Wednesday, 10-18

1. We continued our study of Verbals by identifying Infinitive phrases. Remember that an infinitive follows this formula: to + verb. We completed IXL Level J (8th Grade) DD.15.

2. We discussed some of the text connections that were found in the nonfiction article "Women of Early America" by Howard Zinn.

3. We then read and answered questions about two different poems. The first is "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar, and the second is "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou. They both use the extended metaphor of a caged bird to achieve the same purpose as the metaphor "chains" in our novel. These "cages" and "chains" represent the constraints, oppression, or list of tyrannies a person experiences.

4. We put ourselves in the shoes of either a woman, slave, or poor colonist in America during the 1770s and answer the following questions about "Caged Bird" from that person's perspective:

- Which "bird" do you feel like? Are you a caged bird or a free bird?

- If you are a "caged bird," who is caging you? Who is "clipping your wings?" Think about which group is keeping you from being free.

- What are the causes behind your "bars of rage"? What list of wrongs or injustices have been committed against you?

- Who is listening to your song on a "distant hill"? Who hears you? Who are you singing to?

- What are you hoping to be liberated from when you "sing of freedom?" Be descriptive and explain how a colonist/slave/woman in the 1770s would define freedom.