What Does Success Look Like?
Scholars understand Guest’s perspective on the meaning of home. They also understand O’Hagan’s argument about how social media impacts friendship.
Seminar 1:
“Home” by Edgar Albert Guest (Poem) and “Reflections on True Friendship” by Andrew O’Hagan (Nonfiction)
Do Now — 10 minutes
- Show an exemplary Exit Ticket from the previous Seminar to scholars. Have scholars discuss what makes it exemplary. Have scholars articulate the transferable takeaway from the work study that they will apply to their revisions.
- Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous Seminar based on the feedback you gave them.
Launch — 2 minutes
- Tell scholars that today, they will be reading two texts: a poem entitled “Home” and a nonfiction piece, “Reflections on True Friendship.” Build excitement by telling scholars that both texts will develop their background knowledge about concepts important in The House on Mango Street.
Read and Discuss 1 — 35 minutes
Display “Home.”
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 poem mostly about?”
- Play a recording of the poem 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 poem 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 poem?”
- Read the poem aloud as scholars follow along on their digital copies. While reading aloud, pause to ask the questions below:
- Stop after Line 8, “Until somehow yer soul is sort o’ wrapped round everything.”
- Partner Talk: What is the poet’s argument in Lines 7–8?
- Stop after Line 24, “O’ her that was an’ is no more — ye can’t escape from these.”
- Partner Talk: How does Stanza 3 develop the poem’s central theme?
- Stop after Line 32, “It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house to make it home.”
- Partner Talk: Why does the poet include the details about the roses?
- Discuss: Why did Guest write this poem?
Main Idea Jot (2 minutes):
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- Scholars jot a main idea in a comment next to the title of the poem.
- 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:
- What argument is Guest making about the meaning of home?
- How do Lines 1–8 contribute to the poet’s argument about the meaning of home?
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 does the poet mean by the phrase, “It takes a heap o’ livin in a house to make it home”? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from “Home.”
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 “Reflections on True 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 text?”
- 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 to 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 text? 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, “How do Lines 39–58 develop the author’s argument?”
- Reread Lines 39–58 with scholars.
Discuss (5 minutes): Scholars discuss the following question as a whole class:
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- How do Lines 39–58 develop the author’s argument?
Exit Ticket — 8 minutes
Write an essay of no more than 200 words:
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- What is the author’s argument about the impact of social media on friendship? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from “Reflections on True Friendship.”
