Ch. 8 W. to C.

Class Lesson on Word to Caesar: Chapter VIII

I. Before we begin, take out supplies:
1. your copy of the novel
2. a piece of paper
3. a pen

II. Before we begin, calm your mind so you can focus on the power of written words.

III. Before we begin reading, review the story so far by working in your group to correctly sequence these events:
___ Paul discovers he cannot go into the army because of his injured arm.
___ Paul is the only survivor after a Pictish attack on a British fort in northern England.
___  Paul and Severus travel south to visit Severus’s friend Veranius, a wealthy estate owner.
___ Paul flees to a coastal fort where he is rescued by Severus, a Roman poet.
___ Paul declines the opportunity to marry Veranius’s daughter Julia despite the chance to secure his future.
___ Severus asks Paul to travel to Rome to deliver a letter to the Roman emperor.

IV.  As we read aloud, listen for…
1. Paul’s tone towards women:
    What belief causes that tone?
    What experiences confirm that belief?
    What cultural viewpoint confirms it?
2. Paul’s mood about travelling:
    How does he feel about going to Rome?
    What causes his mood to change?

V. We will stop reading when we reach this sentence:
“I still had a child’s mental picture of the road just stopping like that, nowhere in particular.”

VI. Now, after reading, discuss in your group and prepare to report:
1. Paul’s tone towards women:
    What belief causes that tone?
    What experiences confirm that belief?
    What cultural viewpoint confirms it?
2. Paul’s mood about travelling:
    How does he feel about going to Rome?
    What causes his mood to change?
Basic level: give explanations in your own words
Higher level: provide quotations and pg. numbers as evidence

VII. Next, find the paragraph that begins with this sentence: “I love new places.”  
Discuss in your group and prepare to report:
1. How many sentences are in that paragraph?
2. What do you notice about the length of those sentences?
3. What do you notice about the sensory details?
4. How do those writing tricks affect the tone of the paragraph?
4. What effect does that tone have upon a reader’s mood?
5. Read the single sentence in the next paragraph and decide: what does the author do to encourage you to stop reading and daydream for awhile?

VIII. Finally, write your own paragraph:
    I love….  I like…. I like…. And, of course, I like…

Goal:
1. Write about one topic
2. in longer and longer sentences,
3. full of sensory details,
4. that create a mood of your choice.

Read an excellent example:
  I love the sea. I like the greenish-blue water that laps around my feet.  I like the far-away sound of seagulls and the feeling of mist spraying.  And, of course, I like getting lost in thought in the rhythmic pattern of the ocean washing up on the beach and receding with sea shells in its place. (Seleah)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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