Blogger #2 - Marooha Atif - 2/10/21 - Period 2 - Day A
Aim: How can an exploration of writers’ choices, and the literary devices used, introduce us to the concept of “voice” as it’s used in writing?
Before our lesson began, we were given a quick recap on how to prepare a class blog and questions were taken. As soon as that was taken care of, we then were told to open our assignment and start working on the Do Now, a quickwrite, which we were told would be referred back to later in the lesson. Ms Petersen gave us seven or eight minutes to write a paragraph in response to the following question:
Do Now: QUICKWRITE
Describe all that comes to mind when you think of pizza? Write a paragraph describing pizza and showing your attitude toward it. You will come back to this later!
When we had finished, or enough time had passed to assume that most had finished, Ms Petersen asked for volunteers to read aloud four passages of literary terms.
Diction: A speaker’s (or author’s) word choice. This term may also refer to the general type or character of language used in speech or in a work of literature. Diction is typically divided into two components: vocabulary and syntax. By vocabulary, we mean the degree of difficulty, complexity, abstractness, formality as well as the origin of words chosen (native or foreign, Latinate or Germanic, and so forth).
Syntax: Refers to the arrangement – the ordering, grouping and placement of words within a sentence. The meaning of this term can also extend to encompass such things as the degree of complexity or fragmentation within these arrangements. Syntax is a component of grammar but not a synonym for grammar. For example, the sentences, “I rode across the meadow” and “Across the meadow I rode” exhibit different syntax but identical vocabulary. To replace “meadow” with “sea of grass” is to alter the vocabulary but not the syntax. To say “Rode I across the sea of grass” is to use diction different from “I rode across the meadow”. The combination of unusual syntax and vocabulary in the first sentence as opposed to the second is a feature that often differentiates poetic diction from that of prose.
Imagery: A term used to refer to: 1) the actual language that a writer uses to convey a visual picture or representation of a sensory experience; and 2) the use of figures of speech, often to express abstract ideas in a vivid and innovative way. Imagery of this second type makes use of such devices as simile, personification, and metonymy, among others. Imagery is a central component of almost all imaginative literature and is often said to be the chief element in poetry. Two major types of imagery exist – the literal and the figurative. Literal imagery is purely descriptive while figurative may call to mind real things that can be perceived by the senses, but it does so as a way of describing something else- often some abstract idea that cannot be literally or directly described. Whether literal or figurative, however, imagery is generally intended to make whatever the author is describing concrete in the reader’s mind, to give it some tangible or real existence rather than a purely intellectual one. Imagery also provides the reader with a sense of vividness and immediacy.
Tone: The attitude of the author toward the reader or the subject matter of a literary work. An author’s tone may be serious, playful, mocking, angry, commanding, apologetic and so forth.
One by one, students were selected to read through each of the four, and we moved on to the Class Discussion.
For the Class Discussion, we were shown an unnamed speaker’s answer to the Do Now:
"Eating pizza is rather like embarking on a transcontinental excursion. You embark on the journey without being quite certain of what you will encounter. A well-made pizza contains the aromatic essence of fresh basil, oregano, and garlic that beckons invitingly. Once you bite into a perfectly sliced piece of pizza, your taste buds awaken and celebrate. When properly prepared, pizza is an extraordinary culinary creation."
Ms Petersen then asked which inferences we could “draw about speaker 1 based upon the speaker’s voice?” Having been previously informed that our input would be an opportunity to earn team points, students virtually raised their hands in order to contribute. The students gave answers that drew conclusions about the speaker’s age and intellect, as well as their skill level and vocabulary, and how it tied into the terms we had read aloud earlier. In the end, we wound up agreeing that the speaker’s description invoked rich imagery for the reader. This was an example of how we would draw conclusions from inferences we made. Someone said that the language was very formal and this person was obviously older and they had an advanced vocabulary. We then made the transition into group work.
We went into breakout rooms and were left to our own devices for around fifteen to twenty minutes. Our assignment was to read three speakers’ descriptions of pizza, and then give a quick analysis in a chart on the different aspects of the description, including diction, tone, syntax, and imagery. Once we had finished with that, we returned to the main room to share out. We looked over the descriptions a second time and people volunteered to give answers. For example, we had to make inferences on the speakers’ age, status, and preferences.
Speaker 2:
It’s yummy. I like it when the cheese is really gooey. My mom makes it for dinner on the weekends. When it’s too hot, I have to wait for it to cool. Mom says if I don’t wait I will burn my tongue. I like the way pizza smells. When I smell pizza cooking it always makes me want to eat it right up!
Speaker 3:
As long as not one speck of gross disgusting animal flesh comes anywhere near my pizza, I can eat it. I prefer pizza with mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach. Goat cheese is especially nice too. A thin whole-wheat crust topped with imported cheese and organic vegetables makes a satisfying meal.
Speaker 4:
Pizza is, like, one of the basic food groups, right? I mean, dude, who doesn’t eat pizza? Me and my friends order it like every day. We usually get pepperoni, and it’s great when they are, like, covering the whole top! Dude, hot steamy pizza dripping with cheese and loaded with pepperoni is awesome.
The class as a whole seemed to agree that the second speaker was a child of maybe eight or nine because of their informal language and lack of descriptive vocabulary (and the fact that they kept referring to their mother.), the third speaker was definitely older and more sophisticated because they gave a very detailed response based off of their personal preferences (which also led us to believe that they were picky), and that the fourth speaker was also younger, but maybe not quite so young as the second, and overall just enjoyed pizza immensely.
Ms Petersen then asked for some students to share their own responses from the quickwrite we had completed for our Do Now. We listened to a few of those and gathered a handful of different viewpoints. Most of those that we listened to were part of the majority that agreed that pizza was an amazing meal, whether you ordered in or ate out, and although our circumstances may have changed our enjoyment for our favorite meals has not.
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