MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019

LEARNING TARGETS:

  • First and Third Hours:  Complete Draft of Of Mice and Men paper.
  • 5th/6th Hours:  by the end of today, you’ll be able to map the action in chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby.IN CLASS:  we mapped the action in chapter 7 of Gatsy after taking questions and discussing it.
    • How to make your map
      • You may choose whatever technique you wish.  A simple and effective plan might be to plot the locations (settings) on your map then number the different key events near the places where they happen.
      • In the legend, include a brief (1-2 sentence MAXIMUM) description of the events AND a quote from the novel, with proper citation, that represents that action.

    HOMEWORK: READ CHAPTER 8 by WEDNESDAY!

IMPORTANT FOR FIRST AND THIRD HOUR

IMPORTANT THING #1: The question from the handout for chapter four is mistyped.  It should read:  How does Candy’s comments to Crooks and Lennie tie the dream of the land/farm to larger political and economic issues (and Steinbeck’s overall message)?

 

Here’s the quote in question:

  • Candy cried, “Sure they all want it.  Everybody wants a little bit of land, not much.  Jus’ something that was his.  Somethin’ he could live on and there couldn’t nobody throw him off of it.  I never had none.  I planted crops for damn near ever’body in this state, but they they wasn’t my crops, and when I harvested ’em, it wasn’t none of my harvest.  But we gonna do it now, and don’t make no mistake about that.  George ain’t got the money in town.  That money’s in the bank.  Me an’ Lennie an’ George. We gonna have a room to ourself.  We’re gonna have a dog an’ rabbits an’ chickens.  We’re gonna have green corn an’ maybe a cow or a goat.”  He stopped, overwhelmed by the picture. (John Steinbeck,  Of Mice and Men, p. 76)
  • Notice the picture Steinbeck paints in the part in red italics.  It’s emphasizing the fact that although the workers do all of the work that grows the products of the farm, when those products are sold, the workers see very little of the profit.  In contrast, on the farm, all of the rewards of their work would come back to them.  This is quite similar to what Karl Marx was talking about when he came up with the idea of socialism (where the workers run the businesses for the good of the workers, not for profit).  Consider the possibility that this paragraph is very important to understanding what Steinbeck was preaching.

 

IMPORTANT THING #2:  Also, before you start writing your paper, read this sample essay (and the comments).   Don’t worry–this was written by a veteran essay writer: a real pro.  Yours does not have to be as sophisticated as this.  What I encourage you to notice is how the quotes from the novel are SHORT.  Don’t go copying down whole paragraphs of the novel.  Use the few short bursts that support your own original ideas.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY FEB. 21&22

FIRST AND THIRD HOURS:  

TARGETS

  • By the end of Thursday you should understand your paper assignment for OF MICE AND MEN

IN CLASS

  • Finish Of Mice and Men film
  • Work on Self Reflection
  • Work on Paper Draft

FIFTH AND SIXTH HOUR

  • Reading Days:  Be read through Chapter 7 (P. 153)

WEDNESDAY 2/20

FIRST AND THIRD HOUR:  Watched movie version of “Of Mice and Men” with a couple of stops to discuss thematic issues.

FIFTH AND SIXTH HOUR:  read chapter 6.  HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 7 before you get to class Friday!! 

  • Learning target:  by the end of class you should be able to explain
    • How Jay Gatsby came to be.
    • What is meant by “Platonic conception of himself”?
    • What does chapter six have to tell us about Fitzgerald’s themes of the old West.
    • CHAPTER 6 Presentation

Friday, FEB. 15

Thursday, February 14

LEARNING TARGETS:  By the end of class you should be able to

  • FIRST/THIRD HOUR
    • Begin to identify what Steinback is trying to say with his juxtaposition of the dream life on the farm and the reality of the ranch.
    • Explain Candy and Crooks’ roles in the story.
  • FIFTH AND SIXTH HOUR
    • Identify and analyze the important details from Gatsby Chapter 2

 

IN CLASS

  • Practice Vocab Quiz
  • 1st and 3rd Hour
    • Quick Quiz on Ch. 3
    • Work on Questions for 3 and 4
  • 5th and 6th
    • Mapping activity part 1
    • Read Ch. 3

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2018

HOMEWORK ALERT.  HOMEWORK ALERT.  HOMEWORK ALERT.

  • If we have a snow day TUESDAY, you have the following homework for Wednesday.
    • FIRST and SECOND HOUR:  Read thru Chapter 4 of OF MICE AND MEN.
    • FIFTH and SIXTH HOUR:  FINISH CHAPTER 2 of THE GREAT GATSBY

WARMUP

LEARNING TARGETS: 

FIRST AND THIRD HOURS:

By the end of today’s reading you should be able to

  • Compare and contrast the vision of life on George and Lennie’s dream farm with life on the ranch where they are working.
  • Explain the significance of Candy’s dog.

In class today we went over selected questions from Friday’s assignment/handout and then read Chapter 3 of Of Mice and Men. 

FIFTH AND SIXTH HOURS:  by the end of today’s reading you should be able to

  • Explain/define  SYMBOL/SYMBOLISM.
  • Analyze Fitzgerald’s point of view toward the people at the party in Chapter 2.
  • Identify important new characters: George and Myrtle Wilson
  • Improve on/sharpen your analysis of Tom Buchanan as a character.

In class today we went over selected questions from Friday’s assignment/handout and then read Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby.

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8

WARMUP:

  • How has the weather BUFFETED West Michigan this week.
  • Describe a person with a CORROSIVE personality.
  • If your teacher is a real MARTINET, what might their late work policy look like?
  • Describe a place with a VOLUMINOUS amount of something.
  • Describe a time when you or somebody you know behaved in a REPREHENSIBLE manner?

LEARNING TARGETS: 1st and 3rd Hour

LEARNING TARGETS: 5th and 6th Hours

  • Be able to define (in your own words) FORESHADOWING.
  • Be able to describe the symbolic importance of
    • East vs. West
    • Old vs. New Money
  • Be able to explain the key elements of Chapter 1 of THE GREAT GATSBY, including being able to give a “scouting report” on each of the following characters
    • Nick Carraway
    • Tom Buchannan
    • Daisy Buchanan
    • Jordan Baker
    • Gatsby (based on the rumors).