“Like Black Smoke”BY DIANA CHILDRESS

Text Annotation and GIST SummaryDirections: Using the guidelines below, analyze the text by annotating.

WritingSummarize important/confusing sections of the textUnderline or place brackets around important informationAsk questions about the text in the marginsComment on the text, noting personal thoughts or literary elements (plot development, characterization, theme)

SymbolsCircle unfamiliar vocabularyPlace an exclamation point next to exciting or interesting informationPlace a question mark next to confusing information

GIST SummaryDirections: Below the text, compose a twenty-word summary that highlights important points.

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Materials1. Textbook open to page 930

2. Spiral open to a blank space

GIST SummaryAfter analyzing the text, compose a twenty word summary of the article.

ExampleArrogant, wealthy officials insult the courage of women; however, a lion-hearted dame saves the party from a lethal, hissing cobra.

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Text Illustration Four Corners ActivityStep One: Based on your evidence, determine which portion of the text engages the reader

most effectively. Within thirty seconds, relocate to that section of the room.

Step Two: Within your new group, determine why you believe that portion of the text best engages readers.

Central Idea

Text Structure

Author’s Purpose

Cause and Effect

Informational Text Graphic Organizer Mini-JigsawStep 1: Within your group, complete the indicated sections of the chart:

Text Structure

Cause and Effect

GIST Summary

Author’s Purpose

Central Idea

Informational Text Graphic Organizer Mini-JigsawStep 2: Now, by taking turns, each group member will teach his or her section of the graphic

organizer to the group members.

TeachersPlease read your response verbatim.

LearnersRecord brief notes on the “teacher's” response.

Currently TeachingCentral ideaAuthor’s purposeText structureCause and effectGIST summary

Informational Text Graphic Organizer Four Corners ActivityStep One: Based on your evidence, determine the element of the text which engages the

reader most effectively. Within thirty seconds, relocate to that section of the room.

Step Two: Within your new group, determine why you believe that portion of the text best engages readers.

Central Idea

Text Structure

Author’s Purpose

Cause and Effect

Central Idea NotesA central idea proves to be the most important idea or topic an author conveys.

Supporting details are sentences which elaborate and enhance (build) the central idea.

Example: A Christmas Carol by Ebenezer Scrooge

The central idea is greed's power to corrupt and condemn the wealthy, which results in greater suffering for the poor.

TNReady Analysis: Central IdeaDirections: Select the letter or letters that correctly answer each question:

1. What are two central ideas of this passage?

a. The plague exterminated the patriarch of the Russian church and the grand duke of Muscovy.

b. Because of extensive trading in Europe and Asia, the plague was able to progress rapidly.

c. Via fleas who migrated from rats to humans, the plague dispersed itself without being seen.

d. Italian merchants formed trading posts at Kaffa, an influential city on the Crimean peninsula.

TNReady Analysis: Central IdeaDirections: Select the letter or letters that correctly answer each question:

2. Select one line from the text that best supports the idea that the plague spread via trade routes.

a. “After it assaulted the seaports, smaller boats carried it to neighboring towns and to river ports far inland” (77-78).

b. “The Black Death landed in Scandinavia on a ship carrying wool from London to Norway” (99-100).

c. “Although some towns refused entry to travelers from infected areas, and people learned to mistrust ‘plague goods,’ few noticed the dead rats, and no one thought of the fleas” (79-81).

d. “At first, the Scots avoided the plague, but when they assembled troops to invade England, pestilence11 struck, perhaps imported by soldiers from France” (96-98).

TIDE Response: Central IdeaDirections: Employing the TIDE method, analyze and evaluate the questions below in complete sentences. In your response, note the author and poem title, restate the question, and cite evidence alongside line numbers in order to justify your assertion.

Prompt

Write a paragraph which analyzes how the passage addresses the central idea that trade routes expedited the plague’s spread. Develop your paragraph by providing textual evidence from the passage.

TIDE Model

After evaluating [insert text title] by [insert author], [restate question] because [insert point 1]. According to the text, [insert speaker's name] proclaims, “[insert evidence]” [(insert line numbers)]. Assuredly, [explain why your evidence matters]; on the other hand, some may argue[insert counter claim], but [explain why your evidence matters]. Ultimately, [restate question and point one].

Author’s Purpose NotesAn author's purpose includes the reason the author creates the text. Typically, authors write texts in order to express thoughts, persuade, inform, explain, or entertain.

Example

Within A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the author intends to persuade readers to be charitable to those who are less fortunate than themselves.

TNReady Analysis: Author’s PurposeDirections: Select the letter or letters that correctly answer each question:

1. What is the author's main objective in the passage?

a. to showcase the variety of ways the plague could be contracted

b. to illustrate how the plague spread from fleas to humans

c. to teach readers about how the plague spread during the 1300's

d. to convince the readers that the Black Plague wasn't a significant illness

TNReady Analysis: Author’s PurposeDirections: Select the letter or letters that correctly answer each question:

2. Which two of the following best support your answer to number one?

"when rats died from the plague, their fleas hunted for new hosts" (23)

"The ship had run around near Bergen because all the crew had died" (100)

"Following 14th century trade routes, the Black Death swept across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East" (76-77)

"Reports of plague in 1348 show how the circles of infection widened" (82)

TIDE Response: Author’s PurposeDirections: Employing the TIDE method, analyze and evaluate the questions below in complete sentences. In your response, note the author and poem title, restate the question, and cite evidence alongside line numbers in order to justify your assertion.

Prompt

Write a paragraph which analyzes the author’s purpose in incorporating the soldier anecdote in the text. Develop your paragraph by providing textual evidence from the passage.

TIDE Model

After evaluating [insert text title] by [insert author], [restate question] because [insert point 1]. According to the text, [insert speaker's name] proclaims, “[insert evidence]” [(insert line numbers)]. Assuredly, [explain why your evidence matters]; on the other hand, some may argue[insert counter claim], but [explain why your evidence matters]. Ultimately, [restate question and point one].

TNReady Analysis: ComprehensionDirections: Select the letter or letters that correctly answer each question:

1. Based on the passage, what conclusion can be drawn about the Black Plague?

a. Due to medical advances, anything similar to the plague could not occur in today’s society.

b. Due to the method in which it spread, there was no way to stop the Black Plague.

c. Had Asia not been devastated by the floods and droughts, the Black Plague would have never occurred in such large quantities.

d. Contaminated clothing was the largest reason for the spread of the plague.

TNReady Analysis: ComprehensionDirections: Select the letter or letters that correctly answer each question:

2. Choose the word that best completes the statement: The plague reached ____________ proportions with half of the population dying due to the illness.

a. Outbreak

b. Epidemic

c. Germ

d. Death

TIDE Response: ComprehensionDirections: Employing the TIDE method, analyze and evaluate the questions below in complete sentences. In your response, note the author and poem title, restate the question, and cite evidence alongside line numbers in order to justify your assertion.

Prompt

Write a paragraph which analyzes why the plague continued to spread after people began mistrusting plague goods. Develop your paragraph by providing textual evidence from the passage.

TIDE Model

After evaluating [insert text title] by [insert author], [restate question] because [insert point 1]. According to the text, [insert speaker's name] proclaims, “[insert evidence]” [(insert line numbers)]. Assuredly, [explain why your evidence matters]; on the other hand, some may argue[insert counter claim], but [explain why your evidence matters]. Ultimately, [restate question and point one].

Claim: Essential QuestionBased upon the prompt below, compose a well-structured claim concerning the essential question. Moreover, include three main points within your assertion.

Prompt

Write a claim which analyzes how the passage addresses the theme the consequences of death affect individuals and society at large. Develop your claim by providing textual evidence from the passage.

Claim Model

[restate question] because [insert point one], [insert point two], and [insert point three].

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TIDE Response: Essential QuestionDirections: Employing the TIDE method, analyze and evaluate the questions below in complete sentences. In your response, note the author and text title, restate the question, and cite evidence alongside line numbers in order to justify your assertion.

Prompt

Write a paragraph which analyzes how the passage addresses the theme the consequences of death affect individuals and society at large. Develop your paragraph by providing textual evidence from the passage.

TIDE Model

After evaluating [insert text title] by [insert author], [restate question] because [insert point 1]. According to the text, [insert speaker's name] proclaims, “[insert evidence]” [(insert line numbers)]. Assuredly, [explain why your evidence matters]; on the other hand, some may argue[insert counter claim], but [explain why your evidence matters]. Ultimately, [restate question and point one].

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Four Corners TIDE ActivityStep One: Within thirty seconds, examine your TIDE paragraph and determine your most

effective sentence. Then, relocate to the appropriate section of the room for that TIDEsentence.

Step Two: Within your new group, determine why you believe this sentence proved engaging.

Topic Sentence

Detailed Analysis

Important Evidence

Point of View

ClaimA claim is a short, concise sentence which establishes an argument.

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Debate ActivityDirections: In preparation for today’s debate, compose a well-structured claim concerning the prompt. Moreover, argue three effective points, and support each of these points with evidence from the passage.

Prompt

Write a claim evaluating whether the bubonic plague could or could not have been prevented. Develop your claim by providing textual evidence from the passage.

Claim Model

[restate question] because [insert point one], [insert point two], and [insert point three].

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Debate Agree/Disagree ActivityStep One: Based on your analysis, determine whether you agree or disagree with the prompt. Within thirty seconds, relocate to that section of the room.

Step Two: Within your new group, defend your position utilizing evidence gathered on your graphic organizer.

Agree Disagree

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PromptWrite a claim evaluating whether the bubonic plague could or could not have been prevented. Develop your claim by providing textual evidence from the passage.

Four Corners Claim ActivityStep One: Within thirty seconds, examine your claim and determine your most effective point.

Then, relocate to the appropriate section of the room for that point.

Step Two: Explain why you believe this sentence proved engaging.

Point 1

Point 3

Point 2

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Misplaced Modifier NotesA misplaced modifier is a phrase which describes the wrong word within a sentence.

Misplaced modifiers may be prepositional phrases, or they may be varying parts of speech.

When a modifier is placed in the wrong position, the sentence can become confusing.

Example

Sarah with a disgusting odor cried beside the garbage.

Bob Cratchitt desired to scamper through the snow with his family who maintained records for Mr. Scrooge.

Rikki-tikki hissed as he scampered after Nagaina who protected the family.

Editing: Misplaced ModifiersDirections: Rewrite the bold and underlined text. Revise the text if needed; however, if the text is correct, write “C.”

One theory is that (1) these disasters drove wild animals which shattered the countryside into villages and towns in search of food. (2) Fleas then spread plague germs to rats, vile bloodsuckers. When rats died of the plague, their fleas hunted for new hosts. Since rats nested in the adobe (sun-dried brick) walls and thatched roofs of medieval houses, the next meal for these fleas often came from people. . . . The (3) disease with plague bacteria spread more easily if an infected person’s lungs started filling up. Then, every cough and sneeze spewed germs into the air, spreading pneumonic plague directly to others. (4) If they who recover are not among the lucky few, people and rats soon die of the plague, but (5) fleas can lurk in a rat’s nest, barnyard manure, or infected bedding and clothing for many months without eating.