The passage provides background on author Ray Bradbury and describes how he was inspired to write the short story "Drummer Boy of Shiloh" after learning about a drummer boy who fought in the Battle of Shiloh during the Civil War. It also gives context about the Battle of Shiloh, which took place in April 1862 in Tennessee and resulted in over 3,000 deaths and 20,000 casualties despite being near a church called Shiloh in a peaceful area.

1. Drummer Boy of Shiloh
By: Ray Bradbury

3. Bell Work
Read the
friendly letter.
Determine the
1 meaning of each
underlined
word.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

5. -Characterization
-Direct or Indirect
Flat or Round Character
Static or Dynamic Character
-Conflict
-Internal or External

6. Personality of a character / method an author uses to reveal that
personality
1. Direct = author states facts directly about a character
2. Indirect = character’s personality is revealed little by little

7. 1. author states directly what the character is like
2. author states directly the appearance of the
character
3. author allows the reader to hear the character
speak
4. author shows the reader how the character acts
5. author tells the reader what other characters say &
think about him
6. author allows the reader to enter the head of the
character to become familiar with his/her thoughts
and feelings

8. Types of Characters
{ Round Or Flat
Static Or Dynamic

9. Showdown
Let’s review our
new academic
vocabulary

10. Wednesday,
October 10, 2012
Materials Needed:
Pencil ONLY
Developing Essay Writing Skills

11. Corner 1 Corner 2
Introductory Paragraphs Sentence Expansion and Elaboration
of Ideas
Corner 3 Corner 4
Author’s Style and Voice
Strong Body Paragraphs & Effective
Essay Planning
Transitional Phrases
Scavenger Hunt

12. 10/11/12 Bell Work
How would you feel
if you were far from
home, staying in a
camp like the one
shown?
{
Directions: write a
few sentence
describing how you
would feel.
WINSLOW HOMER’S HOME SWEET HOME

14. Flat or Round
Static or Dynamic

15. Mix Pair
Share
1. Students Mix around the room
2. Teacher calls, “Pair”
3. Students place Hand Up, Pair Up
4. Teacher asks a question related to the following slides of
characters…Are the characters Round or Flat
Are the characters Static or Dynamic
5. Students verbally share response with justification why

16. Drummer Boy of Shiloh
By: Ray Bradbury

17. Flat or Round
Static or Dynamic

18. Bradbury grew up in Waukegan, Illinois,
and later moved his family to California. As a
teenager, he read science fiction stories and
soon began writing his own. He has published
more than five hundred works- short stories,
novels, plays, screenplays, television, scripts,
and verse. He eventually became an award-
winning science fiction author, known for such
works as The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated
Man, Fahrenheit 451, and Something Wicked This
Way Comes.
Bradbury wrote this story after reading the
death notice of an actor whose grandfather
had been “the drummer boy of Shiloh.” This
phrase inspired him to write his tale. To paint
an accurate description of the setting, he went
to the Los Angeles library before writing and
did research on the weather conditions during
the Battle of Shiloh.

19. Shiloh is a Hebrew word meaning “place of peace.” The battle
of Shiloh took place on April 6, 1862, in southwestern
Tennessee, close to Corinth, Mississippi, near a church called
Shiloh. Despite the peaceful surroundings of peach orchards
and the small church, there were more than 3,000 deaths and
20,000 casualties as a result of this battle.
.

21. Symbolism of the Drum…
From earliest history, the sound of a drum has been an
important part of many cultures. Drums have been used in
sacred settings and on the battlefield, where the drum beat
could energize soldiers. Early war drums were often kettle
drums, which produced low booming sounds that carried for
miles and could frighten the enemy. As smaller drums
became more popular for battle, rhythmic patterns were
developed to communicate among groups, such as signaling
soldiers to march or charge. Typically, it was considered
dishonorable to wound or kill a drummer, although
capturing the enemy’s drum was a celebrated achievement.

22. { North 1862
{ South 1862
Battle of Shiloh
Discuss the differences between the Northern
and Southern States during the Civil War.

23. Bell Work
Directions: Read the figurative language below and decide if it is a
simile, metaphor or personification.
1. “Soldiers put on their bravery with
their caps.”
2. The soldiers’ whispering “was like a
natural element.”
3. “The sun might not show its face
because of what was happening here.”

25. Mix Pair
Share
1. Students Mix around the room
2. Teacher calls, “Pair”
3. Students place Hand Up, Pair Up
4. Teacher asks a question related to the following slides of
characters…Are the characters Round or Flat
Are the characters Static or Dynamic
5. Students verbally share response with justification why

26. Flat / Round
Static / Dynamic

28. Rally Table
1. The teacher will ask questions with multiple possible
answers. (See next 4 teacher prompted questions)
2. Partners will take turns writing answers on the paper, then
verbally discussing (rally) possible answers.

29. What does the author mean when he
uses this phrase? (underlined)
“If he lay very still, when the dawn
came up and the soldiers put on their
bravery with their caps, perhaps they
might go away, the war with them, and
not notice him lying small here, no more
than a toy himself.”

30. On page 8 of the text, the drummer
boy contrasts his possession of a
drum with the guns that the other
soldiers have.
What is his point?

31. At the bottom of page 10, the author
writes that the general may need to light
piles of dry leaves for light “to see his
way through the coming days when the
sun might now show its face because of
what was happening here and just
beyond.”
What does he mean?

32. The writer never states the
specific horrors of war, but does
imply them.
Give reliable and valid examples
from the text to support your
inference about the horrors of
war.

33. Materials Needed:
 Pencil
Today’s tasks:
 Character Map handout
1. Laptops- FOCUS assessments
Bell Work: -Context Clues
 Read today’s learning
-Character Development
goal from the board.
Think about it… how 2. Joby Characterization Chart
would you rate you
understanding of the 3. Writing Activity - Draft
goal?

35. Joby is a dynamic character.
Pretend you are Joby. In a friendly letter format explain how
you change during the course of the story.
Include the following points:
-The setting of the story & significance of the war
-Before the general talks to him
-How Joby feels about the upcoming battle and his
place in it
-What Joby learns from the general that changes how
he feels
-Use the character sketch to include Joby’s traits

36. Friendly Letter Format

37. Drummer Boy of Shiloh Written Extension Rubric
Criteria Needed Possible Points
Includes at least 3 Sensory Language 30
details about the setting
Includes at least 4 details of 40
Characterization about Joby
Uses the friendly letter format 10
Includes at least 2 vocabulary terms 10
from our literary selection
Uses correct grammar, punctuation & 10
spelling. 1 sentence starting with
subordinate conjunction.
Total Points 100