Saturday, May 31, 2014

Monday and the final study guide (of sorts)

Don't be like the boy in navy or the girl in pink
looking the wrong way!
Monday
  1. Put the desks in a big circle (you'll have to put them back both periods for Creative Writing and English 11, so keep that in mind when watching the clock)
  2. Have a deep, substantive conversation about the themes and the take-away meanings of The Great Gatsby. Huh? Try the questions below...
Starter questions (Please read these and think about them before arriving to class on Monday.)
  • Is The Great Gatsby a "great" novel? Why or why not? What are the elements of the book that would lead you to that conclusion?
  • Looking at the book as a whole, how does our primary theme come out? What is Fitzgerald saying about class? What is our final judgment on Gatsby himself? Is he a good guy? A bad guy? Misguided? A victim? Why do you think that?
  • What is the tragedy of this novel? Is there more than one? Think outside the box. Think of all the characters. Think of themes. Make connections. Throw out ideas to the group and play with them.
  • Have someone read the final 7 paragraphs of the novel out loud to the class (from the break on pg 188/179). What are we meant to make of this? What does this tell us about class, the American Dream, and ourselves (the human condition)?
    Once you've talked about this a bit, have someone read this: In a Facebook discussion, an acquaintance of mine (Mr. Giddings) posted the following about this passage a while back. She wrote, "The past is where we are rooted. As much as we venture forth as pilgrims of the world and the future, our roots shape our identities, paths, motives. When you view the book through the lens of what it says about the American Dream, our society was founded upon our ancestors’ eager conquest of the New World and its riches and freedom – those beacons of light that drew them hither (similar to the green light). And while I don’t feel Fitzgerald denies the possibility of progress, I think he acknowledges how much we carry with us into the future. If you view the passage through an archetypal/Jungian lens, the last page also speaks of our collective consciousness."
    Do you agree or disagree with this commentator? With all of it? Part?
That should be enough to get you going. If you end up staring uncomfortably at each other, you're obviously not thinking enough. Think!



Final Study Guide
Attack that final like a mad flapper!


Hmm, this section turned out to be kind of short....

We'll deal with questions Tuesday and Wednesday. Our final is Thursday. Friday we'll do something chill. Stacy will likely turn up. Mr. Giddings will likely remain fairly chill.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

The Great Gatsby begins

Flappers!
Here is the schedule and instructions for our Gatsby readings and literary device entries!

Here's an abbreviated study guide for those who find them useful. It is NOT required that you complete this.

We are going through this pretty fast -- essentially 9 chapters in about 2 weeks. Don't fall behind and feel free to read ahead if you'd like, though out of respect for those who don't appreciate spoilers, please confine discussions to the schedule.

We'll have a itty-bitty, little in-class writing event that will in no way extend into anything bigger with sources or word limits. The limit does not exist...except of course the limit imposed upon us by the class schedule. Either that of we'll do a project. I'll give you guys the choice. We'll talk Friday.

Literary Device Entries
Over the course of this short unit, you'll write two (2) literary device entries. Instructions are here. We'll go over them on Friday (tomorrow).

Use this literary device website to look up devices. It has good definitions, explanations, and multiple examples for each term.

The Great Gatsby Reading Schedule
Chapter
Page Range
# of Pgs
Read by
Chapter I
5-26
21
5/19
Chapter II
27-42
15
5/20
Chapter III
43-64
21
5/21
Chapter IV
65-85
20
5/22
Chapter V
86-102
16
5/27
Chapter VI
103-118
15
5/28
Chapter VII
119-153
34
5/29
Chapter VIII
154-170
16
5/30
Chapter IX
171-189
18
6/2

These page numbers are taken from the blue book. If you have the white book, refer to the actual chapter.
Don’t fall behind! There will be a test (Gatsby Stuff will be on the final)


Friday, May 2, 2014

Our schedule for the next couple of weeks

Since we won't be meeting on May 4th, happy Star Wars Day!
Next week is different between the periods because of lab time restrictions.
1st period: Week of May 5th
Monday: English Lab
Tuesday: Go over Practice Test
Wednesday: In class write
Thursday: Relax and talk test strategy, including the Magic AP Pencil Ceremony
Friday: AP Test!!!

3rd period: Week of May 5th
Monday: Go over Practice Test
Tuesday: Library Lab
Wednesday: Library Lab
Thursday: Relax and talk test strategy, including the Magic AP Pencil Ceremony
Friday: AP Test!!!

All: Week of May 12th
Monday: Study Hall Lab with paper due by the end of the day
Tuesday: PARTY!!!!
Wednesday: APUSH test (No class for most of you)
Thursday: Finish Mean Girls and get copies of The Great Gatsby
Friday: Begin working with Gatsby (Woot! Woot!)