Working Hard on Informative Paragraphs
Homework for Wednesday, February 17: As a follow-up to Mrs. Ripley's discussion today about maintaining the focus of your informative paragraphs, please read the paragraph below about the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam.
I have hidden, within the paragraph, two sentences that are out of place. In Channing's words from today, these are sentences that would "trip up" a reader, because they diverge from the main informative thread of the paragraph. Please write, on looseleaf, the two "trippy" sentences, and please be prepared to explain to the class tomorrow why you selected those particular sentences.
Christianity and Islam are similar in certain ways, but they are different in other ways. An initial similarity between the two religions is that they are both based on the covenant that Abraham made with God (or Allah, as he is known to Muslims). In addition, Christianity and Islam were each started by a person who faced significant challenges during his childhood. Jesus taught that people should forgive each other for their sins, whereas Muhammad emphasized the idea of jihad, an inner struggle between a person's good and bad impulses. A third similarity between Christianity and Islam is their shared belief in a peaceful afterlife, known as Heaven or Paradise, for the souls of people who are righteous and faithful during their lives. Despite their similarities, Christianity and Islam are different in several important ways. Jesus, the founder of Christianity, is believed by his followers to be God's son, while Muslims believe that Muhammad is God's final and most important prophet (but not his son). Although Jesus's parents lived in Nazareth, he was actually born in Bethlehem, where Joseph and Mary had traveled for a census. Most Christians do not say a specific number of prayers each day, while most Muslims strive to pray five times each day in accordance with the idea of "Salah". Finally, Christians do not have a required pilgrimage, whereas Islam instructs all Muslims to take the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during their lifetime. Many historians of religion find it fascinating that two religions can be so similar yet so different.
I have hidden, within the paragraph, two sentences that are out of place. In Channing's words from today, these are sentences that would "trip up" a reader, because they diverge from the main informative thread of the paragraph. Please write, on looseleaf, the two "trippy" sentences, and please be prepared to explain to the class tomorrow why you selected those particular sentences.
Christianity and Islam are similar in certain ways, but they are different in other ways. An initial similarity between the two religions is that they are both based on the covenant that Abraham made with God (or Allah, as he is known to Muslims). In addition, Christianity and Islam were each started by a person who faced significant challenges during his childhood. Jesus taught that people should forgive each other for their sins, whereas Muhammad emphasized the idea of jihad, an inner struggle between a person's good and bad impulses. A third similarity between Christianity and Islam is their shared belief in a peaceful afterlife, known as Heaven or Paradise, for the souls of people who are righteous and faithful during their lives. Despite their similarities, Christianity and Islam are different in several important ways. Jesus, the founder of Christianity, is believed by his followers to be God's son, while Muslims believe that Muhammad is God's final and most important prophet (but not his son). Although Jesus's parents lived in Nazareth, he was actually born in Bethlehem, where Joseph and Mary had traveled for a census. Most Christians do not say a specific number of prayers each day, while most Muslims strive to pray five times each day in accordance with the idea of "Salah". Finally, Christians do not have a required pilgrimage, whereas Islam instructs all Muslims to take the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during their lifetime. Many historians of religion find it fascinating that two religions can be so similar yet so different.
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A couple of highlights from today:
Maxwell made an awesome link between Mrs. Ripley's discussion of an "epiphany" and the passage in When You Reach Me about "the veil being lifted."
Kate and Alex explained that "Middle Ages" is capitalized because it is a proper noun (that refers to a specific time period in history) while "medieval" is not capitalized because it is an adjective (that describes something related to the Middle Ages).
Super stuff, Maxwell, Kate and Alex!
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