The Machine Stops Day 4

Big Idea: Ideology, utopia, and imagination

Nuance Academy: Simple Email, add variety

After today I should be able to: summarize the background to E.M. Forrester's short story and identify a theme you want to track.

Reading: You should have two books read by October 1st.

Agenda:

1. The email below uses simple, declarative sentences. Choose 6 of our patterns and rewrite the mail to add variety.
1. Hi Jane, I lost my phone. I looked all over for it. I looked under the couch cushions. I looked in the fridge. I do not know why I looked in the fridge. That was silly. I looked in the bathroom. I looked in the closet. I looked in my coat pocket. My phone was in my coat pocket. I am not a smart man. But I am happy I found my phone. Now I can call you. Let's get pizza for dinner tonight. We can have a fun pizza night. I am excited. See you soon! Your friend, Bob
   
   
   
2.  Today we will continue reading the short story, "The Machine Stops."
1. Read for 15 minutes. Practice your notice and note strategies.
1. Epiphany
1. A character or group of characters suddenly understands something.
2. For example, "In an instant I knew..."
3. Question: How might the realization that...change...?
2. Tough Question
1. When the characters ask a question that either they or you don't know the answer to.
1. This questions makes we wonder if...
3. Contrasts and Contradictions
1. A character thinks and behaves in a way that we don't expect.
2. An element of a setting is something we would not expect.
3. Question: Why did...How can this help us understand or predict...?
4. Patterns
1. A word is repeated again and again
2. An idea is repeated again and again (but with different words, i.e. war, battle, fighting, etc.)
3. An image is repeated several times
4. An action keeps happening
5. Really, anything that gets repeated throughout the book can possibly be a pattern.
6. Question: Why is the author continually bringing up...?
1. You must also put a question mark next to parts of the text that confused you.
2. Complete a one-pager about the beginning of the short story.
1. Draw a diagram of the room that Vashti lives in.
2. Generate a list of five adjectives that describe Vashti and Kuno. Circle the one that best describes each character. Come up with a symbol for each character.
3. Create a list of things in the short story that are like something that exists today. For example, The Machine is like the internet. Which thing on your list are you most surprised that Forrester was able to predict?
4. Draw a picture that represents one of the problems people face in the world of the short story.
3. How to track my ideas that I chose. The idea is an example of a pattern.

Homework:

1. Work on your vocabulary list #2. It is due by Sunday at 9PM.
2. Read your independent reading book.