WINNEMUCCA - As we explore the Common Core English/Language Arts standards we now greet fact and opinion.
An easy way to spot opinion are the words "I think...", "I believe..." or always/never. This is a simple start for identifying an opinion. While just about everything in fictional text is opinion, nonfiction is much more challenging. The reader may believe that the author has carefully researched and justified each idea listed, however, with the increase of Internet articles and tweets and twitters, it is becoming more difficult to separate fact from opinion.
As you and your child read together, discuss each paragraph or section and ask if the information is believable and researchable.
If you can look up an item and verify it with another qualified author, the statement is probably a fact. Always consider your source, however, as anyone can write an article and ask someone else to corroborate.
In fiction your child is required to know main characters, setting, and plot. Have your child select two or three characters from a story. Discuss how important each is to the overall message. By ranking these you are teaching how to choose the main character versus supporting roles.
Character traits fall next. Ask "What makes this character tick?" Encourage deep thinking with descriptions such as rebellious, incredulous, or urbane. Yes, intense, upper level vocabulary ups the understanding of a character. If you need an excellent character trait list, email me and I will forward my master list to you.
When discussing setting, be certain to include where and when as each greatly affects the mood, meaning, and design of the story. Often there are several places and times as the story unfolds. Brainstorm key times/places and then put them in chronological order. This ranked list is a guide to fleshing out the plot.
Study your "when and where" list, sketch in the characters (just three to five) with the setting, then add main events. These may be one per chapter or just five or six total. A plotline should not be overwhelmed with too many details. You are assisting your child as he creates an outline of the story.
Finally, determine the most important point in the tale, discuss to be sure that it is truly number one, and then set it as the climax, the point to which the story has been building. Draw that incline line with the drop-off point near the end and add your ideas for main points, climax, and resolution. A plotline has been created. This should keep you fairly busy as you read, write, and discuss your way into January.
Sometimes I am just in the right place at the right time.
Lisa Costa-Campbell, director of the Winnemucca branch of Great Basin College, shared that the college offers a one-year, extremely busy path to an associate's degree as an electrician. One requirement is Humanities 101 and Lisa asked me if I would be interested.
I grabbed the opportunity because I view the humanities as an encapsulating subject the leads to a deeper, richer understanding of self, community and world. Plus, although it was a 45 hour/3 credit course, we could stuff it into a block of a nine day, five-hour-per-day course.
I really did not know what to expect, only having observed the students from afar and then when I dropped off the syllabus and introduced myself. I'm sure my brave seven students were wondering as well.
After getting ourselves off the ground with much prodding and probing through reading, discussion and observing, these students amazed me.
Their writing was profound, their responses ever more insightful. Whether reading "The Necklace," viewing "The Andersonville Trials," establishing whether a mindset is fixed or growth, or mixing in psychologists like Piaget and Kohlberg, these students reflected and responded in a wonderful manner.
I have taught thousands of students over many years and this class ranks among the best and most rewarding. Regardless of age or grade level, one of my goals is to guide students to become independent, excited learners with the capacity and intuition to tackle any discussion or subject with wisdom and knowledge. This group has succeeded.
I didn't realize that GBC offered such a course, a road to a skilled, in-demand profession. If you have a junior or senior searching for a career degree, one that can be earned right here, stop by the main office, grab a catalogue and set up a counseling appointment. The opportunities available abound.
Gini Cunningham writes a monthly column for the Humboldt Sun on education topics. Contact her at gini.cunningham@sbcglobal.net.[[In-content Ad]]
