The Miracle Worker Questions for Pages 23-47

1. What gesture does Annie use to indicate her mother?
2. How many treats does Helen secretly receive before dinner? Given by whom?
3. How do we know Helen is aware something different is about to happen?
4. What three advantages does Annie tell Kate she has over another governess?
5. Tell Annie's response to Kate's question "What will you try to teach her first?"
6. Does Kate like Annie in their first meeting?
7. How does Helen first respond to Annie Sullivan?
8. What word does Annie sign to Helen first? Why?
9. Why has Captain Keller become upset before dinner the day of Annie's arrival?
10. For what reason does James fetch a ladder?
11. Describe Annie's reaction to Helen spitting the hidden key out of her mouth and hiding it in the well.

The Miracle Worker - Act I

Study Guide Questions:

1. How does Kate discover her baby is blind and deaf?
2. Tell the number of years that elapse between Helen's infancy and the paper doll scene with Percy and Martha?
3. What does Helen do that shows she knows Percy is talking?
4. When Martha removes Helen's hands from her biting mouth, how does she react?
5. To which family member does Helen seems closest?
6. Why is Helen troubled by Aunt Ev's towel doll? How does she remedy the situation?
7. How does the family compensate for Helen's affliction?
8. When does Captain Keller agree to contact the oculist in Baltimore?
9. Helen's half-brother, James, holds what opinion of her?
10. List three pieces of information we learn from Mr. Anagnos' farewell conversation with Annie Sullivan at the Perkins Institute?
11. Name the going away presents Annie receives from Anagnos and the blind girls at the Perkins Institute.
    

Poetry

"Oranges" by Gary Soto - students review the elements of poetry -
Literary Focus - metaphor, simile, symbolism, imagery.
Speaking focus - prosody/fluency.

"On Aging" by Maya Angelou - students listen to the poem and learn to annotate by listening to the verse rather than reading it.
Listening Strategies - note taking and attention to intonation.
Literary Focus - speaker/audience.

"O What Is That Sound" by W.H. Auden (Textbook p.141) - a ballad is a poem that tells a story. It is meant to be recited or sung.
Literary Focus - form, rhyme, and rhythm.
Reading Focus - making inferences (Q/A).
Music - "Are There Any More Real Cowbows?" by the incomparable balladist - Willie Nelson.

"Incident in a Rose Garden" by Donald Justice (Textbook p.147) - author's purposeful deceit by a title. Do Now: What might the story/poem with this title be about?
Literary Focus: Figurative Language - metaphor, simile, personification.
Reading Focus: Visualization of setting, character, and events.

"Young" by Anne Sexton ( p.344) vs. "Hanging Fire" by Audre Lorde (p.345)
Literary Focus - finding a unifying theme in two poems through speaker/character analysis.
Reading Focus - Navigating through the syntax of Free Verse. Students learn to break up stanzas into smalfler sentences to better understand the poems.

Class Project - "The Seven Ages of Man" by what's-his-name who, we all agree, wrote fairly well.
This Dramatic Monologue from "As You Like It" will be annotated and performed as a class.

"Two Kinds" by Amy Tan - Independent Reading

Before You Read: Think about the expectations your parent/guardian has for you. What do they think of your talents? How are you living up to the expectations? Do you have your own plans? Record your thoughts as a journal entry in a separate post.

While You Read - answer the following questions:

• What is a prodigy and why does the mother want the main character to become one?
• How does the mother prepare her daughter for fame?
• What talents does the girl have?
• Why does she start the piano lessons and how is the mother going to pay for them?
• Describe the piano teacher
• What do Auntie Lindo and Jing-Mei's mother have in common?
• In your own words, relate the events of the recital.
• What does the author mean when she says, "I didn't have to do what my mother said anymore... This wasn't China"? page 97
• What words does the author use to describe her mother's disappointment in her?
• Why does Jing-mei come back to play the piano after her mother's death?
  

After Your Read - research online about the topics below. Find an article and a picture. Next to the picture provide a caption (5-6 sentences) that summarizes each article.

• Shirley Temple
• The Ed Sullivan show
• Beethoven
• Schumann
  
• Extra Credit - the Japanese invasion of China.
  

"Marigolds" by Eugenia Collier

Day 1 Aim: What do we know about the Great Depression?
Pre-Reading Activity: Video about the Great Depression in the US and world-wide economic recession. Students learn about the reasons for, the response of the government, and the affect on the lives of ordinary people of the Great Depression which followed the stock market crush of 1929.

Day 2 - Aim: What can we learn about the times from the description of the setting?
Quickwrite: What sight, sound, smell or feeling stands out from your childhood memory?
Literary Focus: Description of a setting.
Listening Strategy: comprehension skills of a difficult text.

Day 3 - Aim: How do I construct meaning by questioning the text?
Do Now: Vocabulary - poignantly, to trudge, futile, uproariously, inexplicable.
Literary Focus: the descriptive language of the childhood reminiscence (flashback).
Reading Strategy: Questioning the text. When a reader asks questions about the characters, setting, the use of language, and the events that take place, it makes the story more relatable and enjoyable.

Day 4 - Aim: What is a symbol?
Do Now: Draw three symbols. What do they mean?
Literary element: symbolism. What do the marigolds symbolize to the children/Ms. Lottie/the reader?
Reading Strategy: Cross-curricular bridge - the facts we learned about the plant (Biology) are directly related to its symbolic meaning in literature.

Study for Quiz: poignantly, to trudge, futile, uproariously, inexplicable, decay, sophisticated, retribution, monotonous, ostensibly.

Day 5: Aim: Can a story have two plots?
Do Now Vocabulary: unstifled, to sulk, malicious, to sob, particularly.
Literary Element: Parallel Plots.
Reading Focus: Organize information graphically to construct meaning.

Day 6: Can parallel plots converge?
Do Now Vocabulary: degradation, grotesque, caricature, redundancy, bewilderment.
Literary Element: establishing a unifying theme through parallel.
Reading Focus: connecting the dots of the plot/setting/characterization.

Day 7: Short Answers Review and the Critical Lens Essay.
Questions:

• Why does Lizabeth destroy Miss Lottie's flowers?
• How does the climax of the story begin a rite of passage from childhood to the beginning of womanhood?
• Why does Miss Lottie never plant marigolds again, despite Lizebeth's remorse?

Essay: Interpret the quote and use two examples (one from the story and one from your life/politics/movies, etc.) to support your quote.

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhist Monk in exile.