Reintroducing Ourselves to Gatsby: March 31, 2020

Focus: What are you wondering about in the early chapters of Gatsby?

1. Warming up:

Today, Sam rode a bike without training wheels for the first time. Because of his heart condition and his open-heart surgeries, he wasn't allowed anywhere near a bike for many summers of his life. But today, Sam rode a bike.

I think now is the time to do the thing you think you cannot do. Don't miss it.

3. Reading and journalling on The Great Gatsby, Chapter 3

• Click here if you need the journal overview (and click here if you just want the study guide questions).

• Click here to see the revised fishbowl sign up and expectations.

•  Mia and Olivia, please prepare a syllabus for Friday's discussion.

HW:

1. EVERY WEEKDAY: Check the class blog!

2. By FRIDAY:

• Read Chapter 3 in The Great Gatsby.

• Compose your journal entry and post it on your new blog.

• Please join our live discussion this Friday at 2:30; we will be discussing Chapter 3. Let me know if your work schedule interferes with this time. You will be receiving a Zoom invitation from me.

3. By next MONDAY, April 6:

• Watch my short screencast on Grammar You Must Know #9: Apostrophes.

• Take the quiz on Apostrophes (starting in a few days, I will link it to the daily blog).

Welcome To Your Week! March 30, 2020

Focus: What does this week look like in American Lit?

1. Warming up with three good things (PLEASE SEND ME YOURS RIGHT NOW!)

2. Watching my "Welcome-To-Your-Week" video

3. Reading and journalling on The Great Gatsby, Chapter 3

• Click here if you need the journal overview (and click here if you just want the study guide questions).

• Click here to see the revised fishbowl sign up and expectations.

•  Mia and Olivia, please prepare a syllabus for Friday's discussion.

HW:

1. EVERY WEEKDAY: Check the class blog!

2. By FRIDAY:

• Read Chapter 3 in The Great Gatsby.

• Compose your journal entry and post it on your new blog.

• Please join our live discussion this Friday at 2:30; we will be discussing Chapter 3. Let me know if your work schedule interferes with this time. You will be receiving a Zoom invitation from me.

3. By next MONDAY, April 6:

• Watch my short screencast on Grammar You Must Know #9: Apostrophes.

• Take the quiz on Apostrophes (starting in a few days, I will link it to the daily blog).

The Bigger Picture: March 13, 2020

Focus: How do we continue American Literature at home?

1. Warming up with our first Friday Freewrite!

2. Offering you the calendar and explaining what you'll be doing at home next week for American Literature

3. Viewing the film version of Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of The Great Gatsby to strengthen your understanding of settings, characters, and party dynamics

HW:

1. BY TUESDAY, MARCH 17: Submit your critical review final drafts by 4:00 pm (please RE-SHARE them if you haven't already printed and submitted yours).

2. Follow the The Great Gatsby reading schedule by reading and completing a journal entry for each chapter. These will be due on the day you return to school. Click HERE if you need the journal overview.

Into the Valley of Ashes--Chapter 2 Fishbowl: March 12, 2020

Focus: What is the Valley of Ashes, and what does it reveal about the novel as a whole?

1. Warming up with our final Valentine of the Day and a whiteboard brainstorming of "Valley" and "Ashes"; performing a metacognitive of Fitzgerald's description of the Valley of Ashes

*Your Fishbowl transition: Post one of your questions about the Valley of Ashes on today's blog.*

2. Enjoying our first Gatsby Fishbowl: Chapter 2 with our new outer circle roles and a few fishbowl reminders:

• Outer circle must be SILENT. If you talk on the outer circle, you will receive no higher than a 6/10.

• Bloggers and discussers should be commenting at least five times; stay in the discussion from beginning to end.

• To receive full credit, you must bring a quotation / page number into your blogging comments or your out-loud discussion. 

• If you're absent or you need to sit out to finish the reading, you can make up the outer circle blog within 48 hours of the original discussion.

3. Wrapping up with your thesis of the day: Fitzgerald uses the Valley of Ashes to....

4. Debriefing: What went well? What do we need to do better?

HW:
1. MONDAY: Read and journal on Chapter 3; leaders should prepare their syllabus.

Thursday, March 12--Tuesday, March 17: PRINT and turn in your critical review final drafts.

2. BY MARCH 20: If you're interesting in taking A.P. Language or A.P. Literature, please fill out this application. 

From East Egg to West Egg to the Valley of Ashes: March 11, 2020

Focus: What do the settings reveal about the conflicts in The Great Gatsby so far?

1. Warming up with our penultimate Valentine of the Day and a few ideas about writing conclusions

2. Sketching (literally) your way into Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby

3. Reading and journalling on Chapter 2; tomorrow's leaders may use this time to prepare

HW:

1. THIS WEEK: Please see your Google docs for my detailed feedback; make revisions and see me for a conference if you'd like more help.

2. THURSDAY: Finish reading Chapter 2 (no Sparknotes--just old-fashioned reading); complete your journal entry before class to prepare for fishbowl. Leader should prepare the syllabus and post it to the link on the web.

Thursday, March 12--Tuesday, March 17: PRINT and turn in your critical review final drafts.

3. BY MARCH 20: If you're interesting in taking A.P. Language or A.P. Literature, please fill out this application. 

Entering the World of Gatsby: March 10, 2020

Focus: What important dynamics does Fitzgerald establish in Chapter 1?

1. Warming up with our Valentine of the Day and Grammar You Must Know #8 "Quiz"

2. Interviewing your partner's understanding of Chapter 1

• Understanding the basics of Chapter 1 with a partner interview

• Rereading the last page of Chapter 1 and brainstorming possible symbols as a class

3. Introducing journal options for Gatsby and composing your Chapter 1 entry; signing up for Fishbowl Discussions

4. Wrapping up our first edition of "In Other News..."

HW:

Please see your Google docs for my detailed feedback; make revisions and see me for a conference if you'd like more help.

1. WEDNESDAY: Bring your Gatsby book to class for reading time.

2. THURSDAY: Finish reading Chapter 2 (no Sparknotes--just old-fashioned reading); complete your journal entry before class to prepare for fishbowl.

Thursday, March 12--Tuesday, March 17: PRINT and turn in your critical review final drafts.

Stepping into Nick's Shoes: March 9, 2020

Focus: What important dynamics does Fitzgerald establish in the first three pages?

1. Warming up with three good things, critical review praise, the weekly checklist, and the Sparknotes oath

2. Performing a slow-reading of Gatsby's first few pages

3. Reading Chapter 1 and signing up for our Fishbowl Discussions

HW:

Please see your Google docs for my detailed feedback; make revisions and see me for a conference if you'd like more help.

1. TUESDAY: Finish reading Chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby; we will compose our first journal entry in class.

2. WEDNESDAY: Bring your Gatsby book to class for reading time.

3. THURSDAY: Finish reading Chapter 2 (no Sparknotes--just old-fashioned reading); complete your journal entry before class to prepare for fishbowl.

Thursday, March 12--Tuesday, March 17: PRINT and turn in your critical review final drafts.

Wealth and the American Dream: March 5, 2020

Focus: Does wealth make or break the American dream?

1. Warming up with our Valentine of the Day

2. Taking inventory of your ideas about the American Dream with this survey

(3. Recapping the fishbowl format and getting signed up for our Gatsby unit)

4. Meeting F. Scott Fitzgerald and brainstorming his relationship with wealth and the American Dream

• Click HERE for the four film reflection questions

HW:
1. For TODAY: Make sure your rough draft is complete before you go night night.

2. For TUESDAY: Read the first chapter of The Great Gatsby.

3. March 12-17 by 4:00 pm: Print the final draft of your critical review and turn it in.

You've Been Drafted, Final Day: March 4, 2020

Focus: How do we get better at writing?

1. Warming up with our Valentine of the Day

2. Offering you a quick explanation of the future of your rough draft

3. Drafting, drafting, drafting

HW:
TOMORROW (Thursday): Finish your rough drafts.

Two important notes:
1. If you think you will be absent tomorrow, please grab a copy of Gatsby today and ask a friend to sign you up for fishbowl discussions.

2. If your parent/guardian is attending P-T conferences tomorrow evening, please remind them I will only be there between 4:00 and 6:00 pm.

You've Been Drafted: Day 2: March 3, 2020

Focus: How do analyze quotations in a critical review?

Because your next several in-class work days require extraordinary focus, you will receive 10 points a day for your in-class work ethic.

1. Warming up with our Valentines of the Day

2. Exercising our evaluative close reading skills together

3. Drafting, drafting, drafting

• Your goal: Get to Level 4 today. Yeah!

HW:
THURSDAY, BEGINNING OF CLASS: Complete rough draft due.

You've Been Drafted, Day 1: March 2, 2020

Focus: How do we draft a strong critical review?

Because your next several in-class work days require extraordinary focus, you will receive 10 points a day for your in-class work ethic.

1. Warming up with three good things, our Valentine of the Day, and our first two magic seats

2. Drafting the critical review essay at your own pace

• Completed rough draft due at beginning of class on Thursday

3. Checking off stages of the drafting process, scavenger-hunt style

HW:
1. TOMORROW IN CLASS: Get to Level 4. Meet you there, bro.

2. THURSDAY: Complete rough draft due at the beginning of class.