Unit 1: Kaffir Boy/Catch the Moon
Essential Questions:
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How can literature help me express my own story through writing?
How do our experiences determine our choices in life?
Objectives:
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To define and identify elements of nonfiction
To define and identify elements of plot, conflict, and theme
To develop real experiences using effective technique, well-chosen details, and wellstructured event sequences
To make connections between text-self, text-text, and text-world
Activities to be completed:
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Nonfiction: Kaffir Boy
Fiction: Catch the Moon
Reading Strategy: Making Connections
Writing: Journals, Reading Responses/double-Entry Reading Logs, Autobiographical
Narrative
Terms to define and identify:
Nonfiction
Narrative Nonfiction
Autobiography/Biography/Memoir
Author’s Purpose
Anecdote
Explanatory/Informational Nonfiction
Formal/Informal Essay
Fiction
Plot
 Exposition
 Rising Action
 Climax
 Falling Action
 Resolution
Conflict
 Internal
 External
Setting
Point of View
 1st Person
 3rd Person Limited
 3rd Person Omniscient
Protagonist
Antagonist
Theme
Unit 1: Kaffir Boy/Catch the Moon
Nonfiction: writing about real ___________________, ____________________, and
_____________________________
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Autobiography
Memoir
Biography
___________________________________
Letters
___________________________________
News Articles
Speeches
Author’s purpose: _______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Narrative Nonfiction: conveys __________________________
Autobiography: work that attempts to tell a person’s ____________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Memoir: work that focuses on an author’s ___________________
_______________
during a particular event or period
Biography: tells the story of _______________________________________________
Annecdote: _____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Explanatory/Informational Nonfiction: conveys _________________________ accurately
Essay: _________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Formal Essay: ___________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Informal/personal essay: a short work of nonfiction on a single topic that entertains
while it informs, in a light conversational style
Unit 1: Kaffir Boy/Catch the Moon
Guide to Reading Nonfiction
1. Determine what type of work you are reading
a. Is it biography, autobiography? Is it a speech or an essay? Is it formal or
informal?
2. Try to identify the author’s purpose. Is he or she writing to explain, to entertain, or to
persuade you?
a. If the author’s purpose is to inform or explain, look for a thesis statement (or
claim) and support for the thesis.
b. If the author’s purpose is to entertain, look for literary elements, such as figurative
language, dialogue, and suspense.
c. If the author’s purpose is to persuade, determine whether the author is presenting
an argument, emotional appeals, or a combination of both.
Reading Strategy Focus: Making Connections
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Text-to-Self Connections
Ask yourself:
What does this story remind you of?
Can you relate to the characters in the story?
Does anything in this story remind you of anything in your own life?
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Text-to-Text Connections
Ask yourself:
What does this remind you of in another book you have read?
How is this text similar to other things you have read?
How is this text different from other things you have read?
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Text-to-World Connections
Ask yourself:
What does this remind you of in the real world?
How are events in this story similar to things that happen in the real world?
How are events in this story different from things that happen in the real world?
Unit 1: Kaffir Boy/Catch the Moon
Kaffir Boy Background Information
•Mathabane was born in ___________________
•Born in ______________ ____________________ under the system of apartheid
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Apartheid = “_________________________________”
____________________________________________________________________________
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It was established in ________________ and ended in the ______________’s
Under apartheid, non-white people (Africans and mixed race) were not granted the same rights
as white people
•No right to _______________________
•No ownership of _______________________
•No right to __________________ freely
•No right to ____________________ _______________________
•No right to _____________________________ the government
•Relocated and forced to live in ______________________________ (the city’s perimeter)
The Pass Book
In addition, non-whites were required to carry a passbook
•Needed ________________ _________________ to live outside of reservations, but not with
family
•Lived in Townships (the city’s perimeter)
•Curfew __________________________
•Passbook raids
•Failure to meet curfew or have passbook = subject to __________________________
Sharpeville Massacre
•In 1960, during a peaceful protest in the city of Sharpeville, 69 people were
________________. This massacre ignited additional demonstrations and protests against the
unfair treatment of non-whites
Unit 1: Kaffir Boy/Catch the Moon
As You Read
1. Determine what type of work you are reading
a. Is it biography, autobiography? Is it a speech or an essay? Is it formal or
informal?
b. This piece is ___________________________________________________
c. How do you know? ______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2. Try to identify the author’s purpose. Is he or she writing to explain, to entertain, or to
persuade you?
a. If the author’s purpose is to inform or explain, look for a thesis statement (or
claim) and support for the thesis.
b. If the author’s purpose is to entertain, look for literary elements, such as figurative
language, dialogue, and suspense.
c. If the author’s purpose is to persuade, determine whether the author is presenting
an argument, emotional appeals, or a combination of both.
The author’s purpose is to ________________________________. I know this
because (*hint: use the definitions above to help justify your answer) _____________
____________________________________________________________________.
3. Make Connections: For this story, we are going to focus on Text-to-Self Connections
(T-S). Ask yourself:
What does this story remind you of?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Can you relate to the characters in the story? (How? Give an example)
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Does anything in this story remind you of anything in your own life?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Unit 1: Kaffir Boy/Catch the Moon