Lit Comp: Thursday, August 9th

• Today, we will begin our first novel study of the year: Bad Boy!

• Make sure that you have your composition notebook EVERY DAY so that you can begin taking notes!

• Warm-Up: On the very first page of your composition notebook, write the following title: “New York Reflection: 8/9/12”. Next, spend the next five minutes reflectively writing in your composition notebook about what you know about New York?

Standards

• ELACC8RL2:

–Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

Introduction to Novel Study

Bad Boy

A Memoir by Walter Dean

Myers

Book SynopsisAs a boy, Walter Dean Myers was quick-tempered and physically strong, always ready for a fight. He also read voraciously-he would check out books from the library and carry them home, hidden in brown paper bags in order to avoid other boys' teasing. He aspired to be a writer. But growing up in a poor family in Harlem, his hope for a successful future diminished as he came to realize fully the class and racial struggles that surrounded him. He began to doubt himself and the values that he had always relied on, attending high school less and less, turning to the streets and his books for comfort.

Who is Walter Dean Myers?

Click on PictureFor Video

Harlem Renaissance• You may have background knowledge on or

have heard about Harlem because of the Harlem Renaissance.

• Let’s watch a video about the Harlem Renaissance by clicking here.

What is a Memoir? Autobiography? Biography?

• A memoir is a special kind of autobiography, usually involving a public portion of the author’s life as it relates to a person, historic event, or thing. The text is about the personal knowledge and/or experiences of the author.

• In contrast, an autobiography covers the author’s entire life to the present, and is expected to include details about his or her public and private life.

• A biography is someone’s life story written by another person.• Memoir Writing Techniques

– A memoir is written in first person from the author’s point of view.– It is narrative nonfiction written in story form like fiction. – Dialogue can be included, but since few people can remember precisely

every word spoken, the dialogue is not literally true; instead the author attempts to recreate it as accurately as possible.

– For this reason, some memoirs tell the story without dialogue.

Book’s Setting:Where is Harlem, New York?

NEW YORK STATE

NEW YORK CITY

Setting of the Book: Harlem in the Manhattan Borough of New York

City

New York City

Harlem, New York

Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center.

What are boroughs?

• New York City is one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs.

• Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in.

• The county governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county, all being governed by the expanded city.

• The term borough was adopted to describe a unique form of governmental administration for each of the five fundamental constituent parts of the newly consolidated city.

• Technically, under New York State Law, a "borough" is a municipal corporation that is created when a county is merged with populated areas within it.

History of Manhattan

Click on the picture for a short video

clip!

United States History: 1950s

• The most popular product was the television.

• A mix of blues and country music was popular and was known as rock n’ roll.

• Elvis Presley became the most recognized personality in the world.

• 90 years after slavery ended, music was one of the few fields that was open to African-Americans.

• The Civil Rights movement started.

Public Schools in the 1950sDesegregation of Public School Education• Publicized legal case Brown v. the Board of Education of

Topeka, Kansas which reached the United States Supreme Court, not only declared segregation unconstitutional in schools but prompted measures to end discrimination in other public institutions.

• The Court's decision in 1954 changed the course of education for states, educators, and, most important, America's students.

• Black families, who had been forced to send their children to generally poorly funded, black-only schools, could now legally demand that their children be able to attend the same schools as white students.

• The country wrestled with integration. • Full desegregation took more than twenty years.

The Garment District• Fashion District

• Located in Manhattan

• Center for fashion design and manufacturing in the U.S.

• Home to major fashion labels

• Caters to the fashion world

Make a Prediction about the Book!

• Characters?

• Background Information?

• Setting?

• Conflict?

• Themes?

Homework

• Go home and conduct 20 minutes of research on one of the following topics:– United States history in the 1940s and 1950s– Harlem, New York– Public Schools in the 1950s– Boroughs of New York– Manhattan’s Garment District

• Write a paragraph about your findings and be prepared to share this information with your classmates tomorrow.

Let’s Listen to “Roots”Click Below!