On-Level: "Everyday Use" SAR

Yesterday, we completed our "Everyday Use" prewriting, and today, we wrote a SAR as a class. Every class did its own prewriting, and so every class has a unique SAR. Compare what your class did to what other classes came up with.



4th period

This SAR concludes by pointing out an IRONY in the character of Mama. To extend your SAR in a final moment, you should always offer some insight or analysis. Confused about how to do that? You can always talk about theme, character foils, irony, or tie what you've said to a symbol in the piece.

5th period

This SAR concludes by talking about what theme is revealed through our study of Mama's characterization. If I had to do this over, I'm sure I could revise the theme statement into something more sophisticated. (See, making a 3 on a SAR can be a challenge for me, too!)

6th period

This SAR concludes by zooming out and recognizing that Mama's strength is physical and emotional.

7th

This SAR is successful for a number of reasons, but the thing I love about this one is the concluding statement. It recognizes the contrast between her toughness and her warmth. This definitely gets points for recognizing the complexity in Mama's character.

After we finished writing these, we color-coded them so we could see how good short answers (and good analytical writing in general) should alternate between concrete detail (quotes from the story) and commentary.

See, aren't SAR's fun?! They're like small droplets of colorful analysis in a dreary landscape of multiple choice. :D