Lesson 4: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Idea of Persuasion

Lesson 4.1: Day 1 Analyze and Discuss Literature Take out SA page 4A. Independently complete the Literature Web based on last night’s reading of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Be prepared to share your web in a small group and later with the class.

Literary Terms Take a copy of the Glossary of Literary Terms. Keep this in your Literature Binder. You will need it throughout the semester. Are there any terms that need further explanation? Complete SA 4B, Structural Elements of Fiction by writing down examples from the excerpt of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Lesson 4.1: Day 2 Literary Response and Interpretation Questions What adjectives would you use to describe the character of Tom Sawyer, based upon the excerpt you just read? What evidence from the story supports your description? What was Tom’s “great, magnificent inspiration”? How did he “put the thing in a new light”? Tom found the world “not so hollow” after all. What does he mean by that statement?

Lesson 4.1: Day 2 Literary Response and Interpretation Questions How does Aunt Polly perceive Tom? In what ways is this different from how he perceives himself? Are either of their perceptions more accurate? Why or why not? What title might you give to this excerpt from the book? Give reasons for your selection.

Reasoning Questions What was Tom’s problem? What was his first solution? What was his second solution? How were the consequences of Tom’s eventual solution different from the consequences he would have faced if Jim had agreed to trade places with him? Which solution was better for Tom?

Reasoning Questions, cont. Tom’s solution to his problem was based on certain assumptions, or guesses, he made about other boys. What did Tom assume about the other boys? What is meant by the words, “He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it– namley, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain”?

Reasoning Questions, cont. Would you have been persuaded by Tom’s argument? Why or why not? What can distinguish persuasive techniques from being dishonest to get one’s way?

Change Questions What techniques did Tom use to change people’s minds? Would you classify the changes that took place in the story as positive or negative for the people involved? Why? In what ways was the whitewashing arrangement thought to be positive by everyone? How does the classification of something as either work or play change the way you feel about it?

4.2: Day 1: Explore the Concept of Persuasion What does the word persuasion mean? You will prepare a short speech to persuade another member of the class to want to do a particular chore, as Tom persuaded his friends to want to do his chore. Complete SA 4C to help you brainstorm ideas for your speech.

4.2: Day 1: Explore the Concept of Persuasion Write your final speech on notecards (provided). Clearly describe what the chore is, in a way that makes it seem attractive to someone who might have to do it. Give at least three reasons to persuades someone else to do the chore. You will present your speeches tomorrow in class.

4.2: Day 2: Explore the Concept of Persuasion Which of the speaker’s reasons did you find most persuasive? Why? How would you have to modify the argument for a different audience (parents, friends, teachers, etc.)?

4.2: Day 3:Vocabulary Take out SA 4D. Work in small groups to complete a Vocabulary Web for your assigned word from the list below. Alacrity circumstance Expedition melancholy Ponderously laborious Delectable philosopher straitened

4.2: Day 3: Response Journal Choose one of the following prompts to write about in the Response Journal section of your binder or notebook. Have you ever outwitted someone? Describe the occasion and how you managed to fool another person? What are some of the tasks you enjoy doing that others might think of as work? What are some things you think of as work which might seem like play to someone else?

Homework Continue reading in your novel and working on the response paragraphs. Due________________________ Complete SA 4E. Due__________________.