Week 7, Semester 2

Below you'll find the work for this week. Feel free to touch base with any questions-- always happy to help! 🙂

Gatsby

We'll finish reading Gatsby this week, chapters 7-9.  Don't forget to learn, identify, and review the vocabulary. You'll only continue to grow in your reading skills if you read more challenging texts and make an effort to "meet" and "know" new words. ; ) 

Continue with your "Coloring Gatsby" activities---tracing motifs, annotating, drawing.  I'll be asking you to summarize and submit activities you have completed on March 2nd (after we finish the book and film).

This week, I would like you to complete this specific symbols and motifs activity as well:

Symbols and Motifs

STEP 1--Choose two items from the Symbolism & Motifs section of your Coloring Gatsby that you'd like to explore more in depth.

STEP 2--For each motif, find and type out three passages from the text that make a point or illustrate the motifs. Include a chapter and page reference for each.

STEP 3--For each motif, write a summarizing paragraph that shares how you think Fitzgerald is using those motifs in those passages to make a larger point.

In terms of format, this is how I would structure the work:

Motif/Symbol A:  

Quote #1  (Chapter #, page #)

Quote #2  (Chapter #, page #)

Quote #3 (Chapter #, page #)

Paragraph explaining how these quotes demonstrate the motif/symbol and how they connect to Fitzgerald's larger purposes and message

Motif/Symbol B:  

Quote #1  (Chapter #, page #)

Quote #2  (Chapter #, page #)

Quote #3 (Chapter #, page #)

Paragraph explaining how these quotes demonstrate the motif/symbol and how they connect to Fitzgerald's larger purposes and message

Keep this with your other Coloring Gatsby work and be ready to share it with your breakout groups next class.

Symbolism & Motifs from your "Coloring Gatsby" document

Vocabulary Work

You'll meet the last of your new vocabulary this week before you read chapters 7-9. This week you will also have a specific review exercise to help clarify and cement these new words.

Please complete pages 18-25 in your vocabulary sheets.  These exercises will help you review and apply the vocabulary we are learning. You may do this in one of three ways: 1) in a separate Google document 2) print it out and complete it or 3) write out the answers on a piece of notebook paper. 

Next Class 

Next class we'll spend the bulk of our time discussing the book together as a class with breakout groups for some specific focus points of discussion. We'll also have a quiz that will cover vocabulary, slides, and the book as a whole.  

Here are the slides from last class for your review.  Note that the last three slides are NEW and will help you contextualize some aspects of the last three chapters, so preview them before you read the last sections.

Note--I'm foregoing more timeline work this week. We'll add more in the coming weeks but not this week.

Feedback/Assessment

I had a good question in my 11:15 about assessment/feedback this semester.  As we have stepped away from Google Classroom as our primary source of communication, I have moved more toward accountability taking place in group settings and in-class assessments where students report their progress privately in "chat."

I am also using the "writing feedback" document for major projects/units to communicate letter grades along with comments about specific strengths and areas to improve upon.  This second semester I will likely use this document even more, collecting your work in "units," then grading and commenting upon them within this document.  Students, you should have a copy of this document in your Google Documents under "Writing Feedback + Your Name."  If you can't locate it, search the drive, and I am happy to send another link if you still have trouble after this.

Right now, I'm working on your local history projects and hope to finish them up this week.  Keep an eye out for comments I make directly within those documents and also for my comments and grade within your writing feedback document.  Evaluating writing and research takes a lot of time, energy, and a certain "head space." So, I work on these bit-by-bit as I am able. To give you an idea of the time commitment, each student's work requires at least 30 minutes for me to appreciate, evaluate, and comment upon. It's "slow food" for sure. ; )

You'll also be receiving a mid-semester progress report mid-March via email.  

Also, please know that I am always happy to talk with you after class or during the week about your performance in class and ways that you can improve your efforts.  I'm available via email throughout the week as well.  Hope that helps clarify the feedback/assessment question. 

I look forward to finishing up our discussion of Gatsby next week and preparing you for the movie!

Mrs. Price  

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One final addition---I've been working on a global schedule for the rest of second semester for my long-range thinkers and planners.  It's subject to tweaks, but here it is as of today.  Print and put in your class notebook for reference.

A common area within the Plaza Hotel, New York City

The Plaza Hotel is the setting for Chapter 7 in The Great Gatsby (a pivotal chapter). 
It first opened in 1907.