1. Nonfiction: Essays, Articles, and Speeches ENGELBERT ENGLISH 9 CP
UNIT 6
Nonfiction: Essays, Articles, and Speeches
ENGELBERT ENGLISH 9 CP

2. FLT:
Given a memoir, we will elicit meaning from the text by examining the tone, diction, and syntax of the author’s piece.
HOW WILL I KNOW IF I KNOW IT?
-I can define syntax, diction, and tone as well as explain how the author used them in his story.

3. Think/Pair/Share
What is/are…
CULTURE?
TRADITIONS?
BELIEFS?

4. Be prepared to share…
What traditions do you celebrate with your family/community?

5. WRITE THESE DOWN:
Culture: the behaviors and beliefs of a particular social, ethnic, or age group
Tradition: an act, custom, belief, legend or way of thinking, usually passed down or inherited
Belief: confidence, faith, or trust in something (like an idea)

6. Also, write these down:
Diction: the words an author uses to create a tone
Syntax: the arrangement of words in a sentence
Tone: the author’s attitude toward the audience or subject

7. LASTLY…
Autobiography: a text written by an author about the events, details, and facts his life
Biography: a text written by an author about someone else’s life including events, details, and facts
Memoir: an autobiographical piece usually spanning a longer period of time that focuses on the feelings and emotions of life’s pivotal moments rather than just factual details

8. Let’s talk about the tone….
Take a look at the next few pictures, and describe the “tone” of the photographer

13. Let’s look at tone some more….
Watch the following movie clips, and tell me what “tone” the director is going for….

14. Dead Poet’s Society

15. 300

16. Describe the tone of the following composers.

17. One more time!
Listen to me read the following passages, and tell me what tone the author is going for…

18. EXAMPLE LINKS

19. DICTION
Once again, specific words choices can change/improve the tone of a piece of work.
For example….
I ate the apple because I was hungry from doing a lot of work.
Can become
I inhaled the apple because I was famished from the slave labor my parents were making me do…

20. Before we read…
Copy down the definitions of the blue vocabulary words on page 442 on your study guide.

21. A Celebration of Grandfathers
1.) What is the tone of this essay? How do you know?
2.) What is the author’s attitude or tone towards the elderly vs. the young people in this story?
3) How does the grandfather change at the end of his life??
4.) The grandfather is described using indirect characterization. What did you learn through the diction the speaker uses to describe the grandfather?
5.) List three “life lessons” the author learns from the grandfather.

22. How will I know if I know it?
FLT: Given a reflective narrative (On Summer), we will identify the author’s tone by investigating jargon, diction, syntax, and tone.
How will I know if I know it?
I can describe the author’s tone using specific examples of diction and syntax.

23. “On Summer”
By Lorraine Hansberry

24. TERMS TO KNOW: (copy in notes)
CLICHÉ:expression, phrase, or idea that has become tired from it’s overuse
EXAMPLES:
-Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Achilles heel (also an allusion!)
Actions speak louder than words

25. MORE TERMS TO KNOW:
Idiomatic Phrase/Idioms: an expression that means something but is not to be taken literally
EXAMPLES:
He kicked the bucket.
That homework assignment was a piece of cake.
The student who skipped class only got a slap on the wrist.

26. BEFORE WE READ:
Copy down the vocabulary words in blue on page 454.