Confusion is the first step to clarity Syd

“Confusion is the first step to clarity. ” Syd Field

“Wait…what? ” • When have you experienced this? – Math problem – An event in a book – Your friend tells you a complicated story – A family member asks you to do a chore – A new concept in science • How does this feel?

Wait…what? ? LEARNING I got it! LEARNING IS A CHANGE IN OUR WAY OF THINKING.

How do we “fix”, or resolve confusion? Wait…what? ? • • Ask friends “Spark Notes” Copy/Delete Memorize LEARNING I get it! • • • Reread Read on Use background Text Clues Logic

Wait…what? • He put down $20. 00 at the window. • The woman behind the window gave him $5. 00. • The person next to him gave him $7. 50, but he gave it back to her. • When they went inside, she bought him the large bag of popcorn and a water.

Resolve confusion by… • • • Rereading Reading on Using Background Using Logic Using Text clues – “Sentence Surgery” • Break the sentence into smaller pieces using, pronouns, punctuation, clauses, prepositional phrases.

What are pronouns? • Pronouns are words that replace nouns. • The noun being replaced is called the antecedent. – John is a great basketball player. He is on a travel team

Why do pronouns cause confusion? • Sometimes it is difficult to figure out the antecedent. – Writers usually place the antecedent right before the pronoun. – Jane’s hair was a beautiful shade of red. It glowed in the sun like a million flames. They seemed to spread a warmth as we walked together on the snowy day.

• However, this is not always the case! – Sometimes you need to go back and search for the antecedent. • Sara was an excellent student, but her grades started to drop. Her friend, Beth, tried to help her with after school study sessions. She was not always cooperative and even seemed distracted when Beth opened the books. What could be troubling Sara? She wondered and worried.

Types of Pronouns • There are 3 types of pronouns – 1. Subjective – fill in for the subject • I you he she it • We you they – She made the special dessert for James.

– 2. Objective – fill in for the object of the preposition or the direct or indirect object of the verb. • Me you him her it • Us you them – She made the special dessert for him.

– 3. Possessive - show ownership – My you’re his hers its – Our ours yours their • I made my special dessert for James. His smile told me that it made his day.

Chapter One Winnie Rae Early followed ten steps behind me the entire way home from school. It was hard not to fall into rhythm with the noisy sniff she took every third step. I knew without turning around that she was doing what she’d done all day long at school, lifting her arm up and wiping at the chapped underside of her nose with the inside of her wrist.

When my toes had just about reached my driveway, she ran ahead of me and across to her yard next door and threw her backpack to the side of her daddy’s brown metal toolshed. That old shed sat a good foot over the line on our property, and I swear I’d seen her watching me before from the square cutout window on the side. from Also Known As Harper by Ann Haywood Leal

What makes To Kill a Mockingbird Confusing? • Too many characters – put names & brief descriptions on a post-it • Too many events – use a story chain or flow chart X X X • Vocabulary – use context and spiral around – jot it down and clarify it later • Lack of background info – add to your background with online resources – try to make connections to your experiences

• Very long sentences and paragraphs – Syntax surgery

“ My mama, Love Ball Dotson, speech and drama teacher at Coal Station High School and sister to the missing person, was plenty upset. In a Mountain Echo interview she said it wasn’t bad enough having your sister disappear like that without a trace, oh no, people had to go running their mouths and making an already tragic situation worse. It was just too much, she said, too much. Granny and Grandpa Ball, Mama’s and Aunt Belle’s parents, wanted to take Woodrow to live with them, but Uncle Everett wouldn’t hear of it. ” Belle Prater’s Boy

“Don’t strain nothin’, Mimi warned, watching me duckwalk a basket of grapes back to the tailgate of the truck. “Remember, Rox, you’re a girl. ” “Only two more, Mimi, ” I said, handing the box to John Martin. Mimi and I sell grapes at the flea market this time of year – deep purple muscadines and scuppernongs with pearly skins like big gold bath beads. I’m not being disrespectful calling my grandmother Mimi. Her Christian name is Marilyn. I made up “Mimi” when I was learning to talk. Calling her that may sound lame, especially for a twelve year old, but it’s a little too late to change.

“You be careful too, John Martin, ” she fussed at my cousin, bracing her heavy forearms against the arms of the wheel chair and leaning forward. “Backs are funny things. ” “I got it, Ma, ” he said. To my twenty- three year old cousin, Mimi’s always been Ma – even though she’s really his aunt. It’s complicated. His mother died and Mimi raised him. My mother disappeared. About all I know is that her name is Helen. If I ask questions about her, Mimi always says, Tell you sometime. Sometime when? I ask. I’ll let you know, she answers. Mimi says our family may not be a greeting card, but the three of us together – John Martin, her and me – are family enough for anyone. Sister Spider Knows All