys to really consider is some of us chose the same subjects. Yes, we're going to hear some of the words being used over and over again. But what's interesting is that we all put different twists on the subjects. Why? Different people. Different people. Okay, but what am I trying to get you guys to see? Can there be different answers to that question? Yes. Well, because there are multiple what within the text? Themes. Absolutely. So let's hear how different our themes are in reference to the same subjects, potentially the same subjects. All right, so we're going to start over here and work our way around the room. Okay? All right, give me your one theme. Courage and strength are necessary to overcome obstacles dealing with failure and doubt. Very nice. Courage and strength are necessary. Very good. Very good. And guys, notice how this extends beyond the text. This is extending beyond the text, beyond what Barry, beyond our little excerpt that we pulled from uh his entire text. Very good. Okay? Courage pushes you to delve into the unknown. Courage encourages you. Very good, to delve into the unknown. Very nice. Okay. Exploring the unknown can help research advance forward. Very good. Okay, so that is and is she talking just about scientific research? No. She's talking about research in general, right? The unknown is what propels us to question. Which if we don't question, we can't find our answers, right? Very nice. Very nice. All right. Uncertainty is good if you face it with courage. Uncertainty can be a good. Guys, that statement in itself is a little what? Uncertainty can be a good thing.
[13:27]Okay. What else did I say is always present? Good. All right. Uncertainty drives people to overcome the unknown to discover new things. Very good. Do you guys see how these themes are starting to interact with each other, how they're kind of crossing over? Which is really what we're going to be talking, this is really the purpose of today's lesson, to see how these themes can interact. Very good. Okay? Even when you have uncertainties, you must be confident that you'll overcome them. Very good. And that becomes one of the major points, right? They had to be confident in the unknown. They had to be confident enough to question and to go into the unknown. Very, very nice. All right. Now here comes the trickier part. Now you have to prove it. You say it's there. Now you have to prove it. How are you going to prove it? Details. Details, examples, etc. Now, I'm going to put a little challenge on that next step. What am I going to ask you to identify when you're pulling those quotes to prove the theme? Your favorite thing. Strategies. Yeah, what strategy is the writer using, right? Is it an extended metaphor? Is it rhetorical, is it a rhetorical question? What strategies are writer using in order to argue the theme? All right. So that is the last step. You got to prove it. I want you guys to choose one right now. One right now to prove. Choose one theme of the two, and I would say the one I starred would be the better of the two. All right. I like pioneer, because like it gives like a kind of like the definition. And like, kind of says, 'colleagues will pave the road of the way path and those roads will be orderly and straight'. So it's saying like they're just going to keep adding and adding and eventually they'll they'll have enough. Okay, let's listen to how it sounds. It is not the courage to venture into the unknown. It is the courage to accept, indeed, embrace. What do you hear about those two sentences to really hammer home the point he's making about courage? It is not the courage. It is the courage. Perfect, perfect.
[15:47]So he's using parallelism to argue that point. Very nice. Are we doing for each one of these themes, or just one? I think she said the one she put a star by. Okay. So just find two examples. All right, guys, let's go ahead and share what we've come up with in reference to proving the theme exists. And again, we're going to hear some of the examples overlap. That's okay, because some examples can prove more than one theme, right? All these themes examples interact to prove an overall purpose. Okay, so let's start over here. If you'll just kind of reiterate your theme, one more time and then give us an example of where we see it being used. Our theme was courage and strength are necessary to overcome obstacles dealing with failure and doubt. And then we found it in the text when it says it is not the courage to venture into the unknown. It is the courage to accept and need embrace uncertainty, and that had parallelism. Parallelism. So, Barry, our statement would be, Barry uses parallelism in order to argue the theme that, right? And then we could actually pull in that example and prove both things, which is the purpose of this class. We have to do both, right? Strategies and theme. Very nice, very good. Okay? We had courage, and courage pushes you to delve into the unknown. But we picked the same quote. You picked the same quote. Is that okay? Yes. That's okay, because again, one example proving two themes. Very nice. Okay. Our theme was exploring the unknown can help advance forward in research. And our example is, 'the less known, the more one has to manipulate and even force experiments to yield an answer'. Very good. And it's just kind of ironic because less is more. Very good. Very good. So the less they know, the more they have to do. And that's what drives progression. Very nice. Very, very nice. Okay? Uncertainty is a good, if, if you face it with courage. Okay, uncertainty is good if you face it with courage. And we said that that statement in itself was a little ironic. Okay. Now read your example. Um, 'it is not the courage to venture into the unknown. It is the courage to accept, indeed, embrace uncertainty'. Very good. What do we hear by the way? Parallelism, multiple, repetition of examples to prove multiple themes. Very nice. All right. Let's go back here. Uncertainty drives people to overcome the unknown to discover new things. Okay. And then give us your, uh, example. Um, there, a single step can take them through the looking glass into a world that seems entirely different. Very good. Listen to that one one more time. Read it for me one more time, Kevin. Uh, there, a single step can take them through the looking glass into a world that seems entirely different. Very good. What strategy is being used there? Metaphor.
[18:37]Metaphor. We have this beautiful metaphor being used talking about looking through a looking glass, right? To venture into the unknown, trying to see through these things. Very, very good. All right. The theme was the scientist must have confidence even in the face of uncertainty and be confident that they will overcome it. Very good. Um, the example, to move forcefully and aggressively even while uncertain requires a confidence and strength deeper than physical courage. Okay. And what what strategy do we kind of see him using here? Well, it might not be a term. What did you guys notice? Well, it was referencing back to the main, like theme or purpose. Very good. It's referencing back to that main theme. We had a repetition of a lot of these important words, right? Strength, courage, etc. All right, very, very nice. Now what I want you guys to do at this point because we just have a few minutes left. We've done this in groups, right? We've done this, the steps. The easy step, finding the subject. We've done two themes, and now we found proof for one of them. All those blanks that you see on that graphic organizer. I want you to do that on your own. Okay? I want you to do that on your own. So fill out the rest of it. Fill out the the third theme, find proof for the other ones. Are you going to see some of the quotes overlap for the themes that you're going to identify? Absolutely, because that's the point. These things interact together to achieve the overall purpose. What we're going to talk about next class meeting is what is his overall purpose and how do these themes work together to achieve it. Right? Any questions? All right, go ahead and move back.
