Quote SandwicH
WHAT IS A QUOTE SANDWICH?
Quote
Sandwiches are assessed under the Response to Literature and Writing
Strands. Quote sandwiches are used to analyze a piece of literature,
and they are the heart of a response to literature essay. At the
middle school, we initially introduce the quote sandwich independent from
the essay and give students multiple opportunities to practice individual
quote sandwiches. To write a quote sandwich, the student creates a
clear focus statement (includes title of text and author) that specifically
addresses the prompt. This focus is referred to throughout the piece.
Enough context is developed to interpret or analyze some aspect of the text
(character analysis, character change, theme, author’s craft, etc.). A
quote (or quotes) is selected that supports the focus statement, and
reference (or references) to the text is supported with a specific citation
( or citations). Elaboration follows to show how the quote supports
the focus. The sandwich is completed with a closing sentence that
refers back to the focus statement. Below is a quote sandwich
exemplar.
quote sandwich exemplar
In "The Seventh Grade" by Gary
Soto, the author chooses not to reveal what Teresa is thinking until the
end of the story in order to build suspense and surprise the reader.
When the story begins we are introduced to Victor on his first day
of school as a seventh grader. Victor has a crush on Teresa, and his
infatuation with her causes him to act awkwardly. In French class,
he is happy to see Teresa, but his happiness evaporates when he raises his
hand in response to his French teacher who asks the class if anyone speaks
French. At first the teacher is pleased, but after he tries to
engage Victor in conversation, he soon realizes the
boy does not speak French and continues with class. Victor is
ashamed and worried that he has made a fool of himself in front of Teresa.
It turns out, however, that Teresa never catches on that Victor does not
speak French. "'I didn't know you knew French,' she said.
'That was good'"(30). This quote shows that Victor's awkward actions
do not interfere with Teresa's feelings for him. In fact, she ends
up quite impressed, thinking that he knows a foreign language. As
readers, we are embarrassed for Victor and wonder what Teresa will say to
him. This builds suspense, and we are surprised by what Teresa says
in the end.