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English
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
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Using Quotations Effectively Foundation Lesson
About this Lesson Writers of arguments, newspaper reporters, literary critics, and other writers of prose know what
powerful rhetorical tools quotations can be when they are used to prove a point, influence an
attitude, illustrate a concept, or reinforce an idea.
However, inexperienced writers tend to ignore a well-known, essential aspect of the use of
quotations—they must be introduced so that they are linked to their source and to the rest of the
text in the essay so that they are clearly understandable to the reader.
This lesson is a logical follow-up to the “Dialectical Journals” lesson and uses activities linked to
those in the journal lesson.
Passages for LTF®
lessons are selected to challenge students, while lessons and activities make
texts accessible. Guided practice with challenging texts allows students to gain the proficiency
necessary to read independently at or above grade level.
This lesson is included in Module 4: From Journal to Essay.
Objectives
Students will
incorporate quotations into their analytical paragraphs effectively.
make coherent and logical connections between evidence and commentary using
transitions.
use punctuation to embed quotes correctly into their sentences.
Level
Grades Six through Ten
Connection to Common Core Standards for English Language Arts
LTF Foundation Lessons are designed to be used across grade levels and therefore are aligned to
the Common Core Anchor Standards. Teachers should consult their own grade-level-specific
Standards. The activities in this lesson allow teachers to address the following Common Core
Standards:
Explicitly addressed in this lesson
Code Standard Level of
Thinking
Depth of
Knowledge
R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says
explicitly and to make logical inferences from it.
Cite specific textual evidence when writing or
speaking to support conclusions drawn from the
text.
Understand III
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Teacher Overview—Using Quotations Effectively
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
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R.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and
analyze their development; summarize the key
supporting details and ideas.
Analyze III
R.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas
develop and interact over the course of a text.
Analyze III
R.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a
text, including determining technical, connotative,
and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific
word choices shape meaning or tone.
Analyze III
R.5 Analyze the structure of texts, including how
specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions
of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene or stanza)
relate to each other and the whole.
Analyze III
R.10 Read and comprehend complex literary and
informational texts independently and proficiently.
Understand II
L.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing.
Understand I
L.5 Demonstrate understanding of word relationships
and nuances in word meanings.
Understand II
W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and
relevant and sufficient evidence.
Create IV
W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the
development, organization, and style are appropriate
to task, purpose, and audience.
Create III
W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts
to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Analyze III
Implicitly addressed in this lesson
Code Standard Level of
Thinking
Depth of
Knowledge
L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English grammar and usage when writing
or speaking.
Understand I
L.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how
language functions in different contexts, to make
effective choices for meaning or style, and to
comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
Understand II
W.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for
research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time
frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range
of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Apply III
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Teacher Overview—Using Quotations Effectively
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
iii
LTF Skill Focus
The foundation for LTF English lessons is the Skill Progression Chart that identifies key skills
for each domain, beginning with grade 6 and adding more complex skills at each subsequent
grade level while reinforcing skills introduced at previous grade levels. The Skill Focus for each
individual lesson identifies the skills actually addressed in that lesson.
Levels of Thinking
Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create
Close Reading written, spoken, and visual texts
Grammar purposeful use of language for effect
Composition written, spoken, and visual products
Reading Strategies
Inference
Paraphrase
Literary Elements
Diction
Imagery
Theme
Tone
Literary Techniques
Characterization
Symbolism
Mechanics
Punctuation Types (modes)
Expository
analytical
The Process of Composition
Prewriting
Structural Elements
Introduction
thesis
Body
incorporation of quotes
topic sentence
use of commentary
use of evidence
Organization
Transition
Connections to AP* Students will be required to write well-supported analytical essays on both the AP Literature and
AP Language examinations. The ability to smoothly and effectively incorporate quotations and
textual evidence is a key skill in writing analytical papers.
*Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination Board. The College
Board was not involved in the production of this material.
Materials and Resources
copies of Student Activity
Handout: “Graphic Organizer for a Paragraph Using Quotations”
Assessments The following kinds of formative assessments are embedded in this lesson:
graphic organizers
frame statements
Teachers are encouraged to use the Grade Level Assessments and Posttest style analysis
activities, including the following, on the LTF website as additional assessments:
Grade Level Assessments
6th
grade—“The Incredible Journey”
7th
grade—A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
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Teacher Overview—Using Quotations Effectively
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
iv
8th grade—“The Lamp at Noon”
9th
grade—“A New England Nun”
10th
grade—Dombey and Son
Released Posttests
6th
grade—Inkheart
7th
grade—The Wind in the Willows
8th
grade—The First Betrayal
9th
grade—The Poisonwood Bible
10th
grade—Rebecca
Teaching Suggestions
Teachers are encouraged to “talk through” the examples provided in this lesson to familiarize
students with the process of introducing and commenting on a quotation in an effective manner.
Students should then practice the skill, using the student activities suggested.
When teachers adapt this model lesson to other writing assignments in their curriculum, they
might consider using frame statements to guide student practice, removing the writing tool as
students become more proficient. The “Graphic Organizer for a Paragraph Using Quotations” is
available on LTF’s website under “Additional Resources.”
Answers Answers for this lesson are subjective and will vary. To obtain the maximum benefit of the
lesson, ask students to go beyond the expected responses.
English
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
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Using Quotations Effectively Foundation Lesson
Writers of literary analysis should learn to incorporate quotations as evidence to support their
assertions. To use quotations effectively, you should consider the following strategies:
Make an assertion (an opinion statement that the author intends to support with
evidence.)
Supply the evidence: Introduce the quotation by naming the speaker/narrator and
explaining briefly the situation/context of the quotation; quote a word, phrase, line or
lines from a text or source (should support the assertion and be included in the same
sentence as its introduction); and document the quotation with the author’s name and
page number inside parentheses. All of this information should be in the same sentence.
Comment on the quotation by writing several sentences explaining how the evidence
supports the assertion.
This process works best after a reader has carefully annotated a text and explored its possible
meanings through writing in a dialectical journal.
Read carefully this passage from “The Scarlet Ibis” by James R. Hurst. Then complete the
activities that follow.
Doodle was my brother and he was going to cling to me forever, no matter what I did, so
I dragged him across the burning cotton field to share with him the only beauty I knew,
Old Woman Swamp. I pulled the go-cart through the sawtooth fern, down into the green
dimness where the palmetto fronds whispered by the stream. I lifted him out and set him
down in the soft rubber grass beside a tall pine. His eyes were round with wonder as he
gazed about him, and his little hands began to stroke the rubber grass. Then he began to
cry.
Here is an example Character Analysis Journal examining Doodle.
Evidence (quotation or detail and context) Inference—Commentary
Quotation: “His eyes were round with wonder
as he gazed about him, and his little hands
began to stroke the rubber grass. Then he
began to cry” (Hurst 191).
Context: Doodle’s brother has taken him to a
beautiful place.
Sensitive, appreciative—Doodle reacts
emotionally to the wonders of nature, moved to
tears of joy at the beauty of simple things. He
is attuned to nature and in awe of its beauty.
Quotation: “My lies were scary, involved, and
usually pointless, but Doodle’s were twice as
crazy. People in his stories all had wings and
flew wherever they wanted to go” (Hurst 193).
Context: To help pass the time, Doodle and his
brother make up stories.
Imaginative, dreamer—Doodle’s fantasies
reveal his vivid imagination as well as his
desire to be able to move freely and easily.
Through his imagination he can escape the
physical handicaps that hold him down in real
life.
Student Activity—Using Quotations Effectively
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
2
The next step is to write an assertion (a statement that you intend to prove through the use of
evidence) that is suggested by the inferences you have made in your dialectical journal.
Example assertion based on the journal above:
Doodle is a sensitive and appreciative young boy who is moved by the beauty of nature.
Now you are ready to put the process to work by writing a body paragraph based on an assertion,
evidence, and commentary.
Graphic Organizer for a Paragraph Using Quotations
(Use this structure to plan an analysis of any text.)
Assertion: Doodle is a sensitive and appreciative young boy who is moved by the beauty of
nature.
Introduction to the quotation, quotation, and documentation: When Doodle’s brother takes
him to a beautiful place in the woods, he looks around, “[h]is eyes. . .round with wonder,” and
the scene before him causes him “to cry” (Hurst 191).
Commentary: Doodle is moved to tears of joy at the beauty of simple things. His emotional
reaction reveals that he is attuned to nature and in awe of its beauty.
Sample Paragraph
Doodle is a sensitive and appreciative young boy who is moved by the beauty of nature.
When Doodle’s brother takes him to a beautiful place in the woods, he looks around, “[h]is
eyes. . .round with wonder,” and the scene before him causes him “to cry” (Hurst 191). Doodle
is moved to tears of joy at the beauty of simple things. His emotional reaction reveals that he is
attuned to nature and in awe of its beauty.
Student Activity—Using Quotations Effectively
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
3
Activity One: Writing a Character Analysis
Practice: Below, you will find another passage from “The Scarlet Ibis” and a dialectical journal
entry about the character of Doodle. Use the inferences, evidence, and commentary in the
dialectical journal to construct an analytical paragraph, using the skeleton paragraph below the
chart as a model.
My lies were scary, involved, and usually pointless, but Doodle’s were twice as crazy.
People in his stories all had wings and flew wherever they wanted to go. His favorite lie
was about a boy named Peter who had a pet peacock with a ten-foot tail. Peter wore a
golden robe that glittered so brightly that when he walked through the sunflowers they
turned away from the sun to face him. When Peter was ready to go to sleep, the peacock
spread his magnificent tail, enfolding the boy gently like a closing go-to-sleep flower,
burying him in the gloriously iridescent, rustling vortex. Yes, I must admit it. Doodle
could beat me lying.
Evidence (quotation or detail and context) Inference—Commentary
Quotation: “My lies were scary, involved, and
usually pointless, but Doodle’s were twice as
crazy. People in his stories all had wings and
flew wherever they wanted to go” (Hurst 193).
Context: To help pass the time, Doodle and his
brother make up stories.
Imaginative, dreamer—Doodle’s fantasies
reveal his vivid imagination as well as his
desire to be able to move freely and easily.
Through his imagination he can escape the
physical handicaps that hold him down in real
life.
In James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator depicts the character of
Doodle as
(Write your assertion here.)
Doodle and his brother often
, and
(Provide the context here.)
the narrator tells us that, while he made up stories, they were nothing compared to Doodle’s
whose stories were “twice as crazy” and filled with people who “flew wherever they wanted to
go” ( ).
(Write the commentary from the right-hand column of the journal entry that links the evidence to the assertion.)
Student Activity—Using Quotations Effectively
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
4
Activity Two: Writing an Analysis of Tone or Mood through Diction and Imagery
Practice: Below, you will find another passage from “The Scarlet Ibis” and a dialectical journal
entry. Use the journal entry to construct a body paragraph analyzing diction and imagery in the
story. Use several of the quotations and the pre-written commentary in the right-hand column to
support the assertion that has been written for you.
It was in the clove of seasons, summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born, that
the ibis lit in the bleeding tree. The flower garden was stained with rotting brown
magnolia petals, and ironweeds grew rank amid the purple phlox. The five o’clocks by
the chimney still marked time, but the oriole nest in the elm was untenanted and rocked
back and forth like an empty cradle. The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their
smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking softly
the names of our dead (Hurst 189).
Evidence (quotation or detail and context) Inference—Commentary
Quotation: “It was in the clove of seasons,
summer was dead but autumn had not yet been
born” (Hurst 189).
Context: In this introductory paragraph, the
narrator describes the setting.
The word “clove” suggests a rift or splitting. It
seems to suggest there was a definite divide
between the seasons—marked by some other
more personal split or loss, possibly a death.
The words “dead” and “born” also support this
idea.
Quotation: “dead,” “rotting,” “graveyard,”
“dead” (Hurst 189)
Context: same as above
The diction reinforces the idea that someone
has died. Even the narrator’s memory of the
setting reflects the impact of the loss.
Quotation: “empty,” “untenanted” (Hurst 189)
Context: same as above
Suggests loss: Something is missing.
Quotation: “oriole nest. . .like an empty
cradle” (Hurst 189)
Context: same as above
Even the bird nest is empty. Comparing it to a
cradle makes you wonder if a child has died. It
creates a feeling of pain and yearning for what
is missing.
Quotation: “graveyard flowers…their smell
drifted…speaking softly the names of our
dead” (Hurst 189)
Context: same as above
Personification of the flowers seems to imply
that nature reminds the narrator (all of us)
about those we’ve lost. A sense of
remembrance and peace underlies the sadness.
Assertion: To create a tone of loss and regret, the author of “The Scarlet Ibis” constructs a
pattern of language related to loss and regret through his word choice and use of imagery. In the
beginning of the story, the narrator
(Provide the context here.)
The narrator describes the time of year as the “clove of seasons” with summer “dead” but
autumn not yet “born.” The time of year is associated with
(Provide commentary.)
The narrator uses words associated with loss, such as
(Provide another quotation here that supports the assertion.)
Student Activity—Using Quotations Effectively
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
5
These words
(Provide commentary.)
The speaker’s figurative language also suggests loss and regret.
(Write a sentence of your own that includes some quotations from the journal supporting this assertion. Then add commentary.)
Student Activity—Using Quotations Effectively
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
6
Activity Three: Writing an Analysis of Theme
Practice: Below, you will find another passage from “The Scarlet Ibis” and a dialectical journal
entry. Use the journal entry to construct a body paragraph exploring a theme of the story. Use the
quotation in the left-hand column and the pre-written commentary in the right-hand column to
support an assertion that seems logical to you, given the commentary in the journal.
It seemed so hopeless from the beginning that it’s a miracle I didn't give up. But all of us
must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine. I did not
know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.
Every day that summer we went to the pine beside the stream of Old Woman Swamp, and I
put him on his feet at least a hundred times each afternoon.
Evidence (quotation or detail and context) Inference—Commentary
Quotation: “But all of us must have something
or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had
become mine. I did not know then that pride is
a wonderful terrible thing, a seed that bears
two vines, life and death” (Hurst 192)
Context: The narrator looks back on the time
when he tried to teach his brother Doodle to
walk.
The narrator confesses his need to make
Doodle “better” in order to give himself
something to be proud of and to receive
recognition for his actions. Because he is
speaking about an event that happened in the
past, he looks back on it with the insight of an
adult who has struggled with the consequences
of his prideful actions. It’s not that pride in and
of itself is bad, but he has realized that too
much pride can lead people to do things that
can have devastating results.
Assertion: The author of “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst, suggests through the actions of his
characters and his use of language the theme that
Student Activity—Using Quotations Effectively
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
7
Graphic Organizer for a Paragraph Using Quotations
(Use this structure to plan an analysis of any text.)
Assertion:
Introduction to the quotation, quotation, and documentation:
Commentary (explanation, interpretation, analysis) linking the quotation to the assertion:
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