What Does Success Look Like?
Scholars explain how Aristotle classifies different types of friendship and examine why “the friendship of the good” is superior to other types. Scholars analyze Brontë’s argument about love and friendship and explain how she uses similes to prove her point.
Seminar 1: “Aristotle’s Timeless Advice on What Real Friendship Is and Why It Matters” (Nonfiction) and “Love and Friendship” by Emily Brontë (Poem)
Do Now — 10 minutes
- Play classical or jazz music to establish a calm work environment.
- Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from yesterday’s seminar based on the feedback you gave them.
Launch — 2 minutes
- Tell scholars that today they will be reading two texts: a nonfiction article, “Aristotle’s Timeless Advice,” and a poem titled “Love and Friendship.” Build excitement by telling scholars that both texts will develop their background knowledge about concepts important in Holes.
Read and Discuss 1 — 35 minutes
Display “Aristotle’s Timeless Advice.”
Preview the Text (2 minutes):
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- Have scholars read the title and scan the passage to frame their thinking.
- Call on scholars to share what they noticed about the text and what they will think about as they are reading.
Read (3 minutes):
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- Say: As you are reading, think, What is this text mostly about?
- Read the text aloud while scholars follow along on their digital copies.
Discuss (3 minutes):
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- Scholars discuss the following question in pairs: What is this text mostly about? Call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars back up their claims with evidence from the text.
Read (15 minutes):
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- Say: As you are rereading, think, Why did the author write this text?
- Read the article aloud as scholars follow along on their digital copies. While reading aloud, pause to ask the questions below:
- Stop after paragraph 7: “… and to act.”
- Partner Talk: Who was Aristotle?
- Stop after paragraph 24, “… life has to offer.”
- Partner Talk: How do the three types of friendship differ?
- Stop after paragraph 33, “… the wrong kinds of friendship.”
- Partner Talk: Why did Aristotle value friendship so highly?
- Discuss: Why did the author write this text?
Main Idea Jot (2 minutes):
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- Scholars jot a main idea in a comment next to the title of the text.
- While scholars are working, circulate to determine which scholars have a bull’s-eye main idea jot and which do not.
Discuss (8 minutes):
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- Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class: Why is “friendship of the good” the most preferable of the three types of friendship? How does the author use subheadings to organize the information in the article?
Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main idea jots based on the discussion.
Write — 10 minutes
Write an essay of no more than 200 words:
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- What is the main idea of the section “The Friendship of the Good”? Justify Your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from “Aristotle’s Timeless Advice.”
Wrap-up — 5 minutes
- Show an exemplar essay to scholars. Have scholars discuss what makes the claim clear and compelling. Set your expectations for what scholars must do differently when approaching the next text.
Read and Discuss 2 — 30 minutes
Display “Love and Friendship.”
Preview the Text (2 minutes):
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- Have scholars read the title and scan the passage to frame their thinking.
- Call on scholars to share what they noticed about the text and what they will think about as they are reading.
Read (10 minutes):
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- Say: As you are reading, think, What is this text mostly about? Why did the author write this poem?
- Scholars independently read and annotate the text on their Chromebooks. When they are finished, they jot a main idea in a comment next to the title of the text.
- While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trend in scholars’ work and conference with two or three scholars.
Discuss (5 minutes):
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- Scholars discuss the following questions in pairs: What is this text mostly about? Why did the author write this poem? Call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars back up their claims with evidence from the text.
Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main idea jots based on the discussion.
Read (6 minutes):
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- Say: As you are rereading, think, Why does Brontë compare love to a wild-rose
briar and friendship to a holly tree?
- Reread the poem with scholars.
Discuss (5 minutes):
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- Scholars discuss the following question as a whole class: Why does Brontë compare love to a wild-rose briar and friendship to a holly tree?
Exit Ticket — 8 minutes
Write an essay of no more than 200 words:
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- What does the poem argue is the difference between love and friendship? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from “Love and Friendship.”
Homework
- Based on the Wrap-up, revise the essay question.
